Latest news with #Fajar
The Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Indonesian rising star Fajar is the latest to join superstar Bunga Citra Lestari's starry KL concert on Sept 27
The Bunga Citra Lestari concert in Kuala Lumpur - 'BCL - Eternal Love, Timeless Romance' - is really becoming a starry affair. With Malaysian diva Jaclyn Victor and top violinist Dennis Lau already on board, Indonesian rising star singer Fajar has also confirmed his participation in the much-awaited concert to be held at the Plenary Hall, KLCC, on Sept 27. Fajar, real name Fajar Noor, is an Indonesian singer who recently gained recognition for his participation in Indonesian Idol season 13, where he finished as the runner-up. He is known for his powerful vocals and was a standout contestant. Fajar also performed at the Grand Final of Indonesian Idol XIII, singing his single "Tahta Hatiku #Pendampingmu". He has also been featured in events like the "Spektakuler Show 7" and has collaborated with other top Indonesian musicians. As for the concert, he is expected to belt out at least three of his top singles for music fans in the country. Besides Fajar, Jaclyn Victor, and well-known Malaysian composer and violinist Dennis Lau will also be joining Bunga Citra on the stage for the show. Bunga Citra had earlier added that she cannot wait to share the stage with Malaysian diva Jaclyn Victor, who celebrates her 20th year in the music industry this year. Jaclyn also recently celebrated her milestone with the long-awaited release of her seventh album in mid-January 2025. Having long admired the vocal strength of the first Malaysian Idol winner, Bunga Citra said she could not contain her excitement when the Gemilang singer finally agreed to perform at her concert this September. At a recent press conference here to announce her "BCL: Eternal Love – Timeless Romance" concert, the Indonesian diva described the opportunity to share the stage with Jaclyn as "deeply meaningful and a great honour'. "I've been a fan of Jaclyn for a long time. When she started singing at this event (the press conference), I nearly cried. She has a powerful yet gentle voice. I think she is one of the greatest singers in Asia," she said during the event in KL last month. Jaclyn, who has won numerous awards, including at the Eighth Shanghai Asia Music Festival, said when she received the invitation to sing at BCL's concert about a month or two ago, she agreed without hesitation out of respect for the Indonesian singer's stature in the regional music industry. Meanwhile, the Bunga Citra also said that she first knew Lau after seeing a video of him covering her hit song "12 Tahun Terindah", which the singer said was very well executed. That also played a role in her choosing Lau to guest-perform at the concert. "He is a brilliant musician. That says it all. We're gonna give a performance fans will not forget," said Bunga Citra. The concert is expected to run for more than two hours as BCL will also be joined by her band, along with backup dancers and vocals. The special one-night show of romantic tunes with the Indonesian superstar is organised by Pulse Project Asia. Tickets are available now at .my with 10% off using promo code: fajarlove or bcl88sale. Concertgoers can also enjoy exclusive Malaysia Airlines flight discounts after purchasing tickets, plus Atome discounts up to RM90 for flexible payment. Ticket prices range between RM259 and RM1,288 . Further information is available by email at assist@
The Star
06-08-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Possible permanent partnership of Fajar-Shohibul serves new threat to Malaysia
PETALING JAYA: Indonesian men's doubles shuttlers Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri ( pic ) are set to pose a threat to Malaysia after earning a shot at a permanent partnership. Fajar-Shohibul, who only combined last month, stunned several top pairs including Malaysia's world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik to win the China Open title last month. Their impressive form has persuaded Indonesia's men's doubles coach Antonius Budi Ariantho to combine them again after the Hong Kong Open next month. Before that, Fajar will compete with his usual partner Rian Ardianto in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris and the Hong Kong tourney from Sept 9-14. Meanwhile, Rian will be tried out with Yeremia Rambitan after the tournament in Hong Kong. Initially, Fajar was combined with Shohibul after the latter's usual partner Daniel Marthin underwent knee surgery and needed time to recover. Daniel can now only fully recover and return to action next year. 'I'm experimenting with a few partnerships until Daniel is able to return to competitions in January next year,' said Antonius in an interview posted in the Indonesian National Badminton Association (PBSI) website. 'So, from September to December, I will observe the new partnerships and try to come up with the best permanent pairings. 'I want to see if Fajar-Fikri can remain consistent in high level tournaments.' The reshuffle is understandable as no Indonesian men's doubles pair had won a World Tour title this year until Fajar-Shohibul broke the duck in China. In contrast, Fajar has struggled to produce his best form with Rian this year. The world No. 4 duo's best result was finishing runners-up in the Indonesian Masters in January. Fajar-Rian will be hoping for better fortunes in the world meet where they will be joined by world No. 8 Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza and world No. 10 Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana. Indonesia's last world champions in the men's doubles were Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan, who captured the title in 2019 in Basel.
The Star
06-08-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Possible permanent partnership of Fajar-Shohibul serves new threat to Malaysia
National men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Taiwan's Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han in the second round match of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Thursday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Indonesian men's doubles shuttlers Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri are set to pose a threat to Malaysia after earning a shot at a permanent partnership. Fajar-Shohibul, who only combined last month, stunned several top pairs including Malaysia's world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik to win the China Open title last month. Their impressive form has persuaded Indonesia's men's doubles coach Antonius Budi Ariantho to combine them again after the Hong Kong Open next month. Before that, Fajar will compete with his usual partner Rian Ardianto in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris and the Hong Kong tourney from Sept 9-14. Meanwhile, Rian will be tried out with Yeremia Rambitan after the tournament in Hong Kong. Initially, Fajar was combined with Shohibul after the latter's usual partner Daniel Marthin underwent knee surgery and needed time to recover. Daniel can now only fully recover and return to action next year. "I'm experimenting with a few partnerships until Daniel is able to return to competitions in January next year," said Antonius in an interview posted in the Indonesian National Badminton Association (PBSI) website. "So, from September to December, I will observe the new partnerships and try to come up with the best permanent pairings. "I want to see if Fajar-Fikri can remain consistent in high level tournaments." The reshuffle is understandable as no Indonesian men's doubles pair had won a World Tour title this year until Fajar-Shohibul broke the duck in China. In contrast, Fajar has struggled to produce his best form with Rian this year. The world No. 4 duo's best result was finishing runners-up in the Indonesian Masters in January. Fajar-Rian will be hoping for better fortunes in the world meet where they will be joined by world No. 8 Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza and world No. 10 Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana. Indonesia's last world champions in the men's doubles were Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan, who captured the title in 2019 in Basel.
The Star
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Fajar swaps partner in bid to end Indonesia's title drought
Break-up: Indonesia men's doubles shuttlers Fajar Alfian will split up with Muhammad Rian Ardianto temporarily. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Do not write off Indonesia's men's doubles just yet. That's the rallying cry from top shuttler Fajar Alfian as he is optimistic that his country's World Tour title drought in the men's doubles will be over soon this year. Despite being traditionally strong in the men's doubles, Indonesia have surprisingly fired blanks as far as titles are concerned so far this year – an unusual dry spell for a nation renowned for their depth and dominance in the discipline. And Fajar believes that a temporary switch-and-swap in partnership for him will work wonders. The 30-year-old Fajar, who is ranked fifth in the world with Rian Ardianto, will embark on a short partnership with Shohibul Fikri in the Japan Open starting on Tuesday in Tokyo and the China Open from July 22-27 in Changzhou. This is after Shohibul's regular partner Daniel Marthin underwent knee surgery last month and will need some time to recover. Fajar is hoping to impress with Shohibul in the two Opens. "Our men's doubles have not won a title this year but for me, it's just a matter of time that one of our pairs become champions," said Fajar in an interview in the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) website. "So far this year, some of us have reached finals in tournaments but we have missed out on titles. "It will definitely not be easy but we have to keep aiming high. I'm optimistic that we can do better moving forward." Fajar's best performance with Rian so far this year came at home in the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta in January where they finished runners-up to Malaysia's world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun. In the Japan and China tourneys, Fajar and Shohibul are set to present a tricky challenge for their rivals. The pair could go up against Malaysia's world No. 1 and defending champions Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani if they reach the last eight. Fajar-Shohibul though will first have to navigate a difficult opening match against world No. 8 teammates Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza before a potential clash against either Denmark's Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard or Taiwan's Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan in the second round. Another Indonesian pair in the competition hoping to end their title drought this year are world No. 9 Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana. Leo-Bagas will play Taiwan's world No. 24 Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han in the first round.
Express Tribune
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Internet in stitches over Danish Taimoor in 'Sher'
Spoiler Alert! The internet is having yet another field day with a Danish Taimoor drama. No, it is not him handcuffing himself to a woman like he did in Mann Mast Malang but it is his portrayal of mental illness in the latest episode of Sher that took things to a whole new level. Let's rewind: Fajar was supposed to marry Sher's younger brother. She bailed. Drama ensued. Sher got shot, or well, his aunt did. And now? Sher is in a full-blown mental health crisis and has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Last night's episode featured a scene so unintentionally hilarious that it hijacked TikTok and sparked a thousand memes. In this now-viral clip, Sher sits slumped on the floor of his room, surrounded by a wall of scribbles. Among the chaotic scrawls are phrases like "Shut up, I am sad", "Kill me", and bizarrely, "Corona Virus" written in Urdu. For reasons best left to the production team's imagination, the psych ward room is also decorated with stock photo-style framed diagrams of brains presumably to remind every patient that yes, they are indeed crazy. Very subtle, very sensitive, very — not how psychiatric care works. Perhaps the most bizarre and frankly unsettling aspect of this entire arc is that Sher Zaman is shown shackled to his hospital bed as if he were a high-risk prisoner rather than a patient in professional care. It's a jarring image, one that evokes more of a prison drama than a medical facility. One user on TikTok commented, "Me as a little kid in my bedroom after being yelled at by my parents." Relatable! Another user said, "How I feel trying to explain something logical to my desi coworkers." We've all been there! Yet another follower added, "It literally said coronavirus." We really wonder why? One particular comment that stood out read, "'Shut up I am sad' — I'm going to use this everywhere now." So are we! While the memes are undoubtedly hilarious and the virality is free promo, this scene does raise an important question: when will our dramas start treating mental health with the nuance it deserves? Is this our understanding of treatment? The regression from something layered like Main Abdul Qadir Hoon, a well-thought out and executed drama that explored mental health and personal growth to Sher's wall-of-doodles is disappointing. It's high time big production houses, veteran writers, and star actors collaborate to depict mental health with dignity.
