Santesh

Malaysian pop, often separated into three language markets, rarely sees a crossover act like Tamil pop virtuoso Santesh. While he’s been active in the industry since 2011, putting out one acclaimed Tamil album after another, the Bahasa single “Amalina” helped him become a popstar outside that niche. It introduced Malay listeners to the high note-loving, driving voice that previously enraptured Tamil fans—but Santesh didn’t abandon the latter. He still makes Tamil pop by way of A. R. Rahman and Michael Jackson—with some crunk thrown in—but Malay pop rock will always be his home.