The 30-year-old hitmaker is proud to have joined an elite group of female performers who've achieved this feat. Photo: Ernie Zakri/Instagram
Singer Ernie Zakri has joined the elite group of Malaysian performers who have graced the New York Times Square digital billboard in New York, United States.
Ernie, whose full name is Nur Ernie Shahirah Zakri, shared the achievement on Instagram on Wednesday (May 24) with the caption: "Dreams do come true... Mama, we are on Billboard NYC!"
Her appearance is part of Spotify's Equal Campaign, which is the streaming giant's global programme to foster equality for women in music.
Previous Malaysian artistes picked by Spotify to be featured on the famed billboard as part of the campaign include Yuna, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Dolla, Aina Abdul and Lalya Sania.
Ernie told mStar – The Star's Malay-language news portal – that she never expected to receive the honour but is grateful for this opportunity.
"I am indeed very happy with the news. I count it as one of my biggest achievements as a singer.
"I never imagined that one day my face would be on the world-renowned New York Times Square digital billboard."
Ernie is known for the powerful number Ku Bersuara, which tells of a woman who learns of her self-worth and the power of her voice even as she is cast aside by society and goes through many challenges in life.
According to the 30-year-old, most of her songs carry some sort of positive message.
"I always want to be the best version of myself. A lot of my songs are on women empowerment, because that's what I want to share (with my listeners)."
Currently, Ernie can be heard on the song Ayuh, alongside Malique, Kmy Kmo and Aman RA, which is featured as the main track for the movie Polis Evo 3 showing at cinemas nationwide starting from May 25.
"Dreams do come true as long as you work smart," added Ernie, wife of fellow singer Syamel.
"I used to think that working hard was the key to success. But after becoming a wife and mum, I have learned it's better to work smart and strike a balance between work life and home life," added Ernie, who gave birth to a baby girl in 2022.
She also told mStar that she is planning to produce another album by the end of this year.
