Sheryl Sheinafia

Sheryl Sheinafia Tjokro or professionally known as Sheryl Sheinafia is an Indonesian singer and former TV show co-host most known for her hit song ‘Kutunggu Kau Putus’ and appearance on NET TV’s Breakout (Indonesian TV series).

Born on 4 December 1996, Sheryl Sheinafia kicked off her career as a musician in 2009, later releasing a self-titled debut album under music label Musica Studios in 2013.

Despite it being Sheryl's first project, the album met commercial success, producing chart-topping hits such as ‘Rasa Sunyi’.

Her second album ‘ii’ proved to be even more successful, solidifying her position as a household name both in Musica's catalog and in the Indonesian pop scene.

Following the commercial success of her debut album, she was selected as a co-host for a music show called "Breakout" on NET TV in 2014.

This proved to be a quintessential role that expanded Sheryl's career both as a media presence and presenter without disregarding her passion for music.

From hosting music centric TV shows to having her songs featured on movie soundtracks, music has been at the center of Sheryl's career advances.

Albeit being a trailblazer for having a career across multiple industries, the recently independent artist's identity as a musician is her most notable persona.

Aside from commercial success, her music proves to be critically acclaimed.

Her hit single ‘Kutunggu Kau Putus’ in collaboration with Ariel (lead singer of the band NOAH), earned a nomination for best pop collaboration in the Anugerah Musik Indonesia Awards.

She ended up winning in a similar category (best duo/group/group performance/collaboration in R&B and Soul) 2 years later with her single ‘I Don't Mind’ in collaboration with Vidi Aldiano and Jevin Julian.

Before playing starring roles, Sheryl Sheinafia started her acting career with a cameo in Raditya Dika’s highly praised comedy film, Marmut Merah Jambu (2014).

Her acting career is nothing short of outstanding, landing several leading roles in an array of films across different genres; Koala Kumal (2016), Galih & Ratna (2017), Bebas (2019), Wedding Proposal (2021) and her most recent horror hit, Tumbang Kanjeng Iblis (2022).

Excellence proves to be a consistent theme throughout Sheryl's career as she continues to perform across the board.

In 2016 she received the title "Breakthrough Actress of the Year" for her performance in Koala Kumal (2016) and 5 years later followed up with winning "Best Actress in a Comedy Film" for her performance in Wedding Proposal (2021).

The album is home to two of Sheryl's biggest Indonesian hits, ‘Kutunggu Kau Putus’ and ‘Kedua Kalinya’, with the latter of the two used as a soundtrack for one of Indonesia's biggest comedy films, Raditya Dika’s Koala Kumal (2016).

Due to a flourishing acting career and landing subsequent leading roles in numerous high profile films, Sheryl Sheinafia would not release another album for the next 4 years.

Unable to take a hiatus from music, she instead diverted her focus into releasing singles to strengthen her discography.

The part earned her a leading role in Dika’s sophomore film, Koala Kumal (2016) to which her performance in the film was critically acclaimed, earning her 3 nominations including one for "Best Newcomer" from the Indonesian Movie Actors Awards.

In 2017, she released her self-written hit ‘Sweet Talk’ produced by Tushar Apte, whose discography includes producing for world renowned artists such as Chris Brown, BTS, Demi Lovato and many others.

Surpassing the success of ‘Kutunggu Kau Putus’, ‘Sweet Talk’ became the biggest release of her career.

She then went on to play a leading role as Ratna alongside Refal Hady in Lucky Kuswandi's modern take-on classic Indonesian romantic drama film Galih & Ratna (2017).

The role earned two nominations, including one for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" from the Indonesian Film Festival and further solidified Sheryl's acting career making her a serious talent to keep an eye out for in the Indonesian acting scene.

In that same year, starring alongside Brandon Salim, Sheryl Sheinafia managed to secure another lead role as Ellie in The Underdogs (2017).

Alongside winning "Best Collaborative Work" at the AMI Awards, its music video also won "Best Music Video of The Year" at the SCTV 2018 awards.

The single also marks the start of a series of releases fully written in English, starting off with ‘Fix You Up’ followed by ‘I Don't Mind’ and ending with ‘Dream High’.

Other than the critically acclaimed ‘I Don't Mind’ collaboration, the trio also included ‘Dream High’, the official song for the 2018 Asian Paralympic Games.

In 2019, she released her single ‘Positif’, a cover of Naif's ‘Posesif’ in collaboration with Danone-Aqua, as an effort to raise awareness on mindful plastic consumption and shine a spotlight on sustainability.

Looking to end her album hiatus in 2020, Sheryl Sheinafia traveled to the US to carry out a workshop to produce a 3-song EP under a partnership between Musica Studios and Empire Asia.

Other than being an international collaboration between two big labels, the highlights of the project included having Grammy-nominated producer Tha Aristocrats producing the first single off the trilogy, "Want Ur Love".

However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the release of the project was delayed and postponed until further notice.

Refusing to be discouraged, Sheryl Sheinafia would then go on to carry out her single rollout that eventually led up to release her third studio album under Musica and first album written fully in English, ‘Jennovine’, on 15 January 2021.

The concept for the album started with a dream Sheryl Sheinafia had as a 13-year-old.

She dreamt of childbirth but instead of giving birth to a child, she was met with a guitar, to which she named ‘Jennovine’.

The album shows Sheryl coming to terms with maturity both as an adult but more importantly as a musician, letting go of the past and reliving childhood ambitions in an era of adulthood.

‘Jennovine’ is easily crowned her best pop project to date, exploring artistry and lyricism like never before.

Embracing her collaborative spirit, the album features appearances from fellow Indonesian artists Ariel Nayaka, Rendy Pandugo and Pamungkas.

Alongside direct features, Petra Sihombing and Gamaliel also bear producer credits.

Not long after ‘Jennovine’, the trilogy with Empire was picked up and mastered for release starting with ‘Want Ur Love’ at the end of 2021, followed by ‘Earn It’ and ‘Dedicate’ in early 2022.

The EP became Sheryl's last release under Musica before finally going independent in 2022.