Wani Kayrie has always had a big voice. She was only fifteen when her first single “Jangan Jangan” released, hitting a million views on YouTube within two months — with viewers flocking to the comments to express their shock when they learned that the song they had been bopping to was in fact not sung by an adult woman. She was even younger when her actual first single, “Sabar” with Hafiz Suip, came out after her stint on the reality competition Kamilah Bintang back in 2010 — back when she went by Syazwani Sapari.
“I started at a very early age in this industry, and commercially on Astro Ceria,” Wani opens. “And then I was nominated as a champion for the programme, Kamilah Bintang, so that’s when my career started. I would say it’s very challenging, you know, because it’s hard to sustain — I’m 25 years old now — and especially because I started so early.”
Together with her big voice, Wani Kayrie has also always had big dreams. Kamilah Bintang was not the only competition Wani entered and wowed the nation. She also went on join the first season of reality show Big Stage where she placed fourth, as well as Dansa Dan Sing in 2020, in which she collaborated with the dance group Delitz. In 2018 she was selected to represent the country at World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in Los Angeles, California. The song “Nyam Nyam Ketupat” she did with Zizan Razak, Dinda Dania and Miss Alvy achieved ‘viral Raya hit’ status, with almost 10 million views in under two months. And by the time this story comes out, she will have already released her latest single, “Cak Cak Cekuk”.
“Cak Cak Cekuk” is a fitting follow-up to the Raya bop, melding the traditional Malay folk rhythm with a modern-day beat. Like many of Wani’s past singles, “Cak Cak Cekuk” is a catchy love song that expresses devotion to a lover despite the hardships they may face. And in an era where the ‘girlboss energy’ currently reigns supreme, it is refreshing to have a young woman sing so candidly about romance and its effects.
Baby steps
But first let’s rewind a little. Wani was born in the city of Sandakan and raised in KL, though she does visit her hometown frequently. She jokes about the more-or-less true stereotype about Sabahans: that they love music, and they all really, really love to sing. “If you ask my family, or my grandmother, they would say that since I was two years old, I would go to weddings and then, like, sing whenever they gave me the mic,” she says, laughing. “And then bila takda orang dengar I menyanyi, I akan nangis. So, I wanted the attention. I was an attention seeker.”
Growing up, she wasn’t just artistically inclined. She took up bowling at some point, and even competed at a state level. Her mother wanted her to become a lawyer, so she did excellently in school and went on to pursue law. But over time, her love for music and singing as a child grew into something much larger — Wani fell in love with performing. “Whenever I perform, I want people to listen to me,” she muses. “I think it’s influenced from the family also, because my late dad really loved to sing. And maybe because of the Sabahan blood on my mom’s side. My family in Sabah can all sing, but it’s only me yang masuk in this industry and go forward as a singer. Most of them just nyanyi karaoke dekat kampung. So, I am proud to represent my family also.”
“You know your talent, so just don’t stop moving. Don’t let the ‘haters’ overtake your own self.”
Wani eventually became known for her voice that has volume, range and resonance; the kind of voice that can fill an entire space and cut through all the instrumentals without strain. In other words, her voice was always made to perform. “They really support the music yang empower women,” she says of her family back in Sabah. “I mean, like, empower the vocal technicality. So, that’s why I rasa no matter what the current music trend is right now, I still want to bring that kind of pop music into our industry.”
She is referring to the power pop music, performed by vocal powerhouses like Beyoncé, Stacy, Jaclyn Victor, and Agnez Mo. Those who are able to captivate the audience through song and dance. “I really adore how whenever they perform, they can attract everyone to look at them,” Wani expresses. “Because some singers, they just sing. But some singers perform and entertain people by showing, ‘This is me. Look at me.’ That’s what I aspire to be. Like, whenever we stand on stage, people are going to look at us without stopping. I want to be on that level.”
Throughout her career, she did manage to speak with a few of her idols, specifically Stacy and Jaclyn Victor. “Dulu I always looked up [to them], but now they give me advice,” she says. “And what they always advise me is to always stay humble. Keep doing music. No matter what people are gonna tell you about your music, macam music you tak sedap ke… only you know your talent, so just don’t stop moving. Don’t let the ‘haters’ overtake your own self.”
“I am proud to represent my family.”
Finding the ‘Wani Kayrie sound’
After switching labels a few years ago (Wani is currently signed to Rocketfuel Entertainment, with Astro) she has been determined to establish herself in the industry more than ever. “I started my career with pop music because people know that I love to sing and dance at the same time, so whenever I create songs with composers, I will tell them that,” Wani says. “I want something that people can acknowledge it’s Wani Kayrie. So, pop, but also has some elements of music that you can dance to, so it’s suitable for concerts and performances. And that’s when people know it’s Wani Kayrie punya direction and genre. I try to stay relevant by making music that people can instantly know — that’s the Wani Kayrie sound.”
Shaping her identity has become her number one priority, and she is happy to devote however long it takes to perfect it. She has spent the better part of the year working patiently with various composers, each one with a vastly different idea about how she can develop herself as an artist. And all while they craft the music, Wani has also been quietly improving herself in her own time, too.
“I think what I learned from all my seniors, my sifu, is that to become a good performer is to always practise at home,” she says. “No matter how good you sing, you have to sing every day to maintain your quality of singing. Because if you want to be a good performer, you also have to practise how to talk to people. How to engage with different audiences. So, I’ve learned a lot because I’ve been performing for, you know, formal events, charity events. I learned how to adapt myself to different types of performances.”
A big leap forward
Social media has played a huge part in developing her music career. As a kid growing up in the 2010s, Wani is pretty adept at understanding the latest trends and knowing what the people are into, at all times. And in her quest to revive the modern pop scene, she is also aware of what it takes to make it “I mean, we all have what we want,” she says. “I like this kind of music, but maybe my listeners like that kind of music. So whatever it is, we have to still include what I love into what people want to hear, because we have to sell the music, right? That’s why I rasa it’s very important to also know what they want. Because they’re the ones who are gonna pay for our music, and support and share our music, or make it viral. So itulah how I sustain, I have to always be active on social media walaupun it can be very hard.”
Wani tells me that her upcoming project is about to be her biggest one yet: a full album; as she puts it, her first real one since she was 10 years old. “Of course it’s a bit hectic and challenging at the same time, but it’s a very fun process,” she shares about the process of seeing the album to fruition. “Because from there, we get to know the composers and they also get to know what are our different techniques, and what else that they can ‘korek’ from us, you know? It’s like, ‘Oh, I thought Wani Kayrie cannot do this. Oh, she can do this.’ That’s where we get along and bond, and from there, hopefully a good song will come out.”
She can’t say too much about the upcoming album just yet, but what she can tell us is that she worked with a number of different composers, “very talented composers that have won many awards”. And even though there are many different composers on the album, she promises that “all the songs have a unique sound that would represent Wani Kayrie”.
editor-in-chief & creative direction MARTIN TEO | assisted by RONN TAN & MALLIE MARAN | interview PUTERI YASMIN SURAYA | photography EDMUND LEE (ONE3FOUR STUDIO) | videography POR JIA JUN & STANLEY LOH | art JOYCE LIM | makeup KEVIN LEE | hair CODY CHUA | styled by ISAAC CHONG | assistant stylist ZIYIN TAN | wardrobe COACH