Dolla (girl group) explained

Dolla
Landscape:yes
Origin:Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Years Active:–present
Label:Universal Music Malaysia
Current Members:
  • Sabronzo
  • Tabby
  • Angel
Past Members:Syasya

DOLLA (stylised in all-caps) is a Malaysian girl group formed in 2019 by Universal Music Malaysia.[1] [2] [3] Its current members consists of Sabronzo, Tabby and Angel. Originally a quartet, the group then continued as a trio following the departure of one of its original members, Syasya, who announced her permanent departure from the group in April 2024. The group is known for their vocal, dance and rap elements in their performances. They signed a contract with Universal Music Malaysia and released their debut single "Dolla Make You Wanna" on 20 March 2020.[4] [5] Their fandom is called "iDolla".

Career

2019–2020: Formation and early career

Dolla was formed in August 2019 through auditions. The members did not know each other prior to their auditions.[6]

Dolla gained pre-debut public attention for their performance at the #RapstarEra Final, at The Bee Republika.[7] On 20 March 2020, they released their debut single "Dolla Make You Wanna", produced by Australian composer and producer Bryan B, and written by Zamaera, Bryan B, Shou Raion, and Luca Sickta.

Dolla was one of seventeen Malaysian artists to collaborate with Universal Music Malaysia to produce the song, "#jangankeluar" (translation: "Don't Go Out), a hip hop song produced by Yonnyboii. The song was released as part of a public health appeal to remind Malaysians to keep to the Malaysian Government's Movement Control Order during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group, along with their fellow Southeast Asian artists, collaborated on the song, "HEAL", produced by Star Music, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation.[8]

Dolla released "Impikan", and its English version, "Watch Me Glow" in October 2020.[9]

2021–2023: Rise to popularity, DOLLA mini showcase, and 'New Classic

DOLLA released a festive song for the Eid-al Fitr celebrations, titled 'Raya Raya Raya', gaining millions of views during the festive period.[10] During the same period, they starred in the telemovie "Dolla Watch Me Glow", based on the true story of their rise to fame.[11] "Dolla Watch Me Glow" was directed by Izuan Mokhtar, and aired on Astro Citra on the 22nd of May 2021.

On the 24th of September 2021, Dolla released their third single "Berani", accompanied by an animated music video.[12] They were also featured on the New York Times Square billboard as part of Spotify Malaysia and Singapore's EQUAL campaign, which "aims to foster equity for women in audio and nurturing equity by highlighting female artistes around the world".[13]

On 13 November 2021, Dolla was nominated for the 34th Bintang Popular Berita Harian Awards as Most Popular Female New Artist and won in that category, making the group as the first all-female group to won the category.[14]

Their fourth single, "Bad", released on the 11th of February 2022, written by Swedish composers Ludwig Lindell dan Karl-Oscar 'Cage' Gummesson. The song was released in two different languages, namely English and Malay, and accompanied by an official music video, which gained 100,000 views within an hour of release.[15]

On the 19th of February, DOLLA performed their first mini-showcase, "DOLLA Mini Showcase", at Nero Event Space, Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre (PJPAC), Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The tickets for the showcase had sold out within 5 minutes of its announcement.[16] Two days after the showcase, DOLLA released their first mini-album, "DOLLA: Mini Album", which sold 1,000 units within 24 hours of its release.[17] The mini album was accompanied by a photo book, as well as individual photo cards of each member.

2022 was a year of collaboration for DOLLA, releasing another festive song in April, titled "Suara Lebaran Kita", a collaboration with Hael Husaini.[18] In June the same year, they released a collaboration single, "FIGHT", in collaboration with Singaporean gaming giant Garena, to promote the game "Free Fire" in the campaign "Free Fire For All Cultures".[19] In September, they released the song "Mungkin Ini Adalah Lagu Yang Paling Sedih Pernah Ku Buat" with Naim Daniel,[20] followed by "Sudi" with Yonnyboii in December.

DOLLA started 2023 with a bang, performing at the Kuala Lumpur leg of Seen Festival, on 28 January 2023 in Axiata Arena. They were the only local group to perform, appearing alongside South Korean acts NCT DREAM, WayV, KARD dan ALICE.[21] In February 2023, they released their fifth single, 'Look At This'.[22]

On 17 November 2023, DOLLA released their first studio album, 'New Classic', consisting of 9 songs, alongside a music video for the title track, 'CLASSIC',[23] composed by Hyuk Shin (Hangul: 신혁), MREY, Papi Lee, BARD, Kyler Niko, and Pauline Cerrilla.

2024–present: International recognition, Syasya's withdrawal from the group, and DOLLA RE:BIRTH The Experience

In March 2024, DOLLA achieved international recognition when they were chosen to represent Malaysia in a new Chinese television program titled 'Show It All' (Chinese: 百分百出品), centering around cultural exchange between girl groups all around the world, produced by EXO's Lay Zhang (Chinese: 张艺兴).[24] The program was aired on MangoTV.

On April 8, 2024, it was announced by DOLLA that Syasya would be leaving the group for personal reasons.[25] The remaining members of the group released a statement explaining that while they still maintain a good relationship with Syasya, they had reached the decision to continue as a trio.[26] In a recent interview, the group also stated that following Syasya's exit from DOLLA, she would not be performing with them in the future.

In May 2024, DOLLA announced that they would be holding their debut concert "DOLLA RE:BIRTH The Experience", at Zepp Kuala Lumpur, on the 3rd of August 2024.[27] In conjunction with the concert, they released a special release song, "Here4U", dedicated to the iDollas.

Members

Current members
Past members

Timeline

ImageSize = width:450 height:170PlotArea = width:350 height:120 left:80 bottom:30Alignbars = justifyDateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:2019 till:2024TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors = id:act value:blue legend:Active id:inact value:red legend:Inactive

ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2019 gridcolor:black

PlotData = color:blue width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from bar:Angel from:2019 till:end color:blue bar:Sabronzo from:2019 till:end color:blue bar:Tabby from:2019 till:end color:blue bar:Syasya from:2019 till:2024 color:red

Discography

Extended plays

List of EPs, with release date and label shown!Title!Album details
Dolla: Mini Album

Singles

As lead artist

Title! rowspan="3" scope="col" style="width:2em;"
YearPeak chart positionsAlbum
MLY
RIM
[28]
Songs
[29]
"Dolla Make You Wanna"2020Dolla: Mini Album
"Impikan"
"Watch Me Glow"
("Impikan" English version)
"Raya Raya Raya"2021516
"Berani"
(original or acoustic version)
"Bad"
(original or English version)
2022110
"Suara Lebaran Kita"
(with Hael Husaini)
rowspan="5"
"Fight"
"Mungkin Ini Adalah Lagu Yang Paling Sedih Pernah Ku Buat"
(with Naim Daniel)
"Sudi"
(with Yonnyboii)
"Look At This"2023
"DAMELO"
(with Hard Lights)
4New Classic
"CLASSIC"
"Drip"2024TBA
"BO$$ UP"
"Here4U"2024Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
"*" denotes the chart did not exist at that time.

Other songs

TitleYearOther artist/sAlbum
"#jangankeluar"2020yonnyboii, Shila Amzah, Hafiz Hamidun, Rabbit Mac, Shalma Eliana, Sophia Liana, Alvin Chong, Bella Astillah, Luca Sickta, Kmy Kmo, Tuju, Kowachee, ASYRFNSIR, Abubakarxli, Siqma, Malik Abdullahrowspan="3"
"Heal"Jayda, Jona, Kyla, KZ Tandingan, Lesha, Moira Dela Torre, Xela, Yura Yunita, Rinni Wulandari, Valentina Ploy, Haneri, Haven, Shalma Eliana
"We Care"2021Jannine Weigel, Alvin Chong, Nicole Lai, RabbitMac Jaja

Filmography

Year! scope="col" style="width:16em;"
TitleNetworkRoleNotes
2021Dolla: Watch Me GlowAstro CitraThemselvesFirst Debut as Actor

Television

YearTitleNetworkRoleNotes
2021Dapur PanasTV3ThemselvesGuest Artists
2022I Can See Your Voice Malaysia (Season 5)TV3
2023Holla DollaAstro RiaHosting & Guest

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2021Most Popular Female New ArtistDOLLA
2022Best New Artist Of The Year
2022Top Meletop Group/Duo
2023Lagu Trending Tergempak 2022"Bad"
2023Video Muzik Tergempak 2022
2023Most Popular Group/DuoDOLLA
2023Celebrity of the Year

Notes and References

  1. Zaidi Mohamad (6 April 2020). Dolla mahu perkasa wanita . Berita Harian. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. Web site: Dolla Clarifies Backlash Behind BLACKPINK's "Lovesick Girls" Performance. Syahrul. hype.my. 16 November 2020. 17 November 2020.
  3. Syafil Syazwan Jefri (30 Oktober 2020). Cabaran berbeza Dolla . Harian Metro. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  4. Budiey (20 March 2020). Mesej semangat yakin diri wanita dalam Dolla Make You Wanna . Sensasi Selebriti. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  5. Najiy Jefri (20 Mac 2020). Ajak pendengar bergoyang . Harian Metro. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. Khai Azfar (20 Oktober 2020). Digelar Blackpink Malaysia, Dolla dedah Sejarah penubuhan kumpulan . Murai.my. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  7. Mya Amri (20 March 2020). DOLLA, Berbakat Persis Kumpulan K-pop . Astro Gempak. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  8. News: All-female Southeast Asian artistes unite for ABS-CBN Music's "Heal" project. ABS-CBN Corporation. 3 September 2020. 22 November 2020.
  9. Norhayati Nordin (4 Oktober 2020). Dolla dah terbiasa seksi? . Harian Metro. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  10. Web site: Tong . Ong Xiao . Dolla hopes to bring Raya cheer with song . 2024-06-14 . The Star . en.
  11. Web site: Joseph . Georgie . 2021-05-21 . Dolla bangga kisah hidup mereka diangkat dalam telefilem . 2024-06-14 . Harian Metro . en.
  12. Web site: Alhamzah . Tahir . 2021-10-29 . #Showbiz: Dolla taking a step further with new single 'Berani' New Straits Times . 2024-06-14 . NST Online . en.
  13. Web site: Malaysian girl group Dolla featured on Times Square billboard in New York . 2024-06-14 . The Star . en.
  14. News: Zaidi Mohammad . 15 November 2021 . Tiga artis Universal Music menang ABPBH 34 . 8 April 2024 . Berita Harian . ms.
  15. Web site: MALAYSIA’S DOLLA PROVE THEY’RE BEYOND THEIR KPOP INFLUENCES ON ‘BAD’ . 2024-06-14 . liftedasia.com . en-US.
  16. Web site: Alhamzah . Tahir . 2022-01-31 . #Showbiz: Dolla Mini Showcase tickets sell out in 5 minutes New Straits Times . 2024-06-14 . NST Online . en.
  17. Web site: 2022-02-24 . Album Dolla laku keras, 24 jam 'sold out' . 2024-06-14 . Majoriti.com.my . ms.
  18. Web site: KARIM . HARYATI . 2022-04-18 . Tak sendiri lagi, Suara Lebaran Kita satukan Hael, Dolla . 2024-06-14 . Kosmo Digital . ms-MY.
  19. Web site: DOLLA fires freely in new song ‘Fight’ . 2024-06-14 . liftedasia.com . en-US.
  20. Web site: MalaysiaGazette . Wartawan . 2022-10-03 . Kolaborasi pertama Naim Daniel, Dolla . 2024-06-14 . MalaysiaGazette . en-US.
  21. Web site: Chua . Dennis . 2023-01-28 . #Showbiz: Dolla holds its own at K-Pop Seen Festival New Straits Times . 2024-06-14 . NST Online . en.
  22. Web site: DOLLA goes the K-hop route with ‘Look At This’ . 2024-06-14 . liftedasia.com . en-US.
  23. Web site: Leong . Adeline . 2023-11-20 . DOLLA Releases First Album "New Classic" Along With Music Video TRP . 2024-06-14 . www.therakyatpost.com/ . en-US.
  24. Web site: 2024-04-01 . Malaysian girl group Dolla shines in Chinese reality show debut - Citizens Journal . 2024-06-14 . en-US.
  25. News:
    1. Showbiz: Syasya quits Dolla, group continues as trio
    . NST Entertainment. New Straits Times. 8 April 2024. 8 April 2024.
  26. News: Local girl group DOLLA announces Syasya’s withdrawal from the quartet. Arif Zikri. Malay Mail. 9 April 2024. 9 April 2024.
  27. Web site: Malaysian girl group Dolla to hold debut concert on Aug 3 . 2024-06-14 . The Star . en.
  28. Peak chart positions on RIM's Top 10 most streamed Malay songs in Malaysia:
  29. Peak chart positions on Billboards Malaysia Songs: