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!