Ratu : successful female Indonesian music group of the 2000s
Ratu
After three years of preparation, in January 2003 Ratu launched their debut album Bersama with Sony Music Indonesia. The album included ten songs, seven written by Maia and three by Dhani; Maia also did the arrangement and served as backing vocalist. Other musicians involved on the album included Bintang, Denny Chasmala, Andra Ramadhan and Taras (guitar), Agil Cinere (drums), Donni (flute), Sa'unine (strings) and Henry Lamiri (violin). The music was R&B-influenced, with added piano for a "feminine touch."[d] With the album several singles, "Aku Baik-Baik Saja" ("I'm Fine"), "Salahkah Aku Terlalu Mencintaimu" ("Blame Me For Loving You Too Much") and "Jangan Bilang Siapa Siapa" ("Don't Tell Anyone"), were released. This 1st album was well-received and sold more than 250,000 copies. Ratu also provided a new sound, as the Indonesian music industry of the time was dominated by male groups. Ratu won Best Newcomer at the 2003 Clear Top Ten Awards. At the 2006 MTV Ampuh awards, Ratu was awarded Artist of the Year and Group/Duo Artist of The Year.After the success of Bersama, Maia and Mambo began to work on a 2nd album, scheduled for a 2004 release. However, on 14 October 2004 Mambo announced she was leaving the group amidst widespread media coverage of her being pregnant outside of wedlock. Reports indicated that she may have left the group because of Maia's more dominant personality and conflicts between the two. Maia, left as the only member of the band, insisted that it wasn't dissolving, and would soon hold auditions for a new vocalist. As a temporary measure, several singers were contracted to perform with Maia, although not signed as members. Tia, a finalist in Akademi Fantasi Indosiar, came under consideration for the position, but was unable to accept as she was still contracted to AFI.
While looking for a new vocalist, Maia met Mulan Kwok, a performer at Barbados Cafe in Bilangan Kemang, Jakarta, in December 2004. Of this meeting, Maia later recalled "When I met Mulan it was like meeting a new lover. I saw her and I liked her. Just fell in love."[e] Mulan was a cafx singer from Bandung who sang with Dimensi Band. She was asked to audition for the role and ultimately selected; her appointment was announced at a press conference on 7 April 2005. With Mulan, the group's concept, originally "elegant", became "coquettish and sexy".[f] The group's musical style also changed; while originally R&B with light piano, it was changed to a rock sound with dominant guitars.
On 30 August 2005 Ratu released a compilation album entitled Ratu & Friends which included two new songs from the group, "Teman Tapi Mesra" and a cover of Vina Panduwinata's "Di Dadaku Ada Kamu" ("In My Chest there is You"). "Teman Tapi Mesra" was an overnight hit in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore and enjoyed by both adults and children alike. The term "Teman Tapi Mesra", often abbreviated TTM, became widely used to describe those in a physical relationship without an emotional one. The ringback tone for "Teman Tapi Mesra" held the top position in Malaysia for several weeks. In Indonesia, the ringback tone saw more than a million downloads. The album sold more than 400,000 copies and was certified double platinum. Ratu then put on a forty-city concert tour throughout Indonesia with the band Radja; the Rock in Love tour began with a concert at the Jakarta Convention Center on 20 February 2006.
On 22 May 2006 Ratu released their 2nd studio album, No. Satu. Like on Bersama, most of the songs recorded were written by Maia. Dhani contributed three songs, while Mulan helped write the song "Seribu Cinta" ("A Thousand Loves"). No. Satu also involved musicians such as Yoyo Padi, Denny Chasmala, Tepi Item, and Bintang. Two singles from the album, "Lelaki Buaya Darat" ("Womanizer") and "Dear Diary", were hits, as was the album; it sold 200,000 copies on the day of its release, a record for a work by a female Indonesian group. "Lelaki Buaya Darat" was banned in Malaysia because of its perceived negative connotations. The band tried to change the song's title, but this was unsuccessful. However, some radio stations in Malaysia still played the song.
Ratu received numerous awards during this period. At the tenth Anugerah Musik Indonesia, the band received three nominations and won Best Produced Work for "Teman Tapi Mesra". Maia and Mulan were also awarded Top Singer at the SCTV Awards, winning over established stars Agnes Monica, Ari Lasso, Iwan Fals, dan Krisdayanti. Ada the MTV Indonesia Awards, they were nominated in two categories. At the MTV Ampuh Awards, Ratu was declared Artist of the Year and "Group/Duo Artist of The Year", making them the 1st group to win both awards twice.
After Mulan left, Maia continued to perform as Ratu own her own. She participated in the concert tour A Mild Live Soundrenaline with Shanty, Bunga Citra Lestari, and Gheaâ€"a winner of Indonesian Idol. Later domestic troubles between Dhani and Maia led to the group to dissolve. At the end of 2007, the group's name became an object of contention between the two. Dhani claimed the name "Ratu" as his intellectual right and said that he had registered it with the General Directorate of Intellectual Rights. He forbid Maia, who was then looking for a new partner, to use the name.
At the beginning of 2008, Maia launched Duo Maia with her new partner Mey Chan. Unlike Ratu, Duo Maia was conceived as a vocal group and Maia was predominantly a vocalist. Meanwhile, Mulan signed with Republik Cinta Management under Ahmad Dhani. Mulan released a solo album entitled Makhluk Tuhan Paling Seksi in 2008 and changed her stage name to Mulan Jameela. Mambo, the Ratu's original vocalist, had already released a solo album, entitled Aku Tahu Rasanya (I Know How It Feels) in 2006. In 2009, "Teman Tapi Mesra" was bought by LadyLike, a Swedish girl band, and released in the European market as the English-language "Dreaming of the Time".
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