Anugerah Juara Lagu (literally: "Song Championship Award"), commonly known by the acronym AJL, is a popular annual music competition in Malaysia, organised by TV3 since 1986. It features the best musical and lyrical compositions of each year it is held. Nominees are derived from a list of mostly Malay-language songs which have garnered the most public votes in Muzik Muzik throughout the year, and then progress into the semifinals, from which twelve songs will be nominated by a panel of judges to become the winner of Juara Lagu.
AJL honours the composers and lyricists of the songs rather than the performing artistes.
History and background Originally, Juara Lagu was introduced as a show that had a simple publication format that was easy to understand and follow for the audience. Anugerah Juara Lagu began in 1986 and has captivated many audiences over the years. Datuk Ahmad Merican who was then the Program Manager of TV3 was the pioneer of the Muzik Muzik show which started airing on Sunday, 2 March 1986 at 8.30 pm. From the songs nominated in the Musics that will be taken and screened to the next level.
In the early years of the Juara Lagu, final contestants were screened from the monthly champions. In the early stages of the organization, the public also made nominations and elections through local daily newspapers. Until 1991, each monthly champion was eligible to be screened for the finals. Beginning in 1992, the Juara Lagu format was changed by introducing categories with the aim of encouraging participation from genres such as traditional rhythms and ballads as rock genres were much dominant at that time.
Regular changes have been made to the format of the plan to the weekly chart system. Chart 20 is introduced as used by Music Music now. This chart format gives the opportunity for new songs to enter the chart on a weekly basis. The songs that are successfully screened will be taken to the semi-finals to select 12 songs that will be competed to the finals to be crowned as the "Juara Lagu".
In 2009, competitions by category were abolished due to a critical lack of entries from traditional rhythmic songs and creative ethnicities.
Anugerah Juara Lagu are held either at the end of the year or at the beginning of the following year. The location of AJL, which is a venue for artists and composers to compete for talent, was once held at the San Choo Hall at Wisma MCA, Angkasapuri RTM Auditorium, Sri Pentas Dua, Shah Alam City Hall, Merdeka Hall, PWTC, Malawati Stadium Shah Alam, Axiata Arena and Putra Stadium Bukit Jalil.
Juara Lagu has also invited local and international professional judges, especially from the Malay region such as Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan to judge the finals. The evaluation focuses on the melodies, lyrics and performances of the artist. 1986 – "First Juara Lagu organized" 1988 – "Juara Lagu aired in several Asian countries through television collaborations (Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines)" 1992 – "Genre category segregation system introduced without Best Performance award. Open category abolished" 1993 – "Rebranding of categories from Pop kreatif to Ballad, Rock to Pop Rock; while re -composing classic song entries are abolished" 1994 – "First time Juara lagu held without musicians; invited jury" 1995 – "Public jury involvement from 4 locations across the country" 1996 – "Modern version of the Song Champion Trophy introduced; used to this day. Accompanying musicians featured again" 1997 – "A modern version of the Juara Lagu logo is introduced, used to this day" 1998 – "Song Champions are held without musicians, without major sponsors and broadcast from studios due to the economic downturn" 1999 – "Music montage Muzik Muzik/Juara Lagu introduced all; AJL's first collaboration with music director Ramli MS" 2000 – "AJL begins broadcasting via digital (streaming) and radio platforms" 2001 – "Short message system (SMS) voting system is introduced for public judging of 70%. Song Champions are held without musicians" 2002 – "Juara Lagu branded as Anugerah Juara Lagu" 2004 – "Song Champion Award begins airing from Putra Stadium (Axiata Arena)" 2007 – "Entry quota by category modified to include more songs from popular genres" 2008 – "The first entry of the song by Wildcard -" Dingin "(Azlan Abu Hassan)" 2009 – "Open category reintroduced after genre segregation was abolished" 2011 – "Anugerah Juara Lagu creates the highest live viewing record in the history of television entertainment broadcasts at 6.5 million viewers" 2016 – "Online voting introduced for public judging, replacing short messaging system (SMS)" 2019 – "Two participant performances are banned from digital screenings after live appearances featured unauthorized elements" 2020 – "Anugerah Juara Lagu took place during the Movement and Emergency Control Order 2021; held for the first time without audiences in the event hall. A certificate of commitment of participants to follow standardized performance conditions was introduced"
Organizing list Year/EditionDatePlaceExecutive Publisher / PublisherEmcee and event assistantsMusic directorChief JuryMain sponsorViews (Rating)AJL1 198630 December 1986 (Tuesday)Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur• Frank Tian• Zainal Abas • Habibah YusofOoi Eow JinJohari SallehDynamo (Colgate-Palmolive), MesiniagaAJL2 198720 December 1987 (Sunday)Angkasapuri Premier Auditorium, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur• Karim Muhammad • NoorkumalasariJohari SallehPlayer's Gold LeafAJL3 198823 December 1988 (Friday)Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur• Mokhtar Abu Bakar• ND Lala • Charmaine AgustineJohari SallehMatsushita (National/Panasonic)AJL4 198930 December 1989 (Saturday)• Mohd Asri Zulkifli • Frank Tian• Azwan Ali • Charmaine AgustineJohari SallehAJL5 199030 December 1990 (Sunday)• Tan Guat EyuAhmad Merican |SharpAJL6 199129 December 1991 (Sunday)• Mokhtar Abu Bakar• Azwan Ali • Melissa Saila • Intan RozilaAhmad Merican |AJL7 199220 December 1992 (Sunday)San Choo Hall, Wisma MCA, Kuala Lumpur• Nik Ramzi Nik Hassan• Azwan Ali assisted by: • Haleeda Mazlin• Rina Khan• WohnenAhmad Merican |Matsushita (National/Panasonic)AJL8 199319 December 1993 (Sunday)Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur• Mohd Asri Zulkifli• Azwan Ali • Fauziah Ahmad Daud • Aznil NawawiPurnama BootyAhmad NawabBioré (Kao Corporation)AJL9 199416 December 1994 (Friday)• Nik Ramzi Nik Hassan• Azwan Ali • Salih Yaacob • Sharifah Haslinda assisted by: • Jayamani Kandasamy• Mazlan Pet Pet• Shamsul Ghau GhauMinus One (No Orchestra)Wah IdrisAJL10 1995December 1995• Tan Guat Eyu• Azwan Ali • Fauziah Ahmad Daud assisted by:• Shamsul Ghau Ghau (Audience Host)• Iwan Dasri (Backstage Host)• Maya Ruslee (Location Host)• Mamat (Location Host)• Azie (Location Host)• Shajiry Dameri (Host Location)Minus One (No Orchestra)Ooi Eow JinTelekom MalaysiaAJL11 199628 December 1996 (Saturday)• Azwan Ali• Salih Yaacob • Fauziah Ahmad DaudAnuar DahalanMalakoffAJL12 199727 December 1997 (Saturday)• Khalid Ahmad • Rasidah Karim• Shamsul Ghau Ghau • Anne HamidAznul HaidiMIMOS (MSC Malaysia)AJL13 19986 December 1998 (Sunday)Sri Pentas 2, Plaza Alam Sentral, Shah Alam• Kamarul Zamli RamlyMinus One (No Orchestra) -2.5 millionAJL14 19995 December 1999 (Sunday)MBSA Auditorium, Shah Alam• Khalijah Mohammed• Kelvin Ong • Normala SamsuddinAznul HaidiWah IdrisKFC3.8 millionAJL15 200019 November 2000 (Sunday)• Hemanathan Paul • Ismadi Ismail• Aidiel Abdul Ghaffar • Zalina Azman assisted by:• Intan SurayaRamli MSJohari SallehMIMOSAJL16 200130 December 2001 (Sunday)• Muhammad Sufian Isa • Micheal Christian Simon• Aidiel Abdul Ghaffar • Zalina AzmanMinus One (No Orchestra)TIMEAJL17 200212 January 2003 (Sunday)Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur• Ismadi Ismail• Ary Malik • Intan SurayaRamli MSAJL18 200328 December 2003 (Sunday)Putra Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur• Kama Azman• Aznil Nawawi • Sarimah IbrahimOoi Eow JinAJL19 200416 January 2005 (Sunday)• Rasidah Karim • Muhamad Sufian Isa• Najip Ali • Sarimah Ibrahim assisted by:• Cheryl SamadFarihin Abdul FatahL'oreal ParisAJL20 20055 February 2006 (Sunday)• Nurhul Huda Khalid• Cheryl Samad • Ally Iskandar • Farah Fauzana • Amy Mastura • EzlynnAJL21 200621 January 2007 (Sunday)• Tengku Sahilawaty Tengku Jehori• Cheryl Samad • Ally Iskandar • Farah FauzanaAzhar BorhanAJL22 200727 January 2008 (Sunday)• Cheryl Samad • Ally Iskandar • Farah Fauzana • Faizal Ismail4.7 millionAJL23 200818 January 2009 (Sunday)• Roslina Abdul Rahman• Cheryl Samad • Ally Iskandar • Faizal IsmailAzhar Abu Bakr (Azmeer)STAGE Cosmetics4.7 millionAJL24 200910 January 2010 (Sunday)• Ahmad Shaifullizam ArshadFauzi MarzukiMaxis (Hotlink)5.0 millionAJL25 20109 January 2011 (Sunday)M. Nasir4.2 millionAJL26 201129 January 2012 (Sunday)• Nurhul Huda Khalid• Cheryl Samad • Faizal IsmailAzhar Abu Bakar (Azmeer)Celcom (X-Pax)6.5 millionAJL27 20126 January 2013 (Sunday)• Hamsiah Biri • Tengku Sahilawaty Tengku Jehori6.0 millionAJL28 201326 January 2014 (Sunday)• Azman Abdul Ghaffar • Zaini Saidi• AG Selamat • Scha Al-Yahya assisted by:Hunny Madu (Backstage Host)6.0 millionAJL29 201418 January 2015 (Sunday)• Nurhul Huda Khalid• AG Selamat • Scha Al-Yahya assisted by:Juliana Evans (Backstage Host)Vida Beauty (Pamoga QuPuteh)6.0 millionAJL30 201524 January 2016 (Sunday)Malawati Stadium, Shah Alam• AG Selamat • Farah Fauzana assisted by:Juliana Evans (Backstage Host)6.2 millionAJL31 201622 January 2017 (Sunday)Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur• Farah Fauzana • Fizie Hot FM • Awal Ashaari • Sarimah Ibrahim assisted by:Hefny Sahad (Location Host)Liza Khairuddin (Location Host)Liza Abdullah (invited host)Honda, Samsung Galaxy & CJ Wow Shop6.0 million AJL32 201711 February 2018 (Sunday)Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur• Alif Satar • Sherry Alhadad assisted by:Zulin AzizAubrey SuwitoNivea, Samsung6.1 millionAJL 33 20183 February 2019 (Sunday)• Hamsiah Biri• Alif Satar • Sherry Alhadad assisted by:Haziq Hussni (Backstage Segment), Nabila Razali and Ismail Izzani (Sponsored Segment)Samsung Galaxy, KFC6.2 millionAJL 34 20199 February 2020 (Sunday)* Nurhul Huda Khalid (Executive) * Roslina Abdul Rahman (Publisher)• Haziq Hussni • Sherry Alhadad • Awal Ashaari assisted by: Hefny Sahad, Ain Edruce (Backstage Segment), Shuk Sahar and Sean Lee (Stage Segment)AjaiMcDonald's, Celcom & Setel6 millionAJL 35 202014 March 2021 (Sunday)MBSA Auditorium, Shah Alam* Nurhul Huda Khalid (Executive) * Aeizul Reeza Ismail (Publisher)• Haziq Hussni • Sherry Alhadad • Awal Ashaari assisted by: Hefny Sahad, Neeta Manishaa (Backstage Segment)Muaz Mohamed and Sissy Imann (Lounge Segment)Mokhzani IsmailMcDonald's, Celcom (X Pax), & SabellaAJL 36 20216 March 2022 (Sunday)Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur• Alif Satar • Nabila Huda Sean Lee and Sissy Imann (Lounge Segment)OppoAJL 37 202212 February 2023 (Sunday)Arena Axiata, Kuala Lumpur• Sherry Alhadad • Jihan Muse Fiza Frizzy and Muaz Mohamed (Lounge Segment)Alha Alfa Cosmetics
Judging The competition started from the weekly popular voting stage in the Muzik Muzik program where voting was made by the audience through newspaper forms (1986–2002) and online voting (2003–present). The accumulated scores will determine the 30 songs that will compete in the Semi Final commemorations. At this stage the songs that will advance to the finals will be judged by a professional jury appointed from the composer and music director.