Indonesia may be famous for its dangdut (a genre of Indonesian folk and traditional music), but over the years, the country’s contemporary music scene has a lot more to offer now.
The nation has produced famous artistes like Anggun, Melly Goeslaw, Afgan, Krisdayanti, Rossa, and more, but there are a lot more unearthed gems that are quietly glowing, waiting to release their full shine.
Just recently, we introduced five Singaporean singers with amazing talent, and now check out the five Indonesian artistes that we think you should definitely listen to.
1.Agnez Mo
Agnes Monica, or better known as Agnez Mo is a commercially successful singer with the most number of awards in Indonesia. Some of the notable ones that she won include Nickelodeon Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards, MTV Indonesia Awards, and Mnet Asian Music Awards in South Korea. The singer-actress is a bona fide pop icon in her own country, and is slowly making her mark in Hollywood. In 10 October 2017, she released her first international album “X” which features singles like “Long as I Get Paid” and “Damn I Love You”. “Long As I Get Paid” gained 1.8 million viewers since its release, becoming the fastest music video to reach 1 million views in Indonesia.
2.Rich Chigga
Officially debuted in 2015 at the age of 16, Rich Chigga or real name Brian Imanuel, catapulted to stardom when his debut single “Dat $tick” went viral over the internet in 2016, gaining the attention of other renowned American rappers like Desiigner, Cam'ron, Ghostface Killah, 21 Savage, MadeinTYO and many more. Thanks to that, he was immediately placed in the world’s eyes, and it had made him one of the most prominent Indonesian rappers of all time. Imanuel has stated in multiple interviews that he taught himself English by browsing the internet and watching YouTube videos. The first rap song that he tried to learn was Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop”.
3.Raisa
Raisa Andriana is an award-winning singer-songwriter and actress, known for her hit songs such as “Serba Salah”, “Terjebak Nostalgia” and “Mantan Terindah”. Singing since the age of 3, her music career began when she collaborated with famous composer David Foster to perform in a concert in Jakarta. Her debut single “Serba Salah” landed her an award at Anugerah Musik Indonesia (Indonesian Music Awards) as Best of the Best Newcomer. In 2016, Raisa was the guest star at Peabo Bryson's concert in Indonesia. During the occasion, she performed a duet with him with "Beauty and the Beast" and "A Whole New World".
4.Noah
Previously known as Peterpan, the band now consists of lead vocalist Nazril Irham (Ariel), rhythm guitarist Mohammad Kautsar Hikmat (Uki), lead guitarist Loekman Hakim (Lukman), and David keyboardist and synthesiser Kurnia Albert (David). The band has sold more than 9 million albums in Indonesia and is recognised as the best-selling alternative pop/rock band in the country. Two of their albums are included on the list of Indonesian all time best selling albums. As Peterpan, they are most known for two of their famous hits “Ada Apa Denganmu” and “Mungkin Nanti”. In 2012, the band renamed themselves to Noah after lead singer Ariel was released from prison, marking a new beginning.
5.Isyana Sarasvati
Up and coming singer Isyana was introduced to the world of music at the tender age of 4, and since then, her musicality continues to grow. She has mastered a number of instruments, including piano, electone, flute, violin, and saxophone, and of course her vocal abilities as well. At the age of 16, Isyana received a scholarship from the Singapore Government to study Music Performance at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in Singapore. She is a certified opera singer in Singapore and has achieved a number of accomplishments in the music field. Recently, she was nominated for the MTV EMAs Best Southeast Asian Act alongside five other countries.