Shah Indrawan Ismail

Shah Indrawan bin Ismail or popularly known as Tomok, is a Malaysian singer and the winner of the third season of One in a Million (OIAM), a reality TV singing competition. He became the first male contestant and the first recording artist to do so in the history of the competition. He is also the lead vocalist of a Malaysian band called New Boyz.

Early life

Tomok was born in Negeri Sembilan on 17 May 1984 and was raised in Kuala Lumpur. He is the fourth child of six siblings. His older sister Ismaliza Ismail (Isma) is also an singer and participated in Akademi Fantasia Season 7. He started singing at the age of 8 and was inspired by his favourite group, Exist after he went to see their concert in 1992.^[1] Tomok also named Tan Sri P. Ramlee as his idol.^[2]

Pre-One in a Million

When he was 15 years old he was enrolled as the lead singer of a band called New Boyz. He gained instant fame with the band. However their popularity waned as the years went by. Tomok recorded six albums together with New Boyz between 1999 and 2008. While with New Boyz, Tomok was often criticised by the public for singing with a nasal voice (suara sengau). In one of the OIAM episodes, Tomok mentioned that the band was pelted with stones during some of their live performances.^[3]

One in a Million

Audition

In December 2008, Tomok signed-up for the audition of the third season of a reality TV singing competition called One in a Million organised by local TV station, 8TV. As the show has a reputation of selecting only the best talent and voice around the nation, many predicted that Tomok wouldn't advance far in the competition.

Tomok went in to the audition with his guitar and a new image, but one of the judges, i.e.; Paul Moss commented that his new image is like "a busker in the LRT station". During the audition Tomok was asked by Syafinaz on what is to become of New Boyz. Tomok explained that the band is still around and he would still be with the band. His band mates actually encouraged and supported him to try out for the show. Even though both judges weren't too impressed with Tomok during the audition, he was given a pass through to the next round because both judges think that he has the talent and potential.^[4]

"Look, you definitely have the talent to do something. I think you got to figure out exactly what that something is gonna be. It's not gonna be what you were before with New Boyz, but I don't think is gonna be that busking with a guitar." – Paul Moss

After the audition, one of the show's hosts, Awal Ashaari congratulated him for advancing to the next round and thanked him for participating in the competition. Awal also wished that through OIAM, Tomok would be able to portray a different image from what he was previously known.

Central Elimination Round

In the Top 80, Tomok sang Jeritan Batin Ku for the blind test and passed. In the Top 60 elimination round, which was the group singing round, he, Farmy, Nine, Sam, Affan, and Zack were assigned to sing M. Nasir's song, Juwita (Citra Terindah). For the Top 40 elimination, which was a duet, Tomok chose Nor Rasfan as his duet partner and they sang Mentera Semerah Padi (M. Nasir). While he made it to the next round, his duet partner didn't.

During the final elimination round, i.e.; Top 20, Tomok sang Carefree's Belaian Jiwa. Syafinaz commented that the direction of which Tomok had shown during the course of the elimination round was rather confusing. After Paul Moss delivered the judges' decision, it took a while for Tomok to realise that he was chosen to be in the Top 12.^[5]

"Syafinaz and myself have had long discussions about what we think you're doing wrong and what we think you're doing occasionally right. But our expectations are very high and we expect to see those expectations delivered in the Top 12, because you're both making it through."- Paul Moss

Top 12

Tomok kicked off his campaign in the OIAM3 Top 12 by singing Faizal Tahir's Coba. After the performance, both judges urged Tomok to prove that he deserves to be in the competition. However, Paul Moss also commented that the dramatic knee drop that he did for the performance was vomit worthy. After he was criticised for not making the right song choice for the Top 11 show, Tomok made his breakthrough performance in the Top 10 Week with his rendition of Beyoncé's Crazy in Love. For the Songwriter's Week (Top 9), Tomok brilliantly executed the challenge that was set out for the week and delivered Meet Uncle Hussein's La La La Kerjalah with his own style and musical arrangement. As he has cleverly changed the song to suit his style, he was granted Immunity for that performance.^[6]

After a disappointing performance in the Top 8, Tomok chose to perform Ingin Bersamamu, Syafinaz's hit song in the following week. It was regarded as a risky move, but it bore fruit when he was granted his second Immunity. Syafinaz even branded him as musically smart. However, the guest judge, Francesca Peter didn't fancy his version of the song. Tomok once again captivated the audience with his version of Rihanna's Umbrella in the Top 6. Paul Moss predicted that Tomok would be one of the finalists for the Grand Finals. In the Top 6 episode, as a response to one of Marion's question, Tomok revealed that he had tried a solo act before, but he couldn't manage to gain the public's trust in his credibility. He believes that OIAM is the perfect platform to display his talent and show that he can perform a solo act.^[7]

For the Dato' Sheila Majid themed week, he performed Aku Cinta Padamu and Syafinaz remarked that if Immunity were still up for grabs, Tomok would be the rightful winner of it for the week. Paul Moss called it a class act. Tomok paid tribute to one of Malaysia's greatest bands, Alleycats in the Top 4-week by singing a medley of the group's songs. He cited that the in Concert theme posed the biggest challenge for him throughout the competition as he has to find the right song for the week's performance.^[8] In the Top 3 performance for Coba, he donned spectacles and strummed his guitar for the first and only time in the competition. He attributed his lack of playing guitar on stage to one of Paul's comments during the audition.^[9] In the episode, Tomok mentioned that he felt that OIAM had managed to unearth his talent and make him feel like being born again in the music industry.^[10]

On 1 May 2009, at the Grand Finals of OIAM 3, Tomok emerged as the winner of the show by gaining 39.3% of the SMS votes, followed by Esther with 33.29% and Aweera, 27.41%.^[11] He became the first male contestant and the first recording artist to do so in the history of the competition. Earlier that night, Tomok was announced as the contestant having the least votes amongst the three and was up for elimination. Fortunately, he was saved from elimination as a result of a week-long opinion poll set up by 8TV in which fans chose all three to compete rather than only two of them. In the Grand Finals, Tomok performed a cover of Aizat's Hanya Kau Yang Mampu and a new song, Rindu Terhenti (composed by Aubrey Suwito, lyrics by Tinta S). Paul Moss called it a class performance and Syafinaz regarded it as the best performance of the night. The win was viewed by many as a triumphant comeback for Tomok in the music industry. His involvement in OIAM has managed to shed his previous image and transformed him to a better singer and performer. The public opinion on him has also changed since then.

Judges' Quotes

"When people came up to see me, the question they would ask about OIAM this season is, 'Can Tomok really sing?' Let me be frank. I'm not a fan of yours. But then, when I heard you sing during the audition, your voice has matured and the nasal voice of which I don't like has gone. So, I feel that it's a pressure for you, but please prove to them that you have the right to be on that stage and prove them wrong. "- Syafinaz

"You are smarter than you look aren't you?" Paul Moss to Tomok after La La La Kerjalah performance

"The last couple of week you actually really impressed us. You had drama in your performances, energy, fun. Tonight you took away the drama, energy and fun and it was nothing left. It was just to me, it came over really boring. As I said, he has set the bar really high. We expect him to surprise us and amaze us and he didn't." – Paul Moss comments for Gantung

"Tomok, once again you brought fun and pleasure not only to me but to everyone here in the studio. Tonight was the best voice control you've had ever since you were here , but be careful with your pronunciation." – Syafinaz for Tomok's Umbrella Performance

"You've established yourself as operating already on the next level. I think you actually a level above most in this competition. Tonight was really no different. You're a real class act dude and I didn't see it coming. Keep it up. Not a lot of people could really transform what I think is a feely boring song. And you transformed it to something that I really enjoyed. So, well done." – Paul Moss on Tomok's Aku Cinta Padamu rendition

"I think that was a fantastic performance. When you came out, I can see that look in your eyes, you are ready to perform, your features and gestures are so selective, you pick the right gestures, you know how to use the stage and how to excite the audience. You've nailed it. Congratulations"- Dato' Sheila Majid on Tomok's Aku Cinta Padamu rendition

"It was a very classy performance and you've just growing week after week. I am genuinely surprised at the progress that you've made. Nice. Classy." – Paul Moss on Rindu Terhenti

"A compliment for you. To me, you how to control the stage and the audience. Overall, I'm not being biased, but this is the best performance tonight." – Syafinaz on Rindu Terhenti

Performances and Result

Post One in a Million

For winning the competition, Tomok bagged RM 1 million in terms of cash and record deal. His debut solo album is to be produced by 8TV record label Monkey Bone. Regarding the use of his pet name, Tomok, he is still happy to be known by his pet name but he would like to be credited as Shah Indrawan in his debut album.^[12] As for New Boyz, Tomok reiterated many times that he'd still be with the band as the band has been one part of his life.^[13] He also has special project in mind with the band.

Personal life

On 1 July 2011, Tomok 27 years old and Rahayu Abas, 32 years old married on Friday night 9.30pm at Dewan Serbaguna AU2 Taman Keramat, Kuala Lumpur.^[14]

Tomok is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Creative Industries Management at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) campus in Kuala Lumpur.^[15]

Discography

Studio album

• Tomok (2010)
• Aku Datang (2015)

Singles

• "Rindu Terhenti" (Aubrey Suwito & Tinta S)
• "Berlari" (Shazee & Tomok)
• "Arjuna" (Edry KRU)
• "Bagaikan Bidadari" (Aubrey Suwito & Tomok)
• "Aku Datang" (Tomok & Rafidah)
• "Cinta Tak Pergi" ft. Yana Samsudin (Tomok)

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Shah Indrawan Ismail

• NB Official Forum
• One In A Million 3 Official Website
• 8TV Official Site
• Fan club on cari.com.my