Ning Baizura binti Sheikh Hamzah (born on 28 June 1975), popularly known as Ning, is a Malaysian pop and R&B singer, who records and sings in languages, including Bahasa Malaysia, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, Mandarin and Cantonese. She was born in Kajang

Kajang

Kajang, is a town in the eastern part of Selangor, Malaysia. Kajang is the district capital of Hulu Langat. It is located from of Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.The current locational gravity of growth in Kajang would be Sungai Chua...

, Malaysia from the Arab, Malay, Dutch, Chindian

Chindian

"Chindian" is a compound word used to refer to an Indian restaurant within the village of Chinnor, Oxfordshire. It is formed simply, yet ingeniously, by putting the "ch" from "Chinnor" in front of the word "Indian"....

 and Javanese parents.

Career

Ning crossed into the commercial scene in 1992 and became a recording artiste under various international labels (Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

, BMG

BMG

Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

, AMS Records Japan, Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...

, and as of September 2008 her own music label (HappeNings Records), where she has recorded songs of the pop, soul and R&B genres. Her discography includes 10 full studio albums (three of which are full English albums), as well as numerous compilations. Ning has also won various music industry awards and prizes, and has performed in the UK, Italy, France, China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Switzerland and the United States.

Ning is best known for her live stage performances. She is an actress and has had roles in musicals, ten major films, short films and several tele-movies. Most significant of her roles is her critically acclaimed performance in the short film 'Malaikat Di Jendela' (Angel by My Window), directed by Osman Ali. She played a role of a midwife ostracized from her village because her husband had died of HIV. This film took part in several film festivals in Cannes

Cannes

Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

, Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

 and Singapore.

In 2006, Ning set up her own recording company, Artiste United Records (AUR). Her stable of artistes are her proteges, Nicolette Palikat

Nicolette Palikat

Nicolette Louisa Palikat , better known by her stage name, "Nikki", is a Malaysian singer from Tambunan, Sabah, and a finalist in the first season of Malaysian Idol. She is known for her vocal belting and her ability to sing in the whistle register.-Personal life:Nikki is of Dusun descent...

 or 'Nikki' from Malaysian Idol Season 1

Malaysian Idol

Malaysian Idol is the Malaysian version of the Idol Series that started in UK, similar to shows such as UK's Pop Idol and American Idol in the franchise. This show is a contest to determine the best young singer in Malaysia, with the winner receiving a major record deal, although some runners-up...

) and Siti Surianie Julkarim (Yanie) (from Mentor Season 1), as well as Ahmad Nubhan Ahamad (Nubhan) from Akademi Fantasia, Season 6

Akademi Fantasia, Season 6

Akademi Fantasia, Season 6 is the sixth season of Akademi Fantasia to be aired in Astro Ria. The promotional catchphrase of this season is "Bring Out The Superstar Talent In You".A few major changes were made this season...

. Meanwhile her latest English album 'EastToWest' was released in Malaysia on 10 March 2008.

She worked with Yasmin Ahmad in the controversial movie Muallaf

Muallaf

Muallaf is a 2008 Malaysian drama film directed by Yasmin Ahmad. It tells a tale of three souls finding solace in religion. This is Yasmin Ahmad's fifth film after Rabun, Sepet, Gubra and Mukhsin.-Cast:...

 (The Convert). It won several international awards in Europe including The Berlin Film Fest and Singapore Film Fest.

Discography

• 1993 — Dekat Padamu (Sony Music)
• 1994 — Ning (Sony Music)
• 1995 — Teguh (BMG)
• 1997 — Ke Sayup Bintang (BMG)
• 1997 — Always (BMG)
• 1999 — Pujaan Ku (BMG)
• 2001 — Natural Woman (AMS Records,Japan)
• 2003 — Selagi Ada... (Warner)
• 2004 — Erti Petermuan (Warner)
• 2006 — 3113 (Greatest Hits Compilation)(Warner & SonyBMG)
• 2006 — Drama (Featuring Nikki & Yanie) CD Single (Warner Music)
• 2008 — EastToWest
• 2011 — 3 Suara
  3 Suara
  -Awards:-Singles:...
  
   (with Jaclyn Victor
  Jaclyn Victor
  Jaclyn Joshua Thanaraj Victor is a singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She is under the management of The 8 Unit. She represented...
  
   & Shila
  Shila (singer)
  Nur Shahila binti Amir Amzah or popularly known by her commercial name Shila, is a Malaysian singer. She was the runner-up of the second season of One in a Million , a reality TV singing competition...
  
  OIAM)
• 2011 — Dewa

Films

• 1997 - Gemilang
• 1998 - Maria Mariana 2
• 1999 - Bara
• 2000 - Mimpi Moon
• 2001 - Malaikat Di Jendela
• 2003 - Azura 2003 (Telemovie)
• 2005 - Lady Boss
• 2007 - Diva
• 2008 - Muallaf
• 2010 - Magika
• 2011 - Cun

Awards

• 1991 — Voice of Asia
• 1991 — Best Artiste Development Award
• 1993 — AIM Awards Best New Artiste
• 1993 — AIM Awards Album of the Year (Dekat Padamu)
• 1993 — Anugerah Juara Lagu: Best Song - Ballad Category (Curiga)
• 1994 — AIM Awards Best Pop Album (Ning)
• 1994 — Anugerah Juara Lagu: Best Song - Pop/Rock Category (Kau & Aku), award as lyricist
• 2003 — Anugerah ERA Choice Female Vocalist
• 2004 — AIM Awards Song of The Year (Selagi Ada Cinta)
• 2005 — AIM Awards Best Album Cover (Erti Pertemuan)
• 2005 — AIM Awards Best Music Video (Awan Yang Terpilu)
• 2005 — AIM Awards Song of The Year (Awan Yang Terpilu)
• 2005 — AIM Awards Best Pop Album (Erti Pertemuan)
• 2008 — VOIZE Favourite Local Act Award
• 2008 — Cosmopolitan Malaysia magazine’s Fun, Fearless and Fabulous (FFF) Award 2008 - Singer category
• 2011 — Anugerah Planet Muzik Best Duo/Group (award for '3 Suara' with Jaclyn Victor and Shila)
• 2011 — AIM Awards Best Vocal Performance In A Song Duo/Group(Beribu Sesalan, award for '3 Suara' with Jaclyn Victor and Shila)