Who is the most enduring recording star in Malaysia?  Hit your head with a brick if don't know the answer.  No prizes for guessing correctly, though.  Here's a clue.  She used to have a bouffant hairdo, which has been tamed into a straight and understated style these days.  She is also known as the singer with the most 'tahi lalat' (moles) on her face.  You got it.  And her voice.  Well, Sharifah Aini is blessed with one of the warmest and most versatile of vocals, one that could give you goose-bumps and make your spine tingle all at the same time.

After 30 years in the business – she started singing at 12 and was signed up by EMI in 1968 – she is still at it.  To date, she has cut 68 albums (LPs, EPs, compilations and collaborative efforts) and recorded over 700 songs. And there are no signs of her slowing down ! While many of her peers have either retired or have blended' into the wallpaper, Sharifah Aini still brims with ideas and enthusiasm about how to remain on top of things.  Perhaps that is what has kept her ticking from the moment she recorded 'Seri Dewi Malam', her first single, and through countless other hits with EMI.  Everyone must be familiar with the Sharifah Aini story.  Not formally trained as a singer, she was 'moulded' mainly through incantations of Quran verses.

Here is the classic rags-to-riches story

Born Sharifah Aini Syed Jaafar in Johor Bahru, she sang to supplement the family income.  She caught the public eye after winning Johan 69, a talent award from the then Radio Television Singapore (now Television Corporation of Singapore or TCS).  Since then, she has covered almost all possible ground in the local music and entertainment scene.  She is as a home with the tradtitional zapin, ghazal, asli, deli and many more as she is with an eclectic range of pop songs, as well as projects with religious themes.

Her popularity has grown rather steadily from those early days.  By the mid-1970s, Sharifah Aini became inarguably one of the most sought-after performers.  The glorious 70s and 80s pop explosion saw her sitting pretty on the charts as Malaysia's reigning pop queen.  Her string of hits became evergreens: 'Kau Tinggi Di Awan Biru', 'Bunga Tanjung', 'Burung Pungguk', 'Surat Dari Seberang', 'Teratai', 'Penyakit Cinta', 'Terbang Helang', 'Mawar Putih Untuk Mama', 'Hiburkanlah Hatiku', 'Di Pinggir Kayangan' and 'Sabarlah Sayang' (featuring M Nasir).

Like any true star, her personal life was fodder for the newspaper too.  Every now and then, there would be something 'explosive' about her life.  Anything she did would get to the pages of the newspapers.  Whoever she dated immediately became public interest.  When the announcement of her marriage to Ali Bakar was made, the papers ran the stories and anything related to it for weeks!  The same treatment was accorded to their eventual separation.

Sharifah Aini's star value also lured filmmakers.  Her first film, 'Hapuslah Airmatamu' in 1975 opposite Indonesian singer Broery Marantika, was a good example.  In addition to drawing crowds to the cinema, the title song from the soundtrack became a big hit along with a duet with Broery entitled 'Seiring Jalan'.  She went on to make other films like 'Sumber Ilhamku' dan 'Bintang Pujaan'.

Sharifah Aini is also one of the few singers gutsy enough to attempt new things.  When she recorded her first English album, 'Forever And Ever' (released in 1978), she was reported to have gone for extensive English classes to improve her diction and pronunciation.  The success of 'Forever And Ever' spurred the production of other English albums including 'Woman In Love', 'Just For You' and 'Feeling of Love' (the title track is an English version of folk song 'Rasa Sayang').

She became a fashion icon too. Sharifah Aini's hair, eye make-up and glittering outfits were copied by many during the good old days.  Everyone knew what you meant by 'kain Sharifah Aini' or 'rambut Sharifah Aini'.  There was even 'biskut Sharifah Aini'.

Her recording company, EMI, in the meantime, churned out compilation after compilation of her hits.  Within a year starting August, Sharifah Aini is expected to relase five albums, more than any other local artiste.  Two are already available – 'Takkan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia' (a compilation of traditional songs and new composition with a similar concept) and 'Seri Dewi' (a compilation of her chart-toppers).  The other three will display her versatility in English and Arabic, and include new compositions that will take her into the next millennium.  All these achievements could easily place her as one of the important figures in Malaysian music, and certainly one of the more prominent.