Vidi Aldiano

Oxavia Aldiano was born in Jakarta on 29 March 1990, the first child of Harry Aprianto Kissowo and Besbarini Maya Zon. His father, of Javanese descent, owned and directed an event organising business, PT Tiga Bintang Nusantara. His mother, of Minangkabau descent, taught piano. Through his father he was a grandchild of the keroncong singer S. Darsih Kissowo, and through his mother a grandson of the executive Zon Saidan Sutan Rajo Labiah. He had two younger siblings, Diva Stradivaryan and Vadi Akbar, both of whom also sing.

His names carried family stories. Oxavia was chosen to mean balance, the idea that nothing in life should be excessive. Aldiano is an acronym of "Alhamdulillah Dia Nongol" ("Thank God he has arrived"), the words his father said when mother and baby both came safely through a difficult birth. Vidi was formed from his two given names.

He grew up in a home that prized music. As a small child he hummed along to television jingles and loved the sound of the adhan. His parents entered him in a singing contest and he placed third at the age of two and a half. He began piano lessons with his mother at three and later learned the violin in primary school. He described himself as a shy, bookish child who spent recess in the school library rather than the playground.

Vidi was educated at schools of the Al-Azhar Foundation in South Jakarta: SDI Al Azhar 4 in Kebayoran Lama (1996 to 2002), SMPI Al Azhar 3 in Bintaro (2002 to 2005) and SMAI Al Azhar 1 in Kebayoran Baru (2005 to 2008). In high school he briefly formed a duo with Raisa, which ended because transport costs were higher than the fees they earned.

He enrolled at Pelita Harapan University to study electrical engineering, then switched to management after a few months. He carried textbooks everywhere, even into the recording studio. In July and August 2012 he attended a summer programme in vocal performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston, his first formal training in vocal technique, theory and music history. He graduated from Pelita Harapan in 2013 with a GPA of 3.62.

In November 2013 he began a master's degree in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Manchester. He completed his thesis, based on research in Indonesia, in September 2014 and graduated cum laude in 2015.

Vidi's first brush with fame came in 2006, when he auditioned for the third season of Indonesian Idol at the Jakarta International Expo, singing Glenn Fredly's "Pada Satu Cinta", and reached the top 100.

He began recording his own album in his first year of high school, partly to replace the songs he was tired of hearing in the school canteen. The project took three years and several labels rejected the demo at a time when male soloists were out of fashion. Producer Lala Hamid finally released Pelangi di Malam Hari in 2008. The lead single, a remake of Keenan Nasution's "Nuansa Bening", was a hit on television and radio, followed by "Status Palsu", whose official video later passed 17 million views on YouTube. In 2009 he released the Ramadan compilation Lelaki Pilihan with his brother Vadi Akbar, including "Rindu Rasul" with Sam Bimbo.

His second album, Yang Kedua, arrived on 27 July 2011 through Trinity Optima Production. Vidi wrote six of its 11 songs and was involved in almost every part of production, from lyrics to cover design. The singles "Datang dan Kembali", "Lupakan Mantan" and "Gadis Genit" kept him on the charts, and "Lagu Kita" became a fan favourite. The 2013 mini album Dunia Baru added the "Pupus / Kasih Tak Sampai" mash-up, "Apakah Ku Jatuh Cinta" with Sherina Munaf and "Dibawah Langit Ibu Kota".

After returning from Manchester he founded VA Records and in 2014 released "Membiasakan Cinta", dedicated to people living with HIV. His third album, Persona, came out on 24 August 2016 after seven months of intense work with the songwriting trio Laleilmanino. Vocals were recorded in Indonesia and the album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London. By January 2017 it had sold more than 250,000 physical copies and was certified triple platinum, the first such certification of his career.

His fourth album, Senandika, was released on 22 July 2022 after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and his illness. Produced with Ari Renaldi and co-written with collaborators including his father, it traced his life since 2018, from the cancer song "Bertahan Lewati Senja" to "Dara", written for his wife. Sold through KFC Indonesia outlets, it moved 75,000 copies in its first month and more than 150,000 within two months.

In September 2023 he relaunched himself under the shorter stage name VIDI, partly because his full name was often mispronounced. Later releases included "Senyumin Dulu Aja", "Frenemy" with Isyana Sarasvati (2025) and "Pelukmu Sementara, Hatiku Selamanya" for Musikal Keluarga Cemara (2025).

Vidi played Alex in the television series Stereo (2015 to 2016), where he met his future wife Sheila Dara Aisha. He presented and commented on Social Media Sensation (2015 to 2016), sat as a permanent judge on Indonesian Idol Junior season 2 (2016 to 2017) and The Next Boy/Girl Band season 2 (2018), and was a coach on The Voice Indonesia seasons 3 and 4 and The Voice All-Stars, sharing a chair with Nino of RAN (2018 to 2022). He managed a team on eSports Star Indonesia (2021), judged KFC Mencari Bucket and hosted Spotify Wrapped Live Indonesia (2023), and was a mentor on X Factor Indonesia season 4 (2023 to 2024), where his act won.

From 2023 to 2025 he co-hosted Podhub on Deddy Corbuzier's YouTube channel. On screen he made cameo appearances in the short film Kinetik (2017) and the feature Tunggu Aku Sukses Nanti (2026), which included a black and white tribute to him after his death. In 2016 he published Persona, an art book in nine chapters in which 31 illustrators interpreted the songs of his album.

Vidi began dating actress Sheila Dara Aisha in 2015 after they worked together on Stereo. They split in 2018 and reunited in 2020. He proposed around his 31st birthday in March 2021, they held a formal engagement on 1 December 2021, and they married on 15 January 2022. After the wedding he received the Minangkabau honorific title Sutan Sari Alam of Bukittinggi, making his full name Oxavia Aldiano Sutan Sari Alam.

He was open about his mental health. He lived with an anxiety disorder linked to the pressures of performing and once fainted before going on stage in 2018. He also spoke about a fear of cats and of heights. In 2024, after a liquid-only detox in Koh Samui, Thailand, he lost six to seven kilograms and later said it contributed to body dysmorphia.

Fans and the press nicknamed him the "goodwill ambassador" (duta persahabatan) because he appeared at so many celebrity weddings that he seemed to be friends with all of Indonesian show business.

Vidi was a practising Muslim who was educated in Islamic schools, recorded religious songs for Ramadan and, according to tvOne, often consulted the preacher Husein Ja'far Al Hadar on matters of faith and worship. He was buried after Islamic funeral prayers.

He treated his illness publicly and with humour. Diagnosed with stage 3 kidney cancer in late 2019, he explained in his YouTube video "i HAD cancer" that it began when he lost his voice in October 2019 and doctors noticed high blood pressure. When the cancer spread, he called his regular treatment sessions a "spa day" and wrote that he had learned to make peace with his condition and be grateful for whatever God had given him. He used his platform for causes including HIV/AIDS awareness, children's education and literacy.

From 2014 to 2016 Vidi was an HIV/AIDS ambassador for the Indonesian AIDS Foundation. His #TetapHidup campaign pledged money for every view of the "Membiasakan Cinta" teaser and every radio play of the song, raising Rp15,090,800 with his own contribution. On his 27th birthday he raised education funds for a high-achieving child in Yogyakarta through Kitabisa.com, and in Ramadan 2017 a campaign with Puyo Dessert donated Rp100 million to Taman Bacaan Pelangi to build a library in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.

As an entrepreneur he founded VA Records (2014) and the clothing label VA Apparel, co-founded the creator platform KROWD with Putri Tanjung (2018), and with badminton player Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Tasa Group opened Chanba Japanese Grill and Rumu Private Room Grill restaurants in Jakarta from 2022. He served as taste critic for Fore Coffee from 2022 and invested in the pop-up Museum Patah Hati (Heartbreak Museum) with Afgan and Rossa in 2023.

Vidi won Most Favorite Male Artist at the 2009 MTV Indonesia Awards, Best Male at the 2010 Hai Readers Poll Music Awards and Favourite Male Singer at the 2011 Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards. At the 2019 Anugerah Musik Indonesia he won Best Urban Collaboration for "I Don't Mind" with Sheryl Sheinafia and Jevin Julian, after many AMI nominations from 2012 onward for songs including "Gadis Genit", "Pupus / Kasih Tak Sampai", "Membiasakan Cinta", "Definisi Bahagia" and "Tak Sejalan". Persona was certified triple platinum in 2017, and HighEnd magazine named him one of 18 recipients of its Alpha Under 40 recognition.

Vidi was one of the defining Indonesian male pop voices of the late 2000s and 2010s, a self-made artist who recorded his debut independently, later ran his own label and earned a triple platinum album at a time when physical sales were collapsing. He paired chart success with an unusually public commitment to study, philanthropy and honesty about illness. His openness about kidney cancer, anxiety and body image gave many young Indonesians language for their own struggles. After his death, his final Instagram post drew more than 263,000 comments.

Vidi died at his home in Cilandak, South Jakarta, at 4.33 pm Western Indonesia Time on Saturday 7 March 2026, during the holy month of Ramadan. He was 35 and had lived with kidney cancer since late 2019. News spread first through posts by fellow musicians including Andi Rianto and Melly Goeslaw before his family confirmed it. Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka sent condolences, and tributes followed from Afgan, Deddy Corbuzier, Bunga Citra Lestari, Jerome Polin, Thariq Halilintar and many others.

Mourners gathered at the family home through the night. On the morning of Sunday 8 March 2026 funeral prayers were held at Masjid Jami' Ath-Thoyyibah in Cilandak Barat, and at about 8.15 am he was buried at Tanah Kusir Public Cemetery (TPU Tanah Kusir), Kebayoran Lama, as rain fell. His father, Harry Kiss, later said that his prayer had been answered: his son was called home at the height of his fame and remembered as a good person.