Awie

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Othman is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Ahmad Azhar.

Dato' Ahmad Azhar bin Othman (born 24 November 1968), better known by his stage name Awie, is a Malaysian singer, musician, and actor. Awie is considered one of the greatest Malaysian vocalist of all time.

Yang Hormat Dato' Awie DIMP, (Pahang)
Awie in 2016.
Born	Ahmad Azhar bin Othman (1968-11-24) 24 November 1968 Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Occupation(s)	Singer, musician, actor, host, producer, director
Years active	1983–present
Spouses	Arni Nazira Anuar ​ ​ (m. 1998; div. 2006)​ Rozana Misbun ​ ​ (m. 2006; div. 2014)​ Datin Sharifah Ladyana ​ ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	6 (including Putra Ahmad Merrah)
Musical career
Genres	Rock kapak, hard rock, pop rock, heavy metal, glam metal, blues rock, ballad, funky

Born in Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Awie's music career start in 1985 with a rock band called Wings, which he became a lead vocal at age 17. Their First Studio Album Released in 1987 called Belenggu Irama that sold around 180,000 units which at the time is pretty impressive for a young newcomer and thus hit an instant fame. After Belenggu Irama, He records another four hit albums with Wings in five-year span between 1988 and 1993, while he also played flute for Metallica’s opening concert in Florida . Awie ventured into Acting and starred in Pemburu Bayang alongside the future Queen of Rock Ella in 1993. Awie then starred in many movies in the 1990s. While Wings is at the very peak of its career, Awie had a disagreement with then Wings manager Ali Bakar and left the group in 1993. As a solo artist, Awie became one of the best selling artist in Malaysia and became a millionaire in 1995.

Awie's career slowed down in early 2000s but he still appeared in many movies - mainly comedies. He rejoined Wings to record two more albums and became one of few artist in Malaysia to record studio albums in four different decades (80s, 90s, 00s, 10s). In 2017, he has been given Knight Companion The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang that carries the title Dato' by Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah. Now, he is called Dato' Ahmad Azhar Bin Othman or Dato' Awie.

Career

Early Involvement

At the early age of 17, Awie worked at Panggung Anniversary, Kuala Lumpur. His work enabled him to accompany several popular rock bands at the time such as Search, Bloodshed, Ella & The Boys, Sweet Charity.

Wings

Awie performing in 2007.

Along with bassists Eddie, Awie co-founded the band Wings in early 1985. By Eddie who was the leader of the band, Awie was immediately appointed as the lead vocals from the beginning of the band's formation. They debuted with the album Belenggu Irama. Their subsequent album Hukum Karma features successful singles "Misteri Mimpi Syakilla" (composed by J.S. Kevin) and "Taman Rashidah Utama" (written by a producer Bob Lokman). Various albums followed, including Teori Domino, Jerangkung Dalam Almari and Bazooka Penaka. A number of Wings's hits are composed by singer-songwriter M. Nasir.

Awie left the band in 1993 after reported disagreements with Ali Bakar (Wings manager), and pursued a career as a solo artist and actor. He re-joined Wings in 2002 after lukewarm fan response to his replacements Mus (formerly from May) and Mel (a club singer). The band is still active. Their recent concert appearances and recordings include Wings Alive 2006 and Wings Live in KL 1991. On top of that, Awie had joined the band Samudera Astana.

Solo career

During his departure from Wings in 1993, Awie recorded his first solo album called Awie (1994) which sold around 220,000 units, a record for the highest selling album for male solo artist in Malaysia to date. Followed by couples of successful Albums such as Awie Unplugged (1995), O-Tak (1996) and Satu (1998). His compilations album Best Of Awie (1999) sold around 300,000 to 600,000 units.

Film career

Awie began his acting career in 1992 with the film Pemburu Bayang. Other locally-successful films followed, the more prominent ones being Bara and the Sembilu series. Recently Awie has concentrated on comedic roles.

Personal life

Awie was engaged to Miss Malaysia Erra Fazira, his co-star in Sembilu. Due to reported infidelity, the engagement was called off.

Months later, he was caught by several Islamic law enforcers in a hotel room with Arni Nazira, his co-star in Nafas Cinta. Their obligated marriage produced two daughters. In October 2006, Arni Nazira filed for divorce after 8 years of marriage. The reason for the divorce was claimed to be due to Awie's marriage to Rozana Misbun in a secret ceremony in southern Thailand.

Awie married again in 2016 to Sharifah Ladyana Syed Samsuddin at Songkhla, Thailand.

In November 2021, Awie was ordered by the Malaysian Court of Appeal to pay RM80,000 in damages for the assault and battery of ex-wife Rozana Misbun.

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Pemburu Bayang	Awie	Debut film appearances
1994	Sembilu
1995	Sembilu II
1996	Tragedi Oktober
	Merah	Merah
1998	Maria Mariana II	Sazali
1999	Nafas Cinta	Amir
	Bara	Amri
2001	Getaran	Awie
2003	Iskandar	Karl Iskandar
2005	Sembilu 2005	Zambri
	Baik Punya Cilok	Bob KP
2006	Diva Popular	Faizal
2007	Brave	John
	Zombi Kampung Pisang	Husin
	Sumolah	Harris
2008	Cuci	Jojo
	Duyung	Kordi
	Antoo Fighter: Amukan Drakulat!	Drakulat Van Listerbooy
	Cinta U-Turn	Faiz
	Apa Kata Hati?	Sophi
2010	Andartu Terlampau... 21 Hari Mencari Suami!	Aziz Al-Biruni
	Kapoww!	Astromen
	Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah	Husin
2012	Baik Giller!	Kimie
	Berani Punya Budak	John
	Leftwings	Himself	Special appearance
2013	Husin, Mon dan Jin Pakai Toncit	Husin
	Bikers Kental	Eddie Guardo
	Lemak Kampung Santan	Abu
2014	Zombi Kilang Biskut	Husin
	Dollah Superstar	Dollah Rimau
	Ribbit	Kulup (voice)	Malay dubbed
2016	Warna Cinta Impian	Himself
	Upin & Ipin Jeng Jeng Jeng!
2017	Lebuhraya Ke Neraka	Bob
2018	Hantu Kak Limah	Husin
	Operasi X	Belut
2019	Bikers Kental 2	Eddie Guardo
2020	Rock 4: Rockers Never Dai	Himself
2021	10 Tips Tipu Bini	Brother Love	Also as producer
	Kampong Pisang Musikal Raya Istimewa	Husin
	Kampung Latah Kena Kuarantin	Dukun Palermo	Cameo appearance
2022	Seratus
2023	Didi & Friends The Movie	Tok Chip (voice)
	Sue-On	Mat Dosa	As producer
2024	Rebel	Pak Long Biring	Also as director, original idea and executive producer

Telemovie

Year	Title	Role	TV channel
1992	Wajah Di Sebalik Tirai	Mokhtar	TV1
2010	Buta Warna	Amri	Astro Ria
2013	Malaikat Di Pintu	Zai	TV3
2014	Takhta 3 Ratu		Astro First Exclusive
2015	Aku Benci Raya	Amir	Astro Warna
2016	Dari Kerana Mata	Ramzi	HyppTV
2017	Kalut Nak Raya	Bobby	Astro Warna
2018	Studio Awie	Himself	TV3
	Berani Jadi Papa	Sani Joned	Astro First Exclusive
2021	Rumah Tok Wie	Tok Wie	Awesome TV

Television series

Year	Title	Role	TV channel	Notes
2000	Spanar Jaya	Himself	NTV7	Episode: "Takkan Kot... Awie"
2006–2007	Awie Records	Himself	Astro Ria
2018	Mak Cun (Season 4)	Rock	TV3
	Ammar & Opie	Tok Wie
2021	Kampung Pisang Bersiri-siri	Husin	Astro Citra	Episode: "Husin Kembali Bersama Zombi"
	Semanis Senyumanmu	Himself	TV3	Special appearance
2022	Sudin dan Kaya	Samad	Awesome TV
	Kids Nowadays	Jaafar	Astro Ria

Television

Year	Title	Role	TV channel
2004	Akademi Fantasia season 2	Invited Artist	Astro Ria
2012	Maharaja Lawak Mega 2012	Permanent judge	Astro Warna
2013	Tunggu Sekejap	Host	TV3
	Maharaja Lawak Mega 2013	Invited Artist To Shiro	Astro Warna
2015	Juara Parodi	Invited Artist
2016	Ceria Popstar	Permanent judge	Astro Ceria
	3 Juara	Permanent judge	TV3
	Joras & Star	Invited Artist	Astro Warna
2017	Rockanova 2017	Permanent judge	Astro Prima
	AF Megastar	Invited Artist	Astro Ria
2018	MeleTOP	Host with Erra Fazira
2019	Maharaja Lawak Mega 2019	Invited Artist	Astro Warna
2019–2022	Muzikal Lawak Superstar	Permanent judge
2020	Rumah No. 107	Invited Artist
	Gegar Vaganza (Season 7)	Invited Artist	Astro Ria
2021	Sumbang Suara	Permanent judge	TV3
	Havoc Nak Raya	Invited Artist
2022	Mic On! (Season 2)	Jury	Awesome TV

Discography

Album studio (With Wings)

Year	Title	Sales
1987	Belenggu Irama Album studio Released : 1987 Label : ASP	180, 000 Unit
1988	Hukum Karma Album studio Released : 1988 Label : ASP	180, 000 Unit
1990	Teori Domino Album studio Released : 1990 Label : Fly Wings & BMG	200, 000 Unit
1991	Jerangkung Dalam Almari Album studio Released: 1991 Label: Fly Wings & BMG	200, 000 Unit
1993	Bazooka Penaka Album studio Released: 1993 Format: Kaset Label: Fly Wings & BMG	200, 000 Unit
2002	Naga Kramat Album studio Released: 2002 Format: CD & Kaset Label: BMG	50, 000 Unit
2014	Menakluk Kosmos Album studio Released: 2014 Format: CD Label: KRU Records	15, 000 Unit

Album solo studio

Year	Title	Sales
1994	Awie Album studio Released: 1994 Format: CD, Kaset Label: BMG Music	220,000 unit
1996	O-Tak Album studio Released: 1996 Format: CD, Kaset Label: BMG Music	150, 000 unit
1998	Satu Album studio Released: 1998 Format: CD, Kaset Label: BMG Music	50, 000unit
2000	Rentap Album studio Released: 2000 Format: CD, Kaset Label: BMG Music	25, 000 unit
2005	Santai Album studio Released: 2005 Format: CD, Kaset Label: EMI Music

External links

• Awie at IMDb