INDONESIAN singer Afgan has expressed his openness to collaborating with Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin, following their impromptu duet at the 2025 Pestapora Music Festival in Jakarta in September, which went viral on social media.
Afgan, 36, whose full name is Afgansyah Reza, said that if the collaboration were to happen, careful consideration would be needed in selecting a song that truly suits both artistes.
“There is no plan yet, but for me, the song must carry real meaning and soul that fits both singers. It can’t just be any song. If a collaboration happens one day, I want it to be the perfect song,” he said at a press conference recently to announce the Afgan Retrospektif Showcase.
A self-professed fan of Siti Nurhaliza, the “Jodoh Pasti Bertemu” singer said their onstage moment at the festival was unplanned and happened spontaneously while he was watching her performance.
“I had just finished performing with Raisa. Then I saw on the schedule that Kak Siti was next, so I said, ‘Wow, I want to watch’. Before that, I went backstage to greet her and wish her good luck.
“When I was watching from the front, she suddenly came towards me while singing ‘Bukan Cinta Biasa’ and said, ‘Afgan, we have a song with the same title. You wanna sing?’ I was surprised, but I went on stage and sang a bit. Luckily, I’d performed that song before in Penang, so I still remembered the lyrics,” he said.
During her set, Siti Nurhaliza performed around 11 songs, including “Betapa Aku Cinta Padamu”, “Cindai”, “Purnama Merindu”, and “Wajah Kekasih”, drawing thunderous applause from the crowd.
Deeply impressed by her performance, Afgan praised the celebrated singer for her ability to beautifully blend traditional and pop elements.
Afgan, who is set to perform at the Afgan Retrospektif Showcase at Zepp Kuala Lumpur on Dec 5, said he will perform about 25 songs during the more than two-hour show, including new material from his latest album, Retrospektif. – BERNAMA
