Local singer Aisha Retno has been the centre of attention lately due to the cancellation of her concert. For context, about a month ago, it was announced that the 24-year-old would hold her first-ever solo concert, titled “Malam Sutera” at Zepp KL this November. However, it was later revealed that the show had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales.
The artist expressed her disappointment in an Instagram post, claiming that she was unaware of the cancellation plans and accused the organiser of being unprofessional, as she was not informed of the situation. However, that was only her side of the story, as more details about the whole ordeal were shared in a recent press conference.
In a press conference held yesterday (Wednesday, 20th November), the organiser Kharisma Music (KM) International denied allegations that Aisha Retno was not informed about the cancellation. The company’s lawyer, Tuan Muhammad Arief Tuan Mohamad Yusof said that there have been several meetings held in September between the organiser and Aisha Retno Entertainment (ARE) regarding the event.
“In one meeting, ARE was told that the total number of tickets sold was only approximately 98 tickets and 100 tickets were allocated for the media out of the 2414 total tickets offered. Due to poor ticket sales and not reaching the target, KM informed ARE that the concert should be postponed or cancelled to avoid losses,” he said before adding that the “Sutera” songstress herself refused to postpone the show. In an official statement, the organiser also shared their plans to take legal action against anyone who made false claims regarding the concert cancellation.
Meanwhile, Kharisma Music founder Yuka Kharisma demanded that Aisha pay back the money she owed the organiser. It was revealed that the purpose of the concert was to serve as collateral for the singer to repay a sum of RM83,000 that was loaned to her for the song “Sutera” and her performance at the Anugerah Juara Lagu 38 (AJL38) last March. “Back in January, ARE expressed difficulty in finding funds for Aisha’s AJL performance and requested assistance from KM. We’ve loaned her RM83k and so far, she has only paid RM6k leaving a remaining RM77k,” she said.
The Indonesian singer also denied allegations regarding a lack of promotion for the concert. She then expressed her disappointment upon discovering that Aisha had blocked her number. “She sent me a message and told me that she was disappointed and upset about the cancellation but I couldn’t reply cause she had blocked me,” she told reporters. At the time of writing, neither Aisha nor her label has responded to the claims and demands made by KM International. Let’s hope they sort things out peacefully.
Read KM’s full statement below:
Update (Thursday, 21st November)
Earlier today, Aisha Retno shared an Instagram Story, responding to the claims made by KM International saying, “More evidence will be spilt and justice will prevail”. Here’s her full statement:
