Anggun

Anggun Cipta Sasmi (Indonesian pronunciation: [aŋˈɡun ˈtʃipta ˈsasmi]; born 29 April 1974), known mononymously as Anggun, is an Indonesian-French singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born in Jakarta, she began performing at the age of seven and recorded a children's album two years later. She rose to fame in 1989 as a teenage rock star and by 1993 she had released five Indonesian-language studio albums and a soundtrack album to the Indonesian film Si Roy (1989). Rolling Stone listed her single "Mimpi" as one of the 150 Greatest Indonesian Songs of All Time.
Anggun left Indonesia for England in 1994 to pursue an international career. She later moved to France and recorded her first international album, Snow on the Sahara (1997). It was released in 33 countries by Sony Music and sold more than one million copies worldwide. Since then, Anggun has released another six studio albums—in English and French—and a soundtrack album to the Danish film Open Hearts (2002). Her singles "Snow on the Sahara", "What We Remember", "The Good Is Back", and "Perfect World" entered the Billboard charts in the United States while "In Your Mind", "Saviour" and "I'll Be Alright" charted on the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles. She represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, with the song "Echo (You and I)".
Anggun ventured into television, becoming the judge for the Indonesian versions of The X Factor (2013), Got Talent (2014), and The Voice (2018); the pancontinental Asia's Got Talent (2015–2019); the French version of Masked Singer (2019–2022); and the Belgian version of StarMaker (2023). She was the leading actress in musical theater show Al Capone (2023) and played supporting roles in the film Coup de foudre à Bangkok (2020) and TV series Profession Comédien (2021). Aside from her career in entertainment, Anggun has been appointed as the global ambassador of the United Nations twice, first for the International Year of Microcredit in 2005 and then for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2009.
Anggun is one of the best-selling Asian artists outside Asia, with her releases certified gold and platinum in some European countries. She is the first Indonesian artist to have success in European and American record charts. She has received accolades for her achievements, including the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the Government of France, the World Music Award for World's Best-Selling Indonesian Artist, and the Asian Television Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Television Performing Arts. She became the first woman from Indonesia to be immortalized in wax by Madame Tussauds.
Anggun was born in Jakarta on 29 April 1974. She is the second child of Darto Singo, a Javanese writer, and Dien Herdina, a housewife from the Yogyakarta royal family. Her full name means "grace born of a dream". Despite being a Muslim, Anggun was sent to a Catholic school to receive a better elementary education. At the age of seven, Anggun began receiving daily strict instructions in singing and was given homework to write poems with the melodies that could become a song, aimed at triggering her songwriting skills, by her father. Even though her father was not a singer, he guided her to improve her vocal skill by following the instructions in a vocal practicing book written by Bina Vokalia vocal coach Pranadjaja. Her mother began serving as her manager. At the age of nine, Anggun started writing her own songs and recorded her debut album, which featured covers of songs by Indonesian country singer Ritta Rubby Hartland, titled Kepada Alam dan Pencintanya (1983). However, the album was not published until she gained recognition in the early 1990s.
In adolescence, Anggun was influenced by Western rock music and she began to choose her career as a rock singer. In 1986, she met Ian Antono, the guitarist and music producer of God Bless, and released her first commercial studio album, Dunia Aku Punya; however, it did not achieve commercial success. She rose to fame three years later, with the single "Mimpi"; it was ranked by Rolling Stone Indonesia as one of the 150 Greatest Indonesian Songs of All Time. In the early 1990s she released hit singles such as "Tua Tua Keladi", "Laba Laba", and "Takut". She recorded the studio albums Anak Putih Abu Abu (1991) and Nocturno (1992). The former earned her the Most Popular Indonesian Artist 1990–1991 award.
In 1992, Anggun began a relationship with Michel Georgea, a French engineer. They married, despite a rumoured objection by Anggun's family on the grounds that Anggun was too young. Georgea later became Anggun's manager. The following year, Anggun became the youngest Indonesian singer to found her own record company, Bali Cipta Records, taking creative control over her work. She produced her fourth (fifth overall) Indonesian studio album, Anggun C. Sasmi... Lah!!! (1993), which yielded the hit song "Kembalilah Kasih (Kita Harus Bicara)". By age nineteen, she had sold over four million albums in Indonesia. She was dissatisfied with her success in her country and began considering an international music career.
In 1994, Anggun released Yang Hilang, a greatest hits album of her Indonesian popular songs. She later sold her record company to fund her move to Europe, and moved to London. In a 2006 interview, Anggun admitted to "culture shock" and financial problems while trying to start her new life in Europe.
Her demos in England were returned with negative replies. She considered relocating to the Netherlands, but decided to move to France. In 1996, she met French singer Florent Pagny, who became her mentor. Pagny introduced her to French producer Erick Benzi. Impressed, Benzi offered her a recording project. Anggun was signed to Columbia France and Sony Music. After learning to speak French at Alliance Française for only three months, Anggun worked on her debut album with Benzi, alongside songwriters Jacques Veneruso and Nikki Matheson [fr].
In June 1997, Anggun released her first French-language album, entitled Au nom de la lune, an artistic departure experimenting with world music and adult contemporary sounds. The album's first single, "La neige au Sahara", became a hit in France, reaching number three on SNEP's airplay chart and number 16 on its sales chart,. It became the most played French-language song of 1997, with a total of 7,900 radio airplays, and was certified gold for 250,000 copies. The album peaked at number 34 on the French Albums Chart and sold over 150,000 copies in France and Belgium. Anggun received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 1998 Victoires de la Musique.
The English version of the album, Snow on the Sahara, was released in 33 countries between 1997 and 1999. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called the album "a promising debut". Its lead single, "Snow on the Sahara" reached number one in Italy, number five on the Japan's Tokio Hot 100, and number six on the UK Pop Club Chart. The song was used as the soundtrack for a marketing campaign by the Swiss watchmaker Swatch. The second single, "A Rose in the Wind" became a top-20 hit in Italy, while its Indonesian version, titled "Kembali", became a hit in Southeast Asia. Snow on the Sahara has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide and received the Diamond Export Sales Award.
In North America, Snow on the Sahara was released in May 1998 by Epic Records. Anggun went on a tour for nine months in the US to promote the album. She appeared on American television programs such as The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Sessions at West 54th, Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular, and CNN World Beat. The album peaked at 23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart and shipped 200,000 units. The single reached 16 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play and 22 on the Billboard Adult Top 40. The album track "On the Breath of an Angel" was used as the soundtrack of American television series Passions and television film The Princess and the Marine, both aired on NBC.
After divorcing Michel Georgea in 1999, Anggun worked on her second French album, Désirs contraires, released in September 1999. It experimented with electropop and ambient elements as well as R&B. The album was produced by Benzi, with some of Anggun's compositions. It peaked at number 48 on the French albums chart and sold about 30,000 copies there. The album's first single, "Un geste d'amour", reached 62 on the French Singles Chart. The English version enjoyed more success. Chrysalis was released at the same time as Désirs contraires Distributed simultaneously in 15 countries, it spawned the hit single "Still Reminds Me", which received high airplay across Asia and Europe. It became her third number-one hit in Indonesia since her international career and her third top 20 single in Italy (peaking at number 17). It reached the top five on the Music & Media European Border Breakers Chart. She released a single especially for the Indonesian and Malaysian market, "Yang 'Ku Tunggu" (the Indonesian version of "Un geste d'amour"), which became a number-one hit in the region.
At the end of 2000 Anggun the Vatican invited her to appear at a Christmas concert. The following month, she started a tour across Asia and Europe, including her first concert in France at Le Bataclan on 1 February 2001. The tour ended on 30 April 2001 at Kallang Theatre, Singapore. In 2002, she received the Women Inspire Award from Singapore's Beacon of Light for "her achievements as a role model for many young women in Asia." The next year, she was honored with Cosmopolitan Indonesia's Fun Fearless Female of the Year Award.
Collaborations, soundtrack projects, and charity albums included a French-English song with DJ Cam entitled "Summer in Paris" on his 2002 album, Soulshine; an Indonesian-English song with Deep Forest entitled "Deep Blue Sea" on their 2002 album, Music Detected; and three collaborations in 2003, including with Italian rock singers Piero Pelù, Serge Lama and Tri Yann. Her duet with Pelù entitled "Amore immaginato [it]" became a hit in Italy, spending over two months at the top of the Italian Airplay Chart; she sung it at the Italian Music Awards in 2003.
Anggun participated in two Scandinavian movies: contributing the song "Rain (Here Without You)" for Anja & Viktor in 2001, and the entire soundtrack for Open Hearts in 2002. For Open Hearts, Anggun worked with two Danish producers, Jesper Winge Leisner [da] and Niels Brinck. "Open Your Heart" was released as a single from the soundtrack album and charted at 51 on the Norwegian Singles Chart. It earned Anggun a nomination for Best Original Song at the Danish Film Academy's Robert Awards in 2003. "Counting Down" was released as a single and became a top-ten airplay hit in Indonesia. Anggun left Sony Music in 2003 after its merger with BMG Music. She moved to Montreal, Canada where Olivier Maury became her manager. In 2004, Anggun and Maury were married in a private ceremony in Bali.
In 2004, Anggun returned to Paris and landed a record deal with Heben Music. She began working on her next album with producers including Jean-Pierre Taieb and Frederic Jaffre. Anggun enlisted the help of French songwriters such as Jean Fauque [fr], Lionel Florence [fr; es], Tété and Evelyn Kral to adapt her English songs into French. In late 2004, Anggun released her first solo French single in nearly four years, "Être une femme", which became Anggun's second top-20 hit in France and her first French single to chart on the Swiss Singles Chart. Anggun's third French album, Luminescence, was released in February 2005. It reached number 16 on the French Albums Chart was certified Gold for selling 100,000 copies. The second single, "Cesse la pluie" reached the charts in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. According to Francophonie Diffusion, "Être une femme" and "Cesse la pluie" were the second and the fifth most-played French singles of 2005 worldwide, respectively.
"Undress Me" was chosen as the first single from the English version. Unaccompanied by a music video, it debuted at 13 in Italy, becoming her fifth top 20 single there. It became Anggun's first hit in the Middle East and Balkans. "In Your Mind" was released as the second single, becoming a hit in Asia. The third single, "Saviour", was used as the soundtrack for the U.S. box office number-one film Transporter 2.
Anggun was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (Knight of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture for her achievements and support of French culture. She was appointed as the ambassadress for a Swiss watch brand, Audemars Piguet. Anggun did a duet with Julio Iglesias on a reworked version of "All of You" in Indonesian version for his album Romantic Classics (2006). On 25 May 2006, Anggun performed on her sold-out solo concert at the Jakarta Convention Center, entitled Konser Untuk Negeri. She later on toured to few cities in Indonesia, such as Medan and Bandung.
In August 2006, Anggun released the special edition of both the French and English versions of Luminescence with three new songs. "Juste avant toi", the new single from the special edition, became Anggun's fourth Top 40 hit, peaking at number 28 on the French Singles Chart. Meanwhile, its English version, "I'll Be Alright", became her most popular Russophone hit with over 43,000 airplays from more than 350 radio stations across the region. Luminescence was re-issued in February 2007 and peaked at number three on the French Back Catalogue Chart. In September 2006, Anggun performed her song, "Cesse la pluie" at Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix in Sopot, Poland.
In December 2006, Anggun was named Best International Artist at Anugerah Musik Indonesia for introducing Indonesian music to the international recording industry. She released her Best-Of album in Indonesia and Malaysia, which compiled singles during the first decade of her international career. The new version of "Mimpi" was released as a radio single and became a hit in Indonesia in 2006 to 2007. Anggun released Best-Of for the Italian market with a different track listing and "I'll Be Alright" as its lead single. She was featured on German band Reamonn's single "Tonight".
During the year, Anggun participated in environmental projects. She became the French-language narrator of BBC nature documentary film Earth (Un jour sur Terre), and composed its soundtrack single, "Un jour sur terre". She was appointed as the Ambassador of the Micro-environment Prize by the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and National Geographic Channel. Anggun was awarded Le grand cœur de l'année (The Great Heart of the Year) by French television network Filles TV for her contribution to social and environmental events. In February 2007, Anggun was invited as the guest star on an episode of the fourth season of Star Academy Arab World in Lebanon. She returned to another episode of the show's fifth season in the following year. She did a duet with Italian singer Roby Facchinetti and his son, Francesco Facchinetti in a song, titled Vivere Normale. Then, she has been invited to sing it at an Italian music festival, the 57th Sanremo Music Festival. In March 2007, she did a number performance with Nicole Croisille and sang Croisille's hit "Une femme avec toi" on Symphonic Show for Sidaction. In December 2007, she received her second invitation from the Vatican to perform in the Christmas concert in Verona, Italy, along with Michael Bolton. She covered Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" with Corsican group I Muvrini for their album I Muvrini et les 500 choristes (2007). She was featured on the remix version of DJ Laurent Wolf's number-one hit "No Stress" for the deluxe edition of his album Wash My World. Anggun and Wolf performed the song at the 2008 World Music Awards in Monaco.
In 2008, Anggun released her fourth international studio album, Elevation. It experimented with urban and hip hop. Elevation was produced by hip hop producer pair Tefa & Masta [fr]. "Crazy" was released as the lead single from the album, with its French and Indonesian versions, "Si tu l'avoues" and "Jadi Milikmu", serving as the first single there. Canadian cinematographer Ivan Grbovic directed its music videos; it charted at 6 on Francophonie Diffusion Chart. Another single from this album, called "My Man" or in the French version, "Si je t'emmène" topped to number 11 on the same chart. This song featured rappers Pras Michel from the Fugees. The music video for its versions was directed by Jean-Baptiste Erreca [fr]. Anggun, with this album, had made her music travel to Russia with positive reactions there. In Russia, Elevation was released with an additional song, "О нас с тобой (O Nas S Toboyu)", which was recorded as a duet with Russian singer Max Lorens [ru]. Later, she remade the song in English , called "No Song", and Indonesian , called "Berganti Hati". For "Berganti Hati", she was helped by Indonesian director Jay Subiyakto [id] to make the music video. Prior to its official release, the album was certified double platinum, making it the fastest-selling album of her career in Indonesia. In France, the album debuted at 36 on the French Albums Chart. Later, one of her songs in this album, "Stronger", was chosen to be Anlene's advertisement soundtrack for Southeast Asia territory. For the Asian Edition album, she included a song written by Morgan Visconti and Rosi Golan, "Shine". Pantene used this for the soundtrack of its short movie commercial. On 6 December 2008, Anggun joined the jury for Miss France 2009.
Anggun's four-year ambassador contract with Audemars Piguet was extended, and she was chosen by hair care brand, Pantene, and New Zealand-based dairy product, Anlene, as their ambassador. In 2009, Italian singer Mina did a cover from one of Anggun's songs, "A Rose in the Wind", in her album Riassunti d'amore - Mina Cover. Anggun made a promo tour called Anggun Elevation Acoustic Showcase and served only 200 guest seats on 24 & 27 March 2009 at Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur. She made concerts in Indonesia and toured the cities of Bandung, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Surabaya and Medan. In August 2009, she was invited to perform her song "Saviour" at New Wave 2009 in Jūrmala, Latvia. On 16 October 2009, she attended FAO World Food Day event, called All is Possible, at 4th International Rome Film Festival.
In early 2010, Anggun recorded a duet with Portuguese singer Mickael Carreira on the song "Chama por me (Call My Name)", as well as performing at his concert in Lisbon, Portugal on 26 February 2010. She collaborated with German electronica musician Schiller, co-writing and contributing lead vocals to two tracks, "Always You" and "Blind", for his album Atemlos (2010). Anggun appeared Schiller's concert series, Atemlos Tour, in 14 cities in Germany during May 2010. Anggun did a cameo for 2010 French drama film Ces amours-là directed by Claude Lelouch.
Anggun's fifth international studio album—Echoes for the English version and Échos for the French version—saw her collaboration with composers Gioacchino Maurici [fr], Pierre Jaconelli [fr], Jean-Pierre Pilot [fr], and William Rousseau. It became her first self-produced international album and was released under her own record label, April Earth. The English version was released in Indonesia in May 2011. It topped the Indonesian Albums Chart and was certified platinum in its first week. It eventually became the best-selling pop album of 2011, with quadruple platinum certification. On this stage, Anggun had won 56 platinum records in 26 countries, from "Snow on the Sahara" to "Echo (You and I)". "Only Love" and its Indonesian version "Hanyalah Cinta" were released as the lead singles and became number-one radio hits. The French version was released in November 2011 and reached number 48 on the French Albums Chart. "Je partirai", the first single for the French version, reached number five in Belgium. Anggun held her second major concert at the Jakarta Convention Center, Konser Kilau Anggun, on 27 November 2011. She later appeared for the third time at the Christmas concert in the Vatican.
Anggun was chosen by France Télévisions to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. She co-wrote the entry, "Echo (You and I)", with William Rousseau and Jean-Pierre Pilot. Anggun toured more than 15 countries in Europe to promote the song. The song finished in 22nd place.
In March 2012, she released the international edition of Echoes. She embarked on a concert tour in several cities across France, Switzerland and New Caledonia, including her sold-out concert in Le Trianon, Paris, on 13 June 2012. Anggun joined United Nations campaign, Earth Day: Save the Forest in Italy. On Valentine's Day that year, she appeared as the guest artist at Lara Fabian's concert special on MTV Lebanon, where they sang the duet "Tu es mon autre". Anggun toured 10 cities in Germany with Schiller in late 2012. Anggun performed at Les Fous Chantants festival [fr] in Alès, France. In this event, she was accompanied by 1,000 choirs. At the end of 2012, she was appointed by Director of Indosat, Erik Meijer [id], as brand ambassador of Indosat Mentari Paket Smartphone.
In 2013, Anggun served as the international judge for the first season of the Indonesian version of The X Factor, making her the highest-paid judge in Indonesian television history. It became the year's highest-rated talent show in Indonesia. Anggun was lauded by public and critics. She joined the judging panel of the television special X Factor Around the World on 24 August 2013. She participated on the concept album entitled Thérèse – Vivre d'amour, for which she recorded two duets—"Vivre d'amour" and "La fiancée"—with Canadian singer Natasha St-Pier. Released in April 2013, the project topped the French Physical Albums Chart with platinum record (sold 100,000 copies). In May 2013, Anggun released a greatest hits album entitled Best-Of: Design of a Decade 2003–2013. In this year, Olay management and Procter & Gamble chose Anggun to be ambassador of Olay Total Effect. She and Natasha St-Pier were invited to sing in front of Pope Francis on 7 December 2013 at Concerto di Natale XXI edizione in Auditorium della Conciliazione, Rome.
At the 2013 Taormina Film Fest in Italy, she was presented with the Taormina Special Award for her humanitarian works as the FAO Goodwill Ambassador. Anggun with David Foster, alongside Ruben Studdard, Michael Johns, David Cook, and Nicole Scherzinger performed on David Foster & Friends Private Concert in Jakarta. She sang three songs, including Whitney Houston's hits, "I Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing" and her own song, "Snow on the Sahara". She did a photoshoot and interview with VOGUE Italia in November 2013. She wore Azzaro's and Louis Vuitton's stellar. The same month she was appointed by President of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Nasser Al-Khelaifi to be the ambassador of the club. On 22 November 2013, she joined French General Manager of PSG Jean-Claude Blanc and Indonesia's ambassador to France Rezlan Ishar Jenie [id; jv] to launch the club official site with Indonesian language for Indonesian Les Parisiens which Anggun was the icon of this site. She received the number 10 jersey, PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimović's number.
Anggun was recruited to the judging panel for Syco's franchise, Indonesia's Got Talent in 2014. To prepare, she received instruction from Simon Cowell during the set of Britain's Got Talent.
Anggun re-recorded her debut international single as a French-Portuguese duet with Tony Carreira, retitled "La neige au Sahara (Faço Chover No Deserto)", for Carreira's album Nos fiançailles, France/Portugal. The duo performed the song at the 2014 World Music Awards in Monaco, where Anggun was awarded the World's Best-Selling Indonesian Artist. In June, Anggun launched her first fragrance, Grace, named after her name in English. Grace, eau de parfume, production was under the Thailand-based BEL Perfumes label. She did a collaboration with a young Dutch DJ Indyana on a song titled "Right Place Right Time". Later on, this song was chosen to be the anthem of Dreamfields Festival [de] on 16 August 2014 at Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Bali. In late 2014, Anggun recorded two duets: "Who Wants to Live Forever" with Il Divo for their album A Musical Affair and "Pour une fois" with Vincent Niclo for his album Ce que je suis. Anggun released "Fly My Eagle" as soundtrack for the film Pendekar Tongkat Emas. On 10 July 2014, Anggun was invited by Air France to perform at Air France Inauguration of Jakarta-Paris Travel Route. Anggun performed in Africa twice during 2014, for Roberto Cavalli's Casa Fashion Show in Casablanca, Morocco, and for the 15th annual French-speaking World Summit in Dakar, Senegal. She was invited by Pope Francis to attend at a Christmas concert at the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi on 25 December 2014. She sang "Malam Kudus", an Indonesian version of "Silent Night", and "O Little Town of Bethlehem".
In 2015, Anggun, alongside David Foster, Melanie C (Spice Girls) and Vanness Wu (F4), was announced as a judge on the debut of Asia's Got Talent. Joined by contestants from 15 countries in Asia, the show premiered on AXN Asia on 12 March 2015. The Asian Academy of Music Arts and Sciences appointed Anggun to its board of governors, and its first ambassador. At the 2015 Anugerah Planet Muzik in Singapore, she received the International Breakthrough Artist Award for the first internationally successful act from a Malay-speaking country. To celebrate the 120th anniversary of cinema and its music, she sang on a compilation album of movie soundtracks. This album reached no. 6 in France and 66 in Belgium. SK-II and Harper's Bazaar Indonesia honored Anggun as one of 15 Most Inspiring Women. She joined the "SK-II's Change Destiny" campaign and became a spokesperson alongside actress Cate Blanchett and Michelle Phan for its event in Los Angeles and she was chosen by SK-II management to be the ambassador of SK-II. In 2016, Anggun sat on the panel as judges for SK-II Beauty Bound Indonesia. The same year, Anggun was appointed ambassador of Aviation Without Borders. In June 2015, she was invited by Michael Bolton to perform a duet and as an opening act at his concert in Kasablanka Concert Hall, Jakarta. On 16 October 2015, Les Enfants de la terre [fr] produced a musical tale recorded album for kids called Martin & les fées (Martin & The Fairies) which Anggun play the musical role as "La Fée Doriane" (The Doriane Fairy) and recorded 5 songs. Other artists who joined this project was Yannick Noah, Garou, Lorie, Gad Elmaleh, Gérard Lenorman, Vincent Niclo, Patrick Fiori, Lisa Angell, Dany Brillant, Julie Zenatti, Natasha St-Pier and more. Anggun helped to recor Frozen's "Let It Go" in Indonesian, called "Lepaskan". She joined the jury panel for Miss France 2016 on 19 December 2015.
Anggun's sixth French-language studio album, Toujours un ailleurs, was released in November 2015 by TF1 Musique under Universal Music Group with her lead single, "A nos enfants". Produced by Frédéric Chateau [fr; ja] and Grammy Award-winning producer Brian Rawling, the album revisited the world music direction of her debut international album with diverse cultures ambiance, such as Japanese, Colombian, Samoan, Spanish, and English. Toujours un ailleurs became Anggun's most successful album in France since Luminescence (2005), charting for 24 weeks on the French Albums Chart (peaking at number 43) and sold over 50,000 copies. It became her best-charting album in Belgium, debuting at number 43 and remaining on the chart for 31 weeks (making 5 re-enters). The album's single, "Nos vies parallèles" peaked at number 47 on the French Singles Chart and number 39 on the Belgian Ultratop Singles Chart (her first top-40 hit since "Être une femme"). This single featured one of French musical legends Florent Pagny as he helped Anggun to pursue her career in France years ago and Columbian singer Yuri Buenaventura [ca; de; es; fr; oc]. According to Francophonie Diffusion, "Nos vies parallèles" was the third-most played French song worldwide during March 2016. Both Anggun and Florent Pagny traveled to Havana, Cuba, for music video shooting which directed by Igreco. Maxime Le Forestier's song, "Née quelque part [fr]", being rearranged by Anggun and her team, alongside Grammy Award-winning singer and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo as she featured in this single. "Face au vent" was the third lead single of this album after "A nos enfants" and "Nos vies parallèles". In this single's music video, actor and dancer Benoît Maréchal [fr] being featured again after he did great performance on "A Crime" and "Garde-moi" music videos in 2006. Darius Salimi was chosen to direct six music videos for this album,including "A nos enfants", "Face au vent", "Toujours un ailleurs", "Est-ce que tu viendras?", "Mon capitaine", and "Née quelque part". To promote the album, Anggun embarked on a 23-date concert tour across France and Belgium.
She performed as a guest singer at Siti Nurhaliza's concert titled Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert on April 2, 2016, in Stadium Negara. She and Siti did duet for two songs, Anggun's hit "Snow on the Sahara" and Siti's hit "Bukan Cinta Biasa [ms]". In July 2016, she became second most influent person on Twitter in France. She being invited to have a role as a columnist and guest radio host on Europe 1 radio show, called Les Pieds dans le plat, by Cyril Hanouna with another French celebrities, such as Valérie Benaïm, Jean-Luc Lemoine, Jérôme Commandeur, Estelle Denis and Bertrand Chameroy [fr]. On 23–25 September 2016, Anggun attended Festival Film Indonesia at Cinema Spazio Alfieri, Florence. Anggun sang the acoustic version of "Snow on the Sahara". This event was collaborated with Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Rome and Indonesia Meets Italy Association as the part of Settimane della Cultura Indonesiana in Italia to reflects the progress of the increasingly dynamic Indonesian film industry. Anggun received the Key to the City award from Dario Nardella, the Mayor of Florence, Italy. Anggun was featured on new-age music group Enigma's eight studio album The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016), providing lead vocals for three songs, including the lead single "Sadeness (Part II)", which is the sequel to the 1990 number-one hit "Sadeness (Part I)". The Album topped US Top Dance/Electronic Album charts in United States.
Kotak invited Anggun to do a duet with them in a song titled "Teka-Teki" in October 2016. Anggun joined Belgian-francophone charity show Télévie [fr] to raise funds to support scientific research in the fight against cancer and leukemia in children and adults. She sang her song "Nos vies parallèles" and a duet with Christophe Maé on his song, called "Charly". They raised over €10 million. Azerbaijan-Russian singer-songwriter Emin make a duet song with Anggun, called "If You Go Away" for his newest album Love is A Deadly Game. The song was a cover from original song by Jacques Brel, called "Ne me quitte pas". Anggun was invited to be a guest performer and did a duet with Lara Fabian at Lara's concert Ma vie dans la tienne Tour 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. Anggun and Lara sang a ballad song from Lara's album Nue, "J'y crois encore". Anggun was invited by Indonesian television network SCTV as guest performer at Long Live The Biggest Concert Kotak x Anggun feat NAFF on 23 November 2016 in Jakarta. She sang "Yang 'Ku Tunggu" as an opening act and "Teka-Teki" as a duet with Kotak. She held a "three-dates concert" at Le Café de la Danse [fr] on December, 1st-3rd 2016. She performed 18 songs, including covers from Michel Berger's "Quelques mots d'amour [fr; id]", Maxime Le Forestier's "Née quelque part [fr]" and Axel Bauer's "Cargo [de; fr]". She was invited to perform on 24 December 2016 at Christmas concert in Parco della Musica, Rome. She sang two Christmas carols as soloist, "The Christmas Song" and, accompanied by flutist Andrea Griminelli [it; ja], "La Vita è Bella". Anggun, alongside Rebecca Ferguson, Anna Tatangelo and Deborah Iurato, performed Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". For the encore, she with another guest performers sang "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" as assemble.
Anggun toured France and Belgium to promote her French album, Toujours un ailleurs, and finalized her performance at Festival international des métiers d'art (FIMA) 2017 in Baccarat, France. She returned as a judge on the second season of Asia's Got Talent.
On 12 October 2017, Anggun released a lyric video for "What We Remember" on YouTube as the first single of her new album "8". On 7 December 2017, an official music video of "What We Remember" was released on YouTube and she held the first performance of this song on Grand Finale of Asia's Got Talent stage. Anggun released her lead single "What We Remember" in December 2017. It was directed by Roy Raz and the video was made in Ukraine. She and her husband contributed to the album 8; it was released on 8 December 2017. It reached no. 1 in Indonesia, no. 5 in Malaysia, and no. 18 in Singapore on iTunes. On Apple Music it reached no. 7 in Indonesia, no. 21 in Malaysia, no. 30 in Vietnam, Top 60 in Singapore, Top 100 in Philippines, and Top 200 in Sri Lanka. In December 2017, in the Philippines, she did several performances in Eastwood Open Park Mall. She was being a guest star on ASAP and 24 Oras interview. In Malaysia, she held Meet & Greet with High Tea Session for her fans to promote the album in St. Regis Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. On 20 April 2018, she announced and release duet version for her brand new singles from her latest album, called "The Good Is Back" with Rossa and Fazura. Her songs, "What We Remember" and "The Good is Back" charted on US Billboard Dance Club Chart. "What We Remember" reached no. 8 on that chart for about 16 weeks and no. 15 on Asia Pop 40 throughout 2018. This single reached the Top 10 of the charts in UK, US, Spain, Germany, and Indonesia. "The Good is Back" got in to the US Billboard Dance Club Chart and topped to no. 20 for 9 weeks. American blogger and media personality Perez Hilton wrote on his blog that Anggun's "What We Remember" could be compared with Sade's and Dido's songs.
She was invited for the seventh time by Pope Francis & Vatican to perform on 4 January 2018 at Concerto dell'Epifania at Teatro Mediterraneo [it] in Naples. She sang "Snow on the Sahara" and "What We Remember". On 5 June 2018, she was performing at night for Grand Opening Renaissance Bali Hotel in Bali. She performed at Notte Bianca as the main guest star on 23 June 2018. The festival was at Piazza Martiri della libertà [it] in Pontedera, Pisa. Anggun got photoshoots for French cultural society magazine Technikart. In July 2018, she attended European Latin Awards at Stadio Benito Stirpe in Frosinone, Italy. She performed "Undress Me [id; it]", "A Rose in the Wind", "Snow on the Sahara", and "Amore immaginato [it]". She won Best International Singer award there. Another guest star performer were Bob Sinclar, Black Eyed Peas, Gipsy Kings, Juan Magan and Carlos Rivera. Anggun performed at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2018 at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) stadium, Central Jakarta, on August 18, 2018. He sang a song titled "Pemuda", which was popularized by the Indonesian musical group Chaseiro [id; es; pt] from the album Persembahan which was released in 2001. Anggun sang on over artificial mountains and waterfalls. She joined coaching panel for The Voice Indonesia Season 3 alongside Armand Maulana [id; jv; mad; pl; su], Titi DJ, and duo Nino Kayam [id] from RAN with Vidi Aldiano. Anggun was invited by high-fashion brand COACH to have great visit and did a number of performance for the opening of new branch store in Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Anggun attended the opening with her husband, Malaysian singers couple Fazura & Fattah Amin, Taiwanese singer Dizzy Dizzo and Malaysian-Singaporean actor Lawrence Wong. In November 2018, she was invited to joined French Navy and got a chance to operate Le Mistral, an amphibious assault ship for three days. She reported her experiences on the show called Noël avec soldats (Christmas with Soldiers) at Port-Bouët army base in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Anggun took part in the production of the documentary Silent Night — A Song for the World. She made soundtracks on two versions of "Silent Night" gospel, "Malam Kudus" in Indonesian and "Douce nuit, sainte nuit" in French which she recorded in London. She began the filming production process in Germany. This film was narrated by Hugh Bonneville and directed by Austrian director & film-maker Hannes M. Schalle.
In early 2019, Anggun toured cities in Italy, including Milan, Foligno, and Bologna. She toured in seven dates for this Intimate Concert Tour. France 2 and Radio France held a charity concert after a fire attempt damaged Notre-Dame on 15 April 2019. All of the benefits from this concert was donated for reconstruction and restorative actions of the building. Anggun was being invited to perform at the concert and she sang one of numbers from Notre-Dame de Paris musical, "Vivre". Anggun performed with David Foster alongside Brian McKnight, Yura Yunita, and several artists during The Hitman: David Foster and Friends concert series at De Tjolomadoe, Central Java, 24 March 2019. Anggun was invited to perform at the concert in two different cities, namely in the city of Solo, Central Java and the city of Surabaya, East Java. On 5 July 2019, she and P&G held a charity concert, called Gemilang 30 Tahun at the Tennis Indoor Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Donations collected from this concert were worth US$218,560.50. After the concert, she performed at Prambanan Jazz Festival [id] 2019 as guest star. This was the third time for Anggun to perform at Prambanan Temple. On 28 July 2019, Anggun continued her Italian tour concert at Alpe Adria Arena, Lignano. Anggun became a panelist on Mask Singer, reaching nearly 7 million viewers. She returned for another season of the show. She returned for Asia's Got Talent Season 3. Her song "Perfect World" from Toujours un ailleurs topped to no. 5 in the first week to no. 18 on US Billboard Dance Club Chart in December 2019. Anggun does a duet with Luciano Pavarotti virtually at The Luciano Pavarotti Foundation and Anggun in concert at the Simfonia Hall in Jakarta.
In January 2020, she attended the 24th Asian Television Awards in Manila, Philippines where she performed and was awarded Outstanding Contribution to Asian Television Performing Arts. Due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, she had to postpone her tour from the end of 2019 until the beginning of 2020. However, she began a career in acting. She took a part as Maleen Suthama in television movie drama Coup de foudre à Bangkok [fr]. This was the sixth part of the Coup de foudre à ... [fr] collection. The production was taken in February 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand. Also in February 2020, Switzerland-based fashion magazine BLUSH Editions printed an interview and a feature "Winter Garden with Pinel & Pinel [fr]". In March 2020, she performed in Moscow, Russia. She sang a Russophone classic song called "О́чи чёрные (Ochi Chernye)" which means "Dark Eyes" in English. In Indonesian culture from West Java, this song was rearranged and interpreted to a Sundanese language folk song called "Panon Hideung" ("Black Eyes"). In April 2020, she did an interview for Harvard Political Review. Anggun returned as panelist on the second season of Mask Singer alongside her previous colleague panelists. In June 2020, RIFFX by Crédit Mutuel published the result of a survey, titled "Barometer: Les 100 Artistes Préférés des Français (Barometer: The 100 Favorite Artists of The French)", which Anggun listed on number 97. This survey was conducted by YouGov with interviewing 1,006 French people (age min. 18 years old) on 1 June to 2 June 2020. On 21 September 2020, she, accompanied by her husband, attended the celebration of 70th anniversary of Pierre Cardin's fashion house at Théâtre du Châtelet. This event screened a documentary titled House of Cardin to honored the legendary French designer. It was directed by P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes. Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Louboutin, Stéphane Rolland, actor Yves Lecoq, and journalist Patrick Poivre d'Arvor attended the event with many artists and French public figures. Musical documentary film about Christmas carol in 2018, Silent Night — A Song for the World, re-produced by The CW and took a date on 10 December 2020 for its special premiere.
Her duet with Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti made a great scene in European classical music market. Anggun attended The 3rd BraVo International Classical Music Awards on April 2, 2021, at Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia. She made a performance with virtual image Luciano Pavarotti and sang "Caruso". At that event, she received a Duet of the Year award because of her duet on "Caruso" performances. She continued the postponed Italy tour concert, starting in Sassuolo on 11 September 2021 and she visited Palazzo Dulcale. She performed at Piazzale della Rosa. On 12 September 2021, she performed at Piazza Capitolo di Aquileia.
On 2 April 2021, Jean-Luc Reichmann, Anggun and her husband shared a moment on shooting situation for her next film project. It was revealed that she will play her role in ninth season of detective-crime film TV series Léo Matteï, Brigade des mineurs [fr; it] (Léo Matteï, miners' brigade). The production process began in September 2021 and will release in 2022 respectively. Jean-Luc Reichmann was the main cast for Léo Matteï role since 2013. Other announced casts were Lola Dubini [fr; ht], Laurent Ournac and Astrid Veillon [ca; fr; hr]. In June 2021, she was chosen to fill her voice as Virana in Disney movie Raya et le Dernier Dragon, a French version of Raya and the Last Dragon. Her daughter, Kirana, made her first appearance in this project as various voice actress. Anggun made her appearance as herself in online series called Profession Comédien on episode 48. This series was launched by comedian Bertrand Uzeel and directed by Fred Testot which the series told us about Bertrand tries to collect as much advice as possible from people in the trade, but nothing will go as planned. She and all previous season's panelist returned on the third season of Mask Singer and started the production in June 2021. On 21 June 2021, she with her husband attended 60th Monte-Carlo Television Festival. On 30 September 2021, she and Moulin Rouge made a performance on "I Am What I Am" at 300 chœurs. She began shooting television variety show series called les Reines du Shopping spéciale Célébrités in September 2021. Dany Brillant invited Anggun to did a duet with him on Charles Aznavour's "Désormais". This song was included in Brillant's Dany Brillant chante Aznavour en duo, a tribute album to the French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour. Anggun was invited to perform for the Opening Ceremony of 2021 National Paralympic Week at Mandala Stadium in Jayapura, Papua. Anggun sang Indonesia's national anthem "Indonesia Raya" alongside 150 Papuan children and her 90's hit "Mimpi", all orchestrated by Indonesian conductor Addie MS. Anggun and her husband were invited by CEO Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) Issam Kazim. She visited Indonesia pavilion at World Expo 2020. In November 2021, she did a photoshoot in Mauritius for 27th Edition of BLUSH Dream Magazine. Anggun was invited by Vatican to perform at Concerto di Natale [it]: Ventinovesima XXIX Edizione in Auditorium della Conciliazione. She sang three songs, including "Silent Night"/"Malam Kudus" mash-up rendition alongside Francesca Michielin, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with reggae icon Shaggy, and "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" alongside children choir called Piccolo Coro Le Dolci Note. She performed at Christmas Contest held by TV2000.
Anggun participated on comedy-musical theatre show with broadway vibe, Al Capone. She acted as Lili, Al Capone's mistress. It will be directed by opera manager and Opéra de Monte-Carlo director Jean-Louis Grinda, composed by Jean-Félix Lalanne [de; eu; fr] and produced by Jean-Marc Dumontet [fr]. The show was performed on 93 dates at Folies Bergère between January and July 2023. The first screening was in April 2022. The album was released on 30 September 2022 on digital music platforms. Anggun and her husband attended the premiere screenplay of Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. Anggun and her husband as keyboardist were invited by Élise Boghossian [fr] to perform for EliseCare's solidarity concert at Olympia. Mayor of Surakarta Gibran Rakabuming Raka collaborated with Shopee Indonesia, Embassy of Indonesia to France and Le BHV Marais to held a fashion exhibition and showcase called Java in Paris in June 2022. Anggun performed as a Javan female folk-singer, named sinden. She accompanied by traditional dancer (arranged by Indonesian choreographer Eko Pece [de; id; jv]) and gamelan music. In August 2022, she re-composed Indonesian patriotic song, "Indonesia Pusaka", for Shopee Indonesia's ad clip in order to celebrate Indonesia's independence day on 17 August. After SKII, Anggun was appointed to be the brand ambassador for Switzerland-luxury skincare brand NIANCE. On 23 September 2022, Anggun joined a project, with Lorenzo Licitra, as a featured artist on the theme song and campaign for the 12th Festival del Cinema Nuovo, the international competition for short films played by disabled people, which was held in Bergamo, Italy. The song called "Eli Hallo" which written by Lorenzo Licitra and Giovanni Segreti Bruno. The music video was directed by Donato Sileo. Eleonora Abbagnato featured as the dancer and a boy with special needs in the music video. For the music video's wardrobe, Anggun wore Zimmermann and Missoni dresses along with Bernard Delettrez jewelry. Anggun was a supporting artist on the French version of Studytracks app for schoolchildren.
Anggun possesses a three-octave contralto voice, which has been described as "husky", "soulful", and "distinctive" by music critics. Chuck Taylor from Billboard commented: "Vocally, Anggun is a fortress of power, easing from a delicate whisper into a brand of cloud-parting fortitude commonly associated with grade-A divas." John Everson from The SouthtownStar noted that "Anggun is gifted with a warm, full voice that can tackle slight pop songs without overpowering them as well as swoop with depth and ease over heavier emotional numbers." Anggun received her first songwriting credit at the age of twelve on her debut album Dunia Aku Punya (1986). Anggun said, "I was writing songs all the time, but my specialty was classical piano and singing."
Anggun started as a rock singer and given nickname as "Lady Rocker" in Indonesia, and was influenced by rock bands such as Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, and Megadeth. She was a big fan of Metallica. After her initial international success, she showed her versatility by changing her musical style for each album. Her later influences cover a wide range of styles from jazz to pop, extending from Joni Mitchell to Madonna. She told VOGUE Italia that she listened to wide range of artists from The Beatles to David Bowie, Billie Holiday to Leonard Cohen, up to Dave Grohl, P!nk and Bruno Mars. Anggun identified Nine Inch Nails's The Fragile (1999) as "the album that changed my life" and the band's frontman Trent Reznor as "the man of my musical life." Her other musical influences include Tracy Chapman, Sheila Chandra and Sting. Anggun, who studied Balinese dance since childhood, uses the traditional art in her performances.
Anggun's image has been compared to that of Pocahontas. Some international articles and magazines give a nickname for Anggun as "Indonesian Madonna (Madonna Indonésienne)" or even "Madonna from Asia (Madonna de l'Asie)". At the early stage of her career as a rock singer, Anggun was known for her tomboy look—wearing a crooked beret, shorts, studded jacket, and large belt; this set a trend during the early 1990s. Later, she has focused on her femininity and sexuality, emphasising her long black hair and brown skin. For this look she uses the work of fashion designers like Roberto Cavalli, Azzedine Alaïa, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana, and many more. Other couture fashion designers that Anggun often wears include Givenchy, Elie Saab, Victoria Beckham, Georges Chakra, Tony Ward, Blumarine, and Zuhair Murad. She also stated that most likely to wear high-heels and Louboutin's suits her. In 2001, Anggun was ranked No. 6 in a list of Sexiest Women of Asia by FHM magazine. Later in 2010, she was ranked at number 18 on the French version of FHM's list of 100 Sexiest Women in the World.
When promoting her first international album in the United States, she was reportedly offered a role as a Bond Girl in The World Is Not Enough, as well as in High Fidelity. Anggun declined to be labeled an actress and said, "I was born a singer. I won't go into another profession, because I think there are still many people out there who were born to be movie stars or models. My calling is music." As for commercials, she tends to be selective when choosing products to promote.
Anggun's success in Europe and America has been credited with helping other Asian singers such as Coco Lee, Hikaru Utada, and Tata Young. Malaysian singer Yuna asked Anggun for guidance when launching her recording career in the United States in 2011 and supporting each other career since then. Ian De Cotta from Singapore newspaper Today called her the "Voice of Asia" as well as "Southeast Asia's international singing sensation." Filipino music journalist Lionel Zivan S. Valdellon described Anggun as "a very good ambassadress for Indonesia and Asia in general". Regarding the role of Asia in the Western music industry, Anggun said "I think it's about time people know something more about Asia, not only as a vacation place."
Since 1997, Angun has actively supported charitable causes, such as the fight against AIDS, tolerance between cultures, and the natural environment.
She was appointed as the spokesperson for the International Year of Microcredit, a United Nations program aimed at eradicating debt in the third world, In 2009, Anggun was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), part of the United Nations. On 15 October 2009, she performed on the occasion of the World Food Day Ceremony at UN headquarters Plenary Hall in New York, New York. She attended Rome Film Festival on the next day and spoke as UN Goodwill Ambassador at TeleFood Campaign Against Hunger in The World. Anggun as FAO Goodwill Ambassador have been named by the United Nations as MDG Champions on 1 September 2010. The announcement was made at UN headquarters in New York. FAO Goodwill Ambassadors, such as Italian actor Raoul Bova, Canadian singer Céline Dion, Filipino singer Lea Salonga and American actress Susan Sarandon, spoke with one voice in an urgent appeal on behalf of the more than one billion people living in chronic hunger worldwide. Anggun, who has appeared in a French film, promoted one of the campaigns she participated in, namely The One Billion Hungry Project. It is a program from FAO to raise awareness of world hunger. She performed "Snow on the Sahara" at the campaign's concert on 19 September 2010 in New York. She got an interview with CNN to talk about this campaign on the same date. Anggun supported the MDG Summit in New York on 22 September 2010. In November 2011, she made a speech at the UN Summit in China.
Anggun wrote her views on several issues, especially in Indonesia, on online platforms Qureta.com and DW. She had more than 150,000 online readers. Mostly she discussed social, humanity, and tolerance topics. On DW, she wrote an article titled "Komunisme dan Emosi Yang Bertautan di Indonesia (Communism and Emotions Are Linked in Indonesia)".
Anggun was raised a Muslim:
She states that she does not have a rigid point of view about religion and tends to Buddhism without breaking with religious belief. She makes it a requirement to admit religious toleration and insists on a separation of religious faith from the basic regulative principle for the individual:
Anggun has been married four times. Her first marriage, in 1992, was to Michel Georgea, a French engineer, getting her reproached in Indonesia for allegedly marrying to advance her career. Her second husband was Louis-Olivier Maury (born March 1972) whom she met in Canada. They married in 2004. When that marriage ended in 2006, she began a relationship with French writer Cyril Montana, whom she eventually married. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Kirana Cipta Montana, on 8 November 2007. She and Montana were divorced in 2015. On 16 August 2018 Anggun married for the fourth time in Ubud, Bali with a German musician and photographer, Christian Kretschmar.
Besides Indonesian, her native language, Anggun is fluent in French and English.
According to Closer, Anggun's apartment in Paris was robbed by burglars on 18 September 2015 when she was not in Paris. The burglars stole jewelry and high value items valued at a total amount of around €250,000. Theft occurred again in the housing of Anggun on Monday, December 6, 2021, at around 11.00 p.m. in Paris. At that time, Anggun and her family were on vacation in Italy. There were three male suspects, who managed to slip into the apartment in the 8th arrondissement of Paris through a window. The robbers stole several luxury items belonging to Anggun, including bags and watches. The amount of property damage also amounted to €80,000.
Current members
Former members
Anggun became the first Indonesian woman to be immortalized in wax by Madame Tussauds in 2016. Located in its Bangkok museum, Anggun's statue joined that of Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia. As of 2022, a total of 19 Anggun records have been added by the Indonesian Music Museum for preservation, the seventh most total among musicians from Jakarta.
A cocktail named after "Anggun" is served in Bar 228, Hôtel Meurice de Calais, Paris. It is made of Bacardi rum, mango coulis, coconut milk, and pineapple juice.
A variety of rose named and christened after "Anggun" by Meilland International SA at Château de Bagatelle. The rose "Anggun" is a derivative of Meibokir variety which has special characteristics. This variety of flower has 40 white-colored petals with a mint-fruity scent and blooms from spring to winter.
Film
Television program, series, and reality show
Musical Theatre
Radio Programme
Online Series
Soundtrack