Dira Sugandi

Dira Sugandi or DIRA (born 29 July 1979) is an Indonesian singer.

She was born in Bandung, West Java on 29 July 1979 into a family with a strong singing tradition (both her mother and grandmother were singers).

She began her singing career as a vocal performance major in the Music Department at Pelita Harapan, earning her bachelor's degree in 2006.

DIRA is considered one of the well-established singers and actress in Indonesia.

She is known for her powerful, soulful yet airy voice which complements her style of singing.

Throughout her singing career she has shared the stage with some of the world's top acts such as Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Jason Mraz, Diane Warren, and George Duke.

DIRA's debut album “Something About the Girl” was produced by Jean-Paul Maunick a.k.a. Bluey, leader of INCOGNITO a British Acid Jazz Band and was released in 2010 and distributed throughout UK, Japan, Europe, US and Indonesia.

The album was nominated by UK Soultracks for Best Independent Album of The Year 2010 and Dira was also nominated for Best Female Vocalist 2010.

The album features 14 songs, primarily in English, with two cuts in Indonesian "Kucemburu" and "Kami Cinta Indonesia" (We love Indonesia) written by Harry Roesli.

In December 2010, she acted in the musical version of the film "Laskar Pelangi" which was shown at Taman Ismail Marzuki Fine Arts Center in Jakarta, sharing the role of the teacher, Muslimah, along with two other actresses, Lea Simanjuntak and Ekadeli.

On 15 May 2011, Dira Sugandi performed a duet with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli during his first-ever concert in Indonesia, at the Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place in Jakarta.

Dira Sugandi performed at the Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) Awards 2011, an Indonesian Music Award show on 6 July 2011 in Jakarta.