Indonesian illusionist The Sacred Riana may look creepy and ghostly, but this awkward persona of hers has won the hearts of judges and fans, propelling her to become the winner of reality TV show Asia’s Got Talent Season 2.
The Sacred Riana beat eight other acts from around Asia to win the grand prize of US$100,000 (S$134,670) on Thursday night (Dec 14). The results are based on public votes.
With her long black hair and twitching head, The Sacred Riana – whose real name is Marie Antoinette Riana Graharani – has become the most anticipated act of the season.
Her spine-chilling magic tricks during the auditions, semi-finals and grand finals episodes have won the hearts of not just judges Jay Park, David Foster and Anggun, but also netizens across the world.
Videos of her magic performances on stage have garnered over 70 million views on Facebook and YouTube.
At the grand finals telecast on Dec 7, The Sacred Riana conjured up zombie-like peformers from a small box on stage, while suddenly appearing behind Anggun.
During the finals, judge Jay Park said: “You’re very unique. I was very entertained and frightened at the same time. Great job.”
Judge David Foster said: “Riana has become the one that everyone wants to see, everyone wants to watch. She has become the most anticipated act of all the acts that we’ve seen.”
The Sacred Riana was up against other popular acts such as DM-X Comvalenos from the Philippines, Mongolian digital dance artist Canion Shijirbat, and Indonesian harpist and singer Angela July, among others.
According to her manager Bow Vernon, The Sacred Riana apparently stays in her silent awkward character all the time. Vernon also told The Straits Times that she is over 100 years old.
It looks like The Sacred Riana may soon be scaring her way across the region with her performances and we can’t wait to watch her live.
klim@sph.com.sg
