Nurshahila binti Amir Amzah (born 13 August 1990) better known as Shila Amzah is a Malaysian singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, she began going to recording studios at the age of four with her father and recorded a pop studio album five years later. With the help of a famous Malaysian record producer, in 2005 Shila released her second pop studio album, Sha-Hila. Her single "Patah Seribu" (2011) received Pop Song of the Year and Song of the Year at the 19th Malaysian Music Awards.
She continued her singing career by breaking out to Shanghai, China and eventually won the Asian Wave. As a result, Shila received the Kembara Award (International Music Breakthrough Award) from Malaysian Music Awards making Shila the youngest Kembara Award honoree. Afterwards, Shila continued her singing career in mandopop industry by breaking out to Hong Kong in 2015 by releasing some new singles, doing an international press conference and establishing her second record label and global management company, Shilala (HK) Limited. Her success on international stages has gained her honorific titles such as Asia's Sweetheart, Princess of Music, and National Treasure of Malaysia.
Shila was the first runner-up of Bintang Kecil RTM in 2000, first runner-up of One in a Million (season 2), winner of Asia New Singer Competition in 2008, second runner-up of I Am a Singer (season 2) in 2014, and first runner-up of Anugerah Juara Lagu in 2011 and 2015. Before the Asian Wave, she performed a duet with Miley Cyrus called "The Best of Both Worlds" to promote Hannah Montana in Malaysia. In 2013, Shila was the first and only Malay artist to be invited to the Global Chinese Music Awards (GCMA).
She is the first and only Malay artist to have success in Chinese-speaking countries and Chinese record charts with her Sina Weibo account having more than 2.3 million followers. She was listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia (2018), recognizing young leaders, entrepreneurs and game changers from across Asia under Entertainment and Sports category.
Shila used the stage name "NurShahila" name when she was a child. In 2004, she changed her name to Sha-Hila as her record company, EMI, wanted her name to be shorter. When she joined the One in a Million singing contest she needed to make her name even shorter. The organiser of One in a Million (Season 2) truncated her name to just Shila. After coming in as the first runner-up of One in A Million (season 2), she was called "Shila OIAM". She didn't like the name, so she added "Amzah" to her stage name, as her father's name is Amir Amzah. In Chinese-speaking countries, Shila's name is 茜拉 (Xīlā).
Early life Nurshahila binti Amir Amzah was born on 13 August 1990, in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her father, , who used the stage name ND Lala, was a recording artist in the 1980s and her mother, Fauziah Sarman, was an actress. She comes from a musically inclined family: her younger sister, Nur Syuhada, whose stage name is Syada Amzah, is also a performer. She attended Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Setapak Indah, Kuala Lumpur.
Career 2000–2007: Early commercial success Before Shila made her debut appearance as a child, her father struggled to get her a chance to showcase her singing. At that time, there were no recording companies that wanted to sign children as recording artists as they did not want to take the risk. So her father used his own money to produce her first album. In 2000, Shila's debut album, Terima Kasih Guru that was launched in the presence of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah, wife of Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir. She later signed a contract with EMI. With EMI, she released the album Sha-Hila with the hit song "Yang Teristimewa".
2007–2009: Career development
After her contract with EMI ended in 2007, she joined One in a Million (Season 2) and emerged as first runner-up of the competition. The nickname "Shila" was given by the organisers of One in a Million as her SMS voting code and name during the singing competition. On the night of the Grand Finale of One in a Million (season 2), Shila was assigned to sing a new song called "Memori Tercipta" (Memories Created). She lost to Norayu Damit, but both of them were given recording contracts from Monkey Bone Records.
Throughout the competition, Shila sang: Top 12: "Tak Ada Logika" Week 1: "Too Little Too Late" Week 2: "Stuck" Week 3: "Oops!... I Did It Again" Week 4: "Di Bawah Pohon Asmara " Week 5: "I'll Be There" Week 6: "Car Wash" Week 7: "Khayal" with Alif Satar Week 8: "Contigo en la Distancia" Week 9: "Bukan Milikmu and Love Like This" Grand Finale: "Contigo en la Distancia", "Memori Tercipta" and "Oops!... I Did It Again with Stuck" Medley
She produced the album Bebaskan (Set It Free) during her stint with Monkey Bone Records. The album was launched in 2009. With 12 songs, featuring the works of Malaysian composers such as Aubrey Suwito, Audi Mok, Kieran Kuek and Mode, as well as Australian composer Jamie Huber.
2010–2012: Career expansion
3 Suara (English: 3 Voices) is a collaborative album by Malaysian singers Jaclyn Victor, Ning Baizura and Shila Amzah. The album was released on 6 January 2011, through Euphoric Pte. Limited. One of Shila's songs was "Patah Seribu". The song appeared on many television shows and received a lot of radio airtime. The song was nominated at the Malaysian Music Awards for Best Female Vocal Performance and Most Popular Regional Song and won Pop Song of the Year and Song of the Year. The song was released as a single on iTunes on 20 July 2012 by Urustabil and was later added as a bonus track to her fifth studio album, Shila Amzah, released by Shila Amzah Entertainment Berhad.
2012–2014: Early international stardom
In September 2012, she was invited to join the inaugural competition of Asian Wave, a Chinese reality singing talent show held in Shanghai, China, after her father, ND Lala submitted her videos singing. On 20 September 2012, Shila became the champion. It was at this point that she started to focus on her career in China. Shila had the most online votes among all the contestants. She sang three songs: "Gemilang" by Jaclyn Victor, "Grenade" by Bruno Mars, and "Zheng Fu" by Na Ying. She also sang "Forever Love" by Wang Leehom and "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele in one of the preliminary rounds. The panel of 10 judges-comprising the region's top stars like Malaysia's Eric Moo, Hong Kong's Hacken Lee, China's Sun Nan, Taiwan's Phil Chang and Jerry Huang-gave her a standing ovation, while Chinese composer Gao Xiaosong praised her by saying, "You gave me goose bumps. You broke my heart." She was signed to a 6-year recording contract with Shanghai Media Group and received 5 Million MYR. EpisodeSongLanguageOriginal SingerResultDefeatPreliminary (Rounds 1)Set Fire to the RainEnglishAdeleAdvance to Preliminary Round 2 Rachel Chua save by judges selectionPreliminary (Rounds 2)Forever LoveMandarinWang LeehomAdvance to Final Round 1 Emi Tawata save by judges selectionFinal (Rounds 1)GemilangMalayJaclyn VictorAdvance to Final Round 2 Ten Nararak EliminatedFinal (Rounds 2)GrenadeEnglishBruno MarsAdvance to Final Round 3 Guo Yifan EliminatedFinal (Rounds 3)征服 (Zhengfu, "Conquer")MandarinNa YingChampion Chang Shilei Lost Henry Huo Lost Shila managed to advance all rounds by winning the battle. Winning the battle: Majority green light pushed by judges (similar to coaches of The Voice in selecting their team). Other contestant either advanced through winning the battle, judges' selection or by a cappella battle as a second chance. Furthermore, there is some contestant that also advanced by extra battle as judges couldn't reach consensus on making their selection.
In 2013 she was nominated for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards for Favourite Asian Act with PSY (South Korea), Han Geng (China), and Sarah Geronimo from the Philippines. Harian Metro reported on 12 March 2013, that Shila has set up her own record company by the name of Shila Amzah Entertainment Berhad.
In July 2013, Shanghai Media Group released "A Moment Like This", Shila's debut Chinese single in China. This single was the theme song for the inaugural competition of Chinese Idol. She was invited to perform this song live during the grand finale of the show.
At the end of 2013, Shila released her fifth studio album, Shila Amzah released under Shila Amzah Entertainment and distributed by Warner Music Malaysia. All songs and lyrics of the album was fully composed by Shila with the guidance of Helen Yap. The album consisted of seven songs including two bonus tracks. The album preview was held at Red Box Plus, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 5 July 2013. A further showcase of the album was held at Penthouse, The Icon, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 10 October 2013. The album were produced by Shila, Helen Yap, and Aubrey Suwito, and the sound engineers were Aubrey Suwito, Zairi Ariffin, Yusalman Azua, Hadie Pranoto, Amir Sulaiman and Greg Henderson. The album received nominations from the 21st Malaysian Music Awards which is Album of the Year and Engineered Album of the Year. The self-titled album, Shila Amzah was released on digital and streaming platforms on 10 December 2013. In December 2013, Shila released a video of "Masih Aku Cinta". This music video was based on her love story when she broke up with Sharnaaz Ahmad, a Malaysian actor after a controversy involving Sharnaaz Ahmad with Shila's father.
The Star reported on 27 September 2012, that she was chosen to be the opening act for a series of concerts in Beijing by Malaysian singer-composer Eric Moo, starting 17 November. Shila said that she knew him because "he was one of the judges during the competition and his invitation is a huge honor for me". She gave her agreement when he courted her to be part of his opening act. The Eric Moo–Shila Amzah Love Hurricane Concert was eventually held on 24 July 2014.
In February 2014, Shila's manager got her an invitation to I Am a Singer (Season 2). In the 7th round, aired 21 February 2014, she performed the song "Xiang Ni De Ye", a song originally sung by Chinese pop star Guan Zhe. After the performance her Weibo followers increased rapidly from 1 thousand to over 2 million. In the Breakthrough round, aired 21 March 2014, she reached first place by singing a cover of "Rolling in the Deep". Shila's popularity rose in China after I Am a Singer aired beside her performance at the Asian Wave.
Throughout the show, she showed versatility in her range of music styles, from languages (Chinese and English), performance methods (dancing while singing) and musical styles (high note, pop, R&B, rap). On 4 April 2014, she came third overall, losing to Han Lei from China and Tang Tsz Kei from Hong Kong.
Through I Am a Singer (Season 2), she was able to adapt to a new language quickly. Being a non-Chinese speaker or singer, she only needed two days to learn a new Chinese song. I Am a Singer (season 2) helped her in gaining a larger base of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong fans. Currently, she attends Mandarin classes in Beijing and is working on improving her Mandarin. EpisodeAirdateSongOriginal SingerResult7 (4th Qualifying Round)21 February 2014"想你的夜" (Mandarin)Guan Zhe28 (4th Knockout Round)28 February 2014"最长的电影" (Mandarin)Jay Chou49 (5th Qualifying Round)7 March 2014"Listen" (English)Beyoncé310 (5th Knockout Round)14 March 2014"Forever Love" (Mandarin)Wang Leehom311 (Breakout)21 March 2014"Rolling in the Deep" (English)Adele112 (Semifinal)28 March 2014"洋葱" (Mandarin)Aska613(1st Final Round)4 April 2014"When You Believe" (English)Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey—(2nd Final Round)"MAMA" (Mandarin)EXO-M3 Shila made her debut in 7th Round as she replaced eliminated singer earlier based on the program basic rule. Basic rule: There must be seven talented singers as contestants on each episode.
2015–2017: Hong Kong music scene breakthrough