Shila Amzah eyes international market

Shila Amzah eyes international market.

Shila Amzah, the 25-year-old Malaysian Muslim singer, speaks to SCMP about how she rose to fame in China and what Hong Kong means to her.

Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by a family of musicians, Shila began making music when she was 9 years old and performed in various musical venues in her hometown throughout her childhood. She released her debut album, Terima Kasih Guruku at the age of 10. She started winning awards from then on, beginning with the Most Popular Kids Artist at the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian.

From the age of 4, Shila was already going to recording studios with her dad, a singer named Amir Amzah or more popularly known as ND Lala. She continued her singing career by breaking out to Shanghai, China and eventually won the Asian Wave(Season 1). As the winner of Asian Wave (season 1) held in Shanghai, China, she won 5 Million MYR and a 6-year recording contract with Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group, the media company behind the competition. She became recognized as a solo singer after winning Patah Seribu as Best Pop Song Award and Best Song Award at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (19 edition).

Shila's fan base is not restricted to Malaysia, with a wide range of fans from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Kazakhstan and other Southeastern Asian countries. She's currently planning her debut appearance in South Korea as her interest is in K-Pop. She also stated that she's a big fan of K-Pop and K-drama, and is a fan of South Korean boyband EXO.

Shila revealed that she wants to produce at least one single in Korea in the near future. She is still considering appearances in other neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Australia.