Top 10 Searches (All Categories)

1. Singapore Budget
   If you remember, we have dug into our own reserves for the first time. Job Credit Scheme was also introduced.
2. H1N1
   Can someone tell me again, how did this eventually died down?
3. Michael Jackson
   I think the biggest Pop sensation ever in the music industry. Who touched and changed the lives of many.
4. F1 Singapore
   2nd year in the running. Almost a flop this year with more than 50% tickets unsold just a month away from the event.
5. David Widjaja
   Famous NTU Student, who’s life still remains a mystery.
6. Manohara Odelia Pinot
   Another scandalous affair, between a 17year old model, and a Malaysian Prince.
7. Mas Selamat
   Convict who escaped, sold Ramli Burgers in Malaysia, caught by Malaysian Police, but credits went to Singapore
8. Ris Low
   Miss Singapore, who loss her crown, and then, created her own “American wanna be” English slang.
9. Aware
   I still don’t really know what this is about. A bunch of ladies publicizing their views?
10. The Little Nyonya
    The Mediacorp show that I think helped Malaysia Tourism Board by re-igniting the Malacca as a tourist attraction.

Some other popular searches includes:

Fann Wong & Christopher Lee’s wedding. As always, Singaporeans are love celebrity gossips. What’s more this is probably the biggest wedding in the entire history of the local media industry.

Geylang Serai Food Poisoning. The one that had problems with the Rojaks or something.

Jamie Yeo (goibg public about her sex life, divorcing with Glenn Ong), Zhang Ziyi (sexy beach photos), Michelle Chia (2nd biggest marriage after Fann and Chris), Fiona Xie (Quitting Mediacorp), Joanne Peh (Winning Best Actress), Andy Lau (admitting he is married), were among the top Celebrity searches.

Some interesting questions that were being searched include:

Does Ris Low deserve to represent Singapore in the upcoming Miss World pageant? (like duh~)

Tissue Chopping is it curteous? (you tell me!)

Should I tell the truth during a job interview?

And finally, Pizzas was the topped searched item in the food category. An interesting fact though was that the searches peaked during the long weekend, especially during National Day. Seems like Singaporeans still prefer Pizza Hut to Macdonalds when it comes to home delivery.

Full list can be found here

Well, did you know Google, Twitter, Yahoo, and other search engines, social networking sites were almost took down by this man alone? I’m seriously not joking, there were so many searches around the world, that Google was down for 20 minutes. Posts of his death was also seen throughout major networking sites like Twitter, so much so that it created a huge lag among its users.

Yahoo registered a total of 800,000 clicks within 10 minutes of a report stating Jackson was rushed a a hospital. Another 560,000 clicks in 10mins was recorded when news of the Pop Idol’s passing on was published. Yahoo News had 16.4 million unique visitors, breaking the 15.1 million visitor record set on Election Day.

Here’s how a search graph look like on Google

Google Search For Michael Jackson

On a lighter note, here are some interesting search phrases related to Michael Jackson’s death:

“How To Moonwalk?”
“Who is Michael Jackson?”
“How old did Elvis Presley die?”
“Did Michael Jackson die?”

Songs like Thriller, Man In the Mirror and Billie Jean were also among the more popular searches.

And that is the power of the King of Pop!

Subsequently there will be another wedding dinner in Malaysia the following October. For those of you who didn’t get to see much of the photos on the papers, I’ve posted up what I’ve found below. Enjoy~

Enjoy~

Ann Kok – http://astispumante.wordpress.com/

Bryan Wong – http://bryanwong.sg/

Dasmond Koh – http://www.dasmondkoh.com/
Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/7178856@N06/

Elvin Ng – http://www.elvinng.net/blog/

Fann Wong’s Sister – http://oneqingqing.blogspot.com/

Felicia Chin – http://chenjingxuan.net/blog/

Ivy Lee – http://ivylee.wordpress.com/

Jeanette Aw – http://blog.sina.com.cn/xuantasy

Jessica Liu – http://jessecaliu.wordpress.com/

Joanne Peh – http://ajollyaffair.wordpress.com/

Qi Yu Wu – http://blog715.wordpress.com/

Sharon Au – http://negi.wordpress.com/

Tay Ping Hui – http://zhengbinhui.wordpress.com/

Wong Li Lin – http://wonglilin.blogspot.com/

Yvonne Lim – http://blog.sina.com.cn/linxiangping

Since then catfights between the two stars were reported on newspapers, and they have been also termed the “Ah Jies” of the Singapore Media Industry. Very seldom you would see the two celebrities appear together at the same venue. (Star Awards an exception)

So back to our main topic. I’m very sure the entire Singapore (even within Mediacorp itself) thought that Jeanette Aw would win the Best Actress Award for her dual roles in Little Nonya. Jeanette played both Yue Niang and her mother in the hit Drama Serial that swept a number prizes on the big night.

I didn’t catch the show, but correct me if I’m wrong. Joanne Peh’s character only appeared in the middle of the serial, though she did play a big part later on as the story develops. Hence it was a big shock when Joanne Peh snatched the award from right under Jeanette’s nose.

Here’s why I think Mediacorp decided to give the award to Joanne Peh instead:

Joanne Peh (白薇秀) has generally been known as a somewhat sophisticated person. She has excellent track record in her studies, from Temasek Secondary (Head Prefect) to Victoria Junior College, Bachelor of Communication Studies with NTU. I’m quite sure with her credentials, she wouldn’t want to stay in the media industry too long. To me, she should be looking for more opportunities in the business world.

Jeanette Aw (欧萱) boasts equally impressive study records from Raffles Girls Primary to Cresent Girls Secondary, then Nanyang Junior College and NUS. However Jeanette is more of the artsy type. Unlike Joanne Peh, Jeanette’s degree was in Theatrical Studies, while she took part in dancing, swimming, band and other activities back in school.

So could it be that the publicly well-liked Joanne Peh is thinking of quiting the media scene? After all the efforts by Mediacorp to groom her up, it would be a waste to let her move on, especially since she’s gaining huge popularity even though far away from reaching her peak.

Like I said, Jeanette Aw gives the public an impression that she enjoys being in the limelight. So my guess is that Jeanette should be putting a strong foothold into the entertainment industry, rather than moving somewhere else. Besides, thats what her degree is in as well.

As of now, Jeanette and Joanne are probably the “hottest” starlets in Mediacorp. Starlets here meaning princesses. The queen titles are still held strongly by both Fann Wong and Zoe Tay. You may agrue that Rui En, Felicia Chin and some others are well-liked as well. But I’m sure many will agree that popularity wise, they lose out to the two. However with more emphasis being placed on our princess.

So like all entertainment industries, what better way to spout a new rivlary among the upcoming stars, than making use of the Star Awards? Fann is getting married to Christopher Lee soon, and he mentioned that they intend to start a family soon. The Zoe craze has already died down for quite a while now. So something new, fresh, and able to trigger excitement has to be put up.

Many have said that Jeanette Aw is a very arrogant person in real life. I’ve never seen her, so I don’t really know. But assuming she is, then I think she must be fuming inside when the winner was announced. Her face didn’t show any signs of anger though, I guess she was too shocked herself. Thinking that the award is already in the bag for her.

Best Drama Serial: Little Nonya (小娘惹)
Nominees: Perfect Cut (一切完美), By My Side (不凡的爱 ), Just In Singapore (一房半厅一水缸), Love Blossoms I (心花朵朵开I), The Golden Path (黄金路)

Best Actor: Chen Han Wei for By My Side (陈汉玮 – 不凡的爱)
Nominees: Adrian Pang for Nanny Daddy (彭耀顺 – 奶爸百分百), Huang Wen Yong for Just In Singapore (黄文永 – 一房半厅一水缸), Pierre Png for Little Nonya (方展发 – 小娘惹), Qi Yu Wu for Little Nonya (戚玉武 – 小娘惹), Tay Ping Hui for The Golden Path (郑斌辉 – 黄金路)

Best Actress: Joanne Peh for Little Nonya (白薇秀 – 小娘惹)
Nominees: Chen Li Ping for Just In Singapore and The Golden Path (陈莉萍 – 一房半厅一水缸; 黄金路 ), Fann Wong for The Defining Moment (范文芳 – 沸腾冰点), Felicia Chin for The Golden Path (陈靚瑄 – 黄金路), Jeanette Aw for Little Nonya (欧萱 – 小娘惹)

Best Supporting Actor: Chew Chor Ming for The Golden Path (周初明 – 黄金路)
Nominees: Dai Yang Tian for Little Nonya (戴阳天 – 小娘惹), Darren Lim for Little Nonya (林明伦 – 小娘惹), Yao Wen Long for Little Nonya (姚玟隆 – 小娘惹), Zzen for Little Nonya (章缜翔 – 小娘惹), Zhu Hou Ren for The Defining Moment (朱厚任 – 沸腾冰点)

Best Supporting Actress: Ng Hui & Xiang Yun both for Little Nonya (黄慧, 向云 – 小娘惹)
Nominees: Eelyn Kok for Little Nonya (郭蕙雯 – 小娘惹), Li Yin Zhu for Little Nonya (李茵珠 – 小娘惹), Lin Mei Jiao for Little Nonya (林梅娇 – 小娘惹), Pei Xuan for The Golden Path (蔡佩璇 – 黄金路)

Top 10 Male Artistes: Tay Ping Hui (郑斌辉), Qi Yuwu (戚玉武), Zheng Ge Ping (郑各评), Pornsak, Henry Thia (程旭辉), Mark Lee (李国煌), Chen Han Wei (陈汉玮), Elvin Ng (黄俊雄), Christopher Lee (李铭顺), Bryan Wong (王禄江)

Top 10 Female Artistes: Ivy Lee (李锦梅), Yvonne Lim (林湘萍), Felicia Chin (陈靓瑄), Jeanette Aw (欧萱), Quan Yi Fong (权怡凤), Rui En (瑞恩), Joanne Peh (白薇秀), Xiang Yun (向云), Jessica Liu (刘芷绚), Vivian Lai (赖怡伶)

All Time Favourite Artiste: Huang Biren (黄碧仁)

Best Theme Song: 如燕 Sang by Olivia Ong (Little Nonya)

Best News Presenter: Tung Soo Hua (董素华)

Full List of Results & Nominees Can Be Viewed Here

There was almost nothing about Fiona Xie throughout the award ceremony. Could it be that she’s going to be in the “long forgotten list”? A young and rising star appearing in tv series, talk-shows, and landing sponsorship deals. One cannot help wonder why wasn’t she voted in.

The whole Singapore probably thought Jeanette Aw would win the Best Actress for her role in Little Nonya. I’m sure even Jeanette herself thought that the Star Award night would be hers. Could this be a new Zoe-Fann rivalry in the making? Could it be that Mediacorp wants to retain Joanne Peh, hence giving the award to her instead of Jeanette Aw?

I thought it was very fair for Chen Han Wei to win the Best Actor Award for his role in “By My Side”. Though I didn’t catch the entire series, but based on the episodes I watched, Han Wei portrayed the role of a HIV victim very well. I think he really showed how someone with HIV would go through in life, the difficulties encountered, etc.

To be honest, I thought neither Joanne Peh, or Jeanette Aw deserved the Best Actress Award. In the entire TV Series “Little Nonya” Huang Hui to me was the best actress and really really seeped into the role, sadly though she wasn’t the main star. But I think its a very fair decision for her winning the Best Supporting Actress.

Little Nonya bagging a number of awards was probably expected by everyone. With so much effort into publicity, filiming budget, and what I call “after-sales marketing” (Little Nonya Musical, TV Series DVD, etc) its not surprising that the popular series won Best Drama Series Award. On-top of that, Little Nonya also won Best Production Design, Best Screenplay, Best Theme Song, Top Rated Drama Serial, Best Editing, and Best Director Awards.

Joanne Peh (Best Actress), Xiang Yun and Huang Hui (Best Supporting Actress) both won the respective categories for their role in Little Nonya as well. In fact I think its the first time Star Awards had two winners in the same category.

With that, here’s my preferred winning list:

Dong Su Hua (Best Newscaster) – Yea!
I think in terms of looks, presentation, she’s probably the best there is. (I’m sure most guys will agree with me on this)

Little Nonya (Best Drama Series) – Duh~
Probably could be better, but no doubt the best Drama of the year

Lin Pei Fen (Best Info-Ed Programme Host) – Disappointed
I thought So Simple was a really informative show that brings the viewers back to reality. About the simple pleasure in life, and Pei Fen’s gentleness as a host really brought that essence out. Sighh..

Huang Hui (Best Supporting Actress) – Yea!
Thumbs up to her, and her performance in Little Nonya. I really loved how she portrayed the pitiful maid in the show, as well as the loyalty to Yue Niang.

Chen Han Wei (Best Actor) – Thumbs Up
Again I think he was totally devoted and sank into his role in By My Side

Ru Yan (Best Theme Song) – Another Thumbs Up
Agree its the best theme song in the list, and what better person to sing it than our very own Olivia Ong. Not many would know of Olivia for her Bossa Nova style, but after her performance of Ru Yan, I think she’s achieved another level of fame. On the side, would Corrine May be a better choice? Hmm..

I’m sure everyone parents would agree with me, getting your kid into the best primary school is essential as it gives strong foundation in the child’s education. Families shift houses so that they better priority to enroll their kids in pretigeous schools. Parents donate huge sum of money, not for the school’s well-being, but rather for their childrens’ well-being.

Today, Zoe Tay, the Queen of Caldecott Hill, is doing the same. Chinese paper Shin Min Daily News spoke to Nanyang Primary School’s principal, Mdm Heng Boey Hong, who confirmed that the actress did indeed approach the school offering to volunteer her time there.

According to the article, the Ministry of Education usually recommends parents to volunteer 40 hours of their time at the schools they wish their children to attend, but as Nanyang Primary is popular among parents, the school requires all parents to volunteer 80 hours of their time instead.

Here’s some interesting facts from the interview:

1. He loves the humid weather best in Singapore
2. Loves spicy food, especially Thai food
3. Received fan mails all the way from Singapore
4. Sadly, he doesn’t even know where Singapore is, and was surprised American Idol was aired here. (Typical big headed isolated American)

The full video can be seen here

Edmund plays Xiang, Chun-Li’s father, in the upcoming movie “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”. In the article, Edmund shares his experiences while filming. The full article can be found here

Another oversea’s film that Edmund has participated in include Turn Left, Turn Right (向左走·向右走), where he played Dr. Hu. Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Gigi Leung are other big names that were part of the film.

Here’s a list of other Singaporeans who made it to Hollywood:

• NG CHIN HAN
  The Dark Knight
• LIM KAY TONG
  Saigon, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
• IVAN HENG
  The Fifth Element
• ADRIAN PANG
  Spy Game
• FANN WONG
  Shanghai Knights