Unplugged (also known as Dato' Siti Nurhaliza Unplugged) is a live album by Malaysian recording artist Siti Nurhaliza. It was released in multiple formats, both physical and digital in Malaysia on 30 June 2015. The main live tracks were all taken from her 2015 unplugged concert at Istana Budaya on 7 April 2015. The CD, digital download and LP record versions of the album however come with three new bonus songs, "Menatap dalam Mimpi" ("Staring in a Dream"), "Engkau" ("You") and "Mikraj Cinta" ("Ascension of Love"). All were recorded specifically to accompany the three audio releases.
On June 21, 2015, "Mikraj Cinta", one of its bonus tracks was released as an official debut single for the album. On 25 August 2015, another two of Unplugged bonus tracks were nominated for the 2015 Anugerah Planet Muzik. "Menatap dalam Mimpi" is nominated for the category of Best Artiste (Female) while "Engkau" is nominated for the Best Collaboration (Song). On December 18, 2016, Unplugged received four awards from seven nominations from 22ndAnugerah Industri Muzik, including for Best Vocal Performance in a Song (Female), Best Nasyid Song for "Mikraj Cinta", Best Musical Arrangement in a Song for "Menatap dalam Mimpi", and Best Album.
Background and recording
"This is my gift to my fans who have been supporting my career since day one. I don’t think I will be able to be where I am today without the strong support from fans and those around me including family and the media."
In the creation process of this record, the main performances are all taken from her one night only 2015 unplugged concert on 7 April 2015.[2][3] The planning and the execution of the whole live concert took Siti and her team less than three weeks. Although the whole process was done at the eleventh hour, the concert was a success.[4] Held at Istana Budaya, all the tickets sold out days before the concert date and the concert was lauded by critics especially for Siti's vocal performances.[5] The concert also marked her 20th year in the Malaysian music industry ever since she won 1995 Bintang HMI at the age of 16.[5]
The inclusion of bonus tracks to accompany the audio releases of the album was done after the concert. One of the tracks, "Mikraj Cinta" (Ascension of Love), a track written by Hafiz Hamidun and Ahmad Fedtri Yahya was actually first performed live during her performance for "Sirah Rasullulah" (Life of the Messenger of God) on 3, 4 and 7 January 2015 in conjunction with Prophet Muhammad's mawlid.[2][6] Inspired from the event of Isra and Mi'raj, a violinist from West Asia was hired to provide an original Arabic sound.[2] The remaining two bonus tracks, "Engkau" (You) and "Menatap dalam Mimpi" (Observing in Dream or figuratively Staring in a Dream) were produced by Aubrey Suwito with the lyrics of the two were provided by Ade Govinda and Rozi Sang Dewi respectively.[7] According to Aubrey, he was inspired to produce the melody for "Menatap dalam Mimpi" upon seeing a poem that was uploaded by Rozi on her Twitter account.[8] He completed the whole song in only 20 minutes.[8] Recorded at Aubrey's recording studio, according to Siti, "It possesses the musical elements that require me to diversify the usage of my vocal range. It would not be wrong for me to say, that it is like a musical song that we often heard in films by Walt Disney."[a][8]
For the iTunes version of the album, two more additional bonus tracks are added, which are essentially the acoustic version of "Menatap dalam Mimpi" and "Engkau".[9] According to Rozi, who is also Siti's personal manager, the two additional tracks are a "bonus to the bonus tracks".[b][9]
The concert began with Siti performing "Membunuh Benci" while accompanied by Aubrey Suwito on piano, who was the musical director for the concert.[10] This was followed by the first medley of the unplugged concert, composed of the first two upbeat songs of the show, "Mahligai Asmara" and "Satu Cinta Dua Jiwa" where she started to dance while singing. She resumed her performance by performing the second medley of the concert composed of "Jawapan di Persimpangan", "Purnama Merindu" and "Diari Hatimu" and followed by another medley composed of "Aku Cinta Padamu" and "Biarlah Rahsia". For the next performance she invited Awi Rafael, the composer of "Mula dan Akhir," to accompany her on guitar while she sang the tune that he composed for her most recent album, Fragmen. Siti returned to upbeat songs in a medley of "Tanpa Kalian" and "Intrig Cinta" before she went to perform another medley of her ballads, "Usah Diragui", "Wajah Kekasih" and "Kau Kekasihku". Before the second half begins, the audience is entertained by the musicians and the background singers who performed "Seindah Biasa".[11]
In the second half of the concert, Siti invited Faizal Tahir to accompany her on guitar while she sang "Aku" and "Warna Dunia", the former of which was composed by Faizal for Fragmen. Later she also invited Dato' Adnan Abu Hassan to accompany her on piano to the songs that were written and composed by him, "Jerat Percintaan" and "Gelora Asmara". She resumed her performance with another three medleys. The first one is a medley of cover songs, "Epilog Cinta dari Bromley" by Sohaimi Mior Hassan and "Suratan Atau Kebetulan" by Kenny, Remy and Martin,[5] followed by a medley of her songs again which was a medley of "Engkau Bagaikan Permata" and "Cahaya Seribu Liku". The final medley of the concert was a medley of three songs from Fragmen that were written by Indonesian songwriters and composers — "Sanubari", "Terbaik Bagimu" and "Kau Sangat Bererti". She finished the show by performing all the songs from Fragmen that were released as singles including "Jaga Dia Untukku", "Lebih Indah" and "Seluruh Cinta".[11]
Throughout the concert she intermittently shared some details from her 20 years' worth of life and singing experiences, from her first recording session to her experiences in recording her latest album, Fragmen. Apart from the three guests artists, she also invited two lucky fans to accompany her on the stage – first before the performance of "Aku Cinta Padamu" and another one before the performance of "Tanpa Kalian".[11]
Release and promotion
Siti at her meet and greet session in Kuala Lumpur on 13 September 2015.
The album was made available simultaneously for download and stream on various platforms including iTunes, Spotify and Deezer on 30 June 2015.[12] It was officially launched at The Duchess Place, Kuala Lumpur on 2 July 2015.[12] The album also marked her first album to ever be released in the LP record (vinyl) format.[13][14] She also made an appearance on several television shows to promote the album, including on Wanita Hari Ini (Women Today) on TV3[15] and Muzik-Muzik, also on TV3.[16]
In less than a day after the album was released to iTunes, it went straight to atop of the charts for three different countries – Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.[13] For the physical release of the album, 5000 copies were shipped in its first week alone.[22][23]
Track listing
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length
1.
"Membunuh Benci"
Muhammad Ashraf Bin Aasimudin
Hairul Anuar Bin Harun
Aubrey Suwito
4:41
2.
"Medley: Mahligai Asmara & Satu Cinta Dua Jiwa"
Adnan Bin Abu Hassan
Norhani Bte Md Jamil
Azlan Bin Abu Hassan
Ishak Bin Ahmad
Aubrey Suwito
5:10
3.
"Medley: Jawapan di Persimpangan, Purnama Merindu & Diari Hatimu"
Credits adapted from Unplugged booklet liner notes.[7]
Main concert
Awi Rafael (left) and Faizal Tahir (right) are two of the guest artists that accompanied Siti during the concert when she was singing the songs that they composed for Fragmen.[5]
Rozi Abdul Razak – promotional unit (Siti Nurhaliza Productions)
Sander – promotional unit (Universal Music Group)
Syamir – promotional unit (Universal Music Group)
WANPA – wardrobe
Zepi – promotional unit (Universal Music Group)
Awards
Anugerah Planet Muzik
On 25 August 2015, two of Unplugged bonus tracks were nominated for the 2015 Anugerah Planet Muzik, an award ceremony that involves musicians and artists from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.[26] "Menatap dalam Mimpi" is nominated for the category of Best Artiste (Female) while "Engkau" is nominated for the Best Collaboration (Song).[26]
On 13 October 2016, Unplugged received seven nominations for six categories from 22nd Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM 22).[27] Two of its bonus tracks received four nominations - "Menatap dalam Mimpi" is nominated for Best Vocal Performance in a Song (Female), Best Musical Arrangement in a Song, and Best Pop Song while "Mikraj Cinta" is nominated for Best Nasyid Song.[27] The live version of "Jaga Dia Untukku" that was performed at the concert also received the nomination for the Best Musical Arrangement in a Song.[27]
Unplugged on its own received multiple nominations, including for the Best Engineered Album and Best Album.[27] During the award ceremony, she received five awards, including fan-voted Choice Malaysian Singer.[28] AIM 22 also marked her 13th time winning Best Vocal Performance and fifth time winning the Best Album category.[28]
^Original:"Ia memiliki elemen muzikal yang memerlukan saya mempelbagaikan penggunaan julat vokal (vokal range) saya. Tidak salah kalau saya katakan, ia seperti sebuah lagu muzikal yang sering kita dengar dalam filem-filem Walt Disney."
^ abcdShazryn Mohd Faizal (April 8, 2015). "Siti Nurhaliza terus lengkapkan portfolio" [Siti Nurhaliza Continues Completing Portfolio]. The Rakyat Post (in Malay). Retrieved 23 August 2015.
^ abcShazryn Mohd Faizal (7 June 2015). "Lagu ciptaan 20 minit untuk Siti Nurhaliza" [A Song Created in 20 Minutes for Siti Nurhaliza]. The Rakyat Post (in Malay). Retrieved 22 August 2015.
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