Sezairi Sezali (born 6 August 1987), more commonly known just as Sezairi, is a Malay
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
an musician and singer-songwriter. Sezairi rose to prominence after winning the third season of ''
Singapore Idol
''Singapore Idol'' is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by MediaCorp Studios and FremantleMedia Operations BV. It began airing on MediaCorp Channel 5 on 9 August 2004, as an addition to the Idol fran ...
'' in 2009.
Sezairi signed with major label
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
in 2015. In 2016, he released his self-titled EP. On 30 January 2020, he released his latest EP ''Undertones.'' In 2022, he became the first Singaporean artiste to achieve more than 100 million streams on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
Early life
Inheriting genes from his father who is an avid audiophile, Sezairi first discovered music at the age of 5 years old. His very first song was "Isabella", a Malay rock song popularised by the band
Search
Searching or search may refer to:
Computing technology
* Search algorithm, including keyword search
** :Search algorithms
* Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence
* Search engine technology, software for findi ...
in the 90s. He soon found himself sharing the same love for music. At the age of 14, he picked up the
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
to accompany his singing. That led him to form the band Juxtapose with him as frontman. With the band, Sezairi was first able to hone his skills as a musician, as well as a songwriter. It helped prepare him for what was to come in the ''
Singapore Idol
''Singapore Idol'' is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by MediaCorp Studios and FremantleMedia Operations BV. It began airing on MediaCorp Channel 5 on 9 August 2004, as an addition to the Idol fran ...
'' series, a nationwide televised singing competition in 2009.
Personal life
Sezairi solemnised his marriage to long-time girlfriend Syaza Qistina on 23 January 2016. The closed door affair for 150 guests was held at the Timbre Music Academy Hall in Old Parliament Lane, with many of them from the local entertainment scene, including
The Sam Willows
The Sam Willows is a four-member Singaporean pop band formed in 2011. The group consists of siblings Narelle and Benjamin Kheng, together with their friends Sandra Riley Tang and Jonathan Chua. The quartet’s self-titled freshman EP was rel ...
'
Benjamin Kheng
Benjamin Kheng (born 15 August 1990) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, and former national swimmer. Kheng made his music debut with the Singaporean band The Sam Willows, which debuted in 2012.
Early life and education
Kheng was a former nat ...
, rappers
Sheikh Haikel
Sheikh Haikel Sheikh Salim Bajrai ( ar, شيخ هيكل شيخ سليم ', born 10 October 1975) is a Singaporean rapper, actor and radio personality. He won the talent competition Asia Bagus in 1991. As a multi media personality with numerous ...
and Kevin Lester.
In August 2016, a grand wedding dinner at the SAF Yacht Club in
Changi
Changi () is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the Sera ...
was held to celebrate Sezairi’s nuptials with his wife. Members of homegrown bands were spotted at the wedding, including
The Sam Willows
The Sam Willows is a four-member Singaporean pop band formed in 2011. The group consists of siblings Narelle and Benjamin Kheng, together with their friends Sandra Riley Tang and Jonathan Chua. The quartet’s self-titled freshman EP was rel ...
,
53A, composer
Jeremy Monteiro and
987FM radio DJ
Tabitha Nauser
Tabitha Nauser (born 23 February 1992) is a Singaporean singer.
Nauser was born to a Swiss father and a Singaporean Indian mother. In 2009, Nauser placed third in the third edition of ''Singapore Idol''.
In 2017, Nauser's song “Bulletproof” ...
. Comedian
Fakkah Fuzz was the emcee for the evening and singer-songwriter
Charlie Lim
Charles Lim, better known as Charlie Lim, is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, musician, producer and artist.
Personal life
Lim was exposed to music from a young age, especially since his mother taught the piano. He started singing and playing the ...
performed a song for the couple.
Career
In 2009, Sezairi participated in the third season of nationwide televised singing competition series, ''
Singapore Idol
''Singapore Idol'' is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by MediaCorp Studios and FremantleMedia Operations BV. It began airing on MediaCorp Channel 5 on 9 August 2004, as an addition to the Idol fran ...
''. He won the season, winning the hearts of many with his boy-next-door charm. He released his debut album "Take Two" in June 2010, with good reviews. "Broken", the first single of the album, was the highest ranking Asian song of 2010 on
987FM, one of Singapore’s top pop radio stations.
He was signed to
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
Singapore in 2014 and has released his self-titled EP, SEZAIRI, featuring his first hit single "Fire To The Floor".
In 2020, he released the EP ''Undertones,'' featuring evocative ballad ‘It’s You.’
The song has surpassed 10 million listens online and has acquired GOLD certification since its release. ‘It’s You’ was featured Apple Music’s “Best of 2018: Editors’ Picks” Global Playlist, where it sat on the 3rd spot amongst some of the year’s most identifiable and noteworthy songs.
Sezairi has branched out into acting too, with his acting debut in the local historical feature film ''
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
,''
and he appeared in
W!LD RICE
W!LD RICE, founded in 2000 by Ivan Heng, is a professional theatre company in Singapore. In 2019, the company established a permanent performance venue at Funan Mall.
History
The first show by W!LD RICE was held at Jubilee Hall in Raffles Hotel ...
's December pantomime, ''The Emperor's New Clothes'' as well.
Sezairi released his third album, ''Violets Aren't Blue'', on 8 July 2022.
Filmography
Movies
Discography
Albums
Extended plays
Awards and nominations
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sezali, Sezairi
1987 births
Living people
Idols (TV series) winners
Singaporean male actors
Singaporean jazz musicians
21st-century Singaporean male singers
Singaporean pop singers
Singaporean singer-songwriters
Jazz pianists
Jazz guitarists
Jazz fusion musicians
Male pianists
21st-century pianists
21st-century guitarists
21st-century Singaporean actors
Male jazz musicians