Her talent was established internationally when she was crowned Voice Of Asia in Kazakhstan in 1995. Ziana was born in Kampung Simpang Merpati, Malacca. She is the eldest child of Zin Abdullah, a retired police inspector and Robiah Abdul who is a full-time housewife.
She received her early education at Shah Alam Primary School and Sultan Abdul Aziz Secondary School. As soon as she finished her secondary school, Ziana worked as a cook in school canteen before working as an operator for 7 months in JVC factory at Shah Alam. She later worked as a cashier in Holiday Inn Shah Alam before she started her career as a flight attendant for Malaysia Airlines for two years. She is Malay with Bugis descent. Zain signed contract to record an album under BMG Asia Pacific (which has now become BMG Music).
In 1991, she released her debut album Madah Berhelah. The album sold 40,000 copies and was certified Gold Disk by RIM. Ziana's second album, Ziana Zain was released in 1993 and sold more than 85,000 copies. The album featured one foreign language track, "Chitose Bashi". The singles of the album included "Anggapanmu" and "Putus Terpaksa".
Her third album, Setia Ku Di Sini was released later in 1995 and she worked very closely with local composers. The album was certified 3x Platinum by RIM with 175,000 copies being sold. The album garnered her the award "Best Female Vocalist in an Album" category at 1996's Anugerah Industri Muzik award. Ziana released five singles from the album and the lead single,
- "Kemelut Di Muara Kasih", was another commercial success. Four other singles,
- "Bersama Akhirnya",
- "Setia Ku Di Sini",
- "Sangkar Cinta" and
- "Tiada Kepastian",
Ziana released her fourth album, Puncak Kasih, on May 28, 1997. It won Best Pop Album in 1998's Anugerah Industri Muzik. The lead single of the album, "Puncak Kasih", was a success. It managed to stay at #1 in Carta Muzik Muzik for 15 consecutive weeks. The song also won Best Ballad Song in 1998's Anugerah Juara Lagu.
1998 - 2004
In 2 May 1998, Ziana married long-time boyfriend, Armin Zaharin Ahmad Zambri Armin, Chief of Flight Attendant who was working with her in Malaysia Airlines back in her early career. Ziana released her fifth album, Ziana Zain, on March 9, 1999.
Her comeback album was released in 2001 right after her post-pregnancy period. The album, Aku Cintakan Mu, sold more than 20,000 copies.
- The album won Best Album category in 2002's Anugerah Planet Muzik. The album received a nomination for "Best Female Vocalist in an Album" in 2002's Anugerah Industri Muzik.
- The album's lead single, "Menadah Gerimis", won Best Ballad Song category in 2002's Anugerah Juara Lagu award.
In 2003, Ziana released her second live album under EMI label. The album, Ziana Zain No. 1s Live featured various adapted concert performances such as Ziana Zain Unplugged Brunei and Ziana Zain in the Park. The album also included two new songs which she recorded during the labour of her second child which were "Lembah Asmara" and "Bukan".
Career break: 2005 - 2008
After the release of the album, Ziana took a career break for four years without releasing any studio albums.
She released a mini album in 2008 entitled Dingin. The album featured four tracks and was nominated for Best Pop Song category in 2008's Anugerah Industri Muzik award. The song also managed to get into the final round of 2008's Anugerah Juara Lagu in Best Ballad Song category. However, it was lost to Faizal Tahir's "Sampai Syurga".
In February 2009, it was confirmed that Ziana was pregnant with a twin. She gave birth to a twin of a boy and a girl on July 23, 2009 in Shah Alam.
In January 2010, after six months of absence, finally Ziana returned to public as a surprise guest in the second annual gathering of Murai.com to celebrate the launching of a new fashion segment, Stailista, in the web portal. In that event, she stated that she would release two new singles from her upcoming untitled album. The singles, which are named Pawana and Dirimu Satu, are expected to be released in June 2010.
Furthermore, Ziana is currently one of the mentors in the fourth season of a singing competition called, Mentor. As the singing competition ended in July 2010, Ziana and her protege, Mohd were announced as the winner for that season. With that success, they managed to take home RM 100 000 and a trophy.
For her acting career, Ziana appeared in her new film, Magika, which was directed by Edry KRU. During the preview of the film, Ziana gained a lot of compliments due to her excellent acting.
In addition, taking place in Cititel Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Ziana Zain has been announced as a spokesperson for Slimworld Beauty House. This was the seventh years she was appointed as the ambassador of the beauty house.
Apart from, singing, acting and being product ambassador, Ziana also involved in theatrical performance. Together with fellow singer Misha Omar, she was cast in the second season of a musical theater production entitled Teater Muzikal Gamat 2. The performance, which commenced on March 12, 2010, was held in the Auditorium of Malaysian Tourism Centre (MaTiC), Kuala Lumpur, for 11 consecutive days. This is Ziana's second participation in theater after Musical Theater Antara.
In 2011, Ziana Zain create shock with her controversial about Malaysian artist association because consider the participation of Malaysian artists celebrity in any artist association is a waste of their time only. According to the Ziana Zain statement, all of them art associations such as the Artists Association of Malaysia (Seniman), Karyawan Association (Karyawan) and Papita should be disbanded because of personal interest is mainly for those who hold the position.
In addition to her music career, Ziana also diverted her focus into acting. Her acting career transpired when she was approached by Dato' Yusof Haslam. She agreed to appear in his film Sembilu, as a supporting actress with the role "Ziana". The film marked her debut as an actress. It was a successful box-office, grossing RM4.2 million.
The film also helped Ziana established herself as a successful actress, especially after winning the Most Popular Supporting Actress category in 1994's Anugerah Bintang Popular Awards, alongside her co-star Erra Fazira who was catapulted into fame after her debut appearance through this film. The film's soundtrack also featured a number of Ziana's songs including "Ku Cinta Padamu", "Anggapanmu" and "Mimpimu Bukan Mimpiku". In the 1996 Sembilu follow-up, Sembilu II, Ziana reprised her role to critical claim.
Other box-office films that Ziana has performed include :
- Maria Mariana (1996),
- Merah (1997),
- Maria Mariana II (1998),
- Sembilu 2005 (2005),
- Pontianak Menjerit (2005), and
- Qabil Khusry Qabil Igam (2007).
Asian Music Exposure
- 1989 - Sang one of the soundtrack of 15th Southeast Asia (SEA) Games
- 1992 - Selected to sing Japanese popular song, Chitose Bashi in an album Asian Voices
- 1993 - Recorded 2 English songs in Colors of Love, album involving 5 best Asian Singer
- 1993 - Performed in Asia Pop Queen Festival that held in Hiroshima and Fukuoka Japan
- 1995 - Won main award in Voice of Asia, Kazakhstan
- 1995 - Performed in Asia Live konsert, aired over Japan's NHK satellite TV Channel Two
- 1996 - Won Golden Melody Award in Japan Music Festival, Japan
- 1996 - Recorded 2 Disney's songs in an album called A Musical Salute to Disney
- 1996 - Involved in Musical Program, The Big Show in Singapore
- 1997 - Invited to OMEGA International Celebrity Club in Crans Montana, Switzerland
- 1997 - Performed in Asian Music Scene
- 1998 - Performed live during Opening 16th Commonwealth Games with the song Strive for the Best
- 2002 - Invited to St Moritz, Switzerland for her 6th appointment of OMEGA ambassador
- 2003 - Invited to Auckland, New Zealand for OMEGA Seamaster watch launching
- 2007 - Invited to Beijing, China for FENDI Summer Fashion Show
- 2010 - Invited to Australia for Photo-shoot with Louis Vuitton products.
- Jim Brickman,
- Cindy Crawford,
- Anna Kournikova,
- Kate Bosworth,
- Shah Rukh Khan,
- Ralf Schumacher
Compilations
- Best of Ziana Zain
- Ratu - Satu Penghargaan
- Keunggulan Ziana Zain
- Ziana Zain Unplugged
- Ziana Zain No. 1s Live
- Sembilu
- Sembilu II
- Maria Mariana
- Merah
- Maria Mariana II
- Konsert Zon Perlindungan Ziana Zain
- The Best of Ziana Zain
- Balada Hits Karaoke Ziana Zain
- Karaoke Bersama Ziana Zain
- Ziana Zain Lembah Asmara: A Beautiful Love Story
- Keunggulan Ziana Zain VCD Karaoke
- 1996: Ziana Zain Unplugged Concert (Life Centre, Kuala Lumpur)
- 1998: Ziana Zain Mega Tour Concert, Peter Stuyvesant ( Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei)
- 1999: Ziana Zain: Konsert Zon Perlindungan Head & Shoulders (PWTC, Kuala Lumpur)
- 2002: Ziana Zain Unplugged Concert (Jerudong Park Amphitheatre, Brunei)
After almost 20 years in the music industry, Zian had been chosen as spokesperson by many international and local products. Recently, Ziana and her family were appointed as spokesperson for hygine products which is Antabax. This was the 11th products that appointed Ziana as their spokesperson. Besides antabax, she has shilled :
- 1996 - Avon
- 1997 - NutriBeaute
- 1997 - Omega timepieces
- 1999 - B&H Health Products
- 1999 - Head & Shoulders Shampoo
- 2001 - Vono Mattress
- 2003 - Brilliant Rose
- 2003 - L'Oreal
- 2004 - Slim World Beauty House
- 2004 - Nutrimetics Cosmetics and Skincare
- 2010 - Antabax
Filmography
| Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1994 | Sembilu | Ziana | 4.2 mil | |
| 1995 | Sembilu II | Ziana | 6 mil | |
| 1996 | Maria Mariana | Mariana | 4.8 mil | |
| 1997 | Merah | Kasih | 2 mil | |
| 1998 | Maria Mariana II | Mariana | 3.5 mil | |
| 2005 | Sembilu 2005 | Marina | 1.39 mil | |
| Pontianak Menjerit | Ziana | 1.2 mil | ||
| 2007 | Qabil Khushry Qabil Igam | Rani | 1.573 mil | |
| 2010 | Magika | Nenek Kebayan | 4 mil | |
| Television | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1998 | Serunding | Cikgu Fatimah | Directed by Azwan Ali | |
| 2005 | Cermin Pada Bulan | Sophia | Directed by Erma Fatima | |
| 2007 | 4 Diva Sekampung | Directed by Din CJ | ||
| 2008 | Tetamu Allah | Juliana | Directed by Erma Fatima | |
| 2009 | Nur Kasih Di Jabal Rahmah | Wanda | ||
| 2010 | Mentor | Herself | ||
| Musical theater | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 2010 | Teater Muzikal Gamat 2 | Ketua Obor-Obor | Lead actress | |
| 2010 | Teater Muzikal Antara | Ziana Zain | Cameo | |
Source : Wikipedia.
