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SINGAPORE : It was a win that brought him to his knees, but if you look at the road to success for Hady Mirza, you can see the signposts that brought him there.
He wasn't pegged as one of the male favourites but the 27-year-old from Singapore emerged as winner of the Asian Idol competition that pitted six Idol winners from India, Indonesia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia last Sunday.
"Did you think I would win? I didn't. Not even for a moment," he told TODAY on Monday morning. "This is not for my personal glory, but for Singapore."
Hady's journey to this "Singapore glory" began as a schoolboy at Beng Wan Primary School. Born Jan 28, 1980, his earliest musical memory is of himself as a seven-year-old singing Toto's I'll Be Over You during the 10-minute walk to his Serangoon Road school. And at his grandmother's house, he'd be "flanked by a guitar-wielding uncle on one side and a Madonna-crazy auntie on the other".
The Siglap Secondary School alumnus got his first taste of performing when he joined hip-hop groups while in National Service, but that experience did not last.
While still in NS, he hooked up with Taufik Batisah and fellow local artiste Adib for a set at Hard Rock Café, which he has described as "one of the most memorable gigs I've ever done".
But it was only after his NS stint in 2002 that things started rolling. He auditioned — and got — the singer's spot with Raw Energy, the resident band at the now-defunct Manchester United-themed Devil's Bar.
"Taufik also came to audition," recalled Dennis Foo, the man behind Devil's Bar, and now the CEO of St James Power Station. "Of the two, I had to pick one, so I picked Hady.
"Last year, when Hady won Singapore Idol, he SMSed me, it was still 'Thanks, boss'," joked Foo.
"Now it's just 'Thanks, Dennis!' He's easygoing, you know? When you call someone, 'a real cool guy' — that's Hady. He's soft-spoken, he won't talk too much, but he delivers everything vocally onstage."
Hady showcased his stuff at Devil's Bar six nights a week, wowing the crowds with a diverse range — from sweet soulful sounds, to all-out rockin' tunes — before the opportunity to appear on Singapore Idol 2 came early last year.
His emphatic victory — he garnered about 70 per cent of the votes — led to a debut eponymous album, which achieved platinum status in four days and won him Most Popular Artiste (Singapore) and Most Popular Song (Singapore) at Anugerah Planet Muzik 2007, a yearly Malay music award show that celebrates music from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
"Singapore Idol changed me a little bit, but I try to go through my day as normally as possible," he said.
"Normal" includes spending as much time as possible with his family.
"Most of the time we do normal family stuff, like makan (eat), just be together."
He used to help out with the family stall at Geylang Serai during Ramadan, selling roasted meat.
"We would start roasting the chickens from five in the afternoon until 2am. I can say that for the entire 30 days of fasting, my body reeked of smoke."
But of course, those days are far behind. Where does he go from here?
"I hope that one day, Hady will hold his own concert in the Indoor Stadium," said Foo. "If you see 8,000 or 10,000 people turn up for Hady Mirza then you'll know he's really made it." - TODAY/ar
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