Malaysia’s got talent! Homegrown female vocal group “Nama” and “Human Calculator” Yaashwin Sarawanan have made it to the finals of Asia’s Got Talent (AGT)

Malaysia in Asia’s Got Talent finals
Friday, 29 Mar 2019

by kenneth chaw

The band ‘Nama’ (left) performing a number.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s got talent! Homegrown female vocal group “Nama” and “Human Calculator” Yaashwin Sarawanan have made it to the finals of Asia’s Got Talent (AGT) Season Three.

“We didn’t expect it but we aimed for it,” said Nama group member Nur Fazrina Mohd Ani, 28, about reaching the finals.

Last night’s episode of the talent competition saw Nama being chosen as the Judges’ Pick – a unanimous decision made by the show’s three judges, David Foster, Anggun and Jay Park, to send a contestant straight to the finals.

Nama – comprising Nur Fazrina; Noor Syamimi Makhetar, 24; Norfazira Malik, 24; and Nur Farahida Dolhadi, 24 – first met through an arts festival at Universiti Malaya and formed the group in 2017.

Nama has been working hard for their upcoming performance, rehearsing four to five times each week, for two to three hours each session.

“What we can promise is the performance will be meaningful and different from what we have done during the earlier rounds in terms of song choice, what we are going to wear and our vibes,” Fazrina teased.

Should the girls win, they hope to use the US$100,000 (RM407,500) grand prize to further the group’s music career.

“We will use it to produce our singles, and when the time is right, our own album,” Fazrina said, adding that they hoped to celebrate by going on a holiday together.

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Yaashwin winning the audience over with his math skills.

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Yaashwin, whose speedy calculations earned him the nickname “Human Calculator”, won the hearts of the public, garnering enough votes to send him to the finals.

“I was super-shocked and speechless when I got to know that I would be performing at the grand final,” the SMK Bandar Tun Hussein Onn (2) student said.

“This is a golden opportunity. I want to thank all my supporters, especially my fellow Malaysians who have been voting for me. I want to make my country proud.”

With Nama and Yaashwin taking two out of nine spots in the finals, this season marks Malaysia’s strongest showing at the AGT finals yet.

In Season Two, Sobhi Shaker – a Syrian magician who came to Malaysia to escape the Syrian civil war – was the first contestant competing under the Malaysian banner to make it to the finals.

You can vote for Malaysian contestants Nama and Yaashwin by visiting https://ift.tt/2mHxN5B.

Watch the final performance show on April 4 and the final results show on April 11 on AXN (Astro Ch 701).

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