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Mikha Angelo: A talented heartthrob singer
Mikha Angelo - Kapanlagi
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Mikha Angelo - Kapanlagi.com
Singer Mikha Angelo Brahmantyo is a rising talent of the country's music scene. The 17-year-old not only sings and writes songs, but also plays the guitar, piano, bass and ukulele, a small guitar-shaped instrument.
'When I was an elementary school student, my dream was to be a soccer player, not a musician,' said Mikha, who is a big fan of Newcastle United soccer club.
His musical journey started at the age of 4 after his mother, tennis athlete Yvonne Imelda Hubner, enrolled him at the Istana Nada music school in South Jakarta in 2002 to learn the piano.
Even today, he said he did not understand his mother's motivation. He assumed she wanted him to be a musician because she, along with his father, photographer Lans Brahmantyo, could not be, even though they loved music.
After learning to play the piano, Mikha looked to other music instruments. He asked his older brother, Reuben Nathaniel Brahmantyo, 18, to teach him to play guitar when he was a fifth grader.
He said the first song he learnt was 'More Than Words', popularized by American rock band Extreme.
His brother taught him five chords on the guitar but he later explored the instrument by himself.
'I realized that playing guitar was simple,' said the fan of rock band Gigi's guitarist Dewa Budjana.
Deeply in love with music, Mikha later decided to change his dream. He landed his dream job as a musician and created his first song, 'Smile', when he was a first year student at Tirta Martha junior high school.
Mikha later formed a folk-pop band with his older brothers, Reuben as guitarist and Made Emanuelle Brahmantyo, 20, as bassist. By that time he had the confidence to sing with the band on stage.
He said the trio was invited to sing at wedding parties and the school reunions of their parents.
Mikha said that the first singing competition his band joined was an arts festival, locally known as pensi, held by the Leksika bookstore in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, in 2010, in which it won third place.
During the contest, he realized he had yet to name his band.
He said that when he was at the school, he heard the term 'overtone' introduced by his teacher during a choir class. He loved the term and used it as a joke at a studio when he was playing 'Fix You' by British rock band Coldplay.
His brothers also loved the term and decided to name their band The Overtunes, he said.
After finishing junior high school, Mikha continued his studies at the School of Sound Recording (SSR) in Central Park, Jakarta.
When he turned 15 on Nov. 8, 2012, the first session of the talent show X-Factor Indonesia opened a special audition for SSR's students. Because many of his friends signed up, he participated by singing 'Gravity' by singer John Mayer.
After passing the first three rounds, he met with doubt and wanted to leave the competition because he did not want to be known as a soloist.
'I didn't want to be a talent-show singer. I also didn't want people to call me Mikha X-Factor,' he said.
Mikha wanted to be an independent musician and he did not like being controlled by people on TV.
As far as he knew, great musicians were those who started their struggles from the bottom. That's why he wanted to leave the competition. But his mother asked him to stay.
Mikha said he was surprised because he reached the top four in the contest. 'I felt I was the worst of the 12 grand finalists.'
He praised God because during the show he was mentored by internationally acclaimed singer Anggun C. Sasmi. 'I learnt many things from her [Anggun]. She taught me vocal techniques and singing improvisations. She was very nice. She was like my sister,' he said.
After X Factor ended, Mikha told record label Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia he wanted to progress his music career with his brothers instead of as a soloist.
In the Overtunes, his brothers and mother appointed him the lead vocalist. 'Actually, I am a shy person, but I couldn't refuse [being the lead singer] because a band must have a vocalist.'
Mikha hopes The Overtunes can survive in the Indonesian music industry for years, just like his idol, Gigi.
He said he was very happy as his band had finally released its first album, along with the single 'Dunia Bersamamu' (The World with You) in February this year after releasing debut single 'Sayap Pelindungmu' (Your Guardian Wings) in 2013.
He said he had no secret about giving a good performance, but he always followed the advice given to him by his first music teacher, Evi Hutapea, when he was four.
'She [Evi] told me to just enjoy music every time I play it.'
