IT'S ALL IN THE GAME

RECORDING artiste Shawn Baharin is not being cocky when he says he has girlfriends (with emphasis on the "S").

He is merely being frank and stating a fact. The same way when he unashamedly admits there have been instances in which fanatic fans call him in the middle of night asking him to take them to bed. The 26-year-old hunk is just sharing the juicy part of his new-found fame.

Shawn doesn't mind all the attention he is getting--"this is all part of the deal when you become a popular figure."

In fact, he is already thinking about setting up a fan club and a website to cater for his fans.

"I can cope with the crazed calls and fanatic fans. I have been stopped many times in public--girls just come up to me, give me a few hugs and pecks as if I am some kind of teddy bear," says the Business Administration graduate of the University of Luton, Britain.

By the way, Shawn is a name given to him by his fans during his pub-scene days. But back home in Terengganu, Shawn Baharin is known as Tengku Shamsul Baharin Tengku Sulaiman. Yes, there is some royal lineage and this singer is actually the elder brother of singers Tengku Sharom and Tengku Anis Suraya.

Royalty aside, Shawn Baharin has been an independent person ever since his secondary schooldays. He just loves singing and was already in the pub scene at a time when everyone else was busy with school lectures.

"I had the best of both worlds. First, I sang in pubs, then I took leave to do my diploma. I went back to the pub scene again and after two years, I left to do my degree course to fulfil my father's wish. Now I am a free man. I can concentrate on singing alone," says Shawn.

He signed up with the independent label Aneka Seni Music in January last year after he sent a demo tape through younger brother Tengku Sharom.

"The problem with big labels is they don't really believe in ... a new talent in this case. So, I have to prove myself first before they'd take me seriously," says Shawn, whose debut album Melodi Hati takes on a pop-ethnic approach.

Even though he's got only one album, Shawn is already nominated for this year's AIM awards under the Best New Artiste category. He beat 20 other new singers before he was shortlisted with four other contenders.

Music critics have raved about Shawn Baharin's debut album. They find his rendition of the two Spanish numbers La Bomba and El Dia Que Me Quieras close to Ricky Martin's style. But Shawn doesn't think so.

"Ricky Martin is not such a great Latin singer. There are so many other Latin singers who are better than he is," says Shawn who is learning to speak Spanish.

Another popular number on the album is Rosmaria which combines elements of joget, inang, asli and Latin.

"Adnan (the album producer) was able to capture the right mood for the song. Rosmaria is one of the better songs on my album; it's a love song about a couple who longs to be together again after a long separation," says Shawn.

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 7/4/2000