Brilio.net - The emergence of the girl band Cherybelle 13 years ago became a new trend in the Indonesian music world. You could say that Cherybelle was an example of the birth of other girl bands at that time.
Unfortunately, Cherybelle's popularity only lasted four years. One by one the members left the group. One of the things that caused a stir was the expulsion of Sarwendah and Devi in April 2012.
At that time, the management said that Sarwendah and Devi were expelled because they had passed the age limit for the girl band. However, twelve years passed, the trigger for Sarwendah's departure from Cherrybelle was finally revealed. He said this himself when he appeared on the Front Door Podcast episode 66 hosted by Kaesang Pangarep.
The discussion started when the mother of three children was asked to sing the song Cherrybelle but she immediately refused. Sarwendah argued that he was afraid of violating copyright.
"Yes, I ended up being expelled... I'm afraid I'll get sue (legal action)," he said from the YouTube channel Kaesang Pangarep by GK Great, Sunday (30/6).
photo: YouTube/Kaesang Pangarep by GK Great
The woman with the stage name Wenda Tan then told the story of the moment she was expelled. He said the management issued it unilaterally without any clear reason.
"On that day, I was still in Makassar, promoting a film. That night, I was called. I was told, 'You'll be released tomorrow, OK'. I was shocked," recalled Sarwendah.
Uncertainty enveloped Sarwendah at that time. The reason is, at the moment he was expelled, Sarwendah's activities, from dress rehearsals or GR to promos for the film with Cherrybelle, were still ongoing.
"There was no preparation whatsoever, no one was told anything. So why does there have to be a GR (rehearsal). So I'm confused, but there's no release letter or anything yet. It's not clear," he continued.
Even when she returned to Jakarta, the 34 year old woman was still 'hanging'. The reason for being expelled was not explained clearly.
"I really remember, I went back to Jakarta because I was confused. If I didn't have the letter, I wouldn't GR, I wouldn't come to the press conference," said Sarwendah.
photo: YouTube/Kaesang Pangarep by GK Great
The woman, who is currently in the process of divorcing Ruben Onsu, then asked for clarity via an official letter. The letter was only given to Sarwendah upon arrival in Jakarta.
"Then finally, management told me. Yes, management told me, they gave me a letter of release. It was issued," he continued.
After telling this, Sarwendah also said that he felt he had not violated the group rules at all. However, he remembered that he had previously asked for a salary slip because he wanted transparency from management.
As someone who once worked in an office as a Mandarin translator, Sarwendah is used to structured systems. Therefore, he felt it was natural to ask for a pay slip.
"At that time, I just asked. When there was a salary, I asked for transparency in the terms. Pay slips, what you've done, what your salary is. That's normal, right? Continue to issue it," he said.
The expulsion of Sarwendah and Devi, followed by Anisa Rahma who resigned herself, indeed made the Cherrybelle members confused. Unfortunately, the other Cherrybelle members also couldn't do anything to stop management's decision.