When Titi Dwijayati, better known as Titi DJ, first received a Diana Nasution album from her mother, she wasn't expecting to love it, she confesses.

"I wasn't sure about listening to it because she sang a lot of Rinto Harahap's songs. Even as a kid, I knew that Harahap's songs were all cheesy love songs," she says. "But then I gave it a shot, and found that Diana Nasution sang even the cheesiest songs differently."

In the end, the veteran crooner made such an impression on Titi DJ that she is offering her a tribute in her new album, Titi to Diana.

Sitting in a Thai restaurant, the wall behind her the same vibrant green as her dress, Titi DJ is clearly excited about the new album, her legendary lips blazing red in a wide smile, showing her happiness and excitement about the new album.

Titi to Diana is Titi DJ's latest album in a career spanning more than a quarter of a century. She began singing as a teenager, and studied singing at the Bina Vokalia music school. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother had financial problems raising five children alone - Titi is the middle child - but through it all, Titi's belief in her chosen musical path never wavered.

She joined Guruh Soekarnoputra's Swara Mahardhika performing arts troop and had her first big success in 1983, aged 17, when she came third in the Radio & TV Star Contest. The same year also marked her film debut in the comedy flick Gepeng Bayar Kontan (Gepeng Pays in Cash).

Her film role opened a lot of doors, setting her up for her long career. In 1984, she represented Indonesia in the Miss World pageant in London, and released her first album, Imajinasi (Imagination). Her big break, however, came with her third album, Ekspresi (Expression) released in 1988, which was the "baby" of her relationship with Indra Lesmana, a prominent jazz musician. Her following album, in 1989, Titi DJ, was also a success. When she and Lesmana broke up, doubts were raised over whether she would be able to maintain the same quality of her next albums without him.

But despite the doubters, Titi DJ went from strength to strength. Her personal life was not without its ups and down, though, as she married and divorced twice, first to Bucek Depp and then to Andrew Hollis Dougherty.

Her 1999 album Bahasa Kalbu (Words of the Soul) became a mega hit, as did her following album a year later, Sang Dewi (The Goddess). At the dawn of the new millennium, Titi DJ was a major star shining in the constellation of pop divas; she released several albums during the decade and did a stint as a judge on Indonesian Idol. She married for the third time in 2007, to Ovy, guitarist for the band /rif.

Of course, despite her career successes, it wasn't always easy.

"There were times when I was almost sure that nobody wanted me anymore as a singer. Usually this was around the holy fasting month of Ramadan, when I hardly ever got concert invitations because I never released any religious albums," she says, half-joking.

She keeps the joking tone for her next confession: "Yes, I often used that free time for tummy tucks, liposuction, breast reduction, you name it."

In 2009, while traveling on a tour from Kendari to Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi, the car radio caught her attention with a blast from her childhood past - a Diana Nasution song. The effect of the legend's voice on Titi was so powerful it created an embryo of a new album.

"I instantly felt the urge to pay tribute to someone who more or less had inspired me to become a singer," she says.

"The melodies of Diana Nasution's songs are beautiful, and the lyrics are simple, timeless and cute."

Nasution's songs remain relevant for young people today, she insists.

"Take as an example the song *Aku Tak Tahan Lagi' *I Can't Help It Anymore*, where the lyrics say, *I bite these lips myself, and I squeeze this heart myself'," Titi says.

"I find them very cute, adorable, and honest. The first single *from my album*, *Jangan Biarkan' *Don't Let Me Be*, is my favorite. It's a real expression of myself, as I cannot stand being alone and away from my loved ones."

In the album, which has seven tracks, Titi DJ performs "Jangan Biarkan" with Diana Nasution, who now is undergoing chemotherapy for advanced cancer.

"When I first approached her *to record the track*, I had no idea she was in Stage 4 *of cancer*," Titi admits. "I found out about it when we were already in the first stage of producing the album. I felt very bad. I didn't want people think that I was making this album because she was sick. This is an honest tribute to her, period."

Titi DJ had first met Diana Nasution years before, when she was still getting started "and I did not dare to compare myself with heavyweights like her and Hetty Koes Endang", she says.

"When I first told *Nasution* that I wanted to make this album, I could sense her doubts. It was something that I could admit myself. My vocals are not as strong as hers, or as thundering as Ruth Sahanaya's, or as bold as Krisdayanti's," she says humbly.

"However, that was actually what made me believe that I could reintroduce Diana Nasution's songs in new ways."

Diana Nasution, sounding in very energetic and vibrant during a phone conversation, spoke warmly of Titi DJ.

"I know she is a very humble and friendly person who is completely easy to get along with. She is open to suggestions, and she always acts and speaks bluntly. Those qualities motivated me to support her. She came to me first even before she talked to the songs' copyright holders. That was a respectful move."

Of the reinterpretation of the songs, Nasution agrees that they are fitting for young people.

"Titi DJ did not go over the top, or mess around with the original materials," Nasution said. "Most of the songs somehow still sound the way they used to, but actually they are really new. If I myself had to sing these songs again today, I would definitely do it the way Titi DJ is doing now."

She is pleased also with the new arrangements.

"The rock flavor in the new *Jangan Biarkan' makes the song sound like something by Roxette. The funky, hip-hop approach in *Dasar Lelaki' is a very good idea," she said. "Overall, I am very happy, and find this album excellent."

"Dasar Lelaki" (They're Just Guys) features rapper J-Flow, and is apparently being used to spearhead the attempt to reach a younger audience. The song also introduces Dara Jana, a group of five young female vocalists: Eno, Yuka, Kiki, Laras, and Sondang.

Titi DJ's idea to form a group was inspired by her time as a judge on Indonesian Idol.

"During my years as an Indonesian Idol judge, I discovered a lot of talented vocalists who couldn't get to the finals just because of the voting system. I called them one by one - as well as finding some from other sources - and personally held auditions," she says.

"After Dara Jana was formed, our first thought was to produce a first single. But then this album project came along, so it seemed the best thing to do is to introduce them here."

If you add the Dara Jana girls to her brood, you could say that Titi DJ has a total of 11 children. From her first marriage, she was twins Salmaa and Salwaa Chetizsa, and Daffa Jenaro Muchtar. She and her second husband had Stephanie Poetry Dougherty. With her third marriage, Ovy's two children joined the family; the elder one, Axel, did the drums for the Titi to Diana album.

"They hated it when I went blonde," Titi DJ laughs, sharing how her children tend to be her harshest critics. "It's not only fashion and style, but they also openly say if they like or dislike my songs. Salmaa and Salwaa, who are now 14, are very hard to please. If I wore something feminine, they'd say I look like an old lady. Of course, this kind of open communication is a sign of a healthy family."

Perhaps. And yet, two divorces are not that easy for most Indonesians to accept.

"Too often people are quick to judge how negative a divorce is," she says. "I can only say that in my case those divorces were necessary, and not because we were looking for them. We went through everything as nicely as we could."

So which one of her men was she thinking about when she sang one of the biggest Diana Nasution hits, "Benci Tapi Rindu" (Hate You but I Miss You)?

Titi DJ blushes and laughes. "None of them," she says. "I have no hatred for any of them, and they are all part of who I am today."

Popular

Prone to fire and fresh air problems, people in Tambora figure out life in a slum area

Tycoon Musk touches down in Bali for Starlink launch

Red tape constrains AC supply as Jakarta heat drives demand