iM4U’s DIY Style 2.0 pushes forward great talents for a great cause!

YOUTH radio station iM4U FM returned this year with the second installment of DIY Style, a unique series of music competitions unearthing art through new ideas and collaboration. DIY Style 2.0 brought together 20 different artistes with 20 talented disabled individuals, in an effort to raise money for the disabled homes of the respective contestants.

The first DIY Style finals ended in SACC Mall, Shah Alam last year and saw FORTEEN‘s cover of Sheila Majid‘s “Sinaran” take the Platinum Prize, the competition’s highest honour. Back then, Juwita Suwito, Taja of Meet Uncle Hussein and Loque made up the panel of judges, while notable contestants included Amir Jahari, Bunkface and Liyana Fizi.

DIY Style 2.0 meanwhile featured local talents Juzzthin, Elizabeth Tan, Diandra Arjunaidi, Resh, Jonathan Tse, Narmi, Lukarts, Ali Aiman, Eyza Bahra, Ntahsape2ntah, Bambino Kiss, Lea Ismail, Aman, Ewal, Obiet, Jay Walia, Eleena Harris and Bil Musa and every one of them was tasked to do a creative cover of a classic Malaysian record with a partner from each charitable home.

“DIY Style is a platform for talented individuals and it creates opportunities for individuals with special needs to be heard, when they are usually not. It also gives back to the society and this is, in my opinion, the true responsibility of any media outlet,” explained Kartini Ariffin, Director of iM4U FM.

On 23 April 2016, iM4U held the DIY Style 2.0 finale at iM4U Sentral in Puchong. Bil Musa, Diandra Arjunaidi, Eyza Bahra, Aisyah Aziz and Lea Ismail made the Top 5 of the competition, resulting in a one-of-a-kind all-women finale.

The final round of performances was preceeded by special needs band The Eyelitz‘s moving performance of tracks like Meghan Trainor’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” and Humood Al Khuder’s smash hit “Kun Anta”.

The initiative’s power was visible through the joy of the young performers paired with their artist counterparts. Mazwan from Rumah Keluarga Kami for instance showed great vocal range while performing a reggae infused rework of Zainal Abidin’s “Hijau” with Eyza Bahra, while Najib who played percussion while Aisyah Aziz performed her version of “Coba” by Faizal Tahir proved that these contestants may have disabilities but are not short on talent.

On the artiste end of the spectrum, audiences were treated to new takes on classic and contemporary songs as well as original material — Lea Ismail debuted her first single “Langkah Baru”, Bil Musa perform her jazzy original track “Adakah Ini”, and Eyza Bahra performed an original track titled “Cakerawala”. It got attendees to get up from their seats to chant, cheer and sing along.

The end of the night saw a panel consisting of AG Coco, Natalie Kniese, Amir Jahari , Tan Shyue Wern and Muhd Faiz crown Aisyah Aziz and her partner Najib as the grand prize winners of the night, taking home RM12,000 for Persatuan Kanak-kanak Istimewa Kajang.

Second prize went to Lea Ismail representing Rumah Amal Cheshire, while third place went to Eyza Bahra and Mazwan from Rumah Keluarga Kami. Deandra Arjunaidi representing Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak Yatim dan Miskin Klang PEYAKIN came in fourth, while Bil Musa finished fifth with a new version of Noh Salleh’s “Sang Penikam”.

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Find out more about DIY Style 2,0 through iM4U FM on  and !