PETALING JAYA – More than six years after taking a break from the music industry, Singaporean singer Hady Mirza is plotting his comeback on Malaysian reality singing series Gegar Vaganza.
The 39-year-old first came into the spotlight when he won Singapore Idol in 2006, and a year later, Asian Idol.
After releasing two albums, Hady went on a six-year hiatus beginning in 2012.
"I decided to stop and take a break because I didn't know where my career was going. There were some other personal reasons too," he said.
He spent some time in rehab last year.
"I thought that if I wasn't comfortable doing it, I might as well not do it. Because when you do something, you have to put your heart and soul into it, " he said.
Hady adds he did not take on any jobs as a singer during his break, focusing on growing his businesses instead.
"Some were good, some failed," he shares of his ventures. "It's a valuable learning experience for me. There were a lot of people who tried to get me to join their companies but unfortunately, after a few months, the companies went down."
"So in the end, I started my own business – a small food and beverage business with my wife. We set up simple pop-up stores at various events, selling all sorts of things from snacks to curry dishes, " he said.
This year, Hady started taking small steps back into the music scene.
"When I was around 20, even before Singapore Idol, I was part of a band and I remember I was so happy back then. We would sing all kinds of songs, in all kinds of genres."
"So earlier this year, I got back on stage with them to feel happy like I used to last time. That's all I was interested in."
Stepping back on stage, the singer says his musical styling has not changed at all. He is still very much an R&Read More – Source