Raden Rara Nike Ratnadilla Kusnadi (27 December 1975 – 19 March 1995), better known as Nike Ardilla (Indonesian pronunciation:[nikəardila]), was an Indonesian singer and actress of Sundanese descent. Usually referred to as the Lady Rocker and the Queen of Rock by the Indonesian media,[1][2] Nike was instrumental in the return of teen pop rock to the country's music scene and had a dominant presence during the first half of the 1990s.[3] At the height of her career and fame in 1995, she was involved in a traffic incident that took her life at the age of 19 years, 2 months & 20 days. Her death prompted an outpouring of nationwide grief. The media regularly refers to the fact that she is the only musician in the country whose death continues to be mourned even after more than 25 years,[4] and hailed by many as one of the most successful figures in Indonesia's entertainment industry.[4][5]
Nike has sold more than 30 million albums to date, making her the best-selling Indonesian artist in history[6] and her 1990 album Bintang Kehidupan which has sold over 6 million copies in Southeast Asia, holds the title of being the best-selling Indonesian album of all time.[7]
Early life
Raden Nike Ratnadilla was born on 27 December 1975 in Bandung, West Java, the youngest child of three siblings of Raden Edi Kusnadi (1940-1997) and Nining Ningsihrat (1937-2022). She had Dutch, Swedish, and German ancestry from her maternal grandmother, who was descended from the Geesdorf family. Her father worked for the Indonesian Railway Company (PT Kereta Api Indonesia), which caused the family to move periodically throughout her childhood. They eventually settled in Bandung, where she began performing in talent shows at the age of five, winning a local singing competition in 1980.
Career
Denny Sabri, a talent scout, helped Nike sign a record deal with Arista Records. In 1987, she contributed to a compilation album titled Bandung Rock Power, which featured Nicky Astria, Mel Shandy, and among others.[8] When Nike was 13 years old—influenced by Aretha Franklin, Marianne Faithfull, Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, Marilyn Monroe and Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA—she released her debut album, Seberkas Sinar in 1989, which she managed to complete in one day.[9] It reached number one in the charts, and sold over 1 million copies within a year. The title track stayed at the top of the charts for ten weeks, and the album had further hits with the top-ten ballad "Cinta Pertama" and the top-five song "Tembang Asmara." In the spring of 1990, Nike released her second album, Bintang Kehidupan, with a chart-topping title track. The album itself also topped the charts on its debut, selling over 500,000 copies in its first week and setting a new record for single-week sales by a female artist. By 1991, Bintang Kehidupan had sold over two million copies and won two BASF Awards, for Best New Artist and Best Selling Album. She performed the title track at the 1991 Asia Song Festival in Shanghai[3] where she won the "Gold Prize of New Singer."[10]
Her next album Nyalakan Api was released in the autumn of 1990, which earned her a third BASF Award, again for Best Selling Album. Her fourth album, Matahariku was released in the summer of 1991 and was followed in the spring of 1992 by Biarlah Aku Mengalah, which was featured on Musik Plus. After winning Best Selling Album consecutively at the 1993 BASF Awards, Nike released the greatest hits album, Tinggallah Ku Sendiri (The Best Of). It spawned the hit single "Tinggallah Kusendiri". She moved from Billboard Records (now EMI) to Musica Studios for her record Biarkan Cintamu Berlalu, which debuted at number one and earned her the 1994 HDX Best Selling Album award. Her final album, Sandiwara Cinta, was released on 1 March, 1995. The single first began airing on the radio in late February. The first version of the Sandiwara Cinta video debuted on TV in late February 1995. A second version of the video was released posthumously in April 1995, featuring Ardilla in the style of her idol Marilyn Monroe. Sandiwara Cinta won HDX Awards for Best Selling Album, Best Single (Deru Debu), and Best Video Klip MTV Indonesia.
In addition to singing, Nike was also active as an actress and model. In 1986, she joined the cast of the film Kasmaran, starring Ida Iasha and Slamet Rahardjo, in which she played the daughter of Iasha's character. In 1988, she starred in one of the best-selling regional film series, Si Kabayan for which she recorded a single for the soundtrack of the film.[11] In 1990, Nike starred as the main character in the movie Ricky Nakalnya Anak Muda with actor Ryan Hidayat which became a box office hit. Nike continued to produce successful films throughout the period of the late 80s to early 90s. She was also successful in several soap operas, including NONE, one of the highly rated soap operas directed by Putu Wijaya.[11][12] In 1990, Nike won a modelling competition Gadis Sampul and a "Best Model Catwalk" award in the "LA Model Contest" in Bandung two years prior.
On the night of 18 March 1995, Nike met with friends from Aneka-Yess!, a popular teenage magazine, at the Jayakarta Hotel Bandung, to discuss the election of the magazine's cover girl and cover boy. The vote was to be held the following day, with her appearing as a guest star at the event. She spent the early hours of the next day with friends and later left a hotel at 05:15 AM to go home with her female companion and bodyguard, Atun Sofiatun. While attempting to overtake another car, she lost control of her Honda Civic Genio and slammed it into a wall in a suburban Bandung street, killing her instantly. Sofiatun, severely injured, was taken to a hospital where she recovered, though with little recollection of the crash.[3] Nike was buried on the same day (per Islamic funeral customs[3]) in Ciamis, West Java, in the presence of family, friends, fans, reporters as well as tens of thousands of mourners.[3][‡ 1]
Two months after her death, a commemorative concert was held in Bandung with performances from some of Indonesia's best-known artists, proceeds from which went into the establishment of a charity, the Nike Ardilla Foundation.[3] Some international media outlets reported her death, such as Hong Kong Asiaweek[13] and the US Billboard.[14] In 1996, Pos Indonesia published commemorative postcards and envelopes, which were sold out within days.[3] In the same year, daily Bandung newspaper Pikiran Rakyat reported the Nike Ardilla stamps issued in Abkhazia and Tuva, Russia.[15] Her posthumous releases, such as albums Mama Aku Ingin Pulang (1995) and Suara Hatiku (1996), were met with success. In 2013, JK released her early unreleased material, Hanya Satu Nama, originally recorded in 1988 under the name "Nike Astrina."[16] Ardilla appeared as a cover in the 370th edition of NOVA tabloid, which was originally published in March 1995, managed to sell over 900,000 copies and remains the all-time best selling tabloid edition.[17]
More than a quarter of a century after her death she remains both a legend and a phenomenon in the Indonesian music scene.[4] Every year, thousands of fans commemorate her death by visiting her grave and the Nike Ardilla Museum constructed in her memory. Fan clubs dedicated to her are still running with active members.[4] Wendi Putranto, a music observer, described Ardilla as a female version of Elvis Presley with a "cult status" in Indonesian pop culture. The national TV broadcast the news of her death for an extended period of time.[4]
George Quinn, the Dean of the Asian Studies Faculty of the Australian National University, Canberra, conducted research in 2007 on the Javanese pilgrimage. He compared the people who made pilgrimages to Nike's grave to those who often make pilgrimages and pray at the tombs of saints such as the Wali Sanga, and mentioned Nike as the only pop culture figure who has achieved such an honour.[18]
Personal life
Nike helped Melly Goeslaw, one of her closest friends who she had known since childhood,[19] build her musical career.[20]
In 1993, Nike funded the construction of a special school in Bandung for deaf and mentally handicapped children. It was completed in 1995, after she died. The school continues, funded with income from the continuing sales of her albums.[3]
Discography
Studio albums
Seberkas Sinar (1989)
Bintang Kehidupan (1990)
Nyalakan Api (1990)
Matahariku (1991)
Biarlah Aku Mengalah (1992)
Biarkan Cintamu Berlalu (1994)
Duri Terlindung (1994; only Malaysian released)
Sandiwara Cinta (1995)
Mama Aku Ingin Pulang (1995; posthumous released)
Suara Hatiku (1996; posthumous released)
Hanya Satu Nama (2013; posthumous released)
Greatest hits albums
1991 - Golden Hits: Nike Ardilla
1991 - 16: The Best of Nike Ardilla
1992 - 20: The Best of Nike Ardilla
1993 - The Best of Nike Ardilla: Tinggallah Ku Sendiri
1995 - 20 Mega Hit Nike Ardilla
1996 - Best Slow Nike Ardilla Vol. 1
1997 - Best Slow Nike Ardilla Vol. 2
1998 - Best of the Best: Nike Ardilla Vol. 1
1999 - Best of the Best Nike Ardilla Vol. 2
2002 - Best Beat
2005 - 20 Lagu Pilihan Fans Club
2009 - Koleksi Terlengkap: Nike Ardilla
2021 - Nike Ardilla Collection Vol 1
2021 - Nike Ardilla Collection 2
2021 - Best Slow Nike Ardilla Vol. 3
2023 - Karya Teddy Riadi Untuk Nike Ardilla
Standalone Single
1987 - Lupa Diri
1988 - Dia Idolaku
1988 - Antara Hitam Dan Putih
1989 - Kelip-kelip Cinta
1989 - Cukup Sampai Disini
1989 - Hati Batu
1990 - Rona Rona Biru
1991 - Star of Life / Bintang Kehidupan
1992 - Warga Kelas Tiga
1992 - Cintaku Padamu
1993 - Cinta Kita
1993 - Untuk Apalagi
1993 - Tinggallah Kusendiri
1994 - Menanti kejujuran
1995 - Anugerah
1995 - Biarkanlah
1996 - Selamat Jalan Duka
1996 - Cinta Di Antara Kita
1997 - Panggung Sandiwara
1998 - Ingin Kulupakan
2000 - Belenggu Cinta
2020 - Cinta Kita (with Inka Christie)
2023 - Bertemu Kembali (with Melly Goeslaw)
Single (Soundtrack)
Nakalnya Anak Muda (1990)
Lupus (1990)
Aksara Biru (1991)
Nuansa Gadis Suci (1992)
Deru Debu (1994)
Single in Malaysia
Duri Terlindung (1994)
Ku Tak Akan Bersuara (1994)
Pengembara Terasing (1996)
Suara Hatiku (1996)
Deru Debu (1995)
Awards
International
Gold Prize of New Singer - Asia Song Festival Shanghai 1991
Anugerah Muzik 1994 — Best Indonesian Selling Album in Malaysia (Duri Terlindung)
ABU Golden Kite World Song Festival 1994 — Best Performer (Second Runner-up)
Golden Prize Malaysia Music Awards 2005 — Year's Best Compilation Album
Only had a role in 1 episode only. It was because of Ardilla's unusual activity then and because the TV station had not purchased the broadcast rights for this soap opera. That's why this soap opera never aired on any TV station because it was only 1 episode.
^The Death of Nike Ardilla (Online broadcast). Official iNews. 15 November 2024. Archived from the original on 16 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
^Sukreni Gadis Bali 1 (Online broadcast). RCTI Files. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
^Sukreni Gadis Bali 2 (Online broadcast). RCTI Files. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
