KRU are a Malaysian boy band from Kuala Lumpur. They were formed in 1992 by brothers Norman, Yusry and Edry Abdul Halim. KRU performs songs in both Malay and English and released several hit singles around the rise of Malaysian pop music, collectively known as M-Pop and towards of the 21st century. The band's musical style, which has garnered praise for its anthemic quality and emotional engagement that appeals to a broad audience, spans with their blend of pop, R&B and hip hop, while their lyrics focus on subjects including loss, heartbreak and relationship, and personal struggles. KRU also established themselves as a renowned composer, lyricist and record producer and has contributed to material for prominent Malaysian music industry artists in various genres since then.
Their debut album, Canggih, was released in 1992 under EMI Music Malaysia, with songs like "Cherrina", "Hanya Kau" and "20/20" were released as singles and help raised KRU to prominence. KRU released their first and only English-language album, The Way We Jam (1998), which saws them collaborated with well-known international composers, lyricists, and producers. The album was a critical and commercial success, with the lead single of the same name won the 1999 Anugerah Industri Muzik for the Best Music Video while the album won the Best Engineered Album. In 2000, the brothers formed a virtual band named Tyco, which was touted as Malaysia's first virtual musical group, with members consisted of 3D animated versions of themselves. The trio disbanded in 2018 after their last concert in Istana Budaya and went hiatus to focus on their careers and personal lives individually, but reunited in 2024 to release their new album, Kaset and embarked on their GenKRU concert.
Apart from their music career, the KRU brothers made their acting debut in feature films Awas! (1995) and Cinta Metropolitan (1996), where they contributed soundtracks for both films. They also ventured into business with the establishment of KRU Group of Companies, which have subsidiaries operated in various business segments, including KRU Studios and KRU Music. KRU is the most successful male Malaysian music group of the 1990s and 2000s. They have received numerous accolades, including Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian, Anugerah Planet Muzik and Anugerah Juara Lagu as well as recognition from The Malaysia Book of Records. Their success inspired numerous other groups of their generation to follow in their tracks.
History
Their interest in musicmaking was sparked when they were very young, when one of their aunts bought Norman a keyboard which also attracted his other brothers. They spent their teenage years in London where they were exposed to various genres of music, in contrast to the Malay music scene at that time which was dominated by classic rock and ballads.
They continued to write original songs and were unaware that one of Norman's college friends sent a demo to EMI. Calvin Wong, International Label Manager and now[when?] vice-president at Warner Music Asia Pacific, was very impressed by the song and called the brothers to audition. KRU was formed on 19 May 1992. KRU (addressed by the initials "K.R.U." and not the pronunciation "kroo") stands for Kumpulan Rap Utama or "Major Rap Group", but it is also the Malay word for "crew", borrowed from English.[1]
In 1993, KRU started their ReKRUed Rap Tour,[2] followed by the Awas Da' Concert tour two years later. In 1997, they released the album Viva Selangor as a tribute to Selangor F.C. and Everest for the Everest project[clarification needed][citation needed] and commenced their KRU Mega Tour, sponsored by Peter Stuyvesant. The following year, their song "Never Let the Spirit Die" was used as the theme song for the 16th Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur;[3] they also collaborated with Sharifah Aini, Zainal Abidin, Amy Search, Ning Baizura, Ella and Sheila Majid to create the soundtrack for Silat Lagenda.[4] In 1999, the song "Fiesta" was made the official theme of the Tour De Langkawi[5] and the group started their Jammin the Nation tour.
In 2000, they formed a virtual band named Tyco (meaning “big brother” in Cantonese), whose members consisted of computer-generated alternate versions of themselves, with Norman, Yusry, and Edry as avatars Tylo, Yiko, and Psylo respectively.[6] Although the project was lauded as groundbreaking with its CG music video "With U" and was awarded “Malaysia’s First Virtual Artiste” by the Malaysia Book of Records, Tyco failed to achieve mainstream success and the project was quietly shut down. In 2008, Tyco re-appeared as a solo artiste (Tylo) through the 2008 film Cicakman 2: Planet Hitam’s theme song “Planet Hitam,” making Tyco become the only virtual Hip Hop artiste in Malaysia or perhaps in the world. In 2020, Tyco re-emerged through the collaboration with Dato’ Ustaz Kazim Elias (DUKE) and Tuju from K-Clique in a song entitled “Salawat 1442” released by Imaan Music.[7][8]
In addition to the band, the KRU group of companies include KRU Masterclass (formerly known as KRU Academy), KRU Music, KRU Media, KRU Entertainment, KRU Singapore, KRU International, Prodigital Lab, Kartun Studios, KRU Arena, and United Studios.[18]
Six years after their disbandment, KRU announced their return in October 2024 with the latest song "Voodoo" and a new album Kaset.[19][20][21]
Members
Norman Abdul Halim (born 5 February 1972) – vocals, backing vocals, rapper
Yusry Abdul Halim (born 15 June 1973) – vocals, backing vocals
Edry Abdul Halim (born 28 April 1976) – vocals, backing vocals
KRU has received numerous awards and nominations.[25] After their debut, they won the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian for Most Popular Group at the 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 ceremony. Their third album, Awas!, won the Anugerah Industri Muzik for Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Group) at the 1995 ceremony.[26] At the 1999 ceremony of the award, KRU won the Kembara Award. Their debut English album The Way We Jam won the Best Engineered Album, while its titular song won the Best Music Video.[27][28] The group also won the Popular Group Artiste at the Singapore's Popular Music Awards in 1996.[29] In addition, the group also receives five recognitions from the Malaysia Book of Records, including the First Malaysian Artiste to Have a Duet With the Deceased for "Getaran Jiwa" featuring a duet with its original singer P. Ramlee and the First Malaysian Virtual Artiste for Tyco.
↑ Rozi Razak (13 March 1999). "KRU teruskan konsert". Utusan Online (in Malay). Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
↑ Rosli Manah (15 August 1998). "Forever As One rasmi lagu tema". Utusan Online (in Malay). Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
