Shabir Tabare Alam, known professionally as Shabir Sulthan, is a
Singaporean
Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, India ...
singer-songwriter, record producer, music composer, and performer whose works are predominantly in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
. He is the winner of the inaugural singing competition Vasantham Star 2005. The talent quest was hosted by
MediaCorp Vasantham
Vasantham is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel owned by Mediacorp. The network is focused towards the Singaporean Indian community in the country. It was originally launched on 1 September 1995 as Premiere 12. Tamil programming was i ...
TV Channel. Shabir's Yaayum song from the film
Sagaa
''Sagaa'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action crime film directed by Murugesh. It was produced by R. Selvakumar and Ramprasath. The film features an ensemble cast including Saran Shakthi, Ayra, Kishore, Sree Raam, Pandi, Ayra, Neeraj ...
became a sleeper hit in India and all around the world. After being part of the 2007 National Day Parade, Shabir felt that there was a lack of Tamil songs representing the community. He wrote and composed "Singai Naadu", the National Day Parade Tamil song in 2012. The song won praise from the Prime Minister of Singapore,
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...
. Shabir was awarded the Singapore Youth Award, the national honour given to young achievers by the Singapore government. His diverse portfolio extends to starring in several TV series’ by Eaglevision Mediacorp and Wei Yu Films. Shabir played the lead role as the anti-hero, Nantha, in
Vettai
''Vettai'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co produced, written and directed by N. Linguswamy. The film stars Arya, Madhavan, Sameera Reddy, and Amala Paul while Ashutosh Rana, Thambi Ramaiah and Nassar played supporting ...
, which translates to "The Hunt", first premiered in 2010 and immediately garnered support with a viewership spread across Singapore and Malaysia. Shabir won Best Actor in the Pradhana Vizha Awards 2011 for this role. Shabir also played Vettaiyan in ''Naam 2'' a sequel to the hit series, ''Naam,'' and a former war hero Major Habibullah Khan in a period drama ''This Land Is Mine.'' The latter brought him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor Nominated at the Asian Television Awards.
Personal life
Shabir is born in Singapore. His father's origin is
Tiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-speaking father, and a
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
/Tamil-speaking mother. Shabir started songwriting at an early age and wrote and composed his first song at the age of 12.
Career
Shabir started songwriting and song composition when he was 12 years old. Starting as a self-taught keyboardist, he went on to learn
Hindustani Classical Music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...
under the tutelage of violinist Sri Veereshwar Madhri and guitar from Steeve Vatz. Shabir also graduated with a bachelor's degree in music production and composition.
Shabir remains one of the leading recording artiste in Singapore, with a strong fan following in the region, having released three albums to date 'Alaipayuthey', 'TraffiQ' and 'Swasam-Scents of Prose'. Shabir's music is known to be a concoction of various genres and influences that includes pop, indie, alternative rock, and world music. Shabir's lyrical style consists of wordplay, metaphor and he often experiments with cadence. His edgy vocal rendition marks a style that owes itself to his early metal and rock influences such as Rage Against The Machine and Metallica.
Film Music
Shabir made his debut as a film composer with ''
Sagaa
''Sagaa'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action crime film directed by Murugesh. It was produced by R. Selvakumar and Ramprasath. The film features an ensemble cast including Saran Shakthi, Ayra, Kishore, Sree Raam, Pandi, Ayra, Neeraj ...
''. The film's lead single, "Yaayum", became a hit upon its release, receiving acclaim from critics and fans. Yaayum has garnered over 124 million collective views on Youtube and over 13 million streams on Spotify. His music for the film received unanimous praise from critics. Shabir remains the only SIngaporean to score for movies in India.
Independent Music
Shabir was one of the first few to drive the international Tamil independent music movement. His first album, "Alaipayuthey" was released in 2005. Shabir's independent music from his later albums TraffiQ (Dejavu & Nagaravaytai) received regular airplay on both local and international channels, including
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
Asia .
and
Channel V
Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...
., which garnered him a following in
South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
.
"Swasam – Scents of Prose" produced by High Breed Media, was released on 7 April 2012. The album has a combination of various musical styles and features poetry recitations by prominent personalities and luminaries from Singapore such as the nation's 6th President S.R Nathan, Minister S Iswaran, former NMP Viswa Sadasivan and many others.
Controversy
Shabir has courted controversy since he took part in the inaugural Vasantham Star competition in 2005. The singer received mixed reviews on his performances and was under scrutiny for his pronunciation and slang when singing.
After impressing the judges during the quarter-finals, he was eventually expelled from the competition altogether during the semis. This provoked an eruption among his growing fan base. His departure resulted in the local community writing a petition that was signed by more than 500 members of the public.
Understanding the dynamics of his participation, the producers, for the first time in Tamil television history, introduced a wild card entry which made way for Shabir's re-entry into the competition.
Shabir eventually won the talent quest.
Filmography/Discography
;As Playback Singer
;As Film Composer
As an Independent Artist
As an Actor
Awards
* Vasantham Star 2005 (Winner)
* Derana TV Awards Best Music Video for Nagara Vaytei by Shabir ft Dinesh K & Ramya 2009 (Winner)
* Pradhana Vizha 2011 Best Actor (Winner)Pradhana Vizha 2011 – Vasantham on xinmsn Entertainment . Entertainment.xin.msn.com (29 June 2011).
* Singapore Indian Artistes Association (Honored Best Actor) 2011
* Pradhana Vizha 2012 Most Popular Song (Winner)
* Kannadasan Award 2012 by Association of Singapore Tamil Writers (Winner)
* Edison Awards 2013 Best International Singer (Winner)
* Highly Commended Award for Kshatriyan soundtrack at Asian Television Awards 2016
* Pradhana Vizha 2016 Best Soundtrack (Won for Nee Indru Kshatriyan)
* Singapore Youth Award 2017
* Artistic Excellence Award 2022 by COMPASS
* Best Original Song for an Asian TV programme or Movie 2022 by ContentAsia Award
* Best Original Track Award for "Vettai" by Pradhana Vizhna 2022