Candy

Long before they became household names in Malaysian rock music, the women who would form Candy were cutting their teeth on the vibrant music scene of Kuching, Sarawak. The band's roots stretch back to 1988, when guitarist Mary convinced her younger sister Cornie to gather a group of friends and form a band called The Sapphire Gals. Through a series of name changes, lineup shuffles, and years of performing at public functions across Sarawak, the group steadily refined their sound and identity, cycling through incarnations as D'Rozza and G-Saphia before finally settling on the name that would take them to national prominence.

The pivotal moment came in 1996, when the four core members — Patricia Robert, Mary Morss, Cornie Sangid, and Nancy Graggory — made the bold decision to leave their hometown behind and relocate to Kuala Lumpur. It was a gamble that paid off spectacularly. Under the careful guidance of producer Edrie Hashim, Candy spent the year recording their self-titled debut album, which was released in 1997. The single Akan Ku Tunggu quickly became a radio staple, driven by a catchy, memorable music video that introduced the band to audiences across Malaysia. The album went platinum, and Candy earned a place in the Malaysia Book of Records as the country's first all-female band — a landmark achievement that cemented their cultural significance beyond just the music itself.

Emboldened by their debut success, the band shifted toward a heavier sound for their second album, Hot, released in 1999. Working with producer Mat Noh Hendrix, a veteran of the Malaysian heavy metal scene and former member of Rusty Blade, Candy pushed into harder rock and heavy metal territory. The album was a showcase of the band's versatility, with multiple members stepping up to take lead vocal duties across different tracks. Perhaps most notably, the album featured a cover of Iron Maiden's instrumental classic Transylvania, a bold statement of the band's heavy metal influences and a nod to the international rock community they aspired to stand alongside.

The years following Hot brought the inevitable challenges of sustaining a band over time. Nancy departed in 1999 for personal reasons, replaced by bassist Jacqueline Chong, who performed live with the group for five years without ever recording a studio album with them. When Jacqueline left to pursue her studies in 2004, Nancy returned to the fold, and the band set their sights on completing a long-awaited third record. That album, Absolute, finally arrived in January 2009 after a decade in the making. It represented a creative leap forward, featuring ten tracks that included, for the first time in their career, songs recorded entirely in English — a bold evolution that broadened both their artistic range and their potential audience.

Even as the music industry around them transformed, Candy continued to adapt and endure. In 2012, the band was honored with the DAMA Special Award from the Dayak Artist Music Association, recognizing their contributions to Malaysian music and culture. Further lineup changes in 2016 saw founding members Mary and Cornie exit the group, with guitarist Anis Kalisa and drummer Kim Herrin stepping in to carry the torch. The band's resilience was on full display in December 2019 when they performed at a tribute concert for late Search drummer Yazit Ahmad, sharing the stage with some of Malaysia's most celebrated rock artists.

By 2022, Candy had welcomed drummer Bulan Terry into the lineup, and the newly configured band — Patricia, Anis, Nancy, and Bulan — returned to the studio with longtime producer Edrie Hashim. In March 2023, they were part of a record-breaking concert in Port Dickson featuring 80 female musicians, a moment that felt like a fitting tribute to the trailblazing path Candy had helped carve for women in Malaysian rock. On September 29, 2024, the band released the music video for Setia2U, their first new material in over a decade, proving that after nearly thirty years, Candy remains as vital, determined, and unapologetically loud as ever.