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A trip down nostalgia lane.
I initially wanted to title this post “Running in the 90s” from the Initial D soundtrack but I realised that only one of TV shows that I am going to mention actually started from the 1990s. This era was before the pre-Internet boom in the 2000s, so a lot of our entertainment came from the TV, whether it was cartoons, anime, drama or others.
- Asia Bagus! (aired: 1991–2000)
Hosted by Tomoko Kadowaki and Najip Ali, this was a star-search programme created by Fuji Television to promote young up-and-coming performing artists in Asia. I always remembered Najip Ali in his loud outfits and signature big shades!
This was probably the show that launched him to become quite a notable TV host and emcee, given that it was broadcast weekly in the Asia region for so many years. Sheikh Haikel, who is a Singaporean rapper and celebrity, was actually a former grand championship winner of Asia Bagus! in 1993!
So I guess before American Idol came to fame much later in the early 2000s, Asia Bagus! was already the OG singing…
