NANA ZAKARIA, 29, pop-rock vocalist

Former Singapore Idol contestant Nur Hasanah Zakaria had almost given up hope of scoring commercial success as a recording artist.

The Malay rock singer, who is also known as Nana in the local music scene, bombed out in the semi-finals of the contest in 2004.

But these days, the 29-year-old is on a roll, thanks to an original song sung by her a while ago and then left to languish.

The track, called Lafaz - which means 'vow' in Malay - was composed by local music producer Jaliboy and written by theatre actor Sani Hussein four years ago.

Last year, the trio rearranged the power ballad and submitted it to a local songwriting competition called Projek Rentak. It won second prize.

Lafaz was also uploaded on a free music website for streaming. And this year, it hit the charts of local radio station Ria and stayed there for 12 weeks.

It was also nominated the Most Popular Singapore Song, and Nana is in the running for the Best Vocal Performance In A Song By A New Female Artiste at the prestigious Anugerah Planet Muzik.

It is the annual Malay music awards organised by Ria and another local radio station, Warna.

'It's a humbling experience to be competing with the best artistes in the region,' says Nana, who will perform at the awards ceremony in Jakarta on July 18.

'I'm feeling quite nervous as the day nears,' adds the singer, who has been performing for 12 years.

She recalls with amazement that she had almost forgotten about the song and never imagined that it might one day catapult her to stardom.

Her foray into singing was as accidental as her current success.

'I was called up on stage to sing at a pub one night,' she recalls fondly.

Not long after, lead singer Yanee of Shagies band gave her the first break.

Nana, who is married to local drummer Fairoz Samil, 35, is now a regular performer at venues such as Ballymoons Spirit Bar and Muddy Murphy's at Orchard Hotel Shopping Arcade and J Bar at M Hotel.

She is working on a debut 10-track rock and funk album comprising original Malay and English songs.

She also plays the piano, guitar, harmonica and percussions, and is learning jazz and bossa nova from two Kuala Lumpur-based jazz musicians, Maria Angela and Willie Rahmat Abdullah.

'It is important to embrace the different genres and know what people are listening today,' she says. She also sings R&B and soul.

She adds: 'You can't be complacent. I still rehearse with my band, Nana & The Vibes, twice a week in the studio.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.