User:Zidann Zalizan

The little drummer boy from Singapore

Zidann first showed interest in playing the drums upon watching the movie "School of Rock”. As he listened to the music playing on the radio, we noticed that he had two fists in the air keeping to the drumbeats on his imaginary drum set.  At about four and half years old, we approached a music school to see if Zidann could take up drum lessons. However his height then prevented him from reaching the bass pedal even when the throne was set to the lowest position. The school advised us to come again when he’s taller.

In the mean time Zidann made do with his toy drum set, banging on the beats to the music. Once taller, Zidann was back to the music school and started his first drum lesson. He managed to string his drumbeats to the music on his second lesson which happened to fall on his fifth birthday. (Left pic: Zidann at 3 years old with his toy drumset)

Zidann’s interest and passion for drums accelerated his learning. By the time he was five and half years, he was able to drum to the tune of Green Day’s Boulavard of Broken Dreams and Guns ‘n Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine and a couple of other mainstream songs.

Competitions & Major Performances Zidann received his very first drum set as a surprise present on his sixth birthday from his late Grandmother in 2006. That year, he caught the attention of the judges and the audience when he auditioned for Kids Central’s Junior Jams as the youngest drummer contestant, way below the minimum age originally set by the Junior Jams organisers.

In 2007, at the tender age of six, Zidann’s rendition of Linkin’ Park’s “What I’ve Done” during the quarter finals of Mediacorp’s KidsCentral One Minute of Fame brought roaring cheers from the audience. He managed to secure a Semi Final spot in the competition dominated by talented, but mostly older children.

In July 2008, Zidann entered a contest for budding young Talents, Dempsey Hill’s Young Superstar Search organised by Kids Central. He emerged the First Prize winner of the contest with his explosive drum cover of Soulja Boy’s Crank Dat.

In August 2008, Zidann played an opening number, “Pelesit Kota” in front of an audience of about 1000, for Malaysia’s top rock band Search in a rock concert that also featured popular bands Amuk (Malaysia) and Raven (Singapore) at The Republic Cultural Centre, Republic Polytechnic. His energetic performance earned him a standing ovation. Zidann was featured several times in the local media for his participation in this concert. (Please refer to attachments)

The highlight of Zidann’s drumming passion so far was when he was invited to be part of Child Aid Concert 2008 by the Singapore Press Holding School Pocket Money Fund and Business Times Budding Artiste Fund Committee. It was held over two days last December at the NUS Cultural Centre. His drum cover of “All The Small Things” by rock group Blink 182 and his performance in the Grand Drum Finale received rave reviews and again, a standing ovation from a sold out crowd.

Youtube Meanwhile, Zidann have begun to create a stir on the popular video sharing website, YouTube. His popular song covers, performances and practice videos continue to attract glowing reviews and comments, with close to 350,000 hits by Netizens to date. Joey Zehr, drummer of The Click Five spotted Zidann’s cover of their hit single “Jenny” on YouTube and inserted it into his own MySpace page, commenting that “he’s definitely running laps around me” on his MySpace page. (Click here to visit Joey Zehr’s page where Zidann was featured)

Zidann’s family and hobbies

Zidann was born on 25 November 2000 and is currently in Primary 4 at Greenridge Primary School. He was named after soccer legend Zinedine Zidane by his father who is a self-proclaimed soccer fanatic and seems to have an uncanny affinity for the letter “Z”.

Zidann’s current favourite drummer is The Rev from the band Avenged Sevenfold. When not playing drums, Zidann enjoys surfing the Internet, and has a fondness for toy locomotives and trains, and books related to them. Zidann has an older brother, Zoffran Zalizan, 14, who inspires his choice of song and musical genre (currently Heavy Metal). Zoffran plays electric guitar and frequently jams with Zidann on the drums.

Zidann and his family would be honoured and proud to be part of our nation’s celebration this coming National Day and humbled to be invited to participate in this great event. (Picture at Right : Zidann goofs around with elder brother Zoffran Zalizan)

(Zidann happened to be spotted by a Reuters photographer when he attended National Day Parade in 2007. His photo was one in a series that appeared on Straits Times Interactive Photo Essay on 10 August 2007. ) Aug 9, 2007 COUNT ON ME, SINGAPORE The crowd was filled with the elation of celebration, with people proudly parading the national flag, painted on their faces. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

In Summary

YouTube Channel : http://www.youtube.com/user/zoffzid

FaceBook Fan Page :

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30087309&id=1381693588 - /ZidannZalizan?ref=ts

Zidann’s Drumming Highlights :

Date	      Age	         Event 2006	       5	Kids Central’s Junior Jams Competition - Participant 2007	       6	Mediacorp’s KidsCentral One Minute of Fame – Semi Finalist Jan 2008	7	SPH’s Berita Harian Article “Kencang di Gendang” Jun 2008	7 	SPH’s Berita Harian Article “Konsert Search : Saksikan si cilik gegarkan pentas” Jul 2008	7	Dempsey Hill’s Young Superstar Search – Champion Jul 2008	7	Featured in Mediacorp’s Suria Primetime News - Berita Jam 8 Malam – Local, young drumming sensation on YouTube Aug 2008	7	Opening number for rock band “Search” Concert at Republic Polytechnic Oct 2008	7	Straits Times Article – “Drumroll for talented kids” Nov 2008	7	Mediacorp OktoLive – Live TV performance Dec 2008	8	Child Aid 2008 - Participant Dec 2008	8	RazorTV- ChildAid Showcase May 2009	8	Nestle Advertorial – First Appeared in the Straits Times – Breakfast With Outstanding Kid Series. June 2009	8	Malay Language Appreciation Campaign – Live performance at Bimbing 09 at Istana Kampong Glam July 2009	8	Child Aid 09 Press Conference – Live Performance at the Arts House Oct 2009	8	Nestle Advertorial – Second Appearance in the Straits Times – Breakfast With Outstanding Kid Series. Nov 2009	8	Citibank – Fund Raising Event – Timberlux Centre Nov 2009	9	Razor TV – Child Aid 2009 Talent Interview Nov 2009	9	Singapore Tourism Board – Talent Showcase at Orchard Road Dec 2009	9	Child Aid 2009 –Live Performance for the First Event Held in the Sentosa Resort World Dec 2009	9	Singapore Tourism Board – Live performance for Orchard Road’s Christmas Eve Event.