Highs and lows from Star Awards 2023

Yet another year of the Star Awards is done and dusted, with the annual ceremony celebrating Chinese-language content and performers giving rising star Richie Koh, 29, the honour of Best Actor.

He won for his role in popular Channel 8 drama Your World In Mine (2022), making him the youngest man to clinch this prize in 26 years. 

The Straits Times looks at the highs and lows of the three-hour show, hosted by Lee Teng and Matilda Tao, and held on Sunday at the Sands Theatre.

High: Hard-working Top 10 winners

Ann Kok finally clinched her 10th Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste award, allowing her to sail to the position of All-Time Favourite Artiste in 2024. 

The 50-year-old had previously collaborated with gelato shop Cold Flings to give away 100 scoops of ice cream to her Instagram followers to encourage votes for her in the category. The gambit clearly paid off.

Backstage, she declared she would be giving out 1,000 scoops of ice cream to her supporters – a promise she made good on with an Instagram post on Monday about redemption details.

She says: “A lot of people misunderstood, thinking that you have to vote for me to get the free ice cream, but that’s not the case. It’s to thank everyone for their longstanding support.”

Meanwhile, Marcus Chin, who has been enticing viewers to vote for him with a lucky draw – the prizes were free trips to South Korea and Shanghai worth $6,500 – took home his third consecutive Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste award. 

And he wants to keep the streak going. Onstage, he proclaimed: “I’ll be 70 this year. This is my third award. My 10th will be when I’m 77.”

High: Sweet celeb couples 

 

The most “aww” moments of the night came from the marrieds. 

Jesseca Liu, 44, burst into tears when her husband Jeremy Chan, 41, won his first ever Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste award, and Chan followed Liu on stage to take a video of her when she nabbed her 10th Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste trophy. 

A-listers Fann Wong, 52, and Christopher Lee, 51, also flaunted their lovey-doveyness, even though Lee was in Taiwan for work. 

 

When Fann collected Lee’s win for Best Programme Host in a bold low-back dress, she read out a note from him that thanked “my beautiful wife” and told Fann: “I love you.”

High: Superstar music guests

Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao, 36, had a full-on mini-concert at the show with a performance of four songs, including his biggest hit, Princess (2009). The celebrities in the audience had a good time jamming to the tunes of the powerhouse Mandopop artiste, known for his high notes and rocker persona. 

 

Among those seen vibing to Hsiao’s performance, bobbing their heads, taking videos and mouthing the lyrics were Zhang Zetong, Carrie Wong and Xixi Lim.

Meanwhile, 50-year-old Cantopop superstar Sammi Cheng’s rendition of the Tsai Chin classic Just Like Your Tenderness (1981) had veterans like Xiang Yun holding her phone up for a video, and Aileen Tan singing along. 

Low: Overwrought production

 

Star Awards was reimagined as a concert this year, which begs the question: Why?

Why were all 39 nominees for Most Popular Rising Stars singing, dancing and rapping in an opening that was a poor imitation of K-pop reality television talent competition Produce 101 (2016 to 2019)? It served only to show that some actors and hosts are not meant to sing, dance or rap.  

And why were All-Time Favourite Artistes recipients Felicia Chin, 38, and Rebecca Lim, 36, engaged in a bizarre dance with their hands before they collected their awards? 

 

The pair performed with students from local dance troupe Dance Inspiration, who were good, but the segment was a poor fit for an awards show. The live chat on the YouTube simulcast of Star Awards was filled with comments from confused viewers who found it cringe-worthy.

And why was the signature Star Awards theme music missing when Best Actor and Actress were announced? The atmosphere in the room suffered greatly in its absence. 

Low: Egregious snubs

 

The most surprising snub of the night was Hong Ling. The 28-year-old was nominated for Best Actress and Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes, and lost out on both.

While Hong was not the hot favourite for Best Actress – the award went to her on-screen mum Huang Biren – the Your World In Mine star won Top 10 in both 2021 and 2022, but went home empty-handed this time.

 

Another notable “snub” was in the show’s decision to allocate no time for speeches for the Most Popular Rising Stars – which went to Richie Koh, Ayden Sng and Gao Meigui.

Koh got his moment in the spotlight when he won Best Actor, but Sng and Gao were the only winners of the night without a chance to give an acceptance speech.

The inaugural category, introduced for the 2023 edition, was ostensibly added to highlight the broadcaster’s crop of young talent, yet failed to properly honour them in their big moment.