“I belong to them,” says Suria FM’s DJ Lin of her fans.
The 40-year-old radio deejay’s warm, soothing voice has greeted listeners for five hours almost every night on Suria Cinta (Sundays to Fridays, 8pm to 1am) since 2006.
Today, Suria Cinta has become a popular love-themed radio show which sees DJ Lin lending callers a shoulder to cry on as they pour out their stories of love and heartbreak.
Over the years, as the show’s popularity increases, DJ Lin has always made it a point to remember and appreciate her fans.
“I’m very active with my fan club. I organise ground events. So each year for Hari Raya, I would go and visit their houses. And because I also love to sing, on my birthday, we would go for karaoke. I have fans from Johor and Kuching coming here to join us,” she says.
DJ Lin or Roslinda Abdul Majid attended the Anugerah Pilihan Online (APO2016) nominations announcement in Petaling Jaya last week.
“I sacrifice a lot of my time, but I don’t mind. Besides my family and my Suria FM team, I belong to them. I will do anything for my fans.”
Best Radio Presenter nominee DJ Lin has hosted Suria Cinta for a decade now. Photo: The Star/Raymond Ooi
With such a strong relationship with her fans, it definitely works to her advantage at the upcoming APO2016.
APO2016 is the first “people’s choice awards” by Star Media Group, jointly organised by the group’s Bahasa Malaysia-language portal mStar Online and Suria FM.
DJ Lin is among the top five in the Best Radio Presenter category who drew in the highest votes at the early nominations stage, qualifying her to fight for the title with other nominees AG, Fara Fauzana, Johan and Radin at the awards night.
“This nomination inspires me to do more, to give more. Without them, I won’t be here in the top five. I will do my best,” shares the radio personality.
Besides on-ground activities, DJ Lin is also active on social media. Her postings on the various social media platforms offers a slice of her daily life to fans, especially those overseas.
Strong online support
When Dayang Nurfaizah first entered the music scene in the late 1990s, social media was virtually non-existent.
“There was no Facebook and Instagram back then. There were just newspapers, magazines, e-mail and artiste website,” the 34-year-old singer remembers.
“So in order for them to be close to their favourite singers, they have come to my shows or I meet them at road tours.”
Best Female Singer nominee Dayang Nurfaizah wowed the crowd at the nominations announcement with her performance of Langit Cinta. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
Social media has made it easier for Dayang to reach out to her fans now. The singer has quite a strong online support, enabling her to pick up a nomination for Best Female Singer at APO2016. She will be up against Ayda Jebat, Siti Nordiana, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Stacy.
“I’m scared,” she says about the rest of her contenders. “They’re all such great singers. Just to be able to make it on the top five, I’m grateful.”
Meanwhile, Best Male Singer nominee Hafiz Suip confesses he is most afraid of going up against Hazama. “Because he’s a friend,” he says with a laugh. “And a friend knows you well.”
The 26-year-old vocalist also shares how he keeps his voice in tip-top condition: “Drink a lot of water. I drink three 1.5-litre bottles of water every day.”
Hazama, 31, strongly believes in staying hydrated as well. “Lots of water and sleep. Every time I have a performance, I will have to do that. If you don’t have that it will affect your mind, your body, and you can’t perform well,” he says.
The category for Best Male Singer is dominated by Akademi Fantasia alumnus. Apart from Hafiz and Hazama, Akademi Fantasia 2015 winner Sufi Rashid, 25, and first runner-up Syamel Fodzly, 22, are up for Best Male Singer. The only non-AF nominee is Faizal Tahir.
Sufi shares his joy over the nomination: “Recently, a fire broke out in the kitchen at my restaurant in KL. I had to fork out RM25,000 to cover the losses. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. I remember assuring myself that perhaps it’s a sign that better things are coming. True enough, I received this nomination today and I couldn’t be happier. I’m very grateful to the fans.”
Fellow nominee Syamel also expresses excitement over his nomination.
Sufi said the fans made his nomination for Best Male Singer possible. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
“I’m honoured to be nominated alongside Sufi, Hafiz, Hazama and Faizal. These guys are my idols in the music industry. I never thought that one day, I’d be nominated in the same category as them. It feels surreal,” Syamel says.
As for Dnars Most Elegant Woman nominee Janna Nick, she was shocked to learn she was nominated in the category.
“I’m not elegant. I didn’t expect this at all. Being nominated is like a win already,” says the 20-year-old actress who favours dressing comfortably over style. Janna, who is known for her roles in TV3’s Syurga Nur and Kau Aku Kita, also earned a nomination for Best Actress.
Bunkface’s Youk (Farouk Jaafar, 27) and Paan (Ahmad Farhan, 28) say the band’s nomination for Best Group is timely.
“We are currently planning for our band’s 10th year anniversary concert in October and this nomination is a validation of our decade-long fan support,” says Youk.
Apart from media personalities like singers, actresses and radio presenters, Anugerah Pilihan Online also features nominees in lifestyle and online categories.
Adu (left) and Datuk Fazley will both be vying for the Best Celebrity Chef award. Photo: The Star/Raymond Ooi
Nominee in the Best Celebrity Chef category, Adu Amran, 45, has over 26,000 followers on Instagram. The MasterChef Malaysia judge frequently shares updates about his on-ground activities and of course, the obligatory food photos. Rendang shepherd’s pie, anyone?
“It’s nice to feel wanted. Especially by the fans,” he says about his nomination.
The nomination for Best Celebrity Chef for Datuk Fazley Yaakob, 37, couldn’t have come at a better time.
“I’ll be launching my first recipe book My Sucre Story this year and I’m very happy to be able to share good news with my fans,” he says.
For 17-year-old Luqman Podolski, his nomination in the Best Social Media Celebrity category came as a complete surprise. The social media personality first gained Internet fame with his six-second videos on Vine.
His work has recorded over 29 million loops (how they count views on Vine). Plus, did we mention he has over 300,000 followers on Instagram?
“Yeah, I got a phone call asking me to come to Menara Star and I didn’t know what it was for. To be honest, I’m still shocked. Getting this nomination means that I can show my parents that what I’ve been doing is not a complete waste of time,” Luqman says.
Fans can vote for their favourite celebrities once a day until April 27 at apo.mstar.com.my. Catch Anugerah Pilihan Online 2016 live on April 30 on TV2 at 9pm.
Best Male Singer nominee Syamel posing with a group of fans. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
