Diva Titi DJ wows, wows crowd with theatrical concert
Diva Titi DJ wows, wows crowd with theatrical concert
Tari Danawidjaja, Contributor/Jakarta
When Titi Dwijayanti, aka Titi DJ, was 17, she had no experience in modeling or in beauty pageants. But amazingly, she took off to London for the Miss World 1983 Contest and gave herself a shot, even if she came back almost empty-handed -- she returned with a boost in confidence.
Later, when a record company offered to record an album, she grabbed that chance too and released Imajinasi. Her musical talent seems to have grown, especially after her album Bahasa Kalbu won several awards in 1999.
After 10 years in the industry and earning a place among the top female singers in the country, Titi DJ finally had a chance to give fans her first solo concert, Sang Dewi, which was held at the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center on Friday evening.
The concept of holding a solo concert had been on her mind for some time, but the singer could only keep the idea to herself because of a lack of sponsors.
"I've been waiting for this for 10 years, and finally it came true. Thank you for being here," she told the audience after her opening number.
Sang Dewi is an amazing show, mixing a music concert and theater in a beautiful arrangement.
In addition to her glamorous red gown and feathered headdress, visual art displayed on seven large screens bring the split-level minimalist stage to life. Just before the end of her second song, a dancer gives Titi DJ a Polaroid camera, with which she acts as if she's a photographer, snapping photos here and there, then throwing them out to the roaring audience.
During an old hit, Keresahanku, arranged with a touch of reggae, an L-shaped fluffy brown sofa appears on centerstage, and Titi DJ and her dancers dance around the sofa in a flirtatious mime.
"I'm not a festival singer and I'm not like other singers who have great voice, win a lot of awards. But my style keeps me in the business," she said jokingly as the crowd cheered and broke into applause.
Her experience on the stage is clearly evident, as she belts out each number in an unfaltering voice, hitting high notes without hesitation.
She calls Andi Rianto -- the young talented musician who collaborated with her on the Bahasa Kalbu album -- to the stage, and as soon as Andi leads the intro, the audience joins in, singing along to the duet, Titi DJ delivering a perfect rendition in a smooth voice.
Everyone is still buzzing when five Chinese lute players begin playing on the upper stage, dressed like those women in vintage kungfu movies. Soon, five men dressed as Chinese warriors enter for some kungfu demonstrations.
To the crowd's surprise, Titi DJ is suddenly hoisted into the air, just like a flying kungfu master, wearing a white robe with a Chinese crown on her head, a sword in her right hand, and breaks out into another big hit, Sang Dewi. She might be flying, yet her voice remains beautiful, and everyone in the hall is hypnotized by the Chinese scene.
"I was once a member of this band, Anak-anak Dara Puspita. And one of the songs we sang was created by Titiek Puspa, so now I'm going to sing it," she introduced the next number and the legendary singer.
Titi DJ leads the audience to clap a specific rhythm, then 10 dancers in colorful costumes enter the stage, dancing a cheerful cabaret. Then the singer asks Titiek Puspa to rap, and the crowd cheers its enthusiasm.
But there's more: Titi walks around the VVIP area and asks four singers -- Shanty, Dewi Sandra, Anggun (yes, the famous Anggun!) and Dewi Gita -- to sing a few stanzas in their different styles, bringing great applause from the audience.
While Titi DJ might not have Krisdayanti's or Ruth Sahanaya's vocal talent, she does a great job in her style and choreography. She captures the soul of theater and turns the concert into something beyond a regular music show, into a theatrical performance that's entertaining and charming.
She's a total stage queen, and the crowd love it.
Even after performing for almost two hours, the diva remains stable and energetic, kicking off another song, a duet with Ari Lasso in Tak Akan Ada Cinta yang Lain -- leading pop-rock band Dewa's big hit in the 1990's, but with a Middle Eastern touch.
The stage lights dim again, and Indonesian Idol Mike comes out, singing the first lines of Dunia Boleh Tertawa, followed by Idol finalists Firman and Judika, and last year's popular winner Delon. The crowd is applauding them with a frenzy -- looks like these guys are still the favorites.
The show goes on, with the Garuda marching band beating out the intro to Ekspresi, another Titi DJ hit. For this song, Titi turns up in something amazingly weird -- an Indian chief's headdress. Cool, but it's too much.
Making a concert like this is no easy job, and it takes more than just creative ideas to attract an audience -- no wonder Sang Dewi creative director Inet Leimena and Alex Hashim have been preparing such an amazing show to surprise Titi DJ's fans.
The theater concept works in presenting a uniquely different stage act, keeping the audience focused on the singer.
Even so, it's the performance of the singer herself that makes or breaks a show, and the dance numbers present no difficulty for Titi DJ, who has been dancing since she was a child, and moves easily like a twenty-something woman,
And theater is no stranger either, because before she became known as a singer, she had supporting roles in several movies and was also a member of Swara Mahardhika, the well-known dance group owned by Guruh Soekarnoputra.
Her band -- four backing singers, six brass players, two guitarists, one bassist, three keyboardists and two on percussion -- unlike those big-band types, maximizes their combined talent, thanks to music director and guitarist Tohpati, whose brilliant arrangements have made the songs more hip and lively. They keep steady pace with Titi DJ until the closing song, Bahasa Kalbu in an upbeat arrangement.
Suddenly, there is an explosion of confetti, and the crowd stands in unison to hail Titi DJ.
Long live the diva!