Awie & Wings

Ahmad Azhar Othman or better known as Awie (born November 24, 1968) is a Malaysian male singer, musician, actor, host, producer and director. He is best known as the lead singer of the band Wings.

Born on November 24, 1968 in Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Awie's musical career as an artist began in 1987 with the band Wings, with the release of his first album titled Belenggu Irama. While popular with Wings, he developed his natural talent in acting through his first film "Pemburu Bayang" in 1993. Awie then took steps to leave Wings due to drug addiction, with cocaine and heroin and began his career as a solo singer starting in 1993 when he released his first eponymous solo album in 1994 and has sold 220,000 units making the album the record holder for the highest album sales for a male solo artist in Malaysia to date, which was previously surpassed by Saleem (Iklim) through his first solo album titled Saleem & Wan Zul, (The Combination of Two Artists) which featured the popular single "Aduhai! Seribu Kali Sayang" in 1993 which sold 80,000 units.

Throughout his solo career, he has produced five solo albums excluding compilation albums, live and others. In addition, Awie once joined the group Search in 1998 and appeared with an album titled "Bikin Wilayah" after Amy Search left the group and subsequently formed his own group called Dragon Malaya in 2000. Until now Dragon Malaya is still active in a few concerts only. At the end of 2000, with the help of Chinese medicine therapy, Awie distanced himself and did not touch the forbidden item again. In 2001, he returned with the group Wings which remains until now.

Awie still maintains a career as a film actor. Among his famous films are "Baik Punya Cilok" (2005), Sumolah (2007), "Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah" (2010) and "Lebuhraya Ke Neraka" (2017). Apart from that, Awie is also a host of reality shows such as Tunggu Sekejap, a judge on Maharaja Lawak Mega 2012 and many more.

At the age of 7, Awie worked as a piano tuner. At the age of 17, Awie worked at the Anniversary Theatre, Kuala Lumpur. His job allowed Awie to accompany several popular celebrities at the time such as Search, Bloodshed, Ella & The Boys and Sweet Charity.

Together with Syam, Eddie and Jojet Awie co-founded the music group Wings in early 1985. Eddie, who was the leader of the group, immediately appointed Awie as the lead singer from the beginning of the group's establishment. They made their debut with the album "Belenggu Irama" in 1987. The next album, "Hukum Karma" featured the songs "Misteri Mimpi Syakilla" (composed by J.S. Kevin) and "Taman Rashidah Utama" (written by producer Bob Lokman).

Various studio albums were followed by the albums Teori Domino, Jerangkung Dalam Almari and Bazooka Penaka including a collaboration with the group Search which appeared on the album titled Double Trouble. A number of Wings hits were written by singer-songwriters M. Nasir and Loloq. Awie left the band due to drug addiction, cocaine and heroin in 1993 after reporting disagreements with other Wings members, and pursued a career as a solo artist and actor. In addition to his original band Wings, Awie briefly replaced Amy Search as the lead singer of Search with the release of an album titled Bikin Wilayah in 1998,

achieving success with the album and subsequently forming his own band called Dragon Malaya in 2000. With the help of Chinese medicine therapy, Awie distanced himself from drugs and did not touch the forbidden substance again to rejoin Wings in late 2000 after lukewarm fan response to his replacements, Mus (formerly of May) and Mel (a club singer). Recent concert appearances and recordings include "Wings Alive 2006" and "Wings Live In KL 1991".

Awie completed his film career by establishing his acting company Rumah Produksi Merah and also acting as a film producer through his first film, 10 Tips Tipu Bini directed by Azizi "Chunk" Adnan with Armada Al-Haq writing the script. He himself also acted by playing the role of Brother Love. It was aired on Astro First on 7 January 2021. Among the cast members are Ropie Cecupak, Khir Rahman and Elizabeth Tan.

Awie's second wife was Rozana Misbun, the younger sister of actress Haliza Misbun. On October 16, 2006, Awie and Arni were legally divorced with a single talaq at the Kuantan Pahang Syariah Lower Court before Syariah Judge Abdul Wahid Md Ali. With Rozana, Awie had three more children, namely Putra Ahmad Merrah (born 5 April 2005), Putra Ahmad Rezzki (born August 8, 2008) and Putri Qasseh Antasha (born April 19, 2013).

On November 1, 2014, the divorce between singer Awie and Rozana Misbun was annulled after Rozana successfully obtained a divorce claim from the Islamic Religious Council Office, Songkhla Thailand. On October 7, 2016, Awie married Sharifah Ladyana Syed Shamsuddin. He was blessed with his sixth child on November 12, 2020.