1990–1992 Ziana Zain signed a contract to record an album under
BMG Asia Pacific (which has now become
BMG Music). In 1991, she released her debut album
Madah Berhelah and the hits single is "Madah Berhelah". It is a song about a jilted lover who was deceived by empty promises delivered through poetry and sweet words. Her subsequent singles from the same album, Riwayat Cinta, Dalam Kesakitan ini and Rentak Hidupku totally sealed her place as a singer who has powerful voice with wide octave range.
1993–1997 Ziana's second album,
Ziana Zain was released in 1993 and sold more than 85,000 copies. The album featured one foreign language track, "Chitose Bashi". The singles of the album included "Anggapanmu" and "Putus Terpaksa". Her third album,
Setia Ku Di Sini was released later in 1995 and she worked very closely with local composers. The album was certified 3× Platinum by RIM with 175,000 copies being sold. The album garnered her the "Best Female Vocalist in an Album" award at 1996's
Anugerah Industri Muzik award. Ziana released five singles from the album and the lead single, "Kemelut Di Muara Kasih", was another commercial success. Four other singles, "Bersama Akhirnya", "Setia Ku Di Sini", "Sangkar Cinta" and "Tiada Kepastian" and the famous track on the album is Tuduhan and Antara Ikhlas dan Paksa went to top significant charts across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. The song "Bersama Akhirnya" garnered her the Best Solo Performance award in Pujaan 10 Nescafe. Ziana released her fourth album,
Puncak Kasih, on 28 May 1997. It won Best Pop Album in 1998's Anugerah Industri Muzik. The lead single of the album, "Puncak Kasih", was a success. It managed to stay at No. 1 in Carta Muzik Muzik for 15 consecutive weeks. The song also won Best Ballad Song in 1998's
Anugerah Juara Lagu. The other single is Satu Detik, Kalau Mencari Teman and Ada Cinta. The Music Video Ada Cinta is shotting at car park in K.L.
1998–2004 Her comeback album was released in 2001 right after her pregnancy. The album,
Aku Cintakan Mu, sold more than 20,000 copies. The album won Best Album category in 2002's Anugerah Planet Muzik. The album received a nomination for "Best Female Vocalist in an Album" in 2002's Anugerah Industri Muzik. The album's lead single, "Menadah Gerimis", won Best Ballad Song category in 2002's Anugerah Juara Lagu award. It also won Best Song in Anugerah Planet Muzik that year, apart from being voted as the Best Pop Song Choice award in Anugerah Era. Two other singles from the album were released, namely "Bagai Gahara" and "Terkenang Jua". Both of the singles did not make it to the final round in Anugerah Juara Lagu. This album was Ziana's last studio album with BMG label.
Career break: 2005–2008 After the release of the album, Ziana took a career break for four years without releasing any studio albums.
2008–2011 She released a mini album in 2008 entitled
Dingin. The album featured four tracks and was nominated for Best Pop Song category in 2008's Anugerah Industri Muzik award. She also competed in Anugerah Juara Lagu in 2008. In February 2009, it was confirmed that Ziana was pregnant with twins. She gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl on 23 July 2009 in
Shah Alam. In January 2010, after six months of absence, finally Ziana returned to public as a surprise guest in the second annual gathering of Murai.com to celebrate the launching of a new fashion segment,
Stailista, in the web portal. In that event, she stated that she would release two new singles from her upcoming untitled album. The singles,
Pawana and
Dirimu Satu, were expected to be released in June 2010. Furthermore, Ziana was one of the mentors in the fourth season of a singing competition called,
Mentor. As the singing competition ended in July 2010, Ziana and her protégé, Mohd were announced as the winner for that season. With that success, they managed to take home RM 100 000 and a trophy. For her acting career, Ziana appeared in her new film,
Magika, which was directed by Edry KRU. During the preview of the film, Ziana received positive reviews on her excellent acting. In addition, taking place in Cititel Hotel,
Kuala Lumpur, Ziana Zain had been announced as a spokesperson for Slimworld Beauty House. This was the seventh years she was appointed as the ambassador of the beauty house. Apart from singing, acting and being product ambassador, Ziana is also involved in theatrical performance. Together with fellow singer
Misha Omar, she was cast in the second season of a musical theatre production entitled
Teater Muzikal Gamat 2. The performance, which commenced on 12 March 2010, was held in the Auditorium of Malaysian Tourism Centre (MaTiC), Kuala Lumpur, for 11 consecutive days. This was Ziana's second participation in theatre after
Musical Theater Antara. In 2011, Ziana Zain made some controversial remarks on Malaysian artist associations where she said the participation of Malaysian celebrities in these associations is just a waste of time. According to her, associations such as the Artists Association of Malaysia (Seniman), Karyawan Association (Karyawan) and Papita only serve the interests of a selected few and therefore should be disbanded.
2012 – present In April 2014, Zain announced her solo concert,
I Am Ziana Zain will be held in September 2014. The concert was scheduled to be held at her home state,
Malacca International Trade Centre. This will be her first solo concert after 15 years. Unfortunately, due to "organizer's internal problems" the concert was cancelled. On 15 July 2014, Zain stepped out in a new look, wearing full hijab with the approval of media outlets and fans. Zain also revealed in an interview that her upcoming album is in the works. She is working with
Faizal Tahir and
Awi Rafael for the new album. == Asian Music Exposure ==