Into the music:  Lea Simanjuntak (center) and her band pay tribute to eastern Indonesian folk music during a performance at Galeri Indonesia Kaya in Central Jakarta.

For singer Lea Simanjuntak, the message in every song she sings matters.

Singer Lea Simanjuntak has just returned from Poland where she shared the stage with Canadian composer David Foster early in September in a concert held by the Indonesian government as part of Independence Day celebrations.

She cannot hide her admiration for the 16-time Grammy winner. “He [Foster] once asked me to bring my parents backstage. I then brought my father who sat in a wheelchair and my mother. He hugged them, saying ‘You should be proud of your daughter’. My mother was moved to tears,” she recalled.

Lea, who has released six solo albums, is now working on a new single that she expects will hit the stores before the end of this year. However, she refuses to disclose its title, only saying that it sticks to her style that she refers as “serious but effortless” and “dynamic”.

“I disagree with people who label me as a singer who likes to hit the high notes. For me, dynamism is important. Not always the high notes,” said the 37-year-old mother of two.

She hopes her upcoming single will make her name in the pop music scene. Singing pop is not something new for her. She first stepped into the spotlight as a vocalist for the house band of talk show Warna-Warni hosted by the comedian Pepeng.

She also collaborated with legendary singer Iwan Fals on the songs “Katanya” (It says) and “Aku Ada” (I’m here) for his album Raya (Great) in 2013. The next year, she performed “Menangis Semalam” (Crying last night), written by her brother-in-law Pongki Barata, who is also the former vocalist of pop band Jikustik, for his album Pongki Barata Meets the Stars.

Those pop songs, however, were not as popular as the patriotic and gospel songs she regularly performs. “I like those kinds of songs. A song that can motivate people. A song that can make people more confident. Not a meaningless song that is just for fun,” she said.

Lea said she would do her best to finish the single on time because her family members, especially her older sister, writer Sophie Navita, and her husband, Pongki, kept asking her about it.

Family plays an important role in Lea’s musical career.

Her mother, who was a vocal coach in a children’s choir, taught her to sing when she was 5 years old.

“My grandmother was also a member of the adult choir. I was always curious about the songs that she sang. She then taught me and I felt challenged to learn more,” Lea said.

At that time, little Lea was already familiar with veteran pop singer Emilia Contessa’s songs, which were played by her grandfather at home when they were in Singapore, her place of birth.

As a member of the choir, she performed from one church to another until, for the first time, she joined the singing competition Tenda Mangkal, organized by radio station Prambors FM, in Jakarta in 1993, when she was 14 years old.

“When I came to the audition, I was the only second grader in junior high school and I still wore my uniform and basketball shoes. But I won,” she said, laughing. “I was very thin and the song I sang was ‘I Will Always Love You’ by Whitney Houston.”

Although her mother supported her desire to become a professional singer, she expressed disapproval when Lea planned to study music at the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ). She later studied English at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta.

In 1998, Sophie told Lea that noted musician Erwin Gutawa had opened up an audition for singers to work as backing vocalists for legendary singer Chrisye. Lea says she was on “cloud nine” when she got the part.

Lea said being a back-up singer for the superstar gave her the opportunity to develop her singing skills and get a real taste of the entertainment industry.

“I thank God for giving me that chance. All the musicians who joined mas Erwin have now become superstars,” she said, crediting Erwin as the person behind her success.

Working for the late Chrisye left a deep impression on her, like the time she heard him singing the Spice Girls’ “Goodbye” one afternoon while sipping coffee.

“I then asked my friends, ‘How can Chrisye know the Spice Girls?’ Surprisingly, he heard my question and directly answered, ‘Of course, I know them. Do you think I am very old?” she recalled.

For Lea, Chrisye, who passed away in 2007, is irreplaceable because he could wow his audiences even though he performed with a simple singing technique.

“He never tried to be someone else. Although he sings in a simple way, we can feel it. He was also smart in selecting songs that were suitable for him. That’s what I learned from him.”  

Motivated by her family, Lea released her debut album Bangun (Wake Up) in 2004. After that, she produced gospel and Christmas albums.  

When it comes to releasing a new single or album, she never rushes things, wanting everything to be perfect and ensuring that the work she creates will have a positive impact on her listeners.   

“Every time I listen to ‘Papa, Can You Hear Me?’ and ‘A Piece of Sky’ by Barbra Streisand, I am always brought to tears. I want people who listen to my songs to feel what I feel when I listen to Streisand’s songs,” said Lea, who dreams of founding a music school and visual arts studio.  

— Photo by A. Kurniawan Ulung

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