Known for its empowering anthems, powerful stage presence and vivacious personality, local girl group Dolla has made quite an impression in the Malaysian music scene.
Since making its debut with the catchy 2020 track, Dolla Make You Wanna, the quartet has positioned itself as a powerhouse in the local music scene.
In three years, the pop sensation has shaken the Malaysian music charts with hits like Impikan, Raya Raya Raya, Bad and more recently, Look At This.
Sabronzo, whose real name is Wan Sabrina Wan Rusli, first ventured into show business as one of the four member of Dolla – joining Tabby, Angel and Syasya in 2019.
She’s the main rapper of the group.
Growing up, Sabronzo always saw herself shaping up to be a performer, and she is grateful to her parents for being supportive and encouraging her to chase her dreams.
“Dancing is something I have always loved since I was a kid. I grew up watching female artistes like Ciara and Pussycat Dolls on TV.
“I always found their dancing to be so cool, and I wanted to learn how to dance like them.
“That’s when I started learning on my own,” she said in an interview.
Looking to pursue her dream of becoming an artiste, the 28-year-old then signed up for an audition to join Dolla – a project by Universal Music Malaysia.
During our chat, Sabronzo was all smiles as she recounted her first meeting with her “Dolla sisters”.
“When I first met the girls, only Tabby and Angel seemed to know each other. I wouldn’t say they were like super acquainted, but they were definitely familiar with each other.
“It was only Syasya and I who didn’t know anyone. Before the four of us met, I did my research and went on Instagram to find out more about them.
“But in the end, we all got along well because of our shared interests and love of performing,” she said.
Despite being in the industry for only four years, Dolla has achieved many feats.
In 2021, the band became the third Malaysian artiste after singers Layla Sania and Yuna to be featured on the Times Square billboard in New York as part of Spotify’s Equal campaign.
Last year, Dolla won the Best New Artist Of The Year prize at the annual Women Of Excellence Awards – which recognises Malaysian women who have contributed greatly and exhibited excellence in their respective fields.
In March this year, it won the “Lagu Trending Tergempak” and “Video Muzik Tergempak” categories at the 2022 Gempak Most Wanted Awards.
At present, Dolla’s videos have garnered well over 51 million views on the group’s official YouTube channel.
While the group has been enjoying massive popularity since its debut, it didn’t have the easiest start.
In the early days, the quartet was accused of ripping off Korean girl group Blackpink’s style, music and dance moves as a quick ticket to stardom.
The comparison gained more attention globally after Dolla covered the K-pop sensation’s hit song, Lovesick Girls, at the 33rd Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian in 2020.
Addressing the controversy, Sabronzo said that while it’s true her group looks up to Blackpink for inspiration, it does not intend to copy the Korean group.
“The similarities are coincidental. We’re trying to build our own musical identity as a girl group, and Malaysia doesn’t have many girl groups either,” she told Harian Metro then.
Sabronzo added that while it was initially hard to accept the negative comments, the members eventually acknowledged that everyone was entitled to their own opinion.
“We are open to constructive criticism as it helps us identify and fix our shortcomings. However, if the comment is insensitive or just straight up rude, we won’t bother entertaining it,” she said.
The girls and I mostly feel very honoured. But with success also comes pressure, though it’s a good sort of pressure for us at least.
When it comes to Dolla, what we aim to achieve as a group is to elevate the music industry in Malaysia.
We want to make our local talents and language more known across South-East Asia, or better yet, across the globe.
So knowing there are people out there who think we’re breaking barriers, even though we face pressure thinking about our next step, we know that we’re on the right track.
Part of our dream is to bring positive energy to everyone, especially women who are often stereotyped as weak or incapable.
We believe that ladies should be able to live courageously and express themselves without fear of how others may judge them.
Today, there are still women out there who feel as if they are going through multiple challenges alone. We want to change that.
Through our songs, we hope to bring comfort to these women... to tell them, ‘Hey, you are not alone in this fight’ while simultaneously empowering them to be the best version of themselves.
At the moment, I am more focused on my music career with Dolla.
But I’m not ruling out acting as I’m always open to trying new things and expanding my repertoire.
I have only ever acted in the 2021 telefilm, Dolla: Watch Me Glow, where I played myself... so it was easier.
But for my role in Pulau, it was a little bit harder as I had to portray a character who’s different from me in real life.
On top of lacking experience in the acting department, I had to learn diving for my role in the movie too.
Thankfully, I was lucky to receive advice from my experienced co-stars who were very patient in guiding me on set.
If I do actively pursue acting in the future, I will have to brush up on my skills.
Running in the practice room while singing!
That’s how I usually train with my vocal coach Cikgu Shafi and choreographer.
Doing this not only helps me improve my vocal stability but also stamina for long performances. It helps me keep in shape too.
When I first started out, I wasn’t super confident about performing on stage.
Even though I have performed as a dancer (before joining Dolla), I had no experience in singing... so doing all this made me a little disoriented at one point.
But after receiving continuous training and support from the girls, Cikgu Shafi and many more around me, my confidence began to grow, and I felt much more comfortable going all out on stage.
I am a fan of massages, so I would often treat myself to a reflexology session after a long day... just to chill and de-stress.
I also love playing with my cats and spending some quality time with my parents.
On certain days, I like lazing around as I don’t always get days off.
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