As she walked up the stage at the Chin New Year Festival, Abisak Awi felt like a natural.
For Awi, her passion for singing has been in her blood since she was 7 years old in Malaysia.
Now, this passion has led her to win second place in the festival’s Chin Idol singing competition.
“When they announced my name, it was no surprise,” Awi said.
Throughout the years, Awi has discovered this passion to be her source of happiness and her motivation.
Managing to accomplish this success in the competition is a testament to how far Awi has come as a singer.
Awi started her singing journey early in Malaysia at her church and school when she was abruptly assigned to sing one day. After she chose the song that she was going to sing, it all came smoothly to her.
“I naturally found out that I could sing, and it made me really happy, and then I just got into singing,” Awi said.
Although this competition had never crossed her mind, her cousin suggested entering, which Awi agreed to.
“I was really reluctant ’cause I don’t like singing in competitions as much … but I was like, “Let’s just try it,’” Awi said.
The competition kicks off with the introduction of judges and auditions. From there, judges decide who and how many pass to go on to the next three nights of competition.
On the first night, contestants sing a song in English for two minutes. The second and third nights are Chin songs.
On the first and second nights, one person is eliminated, and on the third night, the remaining top three contestants are left, and judges decide their placements.
This year, however, was different, as only four contestants competed. They skipped auditions and no one was eliminated on the first night.
Eliminations started on the second night, followed by placing being revealed on the third night, with Awi coming in second place.
Biak Chin Tial, a friend of Awi, has supported Awi throughout her singing journey and even met her through the hobby, which continues to be the core of their friendship.
“I try to give her as much as I can, (like) ways to improve, and we both were able to explore new stuff together,” Tial said.
Although Awi does not plan to pursue singing in the future, it remains a big part of her life during church, school and her free time. Awi also hopes to write songs with the help of her friends in the future.
“Just the thought of singing makes me happy. It makes me want to get out of bed,” Awi said. “It’s the motivation.”
