Maia Estianty

In 1999, Estianty and Dhani agreed to establish a musical duo consisting of a singer and musician, based on concepts pioneered by international bands like Roxette and Savage Garden.[6] Pinkan Mambo, a café singer, was chosen to be the second member of the newly formed group, named Ratu, which is "Queen" in Indonesian.[7] After three years of training,[6] Ratu released its first album, Bersama (Together), in 2003, which was influenced by R&B.[1] Maia wrote seven songs on the album, while Dhani did the other three.[6] The album was a commercial success, selling 250,000 copies.[8]

Although Mambo and Estianty began work on another album, Mambo withdrew from the group in 2004 after widespread coverage of her premarital pregnancy.[9] Maia and Dhani began looking for a replacement. They agreed on Mulan Jameela, a café singer from Bandung who took the stage name of Mulan Kwok; her appointment was announced on 7 April 2005.[10] That August, Ratu released the album Ratu and Friends in collaboration with numerous other artists.[1] The album, which featured two songs by Ratu,[11] sold more than 400,000 copies and was certified double platinum in Indonesia.[12] The title of the single "Teman Tapi Mesra", often abbreviated TTM and released to promote Ratu and Friends, became widely used to describe those in a physical relationship without an emotional one.[13]

The following year, Maia garnered a role in the Trans TV-funded comedy programme Extravaganza, where she was the only non-Sundanese cast member.[14] Also in 2006, Ratu released Nomor Satu (Number One), with pop-rock influences;[1] Estianty wrote most of the songs.[15] The album was a commercial success, selling 200,000 copies nationally on the day of its release, a record for a work by a female Indonesian group.[12] However, conflict between Dhani and Estianty, as well as concerns over Jameela's payment, led Ratu to disband in 2007.[16][17]

Estianty with Mey Chan formed Duo Maia. Together, they released the album, Maia and Friends, in 2008,[1] which was in direct competition with Jameela's album. The songs on the album were all written by Estianty. It featured duets with artists such as Gita Gutawa, Gigi, and Glenn Fredly.[18] That year, she was one of ten women honoured at the Tribute to Women ceremony held by the ANTARA News Agency; other honourees included author Ayu Utami and economist Sri Mulyani Indrawati.[19]

Estianty played in Kata Maaf Terakhir (The Last Apology) in 2009 as Dania, the ex-wife to whom Darma (Tio Pakusadewo) must apologise before he dies. Marcel Thee, writing in The Jakarta Globe, described her performance as well done.[20] That same year, she released Sang Juara (The Champion) as part of Duo Maia. In an interview with The Jakarta Post, she explained that she had written the titular song after hearing Queen's power ballad "We Are the Champions" at a basketball match; she realised that there were no Indonesian songs which could be used in the same situation.[1] Along with Dewiq and Agus Wisman, she was a judge of the Global TV-sponsored musical talent show Dream Girls, which was open exclusively to mothers.[21]

In early 2010, Estianty established the recording studio Le Moesiek. Several established artists, including Krisdayanti and Julia Perez, signed on quickly. At the time, she owned five other business ventures, including a steakhouse, an outsourcing company, and a café.[22] Estianty was reported in October 2010 to be working on a cover album which featured works originally sung by Nike Ardilla, Hetty Koes Endang, and Atiek CB.[23] Later that year, she was chosen as Ambassador on Domestic Violence by the Indonesian Ministry for Women's Issues. Dhani objected to the appointment and threatened to sue the ministry, as he took offence to suggestions that he had abused Estianty.[24]

In April 2012, Estianty announced that, although Duo Maia would continue to perform, she intended to focus on her work as a producer. She had spent the previous several months focusing on her managerial duties at Le Moesik. Meanwhile, Chan would begin a solo career.[25][26]