THE 15th Anugerah Industri Muzik, the country’s most prestigious music awards event, is back! Once again, beloved songstress Datuk Siti Nurhaliza grabbed the limelight with five nominations.

But three newcomers — Karen Kong, Faizal Tahir and Estranged, nominees for the Best New Artiste award — are making waves.

Soul/R&B singer Kong is getting a lot of attention with her single Cinta Hello Kitty, a sappy, catchy ballad taken from her debut album, Mulakan.

Her soaring vocals, quite marvellous for a relatively young singer, have stirred considerable interest from certain quarters in the music industry over the past few months. Making her debut nomination at this year’s AIM, she is up for Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Female) award.

Faizal, a product of 8TV’s One In A Million who recently caused a brouhaha by baring his chest on TV, is back with a new lease of life, so to speak. The host of TV3’s Gangstarz has garnered a few nominations, including for Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Male) and Best Song (for his first single Mahakarya Cinta) categories.
Estranged, which has been the toast of the music industry with the self-penned track Itu Kamu, may just spring another surprise. The guys who bagged the top award at this year’s Anugerah Juara Lagu for the rock-tinged song were also named Most Popular Group/Duo at the eighth edition of Anugerah Planet Muzik.

For AIM, Estranged is also in the running for the Best Song award.

Atilia and Kaer Azmi are the other nominees in the Best New Artiste category. That aside, looking at the list of nominees at this prestigious music awards ceremony to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday, you’d know that it’s going to be an exciting affair.

There may be many “gripping moments” or “elements of suspense” as the list of nominees really does have that “stiff competition” tag.

What’s interesting is that this year’s nominees are a nice mix of both new and old acts, a positive development in the industry.

• HERE are more AIM updates. As it is into its 15th year, the producers have promised to introduce fresh elements into the presentation. For starters, the performances will be divided into various segments, including Warisan and Tribute.

There will be performances by the creme de la creme of the music industry, including Siti Nurhaliza, Anuar Zain, Atilia, Dafi, Dayang Nurfaizah, Estranged, Faizal Tahir, Fiq (Mentor), Hazami, Karen Kong, Mawi, Pop Shuvit, Rahim Maarof and Suki.

The performers will be backed by a combo led by popular composer Aubrey Suwito.

According to Persatuan Akademi Anugerah Industri Muzik Malaysia (PAIMM) general manager Jennifer Thompson, AIM15 promotes racial harmony, as reflected in the nominees and performers’ lists.

The list of presenters also boasts an interesting mix of Malay and non-Malay celebrities. They include Alif Aziz, Anne (of Hot.FM), Ben (Fly.FM), Daniel Lee, Datin Julie Sudiro, Diddy, Fazley, Elyana, Farawahida, Kartini (Hot.FM), Pete Teo, Sean Ghazi, Shebby Singh and Sohaimi Mior Hassan.

This year’s event will also see the return of the award-winning actor-producer-singer Afdlin Shauki as the host. He is accompanied by sensational singer and actress Adibah Noor.

AIM15 will also feature a pre-event blue carpet ceremony which will be aired “live” over ntv7 at 9pm.

• SITI Nurhaliza’s Menanti Pasti — the waltz-influenced track taken from Kayangan, The Soundtrack — is a force to be reckoned with. The tune about everlasting love and devotion has been nominated for Best Song at the awards ceremony.

The track is written by Harian Metro journalist-turned-lyricist Abie Abdullah. Award-winning composer and singer Ajai also lent his expertise to infuse the lyrics with a unique melody.

According to Kayangan executive producer Adit Rahim of Raden Pictures Sdn Bhd, he is thrilled to have collaborated with Siti on the project.

He added that Siti’s vocal prowess is clearly discernible in this tune. Apart from that, Siti is also a nominee in the categories for Best Vocal Performance in An Album (Female), Best Album Cover, Best Pop Album, Best Music Arrangement in a Song and Best Song.

• As preparations for AIM15 are getting underway, producers are apparently at loggerheads when it comes to the selection of the performers for the evening. Two veteran male artistes were dropped from the preliminary performers’ list.

Originally slated to perform in the Tribute segment, they were replaced by others as the producers feared a “no-show”.