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Top 10 Remarquable Facts about Nike Ardilla

Raden Nike Ratnadilla, commonly known as Nike Ardilla, was a rock singer from Bandung, West Java Indonesia. She was known as “Young Legend”. Until now, Nike Ardilla is a musician, singer, movie star, and the most successful model in Indonesia’s show business industry history.

More than any other single artist, Nike Ardilla was the driving force behind the return of teen pop Rock in the late ’80s. Nike Ardilla didn’t just become a star, she was a bonafide pop phenomenon. Not only did she sell millions of records, but she was also a media fixture regardless of what she was or wasn’t doing; among the era’s female singers, many of whom followed in her footsteps. 

Here are the top 10 remarquable Facts about Nike Ardilla.

1. Nike Ardilla died at the age of 19

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. 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, and hailed by many as one of the most successful figures in Indonesia’s entertainment industry.

2. Ardilla is the best-selling Indonesian artist in history

Ardilla has sold more than 30 million albums to date, making her the best-selling Indonesian artist in history, and her 1990 album Bintang Kehidupan which has sold over 6 million copies in Southeast Asia, holds the title of the best-selling Indonesian album of all time.

The album “Bintang Kehidupan” itself entered the charts at number one and sold over 500.000 copies in its first week of release, setting a new record for single-week sales by a female artist. Follow-up singles included “Salut”, and the gold-selling “Putih.” A year after its release, Bintang Kehidupan had sold over two million copies.

After that so many album had released such as: Nyalakan Api 1991, Matahariku 1992, Biarlah Aku Mengalah 1993, Tinggalah Aku Sendiri 1994, Biarkan Cintamu Berlalu 1994, Sandiwara Cinta 1995, 

3. Nike Ardilla had Dutch and German ancestry from her maternal grandmother

Raden Rara Nike Ratnadilla was born on 27 December 1975 in Bandung, West Java, the youngest child of three siblings of Raden Edi Kusnadi and Nining Ningsihrat. She had Dutch 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.

4. Ardilla released her debut album when she was 13

Denny Sabri, a talent scout, helped Ardilla 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.

When Ardilla was 13, she released her debut album, Seberkas Sinar in 1989, which she managed to finish recording within a day. 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.” 

5. In 1990, Ardilla won the Gold Prize for New Singer

In the spring of 1990, Ardilla 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 where she won the Gold Prize for New Singer.

6. Tinggallah Ku Sendiri (The Best Of) is regarded as Ardilla greatest hits album

After winning Best Selling Album consecutively at the 1993 BASF Awards, Ardilla released the greatest hits album, Tinggallah Ku Sendiri (The Best Of). It spawned the hit single “Tinggallah Ku Sendiri”. 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.

7.  Ardilla 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, Sri Kabayan for which she recorded a single for the soundtrack of the film.

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. In 1990, Ardilla won a modeling competition Gadis Sampul and a “Best Model Catwalk” award in the “LA Model Contest” in Bandung two years prior.

8. Nike Ardilla was buried on the same day she died

On the night of 18 March 1995, Ardilla 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. Ardilla was buried on the same day, per Islamic funeral customs in Ciamis, West Java, in the presence of family, friends, fans, reporters as well as tens of thousands of mourners.

9. After Ardilla’s death, a commemorative concert was held in Bandung

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.

Some international media outlets reported her passing, such as Hong Kong Asiaweek and the US Billboard. In 1996, Pos Indonesia published commemorative postcards and envelopes, which were sold out within days.  In the same year, the daily Bandung newspaper Pikiran Rakyat reported the Nike Ardilla stamps issued in Abkhazia and Tuva, Russia.

10. The Nike Ardilla Museum was constructed in her memory

A quarter of a century after her death, her untimely departure has been said to have left an eternal sorrow” throughout the country. She remains both a legend and a phenomenon in the Indonesian music scene today. Every year, thousands of fans commemorate her passing by visiting her grave and the Nike Ardilla Museum, which was constructed in her memory. Fan clubs dedicated to her are still running with active members.

Wendi Putranto, a music observer, described Ardilla as one in a million, a female version of Elvis Presley with a cult status in Indonesian pop culture. He further described her death as being similar to that of a president, and the national TV aired the news of her passing for an extended period of time.