AJL fever on

taken from The New Starits Times 12 January 2009
By : HIZREEN KAMAL

VIEWED as one of the country’s most prestigious music competitions, Anugerah Juara Lagu 23, (AJL 23), slated for Sunday, kicks off the musical calendar for 2009.

To be broadcast live over TV3, AJL 23 is set to rock Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil, from 9pm to 11.30pm. The Red Carpet Glam Walk begins at 7.30pm.

However, the red carpet event can only be viewed via www.tv3.com.my

TV3 chief executive officer Datuk Amrin Awaluddin said this year’s theme is ‘‘Music Illuminates’’.
“I promise that it will be spectacular as the lights will be in sync with the music. I think this time, AJL will be a notch higher than the previous years’ events,” he said, adding that last year’s AJL recorded some 4.7 million viewers, making it TV3’s highest-rated show for that year.

TV3 celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Hosting the awards show are Cheryl Samad, Faizal Ismail and Ally Iskandar.

The star-studded evening will also see performances from acclaimed entertainers M. Nasir, Jamal Abdillah, Jaclyn Victor and One Nation Emcees, who will be featured in a special segment called “AJL Interlude”.

Fourteen songs will be competing for the six awards: Song of the Year, Ethnic Creative, Ballad, Pop/Rock, Best Performance and Best Vocal.

Winner of the Song of the Year will take home RM25,000, while the respective champions of the Ethnic Creative, Ballad and Pop/Rock categories will each win RM12,000.

Recipients for Best Performance and Best Vocal stand to win RM10,000 each. The finalists range from the genres of pop to grunge.

Among the songs competing this year are Faizal Tahir’s Sampai Syurga, Aizat’s Lagu Kita, Elyana’s Kalis Rindu, Meet Uncle Hussain’s Lagu Untuk Mu and Stacy’s Aku Stacy.

Amrin said the response to songs nominated through the popular programme Muzik-Muzik each year has been encouraging.

“Viewership has increased throughout the years, and especially so for the finals. This reflects a positive acceptance of quality local music,” he said.

As a prelude to the awards show, a TV special called Debaran AJL will be aired over TV3 at 5.30pm (on the same day).

The programme offers viewers an early preview and exclusive behind-the-scenes snippets on what to expect during the live event. There will also be a live telecast on the official radio station, HotFM.

Also adding flavour to the big night is the “Nyanyian Hangat AJL” organised by HotFM.

To be held at Stadium Bukit Jalil earlier on the awards night at 4.30pm, the event welcomes anyone who wishes to have a go at singing any of AJL’s past and present songs.

Participants stand to win cash prizes ranging from RM300 to RM1,000.

“We will also be distributing 10 special VIP passes for the ceremony,” said Amrin.

Tickets to AJL 23 are available to the public at no charge and can be claimed at Sri Pentas’ Security Post at Bandar Utama on a first-come, first-served basis.