Gordon Kho
ANN/THE STAR – Datuk Sheila Majid brought 3,000 fans down memory lane last Saturday night in her first concert since the pandemic.
In the ‘Sheila Majid Big Band Live In Kuala Lumpur’, the 58-year-old singer sang most of her evergreen favourites – from Sinaran to Lagenda – accompanied by over 20 musicians on stage at World Trade Centre.
At the backstage after the show, Sheila told the press that it was good to be back on stage as her fans have been requesting for her to put on a show. Sheila said she has been hard at work, preparing for this show since January.
The singer, who has been in the industry for close to four decades, said that one needs to be fit to be in the entertainment line.
“If you want to be a performer, you need to be fit. It is not so much the singing, the time that we keep in this industry is haywire.
“You wake up at dawn, and your show doesn’t end till midnight, and you only go to bed at 4am. Then we have flights to catch, shoots to do, etc,” she said, adding that when she has a big project such as a large-scale concert, she stays disciplined so that she is able to give her best.
“We are like athletes, we need to be fit,” said Sheila who stays active by doing pilates.
In the over two-hour show, Sheila performed 20 songs and never once was out of breath.
Without dancers or props, Sheila commanded the stage, solo, from start to finish, with two change of costumes.
Sheila was asked to comment on returning to Dewan Merdeka at World Trade Centre on Saturday night, the same venue she performed in 1988 in her first ever concert, the Warna tour. “Back in those times, I was so much younger. I wore short skirt and was jumping (on stage),” she said laughing.
“I was not so experienced, I didn’t interact (with the audience) that much. But it was a great concert.
“Now I am more sure of my direction, how I interact with the audience, how I can read them.”
Sheila had the fans eating from the palm of her hand at the show, which was also attended by celebrities such as Anuar Zain, Misha Omar and Dayang Nurfaizah.
