Exclusive: Chintya Gabriella Struggles To Build A Career As A Cover Singer

JAKARTA - After releasing the single Tak Apa Tanpamu in August 2022 and remaking the song Terdiam from Maliq & D'essentials at the end of last year, Chintya Gabriella is preparing to return with a new single soon.

On this single, Chintya will sing a song composed by Doadibadai Hollo or better known as Badai, a keyboardist who grew up with the band Kerispatih. Chintya revealed that she had finished the recording process and the single itself would be released next month.

The collaboration between the girl who was born in Medan, on March 19, 1999, and Badai is not the first time. The two of them appeared together at a 45th-anniversary concert made by the keyboardist.

“Before that, I had a project with Mr. Badai, who has been working for 23 years. I remade the song Mengenangmu from Kerispatih", said Chintya Gabriella when visiting VOI on Wednesday, January 25.

From her first encounter with Badai, Chintya finally had the chance to sing an original song composed by the keyboardist himself. Chintya herself admits that she is proud, that in her fourth year in the music industry, she started by working with a producer and songwriter as big as Badai.

Not only that, but Chintya was also happy when she found out that the story told in her new single would have something in common with what she had experienced.

“The concept is about someone who has broken up with someone who is ghosting. It's more ghosting actually, like my love story too", she said.

"The fun fact is, this song was already written by brother Badai before, when he gave it, how come it felt like I had experienced it before. In my opinion, I and the songwriter are like a match. When the story was the same as what I experienced, I immediately said 'yes, I think we have to release this soon'. Really relate", she continued.

Still not wanting to be open about the concept of her newest single, Chintya slightly leaked that there would be a new musical concept that would be brought, not with an acoustic concept as so far in most of her works.

Talking about Badai, for Chintya herself, the keyboardist is one of the songwriters who has a uniqueness that no other musician has. And she feels that the song that Badai composed for her will be one of the important milestones in her career going forward.

“Actually, this single is a hope for me, because to be honest, the first time I was in the music industry, I was known as a singer who sings sad songs, sad and upset songs. I hope in this song I can bounce back to be an adult but still with her turmoil. I stick with that sad character", she said.

Chintya Gabriella's Career Twists

Having the full name Chintya Gabriella Panggabean, this young soloist was born to a Batak family who settled in the capital city of North Sumatra, Medan.

Chintya admitted that she knew and started to like music from her parents, who also liked to sing. “I know music from papa and mama, they like to sing. I'm a Bataknesse, in Medan, when there are events, it's always synonymous with parties and singing, so I often see mom and dad singing", she said.

Since attending elementary school, Chintya started to dare to sing in front of many people. Usually, the singer of "Tak Apa Tanpamu" sings at church events and services, as well as family events that she participates in.

Stepping on high school, Chintya, who was inspired by the many people covering songs on YouTube, started covering songs. Starting to sing other people's songs in parts via Instagram, eventually, Chintya sings the song in its entirety, and often even rearranges it before uploading it on her YouTube channel.

Many of the songs Chintya covered were songs from bands and singers released in the first decade of the 21st century, and the videos were watched millions of times, namely Dan from Sheila On 7 (6.4 million), Merindukanmu from D'Masiv (12 million), Terserah from Glenn Fredly (3.4 million), Sudah from Nidji (1.1 million) and Salah from Lobow (3.6 million).

Not without reason, Chintya said that she was close to many songs from that era. The reason is, her extended family was a lover of Indonesian music in that era. “I like Indonesian pop, especially in the past, especially during elementary school. Because my extended family also likes music and listens to bands from the 90s, right down to Kerispatih and Anji too", she said.

“In my opinion, these old songs are very everlasting. Whenever we still miss the melodies from the songs from the 90s to the 2000s. In terms of lyrics as well", she continued.

From Cover Singer to Having Her Own Original Singles and Entering Major Labels

Widely known as a YouTuber with cover song content does not make Chintya Gabriella complacent. She began to move to become a singer who has her own original songs.

Chintya released her first original song in 2019 through a single titled Percaya Aku. Slowly but surely, the soloist, who is now 23 years old, consistently releases new songs every year, without leaving her activities of covering songs on YouTube.

Chintya's debut single unexpectedly succeeded in bringing her to a nomination in the Best Newcomer category at the 2020 Indonesian Music Award (AMI). However, unfortunately, she had to give up on another female soloist, Tiara Andini.

The Medan girl's consistent efforts were not in vain. She managed to get one of Indonesia's major labels, Warner Music Indonesia, to recruit her in 2022. Under her first major label, Chintya released three new singles that year, Hanya Dalam Mimpi, Perjalanan Pulang, and Tak Apa Tanpamu.

Meeting great musicians through labels, Chintya admits that she has learned lessons that are very meaningful to her. “What I've learned is, no matter how good we sing someone's song or another musician's song, it's still better to sing our own original work. Because in the end, it's the originals that win, even though I used to be a cover musician", she said.

Not only that, through meeting several musicians as well as songwriters such as Anji and Badai, Chintya also learned how important the ability to write songs is for a musician.

From her many meetings with musicians under the auspices of Warner Music Indonesia, Chintya has also made up her mind about the genre and style of music she will be promoting in the Indonesian music industry.

"I myself feel more suited to Indonesian pop. After meeting people I know closely and learning a lot, like Anji, I came to know that it turns out that covering and making original works have different tastes. We can also know better if we are compatible with what kind of music. At that time, I knew that I was suitable for pop", she said.

Admitting that she used Raisa and Tulus as her references in singing, Chintya hopes to have a long career in the country's music industry.

"I really like Tulus and Raisa, because, from the start I covered them, and I also sang their songs. Now, I still follow Tulus and Raisa's albums. They motivated me, it turns out that everyone can do it (has a long career). They can survive until now", said Chintya.

With so many young female soloists in the music industry today, Chintya also welcomed them positively. Where the Best Newcomer category at AMI in the last four years was won by a female soloist, the singer of Aku Sayang Aku is proud to have been nominated and to be part of the talented young female soloists in Indonesia.

"I also see that now there are more and more female soloists, some from indie as well who are now on the rise. I think it's really good", she said.

With the rise of foreign music invasions such as western songs and K-pop, Chintya sees that this is not always bad for the domestic music industry. "It's really cool, Indonesian musicians have more references too, right? Because in every country different ones can be taken advantage of, and this could be an opportunity for collaborations with foreign musicians", she said.

Even though more and more young people and teenagers are interested in foreign music, especially K-pop, Chintya, who incidentally has many fans among young people, does not see this as a barrier to keep working and establishing her identity as an Indonesian pop singer.

According to her, the country's music industry is also still growing, and each singer has its own characteristics that cannot be imitated by other singers.

Chintya Gabriella herself already has an ideal picture of her career as a singer. Without having to be someone else, she wants to be known as an Indonesian pop singer with sad songs that can also give strength to her listeners.

“Because I specialize in sad songs, I want everyone to realize that we must be sad at times. But I also want my songs to be a strength. Because there will be no happiness either if there is no sadness. So I want my song to be a sad song that can also give strength", she said.

Based on her experience with fans, Chintya admits that she often communicates with those who claim to feel the same way when they hear the songs she sings. "I feel happy, it turns out that it's not just me who feels the song, but they can also relate to the song", she said.

Wanting to become a singer who continues to learn on various occasions, Chintya hopes to produce an album this year. Not only that but it was also hoped that her initial meetings with great musicians from Indonesia would lead her to become a better singer and be able to go international.

"I really want to go international. Want to have as many original works as possible, and learn music in a variety of ways too. Because there are so many genres now and what I'm seeing right now, looking back it turns out I've learned a lot. I realized that I had learned a lot. So I hope to go international and learn new things", she concluded.