Learning From South Korea, Yovie Widianto Invites Indonesian Musicians To Be Confident With Indonesian Songs

Yovie Widianto (Instagram @ywpiano)

JAKARTA - Musician and songwriter Yovie Widianto shows his sadness at the current Indonesian music industry.

As a songwriter, Yovie specifically highlighted the use of language in many songs composed by his colleagues.

Yovie Widianto invites songwriters to use Indonesian in his lyrics, rather than using foreign languages.

"I always say, we can compose English songs but we have to use Indonesian often," said Yovie Widianto in Kemang, South Jakarta on Wednesday, August 9.

Yovie invites songwriters to reflect on the South Korean music industry, which in the last two decades managed to expand Korean-language songs outside.

With an example from South Korea, Yovie felt there should be no reason for Indonesian songwriters to be afraid to use Indonesian.

"Because our friends in Korea are not afraid to use their language, why are we afraid. That is understood," said Yovie Widianto.

According to him, acceptance of Indonesian is not as bad as expected. Not only in the country, Indonesian is even known to the European and Latin American continents.

"Three hundred million of our population, even in Brunei and Malaysia they understand. In Suriname and the Netherlands there are also many who know. Why are you afraid? Therefore, I am very happy to make Indonesian songs," said Yovie Widianto.

"I convey to fellow musicians, whoever we have to make better Indonesian songs," he concluded.