KUCHING: Singing in both Sarawak Malay and Iban, Kris Dayanti, the well-known Indonesian singer who is not only popular in Malaysia but also internationally, recently captured the hearts of fans in Sarawak.
Through a post on Era Sarawak’s official Facebook page, she appeared in Kiak Kaong Era Sarawak, a segment in which the singer performed her own song titled ‘Cobalah Untuk Setia’ alongside hosts Alisa Spencer and Ilmo.
What caught everyone’s attention was the fact that the veteran pop diva from Indonesia sang the song in both Sarawak Malay and Iban.
Looking through the comments section, most viewers expressed their pride and amazement at Kris Dayanti’s ability to sing the song with pronunciation in both languages that was strikingly accurate.
A Facebook user by the name of Lee Ghazali commented, “The Sarawak Malay part was expected, but the moment she sang the Iban verse — who would’ve thought Kris Dayanti would sing in Iban? Well done!”
Another comment by a user named Mami Bajet read, “Oh my god, one of my favourite songs — goosebumps listening to the three of you collaborate!”
Meanwhile, Era Sarawak presenter Alisa Spencer, when contacted by the Sarawak Tribune, said that it was not as effortless as it looked, as the diva was admittedly nervous about singing in the local languages.
“She actually mentioned several times that she was nervous but excited to try this new version with Era Sarawak.
“There were also a few words she asked how to pronounce. She even said, ‘Why do I sound like I’m speaking Thai?’ — she was afraid her pronunciation was off, but she did so well,” Alisa said.
Alisa added that Kris Dayanti is a quick learner, as usually the team would rehearse more.
“Normally, for Kiak Kaong (singing an original song in a Sarawakian language), we would do two or three takes, and I’d rehearse with the artist.
“Surprisingly, when we handed the lyrics to Kris Dayanti, she just skimmed through them once and pronounced everything correctly,” she said.
She also admitted that altering the original lyrics of such an iconic song by a well-known Indonesian diva into Sarawakian languages was certainly a challenge — but Kris Dayanti’s humble, easy-going, and sporting attitude made their task much easier.
The video of Kris Dayanti singing, which was uploaded on May 2 has garnered 74.5k views via the Facebook post with 1.6k likes and 585 shares at the press time.
The video can be access at https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1ALaCh5k3M/?mibextid=wwXIfr.
