Juwita Suwito

"Original, honest and unflinching. Malaysia's very own Juwita Suwito impresses on and off stage with her verve and energy." - Muhamad Fadhil (Magmug Magazine)

"If there were singers, there were singers. Juwita Suwito is more than a singer, songwriter and overall superstar to many.. she's also a friend. Thanks for never forgetting us Juwita! Your fan, stan. I mean JFK" - JFK

"That's how Juwita is: possessing a youthful fascination and genuine appreciation for things. Perhaps that's what is fuelling her songwriting. And this singer 'lives' her songs. The positivism in her tracks is a reflection of her worldview, which she attributes to her parents and faith." (Style: Malaysia)

"She is a versatile singer.. not just a singer but a singer songwriter. With all of her talents and passion for this art she remains down to earth and great to work with!" - Vanessa Chong (model/talent & runner-up of The Amazing Race Asia Season 2)

"Juwita is one of those rare musicians that makes cheap microphones sound like expensive microphones." - Greg Henderson (ARIA & AIM award-winning producer & sound engineer)

"Don't be fooled by Juwita's petiteness and shy mannerism - this lady kicks ass on stage, behind the stage, at the studio, outside the studio - basically in everything she does!" - Daphne Iking (model, TV personality & actress)

"I want me some Juwita. An ultimate professional with a silky voice, and producing some really delicious music." - Ahmad Izham Omar (CEO, 8TV)

“She is simply inspiring, firm in her principles and sets high standards, yet is appreciative of her collaborators.” - Tony Leo (budding composer, songwriter, musician & theatre artiste)

"My brother & I have known Juwita since primary school days. All this time, she's always been genuinely REAL. No superficial fake fronting with this darling. Exudes sincerity & substance in living her life, both personally & professionally. Her brilliance speaks for itself. Working with her is a pleasure as she's efficient, creative & instantly puts everyone at ease. Beautiful voice, Beautiful person."
- Dr Farrah-Hani Imran (reconstructive surgeon and former national gymnast)

In 2005, Juwita's debut solo album, Brand New World was declared Best Local English Album at the prestigious AIM (Malaysian Music Industry) Awards. She was also nominated for Best Female Vocal Performance in an Album the same year. These were only 2 of the 4 nominations she and her album received at AIM12.

Juwita's journey in the professional music scene began in her late teens as a backing vocalist for leading Malaysian artistes at gigs, mega concerts and prominent award shows. It was during this time that she developed her personal versatility and was often called upon to record song demos for East Asian publishing houses. In fact, it was demos such as these which were eventually released and unexpectedly caught the attention of many a curious listener. One example is her rendition of "Breathe Again", published by Warner Music Taiwan in a Soundtrack for Mandarin TV drama series "The Outsiders".

In July 2003, while representing Malaysia at the YWCA World Council & International Women's Summit in Brisbane, Australia, Juwita performed a song she wrote based on the theme, "Leading Change". It expressed her passion to encourage especially youth to use their unique God-given capabilities to make a difference in society. This received an enthusiastic response from the audience of approximately 1,000 women from over 100 countries.

In 2004, Juwita was entrusted with the task of coaching the finalists of the inaugural 'Malaysian Idol', and continued to do so for the second season. In the following years, she guest coached on reality shows 'One in a Million' and 'Mentor'. She was also enlisted on the LG MyStarz mentoring team consisting of Malaysia's top musicians.

Since the release of her debut solo album, Juwita has performed at numerous events, youth rallies and concerts in Peninsular & East Malaysia and Singapore. In November 2005, she had her first Australian Mini Tour during which she performed and presented an 'Angel' award at the National Gospel Music Awards in Canberra. Her second Australian Mini Tour in July 2006 was with the first Malaysian Idol Jaclyn Victor. Together they performed at Paradise Community Church in Adelaide, Australia for Christ Fellowship in Melbourne and at the Mt.Buller Ski Resort. June 2007 found Juwita at the Asia Pacific Youth Alive Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia with the Malaysian team that led a stadium-full of 5,500 young people in worship. In July 2007, she performed once again at the International Women's Summit, this time held in Nairobi, Kenya.

Her long awaited sophomore album, For Real highlights her soulful vocals with edgier, acoustic pop flavours. It includes songs written by Juwita as well as "Beautiful Lies" from the Original Soundtrack of the movie ‘Gol & Gincu’ and the classic "Desperado" made popular by The Eagles. The first two singles, "Teman Sejati" (a Malay track which she co-wrote with Habsah Hassan) and "Walk Away" hit the Malaysian charts and received heavy airplay. Her music video for "All This Time" is being aired on local television as well as Channel [V] and MTV Asia. These songs accentuate the realities of life as viewed by a young adult in a soulful yet fresh and contemporary urban style. The album was announced as one of the nominees in the Best Local English Album category for AIM14 (2007). Juwita was also country winner for the 2007 International Music Awards (IMA) in the Best Female Solo Artist category.

On more than one occasion, feature writers have asked Juwita this question: "Who do you dream of working with?" The awesome thing is that Juwita pretty much exhausted the list in the making of this album! Let us introduce you to the team:

Greg Henderson (producer & sound engineer) - The artistes/albums he's produced and engineered include Jason Lo, Singletrackmind, Tempered Mental and OAG. He produced "Destiny's Calling", "Walking Again", "For Real" as well as "What's On Your Mind?", and mixed 3 other tracks.  

Aubrey Suwito - Juwita's brother (and much-sought-after producer). He produced 3 tracks on the album: "All This Time", "Desperado" and "Teman Sejati" 

Kieran Kuek - He's the guy who wrote and produced "Walk Away" as well as "Beautiful Lies". Incidentally, he also wrote "One Golden Celebration", theme song for Malaysia's '50 Years of Nationhood' celebrations. A rising name that's also found on the credits of 'Inilah Jac'.

Faizal Tahir - Runner-up of the inaugural 'One in a Million', the reality show that succeeded Malaysian Idol. [Juwita: that guy is one of the most creative, talented guys I know... and doesn't his voice just RAWK?!!] He wrote, produced and featured on "Mayday!" 

Habsah Hassan - Among the thousands of Malay hits penned by the legendary Kak Chah, 'Dialah Di Hati' caught Juwita's attention. And she's wanted to co-write a song with her ever since. The result: "Teman Sejati". 

Fauzi Marzuki - Yup, the album was mastered by another legend in the Malaysian scene. (Know Sheila Majid's "Lagenda"? Well, he wrote that!) He also mixed 3 of the tracks on the album. 

Virginia Kennedy (ok, she didn't work on the album, but directed the music video for the single 'All This Time') - Passionate, creative, great-to-work-with, no-nonsense, a great encourager, lovely person! Her works include award-winning music videos 'Seribu Impian' (Casey), 'Who Be The Player' (Poetic Ammo), 'Awan Yang Terpilu' (Ning Baizura) and many others. 

Talk about a dream team. And we haven't even started telling you about the musos yet. Guess that's why Juwita goes around telling people that dreams do come true.

[Juwita: Note to self - time for a new wishlist!]

If her sophomore album shed new light on Juwita as a vocalist and songwriter, this special project for her fans captures the energy of Juwita's live performances, highlighting her artistic interaction with the musicians and engaging vocal prowess. The tracks were recorded at an exclusive event at Avanti, Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel in October 2007. It has five tracks, three of which are new arrangements of Juwita's previously released songs along with David Gates' classic number "The Guitar Man" and "Breathe Again" penned by Lin Li Zhen.

Critics who expected her to break further into the international arena were right! The Indonesian edition of "Brand New World" was released by Insight Unlimited in 2008 and is now available at hundreds of retail outlets across the archipelago. She hit Australia once again that same year, performing with the One Voice international choir in Perth. She also headlined a piano-vocal showcase at The Cavern, Adelaide. In 2009, two of her recordings were released in compilation albums by Universal Music Hong Kong. These compilations also featured renowned artistes like A-Mei and Eva Cassidy. Juwita has had four Australian Tours culminating in a 'contemporary crossover' concert with the vibrant Orchestre Nouveau, Melbourne in 2009. In March 2011 and 2012, she performed at the ‘Change Your World' and 'Love Moscow' concerts in Russia before returning to take the main stage at KK Jazz Festival 2012 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

ABC Radio Australia - BFM 89.9 - Capital FM - Cats FM - Curtin FM - Era FM - Fly FM - Hitz.FM - Hot FM - Labuan FM - Life FM Australia - Lite FM - Magic 89.9 Philippines - Mix FM - Nu107 FM Philippines - Radio Brunei - Red FM - RTHK Hong Kong - Suria FM - Swiss (DRS) Radio - Traxx FM - Voice of Malaysia - Xfresh FM ... and a host of internet streaming stations.

Download Juwita's profiles in PDF format here: Full | Brief