8th Wonder Of The World She Is Not But Siti Nurhaliza Is Still A Phenomenon
Many researchers have studied her lyrics, concerts, and even considered her as a ‘human brand’
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Malaysian Songbird Datuk Siti Nurhaliza Taruddin has been a household name in Malaysia for decades now, and her widespread success has been the topic of countless media headlines and an inspiration to young and aspiring singers.
Her popularity and fame has also placed her as the subject of theses and publications by university students and professors around the world, including a student recital in 2021 at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, one of the top performing arts schools in the world.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) by H4ll4nd shares 10 theses and publications made by university students and professors about Siti Nurhaliza.
1. Princess Siti and the Particularities of Post-Islamist Pop
Bart Barendregt, a professor of Digital Anthropology at Leiden’s Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Sociology, published a book titled ‘Vamping The Stage’.
In the book, he refers to her as ‘Princess Siti, featured a topic on her, and chose a photo of her as the book’s cover.
Bart also stated “Siti Nurhaliza is probably the bestselling Southeast Asian diva of them all”.
2. Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin As Human Brand: Idol Attachment And Loyalty Amongst Young Consumers
Associate Professor Dr Thoo Ai Chin from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) was a corresponding author for a sub-publication paper about the legendary singer-songwriter at the Asia International Multidisciplinary Conference 2017.
From the publication’s sub title, The professor agrees that Siti can be considered as a human brand.
3. Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin: Biduanita Mahligai Permata Nusantara
Those who follow the development of national music, you must know that there have been parties who have proposed the title of ‘Biduanita Negara’ for Siti.
The art title is reserved only for female artists in Malaysia who have contributed significantly to the local music industry.
This is what was studied by Dr. Mohd Hariz Shah from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) who analysed Siti as a ‘Biduanita Negara’.
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) had published this journal article last August.
4. Malaysian Web Search Engines: A Critical Analysis
According to a 2006 study by Professor Dr. Kiran Kaur and Hananzita Halim from the Faculty of Art and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Siti is the second most-searched topic on Google in Malaysia after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that year.
In fact, she was in 12th place in the overall search queries made through Google.
5. Unsupervised Discovery of Biographical Structure from Text
In a study conducted by two scholars from Carnegie Mellon University, Siti’s name was raised for her successful solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2005.
The results of this study found that the concert was an event with high posterior probability. In layman terms, it refers to the probability of an event occurring given that another event has occurred.
6. Composing Malaysian Music for the Orchestra in the Early 21st Century
Siti was also one of the national music figures analysed in a thesis study at Middlesex University, London.
Researcher Isabella Park said Siti is the most important singer in ‘Konsert Raja & Rakyat Tiada Berpisah’ based on the highest album sales and award wins in the entertainment industry.
7. Constructing a sustainable great performer framework for vocal guide in the Malaysian music industry
Composer Azmeer (Dr Mohd Azhar Abu Bakar) also mentioned Siti in his thesis.
He had interviewed Siti and discussed the ‘signature tone’ and ’emulator’ of the singer’s vocal technique in his thesis.
Azmeer had produced songs for Siti himself, among them being ‘Purnama Merindu’ and ‘Mekar Hari Raya’.
8. Bahasa Kiasan dalam Lirik Lagu Nyanyian Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza: Analisis Semantik Inkuisitif
There have even been studies to analyse the lyrics from Siti’s songs by academic researchers.
Aliah Wan and Nurul Jamilah, scholars from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) conducted an inquisitive semantic analysis on the lyrics to ‘Jaga Dia Untukku’ (written by Rozi Abdul Razak) and ‘Seluruh Cinta’ (written by Krishna Balagita) in 2021, which were Siti’s latest releases at the time.
The results of the study found that both songs had figurative language with a message and meaning that is closely related to the life of the community.
9. Satu Tinjauan Muzikologi Lagu Melayu Asli
This is a book about the musicology of traditional Malay songs published by researchers from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and the National Academy of Arts and Cultural Heritage (ASWARA).
In the book, Siti’s name was mentioned seven times with her songs ‘Damak’ and ‘Patah Hati’ being among the songs that were analysed.
10. Wisdom and Islamic Thoughts in the Lyrics of Siti Nurhaliza’s Hari Raya Songs
The University of Andalas in Indonesia collaborated with Dr. Abd Ganing from the Academy of Malay Studies at the University of Malaya to conduct a case study on the lyrics in one of Siti’s albums, Anugerah Aidilfitri.
It was concluded that all the lyrics studied have 10 Islamic thoughts and values including monotheism, gratitude, sincerity, and purification of the soul.
They even said that the song lyrics in the Anugerah Aidilfitri album can help individuals in their pursuits of the world and the afterlife.
Bonus: Malaysian Music Night at Berklee College of Music
The Berklee College of Music in Boston held a Malaysian Music Night event in which one of the students chose to sing Siti’s ‘Cindai’ during the recital.
Now 45, Siti is still actively producing new songs such as her latest release ‘Magis‘, which is used as the soundtrack for the new drama series ‘Hikayat Bawang Putih Bawang Merah’.
Earlier this year, she released a soundtrack for the drama ‘Malang Si Puteri’ titled ‘Cinta Tak Mungkin‘.
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