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FireFlyz ~ 43
Personality
sometimes, but his excitement somehow
always overcomes the butterflies in his
stomach. Once he starts to perform, the
stage becomes his comfort zone.
His secondhome
Travelling back and forth between his
home land, Singapore toMalaysia, Taufik
has always found the country’s culture
and eclecticismamusing. “There is not
much difference between Singapore and
Malaysia. I always feel right at homewhen
I’mhere. The food is amazing! I don’t think
I can survive elsewhere not being able to
eatmy favourite AssamPedas Ikan Pari
(Stingray).Music wise,Malaysianmusic
taste can be very random. They are open to
all kinds of musical genres. This is actually
a really good thing for amusician likeme
as I have a lotmore space and freedom in
expressingmyself inwhichever genre that
I prefer,” explains Taufik.
With his budding acting career and
whole lot of other plans in theworks, there
is no other way to go but up for Taufik
Batisah. He has definitely come a long
way since he the day he first discovered
Michael Jackson.
I wanted so
badly to become
a performer like
Michael Jackson.
I guess dreams
do come true.
Back in theday
Being the youngest of the three boys,
Taufikwas a quiet kidwho usually kept
to himself. Hewas exposed to all kinds of
music, fromHindi andMalay to rock and
R&B, through his parents.When he turned
11, superstar Michael Jackson changed his
entire perception of music and became his
musical idol.
Hemastered all of Jackson’s songs and
practised all the dance steps for hours
in front of themirror in his bedroom. “It
slowly progressed intomakingmy family
and relatives watchme performat home,
which I really enjoyed back then. I guess
this was the point of timewhen I gradually
came out of my shell. I even hadmy very
ownMichael Jackson hat and gloves! I
wanted so badly to become a performer
like him. I guess dreams do come true,”
recalls Taufik of his early days.
As a teenager, Taufik formed a hip hop
duo called Bonafidewith his friend,Mark
because of theirmutual love formusic. The
duowrote their ownmusic and performed
at various local hip hop gigs and clubs.
Bonafide’s proudestmoment was when
they got the opportunity to open for The
Black Eyed Peas.
When the Idol franchise came to
Singapore in 2004, Taufik decided to give
it a try without any expectations. Never
did he imagine that it would became his
biggest stepping stone to kick-started his
career as amusician.
Here andnow
“I have recently beenmore focused
on acting.My first film, titledDukun
Doktor Dani, directed by Sabri Yunos,
was released not too long ago. I played a
doctor alongside actress Fasha Sandha in
thismovie. Coincidentally, I also played a
doctor inmy first tele-movie debut, Demi
Adriana, back in 2014,” says Taufik.
Acting is something he has always been
interested in and he felt truly honoured to
have directors giving himopportunities
to be part of their productions. Taufik has
also just recently wrapped shooting for an
English drama based in Singapore, which
was awhole newexperience for him.
Music will always be his first love
regardless all other new ventures in his
career. Hewas flatteredwhen an invitation
was extended by fellowSingaporeans
living in the United States to performat
a special event organised by them. “I am
alsoworkingwith a government agency in
Singapore on a project whichwill be out
soon and of course I have song collabora-
tionwithNing Baizura andNur Fazura for
Firefly titled Like Fireflies, which I’mvery
excited about!”
Aside fromhis smooth R&B-style vocals,
Taufik is known for his energetic, super-
slick dancemoves, which he believes
comes fromthe crowd and his passion for
performing. Even after years of perform-
ing on stage, Taufik does get nervous
There is not much
difference between
Singapore and
Malaysia. I always
feel right at home
when I’mhere.