Seventeen was an Indonesian pop rock band, formed in 1999 in Yogyakarta. The band's final line-up consisted of Riefian "Ifan" Fajarsyah, Herman Sikumbang, M. Awal "Bani" Purbani, and Windu Andi Darmawan. They released six studio albums and fifteen singles. They were known for their hit singles, such as "Selalu Mengalah", "Jaga Selalu Hatimu", "Jalan Terbaik", and "Ayah". Seventeen was performing in a tent at Tanjung Lesung resort on 22 December 2018 when the Sunda Strait tsunami struck the stage from behind. Bani, Herman, Andi, a crew member, and their on-road manager were killed. Ifan, the only surviving member, announced his solo career.
History
The band was formed by Yudhi Rus Harjanto, Herman Sikumbang, Zulianto "Zozo" Angga, and Windu Andi Darmawan who attended a private high school in Yogyakarta. With a serious desire to form a band, they asked M. Awal "Bani" Purbani, Yudhi's cousin, to join the band. Seventeen was officially formed on January 17, 1999. The band's name, "Seventeen", was chosen because all of the band members were 17 years old. One year later, Yohan "Doni" Saputro joined the band to fill the vocalist position. Their debut album, Bintang Terpilih was released on July 17, 2003 through Universal Music Indonesia. They asked Indonesian MTV VJ at the time, Arie Untung, to duet on their song "Jibaku". This album managed to achieve sales figures of up to 75,000 copies and some of its songs were used for soap opera soundtracks. But not long ago, their label closed its local division. For the next two years, they did not have a label contract. When the Universal Music local division was reopened, Seventeen immediately returned to signing a contract. They later released their second album, Sweet Seventeen in 2005 with the single "Jika Kau Percaya". In 2008, vocalist Doni, drummer Andi, and guitarist Zozo left the band. The remaining band members were confused to find a replacement of Doni for the crucial vocalist position. After going through the audition process, they got Ifan as their new vocalist. The vocal character differences between Doni and Ifan makes a change in Seventeen's genre. Seventeen's third album, Lelaki Hebat, was released in 2008 with a drastic change from rock to pop. For their third album, Seventeen released it in the Glodok electronic goods shopping center which has been known as a place for music pirates. After the release of their third album, Andi rejoined as a drummer after previously leaving because he focused on his work as a bank employee. In 2011, the band released their fourth album, Dunia yang Indah, with a hit single "Jaga Slalu Hatimu". In 2013, due to differences in music vision, guitarist Yudhi chose to leave the band when the fifth album Sang Juara was going to be released. The album contains two singles, titled "Sang Juara" and "Sumpah Ku Mencintaimu". Three years later, on 31 March 2016, they released their sixth album Pantang Mundur. In this album, they worked with music directors for the first time. The album contains 11 tracks including four singles "Cinta Jangan Sembunyi", "Bukan Main Main", "Aku Gila", and "Menunggu Kamu". In 2018, they released a new single titled "Jangan Dulu Pergi", written for the vocalist Ifan's deceased father. Its music video was released on 10 June 2018. It was the last work by the band before it disbanded.
Tsunami at Sunda Strait
Seventeen was performing at PLN Family Gathering in Tanjung Lesung, Pandeglang, Banten, when an eruption from Anak Krakatau caused a tsunami and suddenly struck the stage from behind. All the members were swept away by the tsunami. Bassist Bani and road manager Oki Wijaya were declared dead at the scene. The body of guitarist Herman was found several hours after being announced as missing. The body of drummer Andi was found one day after being announced as missing. Crew member Rukmana “Ujang” Rustam and vocalist Ifan's wife, actress and TV personalityDylan Sahara, were also killed in the tsunami. Ifan survived the tsunami as the remaining member of Seventeen. He later announced that Seventeen is now disbanded and he would continue as a solo artist.
