Her best-known album is Snow on the Sahara, which has been released in 33 countries across the world, including the US; this album also spawned her biggest worldwide hit to date, "Snow on the Sahara."
Biography
1974–1994: Early life and success in Indonesia
Anggun was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, as the second child and first daughter of Darto Singo, a Javanese writer and Dien Novita, a housewife. At the age of 7, Anggun started receiving highly disciplined singing instruction from her father.[1] She trained on a daily basis, learning various vocal techniques.[1] To help further develop her career, her mother began serving as her manager, accepting singing offers and handling business concerns.[1] Later on, at the age of 9, Anggun recorded a children's album, Kepada Alam dan Pencinta-Nya[2]  | One of Anggun's biggest Indonesian hits in early 1990s. "Tua Tua Keladi" was heavily influenced by rock music, her musical trademark at the time. |
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In 1992, Anggun began a relationship with Michel Georgea, a French man, whom she had met the year before in Kalimantan while touring. The couple marred, despite their age difference and a rumored objection by Anggun's family (reportedly because they felt Anggun was too young to get married). After the marriage, Anggun founded a record company, Bali Cipta Record,[6] (making her the youngest Indonesian singer to do so) and released what would be her final Indonesian studio album, Anggun C. Sasmi... Lah!!! in 1993.[6] She attempted to shed her tomboy image with the video for the album's first single, "Kembalilah Kasih (Kita Harus Bicara)".[6] Meanwhile, it became the first music video by Indonesian artist to appear on MTV Asia. The album was another smash hit for Anggun, but she began to feel unsatisfied with the success in her own country and started thinking about an international music career. Previously, in 1992, Anggun had signed a deal with a renowned Japanese recording company in Singapore, Pony Canyon, to record an English album which would be released in Asia. But later the project was cancelled, as Anggun wanted to bring her talent to the West instead.
Finally, in 1994, after the release of a compilation album containing all her Indonesian hits (entitled Yang Hilang), she sold her record company to fund her move to Europe.
1995–1996: Tough beginnings in Europe
Having given up all of her success in Indonesia, Anggun and Georgea, her then-husband moved to the UK. The couple settled in London and stayed there for about one year. In a 2006 interview with an Indonesian music magazine, Trax, Anggun admitted to experiencing "culture shock" and having some serious financial problems while trying to start her new life in Europe, saying "I thought the money that I got by selling my record company was enough [to sustain life in London], but I began to lose money, little by little. I had to spend so much on taking cabs and eating! So I ended up taking buses everywhere and going to clubs to introduce myself as a singer." She also admitted that she "had to convert from being this shy, introvert, "real" Javanese woman to being an unabashed, fearless, "fake" Javanese woman."She began writing songs and recording demos, but after a few months, all the demos she had sent to record companies around UK came back with negative replies. She eventually realized that her career in the UK was going nowhere and began thinking about moving to another country. She thought about moving to the Netherlands, thinking that it would be easier to start her international career there, since there are many Indonesians there. But she changed her mind and went to France instead, which ended up being a good choice. She recalls, "The moment I stepped my feet in Paris, it felt like home right away. So I decided to stay."
[edit] 1997–1999: Au nom de la lune, Snow on the Sahara and international success
Two years after leaving Indonesia, in 1996, Anggun's international career started to move forward at last. She was introduced to famed French singer, Florent Pagny, through an acquaintance. Pagny later introduced Anggun to producer/songwriter Erick Benzi (who previously had worked with Celine Dion, Jean-Jacques Goldman and Johnny Hallyday, among others).[7] Impressed by Anggun's talent, Benzi immediately offered her a record deal. Later that year, Anggun was signed to Sony Music and Columbia France. After a brief French course at Alliance française, Anggun began working on her debut album with Benzi, alongside a handful of other musicians and songwriters that included Jacques Veneruso, Gildas Arzel and Nikki Matheson.In June 1997, Anggun released her first French album, entitled Au nom de la lune. Although the majority of the album was in French, it also had minor Indonesian lyrical insertions (written by Anggun herself) in several songs, as well as English versions of the same songs (which were later included in the English-language release of the album). Most notably, the album was also a huge artistic departure from Anggun's "lady rocker" image that she had previously been known for during her years in Indonesia. The album experimented more with world music and adult contemporary sounds. It has been said that Benzi suggested that Anggun change her image, but Anggun has said that she, too, felt it was time for her to "become a woman", as she was in her early 20s at that time and was feeling that she needed to be more "feminine". Her international success began when the first single of the album, "La neige au Sahara", quickly became a top hit in France and Belgium. It became the most-played single of 1997 in France.[7]
The album spawned three more singles, "La rose des vents", "Au nom de la lune" and "La ligne des sens". These singles did not manage to emulate the success of the first single, despite the former two reaching number 49 and 60 in France, respectively. Despite this, however, Au nom de la lune still became one of the most successful albums in France in 1997 and 1998, especially by a new artist. It peaked at number 34 on the French Albums Chart[8] (the first for an Asian artist) and has sold around 200,000 copies in France.[9]
| | Anggun's worldwide debut hit in 1998. "Snow on the Sahara" is a world fusion track which incorporates elements of Asian traditional music. |
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| | The cover version of David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" by Anggun on her album Snow on the Sahara. |
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The first single of the album, "Snow on the Sahara", immediately became a hit in Asia and Europe, reaching Top 40 in many countries across the continents. It became a number-one hit in Italy, Spain and several countries across Asia, and is still the her biggest worldwide hit to date. It also became a Top 5 Club Hit in the UK. Her follow-up single, "A Rose in the Wind", failed to gain the same success, despite charting in Italy at number 17. However, its Indonesian version, "Kembali", became a big hit, and has become one of Anggun's most popular hits in the region. 3 more singles were also released in various parts of the world: "Dream of Me" served as the second single in Japan, while "Life on Mars" and "Memory of Your Shores" were released as promotional singles in the US and Europe, respectively.
In 1998, Anggun attempted to break into the North American market. Snow on the Sahara was released by Epic Records[2] in May 1998 in the United States with a slightly altered tracklisting.[10] She went on an extensive tour for nine months in the United States to promote the album.[11]
Anggun's appearances in the US began when she performed on a popular daytime talkshow, The Rosie O'Donnell Show,[10] as well as becoming a supporting act for The Corrs and Toni Braxton's concerts. In August 1998, she performed on the New York "Sessions at West 54th"[12] and interviewed by David Byrne.[13] She was also the first Asian singer to be interviewed exclusively on CNN International by Riz Khan in the "World Beat" program. Moreover, she was invited by Sarah McLachlan to join the lineup of Lilith Fair.[14] Anggun has been also given media coverage on Rolling Stones and Billboard.
Due to this wave of publicity, three of Anggun's songs entered the US Billboard Chart, making her the first female Asian artist ever to make it onto this chart. "Snow on the Sahara" became a modest dance and adult contemporary hit,[14] making it into second position after Céline Dion in a Billboard journalist's favourite singles of 1998.[10] Anggun also made it onto the playlist of an Afro-American radio station in Texas, sandwiched between Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston.[10] In spite of all this, however, Snow on the Sahara was not commercially successful in the US. The album reached #23 on Billboard Heat Seekers Charts, but only sold approximately 92,000 copies in the United States.[14] However, it still remains one of the highest-selling albums by an Asian artist in the US market.
Snow on the Sahara also received international success overall by having sold over than 1 million copies worldwide, and it has also been certified with a Diamond Export Sales award by SNEP. It became the highest-selling album by an Asian artist outside Asia (a record that Anggun still holds to this day).
During this time, Anggun also participated in numerous collaborations. In 1997, she contributed vocals on a duet with Gildas Arzel, "C'est le debut" (the French version of Donna Lewis and Richard Marx's collaboration on "At The Beginning") for the soundtrack of an animated feature movie, "Anastasia" as well as the song "Ton amour ocean" for the "Gloups, je suis un poisson!" soundtrack. She also participated on 3 charity albums, including Ensemble contre le Sida in 1998, Les enfoires, and Les Restos du coeur (both in 1999).
In 1998, Anggun became the first Asian artist to be nominated for the Victoires de la musique (the equivalent of a Grammy Award in the French music scene). She received a nomination for "La revelation de l'année" (Revelation of the Year or Best New Artist). Although she was considered a front-runner to win this award, she eventually lost to Lara Fabian.Anggun nominated for Victoires de la musique
2000–2002: Désirs Contraires, Chrysalis, Open Hearts and the collaboration era
In 1999, Anggun ended her seven-year marriage to Michel Georgea. Then, in September 2000, she released her second French album, Désirs Contraires.[7] It was considered a remarkable artistic departure from Au nom de la lune, experimenting with electronic pop and ambient elements as well as R&B music. Erick Benzi again produced the album, and this time around, the album featured Anggun's musical compositions (although Benzi wrote the lyrics). Due to poor promotion, it eventually failed to repeat even a fraction of the success of Au nom de la lune. Only two singles were released off the album: the tropical-sounding "Un geste d'amour" and the R&B-influenced "Derrière la porte". Both singles failed to achieve commercial success, although "Un geste d'amour" reached number 62 on the French Singles Chart.It was the English version of the album that enjoyed more success. Chrysalis, the English-language version of Désirs Contraires, was released nearly a month prior to its French version. It was a huge artistic growth for Anggun, having co-written the entire album. It also did not feature any adaptations from its French counterpart, meaning that both albums have different lyrical themes, even though the music is almost entirely the same. This album was released in 15 countries in Europe and Asia.[7] Despite the rumor that the album would be released in the US around 2001, it was never released there, although the album's single, "Still Reminds Me", received some airplay in clubs across the region. Through Chrysalis, Anggun also began to develop a fan base in Latin America, particularly in Brazil.
| | Sample of Anggun's hit single from album Chrysalis. This single was successful in several countries across Europe and Asia. |
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Chrysaliswent Gold in Italy in just one week and reached multi-Gold and multi-Platinum status in numerous countries across Asia. Anggun also received in the same year the "Cosmopolitan Asia Woman Award", and later in 2002, the "Women Inspire Award", in recognition of her status as a solo singer who has given inspiration to Asian women through her career as an Asian singer with international success.
At the end of 2000, Anggun received an invitation from the Vatican, asking her to appear at a Christmas concert alongside Bryan Adams and Dionne Warwick. For the event, she gave her renditions of "Have Yourself a Little Merry Christmas" as well as "Still Reminds Me". Her performance was also included on the "Noel au Vatican" disc compilation. In recent years, Anggun has completed an impressive international promotion schedule (World Music Awards, MTV Awards, Top of the Pops, Silver Screen Awards, Women Inspire Awards, etc.). In 2000, she also obtained French citizenship, despite this causing controversy in her home country. In the spring of 2001, Anggun toured across Asia and Europe, with her first concert in France at Le Bataclan on 1 February 2001. The tour ended on 30 April, with her final concert at the Kallang Theatre in Singapore.
During this period, Anggun also did a string of collaborations, soundtrack projects and charity albums. These included a collaboration with DJ Cam on "Summer in Paris" (which later became a club hit in Europe and Asia for both artists) on his 2002 album, "Soulshine"; an Indonesian-English song with Deep Forest on "Deep Blue Sea" on their 2002 album, "Music Detected"; and three collaborations in 2003, including with Piero Pelù (an Italian rock star), Serge Lama and Tri Yann. She also participated in several charity projects such as Echoes of the Earth in 2000, Les voix de l'espoir in 2001 and Gaia in 2002 (featuring a duet with Zucchero on the song "World", which was also released as a single).
Her collaboration with Deep Forest became a radio hit in Indonesia, while her duet with Piero Pelù on "Amore Immaginato" became a hit for both artists in Italy. The song spent a month at the top of Italian Airplay Chart and reached the Top 20 on Italian Singles Chart, establishing Anggun's fame in Italy.
Anggun also participated in a Scandinavian movie project, Open Hearts. Anggun released the soundtrack album Open Hearts in 2002. She co-wrote three tracks on this album, alongside Jesper Winge Leisner and Niels Brinck. The album was released in the United States in February 2003 with different works and became her second album (so far, the final) to be released there. The album produced a single, "Open Your Heart", which was nominated as Best Film Song at 2003 Danish Movie Awards. "Counting Down" was also released for radio and became a modest airplay hit in Europe and Asia.
In January 2003, Anggun met France's Culture Minister and received, at Midem, the international exhibition of the music industry, a prestigious Diamond Award for sales outside France reaching more than 1.2m copies, making her one of the best selling French music export success stories ever, among artists like Daft Punk, Air and Manu Chao.
2003–2006: Luminescence and Best-Of
Anggun's work with Columbia ended in 2003. She later moved to Montreal, Canada where she met Olivier Maury. In 2004, Anggun and Maury were married in a private ceremony in Bali (this marriage ended in 2006). Maury (a law school graduate himself) later became Anggun's manager. The two began searching for a new label. In 2004, upon returning to Paris, Anggun landed a new record deal with Heben Music, an France-based label under Sony BMG France. She began working on a new album with several producers, including Jean-Pierre Taieb and Frederic Jaffre, as well as her "Open Hearts" producer, Niels Brinck. Anggun, who composes mainly in English, enlisted help from several well-known French songwriters, such as Jean Fauque, Lionel Florence, Tété and Evelyn Kral, to adapt her English songs into French.[7] Renowned French rapper, Diam's, was also featured on the album.In late 2004, Anggun released her first solo French single in nearly 4 years, "Être une femme". The single was available in 2 versions: a solo version (for commercial release) and a duet with Diam's (for radio airplay). In 2005, it became Anggun's second Top 20 hit in France, peaking at number 16 on the French Singles Chart, while also topping the French Airplay Chart. It also became Anggun's first French single to chart on the Switzerland Singles Chart (at number 58).
In February 2005, Anggun released her third French album, Luminescence, which debuted at number 30 on the French Albums Chart, making it her highest debuting position. The second single, "Cesse la pluie", also became a hit, peaking at number 22 in France and number 65 in Switzerland.
In August 2005, Anggun toured Europe and Asia, and also released the English version of Luminescence. Both versions (French and English) shared the same title, unlike her previous albums. "Undress Me" was chosen as the first single from the English version. Despite it was not accompanied by a music video, it managed to reach number 13 in Italy and also provided Anggun with her first hit in the Middle East, where the song topped the charts in Lebanon and United Arab Emirates, as well as in Turkey. "In Your Mind" was released as the second single from the album, and became a huge hit in Indonesia but was less successful in Europe. The third single, "Saviour", became a substantial hit in Italy, Greece, and Russia. The song was also used on the soundtrack for the American Box Office movie, The Transporter 2.
In 2004, Anggun was awarded with the prestigious distinction Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French Cultural Minister for her worldwide achievements and for her support of the French culture.[7] Anggun was also appointed as the spokesperson for the International Year of Microcredit (a UN program aimed at eradicating debt in the third world) in 2005,[15] as well as the ambassadress for a Swiss watch brand, Audemars Piguet.
Previously, she had participated in 2 charity performances, including le Concert pour la Paix in 2003 and Genesis in 2004 (featuring a duet with Peter Gabriel). She also did a duet with Julio Iglesias on his Romantic Classics album, on an Indonesian-English song called "All of You". The following year, Anggun participated on a Fight AIDS campaign in France with a collaborative track entitled "L'or de nos vies" with several other French music stars.
On 25 May 2006, Anggun held her biggest concert in Indonesia to date, entitled "Konser Untuk Negeri". In August 2006, she released the special edition of Luminescence, both for the French and the English versions. The first single (the third in French and the fourth in English) from the new version was "Juste avant toi" and its English version "I'll Be Alright". The video featured some footage taken from Anggun's commercially and critically acclaimed concert in Jakarta. It was shot in Jakarta and Bali (her second video to be shot in Indonesia since "Snow on the Sahara"). "Juste avant toi" became Anggun's fourth Top 40 hit, peaking at number 28 in France. It became a summer hit in France and peaked at number 4 on the French International Airplays Chart (a chart compiling the most-played French songs outside France). Meanwhile, "I'll Be Alright" became Anggun's seventh number one hit in Indonesia.
She also made an appearance on Star Academy (an "American Idol"-esque show in France) to promote the release of the album. The next day, Anggun made her highest jump ever on the French Albums Chart, from number 119 to number 16[16] (a total 103 levels) with Luminescence Special Edition.
In December 2006, Anggun released her Best-Of album in Indonesia. This album compiled all of her biggest international hits (including three re-worked versions of her old Indonesian hits). A new version of "Mimpi" was released as a radio single and became a huge hit in Indonesia from late 2006 to early 2007. It again peaked at number one on the Indonesian Airplays Chart, Anggun's eighth single to top the chart since her international career, and her longest one (along with "In Your Mind"), remaining there for one full month. The album was certified Double Platinum in Indonesia after one month. In the same month, Anggun received a special award, "Best International Artist", at Anugerah Musik Indonesia (a Grammy Award equivalent in Indonesia) for her international fame, and for her success in raising up the Asian and Indonesian music industries worldwide.
Within the same period, the final single from Luminescence, entitled "Garde-moi"/"A Crime" (the original French version was a duet with David Hallyday, who also composed the song), was released. It was Anggun's least successful single of the album, although it reached number 5 in Indonesia.
Anggun then released a best-of album in Italy (with a different track-listing than the Indonesian version) with "I'll Be Alright" as its lead single. She also released a single entitled "Tonight" (a collaboration with a German band, Reamonn) and a charity single with several female French stars, titled "Pour que tu sois libre".
2007–2008: Elevation
In September 2007, Anggun involved in a documentary film entitled Un jour sur terre (Earth). She became the documentary narrator and released the soundtrack single "Un jour sur terre". She has been also appointed as "Marraine de l'environnement" (ambassador of Micro-environment) and awarded "Le Grand Couer de l'annee" from Filles TV, France for her contribution in some social and environmental events.[17] In December 2007, she again received an invitation from the Vatican to perform in the Christmas concert in Verona, Italy, along with Michael Bolton. She performed her hit "Snow on the Sahara" at the concert, which took place at the Philharmonic Theater of the Arena.[18]Anggun gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Kirana, on 8 November 2007 in Paris, a product of her relationship with French writer, Cyril Montana.
In late 2008, Anggun released her fourth international studio album, Elevation. It was her second album to share the same title both in English and French. A departure from the style of her previous albums, Elevation experimented with Urban music and Hip hop as well as R&B.[19] The album was produced by hip hop producer pair Tefa and Masta.[19] The album also featured several rappers, including Pras Michel, (The Fugees), Sinik, and Big Ali.[20] Anggun moved from major label Sony BMG to Warner Music. However, Sony BMG still holds the rights to distribute this album in the Asian market.
The French version of Elevation was released in France on 20 October 2008. The album debuted at number 36 on the French Albums Chart,[21] giving Anggun her second-highest debut on the chart. The album spawned its first single "Si tu l'avoues" which was chosen as "Song of the Year" by Radio France International.[22] In Indonesia, Elevation was released in December 2008, with three additional songs recorded in Indonesian along with English songs. The first single released for Indonesia and Malaysia was "Jadi Milikmu". Anggun's appearances in Indonesia in late January 2009 also boosted up sales, giving the album a certification of Double Platinum two months after its release date.
Anggun's four-year ambassadress contract with Audemars Piguet was subsequently extended. She was also chosen by international hair care brand, Pantene, and New Zealand-based dairy product, Anlene, as their ambassador.[23] Anggun's songs which were used for the products' campaigns were "Shine" (available on the Indonesian edition of Elevation) for Pantene and "Stronger" for Anelene.
On 9 November 2008, Anggun performed at the World Music Awards with Laurent Wolf. She lent vocals to Wolf's dance hit, "No Stress". Anggun's version of "No Stress" is available as a bonus track on the Indonesian edition of Elevation. The performance was so well-received by audiences that Wolf eventually added Anggun's version of the song onto the Deluxe Edition of his hit record Wash My World.
On 16 October 2009, Anggun was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Recently, Anggun co-wrote and contributed vocals to two tracks ("Blind" and "Always You" – the latter track which also appears as a reprise) on the album Atemlos by Schiller, released in Germany on 12 March 2010.
2011: Echoes
On 2 March 2011, Anggun announced the title of her upcoming album: "Echoes" (International & Indonesian version) with the French release titled "Echos".The first single is called Only Love (English version), Mon meilleur amour (French version) and Hanyalah Cinta (Indonesian version). It became available 11 April 2011 on iTunes France.
Discography
Main article: Anggun discography
Indonesian-language albums
- 1986: Dunia Aku Punya
- 1990: Mimpi
- 1990: Tua Tua Keladi
- 1990: Takut
- 1991: Anak Putih Abu Abu
- 1992: Nocturno
- 1993: Anggun C. Sasmi... Lah!!!
- 1994: Yang Hilang
- 2011: Echoes (May)
French-language albums
- 1997: Au nom de la lune
- 2000: Désirs Contraires
- 2005: Luminescence
- 2006: Luminescence Edition Speciale
- 2008: Elévation
- 2011: Echos (September)
English-language albums
- 1998: Snow on the Sahara
- 1999: Anggun
- 2000: Chrysalis
- 2002: Open Hearts
- 2005: Luminescence
- 2006: Luminescence Special Edition
- 2007: Best Of
- 2008: Elevation
- 2011: Echoes (September)
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