Nidji was formed in February 2002. The beginnings of Nidji came about through the friendship between Rama and Andro. They were joined by Arieland and together they wrote a song entitled “Maria”. However, “Maria” was not completed until Giring met them and added vocals.
Afterwards, Andro recommended Adri, who had often done jam sessions with him, to fill the position of drummer. The four of them then invited Rama to join. At the beginning of April 2005, Nidji added another member, Randy, a keyboard player who was a close friend of Giring.
In 2012, the “Liberty Victoria” song was used by Manchester United as a new anthem.
Five years later, on April 5, 2017, the band released a new album entitled Love, Fake & Friendship. It is the last album that featured the original vocalist Giring before he left for his political career.
From December 2018 to January 2019, Nidji and Musica Studios held auditions to find Giring’s successor. From around 2,000 participants, 10 chosen candidates had the opportunity to perform with Giring and the band. At Giring’s final concert “Mimpi adalah Kunci” on February 2, 2019, Yusuf Ubay, who was also a 2014 Indonesian Idol contestant, was chosen as Nidji’s new vocalist. (rp)
