Nike Ardilla

Early life

Ardilla was born Raden Rara Nike Ratnadilla on 27 December 1975 in Bandung, to parents of Ciamis and Bandung descent. Her father worked for the Indonesian railway operator PT Kereta Api, which caused the family to move periodically throughout her childhood. They eventually settled in Bandung, West Java, where Ardilla began performing in talent shows at the age of five, winning a local singing competition in 1980. In 1986, she joined the cast of the film Kasmaran, starring Ida Iasha and Slamet Rahardjo. Ardilla played the daughter of Iasha's character.

In 1987, Ardilla contributed to a compilation album titled Bandung Rock Power, which featured Nicky Astria, Mel Shandy, and other well-known artists. In 1988, she recorded a single for the soundtrack of the film Kabayan Saba Kota, in which she also made a cameo appearance. That same year, she won "Best Model Catwalk" in the "LA Model Contest" in Bandung.

Career

Ardilla was instrumental in the return of teen pop rock in the late 1980s. Deny Sabry helped her sign a record deal with Arista Records. Her debut album Seberkas Sinar was released in the summer of 1989, when Ardilla was only thirteen years old. The album reached number one on the charts, and has sold over 500,000 copies in Indonesia. The title track stayed at the top of the charts for 10 weeks, and "Seberkas Sinar" had further hits with the top 10 ballad "Cinta Pertama", and the top 5 song "Tembang Asmara".

In the spring of 1990, Ardilla released her sophomore album, Bintang Kehidupan, with a chart-topping title track. The album itself also topped the charts on its debut, selling over 500,000 copies in its first week and setting a new record for single-week sales by a female artist. Follow-up singles included "Salut" and the gold-certified "Putih". By 1991, Bintang Kehidupan had sold over two million copies and won two BASF Awards, for Best New Artist and Best Selling Album.

Ardilla was a winner in the modeling competition Gadis Sampul in 1990, giving her success not only as a singer and actress, but also as a model. Her next album Nyalakan Api was released in the autumn of 1990, which earned her a third BASF Award, again for Best Selling Album. Her fourth album Matahariku was released in summer of 1991, and was followed in the autumn of 1992 by Biarlah Aku Mengalah, which was featured on Musik Plus.

After winning Best Selling Album again at the 1993 BASF Awards, Ardilla released greatest hits album, Tinggalah Ku Sendiri (The Best Of), with spawned the hit single "Tinggallah Ku Sendiri". She moved from Billboard Records (now EMI) to Musica Studios for her record Biarkan Cintamu Berlalu, which debuted at number one and earned her the 1994 HDX Best Selling Album award. Her final album, Sandiwara Cinta, was released on 1 March 1995. The single first began airing on the radio in late February. The first version of the Sandiwara Cinta video debuted on TV in late February 1995. Ardilla began filming a second version of the video, directed by Rizal Mantovany, but died two days before the scheduled completion of shooting. The video, featuring Ardilla in the style of Marilyn Monroe, her idol, was released posthumously in April 1995, and became a huge success. "Sandiwara Cinta" won HDX Awards for Best Selling Album, Best Single ("Deru Debu"), and Best Video Klip MTV Indonesia.

Death

Ardilla died in a car accident in Bandung at approximately 05:30 on 19 March 1995. The night before the accident, she met with friends from Aneka-Yess!, a popular teenage magazine, at Jayakarta Hotel Bandung, to discuss the election of the magazine's cover girl and cover boy. The election was to be held the following day, with Ardilla appearing as a guest star at the event. At 00:30, she and her manager Sofiatun left the meeting and went to Pollo Club, a night club in Jl. Asia Afrika, to meet other friends. They went out to eat at a restaurant at 03:30, and at 04:30, Ardilla accompanied a friend to her hotel. She and Sofiatun left the hotel at 05:15 to go home. Ardilla was driving her Honda Civic Genio D 27 AK, which had been known to seem unstable at times. After overtaking another car, she lost control and hit the fence of the wall in Jl. R. E. Martadinata, Bandung. The accident had likely been caused by a manufacturer defect in the Vehicle Stability Assist (“VSA”) system of the Class Vehicles that causes the Class Vehicles’ brakes to suddenly engage without warning (“Autonomous Braking Defect”). There had been many cases reported in the United Kingdom and Europe whereby the steering became locked. Ardilla died instantly from blunt force trauma to the head. She was nineteen years old. (http://gotaclassaction.com/honda-named-in-class-action-over-defect-in-the-vehicle-stability-assist-system/)

Thousands of mourners attended her funeral in Bandung. She was buried in Ciamis, West Java on the same day, in the presence of family, friends, fans and reporters.

Legacy

Ardilla is still widely known in Indonesia, where her popularity continued to rise even after her death. Every year, millions of fans commemorate her passing by visiting her grave and the Nike Ardilla Museum, which was constructed in her memory. The Indonesian media refers to her as the "legendary rock queen", as well as the "legend of slow rock music". Fan clubs dedicated to her are still running with active members. Two Russian states, Abkhazia and Tuva, issued a Nike Ardilla stamp in 1996 (among stamps of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley). PT Pos Indonesia published a postcard and commemorative envelope in the exhibition of youth philately in 1996. Ardilla's album called Mama Aku Ingin Pulang was released posthumously in 1995. The album contained only one new single, a never released song she recorded in 1993, but was still met with huge success. Another album, Suara Hatiku, which was originally intended for release in 1994, was released in 1996, going multiplatinum. More singles were released after her death, such as "Cinta Diantara Kita" (1996), a rendition of her other song "Selamat Jalan Duka". In 2009, Musicas Studios released a Nike Ardilla ringtone album. Twenty-five after she died JK Record released her early unreleased material as posthumous album called Hanya Satu Nama was originally recorded in 1988 when her stage name is still "Nike Astrina".

Discography

Singles (Soundtrack)

Singles released

Awards

1. Gold Prize Asian Song Festival 1991 — Best Newcomer
2. Anugerah Musik 1994 — Best Indonesian Selling Album in Malaysia (Duri Terlindung)
3. ABU Golden Kite World Song Festival 1994 — Best Performer (Second Runnerup)
4. Golden Prize Malaysia Music Awards 2005 — Year's Best Compilation Album

1. TVRI Jakarta 1980 — First Champion
2. HAPMI 1985 — First Champion, Pop Singing
3. TERUNA Festival Indonesia, 1986 — Third Winner
4. 3 Genre Singing Festival, West Java, 1987 — First Champion
5. Multi-Platinum Award for "Seberkas Sinar", 1989.
6. BASF Awards 1990 — Best Selling Album ("Bintang Kehidupan")
7. Indonesian Popular Song Festival 1990 — Best Performer
8. BASF Awards 1991 — Best Selling Album ("Nyalakan Api")
9. Multi-Platinum Award for "Matahariku", 1991.
10. BASF Awards 1992 — Best Selling Album ("Biarlah Aku Mengalah")
11. Multi-Platinum Award for "Tinggalah Aku Sendiri", 1993.
12. HDX Awards 1994 — Best Selling Album ("Biarkan Cintamu Berlalu")
13. HDX Awards 1995 — Best Selling Album ("Sandiwara Cinta")
14. HDX Awards 1995 — Biggest Omzet Album ("Sandiwara Cinta")
15. HDX Awards 1996 — Best Selling Album ("Suara Hatiku")
16. Music Mingguan Awards ANTeve 1996 — Best Selling Album ("Suara Hatiku")
17. HDX Awards 1996 — Best Album ("Deru Debu")
18. BASF Awards 1996 — Triple-Platinum Album ("Mama Aku Ingin Pulang")
19. Multi-Platinum Award — "Panggung Sandiwara", 1997.
20. Multi-Platinum Award — "Cinta Diantara Kita", 1997.
21. Multi-Platinum Award — "Ingin Ku Lupakan", 1998.
22. Multi-Platinum Award — "Belenggu Cinta", 1999.
23. Multi-Platinum Award — "The Best of Volume II", 2000.
24. Multi-Platinum Award — "Best Beat", 2002.
25. Multi-Platinum Award — "Best of The Best", 2004.
26. Multi-Platinum Award — "Golden Memories", 2005.
27. Multi-Platinum Award — "11 tahun Nike Ardilla", 2006.
28. Multi-Platinum Award — "Lagu Pilihan Fans", 2007.
29. Multi-Platinum Award — "Tinggalah Kusendiri", 2008.
30. Multi-Platinum Award — Number One RBT, 2009.
31. Triple-Platinum Award — "Koleksi Lenggkap", 2010.

1. Video Musik Indonesia 1993 — Video Favorite of The Month ("Tinggalah Kusendiri")
2. Video Musik Indonesia 1994 — Video Favorite of The Month ("Biarkan Cintamu Berlalu")
3. Video Musik Indonesia 1994 — Video Favorite of The Year ("BIarkan Cintamu Berlalu")
4. MTV Viewer Choice Indonesia 1997 — Best Female Video

1. Dunia Bintang SCTV Awards 1995 — Favorite Viewer Artist
2. Dunia Bintang SCTV Awards 1995 — Favorite Journalist Artist
3. Highest Second Rating, 2003 — Silet Infotainment, "Nike Ardilla Episode"
4. SCTV Programme Eko Patrio Show, 2005 — Best Legend (Viewers' Choice)

1. Sahabat Pena Magazine, 1986 — Cover
2. LA Clerk Model Contest, 1989 — Third Winner
3. Gadis Sampul 1990 — Favorite
4. Monitor Magazine, 1990 — Best Performer on TV
5. Citra Magazine, 1992 — Best Actress (Readers' Choice)
6. Nyata, 1993 — Most Wanted Actress (Readers' Choice)
7. Popular Magazine, 1994 — Most Popular Artist
8. URTV Magazine, 1994 — Favorite Cover
9. Citra Magazine, 1994 — Most Dedicated and Creative Singer (Indonesian)
10. Citra Magazine, 1995 — Best Female Singer (Indonesian)
11. PT. POS Indonesia, 1996 — Nike Ardilla Stamp and Post Cards Tribute
12. Nova, 2007 — Best Selling Tabloid, "Nike Ardilla Cover", 2007