Since winning the second season of local reality singing competition Singapore Idol in 2006, home-grown singer-songwriter Hady Mirza has juggled many side hustles.

On June 27, the 45-year-old announced his latest venture on Instagram: He is now a licensed property agent.

It took him two years and four tries before he finally passed his Real Estate Salesperson examination on April 17. The licence was issued on June 19.

“It’s a big achievement for me,” Hady, who is with real estate company Era Singapore, says in an interview on July 7.

“It marks another chapter in my life. I’m already 45, and I believe that I must always challenge myself, even though I had a lot of doubts about whether I could study again,” he says, adding that he used all his SkillsFuture credits to finance part of his real estate courses and examination fees.

And while his predecessor Taufik Batisah, winner of the inaugural Singapore Idol in 2004, made a similar move to real estate back in 2019 and is now a top agent at PropNex Singapore, Hady says he was inspired by his other friends who are long-time property agents.

Still, when Hady announced his entry into real estate on Instagram, one of the most-liked comments was a congratulatory note from Taufik, who suggested they “co-broke”, a term used when property agents work together to facilitate a transaction.

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“We are friends, and we always support each other,” says Hady, who performed with Taufik and Sezairi, winner of Singapore Idol 3 in 2009, at Malay-language television awards show Pesta Perdana in May. The trio were also judges on Suria’s reality singing competition Kaki Nyanyi (2024 to 2025).

Hady has not sold any homes yet, but has been receiving calls from potential clients and has done several home viewings with the senior agents mentoring him.

He admits that being a public figure can be an advantage in his new line of work, but insists that being a celebrity can get him only so far when it comes to sealing deals.

“It’s still early days, and there are still a lot of things that my mentors need to show and teach me.”

Being an agent also means his personal phone number is public, but he has no issues receiving calls and texts from strangers.

“Because of my other businesses, it has been public knowledge for about 10 years,” says the entrepreneur, whose previous ventures include food and beverage, as well as motor vehicle sales.

In recent months, he has also taken on several other roles, including an ambassadorship for cancer support charity Ain Society, and started his own talent management company, NHM Entertainment.

He has not turned his back on his music career, though.

In May, he released his first new single in three years, Jika Masih Ada, a duet with popular Malaysian actress-singer Erra Fazira.

It is also the theme song for Nikmat Hanya Sesaat, a Malay-language drama series on Malaysian broadcaster TV3 that premiered in May.

While he also won region-wide reality singing show Asian Idol in 2007, it was only in 2019 that Hady made a major mark in Malaysia after being crowned co-winner of Season 6 of Malaysian television singing show Gegar Vaganza, sharing the prize with Malaysian singer Naqiu.

It was his artiste management agency in Malaysia that offered him Jika Masih Ada in late 2024. When he recorded his vocal parts, he had no idea who his duet partner would be.

“I was shocked when I found out that they later got Erra to record the female vocals, someone who is so well-known and has been in the entertainment industry much longer than me,” says Hady, who has been married to Malaysian homemaker Nurjannah Nur Wahid, 33, for the past 11 years. The couple have no children but are hoping to start a family.

Hady, who staged a solo gig at The Theatre at Mediacorp in 2024, has several performances lined up in coming months, including an Ain Society concert at the same venue on Aug 23 that features regional acts like Indonesian singer Hetty Koes Endang.

He will also perform at the 2025 edition of the annual Gardens by the Bay and Mediacorp National Day Concert at The Meadow on Aug 3. He composed and will sing the show’s theme song, Ties That Bloom.

Hady has also set the next challenge for himself: to get a diploma in music and teach singing. Despite having decades of experience as a professional performer, he is also working on improving his vocal abilities and has been taking lessons at local music school Academy Of Rock.

“I’m always thinking: What other things can I do to better myself? In Singapore, there are always avenues for you to improve yourself. It’s such a waste if you don’t make use of the opportunities that are out there.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network