Mohd Idris bin Mohd Zaizizi (born 19 December 1986), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Riz, is a

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 singer. He rose to fame after becoming a runner-up in the sixth season of the hit Malaysian Talent

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

Akademi Fantasia ''Akademi Fantasia'' (commonly abbreviated as ''AF'') is Malaysia's first reality television show in which a number of contestants called students compete for the winning title and a chance to start their career in the entertainment industry. T ...

Akademi Fantasia

In 2008, Riz went to audition for Akademi Fantasia in

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 ...

singing, ''

It's gonna be me "It's Gonna Be Me" is a song by American boy band NSYNC. It was released through Jive Records, as the second single from their third studio album '' No Strings Attached'' (2000) in the United States, and as the third single from the internat ...

'' by

'N Sync NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey ...

but his audition was not aired. He performed ''Kasih Berubah'' in front of the judges during the introduction round, With his pleasant vocal and huge talent, Riz succeeded to the next round. His previous attempt to make himself known in the music industry began in 2004 when he auditioned for

Akademi Fantasia, Season 2 The second season of ''Akademi Fantasia'' premiered on 7 June 2004 and concluded on 14 August 2004 on the Astro Ria television channel. Aznil Nawawi continued as the show's host, while Kudsia Kahar returned as judges. The second season was won by ...

. Then he auditioned for

Malaysian Idol ''Malaysian Idol'' is the Malaysian version of the Idol series, Idol Series that started in United Kingdom, UK, similar to shows such as UK's ''Pop Idol'' and ''American Idol'' in the franchise. This show is a contest to determine the best young s ...

. He only made it until the top 50. RIZ never gave up hope. He tried again in another singing competition. Only this time, he joined a vocal group and that was also short-lived. In 2007, he came back to audition for

Akademi Fantasia, Season 5 The fifth season of ''Akademi Fantasia'' premiered on 17 March 2007 and ran until 19 May 2007. The season was joined by new judges, Fauziah Latiff, Hattan and Fauziah Ahmad Daud, who replaced Adlin Aman Ramlie, while Aznil Nawawi returned as host ...

but only passed until the third stage. In 2008, with great enthusiasm, he came back stronger and more prepared to audition for

Akademi Fantasia, Season 6 The sixth season of ''Akademi Fantasia'' premiered on 22 March 2008 and concluded on 24 May 2008 on the Astro Ria television channel. Fauziah Ahmad Daud returned as a judge and was joined by new judge Ning Baizura, who replaced Hattan and Fauziah ...

till he was crowned as runner-up of the show on 25 May 2008. The songs RIZ sang on the show were: * Audition: It's gonna be me by Nsync * Introduction round: ''Kasih berubah'' by Ferhad and Pergi tuk kembali by Ello * Week 1: ''Ketulusan Hati'' by Anuar Zain * Week 2: ''Separuh Masa'' by the lima * Week 3: ''Dari Sinar Mata'': BPR * Week 4: ''Marabahaya'' : Pop Shuvit * Week 5: Time is running out: Muse * Week 6: ''Memburu Impian'': Kaza * Week 7: ''Seribu Tahun'': Imran Ajmain * Week 8: ''Laskar Cinta'': Dewa * Week 9: Rock Around The Clock and Endless Love * Final Week: ''11 Januari'' and ''Hanya Sandiwara'' (new single)

Discography

Studio Album 1. Bermula Semula (2009) * "Hanya Sandiwara" * "Harus Ku Yang Pergi" * "Bermula Semula" * "Ku Pinjam Satu Bintang" (Solo Vers.) * "Kau Wanita" * "Kehilangan Kamu" * "Cinta Ini" * "Khilaf"

TV appearances

1. RIZ made an appearance in the current BOH TEA TV ad, a collaboration between Astro and Boh for AF winner and first runner-up. 2. RIZ was invited to perform live at Festival Filem Malaysia, one of the most prestigious movie award show in Malaysia. 3. At times, Riz also appeared on Aku Stacy, a TV program made for the champion of Akademi Fantasia.

External links

Akademi Fantasia: RIZ's Profile

riz-angels.com

RIZ at Myspace

Filmography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riz 21st-century Malaysian male singers Living people Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims 1986 births Malay-language singers Akademi Fantasia participants