Yanto Sani wins Malay songwriting contest Projek Lagu, gets S$20,000 cash prize

Yanto Sani has emerged victorious on Mediacorp's Malay songwriting contest Projek Lagu after 10 weeks of competition.

During the final on Tuesday (Nov 9), the 38-year-old business owner – he co-owns barber shop The Golden Rule – edged out three other finalists to win the grand prize of S$20,000 in cash, wowing the judges and the audience with his songs Bebas and Menutup Dosa.

First runner-up position went to Zul and Ariff, second runner-up to Aisha Ayesha and Andy Gan and third runner-up to Wawan Husen and Fairuz Rahim. They took home S$5,000; S$3,000 and S$2,000, respectively, while Zul and Ariff won an additional S$3,000 for garnering the highest number of public votes.

The four finalists were evaluated based on scores given by the judges (70 per cent) and through public votes (30 per cent).

The judging panel was made up of Projek Lagu judges Ramli Sarip, Mayuni Omar and Daly Filsuf, as well as guest judges Dr Azmeer and Habsah Hassan, renowned songwriters who have composed numerous hits including for famed singer Siti Nurhaliza.

Hosted by Ria 897 DJ Fadli Kamsani and artistes Fatin Amira and Lydia Asyiqin, the Projek Lagu grand final also included guest performances by rapper Fariz Jabba and rocker Yazid Lovehunters.

Projek Lagu gave participants the opportunity to drive their own creative journeys, from song conceptualisation and production to performer selection and working with a music director, right up to the moment the song is finally performed on stage. 

You can relive the journey on meWATCH, meLISTEN, Suria’s IGTV and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube.