DOLLA is Malaysian pop royalty. For the past five years, they’ve become one of the biggest girl groups in the country with Angel, Sabronzo, and Tabby continuing to take over the pop scene, turning out banger after banger. Success, on some part, is by design—Universal Music Malaysia formed the group in 2019 after a series of exhaustive auditions—but there’s more to be said of passion and perseverance. Performing, for all members, seems to be as innate as breathing. For Tabby, who in her adolescence sensed a calling to be a star, “it’s been a dream come true.” Her words strike a similar chord for Angel, who was pursuing a bachelor in music prior to snagging a spot in the group, and Sabronzo, for whom dancing came naturally. “We’re doing what we love,” Tabby continued. “I mean, not a lot of people get to do something that maybe they never could’ve even imagined doing—so we feel a lot of appreciation about where we are now.”
A string of singles—Dolla Make You Wanna and Impikan, also released in English as Watch Me Glow—paved the way for the group’s debut in 2020, followed by 2023’s full-length album New Classic. Their tracks are bilingual blends of pop, hip hop and R&B, and electronic dance music, altogether an alchemy of maximalist fantasia racking up millions of streams on Spotify and YouTube. Internationally, the group’s success has exploded in the past year; DAMELO, one of their biggest hits, is sung in Malay, English, and Spanish in appreciation of their Spanish-speaking fans abroad. Last March, DOLLA made their China debut on Show It All, representing Malaysia on the Chinese reality show. “It was an eye-opening experience,” Angel recalls, “because it gave us insight into what it’s like to be a girl group in a different country, and China is a huge, competitive market.”
“I think we did well,” Sabronzo adds. “We tried as best as we could to represent our music and Malaysia, and I feel like they were also, I guess, interested because we all look so different from each other.” The girls start to giggle. “You know, they see two faces—” Sabronzo points to Angel and Tabby, “—that are maybe more familiar to them, but then the language! We were singing in Malay, English, and some Spanish.”
“We’re a little nasi lemak,” Tabby says, smiling.
On TikTok, the girls’ official account has amassed almost a million followers. “We love our fans,” Angel asserts. “They’ve been very involved with us since the start, and they’ve always been there for us, supporting us.” “It’s a cherished feeling,” Tabby adds, “to be onstage and to have fans—even if there are only ten of them—cheering your name as loud as possible to make you feel like there are hundreds and thousands of them. It’s like, you feel seen. It’s validating.”
In person, the DOLLA girls are more down-to-earth. Together, they’re prone to bursts of laughter, their conversation free-flowing—and when the girls address each other, it’s with affection. Sisterhood is baked into their brand. Their image and success are deeply dependent on their cohesion and chemistry as a group. Luckily, they don’t have to fake it. They are bonded for life. “It’s something irreplacable to have your sisters on stage with you, experiencing the same things you do,” Sabronzo says. “It’s the best thing about being in a girl group.” You’d never guess there used to be a fourth founding member, Syasya—she departed the group last April, citing personal reasons—and though it took Angel, Sabronzo, and Tabby a few months to find their footing, the trio have adjusted to their newfound rhythm, moving forward with harmony. “The first few times that we performed as a trio with one less member, we were thrown off by—I guess, the energy, the space between each other,” Sabronzo admits. “But then we made it work, you know? We re-choreographed, we re-recorded. We put a lot of things back into place.” “We’ve grown stronger,” Tabby affirms. “Don’t you think so?”
“It brought us closer together,” Angel answered, nodding. “We appreciate each other more—not that we didn’t before, but it’s different now. We spend more time together outside of work too; we talk more than we used to about life, about things that aren’t just about work.”
Now, the reset button has been pressed. Behind the scenes, the trio worked tirelessly to piece together the puzzle of their artistry; days and months of rigorous practice developed into flawless showmanship and synchronisation, and doubts gave way to confidence. At DOLLA’s sold-out solo show last August, aptly titled Re:Birth The Experience, the girls commanded centre stage: DOLLA, rebirthed, delivered on their promise of technical prowess and tight choreography, and a catalogue of their greatest hits. “It was a very magical night for us,” Tabby says wistfully. “2,500 iDOLLAs hit different. We didn’t have any expectations for how many people would come, but we knew that the people who were coming would know our songs.”
As their career progressed, so did their sound. Here4U, co-written by Tabby, is an emotionally generous track featuring sparkling melodies, reflecting a more pared-down, sophisticated approach: “You and I, we ride or die to the end of time,” they sing, an ode to their fans. On YouTube, the accompanying music video chronicles the group’s journey from day one. Raw and unfiltered, it offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the challenges they’ve faced on their way to the top, using footage shot entirely on their own phones: the ups, the downs, and the road still to come.
These days, they’re setting their sights on even bigger horizons. “We have a very special comeback coming up,” Angel says. “It’s the first time we’ll release a single as a trio, and all I can say is: It’s something different. We’re super proud of it; we’re all part of the production, we’re all involved in the dance choreo. We’re more evolved now, more refined—so the comeback will reflect how we’ve grown, and it’ll represent a bit of each of us, what we bring to the table, and the group as a whole.”
“A rebirth?” we ask.
“A rebirth, yeah.” Tabby answers. “It all worked out well.”
Photography: Chuan Looi
Creative Direction & Styling: Joseph Cheng, Sarah Chong
Hair: Ng Kah Yean
Makeup: Sabronzo, Susam Chan, Csarelle Ong
Styling Assistant: Lorraine Chai
Photography Assistants: Richy, Zi Xin, Sera
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