It’s that time of the year again- the entertainment industry in Singapore is gearing up for the Star Awards 2023, an annual award show that recognises your favourite Mediacorp actors and actresses.
In light of the celebration, here are 10 fun facts about the Star Awards to get you hyped up for the show.
What Are The Star Awards?
For the uninitiated, here’s a quick recap of what the Star Awards (红星大奖）actually are.
According to Mediacorp’s official website, the Star Awards is a platform to “honour and celebrate local creativity and talent”.
In short, it’s a local award show that recognises the artistic and technical merit of Mediacorp performers in the Chinese-language entertainment industry.
Award categories are varied and plentiful, from classics like Best Actor and Best Actress to Special Achievement Awards, Best Director, Best Drama Serial, Favourite CP and more.
What’s The History Behind It?
The first Star Awards was held on 26 February 1994 at the Caldecott Broadcast Centre, with an audience of 500. Back then, there was no pre-show or post-awards ceremony, and the popularity contest’s voting was done through SMS text and telephone calls from the public.
There was also no Best Actor or Best Actress award. Instead, 10 Most Popular Artistes awards were handed out, five males and five females, unlike the current 20, with ten for each gender. Notable awardees include Zoe Tay, Li Nanxing and Chew Chor Meng.
In 1995, Fann Wong received the very first Best Actress award for her performance in the drama Chronicle of Life, and Li Nanxing received the first Best Actor Award.
It Inspired TVB’s Awards Show
Hong Kong’s broadcaster Television Broadcast Limited (TVB) ‘s awards show was inspired by Singapore’s 1995 Star Awards.
That year, a TVB bigwig was invited to attend the Star Awards in Singapore since many pioneer Mediacorp actors and staff had roots in Hong Kong. After watching the Star Awards, he commented that TVB should also have an awards ceremony.
Two years later, the TVB Anniversary Awards were conceived.
The Trophy Itself
As of 2023, the trophy is designed with a crystal body. Depending on the angle you view the trophy from, it can resemble an “S” or an “A”.
Obviously, that spells the acronym of the Star Awards. It weighs 4kg and cost a hefty S$1,000 each.
Before 2000, the trophy always featured the titular star motif with a star-shaped circle capping its top.
There’ve been four different designs in total so far.
The Theme Tune
Every year, the ceremony features a signature theme tune until 2019. It was a song titled “Linking the World”, composed by English-German songwriter Christopher Evans. Over the years, the tune underwent modifications but retained the same base.
In the 25th year of the Star Awards ceremonies, the theme song was recomposed based on the original “Starlight (星光)” tune, featuring a new rendition and new lyrics.
Since 2021, this rendition has been used to open the awards ceremony.
The new lyrics, written in Chinese, also feature the symbol of a star and relate to achieving hopes and dreams.
What’s This Year’s Ceremony Like?
This year, the Star Awards theme is “Beyond | Celebrations” and has been reimagined as a concert instead, showcasing local talents.
Chief Content Officer at Mediacorp Virginia Lim said that the theme showcased Mediacorp’s dedication to “evolve creatively with global trends and audience tastes” and promised surprise elements for the night.
It’s set to be held at Marina Bay Sands on 9 April 2023. This means that the Walk of Fame, a red-carpet event where celebrities flaunt their garb for the night, will take place against the backdrop of the Singapore skyline.
The concert will be headlined by Hong Kong pop singer Sammi Cheng and Taiwanese singer and actor Jam Hsiao. Not only will they perform alongside our local artistes, but they will also present the awards.
The awards will be hosted by Taiwanese Celebrity Matilda Tao and local artiste Lee Teng.
What Are The Award Categories This Year?
The award categories have undergone so many changes since the show’s conception.
This year’s show will continue to offer classic acting awards like Best Actor and Best Actress and technical awards like Best Screenplay and Best Variety Producer.
In total, 19 awards will be presented during the show.
The seven-hour commentary marathon Backstage LIVE is also making a comeback. It will offer an awards segment called MyPick! Awards.
During the segment, accolades like Favourite CP, Most Hated Villain, Perfect Combo and Favourite Show Stealer (separated by gender) will be presented.
Strange Award Categories
Of course, a fun fact list will only be completed by listing the strange categories of awards the Star Awards used to offer.
Most of them are sponsored categories that have popped up through the years. They include things like The London Choco Roll Happiness award, which was (surprisingly) presented multiple times through the years.
This award is given to an actor or actress who portrayed the most popular characters in a drama series. The public will be the ones voting for this award.
Other strange and self-explanatory categories include the BottomSlim Sexiest Legs award and the Tokyo Bust Express Sexy Babe award, which would probably be pretty awkward to judge.
This Year’s Popularity Awards
A record-breaking 75 artistes will be vying for the prestigious “Top 10 Most Popular Male/Female Artistes” awards this year, with 36 females and 39 males in the running.
In a break from tradition, the show has eliminated the preliminary shortlist of the top 40 stars, previously determined by a nationwide poll of only 1,000 people.
Instead, all eligible nominees will now be directly subjected to public voting, making the show more engaging for viewers.
You can find the list of nominees or vote for your favourite here.
And last, how exactly do you go about watching the Star Awards 2023?
On 9 April, Channel 8 and U will air a live telecast of most of the show, including Backstage LIVE, the Walk of Fame, and the Star Awards ceremony. They will also simulcast on MeWatch and Mediacorp’s Youtube entertainment channel.
Selected segments of the 30 March Gala Dinner, and the show’s awards, will also be available on the Youtube channel, Mediacorp’s social media platforms, and the Star Awards website.