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This page is about the singer. For her debut self-titled album, see Siti Nurhaliza I. For her sophomore self-titled album, see Siti Nurhaliza II.

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Tarudin is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Siti Nurhaliza. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Sri Siti Nurhaliza SSAP DIMP JSM SAP PMP AAP
سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين (Malay)
Siti at the wedding of Khairul Fahmi Che Mat on 13 January 2013.
Born	Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin (1979-01-11) 11 January 1979 Kampung Awah, Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia
Occupations	Singer record producer businesswoman
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Khalid Mohd Jiwa ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	2
Relatives	Siti Saida (sister) Siti Saerah (sister)
Awards	See full list
Musical career
Genres	Irama Malaysia Pop Pop rock R&B Soft rock Dance-pop Nasheed World
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	Suria Records (1995–2005) Siti Nurhaliza Productions (2006–present) What's Up Entertainment (2011-present) Universal Music (2011-present)
Website	simplysiti.com.my
Signature

Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin (/ˈsiti ˈnʊrhɑːlizɑː ˈbinti ˈtɑːrudɪn/; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, record producer, and businesswoman. She rose to prominence after winning a national singing competition Bintang HMI in 1995. Her debut single, "Jerat Percintaan", won the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu and another two awards for Best Performance and Best Ballad. As of 2005, her debut album, Siti Nurhaliza has sold more than 800,000 units in Malaysia alone. In her career that has span over two decades, she has recorded more than 300 songs and sung in multiple languages, including Malaysian, Indonesian, Javanese, English, Mandarin, Arabic, Urdu, Tamil, and Japanese.

Siti has received an unprecedented number of awards in Malaysia and its environs: 42 Anugerah Industri Muzik, 28 Anugerah Planet Muzik, 25 Anugerah Bintang Popular, 20 Anugerah Juara Lagu, four MTV Asia Awards, three World Music Awards, two Anugerah Musik Indonesia, and two records in the Malaysia Book of Records. Backed by 19 solo studio albums and two duet albums, she is one of the most popular artists in the Malay Archipelago and Nusantara region - she has been awarded the title of Regional Most Popular Artist from Anugerah Planet Muzik after winning the Most Popular Artist category ten times in a row. She has been listed as one of Malaysia's richest, most influential, and most award-winning artists. She is also one of Malaysia's best-selling artists; in 2000, her record sales contributed to 10% of Malaysia's total album sales.

She has amassed numerous achievements and has been inducted into various local and international lists. Siti had won few international singing competitions, including clinching the Gold Award from Asia New Singer Competition (1999), two awards from South Pacific International Song Contest (1999), and the Grand Prix Champion title from Voice of Asia (2002). In 2005, Siti became the first Southeast Asian singer, and third Asian singer to perform a solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall while being backed by the London Symphony Orchestra. She was listed second by MTV Asia in Asia's Best Musical Artiste and Channel V's Biggest Asian Artist in 2005 and named as one of Asia's Idols by Asia News Network in 2008. She has also been listed as one of the most influential Muslims in the world by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre for nine years in a row since 2016.

Widely referred as "Malaysia's Number One Singer", her success in the Asian region has also gained her honorific titles including "Voice of Asia" and "Asia's Celine Dion". As a businesswoman, she is the owner and founder of several businesses including Siti Nurhaliza Productions, cosmetic brand SimplySiti, fashion line Creación, and health drink line Beausiti.

Life and career

1979–1994: Childhood, family, and early exposure to music

Boundary marker for the town of Kuala Lipis where Siti spent most of her childhood growing up.

Siti was born on 11 January 1979 in Berek Polis, Kampung Awah in Temerloh, Pahang where she was the fifth child in a family of eight siblings to Tarudin Ismail, a police officer and Siti Salmah Bachik, a housewife. She comes from a musically inclined family; her brother Saiful Bahri (Ayie), and her sisters Siti Norsaida and Siti Saerah are also singers. Her grandfather, Bachik Abdul Rahman was a well-known local violinist, and her mother was a local traditional singer.

She first showcased her early singing talent at the age of six when she sang "Sirih Pinang", a traditional Malay song, at her kindergarten's graduation ceremony. When her family moved from Temerloh to Kuala Lipis, she attended her primary school at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Clifford and followed up her secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Clifford. In 1991, when she was 12 years old, she won one of her earliest singing competitions, with the song "Bahtera Merdeka" at a local patriotic song competition. During her schooling years, she was actively involved with co-curricular activities and sports, especially in netball and hockey. In 1994, at the age of 15, she was featured in Minda Pelajar, a news section for teens by Berita Harian after her group performance at school was spotted by Tamrin Anuar, a news reporter for Berita Harian at that time. In 2014, she recalled the interview as her first exposure to the entertainment industry. She commented, "[Being featured in] The news in Minda Pelajar was like a sign to me to pursue a career in the entertainment industry although I was dreaming of becoming a police officer." She also once played a minor role for a TV drama alongside Zizie Ezette when she was in Form Four.

Coming from a poor family, at the age of nine, Siti sometimes had to wake up at 4:00 am to help her mother make and sell various homemade kuih in her neighbourhood and school. On occasions, she also had to carry a makeshift table down three flights of stairs to the main road to set up a small stall. She commented that all the hardships have not only helped her to be more frugal when spending, but also to be more confident when communicating with the public. She also jokingly said that the whole experience has helped to improve her vocal skills as she has to shout to call for customers. Apart from actively participating in various local singing competitions, she also used to follow her uncle, Abdul Rahim Bachik with his band, Family Group to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties which have helped to expose her to performing live.

1995–1998: Bintang HMI, "Jerat Percintaan", and rise to prominence

Angkasapuri, where she auditioned and later won the 1995 Bintang HMI.

Since her childhood, she actively joined various singing competitions around Kuala Lipis. At 14 years old, she auditioned for Asia Bagus but did not make the cut. Two years later in 1995, her sister-in-law, Rozi Abdul Razak persuaded Siti's brother, Ayie to bring Siti to Kuala Lumpur to audition for Bintang HMI at Auditorium P. Ramlee, Angkasapuri. Although they arrived close to closing time, Siti was given a chance to sing "Kaulah Segalanya" by Ruth Sahanaya and she made through the audition stage. During the semifinal, she sang "Kemelut di Muara Kasih" by Ziana Zain, and Adnan Abu Hassan who was then Suria Records' general manager took notice of her talent and instructed his staff to reach out to Siti. On 23 December 1995, she was crowned as the champion of Bintang HMI after singing "Camar Yang Pulang" by Aishah. She was approached by four recording companies after the result announcement, including Suria Records, Sony Music, BMG Music, and Warner Music. Although she did not immediately sign any contract, she ultimately chose Suria Records as her recording label.

"I had my future all planned out. Though I love singing, I wanted to be a police officer, like my father. But now that I have won the Juara Lagu 1996, that might all change. I might try a career in showbiz instead."

—Siti after crowned as the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu winner."

As she was only 17 during the recording of her debut album with Suria Records, her mother had to accompany her every time Siti was travelling from Kuala Lipis to Kuala Lumpur during weekends. Albeit she was now a signed artist, she still had to focus on her studies as she had to sit for her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) in the same year. Under Suria Records, Adnan coached and trained Siti on how to sing properly in the studio. During her early years, she sometimes will stay at Adnan's house and they will even ride a motorcycle together so he can send her to her performance venues. The first song she ever recorded for her first album was "Jawapan di Persimpangan". Her eponymous debut album, Siti Nurhaliza was released on 1 April 1996,^{[note 1]} with "Jerat Percintaan" as the first single from the album. Less than a year after the album was released, more than 50,000 units have been sold. "Jerat Percintaan" was well received and helped to launch her career. It enabled her to join Muzik Muzik, where voted finalists will compete for the grand champion title of Anugerah Juara Lagu. She qualified for the semifinal of 1996 Muzik-Muzik, but as she was busy with the preparations for her SPM, Rozi and Ayie had to convince her to perform during the semifinal even though she only had one day to practice. During the 1996 Anugerah Juara Lagu, she bagged the award for Best Ballad, Best Performance, and the overall champion of the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu. Her popularity rose exponentially in the same year as she would later go to win four popularity awards from 1996 Anugerah Bintang Popular, including Popular Teen Artist, Popular TV Entertainer, Popular Female Artist, and the overall Most Popular Artist category.. In 1997, "Jerat Percintaan" helped her to win the Best Song and Best New Female Artist categories from 4th Anugerah Industri Muzik.

Apart from singing as a solo recording artist, Adnan suggested Siti to sing together with her label mate, 2 By 2, a four-piece Malay boy band who won a singing competition organized by Suria Records. To help launch the career of the group in 1996, Adnan proposed to Siti and 2 By 2 to sing a duet cover of a classic song, "Mawarku". The pairing of Siti and 2 By 2 on "Mawarku" was a great success. 2 By 2's debut album, Rindu was sold in excess of 150,000 units. The success of "Mawarku" was also recognized in neighbouring Singapore. It was heralded as 1996's Most Popular Song and Siti was awarded Most Popular New Artist from Singapore's Anugerah Muzik Popular. In 1997, Siti was paired again with them for two more covers of classic songs, "Gubahanku" and "Tiga Malam" for 2 By 2's second album, Pak Pung Pak Mustafe. The album too achieved similar success as more than 100,000 units were sold. In the same year, Siti began the plan to expand her career to Indonesia. One of her earliest media appearances in Indonesia was when she was featured as a cover girl for a popular Indonesian daily newspaper, Pos Kota for its April edition. To promote the release of her second album, Siti Nurhaliza in Indonesia, Suria Records rereleased "Aku Cinta Padamu", the first single from her sophomore album into Bahasa Indonesia. Known as "Betapa Kucinta Padamu", the rerelease was a hit and the album sold more than 500,000 units in Indonesia. She also became the first Malaysian artist to stage a live TV concert for Indosiar, Satu Jam Bersama Siti Nurhaliza.

"Cindai is a beautiful, exquisite cloth that also serves as a useful weapon. When one is struck by a parang, the cloth is so durable it can be used as a shield. It’s a metaphor for a woman who can be lovely and graceful but strong and powerful at the same time."

— Pak Ngah, composer for "Cindai" explaining the meaning of the song."

Back in Malaysia, her sophomore album sold in excess of 350,000 units. She qualified to the 1997 Anugerah Juara Lagu and she won Best Performance and Best Ballad categories for the second time in a row. She also won the popularity award from 1997 Anugerah Bintang Popular for Popular Female Artist award and the overall Most Popular Artist title for second year running. Cindai, Siti's first traditional album was released on 17 November 1997, with single of the same name was released to promote it. Cindai charted atop of Recording Industry Association of Malaysia's (RIM) local album chart and later sold more than 400,000 copies in Malaysia and another 100,000 copies in Indonesia. Cindai also topped the list of 1998 Malaysia's most influential albums by New Straits Times. During the 1998 Commonwealth Games, she performed for both opening and closing ceremonies at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. She performed "Cindai" during the closing ceremony, in front of Queen Elizabeth II and her consort, Price Philip, dignitaries and officials from 70 countries including those from the Commonwealth of Nations, and more than 100,000 people who were in attendance.

On 29 June 1998, her fourth studio album, Adiwarna was released. Taking from a classical Malay word which means "very good" or "very beautiful", the album sold over 200,000 units, and peaked at number one on RIM's local album chart. For Indonesian release of the album, one of the singles from Adiwarna, "Sendiri" was adapted to Bahasa Indonesia and renamed "Menyintaimu Selamanya". The album later sold more than 300,000 units in their market. She made history during the 1998 Anugerah Juara Lagu when she became the first artist to compete in all three major song categories. She sang "Bisikan Asmara" and "Wajah Kekasih", two songs from Aku Cinta Padamu in the category of Best Pop Rock and Best Ballad respectively, and "Cindai" for the Best Irama Malaysia category. She won the Best Irama Malaysia category and crowned as the overall winner for the 1998 Anugerah Juara Lagu. She represented Malaysia when she was invited to Japan for Asia Queen Pop Festival in Saga and Asia Music Expo in Nagoya. 1998 was also the year when she founded Siti Nurhaliza Productions as the responsible entity to manage her business and career.

1999–2002: Pancawarna, Sahmura, Safa, and Sanggar Mustika

Stadium Putra, now Axiata Arena where Siti staged her first solo concert at age 20.

Recorded late 1998, Seri Balas, Siti's first duet album with Suria Records was released in early January 1999. Noraniza Idris, her fellow label mate was her duet partner for most of the songs, including the album's main single, "Hati Kama". Seri Balas sold more than 120,000 units and topped the the RIM's local album chart. In the same year, she released her fifth solo album, Pancawarna. According to Marina Abdul Ghani of The Malay Mail, Pancawarna which means colourful in English refers to the wide varieties of music styles that were featured in the album. More than 100,000 units of Pancawarna were sold and it also charted at number one on RIM's local album chart.

During the 1999 Anugerah Juara Lagu, she repeated the feat of being the only artist to qualify for all three song genres contested. "Purnama Merindu" and "Satu Hati Dua Jiwa" from Adiwarna were performed for Best Ballad and Best Pop Rock respectively, and "Hati Kama", performed with Noraniza was for Best Irama Malaysia category. Both "Purnama Merindu" and "Hati Kama" later won their respective category. Apart from competing locally, she also represented Malaysia for two international singing competitions in 1999. Initially scheduled to perform in Brisbane for South Pacific International Song Contest, she was unable to make the trip due to problems faced by the organizer. Instead, contestants outside of Australia were asked to submit their entries via recorded cassettes and CDs for judges to deliberate. Her English rendition of "Satu Cinta Dua Jiwa", "We'll be As One" won Best Vocal Performance (Female) and Best Pop/Top 40 categories. She also participated in Asia New Singer Competition held in Shanghai, and her performance of "Purnama Merindu" won herself the main prize of the competition, the Gold Award. She was also later invited by the competition organizer as guest performing artist in 2000 and 2002. Back in Malaysia, Adiwarna continued to bring her success at the 1999 Anugerah Industri Muzik. She won the Best Vocal Performance (Female) category, and the album won the Best Pop Album and crowned as Best Album. At the 1998/1999 Anugerah Bintang Popular, she set the record as the only artist who won Popular Female Artist award and the overall Most Popular Artist for third year in a row. On 30 October, she staged her first solo concert at Stadium Putra, Konsert 'Live' Siti Nurhaliza to an audience of 10,000 people.

Suria KLCC where Sahmura, the first Malay-language album of year 2000 launched.

On 1 January 2000, she released and launched her sixth solo album, Sahmura at Suria KLCC park with over 100,000 New Year revellers in attendance. Sahmura which means "dazzling gemstone" in classical Malay was the first Malaysian album to be released in 2000. Unlike her previous traditional albums where many of the songs were reworked covers of classic traditional songs, Sahmura features 10 original traditional songs. Sahmura was another commercially successful album by Siti. It peaked atop RIM's local album chart and more than 100,000 copies were sold.

In the same year, she achieved a string of successes with her career. On 15 January 2000, she was bestowed a royal award, "Pingat Darjah Ahli Ahmad Shah Pahang" (AAP) by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang. She was also reported to contribute about 10% of total local music recording sales in Malaysia. Repeating the success of 1998 Anugerah Juara Lagu, "Balqis", one of her singles from Sahmura contested for Best Irama Malaysia was crowned as the overall winner for 2000 Anugerah Juara Lagu. Two songs from Pancawarna qualified for Best Ballad, "Kau Kekasihku" and "Nian di Hati"; the former was voted as the champion for the category. At the 2000 Anugerah Bintang Popular, for fourth time in a row, she was voted by Malaysians as the receiver of Popular Female Artist award and crowned as the overall Most Popular Artist title. At the 2000 Anugerah Industri Muzik, Seri Balas was awarded Best Ethnic Pop Album and the overall Best Album award. For second time in a row, she was chosen as the recipient for Best Vocal Performance (Female) for Pancawarna. She was also chosen to receive Kembara Award, a special accolade to recognize her achievements and successes both locally and abroad. In neighbouring Indonesia and Singapore, her popularity continued to soar. At the 2000 Anugerah Musik Indonesia, she was recognized as the Most Successful Malaysian Artist in Indonesia. In Singapore, after the success of her debut concert at Stadium Putra, she was invited to stage her first solo concert in Singapore, Konsert Live - Siti Nurhaliza at the Harbour Pavilion. Attended by over 5,000 people, she was recognized as the most successful Malay artist in Singapore after all her top-tier tickets sold out even though they were more expensive than Mariah Carey's Rainbow World Tour that was staged only few days earlier.

Harbour Pavilion, now HarbourFront Centre where her first international concert was staged.

In January 2001, she released her seventh solo studio album, Safa. Safa which means "pureness" peaked at number two on RIM's local album chart.^{[note 2]} It was Malaysia's best-selling local album of the year when more than 80,000 units were sold in 2001. With an estimated cost of RM 1 million, she staged her third major concert, Konsert Mega Siti Nurhaliza at Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil. Attended by more than 10,000 people, she sang more than 30 songs for almost three hours.

Only after five years in the professional music industry, her record sales in Malaysia have crossed over 1 million units. She was also certified by Malaysia Book of Records as Malaysia's Most Award Winning Artist with 53 awards at the time of certification. During the 2001 Anugerah Juara Lagu, she once again became the only artist to qualify to the final for all three song genres contested. During the final, she performed "Percayalah" from Safa for the Best Ballad, "Engkau Bagaikan Permata" from Pancawarna for the Best Pop Rock, and "Ya Maulai" from Sahmura for the Best Irama Malaysia. The latter two went on to win Best Pop Rock and Best Performance respectively. She also continued to be recognized as Malaysia's most popular celebrity. For the fifth time in a row and with more than 100,000 votes, she was voted as Malaysia's Popular Female Artist and the overall Most Popular Artist at the 2001 Anugerah Bintang Popular. Her popularity in neighbouring countries was further recognized during the inaugural Anugerah Planet Muzik. During its first edition, Siti was recognized as both Most Popular Female Artist and Best Female Artist across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. "Balqis" from Sahmura was voted as Most Popular Song. Sahmura continued to be recognized in Malaysia at the 2001 Anugerah Industri Muzik. She received her third Best Vocal Performance (Female) award and the album was chosen as the Best Ethnic Pop Album.

Siti's sixth Popular Female Singer award from 2002 Anugerah Bintang Popular.

On 10 March 2002, she launched and released her eighth solo album, Sanggar Mustika. Her third solo traditional album, Sanggar Mustika which can be translated as "a beautiful or perfect place" featured two Malay classic song covers — "Bisikan Hati" and "Bunga Melor". Sanggar Mustika was well received by the public and it charted at number one on RIM's album chart. For the Indonesian market, Sanggar Mustika was released on 4 April 2002. The album later went to be certified gold after more than 75,000 units were sold in Indonesia. She was handpicked by Istana Budaya to lead a special tribute concert for Sudirman. With an estimated cost of RM 200,000 to RM 300,000, the four-day Konsert Salam Terakhir was staged from 30 May to 2 June 2002. Accompanied by 70-piece National Symphony Orchestra, 30 singers from National Choir of Malaysia, and eight background singers, Siti performed more than 30 songs for more than two hours for each day.

2002 continued to be a successful year for Siti. As of July 2002, she already collected 82 awards to her name. At the inaugural MTV Asia Awards in Singapore, she won her first Malaysia's Favourite Music Artist award. She represented Malaysia at the Voice of Asia, an annual international sing competition held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. During the three-day singing competition organized at the Palace of the Republic, she competed with singers from 14 other countries. With 11 judges from different countries judging on each day, she performed "Nirmala", "Jalinan Kasih", and "Purnama Merindu". On 5 August 2002, she was crowned as the Grand Prix winner at the Almaty Central Stadium. In the local music scene, she continued to be certified as one of Malaysia's best vocalists after winning Best Vocal Performance (Female) award from 2002 Anugerah Industri Muzik for the fourth time in a row with her live album, Konsert Mega Siti Nurhaliza. She also retained her Popular Female Singer title from 2002 Anugerah Bintang Popular for the sixth year running. At the second edition of Anugerah Planet Muzik, she was voted and recognized as the Most Popular Female Artist and Best Female Artist for the second year in a row. During the 17th Anugerah Juara Lagu, she won Best Irama Malaysia and her fourth Best Performance awards with "Nirmala".

2003–2006: E.M.A.S, Prasasti Seni, and Transkripsi

"E.M.A.S (Edaran Muzik Aspirasi Semasa) was produced based on my observation on the contemporary music releases. Each day [and] each year, taste [in music] is changing and I also have to find suitable ideas so that each album that I release can be accepted by all."

—Siti on the inspirations for E.M.A.S."

During the MTV Asia Awards 2003 in January, she sang "Bukan Cinta Biasa", from her yet-to-be-released album at that time, E.M.A.S and won her second Favourite Malaysia Artist award. On 3 March 2003, she released her ninth solo album, E.M.A.S. An acronym for "Edaran Muzik Aspirasi Semasa" (contemporarily-aspired music release), she wrote lyrics for five songs included in the album. To promote the launch and release of E.M.A.S in Indonesia, Siti embarked on a six-day promotional tour including being invited as guests for well-known Indonesian television shows. In Malaysia, more than 200,000 units were sold and it received double platinum certification. while in Indonesia, more than 300,000 copies of E.M.A.S were sold and the album was certified platinum.

Dress that Siti wore when she won her seventh Popular Female Singer award from 2003 Anugerah Bintang Popular.

During the 18th Anugerah Juara Lagu, she qualified to the final with "Ku Milikmu" for the Best Pop Rock category and won her fifth Best Performance award. At the 10th Anugerah Industri Muzik, she won her fifth consecutive Best Vocal Performance (Female) award with Sanggar Mustika. For the seventh year running, she was chosen by Malaysian public as the most Popular Female Artist at the 2003 Anugerah Bintang Popular. At the third edition of Anugerah Planet Muzik, she was once again chosen as the recipient for Most Popular Female Artist and Best Female Artist awards across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. She was also the youngest receiver to be honored with Special Award from the 2003 Anugerah Planet Muzik. At the 2003 Anugerah Musik Indonesia, she won Best Malaysian Album award with E.M.A.S, her 105th award since she became a professional artist. She also recorded theme songs for one telemovie and two films — "Air Mata Ibu" for Air Mata Ibu, "Tetap di Sini" for Paloh, and "Untuk Selamanya" for Laila Isabella. On 21 December 2003, Siti represented Malaysia at the Japan and ASEAN Pop Stars Dream Concert in Yokohama. During the concert, she sang "Treasure the World" with the rest of the Southeast Asian and Japanese singers. Originally composed by Kazufumi Miyazawa and written by Dick Lee, she also sang the Malay version of "Treasure the World", "Dunia Milik Kita" with its lyrics rewritten by Hani MJ.

2004 saw her involvement with several international music events. Watched by more than 150 million viewers in Asia, she won Favourite Artist Malaysia award for the third time in a row during the MTV Asia Awards 2004 in Singapore. At the same event, she also sang "Say It Isn't So" with Gareth Gates, the latter's latest single at the time. In the same year, she was also invited to perform and present an award during the 15th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. During the show, she performed two Mandarin songs, "征服" (Conquer) as a solo and "月亮代表我的心" (The Moon Represents My Heart) as a duet with Wang Leehom. She was also featured in a special television program by Azio TV, detailing her visit and personal experiences in Taiwan. In the local Malay music scene, she continued to be recognized as one of the most successful artists. At the 11th Anugerah Industri Muzik, she received her second Kembara Award, recognizing her achievements overseas. In the same night of the event, E.M.A.S helped Siti to win multiple major awards including Best Pop Album, her sixth consecutive Best Vocal Performance (Female) award, and the overall Best Album award. Her success across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore was also recognized as she won both Most Popular Female Artist and Best Female Artist award for the fourth consecutive year from the 4th Anugerah Planet Muzik. As one the most popular Malaysian artists of the year, she received more than 110,000 votes from the Malaysian public in recognizing her as Malaysia's most popular female artist for the eighth consecutive time and the overall Most Popular Artist award for the sixth time during the 2004 Anugerah Bintang Popular.

In the same year, she released her tenth solo album, Prasasti Seni. Prasasti, a Malay loanword from Sanskrit carries the meaning of "stone inscription" or "a marker signifying existence". She explained the chosen the title as, "Songs that are sung by me are my marks of existence in the local music scene. The title of the album is very significant to me in divulging what I have kept in my heart for my beloved fans." Featuring 11 songs, more than 100,000 units and 700,000 units of the album were sold in Malaysian and Indonesian markets respectively. To further promote the release of the album, she embarked on her first concert tour across Malaysia, Siti Nurhaliza Fantasia Tour. In collaboration with Maxis and Astro, the estimated cost of the concert was said close to RM 5 million. Touring 14 major cities in Malaysia before its finale at Bukit Jalil National Stadium, she was supported by multiple Malaysian artists including contestants from the first and second season of Akademi Fantasia. Despite not reaching the target of concert attendees, Siti Nurhaliza Fantasia Tour was a commercial success after reaching close to 1 million fans who attended the tour in total. After the success of her first Malaysian tour, she embarked on Siti Nurhaliza Indonesian Tour, her first solo concert series visiting several Indonesian cities, including Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Bandung, and Jakarta. Apart from managing and promoting her career activities, her company Siti Nurhaliza Productions was also actively producing several television shows in 2004 including a musical television show for Eid al-Adha Muzikal Aidiladha, a 13-episode of 3D Siti, and a 26-episode of Selebriti Sukan (Sports Celebrities).

Siti at the 2005 MTV Asia Award in Bangkok on 3 February 2005.

Entering her tenth year in the Malaysian music scene, Siti continued her streak in winning multiple local and international awards in 2005. During the MTV Asia Awards 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand, she earned her fourth Favourite Artist Malaysia award. Watched by an estimated of 1 billion people, she also performed "Seindah Biasa", one of the songs featured in Prasasti Seni during the award ceremony. Back in Malaysia, she continued to be recognized as one of the best vocalists after bagging her seventh Best Vocal Performance (Female) award and her third Kembara Award at the 12th Anugerah Industri Muzik. For the ninth consecutive time, Siti was chosen by Malaysians for Popular Female Artist award during the 2005 Anugerah Bintang Popular. Her popularity in neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia was once again recognized when she received her fifth Most Popular Female Artist award. "Lagu Rindu", one of her songs from Prasasti Seni was also voted as the Most Popular Song from the 2005 Anugerah Planet Muzik. In the same year, her success and achievements in Asia was recognized by both MTV Asia and Channel V when she was listed as one of Asia’s Best Musical Artists and Biggest Asian Artists respectively.

On 1 April 2005, she staged Siti Nurhaliza In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Accompanied by 34-piece London Symphony Orchestra, she became the first Malaysian and third Asian artist to stage a concert at the venue. Performing 30 songs for two hours, among those in attendance including Sultan Ahmad of Pahang and his consort, Sultanah Kalsom and 27 members of House of Bolkiah royal family from Brunei. Few months later in July, she performed at a sold-out concert Siti Nurhaliza Live in Singapore at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to an audience of 7,000 people. In October 2005, she was featured as a guest artist for "Dua Dunia" and its English version, "Million Miles" by Malaysian rapper duo Too Phat for their latest album at the time, Rebirth into Reality. In the same month, she received her 120th award after she received the recognition from Malaysia Book of Records as the first Malaysian artist to stage a solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

2006 saw the release of her first album under her own production company, Siti Nurhaliza Productions after her 10-year contract with Suria Records ended with Prasasti Seni. With an estimated cost of RM 100,000, Transkripsi contained 13 songs including "Biarlah Rahsia". Transkripsi which was also her eleventh album charted atop RIM Malay album chart and sold more than 80,000 units as of December 2007. On 24 October, she was conferred "Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang" (DIMP) by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang and would be addressed formally with the honorific title of "Dato'" henceforth. Back to the music scene, she retained her Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Female) award for the eighth time in a row from 13th Anugerah Industri Muzik with live album Siti Nurhaliza in Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London. She also retained her Popular Female Artist award from 2006 Anugerah Bintang Popular and 2006 Anugerah Planet Muzik for the tenth and sixth time in a row respectively.

2007–2010: Hadiah Daripada Hati, Lentera Timur, Tahajjud Cinta, and CTKD

Siti at the backstage of Konsert Dari Suara Hati in 2007.

In recognition after being awarded as Best Dressed celebrity at Star World’s “Breakfast With the Stars” in 2006, she received the invite to become the first Malaysian celebrity to walk at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards red carpet. 2007 saw the involvement of Siti with few musical projects including tribute concerts and a musical. On 1 April 2007, she was chosen among few other Malaysian artists to headline a tribute concert for Sudirman, Konsert Dari Suara Hati. On 20 and 21 April 2007, she spearheaded Konsert Istana Cinta, a special tribute concert for P.Ramlee and Saloma where she performed over 28 songs during the two-day show. After almost 12 years of declining offers to act professionally, she made a special appearance during the first season of P. Ramlee the Musical as Azizah, one of the protagonist's love interests. During the musical stint, she also debuted "Mulanya Cinta", one of the songs that was later included in her twelfth studio album, Hadiah Daripada Hati. She also provided vocals for two films and a television series. She recorded "Menanti Pasti" for Kayangan, "Hati" for 1957: Hati Malaya, and "Ku Mahu" for Spa Q. The latter two were also included in Hadiah Daripada Hati. In December 2007, she released her twelfth solo album, Hadiah Daripada Hati ("Gift from the Heart"). Featuring 11 songs, it included music compositions from Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singaporean songwriters and sold more than 35,000 units in four months.

During the 14th Anugerah Industri Muzik, Transkripsi earned Best Pop album and her fourth Best Album. At the regional level, "Biarlah Rahsia" won Best Song while the album helped Siti to win Best Female Artist from the 2007 Anugerah Planet Muzik. She also retained her Popular Female Artist award for the seventh consecutive time. Her popularity remained strong in Malaysia as she won her eleventh Popular Female Artist in a row from the 2007 Anugerah Bintang Popular. In conjunction with her 29th birthday on 11 January 2008, Music Authors' Copyright Protection (MACP) and Malaysia's Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture organized a three-day event where more than 25 registered members of MACP camped and brainstormed together to compose and write new traditional songs for Siti. In the end, nine out of 13 songs that were composed during the event made the final cut. Both Pak Ngah and Katon Bagaskara each contributed additional one song to the final lineup of Siti's traditional album as well. Coined by her sister-in-law, Rozi Abdul Razak, Lentera Timur (Eastern Lantern) was chosen to become the title for her thirteenth solo album. Released on 26 December 2008, Lentera Timur is her fourth traditional album in her career. The album was a commercial success with more than 40,000 units sold within the first five months of release.

Siti performing at the 2008 Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival.

In 2008, she dominated 15th Anugerah Industri Muzik with eight nominations. During the night of the award, Hadiah Daripada Hati earned her ninth award for Best Vocal Performance (Female) and another Best Pop Album. She continued to be recognized as one of the most popular artists in Malaysia and in the Malay archipelago as she won her twelfth Popular Female Artist title from 2008 Anugerah Bintang Popular and her eighth consecutive Most Popular Female Artist award from 2008 Anugerah Planet Muzik. Her first solo concert after her marriage in 2006, the acoustic-themed Konsert Diari Hati Siti Nurhaliza was staged at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore to an estimated 1,600 to 1,700 fans. Done in a casual setting, she performed for 90 minutes while being accompanied by only six musicians and no backup dancers. After contributing to the theme song for the first season of Spa Q in 2007, she co-wrote and recorded "Pada Cintanya" for its second season. She was also involved in a small cameo role during one of the episodes. On 29 November 2008, she performed "Kurik Kundi" during the opening performance of 2008 Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival.

On 15 February 2009, her father Tarudin Ismail died of heart attack at the age of 67. She announced a 40-day mourning period where she postponed or cancelled her appearance for all entertainment programs and activities unless they are related to spirituality and Islam. One such program that she was involved in during the mourning period was her appearance in Sirah Junjungan, an Islamic musical about the life of Muhammad. From 26 until 28 June 2009, she staged her first solo concert at Istana Budaya, Konsert Eksklusif Satu Datuk Siti Nurhaliza. She performed 32 of her most popular songs in the span of more than 2 hours during the sold-out shows. In conjunction with Malaysia's Independent Day in August, she was honoured by Malaysian television service provider Astro to have a specially dedicated television channel for two days. Named SITI, the channel broadcast her Konsert Eksklusif Satu Datuk Siti Nurhaliza that was staged earlier in June, her 2004 Siti Nurhaliza Fantasia Tour, and music videos for her most popular songs. In the same year she revealed that she was already working on her first spiritual album when she was involved with Sirah Junjungan. Tahajjud Cinta became her first spiritual album and her fourteenth solo album and it was released in September 2009 to coincide with the Islamic month of Ramadan. Included in the eight-track album are "Ketika Cinta" and "Batasku Asaku", two songs that she recorded for Indonesian film Perempuan Berkalung Sorban.

Siti promoting Simplysiti in Kuching in 2010.

On 28 December 2009 she released CTKD, her duet album with Indonesian singer Krisdayanti who is also her good friend. The production of the album took only one month and both singers spent only five days recording their parts. CTKD which also stands for "Canda" (joke), "Tangis" (cry), "Ketawa" (laugh), and "Duka" (sad) contains ten tracks, six of which are songs composed by Malaysian and Indonesians songwriters and the remaining four are minus one tracks of selected songs from the album. Her popularity in Malaysia and neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia remained high in 2009. With 225,300 votes received, she was voted by the Malaysian public to receive her thirteenth consecutive Popular Female Singer title and her seventh overall Most Popular Artist from 2009 Anugerah Bintang Popular. At the 2009 Anugerah Planet Muzik she was voted as Malaysia's Most Popular Artist and her ninth consecutive overall Regional Most Popular Artist title.^{[note 3]} Lentera Timur was chosen as Best Ethnic Pop Album by the 16th Anugerah Industri Muzik. She also won her tenth Best Vocal Performance (Female) award and the overall Best Album for the fifth time.

On 1 January 2010, she returned to Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore to co-headline Konsert Bagaikan Sakti with M. Nasir. Her first co-headline concert, tickets for the two-hour concert sold out in a week and it was broadcast live for Malaysian viewers on Astro Box Office Events. From 12 until 14 February 2010, Siti Nurhaliza Productions, her own management company organized Konsert Satu Suara at Istana Budaya for Aizat Amdan and Faizal Tahir. After two years of market research with AC Nielsen to understand Malaysian users, SimplySiti was launched on 30 March. During the introductory phase, SimplySiti marketed an array of cosmetic products including lipsticks, blushers, and mascaras, some of which were named after her songs. Back onto the music scene, she won her eleventh Best Vocal Performance (Female) with "Ku Percaya Ada Cinta" from Tahajjud Cinta from the 17th Anugerah Industri Muzik. She also won her first Best Vocal Performance (Group) award with Krisdayanti with their song "Amarah" from CTKD.^{[note 4]} In the same year, she voluntarily withdrew her name from being nominated for any categories of Anugerah Bintang Popular.

2011–2014: All Your Love and Fragmen

Siti with her husband, Khalid Mohamad Jiwa and her stepson, Adib Khalid at the launch of All Your Love.

In February 2011, she hosted her eponymous talk show Siti. A 13-episode talk show, it had four main segments; V.I.P. Siti, Sentuhan Kasih (Caring Touch), Siti's Perspective, and Siti's Symphony. In an interview with Siti in March 2011, she revealed that she was working on her first English album with What's Up Entertainment, a record company owned by her stepson, Adib. Siti recorded her vocals for the album in only two weeks, while the mixing and mastering processes were done in Australia and United States respectively. On 26 September 2011, her fifteenth solo album All Your Love was officially launched. The 10-track album also contains her duet with Sean Kingston, "Remember You". As of March 2012, 70,000 copies of All Your Love have been sold. In August 2011, she signed an agreement with Universal Music Malaysia as one of their artists. In conjunction with Anugerah Bintang Popular's silver jubilee, she was voted by Malaysian public as the recipient of a special award, the Seri Perak award. During the 2011 Anugerah Planet Muzik she won her tenth Regional Most Popular Artist and was awarded a special award for her achievement, Regional Most Popular Artist (For More than a Decade). This would mark her last appearance for the Most Popular title after the organizer decided to drop her name from being nominated in the same category for future instalments of the event. On 31 December 2011, she was one of the performing artists for Celebrate 2012 at The Float @ Marina Bay, Singapore.

During her 33rd birthday on 11 January 2012, Siti Nurhaliza a documentary about her life premiered on History. She became the youngest Malaysian to be featured in the Biography series. In April 2012, she recorded "You Came to Me", a duet with British singer Sami Yusuf and it was released exclusively on the Malaysian version of his fourth album, Salaam. The song was recorded with English, Arabic, and Malay lyrics. On 8 July 2012, she was invited as a guest performer for his Salaam Tour Sami Yusuf 2012 in Singapore and performed the song together. She was also chosen to perform during the opening and closing ceremonies of 2012 Malaysian Games on 7 and 16 July. On 9 November, she staged the sold-out Siti Nurhaliza Live In Kuantan 2012 at Bukit Gambang Resort City. She performed 22 songs in front of 5,000 people including Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang who was in attendance. She also debuted "Galau", her first single with Universal Music. After her stint with her talk show in 2011, she co-hosted a 13-episode game show, Siti Ooo...Som with Nabil Ahmad and Sharifah Shahirah. On 13 December 2012, while she was touring several cities in Indonesia for Konser Karya Gemilang, her husband was involved in a motorcycle accident in New Zealand. She cancelled or postponed all her media appearances and shows for the following three months to care for her critically injured husband.

One of the pathways to the Siti Nurhaliza in Symphony at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall.

After her brief hiatus, 2013 saw Siti's return to the music industry. On 7 March, she was involved with the opening night of Konsert Nusantara which featured performances from Malaysian and Indonesian singers at Istana Budaya. In the same month, she sang two songs with Babyface for Sapurakencana Petroleum Malaysia Grand Prix Charity Gala 2013. From 5 to 7 July, she staged Siti Nurhaliza in Symphony at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall. During the three-night sold-out concert, she sang 21 songs including medleys and covers with the accompaniment of 80 musicians from Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. On 25 August, in conjunction with the celebration of Malaysia and Indonesia's independence days, she was involved with another Malaysian-Indonesian concert, Konsert "Harmony & Unity" at Dataran Merdeka. It was televised live on both Malaysian and Indonesian television channels. She was also involved with the tenth season of reality singing competition, Akademi Fantasia as one of the "Inspirers" who was assigned to assist the contestants with their performances. In conjunction with 50th Malaysia Day, she was one of the select Malaysian celebrities to be interviewed by National Geographic for Malaysia: Through The Decades to share their insights on the future of the country and its citizens.

She staged her first traditional concert at Istana Budaya, Konsert Lentera Timur for four non-consecutive nights from 20 until 24 September. She was accompanied by 40-piece Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia and performed over 30 songs for more than two hours. Although she was having sore throat and was still coughing during the entire concert, it was announced as the most successful solo concert at Istana Budaya after collecting more than RM900,000 during its run. On 28 November, she represented Malaysia for ASEAN-Japan Music Festival in Tokyo where she performed a medley of Malay and Japanese songs; "Biarlah Rahsia", "恋人よ" (Lover), and "Nirmala". On 5 December, she was in Singapore as one of the performing artists for 2013 Asian Television Awards where she sang "Lebih Indah" and "On the Floor". Few months earlier, she was also in Singapore to receive Regional Most Popular Song and Best Duo/Group from 2013 Anugerah Planet Muzik for her duet with Hafiz Suip, "Muara Hati".

Siti performing "I Will Always Love You" with Foster during "David Foster & Friends" concert.

On 7 and 8 February 2014, she staged charity concert Dato' Siti Nurhaliza Live in Concert - Where the Heart is at Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Almost the entire proceeds from ticket sales were channelled to Yayasan Nurjiwa, a charity organization that was founded by Siti and her husband in 2006. The two-day concert was a commercial success as she managed to raise more than RM 1 million from ticket sales and donations. In continuity of raising funds for Yayasan Nurjiwa, she was the subject of a month-long art exhibition SITI: An Iconic Exhibition of Dato' Siti Nurhaliza from 27 February until 26 March 2014. A collaborative effort between Artelier Gallery and Siti Nurhaliza Productions, 17 artworks from Iranian, Malaysian, and Spanish artists were on display. 30% of the proceeds collected from the sales of the paintings and crafts would be later channelled to Yayasan Nurjiwa. On 27 March, she joined David Foster with other select Malaysian artists for his David Foster & Friends concert in conjunction with Sapurakencana Petroleum Malaysia Grand Prix Gala Dinner & Concert 2014. A tribute concert to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 tragedy, Siti was accompanied by Foster on piano while she performed "I Will Always Love You", "Because You Loved Me", and her own single, "Seindah Biasa". On 12 April, she staged Dato' Siti Nurhaliza Live in Singapore to an audience of 4,000 people. Her first major concert in the country since 2008. In the same month, she received Icon of Malaysia award from Malaysia Book of Records.

On 30 June 2014, Fragmen, her sixteenth solo album was released. With an estimated cost of RM 200,000 to produce, the nine-track album was her first album to be co-produced with Universal Music Malaysia. The Indonesian release of Fragmen contained "Seluruh Cinta", a duet single with Indonesian singer Cakra Khan that was added as an additional track to the album. Fragmen was certified platinum andsold more than 50,000 units in less than five months after its released. During the 2014 Anugerah Planet Muzik, "Lebih Indah" from Fragmen was awarded Best Malaysian Song and enabled her to win Best Female Artist. At the 21st Anugerah Industri Muzik on 6 December 2014, she was the most nominated artist of the night with eight nominations. She won Best Album Recording with Konsert Lentera Timur live album, Konsert Lentera Timur Dato' Siti Nurhaliza bersama Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia and her twelfth Best Vocal Performance (Female) with "Lebih Indah". In the same night, Fragmen was also crowned Best Album. On 23 December 2014, she was announced as the recipient of World's Best Malay Female Artist, World's Best Malay Live Act, and World's Best Malay Entertainer from 2014 World Music Awards.

2015–2018: Unplugged and Simetrisiti

Closing performance by Siti for Anugerah MeleTOP ERA 2015 on 22 February 2015.

During the New Year's Eve of 2015, she was in Singapore as one of the artists for the countdown of Celebrate SG50 to celebrate Singapore's 50 years of independence. To celebrate her twentieth anniversary, a one-night only acoustic concert was planned and organized on 7 April 2015 at Istana Budaya. Titled Dato' Siti Nurhaliza Unplugged 2015, tickets for the concert sold out days before the concert date and her vocal performances and overall concert received positive reviews from reviewers and critics alike. Two months later, the concert was released in multiple formats including CD and DVD with three additional tracks accompanying the CD release of the Unplugged album. On 10 October 2015, "Seluruh Cinta", her duet with Cakra Khan won Best Artist Collaboration from the 2015 Anugerah Planet Muzik in Singapore. She was also inducted in the 2016 edition of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the same month. On 7 and 8 November 2015, she staged Konsert Satu Suara, Vol. 2 at Istana Budaya with an estimated cost of RM500,000. Sharing the stage with Hetty Koes Endang and Ramli Sarip, the two-day concert was a commercial success after collecting more than RM650,000 from ticket sales. In December, she was revealed as one of the top Asian artists in Malaysia by Spotify for 2015. She was also invited to Indonesia as a guest judge for the inaugural season of D'Academy Asia, a Nusantara-wide dangdut singing competition featuring contestants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei.

Siti and her guest artists for Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert.

2016 saw her involvement with a new business line, a major concert, and multiple releases of new music. In January 2016, she returned to Indonesia as she celebrated her 37th birthday on the same day as she performed for Indonesian television station Indosiar's 21st anniversary, Konser Raya 21 Indosiar Untuk Indonesia. In March, after the success of Simplysiti, her own cosmetics and skincare line, she debuted the release of her own ready-to-wear fashion line for women, Creación by Siti Nurhaliza. In collaboration with Malaysian hijab brand Ariani and Malaysian textile company Jakel, she was involved heavily with the concept and design of the fashion line. On 2 April, she staged a one-night-only Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert at Stadium Negara. Sponsored by Yonder Music and Celcom, the highly successful concert was attended by more than 7,000 people. Exclusive for the concert, she also debuted her digital duet "Memories" with American artist Whitney Houston. Throughout the entire two-hour concert, she sang over 20 songs and she was accompanied by Malaysian and Indonesian guest artists including Anggun, Afgansyah Reza, Jaclyn Victor, and Faizal Tahir. Overall, Dato Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert received positive reviews and feedback from critics and concert reviewers.

On 20 June, she released "Hari Kemenangan", a special single for Eid al-Fitr, after her last in 2006. On 12 August, "Dirgahayu" her duet with Faizal Tahir was released. The song serves as the theme song for Lara Aishah, a 100-episode Malaysian adaptation of Mexican telenovela, La Loba. On 4 November, the song was included as one of the bonus tracks of Faizal Tahir's fourth solo album, Anatomi. Its music video premiered as the backdrop during their live performance of the song at the 22nd Anugerah Muzik Industri Muzik. During the 22nd Anugerah Industri Muzik on 18 December, she was the most nominated artist of the event with seven nominations in six categories. She was 22nd Anugerah Industri Muzik's biggest winner and her live album Unplugged and its singles enabled her to win several major categories including her first Best Nasyid Song with "Mikraj Cinta" and the fan-voted Choice Malaysia Singer. A single that was recorded as a tribute to her father, "Menatap dalam Mimpi" won Best Musical Arrangement in a Song and her thirteenth Best Vocal Performance in a Song (Female). She also won her seventh Best Album with Unplugged.

Airbus A320 of AirAsia with SimplySiti livery at Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport.

After receiving more than 300 songs submissions for her to shortlist and include in her new album since November 2016, SimetriSiti, her seventeenth solo album was released on 10 May 2017. Citing an estimate cost of RM100,000 to produce, the 10-track album featured collaborations with Malaysia rapper Joe Flizzow and Indonesian singer Judika. On 14 October, "Dirgahayu" was awarded Best Duo/Group from 2017 Anugerah Planet Muzik in Singapore. On 24 October, she was conferred by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang the "Darjah Kebesaran Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang" (SSAP) and would be addressed with the honorific title of "Dato' Sri" henceforth.^{[note 5]} In November 2017, she was included in The 500 Most Influential Muslims for the third year in a row. In December, she was named Most Streamed Local Artiste in Malaysia by Spotify.

Pregnant Siti during the 14th anniversary of her fan club on 21 January 2018.

2018 saw the return of Siti to the music industry after a brief hiatus to focus on her pregnancy. On 5 March 2018, in anticipation of the birth of her first child, she released a special single, "Comel Pipi Merah". On 10 March, Malaysian animation concert Hora Horey Didi & Friends was released. It featured Siti playing new character "Mak Iti" who also sung "Oh Nana", a new song recorded by Siti for the animation. After few months of professional break, she released a new duet single with Malaysian singer Khai Bahar in June 2018. A rerecorded version of "Comel Pipi Merah", "Cinta Syurga" is a slow song with added elements of Islamic zikir. "Comel Pipi Merah" and "Cinta Syurga" were later certified four times platinum and gold respectively.

In late July, she revealed that she was chosen alongside Faizal Tahir as regular judges for the inaugural season of Big Stage, a singing competition for rising new Malaysian singers. Few days earlier, she was reported to be working on a new single that was written by Malaysian singer Hael Husaini for September 2018 release. On 21 September, she released "Anta Permana". A single with both modern and classical elements, "Anta Permana" was certified 11 times platinum in less than a year of its release. On 28 September, her duet with Indonesian singer Judika "Kisah Ku Inginkan" from SimetriSiti won Best Collaboration (Artiste) from the 2018 Anugerah Planet Muzik in Singapore. She returned to Japan on 4 October to represent Malaysia at the 2nd ASEAN-Japan Music Festival. This was also her second appearance for the music festival after representing Malaysia for the same event in 2013. She was listed in The 500 Most Influential Muslims for the fourth year running in the same month. In early December, she was named Most Streamed Local Artistes in Malaysia by Spofity for second year in a row.

2019–present: Dato' Sri Siti Nurhaliza On Tour and new music

Siti during her Dato' Sri Siti Nurhaliza On Tour at Axiata Arena on 16 March 2019.

Her live appearance on Malaysian television shopping program Go Shop on 6 January as spokesperson for cookware company Vantage set a new sale record for the program. In only two hours, she managed to sell 22,000 units of her special edition cookware etched with her signature for RM369 per unit. In total, she sold RM8 million worth of the special edition cookware at a rate of RM67,000 per minute. Five days later, her name and her birthday hashtag were trending topics among Malaysian Twitter users during her 40th birthday on 11 January. She was also honored by multiple Malaysian radio stations as they organized various special programs and segments to celebrate her birthday. She embarked on Dato' Sri Siti Nurhaliza On Tour to Indonesia on 21 February, Singapore on 2 March, and Malaysia on 16 March. Citing production cost of RM10 million, it is the most expensive concert by a Malaysian artist. Her last stop at Axiata Arena was attended by 12,000 people. "Ikhas", a special Eid al-Fitr single featuring Siti with Indonesian singer Nissa Sabyan and Singaporean singer Taufik Batisah was released on 31 May. A special collaboration between Apple Music and Universal Music Malaysia, it is the first of its kind where singers from three countries sing together an Eid al-Fitr song.

On 10 July, "Kasihku Selamanya", theme song to the romantic-horror film Dendam Pontianak was released. On 8 August, she launched and promoted Simplysiti in Indonesia on 8 August. In the same month, she reprised her role as a regular judge for the second season of Big Stage. In collaboration with Shopee Malaysia, she performed for Shopee X Simplysiti mini concert at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 14 September where more than 1,000 fans were in attendance. During the mini concert, she also launched her first health drink Beausiti.

Artistry

Voice and timbre

Siti has been consistently praised and awarded for her vocals and it's capability. Her success and her vocal prowess have earned her various honorific nicknames from the media and public including "Voice of Asia", "Asia's Celine Dion", and "Malaysia's Number One Singer". A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has received the Best Vocal Performance (Female) award from Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) thirteen times. Adjie Esa Poetra, a vocal coach for Indonesian singers including Melly Goeslaw, Nike Ardilla, and Rossa, reviewed Siti's vocals as "And in singing any songs, she will always sing with [a] relax but powerful [vocals] on top of possessing a vocal range of more than four octaves". Pat H. Wilson of The Advertiser has called her timbre, "very pleasant". Sameela Harris of The Barefoot Review reviewed Siti's vocals as, "They call her Asia’s Celine Dion, but one would argue that her timbre has a mellow superiority to that of the Canadian. Some say she sounds like honey; if so, only like the rich power of Manuka."

Her voice has been a subject of admiration and appraisal from local and international singers. Singaporean-Malaysian singer and composer, M. Nasir once praised Siti as "The Voice". He further commended Siti for experimenting with new music and songs and to play around with challenging vocal melisma. English singer-songwriter Gareth Gates with whom she performed his song at MTV Asia Awards 2004 praised Siti as "She definitely has the looks and she certainly has the voice. If she continues to sing the way she does, she'll go really far." Lea Salonga, Filipino singer and actress who covered Siti's song during her show in Malaysia expressed her admiration towards Siti and praised her voice. Another Filipino singer, Gary Valenciano also expressed similar admiration and is open if Siti is interested to have him compose a song and sing a duet with her. Similar admiration of praising Siti's vocals were echoed by American singer Babyface and British singer Sami Yusuf, while Thai singer Tata Young called Siti, "Mariah Carey of Asia".

Described as a coloratura mezzo-soprano, Siti’s voice ranges from middle to high pitch with lyrical elaborations. Stated simply, an amazing voice: brilliant, mellow and soothing, rich while smooth, sweet and enticing. Her voice qualities encompass far more than just vocal range, pitch control and volume, but also timbre, colour, and warmth. All of this she has mastered. Mellifluous, melodious, musical and robust.

—Jessica Byrne, Global Media Post

Her live vocals have been the subject of positive reviews from both music critics and concert reviewers. Two of her Best Vocal Performance (Female) awards from AIM were from her live albums. One reviewer from Utusan Malaysia in review of Siti's debut concert Konsert 'Live' Siti Nurhaliza wrote, "Siti used fully the advantages of her vocals for a solid and energetic performance." She has also been praised for exhibiting great vocal control when singing vocally challenging songs. In his review for Konsert Eksklusif Satu Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Faridul Anwar Farinordin of New Straits Times highlighted Siti's performance of "Kurniaan Dalam Samaran", a song that she rarely performs live. He wrote, "The Japanese-flavoured song required her to switch from her natural voice to falsetto in a hair-raising cadenza somewhere in the absurdly high range most women vocalists would cringe from. But she pulled it off effortlessly, sending shivers down my spine." For the overall show, he also quipped, "Singing more than 30 songs, mostly in medley format, for more than two hours and without going off-key or out of breath, she deserves a gold medal for this musical marathon."

Early in her career, she was known predominantly for singing pop and ballad songs. In reviewing "Hati Kama" from Seri Balas, a traditional duet with Noraniza Idris, Kami of Berita Harian wrote her vocal type is not suitable to sing traditional Malay songs, while Marina Abdul Ghani of Malay Mail echoed the same sentiment where she commented, "I must admit that I, and maybe the rest of her fans, prefer her singing "Cindai", or pop ballads like "Aku Cinta Padamu" or pop rock numbers such as "Bisikan Asmara"." Siti agreed to the comments and commented, "[...] it is true that my voice sounds quite different in Cindai compared to my previous pop albums simply because I had to sing in a lower key for the asli songs" and further added, "It is a learning process and I will do my best to perfect my rendition of asli numbers in future." Siti showed improvement and mastery of singing traditional songs as her career progressed. Although Seri Balas won Best Album from 2000 Anugerah Industri Muzik, it was only two years later she won her first Best Vocal Performance (Female) with a traditional album with Sahmura. She further repeated her win for Best Vocal Performance (Female) award with her solo traditional albums with Sanggar Mustika and Lentera Timur with the latter also won the overall Best Album award in 2009.

Influences

Siti performing "Memories" during Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert on 2 April 2016.

Growing up in a musically inclined family, her mother, Siti Salmah was a local traditional singer and her grandfather, Bachik Abdul Rahman was a famous local violinist. Bachik used to play violin to traditional and classical Malay songs to entertain Siti and her family, while Siti Salmah used to sing old Malay songs. She also used to follow her uncle, Abdul Rahim Bachik with his band, Family Group to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties which she has credited as helping her to gain more experience in performing live in public. Her older brother, Saiful Bahri (Ayie) was a professional recording artist with two solo albums. Seeing the success that her brother has achieved at that time, she was inspired to become a recording artist as well. She named Malaysian singers Sudirman Arshad, P. Ramlee, and Saloma as her idols. Siti has also credited popular singers including Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston as her idols and sources of inspirations. During her Dato' Siti Nurhaliza & Friends Concert in 2016, she performed "Memories" with Houston's prerecorded vocals. She credited Houston and her songs for teaching her to sing with proper vocal techniques. She also admires American singer Beyoncé for her confidence when she is performing on stage.

She is well-known to be a big fan of Canadian singer Celine Dion. She idolizes Dion's showmanship on stage and once commented, "I am truly a fan of Celine Dion and [I] make her as my idol in the singing industry. I try to absorb her energy when on stage so I can practice it when performing a show." During her solo concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2005, her performance was drawn in comparison to Dion and she was dubbed as both Malaysia and Asia's Celine Dion by the British press. When asked how she feels being compared to her idol, she answered, "I feel humble to be compared to Celine Dion. She's my idol. I have so much to learn and to improve on my stage performance. She will always be my inspiration and benchmark for excellence." In 2008, she was given a chance to meet Dion personally during Dion's Taking Chances World Tour in Kuala Lumpur. She recalled the experience as "exciting" and "unforgettable". During the meeting, Siti gave Dion a signed copy of her album Hadiah Daripada Hati.

Songwriting

As a lyricist, many of the lyrics that she has penned revolve around the theme of love. However, she has explored other themes as well including female empowerment and appreciation to her fans. She first contributed lyrics to her own album with "Demi Kasih Kita" which was featured in her second album, Aku Cinta Padamu. She has since written lyrics to few of her own hit singles including "Biarlah Rahsia", "Bukan Cinta Biasa", and "Percayalah". Her ninth solo album E.M.A.S saw four songs with lyrics written by Siti including "Bukan Cinta Biasa". As a music composer, she has written a number of songs including "Cahaya Cinta", "Hati Berbisik", "Intrig Cinta", and "Penghiburku".

She has written the music and lyrics to a few of her songs to mark important moments in her life. During the release of "Biarlah Rahsia", Mohammad Arif Nizam Abdullah of Utusan Malaysia opined that the song as Siti's love story which describes her struggles of having her love recognized. A sentiment which was agreed by Siti who had openly said during the release of the parent album, Transkripsi. She was quoted, "[Try to] understand the lyrics of the song ["Biarlah Rahsia"] if [you] want to know about my love story." She has also written "Cahaya Cinta", a song dedicated to her husband, Khalid Mohamad Jiwa whom she got married in 2006. She first performed the song live during their wedding on 28 August 2006. To commemorate the birth of her children, she composed the music for "Comel Pipi Merah" in 2018 and "Anakanda" in 2021 for her daughter, Siti Aafiyah and her son, Muhammad Afwa respectively.

Her songwriting ability has also been recognized by the Malaysian music industry. After first nominated for the Most Promising Young Songwriter Award by Malaysia's Music Authors' Copyright Protection in 2002, she finally won the award in 2004.

Musical styles

Siti's discography spans pop, R&B, traditional Malay and folk music genres. Although earlier in her career she's primarily known for her pop numbers, she was actually born and raised in a traditional music inclined-family. Throughout her career, she has since released four solo traditional albums – Cindai (1997), Sahmura (2000), Sanggar Mustika (2002) and Lentera Timur (2008) as well as her duet traditional album Seri Balas, a collaboration with Noraniza Idris. In 2009, she released her first spiritual album Tahajjud Cinta and an album primarily composed of classic Malaysian nursery rhymes and folksongs, Legasi in 2021.

While she almost exclusively releases Malaysian Malay songs, she has also released a full English album, All Your Love in 2011 and recorded songs in Mandarin and Arabic. "Kurik Kundi", one of the songs featured in Sanggar Mustika had Siti singing in seven dialects of Malaysia Malay.

Stage performances

Siti performing as the opening act for Anugerah Juara Lagu 24 in 2010.

Siti has received praise for her stage presence and live performances. Siti first staged her debut solo concert Konsert 'Live' Siti Nurhaliza, at the age of 20 at the Stadium Putra, to an audience of 10,000 people. Her first concert was lauded by concert reviewers and critics. Hafidah Samat of New Straits Times wrote, "The show was no mean feat. How many entertainers can hold an audience spellbound for two hours non-stop, let alone a relative newcomer like Siti?" while Azman Ahmad of the Malay Mail commended, "MESMERISING - not a single boring moment at all" and praised her live vocals that sounded "as if the songs were spun from her albums". Both writers from Utusan Malaysia and Malay Mail noted that while Siti appeared to be timid when she's not on the stage, she became more talkative and even cracking jokes for her audience when she is performing.

Her performances on the international stage have received positive comments as well. Her one-night performance at the OzAsia Festival in 2019 was commended by concert reviewers alike. Sameela Harris of The Barefoot Review wrote, "She is a smooth professional at the peak of a sensational career. She is she. No one else." while Jessica Byrne of Global Media Post recalled the concert experience as, "The overwhelming feeling in the room was love and acceptance, completely inclusive, enveloped in warmth and a shared appreciation of the artistic presence."

Siti is well-known for bringing different attractions to her performances. This includes using sign language with a group of deaf and mute children, gliding into her stage with a tightrope suspension, marching with an M16 and accompanied by 100 officers from Royal Malaysian Navy, performing magic tricks, using a blowpipe on stage, and playing various musical instruments.

Public image

Siti's public images from 2008–2012 (left) and 2013 onwards (right).

Earlier in her career, her choice of wearing modest attire and refusal to be photographed with male celebrities as fodder for gossip was criticized by the media and the public. She quipped, "I'm happy if my career as a singer is not associated with negative issues." Siti's choice of personal image was later highlighted and praised by Utusan Malaysia who commended Siti for not baring her body unlike some of her contemporaries but still being able to have an illustrious career. She commented, "I opt to be moderate in everything, including in my sartorial matter." and "I want to show my talent and my God-gifted vocal ability without relying [on the image of] being sexy." Her decision to keep a clean personal image was also supported by Suria Records, her record label at the time. In 2001, she was voted second sexiest celebrity in Malaysia in the 2001 Durex Global Sex Survey. Siti however was uncomfortable of being viewed as sexy and added that in her opinion, "Sexiness is subjective."

Her debut in Indonesia in 1997 with modest image was well received by the Indonesian audience. Her popularity in Indonesia rivaled that of local singers and Adjie Esa Poetra who wrote for Indonesian Pikiran Rakyat even encouraged Indonesian artists and local managements to quickly compete and emulate Siti's success. Indonesian Islamic preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar called her, "gift from God" and praised Siti's decision of not baring her body to the public. In 2008, Adhyaksa Dault, then Indonesia Minister of Youth and Sports cited Siti as an example that local singer Dewi Persik should follow, "Look at Siti Nurhaliza, she's not excessive, [she] does not wear sexy clothing or dance erotically, but she's well-known in her country and at the international stage." Sofyan Djalil, then Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information Technology has also praised Siti as a Malaysian icon.

During heightened tension between Malaysia and Indonesia in 2005, posters bearing her pictures were burnt in Yogyakarta by Indonesian protesters. However, some of the right-wing nationalist protesters carried signs and chanted to "Ganyang Malaysia – Selamatkan Siti Norhaliza (sic)!" (Crush Malaysia – Save Siti Nurhaliza!) and "Siti Yes, Malaysia No!". In 2011, Saiful Hadi, then editor-in-chief for Antara, Indonesian National News Agency and the Indonesian chief for Association of Malaysian and Indonesian Journalists proposed to have Siti as the "Cultural Ambassador" to help ease strained relationships between Malaysia and Indonesia. Her image likeness was used as inspiration for Siti Malaysia, a cartoon character by Tourism Malaysia for advertising campaign to promote Malaysia to international visitors.

From 2008 onwards she went through several phases of wearing a hijab. In late 2007, she expressed her intention to adopt a new image of wearing headscarf upon returning from her hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and adopted it by early 2008. She commented, "If and when I do it, it will not be because of pressure from the media, or fans" and added "It will be purely out of my own free will and the calling from God." She, however, received multiple negative criticisms for her choice of headscarves and for only wearing a full hijab for selected events. In early 2013, at the age of 34, she decided to wear a full hijab even when she's performing on stage.

Personal life

Marriage and children

Siti and her husband, Khalid Mohamad Jiwa during the Malay Mail Big Walk in 2007.

On 17 July 2006, Siti called for a press conference to announce her engagement and solemnization to Datuk Khalid Mohamad Jiwa on 21 August and their wedding on 28 August 2006. During the press conference, she also explained her decision to marry Khalid and denied the accusations of being the cause of his divorce from his previous wife. Attended by an estimated 200-250 members of the press, it was the first instance in Malaysian history for a celebrity to announce the details of their wedding via live television broadcast. Zainul Ariffin of New Straits Times commented, "The last time I saw so many media people under one roof was at an international summit of global importance" while his counterpart Suraya Al-Attas wrote, "NO entertainment Press conference has seen anything like it. The turnout was nothing short of astounding". Prior to his marriage to Siti, Khalid was married to Tengku Zawyah Tengku Izham for 20 years and have four sons together before their divorce on 1 February 2004.

The couple's engagement and "akad nikah" (solemnization) ceremony was held at Federal Territory Mosque on 21 August 2006 and broadcast live to more than 2.8 million viewers nationwide. During the "akad nikah" ceremony, Khalid presented her with dowry gifts and money worth RM30,000 and RM20,000 respectively. Their first wedding reception at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 28 August 2006 was also broadcast live and watched by more than 6.3 million viewers. The wedding was attended by 2,500 guests including royal Malaysian families, ministers, and Malaysian and Indonesian celebrities and media. Their second wedding reception on 3 September 2006 held in her hometown of Kuala Lipis was attended by 10,000 guests. Dubbed as "Wedding of the Year" by Malaysian media, their wedding was listed as one the top 20 celebrity weddings on Yahoo Buzz in 2006 and one of "Asia's Most High-Profile Weddings" by CNBC in 2011. In 2010, the couple was also named third most powerful celebrity couple in Asia by E! News Asia.

Khalid has consistently supported Siti's singing career from the start of their marriage, including attending various events and concerts. As a business entrepreneur, he is instrumental in encouraging Siti to launch and expand her cosmetics business, SimplySiti. Siti also has worked with her stepsons' businesses including Adib Khalid's record company, What's Up Entertainment and Asyraf Khalid's artist management company, A Klasse Management. When Khalid was involved in a motorcycle accident in New Zealand in December 2012, Siti postponed or cancelled all her media appearances for three months to take care of him. Khalid recalled the experience in 2017, "She is amazing and the greatest wife. She was always patient and took care of me (during the injury) with full perseverance."

Siti miscarried in 2015 and revealed that it affected her emotionally. She also had underwent five rounds of in vitro fertilisation before giving birth to her first child in 2018. During one of the in vitro fertilisation treatments in 2017, she put her career on hold and was confined to the bedroom for three months with Khalid helped to lift and move her in a wheelchair. After 11 years of marriage, she gave birth to her first daughter, Siti Aafiyah on 19 March 2018 and to her first son, Muhammad Afwa on 16 April 2021, both conceived through in vitro fertilisation and delivered through caesarean section.

Controversies

In December 2004, Malaysian singer Sharifah Aini and her adopted brother Ahmad Shaharil Jamaludin were charged with sending libellous emails against Siti. Ahmad was charged to three counts for sending the emails to entertainment journalists of Utusan Malaysia, Harian Metro, and New Straits Times in August 2004. Both Sharifah and Ahmad were discharged not amounting to an acquittal on 24 January and 18 July 2006 respectively. In 2010, both Siti and Sharifah fixed their relationship and appeared together for the first time on Malaysian entertainment magazine URTV. Siti also paid her respect during the funeral of Sharifah on 5 July 2014 when she died from pulmonary fibrosis and influenza A virus subtype H1N1.

In May 2021, Siti and her husband were issued an RM10,000 fine each for violating the standard operating procedure of COVID-19 when they organized a tahnik ceremony for their second child. Three of Siti's stepsons and several guests including then Malaysia's Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri and Islamic preachers Azhar Idrus and Don Daniyal were fined RM2,000 each.

Wealth

New Straits Times calculated her earnings from her music, shows, and endorsements from her first five years in the industry are enough to make her a millionaire at the age of 22. For an hour show, she's reported to command RM40,000 in 2001, and RM70,000 in 2009. In an article by SaveMoney in 2015, she was reported to be the third richest Malaysian woman with a net worth of RM50 million. She however denied the figure and commented, she "has not reached that level yet".

She purchased a house at The Address Residences, Downtown Dubai in 2022 for an estimated RM10 to RM20 million. In 2023, she's revealed to be the highest zakat contributor amongst singers in Selangor.

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaysia:
  • Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (JSM) (2003)

• Pahang:
  • Member of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (AAP) (2000)
  • Companion of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SAP) (2005)
  • Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (DIMP) – Dato' (2006)
  • Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2017)

• Perak:
  • Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (PMP) (2001)

Footnotes

• Note 1: ^ The album is sometimes referred as Jerat Percintaan while the second album, Siti Nurhaliza II is referred as Aku Cinta Padamu.
• Note 2: ^ In the Hits of the World section of Billboard, Safa was listed at number three for the RIM's overall Malaysia album chart for week ending 6 February 2001. As the highest positioning local album in the chart, Safa by default should be at number one for RIM's local album chart. However, on Hisham Harun's Hit List section of New Straits Times, for week ending 5 February 2001, Safa was not even listed for RIM's local album chart. It is unclear which information is correct.
• Note 3: ^ Prior to 2009 Anugerah Planet Muzik, Regional Most Popular Artist award was split between male and female winners (Most Popular Male Artist and Most Popular Female Artist) and nominees were not split based on country.
• Note 4: ^ Starting from 17th Anugerah Industri Muzik, Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) allows for Extended plays (EP) to be nominated for several major categories including Best Vocal Performance categories, Best Musical Arrangement in a Song, and Best Song.
• Note 5: ^ On "Bahagian Istiadat & Urusetia Persidangan Antarabangsa" (Ceremonial and International Conference Secretariat Division)'s (a division under Malaysia's Prime Minister's Department) website, the correct honorific title for recipients of "Darjah Kebesaran Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang" is "Dato' Sri" and not "Datuk Seri" as reported.