Anggun Cipta Sasmi (; (born 29 April 1974), known
mononym
A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person.
A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...
ously as Anggun, is an Indonesian-French singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, she began performing at the age of seven and recorded a children's album two years later. She rose to fame in 1989 as a teenage
rock star and by 1993 she had released five
Indonesian-language studio albums and a soundtrack album to the Indonesian film ''Si Roy'' (1989). ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' listed her single "
Mimpi" as one of the 150 Greatest Indonesian Songs of All Time.
Anggun left Indonesia for England in 1994 to pursue an international career. She later moved to France and recorded her first international album, ''
Snow on the Sahara'' (1997). It was released in 33 countries by
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
and sold more than one million copies worldwide. Since then, Anggun has released another six studio albums—in
English and
French—and a soundtrack album to the Danish film ''
Open Hearts'' (2002). Her singles "
Snow on the Sahara", "
What We Remember", "
The Good Is Back", and "
Perfect World" entered the
''Billboard'' charts in the United States while "
In Your Mind", "
Saviour" and "
I'll Be Alright" charted on the
''Billboard'' European Hot 100 Singles. She represented
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...
, with the song "
Echo (You and I)".
Anggun ventured into television, becoming the judge for the Indonesian versions of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' (2013), ''
Got Talent'' (2014), and ''
The Voice'' (2018); the pancontinental ''
Asia's Got Talent'' (2015–2019); the French version of ''
Masked Singer
''Masked Singer'' is an international music reality game show franchise. It originated from the South Korean program '' The King of Mask Singer'', developed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.
Format
The format features celebrities who perform ...
'' (2019–2022); and the Belgian version of ''
StarMaker'' (2023). She was the leading actress in
musical theater
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...
show ''Al Capone'' (2023) and played supporting roles in the film ''Coup de foudre à Bangkok'' (2020) and TV series ''Profession Comédien'' (2021). Aside from her career in entertainment, Anggun has been appointed as the global ambassador of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
twice, first for the
International Year of Microcredit in 2005 and then for the
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
(FAO) in 2009.
Anggun is one of the best-selling Asian artists outside Asia, with her releases certified gold and platinum in some European countries. She is the first Indonesian artist to have success in European and American
record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...
s. She has received accolades for her achievements, including the
Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the
Government of France
The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...
, the
World Music Award for
World's Best-Selling Indonesian Artist, and the
Asian Television Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Television Performing Arts. She became the first woman from Indonesia to be immortalized in wax by
Madame Tussauds.
Life and career
1974–1993: Early life and career in Indonesia
Anggun was born in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
on 29 April 1974. She is the second child of Darto Singo, a
Javanese writer, and Dien Herdina, a housewife from the Yogyakarta royal family.
Her full name means "grace born of a dream". Despite being a Muslim, Anggun was sent to a
Catholic school
Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
to receive a better elementary education.
At the age of seven, Anggun began receiving daily strict instructions in singing and was given homework to write poems with the melodies that could become a song, aimed at triggering her songwriting skills, by her father.
Even though her father was not a singer, he guided her to improve her vocal skill by following the instructions in a vocal practicing book written by Bina Vokalia vocal coach
Pranadjaja. Her mother began serving as her manager.
At the age of nine, Anggun started writing her own songs and recorded her debut album, which featured covers of songs by Indonesian country singer
Ritta Rubby Hartland, titled ''Kepada Alam dan Pencintanya'' (1983).
However, the album was not published until she gained recognition in the early 1990s.
In adolescence, Anggun was influenced by Western rock music and she began to choose her career as a rock singer.
In 1986, she met
Ian Antono, the guitarist and music producer of
God Bless, and released her first commercial studio album, ''
Dunia Aku Punya''; however, it did not achieve commercial success.
She rose to fame three years later, with the single "
Mimpi"; it was ranked by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
Indonesia'' as one of the 150 Greatest Indonesian Songs of All Time. In the early 1990s she released hit singles such as "Tua Tua Keladi", "Laba Laba", and "Takut". She recorded the studio albums ''
Anak Putih Abu Abu'' (1991) and ''
Nocturno'' (1992).
The former earned her the Most Popular Indonesian Artist 1990–1991 award.
In 1992, Anggun began a relationship with Michel Georgea, a French engineer.
They married, despite a rumoured objection by Anggun's family on the grounds that Anggun was too young.
Georgea later became Anggun's manager. The following year, Anggun became the youngest Indonesian singer to found her own record company, Bali Cipta Records, taking creative control over her work.
She produced her fourth (fifth overall) Indonesian studio album, ''
Anggun C. Sasmi... Lah!!!'' (1993), which yielded the hit song "Kembalilah Kasih (Kita Harus Bicara)".
By age nineteen, she had sold over four million albums in Indonesia.
She was dissatisfied with her success in her country and began considering an international music career.
1994–1999: International breakthrough with ''Snow on the Sahara''
In 1994, Anggun released ''
Yang Hilang'', a
greatest hits album
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
of her Indonesian popular songs. She later sold her record company to fund her move to Europe, and moved to London.
In a 2006 interview, Anggun admitted to "culture shock" and financial problems while trying to start her new life in Europe.
Her demos in England were returned with negative replies.
She considered relocating to the Netherlands, but decided to move to France.
In 1996, she met French singer
Florent Pagny, who became her mentor.
Pagny introduced her to French producer
Erick Benzi
Erick Benzi (born 1 March 1959) is a French musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer from Marseille.
He was previously part of the duo Die Form, with Gildas Arzel, and the group Canada (with Arzel, Jacques Veneruso, and Gwenn Arzel) ...
. Impressed, Benzi offered her a recording project. Anggun was signed to
Columbia France and
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
.
After learning to speak French at
Alliance Française
(; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...
for only three months, Anggun worked on her debut album with Benzi, alongside songwriters
Jacques Veneruso and .
In June 1997, Anggun released her first French-language album, entitled ''
Au nom de la lune'', an artistic departure experimenting with
world music
"World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
and
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
sounds.
The album's first single, "
La neige au Sahara", became a hit in France, reaching number three on
SNEP's airplay chart and number 16 on its sales chart,.
It became the most played French-language song of 1997, with a total of 7,900 radio
airplays, and was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
for 250,000 copies.
The album peaked at number 34 on the
French Albums Chart and sold over 150,000 copies in France and Belgium.
Anggun received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 1998
Victoires de la Musique.
The English version of the album, ''
Snow on the Sahara'', was released in 33 countries between 1997 and 1999.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called the album "a promising debut". Its lead single, "
Snow on the Sahara" reached number one in Italy, number five on the Japan's
Tokio Hot 100, and number six on the UK
Pop Club Chart.
The song was used as the soundtrack for a marketing campaign by the Swiss watchmaker
Swatch.
The second single, "
A Rose in the Wind" became a top-20 hit in Italy, while its Indonesian version, titled "Kembali", became a hit in Southeast Asia.
''Snow on the Sahara'' has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide and received the Diamond Export Sales Award.
In North America, ''Snow on the Sahara'' was released in May 1998 by
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
.
Anggun went on a tour for nine months in the US to promote the album.
She appeared on American television programs such as ''
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety show, variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on June 27, 200 ...
'', ''
Sessions at West 54th'', ''
Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular'', and ''
CNN World Beat''.
The album peaked at 23 on the
''Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums Chart and shipped 200,000 units.
The single reached 16 on the
''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play and 22 on the
''Billboard'' Adult Top 40. The album track "On the Breath of an Angel" was used as the soundtrack of American television series ''
Passions'' and television film ''
The Princess and the Marine'', both aired on
NBC.
2000–2003: ''Chrysalis'' and ''Open Hearts''
After divorcing Michel Georgea in 1999, Anggun worked on her second French album, ''
Désirs contraires'', released in September 1999. It experimented with
electropop
Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
and ambient elements as well as
R&B.
The album was produced by Benzi, with some of Anggun's compositions. It peaked at number 48 on the French albums chart and sold about 30,000 copies there.
The album's first single, "
Un geste d'amour", reached 62 on the French Singles Chart.
The English version enjoyed more success. ''
Chrysalis
A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...
'' was released at the same time as ''Désirs contraires''
Distributed simultaneously in 15 countries, it spawned the hit single "
Still Reminds Me", which received high airplay across Asia and Europe.
It became her third number-one hit in Indonesia since her international career and her third top 20 single in Italy (peaking at number 17). It reached the top five on the ''Music & Media'' European Border Breakers Chart. She released a single especially for the Indonesian and Malaysian market, "Yang 'Ku Tunggu" (the Indonesian version of "Un geste d'amour"), which became a number-one hit in the region.
At the end of 2000 Anggun the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
invited her to appear at a Christmas concert.
The following month, she started a tour across Asia and Europe, including her first concert in France at
Le Bataclan on 1 February 2001. The tour ended on 30 April 2001 at
Kallang Theatre,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.
In 2002, she received the Women Inspire Award from Singapore's Beacon of Light for "her achievements as a role model for many young women in Asia."
The next year, she was honored with
Cosmopolitan Indonesias Fun Fearless Female of the Year Award.
Collaborations, soundtrack projects, and charity albums included a French-English song with
DJ Cam entitled "Summer in Paris" on his 2002 album, ''
Soulshine''; an Indonesian-English song with
Deep Forest
Deep Forest is a French music project that originally began as a duo consisting of Michel Sanchez (musician), Michel Sanchez and Éric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electro ...
entitled "Deep Blue Sea" on their 2002 album, ''
Music Detected''; and three collaborations in 2003, including with Italian rock singers
Piero Pelù,
Serge Lama and
Tri Yann.
Her duet with Pelù entitled "" became a hit in Italy, spending over two months at the top of the Italian Airplay Chart; she sung it at the
Italian Music Awards in 2003.
Anggun participated in two Scandinavian movies: contributing the song "Rain (Here Without You)" for ''Anja & Viktor'' in 2001, and the entire soundtrack for ''
Open Hearts'' in 2002.
For ''Open Hearts'', Anggun worked with two Danish producers, and
Niels Brinck
Niels Brinck Kristensen (born 24 September 1974) is a Danish singer and songwriter.
Brinck won the '' Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2009'' with the song " Believe Again" which was written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Larsson Moller and Ronan Keati ...
. "Open Your Heart" was released as a single from the soundtrack album and charted at 51 on the
Norwegian Singles Chart. It earned Anggun a nomination for Best Original Song at the Danish Film Academy's
Robert Awards
The Robert Award () is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Danish Film Academy since 1984.
Description
The Robert-Prisen (Robert Award) is an annual award given by the Danish Film Academy, launched in 1984. It is the Danish equivalent ...
in 2003.
"Counting Down" was released as a single and became a top-ten airplay hit in Indonesia.
Anggun left Sony Music in 2003 after its merger with
BMG Music. She moved to Montreal, Canada where Olivier Maury became her manager. In 2004, Anggun and Maury were married in a private ceremony in Bali.
2004–2009: ''Luminescence'' and ''Elevation''
In 2004, Anggun returned to Paris and landed a record deal with Heben Music. She began working on her next album with producers including Jean-Pierre Taieb and Frederic Jaffre. Anggun enlisted the help of French songwriters such as , ,
Tété
Tété is a French musician, born in Dakar, Senegal on 25 July 1975. His mother is from Martinique and his father is from Senegal.
Tété is described as the French version of Jeff Buckley. Tété's music can be described as an intimate, sol ...
and Evelyn Kral to adapt her English songs into French.
In late 2004, Anggun released her first solo French single in nearly four years, "
Être une femme", which became Anggun's second top-20 hit in France and her first French single to chart on the
Swiss Singles Chart. Anggun's third French album, ''
Luminescence
Luminescence is a spontaneous emission of radiation from an electronically or vibrationally excited species not in thermal equilibrium with its environment. A luminescent object emits ''cold light'' in contrast to incandescence, where an obje ...
'', was released in February 2005. It reached number 16 on the French Albums Chart was certified Gold for selling 100,000 copies.
The second single, "
Cesse la pluie" reached the charts in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. According to
Francophonie Diffusion, "Être une femme" and "Cesse la pluie" were the second and the fifth most-played French singles of 2005 worldwide, respectively.

"Undress Me" was chosen as the first single from the English version. Unaccompanied by a music video, it debuted at 13 in Italy, becoming her fifth top 20 single there. It became Anggun's first hit in the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
. "
In Your Mind" was released as the second single, becoming a hit in Asia.
The third single, "
Saviour", was used as the soundtrack for the
U.S. box office number-one film ''
Transporter 2''.
Anggun was awarded the
Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (''Knight of Arts and Letters'') by the
French Minister of Culture for her achievements and support of French culture.
She was appointed as the ambassadress for a Swiss watch brand,
Audemars Piguet. Anggun did a duet with
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...
on a reworked version of "
All of You" in Indonesian version for his album ''
Romantic Classics'' (2006). On 25 May 2006, Anggun performed on her sold-out solo concert at the
Jakarta Convention Center
Jakarta International Convention Center or JICC is a convention center located in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of earliest as well as popular convention center in Jakarta. Since its inauguration in 1974, many ...
, entitled ''Konser Untuk Negeri''. She later on toured to few cities in Indonesia, such as
Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
and
Bandung
Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
.
In August 2006, Anggun released the special edition of both the French and English versions of ''Luminescence'' with three new songs. "
Juste avant toi", the new single from the special edition, became Anggun's fourth Top 40 hit, peaking at number 28 on the French Singles Chart.
Meanwhile, its English version, "
I'll Be Alright", became her most popular
Russophone
This article details the geographical distribution of Russian-speakers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the status of the Russian language often became a matter of controversy. Some Post-Soviet states adopted policies of Derus ...
hit with over 43,000 airplays from more than 350 radio stations across the region. ''Luminescence'' was re-issued in February 2007 and peaked at number three on the French Back Catalogue Chart. In September 2006, Anggun performed her song, "
Cesse la pluie" at
Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix in
Sopot,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
.
In December 2006, Anggun was named Best International Artist at
Anugerah Musik Indonesia
The Anugerah Musik Indonesia ( 'Indonesian Music Awards'), also known as AMI or colloquially AMI Awards, is an annual Indonesian music award ceremony to recognize outstanding achievements in improving the quality and quantity of artists in the m ...
for introducing Indonesian music to the international recording industry.
She released her ''
Best-Of'' album in Indonesia and Malaysia, which compiled singles during the first decade of her international career. The new version of "Mimpi" was released as a radio single and became a hit in Indonesia in 2006 to 2007.
Anggun released ''Best-Of'' for the Italian market with a different track listing and "I'll Be Alright" as its lead single. She was featured on German band
Reamonn's single "
Tonight
Tonight may refer to:
Television
* ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC
* ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...
".
During the year, Anggun participated in environmental projects. She became the French-language narrator of
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
nature documentary
A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or television documentary, series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures. Nature documentaries usually concentrate on video taken in the subject's nat ...
film ''
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
'' (''Un jour sur Terre''), and composed its soundtrack single, "Un jour sur terre". She was appointed as the Ambassador of the Micro-environment Prize by the
French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...
. Anggun was awarded ''Le grand cœur de l'année'' (The Great Heart of the Year) by French television network
Filles TV for her contribution to social and environmental events. In February 2007, Anggun was invited as the guest star on an episode of the fourth season of ''
Star Academy Arab World'' in Lebanon. She returned to another episode of the show's fifth season in the following year. She did a duet with Italian singer
Roby Facchinetti and his son,
Francesco Facchinetti in a song, titled ''Vivere Normale''. Then, she has been invited to sing it at an Italian music festival, the
57th Sanremo Music Festival. In March 2007, she did a number performance with
Nicole Croisille
Nicole Croisille (9 October 1936 – 4 June 2025) was a French singer and actress. She appeared in 24 films between 1961 and 2005, and recorded several albums since 1961.
Perhaps her most heard work is on the soundtrack of 1966 film, '' A Man a ...
and sang Croisille's hit "Une femme avec toi" on Symphonic Show for
Sidaction. In December 2007, she received her second invitation from the Vatican to perform in the Christmas concert in Verona, Italy, along with
Michael Bolton. She covered
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
's "
Streets of Philadelphia
"Streets of Philadelphia" is a song written and performed by American rock musician Bruce Springsteen for the 1993 film ''Philadelphia'', starring Tom Hanks, an early mainstream film dealing with HIV/AIDS. Released as a single by Columbia Rec ...
" with Corsican group
I Muvrini for their album ''I Muvrini et les 500 choristes'' (2007). She was featured on the remix version of DJ
Laurent Wolf's number-one hit "
No Stress" for the deluxe edition of his album ''
Wash My World''. Anggun and Wolf performed the song at the
2008 World Music Awards in Monaco.
In 2008, Anggun released her fourth international studio album, ''
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
''. It experimented with
urban and
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
. ''Elevation'' was produced by hip hop producer pair . "
Crazy" was released as the lead single from the album, with its French and Indonesian versions, "Si tu l'avoues" and "Jadi Milikmu", serving as the first single there. Canadian cinematographer
Ivan Grbovic directed its music videos; it charted at 6 on Francophonie Diffusion Chart. Another single from this album, called "My Man" or in the French version, "Si je t'emmène" topped to number 11 on the same chart. This song featured rappers
Pras Michel from the
Fugees. The music video for its versions was directed by . Anggun, with this album, had made her music travel to
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
with positive reactions there. In Russia, ''Elevation'' was released with an additional song, "О нас с тобой (O Nas S Toboyu)", which was recorded as a duet with Russian singer . Later, she remade the song in English , called "No Song", and Indonesian , called "Berganti Hati". For "Berganti Hati", she was helped by Indonesian director to make the music video. Prior to its official release, the album was certified double platinum, making it the fastest-selling album of her career in Indonesia. In France, the album debuted at 36 on the French Albums Chart.
Later, one of her songs in this album, "Stronger", was chosen to be
Anlene's advertisement soundtrack for Southeast Asia territory. For the Asian Edition album, she included a song written by Morgan Visconti and
Rosi Golan, "Shine".
Pantene used this for the soundtrack of its short movie commercial. On 6 December 2008, Anggun joined the jury for
Miss France 2009.
Anggun's four-year ambassador contract with
Audemars Piguet was extended, and she was chosen by hair care brand,
Pantene, and New Zealand-based dairy product, Anlene, as their ambassador.
In 2009, Italian singer
Mina did a cover from one of Anggun's songs, "
A Rose in the Wind", in her album ''Riassunti d'amore - Mina Cover''. Anggun made a promo tour called ''Anggun Elevation Acoustic Showcase'' and served only 200 guest seats on 24 & 27 March 2009 at Hotel Istana,
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. She made concerts in Indonesia and toured the cities of
Bandung
Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
,
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
,
Denpasar
Denpasar (; Balinese script, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ, ''Dénpasar'') is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia.
Denpasar is the largest city in the Lesser Sunda Islands and the second largest city in Eastern Indonesia after ...
,
Surabaya
Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
and
Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
. In August 2009, she was invited to perform her song "
Saviour" at ''
New Wave 2009'' in
Jūrmala
Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and is sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach and is the ...
,
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. On 16 October 2009, she attended
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...
World Food Day event, called ''All is Possible'', at ''
4th International Rome Film Festival''.
2010–2013: ''Echoes'', Eurovision, and ''The X Factor''

In early 2010, Anggun recorded a duet with Portuguese singer
Mickael Carreira on the song "''Chama por me (Call My Name)''", as well as performing at his concert in Lisbon, Portugal on 26 February 2010. She collaborated with German electronica musician
Schiller, co-writing and contributing lead vocals to two tracks, "Always You" and "Blind", for his album ''
Atemlos'' (2010). Anggun appeared Schiller's concert series, Atemlos Tour, in 14 cities in Germany during May 2010. Anggun did a cameo for 2010 French drama film ''
Ces amours-là'' directed by
Claude Lelouch
Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critical ...
.
Anggun's fifth international studio album—''
Echoes'' for the English version and ''Échos'' for the French version—saw her collaboration with composers , , , and
William Rousseau.
It became her first self-produced international album and was released under her own record label, April Earth.
The English version was released in Indonesia in May 2011. It topped the
Indonesian Albums Chart and was certified platinum in its first week. It eventually became the best-selling pop album of 2011, with quadruple platinum certification. On this stage, Anggun had won 56 platinum records in 26 countries, from "
Snow on the Sahara" to "
Echo (You and I)".
"
Only Love" and its Indonesian version "Hanyalah Cinta" were released as the lead singles and became number-one radio hits.
The French version was released in November 2011 and reached number 48 on the French Albums Chart. "Je partirai", the first single for the French version, reached number five in Belgium. Anggun held her second major concert at the
Jakarta Convention Center
Jakarta International Convention Center or JICC is a convention center located in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of earliest as well as popular convention center in Jakarta. Since its inauguration in 1974, many ...
, ''Konser Kilau Anggun'', on 27 November 2011.
She later appeared for the third time at the Christmas concert in the Vatican.
Anggun was chosen by
France Télévisions
France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...
to represent
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...
. She co-wrote the entry, "
Echo (You and I)", with William Rousseau and Jean-Pierre Pilot. Anggun toured more than 15 countries in Europe to promote the song. The song finished in 22nd place.
In March 2012, she released the international edition of ''Echoes''. She embarked on a concert tour in several cities across France, Switzerland and
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, including her sold-out concert in
Le Trianon, Paris, on 13 June 2012. Anggun joined
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
campaign, Earth Day: Save the Forest in Italy. On
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
that year, she appeared as the guest artist at
Lara Fabian's concert special on
MTV Lebanon, where they sang the duet "
Tu es mon autre". Anggun toured 10 cities in Germany with Schiller in late 2012. Anggun performed at ' in Alès, France. In this event, she was accompanied by 1,000 choirs. At the end of 2012, she was appointed by Director of
Indosat
PT Indosat Tbk, trade name, trading as Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, abbreviated as IOH, is an Indonesian telecommunications provider which is owned by Ooredoo Hutchison Asia, a joint venture between Ooredoo and Hutchison Asia Telecom Group (a part ...
, , as brand ambassador of Indosat Mentari Paket Smartphone.
In 2013, Anggun served as the international judge for the
first season of the
Indonesian version of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'', making her the highest-paid judge in Indonesian television history.
It became the year's highest-rated talent show in Indonesia. Anggun was lauded by public and critics.
She joined the judging panel of the television special ''
X Factor Around the World'' on 24 August 2013. She participated on the
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
entitled ''
Thérèse – Vivre d'amour'', for which she recorded two duets—"Vivre d'amour" and "La fiancée"—with Canadian singer
Natasha St-Pier. Released in April 2013, the project topped the
French Physical Albums Chart with platinum record (sold 100,000 copies).
In May 2013, Anggun released a greatest hits album entitled ''
Best-Of: Design of a Decade 2003–2013''. In this year,
Olay management and
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...
chose Anggun to be ambassador of ''Olay Total Effect''. She and
Natasha St-Pier were invited to sing in front of
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
on 7 December 2013 at ''Concerto di Natale XXI edizione'' in
Auditorium della Conciliazione,
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
At the 2013
Taormina Film Fest in Italy, she was presented with the Taormina Special Award for her humanitarian works as the FAO Goodwill Ambassador.
Anggun with
David Foster, alongside
Ruben Studdard,
Michael Johns,
David Cook, and
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...
performed on ''David Foster & Friends Private Concert'' in Jakarta. She sang three songs, including
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
's hits, "
I Will Always Love You", "
I Have Nothing" and her own song, "
Snow on the Sahara". She did a photoshoot and interview with
VOGUE Italia in November 2013. She wore
Azzaro's and
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...
's stellar. The same month she was appointed by President of
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Nasser Al-Khelaifi
Nasser bin Ghanim Al-Khelaifi (; born 12 November 1973) is a Qatari businessman, sports executive, and former professional tennis player. He is the chairman of beIN Media Group and Qatar Sports Investments, president of Paris Saint-Germain FC, ...
to be the ambassador of the club.
On 22 November 2013, she joined French General Manager of
PSG Jean-Claude Blanc and Indonesia's ambassador to France to launch the club official site with
Indonesian language
Indonesian (; ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has ...
for Indonesian ''Les Parisiens'' which Anggun was the icon of this site.
She received the number 10 jersey,
PSG striker
Zlatan Ibrahimović's number.
2014–2016: ''Got Talent'' and ''Toujours un ailleurs''

Anggun was recruited to the judging panel for
Syco's franchise, ''
Indonesia's Got Talent'' in 2014. To prepare, she received instruction from
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
during the set of ''
Britain's Got Talent''.
Anggun re-recorded her debut international single as a French-Portuguese duet with
Tony Carreira, retitled "
La neige au Sahara (Faço Chover No Deserto)", for Carreira's album ''Nos fiançailles, France/Portugal''. The duo performed the song at the
2014 World Music Awards in
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, where Anggun was awarded the World's Best-Selling Indonesian Artist. In June, Anggun launched her first fragrance, ''Grace'', named after her name in English. ''Grace'', ''eau de parfume'', production was under the Thailand-based BEL Perfumes label. She did a collaboration with a young Dutch
DJ Indyana on a song titled "Right Place Right Time". Later on, this song was chosen to be the anthem of on 16 August 2014 at
Garuda Wisnu Kencana,
Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
. In late 2014, Anggun recorded two duets: "
Who Wants to Live Forever" with
Il Divo for their album ''
A Musical Affair'' and "Pour une fois" with
Vincent Niclo for his album ''Ce que je suis''. Anggun released "Fly My Eagle" as soundtrack for the film ''Pendekar Tongkat Emas''. On 10 July 2014, Anggun was invited by
Air France
Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
to perform at ''Air France Inauguration of Jakarta-Paris Travel Route''. Anggun performed in Africa twice during 2014, for
Roberto Cavalli's ''Casa Fashion Show'' in
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
, Morocco, and for the 15th annual
French-speaking
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
World Summit in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
, Senegal. She was invited by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
to attend at a Christmas concert at the
Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (; ) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and died. It is a papal minor basilica ...
on 25 December 2014. She sang "Malam Kudus", an Indonesian version of "
Silent Night
"Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO
The United Nations Educati ...
", and "
O Little Town of Bethlehem".
In 2015, Anggun, alongside
David Foster,
Melanie C
Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...
(
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
) and
Vanness Wu (
F4), was announced as a judge on the debut of ''
Asia's Got Talent''. Joined by contestants from 15 countries in Asia, the show premiered on
AXN Asia on 12 March 2015. The Asian Academy of Music Arts and Sciences appointed Anggun to its board of governors, and its first ambassador. At the 2015
Anugerah Planet Muzik in Singapore, she received the International Breakthrough Artist Award for the first internationally successful act from a
Malay-speaking country. To celebrate the 120th anniversary of cinema and its music, she sang on a compilation album of movie soundtracks. This album reached no. 6 in France and 66 in Belgium.
SK-II and ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
Indonesia'' honored Anggun as one of 15 Most Inspiring Women. She joined the "''SK-II's Change Destiny''" campaign and became a spokesperson alongside actress
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...
and
Michelle Phan for its event in Los Angeles and she was chosen by SK-II management to be the ambassador of SK-II. In 2016, Anggun sat on the panel as judges for ''SK-II Beauty Bound Indonesia''. The same year, Anggun was appointed ambassador of ''
Aviation Without Borders''. In June 2015, she was invited by
Michael Bolton to perform a duet and as an opening act at his concert in Kasablanka Concert Hall, Jakarta. On 16 October 2015, produced a musical tale recorded album for kids called ''Martin & les fées'' (Martin & The Fairies) which Anggun play the musical role as "La Fée Doriane" (The Doriane Fairy) and recorded 5 songs. Other artists who joined this project was
Yannick Noah
Yannick Noah (; born 18 May 1960) is a French former professional tennis player and singer, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. Noah won the French Open in 1983 French Open – Men's singles, 1983, and is a forme ...
,
Garou,
Lorie,
Gad Elmaleh,
Gérard Lenorman,
Vincent Niclo,
Patrick Fiori,
Lisa Angell,
Dany Brillant,
Julie Zenatti,
Natasha St-Pier and more. Anggun helped to recor
Frozen's "
Let It Go" in Indonesian, called "Lepaskan". She joined the jury panel for
Miss France 2016 on 19 December 2015.
Anggun's sixth French-language studio album, ''
Toujours un ailleurs'', was released in November 2015 by
TF1
TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network.
TF1 is part ...
Musique under
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
with her lead single, "A nos enfants". Produced by and Grammy Award-winning producer
Brian Rawling, the album revisited the
world music
"World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
direction of her debut international album with diverse cultures ambiance, such as
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese,
Colombian,
Samoan,
Spanish, and
English. ''Toujours un ailleurs'' became Anggun's most successful album in France since ''
Luminescence
Luminescence is a spontaneous emission of radiation from an electronically or vibrationally excited species not in thermal equilibrium with its environment. A luminescent object emits ''cold light'' in contrast to incandescence, where an obje ...
'' (2005), charting for 24 weeks on the French Albums Chart (peaking at number 43) and sold over 50,000 copies. It became her best-charting album in Belgium, debuting at number 43 and remaining on the chart for 31 weeks (making 5 re-enters). The album's single, "
Nos vies parallèles" peaked at number 47 on the French Singles Chart and number 39 on the Belgian
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...
Singles Chart (her first top-40 hit since "
Être une femme"). This single featured one of French musical legends
Florent Pagny as he helped Anggun to pursue her career in France years ago and Columbian singer . According to
Francophonie Diffusion, "Nos vies parallèles" was the third-most played French song worldwide during March 2016. Both Anggun and Florent Pagny traveled to
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>, <div class=)
, for music video shooting which directed by Igreco.
Maxime Le Forestier's song, "", being rearranged by Anggun and her team, alongside Grammy Award-winning singer and UN Goodwill Ambassador
Angélique Kidjo as she featured in this single. "Face au vent" was the third lead single of this album after "A nos enfants" and "Nos vies parallèles". In this single's music video, actor and dancer being featured again after he did great performance on "A Crime" and "Garde-moi" music videos in 2006. Darius Salimi was chosen to direct six music videos for this album,including "A nos enfants", "Face au vent", "Toujours un ailleurs", "Est-ce que tu viendras?", "Mon capitaine", and "Née quelque part". To promote the album, Anggun embarked on a 23-date
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...
across France and Belgium.
She performed as a guest singer at
Siti Nurhaliza's concert titled ''Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert'' on April 2, 2016, in
Stadium Negara
Nation Stadium is an indoor arena located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Background
Nation Stadium is located about 2 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur City Centre, next to the Stadium Merdeka, Independence Stadium and Merdeka 118, Merdeka 118 buildin ...
. She and Siti did duet for two songs, Anggun's hit "
Snow on the Sahara" and Siti's hit "". In July 2016, she became second most influent person on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
in France. She being invited to have a role as a
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
and guest
radio host
A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...
on
Europe 1
Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...
radio show, called ''Les Pieds dans le plat'', by
Cyril Hanouna with another French celebrities, such as
Valérie Benaïm,
Jean-Luc Lemoine,
Jérôme Commandeur,
Estelle Denis and . On 23–25 September 2016, Anggun attended ''Festival Film Indonesia'' at
Cinema Spazio Alfieri,
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
. Anggun sang the acoustic version of "Snow on the Sahara". This event was collaborated with Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and ''Indonesia Meets Italy'' Association as the part of ''Settimane della Cultura Indonesiana in Italia'' to reflects the progress of the increasingly dynamic Indonesian film industry. Anggun received the
Key to the City award from
Dario Nardella, the
Mayor of Florence, Italy. Anggun was featured on
new-age music
New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather tha ...
group
Enigma's eight studio album ''
The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016)'', providing lead vocals for three songs, including the lead single "
Sadeness (Part II)", which is the sequel to the 1990 number-one hit "
Sadeness (Part I)". The Album topped US Top Dance/Electronic Album charts in United States.
Kotak invited Anggun to do a duet with them in a song titled "Teka-Teki" in October 2016. Anggun joined Belgian-francophone charity show to raise funds to support scientific research in the fight against cancer and leukemia in children and adults. She sang her song "
Nos vies parallèles" and a duet with
Christophe Maé on his song, called "Charly". They raised over €10 million.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
-
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n singer-songwriter
Emin make a duet song with Anggun, called "If You Go Away" for his newest album ''Love is A Deadly Game''. The song was a cover from original song by
Jacques Brel
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...
, called "
Ne me quitte pas
"Ne me quitte pas" (''"Don't leave me"'') is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known ...
". Anggun was invited to be a guest performer and did a duet with
Lara Fabian at Lara's concert ''Ma vie dans la tienne Tour 2016'' in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. Anggun and Lara sang a ballad song from Lara's album ''
Nue
The Nue (鵺, 鵼, 恠鳥, or 奴延鳥) is a legendary yōkai or mononoke from Japanese mythology.
Appearance
In the ''The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Heike'', it is described as a Japanese Chimera (mythology), Chimera having the head of a Ja ...
'', "J'y crois encore". Anggun was invited by Indonesian television network
SCTV as guest performer at ''Long Live The Biggest Concert Kotak x Anggun feat NAFF'' on 23 November 2016 in Jakarta. She sang "
Yang 'Ku Tunggu" as an opening act and "Teka-Teki" as a duet with
Kotak. She held a "three-dates concert" at on December, 1st-3rd 2016. She performed 18 songs, including covers from
Michel Berger
Michel Jean Hamburger (28 November 1947 – 2 August 1992), known professionally as Michel Berger, was a French singer and songwriter. He was a figure of France's pop music scene for two decades as a singer. As a songwriter he wrote for artists ...
's "",
Maxime Le Forestier's "" and
Axel Bauer
Axel Bauer (born 7 April 1961) is a French singer, composer, guitarist, and actor, born in Paris. A figure of the French rock scene, he was discovered in 1983 with the song "Cargo". Several times awarded a gold record, he has sold three million r ...
's "". She was invited to perform on 24 December 2016 at Christmas concert in
Parco della Musica, Rome. She sang two Christmas carols as soloist, "
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells (songwriter), Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat K ...
" and, accompanied by
flutist
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, "
La Vita è Bella". Anggun, alongside
Rebecca Ferguson
Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. Ferguson began her television acting career in 1999 with the Swedish soap opera ''Nya tider'' and made her motion picture acting debut in 2004 with the Swedish slash ...
,
Anna Tatangelo
Anna Tatangelo (born 9 January 1987) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer and television personality. At the age of 15, she became the youngest person to win the Newcomer's Award at the prestigious Sanremo Music Festival singing contest. Her re ...
and
Deborah Iurato, performed
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
's "
Hallelujah". For the encore, she with another guest performers sang "
Happy Xmas (War is Over)" as assemble.
2017–2019: Television projects, ''8'' and Asian Games 2018
Anggun toured France and Belgium to promote her French album, ''
Toujours un ailleurs'', and finalized her performance at ''Festival international des métiers d'art'' (FIMA) 2017 in Baccarat, France. She returned as a judge on the second season of ''
Asia's Got Talent''.
On 12 October 2017, Anggun released a lyric video for "
What We Remember" on YouTube as the first single of her new album "''
8''". On 7 December 2017, an official music video of "What We Remember" was released on YouTube and she held the first performance of this song on ''Grand Finale of Asia's Got Talent'' stage. Anggun released her lead single "
What We Remember" in December 2017. It was directed by Roy Raz and the video was made in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. She and her husband contributed to the album ''8''; it was released on 8 December 2017. It reached no. 1 in Indonesia, no. 5 in Malaysia, and no. 18 in Singapore on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
. On
Apple Music
Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...
it reached no. 7 in Indonesia, no. 21 in Malaysia, no. 30 in
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, Top 60 in Singapore, Top 100 in
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, and Top 200 in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. In December 2017, in the Philippines, she did several performances in
Eastwood Open Park Mall. She was being a guest star on ''
ASAP'' and ''
24 Oras
(pronounced as bente kwatro oras / ) is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally anchored by Mel Tiangco and Mike Enriquez, it premiered on March 15, 2004, on the network's Telebabad line up. Ti ...
'' interview. In Malaysia, she held ''Meet & Greet with High Tea Session'' for her fans to promote the album in
St. Regis Hotel,
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. On 20 April 2018, she announced and release duet version for her brand new singles from her latest album, called "The Good Is Back" with
Rossa and
Fazura. Her songs, "What We Remember" and "The Good is Back" charted on
US Billboard Dance Club Chart. "
What We Remember" reached no. 8 on that chart for about 16 weeks and no. 15 on
Asia Pop 40 throughout 2018. This single reached the Top 10 of the charts in UK, US, Spain, Germany, and Indonesia.
"The Good is Back" got in to the
US Billboard Dance Club Chart and topped to no. 20 for 9 weeks.
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
n blogger and media personality
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting Tabloid jou ...
wrote on his blog that Anggun's "What We Remember" could be compared with
Sade's and
Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...
's songs.
She was invited for the seventh time by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
&
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
to perform on 4 January 2018 at ''Concerto dell'Epifania'' at in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
. She sang "
Snow on the Sahara" and "
What We Remember". On 5 June 2018, she was performing at night for Grand Opening ''
Renaissance Bali Hotel'' in Bali. She performed at ''
Notte Bianca'' as the main guest star on 23 June 2018. The festival was at in
Pontedera
Pontedera (; ) is an Italian comune with a population of 30070, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy.
The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florence.
It houses the headquarte ...
,
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
. Anggun got photoshoots for French cultural society magazine ''
Technikart''. In July 2018, she attended ''European Latin Awards'' at
Stadio Benito Stirpe in
Frosinone, Italy. She performed "", "
A Rose in the Wind", "
Snow on the Sahara", and "". She won ''Best International Singer'' award there. Another guest star performer were
Bob Sinclar
Christophe Le Friant (; born 10 May 1969), better known by his stage name Bob Sinclar (), is a French record producer, DJ, and remixer. He is the owner of the record label Yellow Productions.
Musical career
A native of Paris, Le Friant began D ...
,
Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...
,
Gipsy Kings
Gipsy Kings (originally Los Reyes) are a musical group founded in 1979 in Arles, France. The band, whose members have Catalans, Catalan heritage, play a blend of Catalan rumba, flamenco, Salsa music, salsa, and Pop music, pop. They perform mos ...
,
Juan Magan and
Carlos Rivera. Anggun performed at the opening ceremony of the ''
Asian Games 2018
The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in ...
'' at the
Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) stadium, Central Jakarta, on August 18, 2018. He sang a song titled "Pemuda", which was popularized by the Indonesian musical group from the album ''Persembahan'' which was released in 2001. Anggun sang on over artificial mountains and waterfalls. She joined coaching panel for ''
The Voice Indonesia Season 3'' alongside ,
Titi DJ, and duo from
RAN with
Vidi Aldiano. Anggun was invited by high-fashion brand
COACH to have great visit and did a number of performance for the opening of new branch store in
Suria KLCC
Suria KLCC is a 6-story shopping mall located at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers. Suria KLCC is a premier shopping destination with over 300 flagship stores. The shopping mall is situated in Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malays ...
, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Anggun attended the opening with her husband,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
n singers couple
Fazura &
Fattah Amin,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
ese singer Dizzy Dizzo and
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
n-
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
an actor
Lawrence Wong
Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai. In this Chinese name, the Chinese surname, family name is Huang (surname), Wong. In accordance with custom, the Western-style name is Lawrence Wong and the Chinese-style name is Wong Shyun Tsai. (born 18 December 197 ...
. In November 2018, she was invited to joined
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
and got a chance to operate ''
Le Mistral'', an
amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory during an armed conflict. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (which, as a result, ar ...
for three days. She reported her experiences on the show called ''Noël avec soldats'' (Christmas with Soldiers) at
Port-Bouët army base in
Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...
,
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
. Anggun took part in the production of the documentary ''Silent Night — A Song for the World''.
She made soundtracks on two versions of "
Silent Night
"Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO
The United Nations Educati ...
" gospel, "Malam Kudus" in
Indonesian and "Douce nuit, sainte nuit" in
French which she recorded in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. She began the filming production process in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. This film was narrated by
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams (born 10 November 1963), known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' from ...
and directed by
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n director & film-maker
Hannes M. Schalle.
In early 2019, Anggun toured cities in Italy, including
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
,
Foligno
Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...
, and
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
. She toured in seven dates for this ''Intimate Concert Tour''.
France 2
France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
and
Radio France
Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...
held a charity concert after a
fire attempt damaged Notre-Dame on 15 April 2019. All of the benefits from this concert was donated for reconstruction and restorative actions of the building. Anggun was being invited to perform at the concert and she sang one of numbers from
Notre-Dame de Paris musical, "
Vivre". Anggun performed with
David Foster alongside
Brian McKnight
Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. (born Brian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist. An Contemporary R&B, R&B performer, he is recognized for his strong ...
,
Yura Yunita, and several artists during ''The Hitman: David Foster and Friends'' concert series at
De Tjolomadoe, Central Java, 24 March 2019. Anggun was invited to perform at the concert in two different cities, namely in the city of
Solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity
* Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character
* Napoleon Solo, fr ...
, Central Java and the city of
Surabaya
Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
, East Java. On 5 July 2019, she and
P&G held a charity concert, called ''Gemilang 30 Tahun'' at the Tennis Indoor Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Donations collected from this concert were worth US$218,560.50.
After the concert, she performed at '' 2019'' as guest star. This was the third time for Anggun to perform at
Prambanan Temple. On 28 July 2019, Anggun continued her Italian tour concert at Alpe Adria Arena,
Lignano. Anggun became a panelist on ''
Mask Singer'', reaching nearly 7 million viewers. She returned for another season of the show. She returned for ''
Asia's Got Talent Season 3''. Her song "Perfect World" from ''
Toujours un ailleurs'' topped to no. 5 in the first week to no. 18 on
US Billboard Dance Club Chart in December 2019. Anggun does a duet with
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
virtually at The ''Luciano Pavarotti Foundation'' and Anggun in concert at the Simfonia Hall in Jakarta.
2020–present: Further television works, music collaborations and acting debut
In January 2020, she attended the
24th Asian Television Awards in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, Philippines where she performed and was awarded Outstanding Contribution to Asian Television Performing Arts. Due to the global pandemic of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, she had to postpone her tour from the end of 2019 until the beginning of 2020. However, she began a career in acting. She took a part as ''Maleen Suthama'' in television movie drama '. This was the sixth part of the collection. The production was taken in February 2020 in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, Thailand. Also in February 2020,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
-based fashion magazine ''BLUSH Editions'' printed an interview and a feature "Winter Garden with ". In March 2020, she performed in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. She sang a
Russophone
This article details the geographical distribution of Russian-speakers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the status of the Russian language often became a matter of controversy. Some Post-Soviet states adopted policies of Derus ...
classic song called "
О́чи чёрные (Ochi Chernye)" which means "Dark Eyes" in English. In Indonesian culture from West Java, this song was rearranged and interpreted to a
Sundanese language
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
called "Panon Hideung" ("Black Eyes"). In April 2020, she did an interview for
Harvard Political Review. Anggun returned as panelist on the second season of ''
Mask Singer'' alongside her previous colleague panelists. In June 2020, RIFFX by
Crédit Mutuel published the result of a survey, titled "''Barometer: Les 100 Artistes Préférés des Français'' (Barometer: The 100 Favorite Artists of The French)", which Anggun listed on number 97. This survey was conducted by
YouGov
YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
History
2000–2010
Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...
with interviewing 1,006 French people (age min. 18 years old) on 1 June to 2 June 2020. On 21 September 2020, she, accompanied by her husband, attended the celebration of 70th anniversary of
Pierre Cardin's fashion house at
Théâtre du Châtelet. This event screened a documentary titled ''House of Cardin'' to honored the legendary French designer. It was directed by
P. David Ebersole and
Todd Hughes.
Jean-Paul Gaultier,
Christian Louboutin,
Stéphane Rolland, actor
Yves Lecoq, and journalist
Patrick Poivre d'Arvor attended the event with many artists and French public figures. Musical documentary film about Christmas carol in 2018, ''Silent Night — A Song for the World'', re-produced by
The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
and took a date on 10 December 2020 for its special premiere.
Her duet with Italian tenor
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
made a great scene in European
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
market. Anggun attended ''The 3rd BraVo International Classical Music Awards'' on April 2, 2021, at
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...
,
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
She made a performance with virtual image
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
and sang "
Caruso".
At that event, she received a ''Duet of the Year'' award because of her duet on "Caruso" performances.
She continued the postponed Italy tour concert, starting in
Sassuolo
Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna.
Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...
on 11 September 2021 and she visited
Palazzo Dulcale. She performed at Piazzale della Rosa.
On 12 September 2021, she performed at Piazza Capitolo di
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...
.
On 2 April 2021,
Jean-Luc Reichmann, Anggun and her husband shared a moment on shooting situation for her next film project. It was revealed that she will play her role in ninth season of detective-crime film TV series '' (Léo Matteï, miners' brigade)''. The production process began in September 2021 and will release in 2022 respectively. Jean-Luc Reichmann was the main cast for ''Léo Matteï'' role since 2013. Other announced casts were ,
Laurent Ournac and . In June 2021, she was chosen to fill her voice as ''Virana'' in
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
movie ''Raya et le Dernier Dragon'', a French version of ''
Raya and the Last Dragon''. Her daughter, Kirana, made her first appearance in this project as various voice actress. Anggun made her appearance as herself in online series called ''Profession Comédien'' on episode 48. This series was launched by comedian Bertrand Uzeel and directed by
Fred Testot which the series told us about Bertrand tries to collect as much advice as possible from people in the trade, but nothing will go as planned. She and all previous season's panelist returned on the third season of ''
Mask Singer'' and started the production in June 2021. On 21 June 2021, she with her husband attended ''
60th Monte-Carlo Television Festival''. On 30 September 2021, she and
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...
made a performance on "
I Am What I Am" at 300 chœurs. She began shooting television variety show series called ''
les Reines du Shopping spéciale Célébrités'' in September 2021.
Dany Brillant invited Anggun to did a duet with him on
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...
's "Désormais". This song was included in Brillant's ''Dany Brillant chante Aznavour en duo'', a tribute album to the French-Armenian singer
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...
. Anggun was invited to perform for the Opening Ceremony of ''
2021 National Paralympic Week'' at
Mandala Stadium
Mandala Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Jayapura, Papua (province), Papua, Indonesia. Founded in 1950 as Dock V Field, It is currently used mostly for association football, football matches. It is the home stadium of one of the biggest and ...
in
Jayapura
Jayapura (formerly Hollandia (1910-1962), Kota Baru (1962-1963), Soekarnopura (1963-1968)) is the capital city, capital and List of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of Papua (provi ...
,
Papua. Anggun sang Indonesia's national anthem "
Indonesia Raya" alongside 150 Papuan children and her 90's hit "
Mimpi", all orchestrated by Indonesian conductor
Addie MS. Anggun and her husband were invited by CEO
Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) Issam Kazim. She visited
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
pavilion at ''
World Expo 2020''. In November 2021, she did a photoshoot in
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
for 27th Edition of BLUSH Dream Magazine. Anggun was invited by
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
to perform at '': Ventinovesima XXIX Edizione'' in
Auditorium della Conciliazione. She sang three songs, including "
Silent Night
"Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO
The United Nations Educati ...
"/"Malam Kudus" mash-up rendition alongside
Francesca Michielin, "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. ...
" with reggae icon
Shaggy, and "
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas music, Christmas song written by John Frederick Coots, J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and first recorded by Harry Reser and His Orchestra. When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show ...
" alongside children choir called Piccolo Coro Le Dolci Note. She performed at ''Christmas Contest'' held by
TV2000.
Anggun participated on comedy-musical theatre show with broadway vibe, ''Al Capone''. She acted as Lili,
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...
's mistress. It will be directed by opera manager and
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...
director
Jean-Louis Grinda, composed by and produced by . The show was performed on 93 dates at
Folies Bergère between January and July 2023. The first screening was in April 2022. The album was released on 30 September 2022 on digital music platforms. Anggun and her husband attended the premiere screenplay of
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...
's ''
Top Gun: Maverick'' at ''
the 75th Cannes Film Festival''. Anggun and her husband as keyboardist were invited by to perform for EliseCare's solidarity concert at
Olympia.
Mayor of
Surakarta
Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
Gibran Rakabuming Raka collaborated with
Shopee Indonesia,
Embassy of Indonesia to France and
Le BHV Marais to held a fashion exhibition and showcase called ''Java in Paris'' in June 2022.
Anggun performed as a Javan female folk-singer, named ''
sinden''. She accompanied by traditional dancer (arranged by Indonesian choreographer ) and
gamelan music.
In August 2022, she re-composed Indonesian patriotic song, "
Indonesia Pusaka", for Shopee Indonesia's ad clip in order to celebrate Indonesia's independence day on 17 August. After ''SKII'', Anggun was appointed to be the brand ambassador for
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
-luxury skincare brand ''NIANCE''. On 23 September 2022, Anggun joined a project, with
Lorenzo Licitra, as a featured artist on the theme song and campaign for the 12th Festival del Cinema Nuovo, the international competition for short films played by disabled people, which was held in
Bergamo
Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. The song called "Eli Hallo" which written by
Lorenzo Licitra and Giovanni Segreti Bruno. The music video was directed by Donato Sileo.
Eleonora Abbagnato featured as the dancer and a boy with
special needs in the music video. For the music video's wardrobe, Anggun wore
Zimmermann and
Missoni
Missoni is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Varese, Italy, Varese, and known for its colourful knitwear designs. The company was founded by Ottavio Missoni, Ottavio ("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953.
History Early beginnings
The busin ...
dresses along with Bernard Delettrez jewelry. Anggun was a supporting artist on the French version of Studytracks app for schoolchildren.
Artistry and legacy

Anggun possesses a three-octave
contralto
A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types.
The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
voice, which has been described as "husky", "soulful", and "distinctive" by
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
.
Chuck Taylor from ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' commented: "Vocally, Anggun is a fortress of power, easing from a delicate whisper into a brand of cloud-parting fortitude commonly associated with grade-A divas."
John Everson from ''
The SouthtownStar'' noted that "Anggun is gifted with a warm, full voice that can tackle slight pop songs without overpowering them as well as swoop with depth and ease over heavier emotional numbers." Anggun received her first songwriting credit at the age of twelve on her debut album ''Dunia Aku Punya'' (1986). Anggun said, "I was writing songs all the time, but my specialty was classical piano and singing."
Anggun started as a rock singer and given nickname as "''Lady Rocker''" in Indonesia, and was influenced by rock bands such as
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
,
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
, and
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
. She was a big fan of
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
.
After her initial international success, she showed her versatility by changing her musical style for each album.
Her later influences cover a wide range of styles from jazz to pop, extending from
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
to
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
.
She told
VOGUE Italia that she listened to wide range of artists from
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
to
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
,
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
to
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
, up to
Dave Grohl
David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...
,
P!nk and
Bruno Mars. Anggun identified
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
's ''
The Fragile'' (1999) as "the album that changed my life" and the band's frontman
Trent Reznor as "the man of my musical life." Her other musical influences include
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995).
She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...
,
Sheila Chandra and
Sting.
Anggun, who studied
Balinese dance
Balinese dance (; ''(igélan Bali)'') is an ancient dance tradition that is part of the religious and artistic expression among the Balinese people of Bali island, Indonesia. Balinese dance is dynamic, angular, and intensely expressive. Balin ...
since childhood, uses the traditional art in her performances.
Anggun's image has been compared to that of
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
. Some international articles and magazines give a nickname for Anggun as "Indonesian Madonna (''Madonna Indonésienne'')" or even "Madonna from Asia (''Madonna de l'Asie'')". At the early stage of her career as a rock singer, Anggun was known for her tomboy look—wearing a crooked beret, shorts, studded jacket, and large belt; this set a trend during the early 1990s. Later, she has focused on her femininity and sexuality, emphasising her long black hair and brown skin.
For this look she uses the work of fashion designers like
Roberto Cavalli,
Azzedine Alaïa,
Jean Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 June 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer.
He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs in ...
,
Dolce & Gabbana, and many more.
Other couture fashion designers that Anggun often wears include
Givenchy,
Elie Saab
Elie Saab () (born 4 July 1964) is a Lebanon-based fashion designer. He started his business in the early 1980s and specialized in bridal couture (high-end fabrics, lace, gemstones, Swarovski Crystal, Swarovski crystals, pearls, detailed embr ...
,
Victoria Beckham
Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...
,
Georges Chakra,
Tony Ward,
Blumarine, and
Zuhair Murad. She also stated that most likely to wear high-heels and
Louboutin's suits her. In 2001, Anggun was ranked No. 6 in a list of Sexiest Women of Asia by ''
FHM'' magazine.
Later in 2010, she was ranked at number 18 on the French version of ''FHM''s list of 100 Sexiest Women in the World.
When promoting her first international album in the United States, she was reportedly offered a role as a
Bond Girl in ''
The World Is Not Enough
''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...
'', as well as in ''
High Fidelity
High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...
''. Anggun declined to be labeled an actress and said, "I was born a singer. I won't go into another profession, because I think there are still many people out there who were born to be movie stars or models. My calling is music."
As for
commercials
A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
, she tends to be selective when choosing products to promote.
Anggun's success in Europe and America has been credited with helping other Asian singers such as
Coco Lee,
Hikaru Utada
, also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...
, and
Tata Young. Malaysian singer
Yuna asked Anggun for guidance when launching her recording career in the United States in 2011 and supporting each other career since then. Ian De Cotta from Singapore newspaper ''
Today'' called her the "
Voice of Asia" as well as "Southeast Asia's international singing sensation." Filipino music journalist Lionel Zivan S. Valdellon described Anggun as "a very good ambassadress for Indonesia and Asia in general".
Regarding the role of Asia in the Western music industry, Anggun said "I think it's about time people know something more about Asia, not only as a vacation place."
Other activities
Philanthropy and activism
Since 1997, Angun has actively supported charitable causes, such as the fight against AIDS, tolerance between cultures,
and the natural environment.
Ambassadorship
She was appointed as the spokesperson for the
International Year of Microcredit, a United Nations program aimed at eradicating debt in the third world, In 2009, Anggun was appointed as the
Goodwill Ambassador for the
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
(FAO), part of the United Nations. On 15 October 2009, she performed on the occasion of the ''
World Food Day Ceremony'' at
UN headquarters Plenary Hall in
New York, New York. She attended
Rome Film Festival
International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...
on the next day and spoke as
UN Goodwill Ambassador at ''TeleFood Campaign Against Hunger in The World''. Anggun as FAO Goodwill Ambassador have been named by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
as ''MDG Champions'' on 1 September 2010. The announcement was made at
UN headquarters in
New York.
FAO Goodwill Ambassadors, such as Italian actor
Raoul Bova, Canadian singer
Céline Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...
, Filipino singer
Lea Salonga and American actress
Susan Sarandon, spoke with one voice in an urgent appeal on behalf of the more than one billion people living in chronic hunger worldwide. Anggun, who has appeared in a French film, promoted one of the campaigns she participated in, namely ''
The One Billion Hungry Project''. It is a program from FAO to raise awareness of world hunger. She performed "
Snow on the Sahara" at the campaign's concert on 19 September 2010 in New York. She got an interview with
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
to talk about this campaign on the same date. Anggun supported the ''
MDG Summit'' in New York on 22 September 2010.
In November 2011, she made a speech at the UN Summit in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
Writing
Anggun wrote her views on several issues, especially in Indonesia, on online platforms Qureta.com and
DW.
She had more than 150,000 online readers.
Mostly she discussed social, humanity, and tolerance topics.
On
DW, she wrote an article titled "''Komunisme dan Emosi Yang Bertautan di Indonesia'' (Communism and Emotions Are Linked in Indonesia)".
Personal life
In 2000, she became a French citizen and had renounced her Indonesian citizenship. She states despite becoming naturalised French citizen, she still feels purely and truly Indonesian despite living in France.
Anggun was raised a
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
:
She states that she does not have a rigid point of view about religion
and tends to
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
without breaking with religious belief.
She makes it a requirement to admit
religious toleration
Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...
and insists on a separation of
religious faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, includ ...
from the basic regulative principle for the individual:
For me, the most important thing is not what religion you believe in but how you do things, how you live your life.
Your belief doesn't determine whether you're a good person or not—your behavior does.
Anggun has been married four times. Her first marriage, in 1992, was to Michel Georgea, a French engineer, getting her reproached in Indonesia for allegedly marrying to advance her career.
Her second husband was Louis-Olivier Maury (born March 1972) whom she met in Canada. They married in 2004. When that marriage ended in 2006, she began a relationship with French writer
Cyril Montana, whom she eventually married.
She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Kirana Cipta Montana,
on 8 November 2007. She and Montana were divorced in 2015. On 16 August 2018 Anggun married for the fourth time in Ubud,
Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
with a German musician and photographer, Christian Kretschmar.
Besides
Indonesian, her native language, Anggun is fluent in French and English.
Paris burglary incidents
According to ''
Closer'', Anggun's apartment in Paris was robbed by
burglars
Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
on 18 September 2015 when she was not in Paris. The burglars stole jewelry and high value items valued at a total amount of around €250,000. Theft occurred again in the housing of Anggun on Monday, December 6, 2021, at around 11.00 p.m. in Paris. At that time, Anggun and her family were on vacation in Italy. There were three male suspects, who managed to slip into the apartment in
the 8th arrondissement of Paris through a window. The robbers stole several luxury items belonging to Anggun, including bags and watches. The amount of property damage also amounted to €80,000.
Backing band
Current members
*Fabrice Ach – bassist, backing vocals (2001–present)
* – lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, backing vocals (2004–2011, 2013–present)
*Jean-Marie Négozio – keyboardist, backing vocals (2003, 2006–present)
*Olivier Baldissera – drummer, percussionist (2008–present)
*Stéphane Escoms – back-up keyboardist, backing vocals (2020 (on Italia & Russia tour concerts)–present)
Former members
*Patrick Buchmann – drummer, percussionist, backing vocals (1997–2004)
*Nicolas-Yvan Mingot – lead guitarist (1997–2000)
*
Yannick Hardouin – bassist (1997–2001)
*Patrice Clémentin – keyboardist (1997–2002)
*Serge Bouchard – back-up bassist (1999 (on Asia Tour))
* – lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, backing vocals (2001–2003, 2006–2007, 2010–2012, 2020 (on Russia tour))
*Gilard – keyboardist, backing vocals (2004–2005)
*Claude Sarragossa – drummer, percussionist (2005–2007)
*Romain Berrodier – back-up keyboardist, backing vocals (2014–2015)
*Frédéric Degré – back-up drummer (2019 (on ' and ''Gemilang 30 Tahun Concert''))
In popular culture
Anggun became the first Indonesian woman to be immortalized in wax by
Madame Tussauds in 2016. Located in its Bangkok museum, Anggun's statue joined that of
Sukarno
Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...
, the first
President of Indonesia
The president of the Republic of Indonesia () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Indonesian government and the commander-in-chief of the ...
. As of 2022, a total of 19 Anggun records have been added by the
Indonesian Music Museum for preservation, the seventh most total among musicians from Jakarta.
A cocktail named after "Anggun" is served in
Bar 228,
Hôtel Meurice de Calais, Paris. It is made of
Bacardi rum,
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
coulis,
coconut milk
Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...
, and
pineapple juice.
A variety of rose named and christened after "Anggun" by
Meilland International SA at
Château de Bagatelle. The rose "Anggun" is a derivative of Meibokir variety which has special characteristics. This variety of flower has 40 white-colored petals with a mint-fruity scent and blooms from spring to winter.
Discography
Indonesian-language studio albums
*''
Dunia Aku Punya'' (1986)
*''Kepada Alam dan Pencintanya'' (recorded 1983, released 1990)
*''
Anak Putih Abu Abu'' (1991)
*''
Nocturno'' (1992)
*''
Anggun C. Sasmi... Lah!!!'' (1993)
French-language studio albums
*''
Au nom de la lune'' (1997)
*''
Désirs contraires'' (2000)
*''
Luminescence
Luminescence is a spontaneous emission of radiation from an electronically or vibrationally excited species not in thermal equilibrium with its environment. A luminescent object emits ''cold light'' in contrast to incandescence, where an obje ...
'' (2005)
*''
Élévation'' (2008)
*''
Échos'' (2011)
*''
Toujours un ailleurs'' (2015)
English-language studio albums
*''
Snow on the Sahara'' (1997)
*''
Chrysalis
A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...
'' (2000)
*''
Luminescence
Luminescence is a spontaneous emission of radiation from an electronically or vibrationally excited species not in thermal equilibrium with its environment. A luminescent object emits ''cold light'' in contrast to incandescence, where an obje ...
'' (2005)
*''
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
'' (2008)
*''
Echoes'' (2011)
*''
8'' (2017)
Filmography
Film
*''
Un jour sur Terre (Earth)'' (2007): as narrator
*''
Ces amours-là (What War May Bring)'' (2010): as cameo
*''Peuples autochtone: Notre Combat'' (2015): as narrator
*''Les Pensées de Paul'' (2015): as cameo
*''Silent Night: A Song for the World'' (2020)
*' (2020)
*''
Raya and the Last Dragon'' (''Raya et le dernier Dragon'') (2021)
*' (2025)
Television program, series, and reality show
*''Operet Lebaran di Gang Kelinci'' (1984-1986)
*''
Sessions at West 54th'' (1997)
*''
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety show, variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on June 27, 200 ...
'' (1998)
*''
Les Enfoirés: '' (1999)
*' (2011): as host
*''On a tout essayé'' (2005)
*''
Hit Machine'' (2006, 2022)
*''
93 Fauborg Saint-Honoré'' (2006)
*''
Star Academy
''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''.
Format
There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...
'' (2005, 2008, 2024)
*''
Muppets TV'' (2006)
*''
Star Academy Arabia'' (2007 & 2008)
*''
Akademi Fantasia'' (2007 & 2009)
*''Les femmes en chansons'' (2008)
*''
Miss France'' (2008 & 2015)
*''
La Boîte à Musique'' (2009)
*''
Chabada'' (2011, 2012, 2013)
*''
Village Départ'' (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016)
*''
Téléthon'' (2011)
*''
N'oubliez pas les paroles'' (2011)
*''
MasterChef Indonesia'' (season 3) (2013): as guest
*''
X Factor Indonesia'' (season 1) (2013)
*''
Indonesia's Got Talent'' (season 2) (2014)
*''
Le Grand Show'' (2014)
*''
Le plus grand cabaret du monde'' (2014)
*''
Du côte chez Dave'' (2014, 2015, 2016)
*''
Asia's Got Talent'' (2015 - 2019)
*''
50 minutes inside'' (2015, 2020, 2022)
*''
Touche pas à mon poste!'' (2015, 2018)
*''
Les Grands du rire'' (2015, 2016)
*''
Stars sous hypnose'' (2015, 2016, 2022)
*''
Gala de l'Union'' (2016) as
Morticia Addams
*''
Money Drop'' (2016)
*''
Le Grand Blind Test'' (2016)
*''
Même le dimanche'' (2016, 2017)
*''
Folie Passagère'' (2016)
*''
Dan Late Show'' (2017)
*''
Tonight Show'' (2017)
*''
DiCaire Show'' (2017)
*''
The Voice Indonesia'' (season 3) (2018)
*''Notre-Dame de Paris, le grand concert'' (2019)
*'
*''
Mask Singer'' (''Le Chanteur Masqué'') (2019 - 2022, 2024 (Christmas Edition))
*''300 choeurs pour + de vie''
*' (season 1 & 3) (2020 & 2022)
*''AXN All Stars'' (2020)
*''
Tous en cuisine avec Cyril Lignac'' (2020)
*''
les Reines du Shopping spéciale Célébrités'' (2021)
*''Merci Line'' (2021)
*''Chantant Aznavour'' (2021)
*''Allez viens je t'emmène dans les années Pop'' (2021)
*''
Duos Mystere'' (2021)
*''Cuisine ouverte avec Anggun'' (2021)
*''
La boîte à secrets'' (2021, 2023)
*''La chanson secrète'' (2021, 2023)
*''Spectaculaire: avec Anggun'' (
France 2
France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
) (2022)
*' (season 9) (2022)
*''Le livre favori des Français'' (2022)
*''Stéréo Club'' (2022)
*''La vie secrète des chansons avec Anggun'' (two episodes) (2022)
*''Cannes Confidential'' (2023)
*''StarMaker'' (season 1) (2023)
*''Dream Team, la relève des Stars'' (season 1) (2023)
*''Un voyage en langue française'' (2023)
*''Avec Florent Pagny, tout le monde ELA'' (2023)
*''
The Voice Senior Italy'' (season 4) (2024)
*''
La Voix
''La Voix'' () is a francophone Canada, Canadian reality television, reality talent show as part of the international television series franchise ''The Voice (franchise), The Voice'', based on the original The Voice of Holland, Dutch version o ...
'' (
season 10) (2024)
*''
Un dimanche à la campagne Avec Anggun'' (2024)
*''
Télématin'' (2024)
*''
Viva Rai2!'' (2024)
*''
Les Enfants de la télé'' (2024)
*''
Danse avec les stars
''Danse avec les stars'' (''DALS''; ) is the French version of the British reality TV competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and is part of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' franchise. The show was first broadcast on TF1 on 12 February 2011, the parti ...
(
season 12)'' (2022) & ''(
season 13)'' (as guest) (2025)
Musical Theatre
*''Al Capone & Les Incorruptibles'' as Lili (2023)
*''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
'' as Maria Magdalena (2024)
Radio Programme
*''
Les pieds dans le plat'' (
Europe 1
Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...
) (2015 - 2016): as
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
*''
Les Grosses Têtes'' (2024): as guest member
Online Series
*''SK-II: Beauty Bound Indonesia'' (2016)
*''Profession Comédien'' (2019)
Soundtrack
Accolades
* 2001: ranked No. 6 in a list of the Sexiest Women of Asia by ''
FHM'' magazine.
* 2010:
FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
See also
*
List of Indonesian musicians and musical groups
*
List of artists who reached number one on the Italian Singles Chart
References
External links
*
*
FAO Goodwill Ambassador website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anggun
Anugerah Musik Indonesia winners
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Converts to Buddhism from Sunni Islam
English-language singers from Indonesia
French-language singers of Indonesia
Russian-language singers
20th-century French women singers
Indonesian emigrants to France
21st-century Indonesian women singers
Indonesian rock singers
Indonesian singer-songwriters
French women singer-songwriters
French people of Indonesian descent
French Buddhists
French people of Javanese descent
Indo people
Javanese people
Indonesian Buddhists
Living people
Naturalized citizens of France
Singers from Jakarta
Singers from Paris
World Music Awards winners
FAO goodwill ambassadors
Warner Music Group artists
Indonesian LGBTQ rights activists
20th-century Indonesian women singers
21st-century French women singers
1974 births
Eurovision Song Contest entrants
Indonesian film actresses
Indonesian television actresses
French film actresses
French television actresses