TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Terry shahab: A new beginning
Terry is sporting new look
Change Size
Terry is sporting new look. Her hair, once long and copper-colored as spotted last year during the release of her third album Indah (Beautiful), is now covered in a headscarf. Her tight pants and tank tops are gone, swapped for loose-fitting clothes.
Terry admits that wearing the hijab was one of the toughest decisions she has ever made in her career. However, she feels relieved and happy that she finally has the courage to wear the scarf.
It took a year for Terry, whose real name is Terryana Fatiah, to convince herself about changing her look. Her main concern was the continuity of her decade-long singing career.
Born in 1984 in Jakarta, Terry started her career as a backing vocalist for Dewa 19 and singer Audy in 2004. She captured the public attention two years later after releasing a heartbreaking ballad, 'Janji Manismu' (Your Sweet Promise).
She is also known for covering 'Butiran Debu' (Speck of Dust) by the band Rumor and performing a duet with French singer Julian Cely on the bilingual 'Tentang Kita' (About Us).
'I signed an exclusive contract with Sony Music Indonesia not only for my voice but also for my appearance,' she said during the launch of her Islamic single in Jakarta recently.
'My hair, for instance, has the chance of getting product endorsement deals. I have indeed received numerous endorsement deals throughout my career.'
In March, Terry finally reached the point where she could no longer ignore the calling and was ready to give up her singing career. 'Although I was still worried that my contract would be terminated, I started wearing the hijab with a strong will. I believed that God would show me His path,' she sobbed in her song release event recently.'
Beyond her expectations, Sony welcomed her decision and even suggested she record an Islamic single, welcoming the Ramadhan fasting month.
'My feeling was beyond words. I could not thank them enough for this chance.'
Sony asked Terry to sing 'Nawaitu', a song she penned a year ago.
'Nawaitu' tells of the desire to fast during the holy month. Personally, the song also expresses her willingness to wear the hijab against all the odds, Terry said.
Through the single, she has realized her long-awaited dream of collaborating again with guitarist and music producer Tohpati, who produced 'Janji Manismu', her biggest hit to date.
'I am so thrilled that Sony picked him as the music arranger. He gives rich Arabic tones to the song.'
The song is featured as the opening track of the Hits Islami Terbaik (Best Islamic Hits) compilation album, which includes songs from Sandhy Sondoro, Fatin, Yovie & Nuno, seasoned band Bimbo and dangdut singer Ike Nurjanah.
Coinciding with the album's launch, Terry reintroduced herself as Terry Shahab, which is taken from her family name. 'People sometimes get confused between singer Terry and presenter Terry Putri,' she explained about her decision to change her stage name.
Her appearance transformation, she said, would not have been possible without the support of her friends and family, in particular her father.
'My father is not a kind of person who gives direct answers. When asked about this matter, my father only told me to let the brain think, and let the heart do the rest.'
'At the end, when I finally put on my hijab, my father said he felt relieved.'
Despite her drastic makeover, Terry says she will improve her prayer life in small steps, starting with the five obligatory prayers.
'Sometimes, when performing an obligatory prayer, my mind is somewhere else. I want to improve my concentration first, and when I am ready hopefully Allah will lead me to practice Sunnah prayers.'
She admitted that sometimes she had awkward moments over her Islamic appearance.
'When attending a radio show, I was about to shake hands with a man, and he suddenly took back his hand,' she chuckled.
'Personally, I am still okay with that [shaking hands with men]. I am not that fundamental,' she said.
Donning the hijab means a fresh fashion exploration for Terry. Not wanting her old clothes to go to waste, she is trying a number of ways to mix and match, and remodel a pile of her 'revealing clothes' to be in line with Islamic principles.
Terry always tries to make her hijab look fashionable and most importantly simple.
'I don't like a complicated hijab. My face is small. A hijab with a rich floral pattern and complex model will make my face like the anther of a sunflower' she joked.
Dubbed Ratu Galau or Sentimental Queen for her heartbreaking ballads, Terry hopes to sing more love pop songs under her new look.
'With my new look, I will keep singing pop songs [...] because with or without the hijab, I will always be galau,' she said with a smile.
