Social media platforms and singing competitions have played an integral role in allowing young people to showcase their talents. In Malaysia, many young and talented singers have become internet sensations as they entertain the world with their unique and captivating voices. Here, Top 10 of Asia shares its random list of the most inspiring young singers who have taken the Malaysian music scene by storm with their increasing popularity, passion and outstanding performances in the area of music.
Shelhiel
Shelhiel is a genre-bending multidisciplinary artist who is making waves in the burgeoning English and Mandarin electronic pop scenes. He has performed at many festivals and shows including SXSW, SIFA, Future Rising KL by Mixcloud & W Hotels, ASEAN Music Showcase Festival, Good Vibes Festival and even opening for international celebrities such as Tennyson, Hyukoh, Crystal Castles, and FKJ. Shelhiel’s debuted extended play “SUPERSTROBE” was notably shortlisted as part of NME’s “The 25 Best Asian Albums of 2020”. His collaborative work – ‘AAA’ with NYK has also garnered over 40 million streams on Chinese music platforms to date since its release in March.
Layla Sania
Layla Sania has been exposed to the music world at a very young age as her parents are enthusiastic music-lovers. She rose to stardom after signing a record deal and appeared on a local reality show called, “I Can See Your Voice”. She attracted the attention of the judges as she performed a popular Mandarin song by Tiger Huang. Layla is able to speak and sing fluently in Mandarin and has successfully gained many fans. She also appeared in her first role as the main cast of a Mandarin film called, “Small Town Heroes”.
Firdhaus
Firdhaus Farmizi is one of Malaysia’s most famous young talents in the Chinese music industry. His song, “Gulf of Alaska” became a hit on Douyin and is famous locally and in China. The song was played over a million times while his music videos on YouTube also garnered millions of views. Besides sharing his original music, Firdhaus also uploads covers of Mandarin, English and Korean songs on his Instagram. He is managed by a Malaysian record label known as Loolala Music and he hopes to release songs in the Malay language in future.
Shalma Eliana
Known for her melodious voice, Shalma Eliana started singing local and international songs and uploaded them on social media through her Instagram page. Due to her popularity, she was offered a record deal by Universal Music Malaysia in 2018 and she produced her renown singles, “Janji Terindah”, “Mahukah Kamu” that features famous Singaporean hip hop artist Fariz Jabba, “Aroma”, “Rambang” and “I Need You”. Shalma was among the 17 artistes who collaborated with Universal Music Malaysia to produce the song #jangankeluar, a hip hop song produced by Yonnyboii.
Liesl-mae
Aspiring singer, Liesl-mae (stylized as ‘liesl-mae) is passionate in writing music and singing for her fans worldwide. Her love for music drove her to take up vocal lessons, learn to play the guitar and upload videos of herself singing covers of popular pop songs on YouTube. The talented young singer was approached by Sony Music’s Southeast Asian label, OFFMUTE and is now one of the talents under label. liesl-mae released her popular debut singles “Headspace”, “Raincloud” and “Solace” while pursuing her Master’s degree. Besides music, liesl-mae enjoys doing arts and crafts as a hobby. 
Masya Masyitah
Award-winning young singer, Masya Masyitah developed a passion in music since the age of nine. She participated in the second season of the Ceria Popstar reality TV show in 2014 on Astro Ceria under the guidance of singer Hazama Azmi and won. Masya signed a contract with Rocketfuel Entertainment and produced her debut singles “Mawar Terbiar”, “Invisible”, “Halimunan”, “Teman Bintang”, “Hapus”, Chinese single, “Jiu Meng Xin Su” and a duet with Jeryl Lee titled “Zuo Jian”. She was the only representative of Malaysia in the third season of the Chinese singing reality show, “The Coming One” in 2019.
Elica Paujin
Elica Paujin is a Sabahan singer who is well-known as the winner of the “Big Stage” Season 4 in 2022. She released her first single, “Bila Nanti” in 2017 through Paradox Music. Elica was also invited to perform at the Tambunan Music Festival and Eco Tourism Exhibition to promote the “Visit Tambunan Year 2017” with other artistes such as Rosario Bianis, Francis Landong and Esther Applunius Chin. Elica was selected to represent Malaysia at the Changwon World K-Pop Festival 2018 under the vocal category. The singer also sings in the Dusun language and one of her popular songs, “Araatan” was awarded the Juara Lagu Popular (JLP) Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) 2019.
Jeryl Lee
Jeryl Lee Pei Ling was the winner of the Water Cube Cup Overseas Chinese Youths Singing Competition 2014 in Beijing when she was just fourteen years old. She is also a Malaysian record laureate and the youngest singer in Malaysia to win an international youth singing contest for Chinese songs. Mentored by Mandapop singer, Na Ying, Jeryl also participated in Sing! China in 2016 and performed her passionate version of ‘Fight Song’ that truly cemented her footing throughout the competition. In 2018, Jeryl debuted her very first EPS with 3 original singles. Today, Jeryl continues to perform on and off stage while winning countless hearts with her adorable charm and talent.
Vanessa Reynauld
A rising talent with millions of fans, Vanessa Reynauld is also funny and charismatic. Inspired by the likes of talented singers such as Whitney Houston, Beyonce and Céline Dion, Vanessa was told how well she could sing and it was a driving force that propelled her to be a professional singer. Besides being famous for her songs such as “Kelmarin”, “Putus”, “Buat Ku Sempurna”, “Halaman Asmara” and “Demi Cinta”, she is also known by her signature natural afro hairstyle, charismatic and entertaining personality. Vanessa has garnered many followers on social media. The multi-talented artiste has also been featured on the Times Square billboard in New York City in 2021.
Aisha Retno
Sharifah Aisha Retno Sayed Sipulijam is a talented Malaysian singer-songwriter. She signed a contract with Sony Music Malaysia and released her debut single “Mengikat Jiwa”. In 2020, she performed a duet with Yuka Kharisma on the song titled, “Terima Kasih”. She became well-known in the Malaysian music industry after the release of her English single, “W.H.U.T” in late 2021 that was streamed over a million times on Spotify. Aisha also participated in the Big Stage 2022 and won third place. The young singer also played the role of Zura in Malaysia’s popular telefilm, Cangkul.