Dafi’s Journey on Akademi Fantasia
The 19 year old GadDafi Ismail Sabri or Dafi was one of the thousands of participant s who came for the auditions of the hit reality TV show of Malaysia, Akademi Fantasia. It was season 5 of the show in 2007. He was shortlisted for the show and its all history after that.
During his first ever appearance on a TV show, Dafi was a confident singer. He became popular very soon and today he is considered to be one of the most popular entrants in the music industry on Malaysia. He has become the heart-throb of teenagers and there are many fan clubs associated with his name. In the first week of Akademi Fantasia, he performed the song “Uptown Girl” by Westlife. The first episode of the show was aired on March 17, 2007. In the second episode, Dafi sang “Pencinta Wanita” by Irwansyah.
During the third week, he chose to sing the song “Aku Tanpa Cintamu” by Mirwana. There was no elimination in this episode. In the next week of his performance, he performed on the song “Zikir Kasih” by Amir Ukays. In the fifth week, Dafi chose to sing “Bibir Mesra Jiwa Parah” by Zam Zam.
In week 6, he sang “Qing Fei De Yi” by Harlem Yu. In week 7, Dafi sang “Joget Angan Tak Sudah” by Jay Jay. In the last week of his performance on the show, Dafi sand the song “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps” by Lila Downs. It was in this week 8 that Dafi figured in the bottom 2 and was eliminated from the show.
It is worth mentioning here that during all the episodes that Dafi performed in, he never even figured in the bottom two contestants. When he came out of the show, he was signed by the KRA Music Group.
The hip hop icons of the group Norman, Yusry and Edry Halim had the belief that Dafi could be groomed to be the star and here he is today-one of the most successful musicians of Malaysia. In his journey so far, he has left many of co-contestants behind. He is the current heart-throb the teenagers and enjoys his stardom. In the same year, that is 2007, Dafi was even chosen as the Berita Harien’s Readers’ Choice.
His solo release recently “Bila Terese Rindu” is very popular and it has made to various music charts. Dafi has come together with two of his friends from the TV show, Mila and Akim, to sing and shoot a music video for the song “Through My Window.”