04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: KRU brings 9,000 fans on nostalgic journey at Axiata Arena
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's most successful band of brothers had more than 9,000 fans singing and dancing along for two and a half hours tonight.
Datuk Norman, Datuk Yusry and Edry Abdul Halim — better known as KRU — mesmerised fans of all ages as they took music lovers on a nostalgic journey back to their early days in the 1990s.
The trio danced, sang and partied non-stop with the crowd on the second night of their GenKRU concert, which began at 8.45pm at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.
They performed 18 of their greatest hits, offering plenty of sing-along opportunities throughout the show.
The concert wowed fans with state-of-the-art visuals on a large screen and cutting-edge AI technology, which brought their younger selves to life in interactions with the new generation of music lovers.
Several of KRU's protégés also joined them on stage as guest artistes, including girl group Elite and Sabahan hip-hop singer Adam Mat Saman.
The evergreen songs performed included Awas, Fanatik, Jangan Lafazkan, The Way We Jam, Terhangat Di Pasaran, Ooh La La, Voodoo and One More Time.
Backed by a dozen musicians and dancers, the brothers also shared the stories behind each song, accompanied by archival footage of performances from their heyday.
Norman said: "We want to thank our fans for supporting us all these years, and assure them that entertainment will always be part of us. We will continue to support Malaysian entertainment."
The concert, organised by ICON Entertainment, began on Saturday at the same venue. A third evening has now been added due to popular demand, and will take place on May 10.
Among the artistes who attended the concert were Tomok, Marsha Milan Londoh, Ernie Zakri, Syamel Fodzly, Datuk M. Nasir, Zed Zaidi, Dafi Ismail Sabri and Fasha Sandha.
ICON founder Iman Tang said: "We didn't anticipate such overwhelming support, with endless inquiries on social media. Datuk Norman, Datuk Yusry and Edry fully agreed to extend their concert to another evening as a thank you to fans across Malaysia and beyond."
GenKRU marks KRU's return to the stage after a seven-year hiatus. Their last mega-concert was Konsert Gergasi KRU25 at Istana Budaya, Jalan Tun Razak, in 2018.
Although KRU initially disbanded that same year, they reversed their decision early last year following overwhelming feedback from fans.
The multi-talented brothers from Gopeng, Perak, have since released a new album titled Kaset, featuring 10 new singles.
Formed in 1992, KRU revolutionised the local music scene with their unique blend of pop, hip-hop and R&B.
They have won numerous accolades, including Anugerah Bintang Popular 1994's Most Popular TV Entertainer; Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) 1995's Best Engineered Album and Best Pop Album (Awas); AIM 1998's Best Music Video (Fanatik); and the Malaysian Film Festival's Best Film for Magika (2010) and Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (2011).
