{
  "id": 3937926,
  "title": "#SHOWBIZ: 'Friend or foe': Aina Abdul refuses to dwell on AJL music industry criticism",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/showbiz-friend-or-foe-aina-abdul-refuses-to-dwell-on-ajl-music",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-28T10:00:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/groove/2026/08/1520770/showbiz-friend-or-foe-aina-abdul-refuses-dwell-ajl-music-industry"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the aftermath of her performance at the 40th Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL40), singer-songwriter Aina Abdul Abdul Ghani has spoken out about the online backlash and unfavourable comments she faced from industry peers. At 33, the vocal powerhouse expressed her disappointment with the culture of tearing down fellow artists. Despite being aware of the negative remarks on social media, Aina made it clear that she does not intend to let them distract her from her goal. She questioned why society needs to be filled with hatred and urged everyone to celebrate each other as artists instead. Aina highlighted the challenges of life in the spotlight and noted that criticism from industry peers stings more than that from the public. Rather than engaging in conflict, she hopes her fellow musicians will focus on their craft without provoking hostility. The former AJL winner sees the experience as a valuable lesson in personal resilience and industry dynamics. She emphasized that the most important thing is not to identify who is a friend or foe, but to move forward without dwelling on negativity. Aina called for greater maturity, wisdom in word choice, and mindful online behavior in the entertainment world.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Following widespread online backlash and shade from industry peers over her performance at the 40th Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL40), singer-songwriter Aina Abdul expressed her deep disappointment with the culture of tearing down fellow artistes.",
  "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."
}