{
  "id": 16143088,
  "title": "Who wins when only winners compete? Nine ‘Akademi Fantasia’ champions battle it out on ‘Gegar Vaganza Fantasia’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/who-wins-when-only-winners-compete-nine-akademi-fantasia-champions",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-23T02:23:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/showbiz/2026/10/23/who-wins-when-only-winners-compete-nine-akademi-fantasia-champions-battle-it-out-on-gegar-vaganza-fantasia/240268"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — In a unique twist for the 13th season of Gegar Vaganza, nine past winners of Akademi Fantasia will be competing against each other on the new reality show. The contestants, including Vince Chong, Zahid Baharuddin, Mawi, Faizal Ramly, Mila Jirin, Stacy, Shahir, Faizul Sany, and Firman Bansir, were announced at Menara Ken TTDI. This marks the debut of Gegar Vaganza Fantasia as part of Astro's 30th anniversary celebrations. The season will feature a new fan-voting feature on the Gegar Vaganza WhatsApp chatbot, which will account for 10% of each contestant's score. The remaining four contestants will be revealed at a later date. The show will be hosted by Nabil Ahmad, Jihan Muse, and Sherry Alhadad, with Datuk Ramli MS, Hetty Koes Endang, and Datuk Syafinaz Selamat returning as judges. Former AF instructors will also act as guest judges. The winner will take home RM100,000, while the runner-up and third-place finishers will receive RM50,000 and RM30,000, respectively. The series premieres on November 8 and airs every Sunday at 9pm on Astro Ria (Channel 104).",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Nine Akademi Fantasia (AF) winners have been unveiled as the first contestants for the 13th...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}