Joy Tobing

Joy Tobing (born Joy Destiny Tiurma Tobing on March 20, 1980 in Jakarta) is an Indonesian gospel singer and the winner of the first season Indonesian Idol in September 2004.
 
As Indonesian Idol is criticized as being more and more corrupted and not a real talent-spotter, many people considered the first season Indonesian Idol as the season with most talented finalists. But many compliments from the judges (as opposed to the judges' sharp comments to other finalists) and Joy's confidence on the stage made some people still criticized the competition as being unfair, since Joy was considered not really an amateur. Joy's ability to perform well in diverse genre was shown for example during Spectacular Show 5th, when she chose to sing Kamu Harus Cepat Pulang. This song was a popular pop-rock song from the Indonesian all-time rock band Slank, which had had a strong image as a song that would be sung well only by a male singer.
 
Joy was said to be expected to represent Indonesia in the Asian Idol and World Idol. However, within weeks after her win, she had disagreement with the idol show management, Indomugi Pratama, and her recording company, BMG Indonesia, insisting that as an artist she should not only have obligations but also have rights. During a press conference in November 2004, the team of Indomugi Pratama, BMG Indonesia, RCTI, and Fremantle Media who hold the license of Indonesian Idol program, then claimed they were not sending Joy (actually, nobody else also) to any Asian or World Idol because of this. They considered her disobedience as her failure to behave as a good idol. As a result, Delon, the runner-up, was much more heavily promoted by Freemantle Media.
 
In March 2005, Joy terminated her contract with BMG Indonesia, who in September 2004 has released her Idol album Terima Kasih. In her press conference, Joy and her lawyer stated the reason was that she had long been treated unfairly. BMG Indonesia had never informed her about the selling of the album and did not give her any royalty. They had given three legal warnings but had been getting no response from BMG Indonesia.
 
As the first winner of Indonesian Idol, Joy has expressed in the media several times about her main wish to become an internationally recognized professional singer. However, as a result of her dispute with the Indonesian Idol management, her fame has seems been faded and her activities are currently not really known in public. Her latest album Rise was produced by Kevin Porée and Charlotte Gordon Cumming and recorded at Berry Street Studio, London and was released in Singapore in 2005, but the promotion was not so much in her own country. Traces of Joy’s achievements during Indonesian Idol are still being kept though by her fans, as they uploaded their own personal videos in media like YouTube. It is said that while still struggling for her dream, Joy continues singing especially in Christian and Batak communities, an activity that she has been done since before she became famous through Indonesian Idol.