Nine-year-old singer Sherina a breath of fresh air

By Tam Notosusanto

JAKARTA (JP): You don't ask Sherina about the shows she has done. Or the time when she recorded her first album. Or the various awards she has garnered, including the recent nominations she received for the upcoming Indonesian Music Awards (AMI).

No, the spunky, energetic nine-year-old singer would shrug her shoulders and say "Ask my Mom" should such questions come her way. Instead, she'd be more interested in talking about her hobbies: drawing, reading comic books and riding her bicycle. Oh, and singing, of course.

But to say that singing is Sherina's hobby is an understatement. It's what she DOES. And she's been doing it since preschool. Lucky Ariani Munaf, her 39-year-old mother, testifies that Sherina sings everyday and everywhere she goes: at home, at school, in the car.

And now her family shares her gift with the rest of the nation through Sherina's album, Andai Aku Besar Nanti (When I Grow Up), which was released in June 1999. But the fact that she is now a recording artist does not seem like such a big deal to her. She just gets up on stage and sings and has a good time. And afterward, she goes off, back to her playing or chatting with friends, minding nothing about a career, or how much commission she gets, or where and when she would perform next. Sherina is there just to have some fun.

She is, apparently, oblivious to the fact that Andai Aku Besar Nanti means so much more to the public. Not only has it reached the 200,000 mark in its six-month sales, leaving behind albums of more established child stars like Joshua and Maissy, but it has also won praises from critics and educators alike.

In a jungle of singing moppets who dress like bimbos and dance seductively on television, Sherina, with her casual T-shirt and jeans and her winsome, regular-kid attitude is a breath of fresh air to concerned parents all over the country.

And one more thing: she really can sing. Years of serious training with professional vocal instructors certainly make her stand out among the barrage of little tykes who scream off-key in ersatz pop albums brazenly produced by over-ambitious stage parents.

But she may have never gotten where she is now had her mother not caved in to her constant pleas to have her voice recorded. Lucky (pronounced: Lookie) Munaf is the very antithesis of an ambitious stage parent. When Sherina, at 5, asked to become a singer "like the kids on TV", Lucky's initial reaction was to say no.

"I was worried about how hectic it would be, how much of her time would be taken up," confessed the mother of three girls.

But things are different now. Lucky and her husband, Triawan Munaf, former keyboard player of the 1970s pop band Giant Step, considered that Sherina may be able to offer something new to the children's pop music world. They all finally did, with the help of Sherina's music tutor, the renowned musician Elfa Secioria, who wrote and produced all the songs on her album.

About other child singers' music, Lucky is diplomatic. "People have different tastes," she said. "I can't say they're bad and terrible because there are people who like that kind of music. On the other hand, there are also those who like Sherina's kind of music. We're just giving this lot what they've been longing to hear."

And so, the second daughter of the Munaf family is now a professional performer. But you don't see her often on stage. Her parents and manager make sure she does not perform more than twice a month. She's got school, you know, and various extracurricular activities every week: English, painting, swimming, ballet, jazz piano and vocal training. Lucky assured that they are all Sherina's own choices, she just ensures that the child does not over-exert herself.

Sherina can be regularly seen on television, however. She appears in music videos derived from songs on her album, and she has also shot a commercial and a public service announcement.

Next, you will even see her on the big screen. Production is underway for a musical tentatively titled Sherina's Adventure in which she plays a spunky, energetic little girl named... Sherina. And this girl, of course, sings.

"We see a lot of potential in her," said Riri Riza, the film's director, who directed Sherina's music videos. "Here's a lovely child who has a beautiful voice and is a natural in front of the camera. My partner Mira Lesmana and I always think of what to offer this rare, gifted child. Then we realized, it's been a while since we saw a good Indonesian children's movie. It would be great to include her in one."

With all the things she has done and she has gotten, is there anything Sherina still wants?

"A pet," she said, "which my Mom never allows me to have."

"Well, what about that rabbit you once had?" her mother beside her calmly asked.

Sherina smiled, embarrassed. "It died, it fell off its cage," she confessed.

"And what about the next one?" Lucky asked.

Sherina buried her face in her hands, giggling faintly, "It died too. I overfed it." That moment, the best-selling recording artist seemed just like the little girl next door. Looks like she'll continue to be both for years to come.