10 things to know about Shila Amzah, the multilingual Malay songstress who won over China
She currently lives in Hong Kong and relishes her relative anonymity here, but she has over 2.4 million Weibo followers, can sing in 10 languages and is the first Malay artist to take the Chinese-speaking pop world by storm
Shila Amzah, whose full name is NurShahila binti Amir Amzah, began her road to talent show stardom at the age of 10 by emerging as first runner-up on Bintang Kecil RTM, broadcast on Malaysia’s national television channel. This was followed by similar success in another contest, One in a Million. In 2008, she won the Asia New Singer Competition. Shila entered Chinese pop culture consciousness in 2012 when she won the Asian Wave reality singing contest. In 2010, she took the second runner-up spot in season two of the I Am A Singer television show.
1. Shila is the first Malay singer to find fame in Chinese-speaking countries and in the Chinese record charts. Her Weibo account has over 2.4 million followers.
2. She was recently listed in the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia which recognises young leaders, trendsetters and entrepreneurs from across Asia in entertainment and sports.
3. Shila’s performances transcend continents. She sings in English, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Italian.
4. She is currently based in Hong Kong, and relishes her relative anonymity. This is a contrast to Beijing where she was based previously. She is known as Xila to her Chinese fans.