What better way to celebrate a 10-year anniversary than with a music festival? Global home appliance brand CUCKOO was first introduced to Malaysia in 2014 by Hoe Kian Choon and has since become a household name across the country. To celebrate this huge milestone, the CUCKOOTOPIA Music Festival was recently held at Sunway Surf Beach, featuring some of the best local acts and a special appearance by a famous Korean celebrity.
Fans gathered at the main entrance as early as 3pm for the chance to be one of the first people in the front row of the main stage. Although it was raining the entire night, it didn’t stop anyone from having the time of their lives. Here are some of our favourite moments during the festival.
Ummi Umairah, or Umai, the niece of Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza, proved to the audience that talent runs in the family as she opened the CUCKOOTOPIA Music Festival with a cover of Ernie Zakri’s “Masing-Masing” and Dato’ Sheila Majid’s hit “Sinaran.” Serenading us with her amazing vocals, the young singer is undoubtedly on her way to becoming an icon, just like her aunt. The ever-so-amazing DOLLA then had fans screaming and dancing along with them as the girls opened their set with “Classic” and ended it with “DAMELO”.
It’s never a dull moment when the trio performs on stage, as they’re known for their energy and outstanding choreography. Speaking of energy and exceptional choreography, another group took the stage and had fans jumping to their feet. Local boy band 3P, who started out making comedic content online, proved to the audience that they too are incredible performers as they entertained everyone with their songs “ZOGANG,” and a medley of “Hu Else,” 我的妈呀 (Wo De Ma Ya), and “Pa Sang Anthem.”
Since the festival is in partnership with Astro, Tomok and Siti Nurdiana, two artists who competed in the popular Gegar Vaganza competition, took the stage to perform their duet “Memori Mungkin Berulang,” as well as their songs “Meraung” and “Terus Mencintai,” respectively. Accompanied by her dancers, local Mandopop singer Priscilla Abby had fans bobbing their heads to her song “不要讓我太喜歡你” before mesmerising us with her vocals during “夜空中最亮的星.”
“Malaysian Idol” and Gegar Vaganza All-Stars winner Jaclyn Victor began her set with a powerful cover of the 1998 hit ballad “When You Believe,” originally performed by Mariah Carey and the late Whitney Houston. The superstar reminded us why she’s the champion of the aforementioned singing contest as she hit those incredible high notes before getting the audience to dance along during “Ikut Rentakku” and perfectly ending her set with “Gemilang.” Despite the rain, fans went wild when Firdhaus took the stage to perform his first song, “阿拉斯加海湾,” while playing an acoustic guitar. Known for his Chinese songs, the singer serenaded the crowd and even taught them the chorus to “能遇見, 就很不錯了” before finishing his performance with “在迦納共和國離婚.”
Rocking the stage next was Bunkface as they had fans headbanging to their hits “Malam Ini Kita Punya,” and “Situasi” and left everyone wanting more after ending their set with “Revolusi”. The woman of the hour, Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza, finally graced the stage, opening her set with “Bukan Cinta Biasa” before continuing with a medley of several of her popular ballads. Malaysia’s newly crowned Biduanita Negara can do no wrong, as she captivated the audience with her stage presence and mesmerising vocals throughout her entire performance, making it feel like everyone was attending her solo concert. We also couldn’t help but sing and dance along when she ended her set with a medley of “Ku Mahu” and “Kumilikmu”.
Finally, the moment arrived. Korean star Kim Soo Hyun (김수현) made his way to the stage, where he was welcomed by his fellow ambassadors Siti Nurhaliza, Jaclyn Victor, and Phei Yong, along with CEO Hoe Kian Choon, for the cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate CUCKOO’s 10th anniversary. One of the highlights of the actor’s appearance was when Siti took out her phone to snap a group selfie, much to the excitement of fans. The momentous occasion was followed by a spectacular fireworks display before rapper Joe Flizzow closed the festival with a medley of his hits “Havoc,” “Ciao,” and “Satu Malam Di Temasek.”
Though there were a few hiccups here and there, overall, we personally had a fantastic time at the CUCKOOTOPIA Music Festival. Who knows, maybe the brand might put on an event grander event for its 20th anniversary in the future. Did you attend the show? What was your favourite moment?
