Muhammad Tulus Rusydi, who was born on August 20, 1987, is a talented singer and songwriter from Indonesia. Known as Tulus, he started his professional career in 2011 by establishing an independent record label called TulusCompany, where he created and released most of his music.
Tulus has no formal education in music, but he did study architecture instead in college. Despite this, Tulus has shown interest in music since a young age; he often sang in various jazz communities in Bandung. This experience became the first step that led him to become the singer he is today.
Tulus' Career Journey
Tulus | Pers Mahasiswa Pijar/Sinta Wulandari
Tulus began his musical journey by releasing his debut album titled "Tulus" on September 28, 2011, along with his first concert, "Tulus: An Introduction". The album was a huge success, with the first 1,000 CDs immediately sold out during the concert. This success made Rolling Stone Indonesia give him the Editor's Choice: Rookie of the Year award in 2013.
Tulus' career reached the peak of success after releasing his second studio album, "Gajah", on February 19, 2014. Two months after its launch, the album sold 60,000 CDs and became one of the best-selling albums on Demajors, and managed to enter the top 10 best-selling albums on iTunes Asia.
In a year, "Gajah" sold 87 thousand copies and brought Tulus five awards at the 2015 Indonesian Music Awards, including Best Album. Tulus also achieved similar success with his third album, "Monokrom", which won five awards at the Indonesian Music Awards.
Tulus' popularity is not limited to Indonesia, but also reaches Japan. There, the song "Sepatu" was made into a Japanese version titled "Kutsu" and officially released through iTunes Japan.
To celebrate a decade of his music career, Tulus launched his fourth studio album, "Manusia", on March 3, 2022. The album received a positive response and became the most listened to on Spotify Indonesia during 2022.
Tulus' Achievements
Tulus | SindoNews/Koran Sindo
The song "Hati-Hati di Jalan" from the album "Manusia" broke various records on digital music platforms, including entering three Billboard charts, namely "Indonesia Songs", "Billboard Global 200", and "Billboard Global Excl. US". Tulus became the first Indonesian musician whose song in Indonesian successfully entered the "Billboard Global 200", and "Hati-Hati di Jalan" topped the "Indonesia Songs" chart for 12 consecutive weeks.
Tulus became the first Indonesian musician to reach 1 million followers on Spotify in 2019 and now has 13.5 million followers. Since 2016, he has been named the Most Popular Indonesian Artist in Spotify Wrapped five times, with a total of more than 2 billion streams, making him the best-selling local artist in Indonesia.
Highly Recommended Songs by Tulus
1. Sewindu
2. Gajah
3. Jangan Cintai Aku Apa Adanya
4. Hati-Hati di Jalan
5. Teman Hidup
6. Langit Abu-Abu
7. Interaksi
8. Ruang Sendiri
Tulus' Collaboration with Other Singers
Tulus has collaborated with several Indonesian musicians, such as writing the song "Belahan Jantungku" for Andien and working with Petra Sihombing on the singles "Labirin" and "Adaptasi". He also co-created the song "Adu Rayu" with Yovie Widianto and Glenn Fredly.
Tulus is able to convey deep emotions through his simple yet meaningful songs. His music is not only entertaining, but also provides an emotional touch and inspiration for listeners.
Sources:
Detikhot. (2021). Kenali Lebih dalam Tulus yang Telah Satu Dekade Berkarya. https://hot.detik.com/music/d-5705220/kenali-lebih-dalam-tulus-yang-telah-satu-dekade-berkarya
Tempo. (2024). Tulus Menapaki 37 Tahun, Solois dengan Segudang Musik dan Karya yang Menginspirasi. https://www.tempo.co/teroka/tulus-menapaki-37-tahun-solois-dengan-segudang-musik-dan-karya-yang-menginspirasi-19906
