KRU
KRU are a Malaysian boy band from Kuala Lumpur. They were formed in 1992 by brothers Norman, Yusry and Edry Abdul Halim. KRU performs songs in both Malay and English and released several hit singles around the rise of Malaysian pop music, collectively known as M-Pop and towards of the 21st century. The band's musical style, which has garnered praise for its anthemic quality and emotional engagement that appeals to a broad audience, spans with their blend of pop, R&B and hip hop, while their lyrics focus on subjects including loss, heartbreak and relationship, and personal struggles. KRU also established themselves as a renowned composer, lyricist and record producer and has contributed to material for prominent Malaysian music industry artists in various genres since then.
Their debut album, Canggih, was released in 1992 under EMI Music Malaysia, with songs like "Cherrina", "Hanya Kau" and "20/20" were released as singles and help raised KRU to prominence. KRU released their first and only English-language album, The Way We Jam, which saws them collaborated with well-known international composers, lyricists, and producers. The album was a critical and commercial success, with the lead single of the same name won the 1999 Anugerah Industri Muzik for the Best Music Video while the album won the Best Engineered Album. In 2000, the brothers formed a virtual band named Tyco, which was touted as the Malaysia's first virtual musical group, with members consisted of 3D animated versions of themselves. The trio disbanded in 2018 after their last concert, Konsert Gergasi KRU25 in Istana Budaya and went hiatus to focus on their careers and personal lives individually, but reunited in 2024 to release their new album, Kaset and embarked on their GenKRU concert.
Apart from their music career, the KRU brothers made their acting debut in feature films Awas! and Cinta Metropolitan, where they contributed soundtracks for both films. They also ventured into business with the establishment of KRU Group of Companies, which have subsidiaries operated in various business segments, including KRU Studios and KRU Music. KRU is the most successful male Malaysian music group of the 1990s and 2000s. They have received numerous accolades, including Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian, Anugerah Planet Muzik and Anugerah Juara Lagu as well as recognition from The Malaysia Book of Records. Their success inspired numerous other groups of their generation to follow in their tracks.
History
1992–1999: Formation, ''Canggih'' and early years
The three KRU brothers – Norman, Yusry and Edry – who were born to Abdul Halim Kamal and Zarina Abdul Wahab Fenner, showed their interest in music in their childhood when one of their aunts bought Norman a keyboard which also attracted his other brothers. They spent their teenage years in London, England for two years and obtained musical and academic education as their father worked there. The brothers did various jobs to make ends meet: Norman worked at a petrol station, Yusry worked at a Tandoori restaurant and Edry delivered newspapers to houses. While in London, they were exposed to various genres of music, in contrast to the Malay music scene at that time which was dominated by classic rock and ballads.The first song composed by the brothers themselves was "Untukmu", which Norman wrote at the age of 16. He said that the song is about his feeling towards someone else. Starting from scratch, they began to learn how to compose songs and focused on production after buying a music CD. They continued to write original songs since then and were unaware that one of Norman's college friends sent a demo to EMI. Calvin Wong, the then-International Label Manager of EMI and now a vice-president at Warner Music Asia Pacific, was impressed by the song and called the brothers to audition. During their formation on 19 May 1992, the group initially settled for the name Selangor Rappers Unit with only Norman and Edry as members; after Yusry joined them, the group immediately changed its name to KRU. The group's name stands for Kumpulan Rap Utama or "Major Rap Group", but it is also the Malay word for "crew", borrowed from English.
After signing with EMI, KRU released their debut album, Canggih, on 5 October 1992. The album contains 12 songs all composed and written by the brothers themselves. Two songs from the album, "Cherrina" and "Hanya Kau" was released as singles and became hits. The album also contains "20/20", which was specially dedicated to the then-fourth Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad and is inspired by Wawasan 2020, which was introduced by Mahathir. The album was well-received by the market and sold over 20,000 copies, earning KRU a platinum certification and propelling the brothers to fame. But, the Malaysian public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia complained about the album's content, which was deemed to promote yellow culture, and banned 9 out of the 12 songs in the album from radio airplay. The broadcaster also demanded the brothers to change the lyrics of "2020" due to language concerns.
Their second album, reKRUed, was released in October 1993, containing two lead singles "Mengerti" and "Janji Tinggal Janji". The album was well-received, sold over 60,000 copies, and received considerable attention from music critics for its rap and acappella influences. To promote the album's release, KRU held an interview session with fans via a telephone on 4 December, as well as embarking their ReKRUed Rap Tour with three concerts and 12 showcases was held nationwide from 18 December 1993 to 23 April 1994. In the concert, KRU performs songs from their first two albums.
The following year, KRU released their third album, Awas! in an extended play format in September 1994 with an accompanying biographical scrap book published by Kharisma Publications. The album contains 6 songs including a new version of "Janji Tinggal Janji" and "Untukmu", which was made famous by Feminin. For the latter, KRU perform in a cappella. The album sold more than 60,000 copies and was certified double platinum. Later, the brothers made their acting debut in 1995 film, Awas!, which features the group portraying themselves. Principal photography began in November 1994 in Penang, the film was released on 7 September 1995 and became commercial success. They also released their fourth album, Awas! da' Soundtrack, which served as a soundtrack album for the film, containing 13 songs, composed and written by themselves. To promote both the album and the film of the same name, KRU embarked on their Awas! da' Concert tour. The first leg began in Datuk Sheikh Ahmad Stadium in Kangar, Perlis on 14 July and ended in Stadium Negara on 25 August.
On 19 March 1996, KRU released their fifth album, Ooh! La! La!. Like their previous albums, all tracks composed and written by the brothers themselves. Three singles from the album, the title track, "Apa Saja" and "Diari Metropolitan" were hits, as was the album; it sold 150,000 copies in seven months upon its release, and being certified multi-platinum. Later, KRU was among of 10 Malaysian artistes including Ziana Zain, Man Bai, Feminin and Ning Baizura who performed at the Konsert Kemuncak Dunia at Stadium Negara on 19 July 1996. The concert, which was held in support for the 1997 expedition to the Mount Everest, was attended by 3,000 audiences. They also performed an anthem for the expedition, entitled "Everest". The KRU brothers then become a main cast alongside Vanidah Imran in a romantic drama film Cinta Metropolitan, directed by the late Julie Dahlan. Unlike Awas! where KRU portrays as themselves, Cinta Metropolitan saws the brothers portrays different characters, with Norman took his role as Haris, Yusry as Irwan and Edry as Rizal. They also contributed the film's soundtrack album, which mostly consists of their songs from Ooh! La! La!, which was released six months earlier. Released in September, the film was a commercial failure.
On 3 March 1997, KRU released a compilation album entitled KRUmania which included three new songs, "Fanatik", "Di Pintu Syurga" featuring a duet with their protege, Elite and a cover version of P. Ramlee's "Getaran Jiwa". The song, which is a theme tune of Ramlee's 1960 drama film Antara Dua Darjat, saws the KRU brothers sang along with archived Ramlee's recorded vocals. KRU's rendition of "Getaran Jiwa" have earned them a recognition from The Malaysia Book of Records as the first Malaysian artist to have a digital duet with a deceased musician. The album was well received by the market and sold over 80,000 copies in 5 days upon its release. To promote KRUmania, the group embarked a three-month concert tour on 15 locations throughout Malaysia; the KRUmania Mega Tour '97 tour began with a concert in Johor Bahru, Johor on 17 May and ended in Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur on 4 October. Due to demand, an additional concert tour was held in December. Later, KRU was commissioned by the Government of Selangor to produced a tribute album for Selangor national football team titled Viva Selangor. The album contains 8 songs that performed by the team players themselves. They also won six awards including Best Music Video for their single, "Fanatik" at the second Music Video Awards held at the Auditorium Besar in Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur.
In August 1998, KRU was chosen by Pepsi to perform "Never Let the Spirit Die", one of the songs chosen as the theme song for the 16th Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur; To promote the single, its interactive CD-ROM was released in September in conjunction with the KRU-Pepsi promotion. They among a few artistes including Sharifah Aini, Zainal Abidin, Amy Search, Ning Baizura, Ella and Sheila Majid to recorded the soundtrack for Malaysia's first animated feature film, Silat Legenda. KRU composed and perform three songs for the film's soundtrack, "Silat Legenda", "Fobia" and a duet with Sheila, "Setia Bersama". KRU's sixth studio album and their first English-language album, The Way We Jam, was released on 26 November 1998. The album includes songs written by other international composers like Diane Warren, David Foster and Babyface as well as some written by themselves. They also recorded a cover version of "Never Ask Too Much " by American gospel music group, Take 6. Spawned three singles, the album is a critical and commercial success. The music video for the titular song, won the 6th Anugerah Industri Muzik for the Best Music Video while the album itself won the Best Engineered Album on 10 April 1999.
In January 1999, KRU composed and performed the official theme tune for the 1999 edition of Le Tour de Langkawi, titled "Fiesta". An official music video for the song was produced, with utilised 3D graphical and animation techniques. Produced by their own company KRU Motion Pictures, the music video for "Fiesta" costed RM40,000. The group embarked on their Jammin' the Nation tour. It began in Kuala Lumpur on from March 20, continued in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines and ended in Brunei on 22 January 2000. Later, KRU received sponsorship from Proton and embarked on their tour in Australia for the Proton World Tour. They headlining mini-concerts and make a public appearances at 15 different locations in Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with the tour lasted for a month, from September 28 to October 17. KRU's seventh studio album, Formula Luarbiasa was released on 16 December 1999. It was supported by three lead singles, "Luar Biasa", "Formula" and "Jangan Lafazkan". The album's first single, "Luar Biasa" was launched four months earlier with the limited copies of its CD single, contains four versions of the song, have been sold out and it was chosen as the theme song for Perodua. To promote the album, KRU utilised an airplane to carry the album's banner. The album was well-received by the market and as of March 2000, it has sold more than 30,000 copies.