Agnes Monica Muljoto known by her stage name Agnez Mo born 1 July 1986, is an Indonesian singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Jakarta, she started her career in the entertainment industry at the age of six as a child singer. She has recorded three children's albums and became a presenter of several children's television programs. In 2003, Mo released her first adult album entitled And the Story Goes, which catapulted her name back in the Indonesian music industry. Mo's success in homeland encouraged her to set a target to get a career in the international music scene. On the second album released in 2005, Whaddup A.. '?!, she collaborated with American singer Keith Martin for single "I'll Light a Candle". Mo also took part in two Taiwanese drama series, The Hospital and Romance In The White House. Mo won the award two years in a row for her performances in the Asia Song Festival in Seoul, South Korea, in 2008 and 2009. With her third album, Sacredly Agnezious (2009), she began to get involved as producer and songwriter. In 2010, she was appointed as a judge on the talent show, Indonesian Idol. She signed a recording deal with The Cherry Party, a label ventured with Sony Music Entertainment. Mo has released two international singles, "Coke Bottle" (featuring Timbaland and T.I.) and "Boy Magnet". In addition to commercial success, Mo is a singer with the most number of awards in Indonesia.
She has won dozens of trophies, including 17 Anugerah Musik Indonesia, 8 Panasonic Awards, 5 Nickelodeon Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards, and 4 MTV Indonesia Awards. She achieved a Best Asian Artist Award on the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards in South Korea. In addition, she has been trusted to be anti-drug ambassador in Asia as well as the ambassador of MTV EXIT in combating human trafficking.
Life and career
Childhood and early career
Agnes Monica Muljoto was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to a family of Chinese ancestry. She is the youngest child of Jenny Siswono, a former table tennis player, and Ricky Muljoto, a former basketball player. Her older brother, Steve Muljoto, is her manager. She attended Tarakanita elementary school and Pelita Harapan junior/senior high school. Her talent in the performing arts has already seen in her childhood, especially in singing. She sang in church and was also sent to vocal courses.
Using Agnes Monica as her stage name, she entered the entertainment industry in 1992 with her first children's album, Si Meong In 1995, she released her second children's album, Yess!, which includes a duet with fellow Indonesian child singer, Eza Yayang. Her last children's album, Bala-Bala, was released the following year. Agnes also became the host for several children's programs, including Video Anak Anteve (VAN) on Anteve, Tralala-Trilili on RCTI, and Diva Romeo on Trans TV. She was awarded "Most Favorite Presenter of Children's Program" at the Panasonic Awards in 1999 and 2000 for Tralala-Trilili. Agnes began acting as a teenager. Her first two roles were on the soap operas: Lupus Millenia and Mr. Hologram in 1999. The next year, she starred in the TV series, Pernikahan Dini, which served as a turning point in her career by transforming her image from that of a child artist to one of a teenage artist. The production was well received by audiences, and she received the "Favorite Actress" award at the 2001 and 2002 Panasonic Awards, as well as the "Famous Actress" award at the 2002 SCTV Awards. In 2002, Mo starred in three soap operas: Ciuman Pertama, Kejar Daku Kau Ku Tangkap, and Amanda. Due to her popularity, she became the highest-paid teenage artist in Indonesia. Agnes started her comeback in music industry with Melly Goeslaw penned songs "Pernikahan Dini" and "Seputih Hati" for the soundtrack of Pernikahan Dini. Both songs were featured on the 2001 compilation album, Love Theme.
Agnes signed a record deal with Aquarius Musikindo and began working on her teen breakthrough album. She also collaborated with the Indonesian senior singer, Yana Julio, in the song "Awan dan Ombak" for his 2002 studio album, Jumpa Lagi.
2003–2006: And The Story Goes, TV series, and Whaddup A.. '?!
On 8 October 2003, Agnes released her first adult album, And the Story Goes, in which she worked with several famed Indonesian producers and songwriters, including Ahmad Dhani, Melly Goeslaw, and Titi DJ The album production took a year and a half, including the audition process for the dancers. According to her record label, Aquarius Musikindo, the album sold 35,000 copies before its official release. It was later certified double platinum after selling more than 300,000 copies. Four singles were released from the album: "Bilang Saja", "Indah", "Jera" and "Cinta Mati" (featuring Ahmad Dhani).
The album received ten nominations at the 2004 Anugerah Musik Indonesia—the highest music awards in Indonesia. She won three awards for "Best Pop Female Solo Artist", "Best Dance/Techno Production Work", and "Best Pop Duo/Group" for her duet with Dhani. She also won "Best Female Newcomer Artist" at the 2004 Anugerah Planet Muzik in Singapore. In addition to promoting her debut album, Agnes also starred in several TV series during this time, playing the lead role in three: Cewekku Jutek, Bunga Perawan, and Cantik. She won "Favorite Actress" at the 2003 Panasonic Awards and "Famous Actress" at 2004 SCTV Awards. A special episode of Cewekku Jutek was shot on location in various popular tourist attractions around Melbourne, Australia. A local Latin-Australian actor Maurice Novoa Ruiz was hired as a supporting actor to Agnes for the role as director to her music video during the episode. Agnez had the pleasure of filming in and visiting places like the Sovereign Hill gold mine in Ballarat, Puffing Billy Railway, a vintage steam train that runs through the Dandenong Ranges, as well as the Great Ocean Road an Australian Heritage Listed coastal road renowned for featuring The Twelve Apostles it is considered one of the world's most scenic drives. Agnes launched her second studio album, Whaddup A.. '?!,
On 10 December 2005. It featured five singles: "Bukan Milikmu Lagi", "Tanpa Kekasihku", "Tak Ada Logika", "Cinta Di Ujung Jalan", and "Tak Mungkin". In addition to working with Indonesian musicians, such as Melly Goeslaw, Andi Rianto, and Erwin Gutawa, she also collaborated with American singer-songwriter, Keith Martin. Martin wrote two English songs for the album, including the duet "I'll Light a Candle".
To promote the album, Agnes held a concert tour known as Clasnezenzation in four Indonesian cities: Bandar Lampung, Surabaya, Bandung, and Makassar. The album was commercially successful and she won two 2006 Anugerah Musik Indonesia for "Best Pop Female Solo Artist" and "Best R&B Production Work". She also won the "Most Favorite Female" award at the 2006 MTV Indonesia Awards. She was nominated for "Favorite Artist Indonesia" award at the 2005 MTV Asia Awards (beaten by Peterpan), but she grabs the youngest artist of all nominees in Asian category. Selling more than 450,000 copies, the album was one of the top-selling albums of 2006 and was certified triple platinum. In 2005, Agnes appeared in the Taiwanese drama, The Hospital, co-starring with Jerry Yan, a member of the Taiwanese boyband, F4. She also appeared with Peter Ho in several episodes of the Taiwanese drama, Romance in the White House, and starred in two Indonesian soap operas: Ku T'lah Jatuh Cinta and Pink, both televised on Indosiar.
In 2006, she starred in the RCTI soap opera, Kawin Muda. She also decided to take a break from her study in Pelita Harapan University that year to focus on her entertainment career. 2007–2010: Sacredly Agnezious and Indonesian Idol In early 2007, Agnes was appointed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) Far East Region as an Asian anti-drug ambassador.
Source : Wikipedia