The multiple award-winning Malaysian singer Noraniza Idris was born Nor Azina binti Idris on August 27, 1968 in Kluang, Johor, Malaysia. As a teenager she began gigging at various weddings. Her participation in a 1985 talent competition helped her score her first recording jobs. Her own recording career began in 1997 with Ala Dondang, an album that established he unique combination of modern pop with traditional Malaysian sounds. The album would win the Best Ethnic Pop Album at Malaysia’s 1997 Anugerah Industri Muzik Awards. Her follow-up, 1998’s Mayshur would capture the same prize the next year. For 1999’s Seri Balas she recorded numerous duets with Siti Nurhaliza, and again captured the Best Ethnic Pop Album award as well as the Best Album award. Firmly established as one of the most successful artists of her generation, Noraniza Idris began the 2000s with the album Iktiraf, followed by 2002’s Aura and 2004’s Sawo’ Matang. All three were nominated for Best Ethnic Pop Album, and Sawo’ Matang became her fourth LP to win that award. In 2009, “Enjut”, her collaboration with The Fabulous Cats, earned the Best Ethnic Pop Song award, and three years later she would win that prize again for “Kuasa Cinta”, which she recorded with Black Hanafiah. Nearly a quarter century into her recording career, she was back on the Malaysian charts in 2021 with “Intan Payung”.
