NEW YORK: Model-turned-singer Thomas Djorghi may not be as successful as other dangdut singers, but he was able to wow music lovers in Philadelphia, the United States.

Dangdut is an Indonesian music genre which mixes Indian, Arabic and Western music styles. It was initially labeled lower class music, but this image has gradually changed over the past few years.

"It was great. The audience was very expressive. I'm so glad I could fulfill a dangdut lovers' dream here," Djorghi said, as quoted by Antara, after performing at the Asian Festival at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia.

It was his second performance in the U.S., which he said was more fun because of the number of non-Indonesians attending.

At the festival, Djorghi dueted with an American named Arreal Tilghman (who won a competition called Dangdut in America), singing "Teka-teki Cinta" (The Riddle of Love).

"He is great. He got the soul of a dangdut song," Djorgi said about Tilghman, who confessed he was still having some difficulty performing the genre.

For around an hour, Djorghi played six songs, including "Sembako Cinta" (The Basic Needs of Love), "Milikku" (Mine) and "Jatuh Bangun" (Rise and Fall). Tilghman performed solo, singing "Darah Muda" (Young Blood), a classic dangdut hit by the genre idol Rhoma Irama.

Competition producer Rissa Asnan said Tilghman, who previously worked as a firefighter, would fly to Indonesia and stay there for a month to learn more about dangdut and to produce an album. -- JP

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