WebTVAsia Malaysia is introducing its very first Malay artist, 19-year-old Bruneian singer Syafiq Abdilah, who officially becomes the company’s third music artist, joining local singers Pricilla Abby and Hao Ren.
For the welcoming party, Syafiq also launched his debut single “Sakit” as his greetings to his fans and new audience from Nusantara.
“I can’t imagine that I get to be an artist in Malaysia. I always thought that I’m going stay only in Brunei. But Alhamdullilah, my hard work paid off, and I’m here now. So I’m very grateful,” Syafiq said when met at the launch party in Starling Mall.
Syafiq has been singing since he was young, but he professionally sang in front of an audience in 2015, and that’s also the same year when he started to pick up the guitar. His talent was discovered by one of the DJs in Brunei, DJ Daffy who then introduced him to WebTVAsia.
“When I first heard Syafiq’s singing, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is a very unique 19-year-old voice.’ Having such a unique voice and being so talented, I believe that he can go far. Plus, he is still so young!” WebTVAsia founder and group CEO Fred Chong said.
“Our slogan for WebTVAsia is ‘Celebrate Asia’. We feel that a lot of talents and artists across Asia are undervalue. We want to be the company that discover, nurture and bring talented artists to international platforms,” Chong added.
Following the footsteps of his fellow Bruneian friend Aziz Harun, Syafiq who is dubbed as the “Ed Sheeran of Brunei” wants to prove that it is possible for someone from a small country like Brunei to succeed outside of his country. He also hopes that his talent will be recognised not only in Malaysia but Southeast Asia.
“I try to be as honest as I can. I hope that the way I strum my guitar and project my voice will be my selling point,” Syafiq said, understanding that he will have plenty of talented competition in the region.
Syafiq’s music style is mostly pop with influence of jazz, funk and R&B. But Syafiq said that he is opened to experiment with other genres as well.
When asked about dream collaborations, Syafiq revealed his love for hip hop music, saying that he would love to collaborate with the artists from Kartel Records such as SonaOne, Alif, and Joe Flizzow. “I can’t rap but I would love to work with artists from Kartel.”
Syafiq’s debut single “Sakit” is a love song that narrates the story of a man who hopes his love interest comes back so they can rekindle their relationship.
