‘Music will always be in our blood’

KUALA LUMPUR — What could be any more exciting than running the “world’s best low-cost airline”? For Tony Fernandes, one of Time Magazine’s 2015 100 Most Influential People, there’s still nothing like the excitement of discovering raw talents and developing them into stars.

The AirAsia big boss hopes to be able to do that, what with his new partnership with the multi-awarded record producer David Foster. David, who has produced albums and written songs for the likes of Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Chicago and the late Whitney Houston, is the Malaysia-based airline’s first-ever global ambassador.

“That I would love to do. That would be my dream. That’s my secret little wish in tying up with David that somewhere along the line in the next few years, who knows, we might find the next great artist. There’s so much talent here in Asia,” Tony told the media during a presscon unveiling the “hitmaker” as the face of AirAsia’s premium product range.

Tony is no stranger to the music industry, having been a Warner Music executive overseeing Southeast Asia before he joined the aviation business in 2001 to take over the then-troubled airline company. Because of this music background, he’s known David “forever.”

“When you see someone like David who can take something raw and make it into hit that everyone loves forever — like people still listen to Chicago after all these years — that’s a God-given talent. And my hair still stands whenever David plays Andrea Bocelli or Michael Bublé. The air industry can never get that kind of excitement, when you (find) something raw and turn it into a superstar. That is his gift,” he said.

According to Tony, they’re looking at mounting special concerts for loyal patrons with this partnership, which should not come as a surprise because “music has always been in my blood. We have Tunes Studios and one of our artists is No. 1 on the airplane charts, we did our own AirAsia Idol… I see so many great bands now that could really cross over (from one country to another). The Internet has changed the whole music scene, so somewhere along the line, we can help find talents that David would be interested in working with.”

Tony recalled that one of the first artists he brought to Southeast Asia and who went on to become so huge, he had help from David. “We did so many artists but among the ones I was most proud of (bringing) was the Corrs. I heard the Corrs in David’s house in Malibu, in his studio. He played (their music) and I said, wow this is amazing. Nobody believed in it. No one in Warner Bros. thought this artist could actually become something big, so I said I’ll take the project on to Southeast Asia. We made them huge and from Southeast Asia, they broke into Europe and the rest is history.”

The working relationship has clearly grown into a long-standing friendship. Tony shared that when one of AirAsia’s planes tragically crashed last year, David was one of the very first people who consoled him. “When we had a very tragic incident and I was down, the first person who (texted) me was David. It was a crazy hour, but he sent one of the most fantastic messages that gave tremendous inspiration for that very, very difficult time. Being friends is the most important thing and having the right heart, and so we couldn’t think of anyone better who could represent us around the world.”

For his part, David said that he’s been approached by other brands for endorsement, like “you know a watch company, bank company and honestly, it didn’t interest me. I don’t wear watches, I do bank but I don’t have an affinity with banks, I drive one car, I’m not a car enthusiast but I am an airplane freak I cannot go past an airplane without looking. I know the names of every single airplane. Show me a picture of any airplane that’s flying in the air — private or commercial — and I’ll tell you what it is. That’s how much an airline freak I am.”

So, to be ambassador is like “a beautiful full circle for me because I am a pilot and I’ve loved aviation my whole life, and I love music and obviously Tony feels the same way. We’ve great friends for 25 years and we are all — well, surprised is the wrong word — because Tony was such a go-getter when he worked for Warner Music records and handled this region so well and handled some of my music.

“When we found out that he had taken AirAsia, it was no surprise but what he had done in less than a decade was a surprise. It is truly a miracle what he has accomplished but his personality is such that failure is not an option. I love aviation and I love music so I think, Tony and I are a good fit,” said David (who’s also touring Asia now for his David Foster & Friends concert series, with his Manila stop happening tomorrow night at the Big Dome).

Tony may have left the music scene but music, he said, never really left him. The ties still run deep that many of the airline executives he hired were his colleagues at his former record label. Choosing some of the airline’s destinations like Bandung in Indonesia was even somehow “music-inspired.” “I got to know about Bandung through Bandung music.”

“Music is in our blood very much. When oil prices are high, we play the blues. When oil prices are low, we play rock ‘n roll… but we never play Kenny G,” Tony joked about his frustration over the popular saxophonist who sold millions of records in Asia but for a rival label during his time in the music biz.

Nevertheless, Tony stressed that he’s very serious about producing in the near future talents from all over Asia, including the Philippines. “For sure, I mean (Filipinos) probably (are) the leader in talent in the ASEAN mainly because of the English language plus music is in your blood as well,” said Tony, who according to Filipino employees has enjoyed the music of Side A and Barbie’s Cradle.

“But we’re going to look everywhere in ASEAN. It’s fantastic if one of the products of this partnership is finding the next superstar that David can bring around the world. That would be a great bonus if AirAsia can be involved in breaking an Asian artist, so yeah, we’re very serious.”