Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin (Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين, [ˈsiti nʊrhaˈliza ˈbinti taˈrudɪn]; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, composer, lyricist, songwriter, and actress. Referred to as the "Voice of Asia", she is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Malay world. She has recorded songs in multiple languages, including Malay, English, Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, and Tamil.
Siti debuted at age 16 after winning a local singing competition show, Bintang HMI, in 1995. Her debut single, "Jerat Percintaan", won the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu and two awards for Best Performance and Best Ballad. It was later included in her self-titled debut studio album (1996), which sold over 800,000 copies in Malaysia. Her self-titled sophomore album (1997) was similarly successful, selling over 400,000 copies in the country and over 500,000 copies in Indonesia, and was certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM).
In 1998, Siti performed during the closing ceremony of 1998 Commonwealth Games in front of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. In 2001, Siti's record sales contributed to ten percent of Malaysia's total album sales of that year. Her concert at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in 2004 drew around 70,000 people, making it the most-attended concert in Kuala Lumpur until Coldplay surpassed it in 2023. In 2005, Siti became the first Southeast Asian singer, and third Asian singer to perform a solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London with accompaniment from the London Symphony Orchestra. That same year, she was listed second by MTV Asia in Asia's Best Musical Artiste and was named as the Biggest Asian Artiste by Channel V.
Siti is one of the best-selling recording artists in Malaysian history, having sold over six million copies of her albums. Four of her albums are among the best-selling albums of all time in the country. Her various accolades include 42 Anugerah Industri Muzik, 31 Anugerah Bintang Popular, 28 Anugerah Planet Muzik, 22 Anugerah Juara Lagu, four MTV Asia Awards, three World Music Awards, two Anugerah Musik Indonesia, and five records in the Malaysia Book of Records. She was voted Most Popular Regional Artiste for ten consecutive years between 2001 and 2011 in the Anugerah Planet Muzik, and was named one of the world's 500 Most Influential Muslims from 2015 to 2024. She was named Biduanita Negara (National Songstress) at the 2024 National Arts Awards, making her the third artist to have received the honor after Saloma and Datuk Sharifah Aini.
Siti Nurhaliza was born on 11 January 1979, in Berek Polis (police barrack) Kampung Awah in Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia. She is the fourth child in a family of seven siblings born to housewife Siti Salmah Bachik and police officer Tarudin Ismail. She comes from a musically inclined family; her brother, Saiful Bahri Tarudin, and her sisters, Siti Norsaida and Siti Nursairah are also singers. Her maternal grandfather was a famous violinist, and her mother used to be a local traditional singer.
During her childhood, she was involved in various school activities including sports and co-curricular activities. She attended preschool at Tabika Perkep, Balai Polis Kampung Awah, Temerloh where she first showcased her early singing talent at the age of six when she sang "Sirih Pinang", a Malay traditional song, at her kindergarten's certificate-receiving event. She attended primary school at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Clifford and received her secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Clifford, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. In 1991, when she was 12 years old, she won one of her earliest singing competitions, with the song "Bahtera Merdeka" at the Merdeka Day Singing Contest, a local patriotic song competition. During her schooling years, she was active in sports, especially in netball. She participated in two different sports events – netball and 5x80 meter relay – during the Fiesta Media Idola 2006 in Kuantan. She was also chosen as one of the torch bearers to light the games of the Fiesta, marking its opening alongside Malaysian actress, Fasha Sandha.
Coming from a modest family, at the age of nine, Siti had to wake up at 4:00 am to help her mother make and sell various homemade kuih in her neighbourhood, where sometimes, she also had to carry a makeshift table down three flights of stairs to the main road to set up a small stall. She has commented that the hardships of her childhood have helped her to be more frugal when spending and to be more confident when communicating with the public. She has also joked that the experiences helped to improve her vocal skills, as she has to shout to call for customers. Apart from participating in singing competitions, she also used to follow her uncle, Abdul Rahim Bachik, to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties, which exposed her to performing live.
Although she had good SPM results, Siti Nurhaliza declined to pursue her tertiary education to focus solely on her music career. In a 2012 interview, Siti said that she did not regret not obtaining a university degree as none of her family pursued higher education due to financial difficulties.
Early commercial success (1995–1996)
Siti Nurhaliza's family performed at many public local ceremonies in their hometown, such as weddings and public soirées. At the age of two, Siti began to learn traditional songs from her mother, which she would later perform during special occasions and events.
She was the vocalist for 'Family Group', a small band founded by her uncle, Abdul Rahim Bachik. She improved her singing skills by participating in numerous local singing competitions. When she was 14, she auditioned for Asia Bagus but failed to go through. Despite her frustration, she did not give up. Two years later, she participated in 1995 RTM Bintang HMI competition at the age of 16 where she auditioned with a song made famous by Ruth Sahanaya, "Kaulah Segalanya". In the competition, she met Adnan Abu Hassan, the music composer who tutored and helped her with her vocal performance, before she finally won the contest with the song by Aishah, "Camar Yang Pulang". She signed a contract with Suria Records, rejecting four other offers from different international recording companies, including Sony Music, BMG Music and Warner Music. In April 1996, Suria Records released her debut and first eponymous album. Her first single, "Jerat Percintaan", won the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu that same year. In 1996 she also won Most Popular Television Entertainer, Most Popular Female Singer, Most Popular Teen Artiste and the top award Most Popular Star in Anugerah Bintang Popular.
Career development (1997–1998)
In 1997, Siti began gaining traction in Indonesia's music industry after her story appeared in the April 1997 issue of POS Kota, one of the most popular magazines in Indonesia. This was also impactful due to the difficulty foreign artists faced in breaking into Indonesia's music industry. Siti was reportedly the first Malaysian singer to hold a live concert on Indosiar, a popular nationwide television station in Indonesia. She held a series of large-scale concerts in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and other Indonesian cities over the next few years. In 1997, she won Best New Artist and Best Song (Jerat Percintaan) from Anugerah Industri Muzik 1997.
On 12 January 1998, one day after turning 19, she launched her own company, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. which acts as her official management team. During the 1998 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she performed in front of Queen Elizabeth II and her consort, Prince Philip among other dignitaries and officials from 70 Commonwealth countries. She also shared the same stage with international stars Céline Dion and Rod Stewart during the closing ceremony. The ceremony was televised in 70 nations worldwide, introducing her to the wider international arena. In November of that year, she was invited to perform in Japan for five days at the Pop Queen Festival, also known as Saga Fiesta '98.