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CNA
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Taufik Batisah shares why he's staging his first, and possibly final, solo concert
It's official: After weeks of teasing, Singaporean singer Taufik Batisah has confirmed that he will indeed stage his first-ever solo concert, One Last Dance, on Oct 25, 2025 at The Star Theatre. Speaking in a mix of English and Malay to members of the media on Monday afternoon (Jul 7) at his fried chicken joint, Chix Hot Chicken, Taufik candidly divulged his reasons for finally pulling the trigger on the much-requested concert. Joining Taufik Batisah at the light-hearted session was singer Sufi Rashid – who is also the founder of the concert's organiser, SAH Entertainment. Taufik Batisah admitted that in recent years, he has been "more focused" on his other ventures, such as real estate and his interior design company. That is not to say that the Singapore Idol winner has discarded his singing roots; he still enjoys performing and has been a constant presence on television till today. Taufik shared that during property viewings and at his restaurant, there would always be clients and customers who say that they had voted for him during Singapore Idol and ask him if he ever plans to release new music or hold a concert. After all, the last time he released new music was in 2014. "So [staging a concert] was always at the back of my head," Taufik said. He revealed that a few years ago, he and Sufi had talked about staging one. However, things did not work out. "As a promoter, we have considerations like dates and the concept," chimed Sufi. "Especially when you're gonna work with a conceptual person like [Taufik], you have to make sure that there's has to be such that when people buy tickets, it's worth it." He added: "We don't want people to come to us, saying 'Why must we buy tickets when we can just watch Taufik in Mediacorp?'" Fast forward a few years, Taufik has decided that now is the time to finally stage the concert, after seeing SAH Entertainment's track record – and after much prodding from his fans and wife. One Last Dance will be the first time that SAH Entertainment stages a concert for a Singaporean artiste. It previously held concerts for global and regional acts such as Ne-Yo and Siti Nurhaliza. Sufi revealed that he plans to hold concerts for other Singaporean artistes, saying: "This is part of my contribution to support industry artistes in Singapore, not just for who they are but also their talent." The team shared that, for now, One Last Dance has 31 songs on its set list, though that number might get reduced to fit the concert runtime. Taufik himself is aware that certain songs from his repertoire appeal to certain age demographics. For instance, he notes that his 2006 song Sesuatu Janji (A Promise) is now viral in TikTok among Malay-speaking users in the region. "I want to take [the audience] on a journey on what they have given me for the past 20 years," said Taufik. "Ultimately, this is a concert for the supporters, [to thank them] for the privilege of performing on stage and listening to my songs which they made popular." As the session became more introspective, Taufik finally addressed the elephant in the room: Why does the name of his inaugural concert allude to a finality? In a pensive tone, he shared: "When I joined real estate in 2019, I was consciously making an effort to be out of the [entertainment] industry. "It took me so long to wanna do a concert [and] to find the right person to do it with." According to Taufik, One Last Dance could very well be his first and final concert. "I feel that as someone from Singapore, as someone from a small country, as someone who's a minority, it's hard to last in the entertainment industry," said Taufik. "I've seen cases where artistes, both in the acting and music fields, don't make financial preparations to retire and end up defeated. This makes me very sad." In Taufik's view, because the industry is small, there is only a certain period of time when an artiste will be relevant. "You need to prepare for the moment when you're no longer need to be aware that this will happen," he admitted. "In my mind, this concert is my last concert, unless God blesses me with a longer career in music." Citing a desire to focus on his other endeavours, Taufik added: "I want to be able to take care of my family. I'm being very, very practical. In all honesty, I'm doing this concert for my fans." View this post on Instagram A post shared by SAH ENTERTAINMENT (@sahentertainment) Tickets for One Last Dance will go on sale on Wednesday (Jul 9) via Sistic, with prices ranging between S$78 and S$228.
CNA
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Taufik Batisah hints at possible 20th anniversary concert in October in social media teasers
Is Singapore Idol winner Taufik Batisah finally staging a concert this year? Signs appear to be pointing "Yes" following a series of teasers on the 43-year-old multi-hyphenate's social media pages in recent days. Murmurings of a concert first started on Jun 9 when Taufik uploaded a video of him doing his day-to-day activities while singing his signature songs, including I Dream and Sesuatu Janji (One Promise). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taufik Batisah :: 1st Singapore Idol 🇸🇬 (@taufikbatisah) At the end of the video, his wife can be heard telling him that he should just stage a concert to which he responds: "If I were to hold a concert, will you guys come?" In recent days, hints about a potential upcoming concert have only intensified after Taufik posted teasers highlighting the date Oct 25 and captioning them with "20 years". This year marks the 20th anniversary of Taufik Batisah's career in the entertainment industry, following the release of his first album in 2005. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taufik Batisah :: 1st Singapore Idol 🇸🇬 (@taufikbatisah) Interestingly, Taufik has also tagged Singapore-based live event organiser SAH Entertainment in his posts – strengthening claims that he is indeed staging a concert. Headed by singer Sufi Rashid, SAH Entertainment has been handling a growing number of concerts by international acts in Singapore, including the upcoming shows by Black Eyed Peas and Daesung. CNA Lifestyle has reached out to SAH Entertainment for details. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taufik Batisah :: 1st Singapore Idol 🇸🇬 (@taufikbatisah) In 2004, Taufik Batisah made history after being crowned the first-ever Singapore Idol. The inaugural singing competition saw the then 22-year-old triumphing over finalist Sylvester Sim, garnering over 60 per cent of the votes cast. Following his win, Taufik went on to release a series of successful tracks, mainly for Malay-speaking audiences, including Usah Lepaskan (Don't Let Go) and Awak Kat Mane (Where Are You). In recent years, Taufik has also pursued other ventures, including creating the popular restaurant Chix Hot Chicken and being a real estate agent. In May this year, his performance at the latest Pesta Perdana award ceremony went viral, following a sudden technical difficulty that forced him to sing a cappella, which resulted in him wowing audiences and garnering praise for his professionalism.
