Ahmad Zamil

Ahmad Zamil bin Mohd Idris, or Zamil (born April 23, 1978 in Kuala Lumpur) is best known as one of the Season 1 finalists in the popular Malaysian reality talent show, Malaysian Idol in 2004.

Background

*Zamil, born on 23rd April 1978, shares the same birthday as William Shakespeare. He is the fifth out of six children.

*Since highschool, Zamil had always been interested in the performing arts. He was involved in school plays and sang in the school choir.

*Zamil obtained his Diploma in Accountancy from Universiti Teknologi MARA. He was among the first batch of students to graduate under the UiTM name.

*Zamil also has a bachelors degree in Accountancy and he graduated from RMIT University in 2003.

*Prior to entering Malaysian Idol, Zamil worked as a Quality Officer in Citibank. He had also worked in Melbourne, Australia for a year before returning to graduate.

Malaysian Idol

Zamil was voted out on 5th September 2004 during the rock show after delivering his rendition of Hoobastank's "The Reason". He thus came 7th in the show.

Zamil is also called the "aunty's favourite" by Roslan Aziz. This is due to his humility and selection of songs that include Andrea Bocelli's "The Prayer", Kenny Remy & Martin's "Suratan Atau Kebetulan" and Marc Anthony's "My Baby You" in the show.

He was eliminated for getting the lowest votes during the rock Show. His "The Reason" was much criticized by all three judges, although many viewers thought he did a decent performance compared to the other finalists. Many viewed that Zamil should have sung one of the classic rock numbers.

"The Reason" was nominated for the Song of the Year at the 47th Grammy Awards and also won the MTV Asia VMA award for best rock video. The song is Hoobastank's most commercially successful single, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks.

Zamil's renditions during MI include:
*The Prayer by Andrea Bocelli during the audition
*My Baby You by Marc Anthony during the workshop
*Januari by Glenn Fredly in the First Spectacular
*Suratan atau Kebetulan by Kenny Remy & Martin in The Classics Show
*Just Once by James Ingram during the 80's Show
*The Reason by Hoobastank during the rock show

Life After Malaysian Idol

--2005--

*Since 2005, Zamil has been one of the hosts of RTM2's "Hello On Two", a daily morning talk show that discusses the current issues and happenings.

*Zamil has appeared in a PLUS TV commercial aired by local TV stations in early 2005. In the commercial, he was driving a Lotus Elise and raced against Malaysian Idol judge Roslan Aziz.

*He was one of TMNet's ambassadors alongside with Jac, Dina, Vick & Rydee from Season 1.

--2006--

*Zamil has been singing at various events including weddings and corporate dinners.

*His father, who was diagnosed with liver cancer, died in May.

--2007--

*This year marks Zamil being a tv host for RTM2's "Hello On Two" for 2 years now.

*This was also an opportunity for Zamil to perform for Secretaries Week, which usually is performed by recording artistes. The Secretaries Week was held at Renaissance Kota Bharu Hotel in Kelantan.

*Zamil was cast as one of the seven main characters in a musical stage production called [http://www.kakiseni.com/events/music/OTcxOA.html#top TUNKU The Musical] at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC). Starring Tony Eusoff, Douglas Lim, Syuk Ibrahim, Zamil Idris, Doreen Tang, Evelyn Toh and Maria Yasmin, the musical has over 20 original compositions. Spoken dialogue is kept to a minimum as the thrust and dramatic flow of the play is expressed in song, dance and historical footage. The music is played live, on stage, by an estimated 25 piece orchestra. This is Zamil's debut as a stage actor. In TUNKU The Musical, Zamil plays Malik, the 20-year-old son of Syed (Tony Eusoff), an aide to Tunku Abdul Rahman. About to go abroad (to England) for his tertiary studies, Malik falls in love with 17-year-old Fauzia (Doreen Tang), a Chinese girl adopted by a Malay family. The music and lyrics for Tunku the Musical are written by Lim Chuang Yik and Teng Ky-Gan (who also did the score for the previous year's musical called Broken Bridges) while the musical director for TUNKU is Mervyn Peters. The play is directed by Joe Hasham.

--2008--

*In February 2008, Zamil performed twice at Istana Budaya. The first performance was at the Konsert Gala DiRaja in conjunction Federal Territory Day. The event was graced by the King and Queen, DYMM Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nu Zahirah. Artistes who performed include Dato' Yusni Hamid, Jaclyn Victor, Hazami, Liza Hanim, Dayang Nurfaizah & Fazli Zainal. All of whom are established recording artistes except Zamil. The second performance was at the Konsert Barisan Budi Malaysia, in which he performed for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi and Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah. Among the artistes who performed include Liza Hanim, Jaclyn Victor, Dayang Nurfaizah, Bob, Suki, Dina, Haziq, Asmidar and MK.

*Zamil is also in the midst of recording his debut album.

External links

* [http://zamil.blogspot.com/ Zamil's Blog]
* [http://zamil.blogspot.com/2005/03/plus-tv-commercial.html The Plus TV Commercial]
* [http://www.kakiseni.com/events/music/OTcxOA.html#top TUNKU The Musical]
* [http://star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/3/soundnstage/18401262&sec=soundnstage Zamil in The Star]