L to R: Audrey, Gamaliel, Cantika (Courtesy of Oxygen Entertainment)
Ingin Putus Saja (Just Want to Break Up) Official Video
Ingin Putus Saja (Official Lyric Video)
Young and famous. Audrey, Gamaliel and Cantika have captured the attention of Indonesia with their music on YouTube.
Their version of Lady Gaga’s Just Dance has been viewed over 900,000 times on YouTube.
They have over 5,000 followers on their Facebook fan page and have recently released their single Ingin Putus Saja (Just Want to Break Up). You may have caught a glance of them on Puteri Indonesia or Harmoni SCTV.
Meet Gamaliel Tapiheru, Audrey Tapiheru and Cantika Abigail, the three talented singers who have capture the attention of Indonesia on YouTube and since then shot to fame.
Brother and sister Gamaliel and Audrey made their debut on YouTube in 2008, singing songs such as Disney’s A Whole New World and Jason Mraz’s Lucky. Gamal uploaded his solo video performances first, followed by joint performances with Audrey.
But they had never taken any singing lessons.
“Our parents enjoyed singing and music too,” they once said.
Then in 2009, Cantika came across Gamal and his sister’s links on YouTube.
“I watched all their videos and was captivated by their amazing voice. I eventually managed to contact Gamal… sent him a message, telling him I had seen their videos and liked them. I told my manager Johandi Yahya about them and he was interested too. He contacted Gamal and since then the three of us have been [performing] together,” she said during an interview with The Jakarta Post.
“Before that, I wanted to sing but I wasn’t brave enough to do it alone yet, so my manager told me to find teenage friends who also liked to sing,” she added.
Gamal, Audrey and Cantika’s version of Just Dance has been a popular hit on YouTube.
“We were at our manager’s house. At that time, Mbak Nia [Rachmania Arunita, the writer of Eiffel Im In Love and Lost in Love] asked us to sing. We hadn’t practiced any songs, but were humming the melody of Just Dance. So we chose that song. Mbak Nia then uploaded our video to her Facebook account and someone later uploaded it to YouTube. Then, while Pak Johandi was working on Tangga’s single, he showed Sony Music executives our video. Sony Music liked it and we have been with Sony Music since then,” Cantika, who is influenced by Beyonce and India Arie, said.
Fame didn’t happen overnight. It took Gamal and Audrey two years from the day they first uploaded their video to YouTube to get noticed.
“But of course, luck played a part,” Gamal said.
In fact, the siblings never intended on becoming famous when uploading their music on YouTube.
Gamal, who is studying Visual Communication Design at Universitas Multimedia Nusantara, said they were just having fun when making the videos.
“We did not think we would reach this point,” he said.
“Back when I was in high school, YouTube was trendy. Whenever we were bored, we would browse YouTube as plenty of people in my high school would record their music or singing, then upload it to YouTube. So, Audrey and I joined in and it was so much fun,” he added.
So has their newfound fame affected their lives much?
Not really, they said, except they have less time to sleep, relax and hang out with their friends.
“We used to be able to hang out every week. It’s different now, we have less time to do so,” Gamal said.
Both Gamal and Audrey agreed that while they enjoyed being famous, they were not caught up in the hype.
“We are not making a big fuss about it [being famous],” Cantika, a twelfth grader at Sevilla International School, said, adding they were all just happy to be themselves.
Their top priority is still studying. All their recording schedules are arranged after school hours.
“We just get less rest these days,” Cantika said.
“There are a lot of [university] assignments and sometimes I have to stay up till dawn to complete them,” Gamal added.
When asked about the up-and-downs of becoming young celebrities, Audrey, a twelfth grader at UPH College said she loved what she was doing.
“The downsides are relative; they are the x factors. One example is when we are not too fit,” Gamal added.
Any future recording plans?
“We have just completed the video clip for Ingin Putus Saja and it should be released soon,” Gamal said.
“However, in our next single, we might do something different. I might perform solo, or do a duet or something else,” Gamal added.
“Just keep an eye out for it,” Audrey quipped with a smile.
They hope their album is going to be completed next year.
“We made our music with enthusiasm and joy, so we hope our listeners will enjoy it,” Gamal added.
PS: Gamal's Youtube Channel (Gamal1990) is hacked. So he made a new account:
http://www.youtube.com/user/gamalieltapiheru 
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