Agnes Monica 'Agnez Mo' Muljoto is one of Indonesia's many singing divas. She is known for her impeccable vocal range, energetic dance music, very loyal fanbase (the AGNATION; was once called NezInDaClub) and her 'perfectionism'.
She has an impressive music catalogue of her own with variety of sounds and styles. Mostly famed for her slogan, "dream, believe and make it happen" and her ambition of having an international success, she has gained a lot of acclaims and criticisms along the way.
Let's take a look at her discography!
Note: Mo had released some music during her childhood days, but I won't include it here since I was never familiar with her earliest songs.
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"..and the story goes....." (2003)
This was her first 'attempt' to create an album that reflected her transition into adulthood. Truth is, this was still her adolescence phase and, objectively speaking, it was a really good 'debut' album for her. The music is pleasant with plenty of styles and her voice was in a good form during the entirety of it. She was not writing her own material yet but the songwriters who worked on this album (Melly Goeslaw, Ahmad Dhani, Yudis Dwikorana, and Titi DJ) were making admirable efforts to help Mo achieved her desired sound which was hip-hop influenced pop music. There are several weak spots, like the tuneful yet too adolescent "Bilang Saja", a Titi DJ song that sounds like a Titi DJ song (which is nice), the bland "Cinta Mati" and the forgettable "Kau Yang Kucinta".
Whaddup A'..?! (2005)
So this is adulthood. I remember the days when "Tak Ada Logika", one of the singles of this album, was playing absolutely everywhere in Indonesia. I also remember that I didn't really like that, or her, during those days mostly because I wasn't interested in any Indonesian recording artists then. However, I can appreciate it now. This album, though, is one of her most unfocused projects. The tracklist is a mess; dance songs were placed in the middle of a sequence of sad ballads. It's quite confusing to listen to this album for the very first time, but eventually after many replays it could get to you. She co-wrote one song here titled "What They Called Soulmate" and it's lovely. I have to say that the ballads aren't as memorable, except for the dramatic "Tanpa Kekasihku" and the breezy yet heart wrenching "Cinta Di Ujung Jalan".
Sacredly Agnezious (2009)
This one is often referred by both her fans and general public alike as her best album. This was her actual adult project. Subjectively, I like this album because the tracklist is quite flawless. The compositions are also very admirable. She wrote/co-wrote five songs on here and all of it is good, though, "'Coz I Love You" can get very exhausting after awhile. Her singing has also gotten more sophisticated on a lot of songs. The only weak spot is the jazzy but boring "Berlebihan", which actually sounded more like a vocal warm-up for her.
She released some songs in-between her transition from Agnes Monica to 'Agnez Mo', namely "Temperature", "Paralyzed", and "Muda (Le O Le O Le O)". They are all good dance songs with admirable lyricism.
Agnez Mo (2013)
Released after another four year gap, this one was her first attempt to reinvent herself. To add more edge, I suspected. However, a magnum opus it was not. The songs are decent but forgettable. The production is heavy on electronic sound which resembled gimmicks rather than actual good production. Not even the R&B songs were saved from it so that's quite a bummer. Her dance songs have gotten even more energetic here, i.e. "Flyin' High", "Shut 'Em Up" and "Hide and Seek". She released "Walk" as a single and it was deserving; probably the most "autobiographical" song of the album. Luckily, there's a lovely ballad that breathes and it's appropriately titled as "Things Will Get Better".
She released the infamous 'international debut single' titled "Coke Bottle" which featured Timbaland and T.I. Her official hip-hop song. It's unique, I'd say that. There was also an EP of remixes for a song titled "Boy Magnet" and it's all fun for club, but seriously, where is the original version?
X (read: Ten) (2017)
At this point, a four year gap has become the standard rule for her release schedule and it's totally alright. This album was quite mysterious, from the way it was conceived to the impact that it made. But the songs were good; almost too good. The production was better (better budget of course) and for an 'official' international album it's really lived up to the anticipation. The dance songs resembled those found on Sacredly Agnezious rather than the self-titled and we thank God Almighty for that. Her voice sounds clear and crisp with some styles that she has not tried often before. I think that's good. I believe she co-wrote some songs here but I'm not sure. Weak spots include the bizarre "Backroom", exotic yet tuneless "Long As I Get Paid" and the semi-tropical sounding final track, "Get What You Give".
Recently, she has released her latest singles titled "Diamonds" which featured French Montana, who for some reason became popular among Asian recording artists as he also featured in a MONSTA X (a South Korean all-male dancing band a.k.a. boyband) track, and "Nanana (I Love You)" which was a song that originated from 2012 or 2013. Eh, it's alright.
Conclusion: Mo has a very impressive discography of her own. She has a lot of styles yet still capable to make plenty of songs that authentically sound like hers and hers only. However, it appears that her newest materials are either really good or very uninteresting. I suppose it's a case of her magnificent voice v. the hip-hop-infused R&B that she chose to make nowadays.
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We can only witness what is she going to make next time to take her career toward which direction is going to be. On other words, we simply just have to let her do what she does best: developing.
Another note: I hope that she can make her next project to be at least more memorable.
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