Anggun << AHN guhn >> (1974-…) is an Indonesian – French singer and songwriter. She sings in Indonesian, French, and English. In 1997, she became the first Indonesian-born artist to top international music charts with her first European hit, “Snow on the Sahara.” She has won a number of awards for her music. In 2012, Anggun represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest, a televised annual singing competition. Anggun has also been a judge on such television singing competition shows as “X Factor Indonesia,” “Indonesia’s Got Talent,” and “Asia’s Got Talent.”
Anggun Cipta Sasmi was born on April 29, 1974, in Jakarta, the capital city of the Southeast Asian island nation of Indonesia. She was raised in Yogyakarta, in central Java, an island in Indonesia. Her father was a singer and music producer. Anggun began singing as a child and began performing in public at the age of 7. She recorded her first album, a children’s album, when she was 9 years old. At age 12, she released the successful rock album Dunia Aku Punya (1986). She had several other hit albums in Indonesia. Her song “Mimpi” (1989) became one of the biggest hits in Indonesian history.
In 1994, Anggun left Indonesia to pursue an international music career. She settled in Paris, where she signed a recording contract. Her first French album, Au nom de la lune, was released in 1997. It included the hit single, “La neige au Sahara.” She re-recorded the album with most of the songs in English and released it under the title Anggun later that year. Another English version, with fewer songs, was titled Snow on the Sahara. It was also released in 1997. The album’s title song became a hit in more than 30 countries, including the United States.
In 2009, Anggun was appointed an international goodwill ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , an agency of the United Nations (UN). In that role, she takes part in an effort to support people who are hungry and impoverished worldwide. She has also appeared in French and Indonesian films.
