Option 2: DangdutDangdut is a genre of Indonesian folk music played by the lower classes and developed in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta in the early 1970s. It represents the desires and aspirations of the people of the lower class of the political and economic structure. They are often described as ordinary people, lumpen-class groups, or little people who have been overlooked. In the late 1980s, dangdut became a powerful social tool as it extended its reach into social geography through the mass media and the middle classes. Dangdut has become the representation of Indonesian national music as it is considered an easy music that everyone can sing and dance to and almost everyone can feel a feeling of connection with the music. Furthermore, he represented "the soul of the Indonesian people" with his enormous popularity among Indonesia's government and military officials. However, dangdut in the 20th century began with its formative period adopting new characteristics and aesthetics of other folk music styles such as other forms of folk music. This essay will provide an understanding of the hybrid and blended musical elements of dangdut in relation to its relationship locally and nationally within the changing social, religious and historical events of modern Indonesia. Dangdut has its roots in "Malay band music" influenced by Indian music of the 1950s and 1960s. Rhoma Irama became an iconic dangdut figure in the 1970s. In the early 1970s, the most famous dangdut musician called Rhoma Irama, also known as “king of dangdut”, brought Western-style sound and performance to dangdut (Wallach and Clinton 2013, p4). He is one of the most significant artists of dangdut and has popularized the music through live concerts and ri...... middle of paper ......pp.102-130.Irama, Rhoma (2011) Music as a Medium for communication, unity, education and Dakwha. In Islam and Popular Culture in Indonesia and Malaysia, ed. Weinstraub, A., pp.185-192. New York: Routlege.Wallach, J. & Clinton, E. (2013) Asian Music: History, Modernity and Musical Genre in Indonesia: Popular Musical Genres in the Dutch East Indies and Post-Independence, vol.44, no.2, summer/Autumn 2013, pp. 3-23, University of Texas Press. Weintraub, A., N. (2006) Dangdut Soul: Who are the "people" in Indonesian popular music? Asian Journal of Communication vol.16, No.4, pp.411-431.Weintraub A., N (2010) Dangdut Sotires, A social and musical history of Indonesia's most popular music, Oxford University Press.Widodo, A. (1995) The stages of the State: The arts of the people and Rites of hegemonization. Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, 29, pp.1-35.