Reliving KRU’s legacy: Norman shares his thoughts on GenKRU’s success

They say if you don’t ask, the answer will always be no. Who would have guessed that a simple message exchange between Icon Entertainment founder Iman Tang and Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim of KRU would spark something much bigger?

What started as a tentative pitch to get Yusry and his brothers Datuk Norman Abdul Halim and Edry Abdul Halim on board for a concert soon blossomed into a creative journey none of them expected.

The mission was simple: bring the brothers back on stage and let fans relive their fondest memories of KRU’s legendary legacy and iconic music.

Norman reflects on how that single conversation led to releasing a single, then an album, and eventually expanding from one concert night to three—and then four.

“Actually, it was not just Iman Tang, there were a few other promoters that actually approached me and Edry separately.

“We never discussed or thought of doing a reunion concert until it came up naturally,” he recalled.

Their conversation turned into a creative spark when Yusry became intrigued by the idea of using AI technology to produce music videos.

That casual interest spiraled into the idea of recording a single, which then evolved into a full album.

“A representative from Sony Music approached us and said, ‘Why stop at just one song? Why don’t you just do an album?’

“So one song became an album, and then from that album, a lot of people started to approach us for a concert,” Norman said.

What was supposed to be a one-night-only gig grew into a legendary four-night concert spanning across two consecutive weekends.

It is no secret that KRU has been around the Malaysian music industry since the olden days, having performed for countless of fans across multiple generations.

As such, seeing fans who once rocked out to KRU now bringing their children to the concert was deeply emotional for the trio.

Datuk Norman Abdul Halim.

“It’s a great honor for us to still be relevant, to be on stage and still get the same reaction — or even probably more — from our fans.

“Of course, to be on stage with my brothers again, it was a good feeling to be there and especially when singing the song during the Mother's Day celebration. It was very emotional for us,” Norman mused.

As far as concerts go, the title “GenKRU” wasn’t picked randomly. For KRU, it reflected the band’s desire to unify fans of all ages under one musical identity.

“We don’t want to differentiate our older fans from the younger fans. Whether it's Gen X, Y, Z or even Alpha, we thought, why not just generalize everyone as GenKRU?” said Norman.

Returning to the stage after years away came with its challenges — physically and emotionally.

Norman admitted he could see the difference in his performance style when comparing old footage to now.

“Honestly, when I look at my older videos, I could see that my movements were much sharper.

“But during that one or two weeks, I really felt that I was tapping into that mode of becoming an artiste again,” he noted.

Despite the success of GenKRU, Norman mentioned that the siblings were not without hardship as several hiccups stood in their way, yet it never stopped them from giving it their all.

Despite not being at their best physically — Yusry was unwell before the first show, and Norman himself, along with Edry Abdul Halim, lost their voices after the second — they pushed through with energy and determination.

“The energy from the audience actually helped us and inspired us to give our best,” he said.

The most demanding performance of the night? Their iconic hit “Awas”, which closes the show and involves heavy choreography.

“That’s the time when we really had to push ourselves.

“But we designed the set list in a way that ensured we were able to perform it well,” he said.

After four sold-out nights, fan enthusiasm has sparked new possibilities for the celebrated pop band.

Norman confirmed that concerts in other states across Malaysia are being discussed.

“We’ve received offers from various parties.

“Right now, we’re focusing first on the concert in Singapore on June 28, and we are also in discussions to hold concerts in other states,” he said.

Reflecting on the journey so far, Norman expressed his amazement at the scale of the production and the love shown by fans online.

“On social media, I saw that fans were truly immersed, as if they, like Yusry said, had ‘entered a time tunnel’ and were reliving the moment, that’s what made me most excited.

“When looking back at the production value, the drone shots and so on, I thought, wow, this is definitely the biggest concert we’ve ever done,’” he said.