Ferhad, who was known for soulful tunes like Higher Deeper, Kasih Berubah and Pernah in the early 2000s, has been pretty quiet in recent times.
It’s been four years since the Singapore-born R&B crooner last released a single and 11 years since his last full-length album. The 46-year-old singer says it was because he was coming to terms with the changes in the music industry.
“At one time I was a bit disillusioned with the music industry because things were changing from CD to downloads and then to streaming. It’s a new standard, and I think instead of fighting it, it’s about time for me to embrace the new technology,” he said in a recent interview.
Ferhad says he has learned to embrace the changes in the music industry.
The singer stressed that he never actually left the music industry, and has been devoting his time to performing at private functions and raising his two sons.
“I didn’t leave the industry, I didn’t make an official announcement that I was leaving. It’s just that in terms of timing, when I started, Akademi Fantasia was exploding, and then after that came the YouTube sensations… lot of things were happening, so the media could not focus on one person. It was difficult to stand out. Having a good song alone was not enough,” he explains.
Ferhad returned to the spotlight late last year when he joined the fourth season of reality competition for veteran singers, Gegar Vaganza. Unfortunately, the singer was the first to be eliminated.
“I know the realities of a competition, I know you can win or lose, or be kicked out in two weeks. Of course, I was a bit disappointed, I wanted to go as far as I can. But it’s OK, I moved on. Ferhad was created before Gegar Vaganza, so I don’t think it should end with Gegar Vaganza.”
Regardless of the outcome, Ferhad shares that being on the reality show was part of his comeback strategy.
“If you come up with a new single, without a platform, it’s very difficult to reach the audience. Gegar Vaganza has the reach of five to six million viewers and since I have a good relationship with (the show’s producer and broadcaster) Astro from before, I felt it was the right move,” he said.
The singer’s new offering, Definasi Cinta, written and composed by Dr Irma, sees him staying true to his soulful roots.
While the local music scene is currently dominated by ballads reminiscent of the 1990s (think Aiman Tino’s Ku Rela DiBenci, Sufian Suhaimi’s Terakhir, Khai Bahar’s Bayang), he shares why he chose not to jump on the bandwagon.
“It’ll be risky if I tried to sound like Aiman Tino. For me, it’s important to maintain what works for me.”
Ferhad plans to release another follow up single at the end of the year.
