2014 in review: Local celebrity by the numbers
SINGAPORE — There’s never a dull moment in showbiz, and this year had its fair share of “Did you hear?” moments. We recount them for you, conveniently soring them into categories by the numbers — because there may be no accounting for taste, but there sure can be for celebrity events.
SINGAPORE — There’s never a dull moment in showbiz, and this year had its fair share of “Did you hear?” moments. We recount them for you, conveniently sorting them into categories by the numbers — because there may be no accounting for taste, but there sure can be for celebrity events.
2 WEDDINGS
Four famous people tied the knot in two vastly different styles. On Sept 7, Yvonne Lim and Alex Tien threw a lavish, pink frou-frou do at the Ritz, complete with dancing and a pre-dinner press conference. Only two days later, Joanne Peh and Qi Yuwu had nuptials so quiet, the news was leaked via David Gan’s Instagram — which, of course, caused more of a stir among gossip-hungry Singaporeans, who speculated about whether J-Peh, like Yvonne, was pregnant (she wasn’t).
1 MERLION
Shockingly, only one of the above weddings was witnessed by a 37m-tall aquatic feline.
4.5 BABIES
This year, four celebrity cherubs made their entrance into the world. Kate Pang and Andie Chen welcomed Aden on June 30 after an audacious home birth, no less. Then, on National Day, the stork brought the long-awaited Zed to Fann Wong and Christopher Lee. On Dec 27, Yvonne Lim gave birth to Alex Junior; and on Dec 30, Brandon Wong shared the news of the arrival of his third son. And even though it hasn’t been born yet, we figure the bun in Chen Tianwen’s wife’s oven should be considered at least half a baby.
8 DUKES
No one was more surprised than Zhang Zhen Huan, Desmond Tan, Romeo Tan, Ian Fang, Aloysius Pang, Shane Pow, Xu Bin and Jeffrey Xu themselves when they were collectively initiated into dukedom in April in a marketing strategy that takes a leaf from 2007’s Seven Princesses phenomenon. If you thought those girls were big, well, the boys have literally one-upped them. Yes, eight is a lot of up-and-coming young male actors to crown, but no one has ever heard the saying, “too many dukes spoil the manor” — and at least, it gives us something to talk about while we’re polishing our monocles, right?
20 YEARS
Of Star Awards, that is. This year marked the annual award ceremony’s 20th anniversary — which means 20 glorious years of red carpets, yellow raincoats and popularity contests.
4 FAREWELLS
This year, three artistes left MediaCorp when their contracts were up. Ann Kok, who started acting in 1993, left the industry in March. Then, in October, Yuan Shuai, who has been acting since 2008, returned to China to care for his ailing father. Last month, Gurmit Singh announced his decision to end a 20-year full-time career in television. And on Dec 30, GOLD 90.5FM DJ and host The Flying Dutchman announced that he would be leaving MediaCorp after 18 years on the airwaves. But with showbiz types, you never know, so we won’t say goodbye for now — we’ll just say: “See you later.”
2 COMEBACKS
Speaking of which, two actresses made a return this year. Felicia Chin re-joined the industry full-time with the dramas Scrum!, In The Name Of Love and The Journey: Tumultuous Times, after being away for two years to go back to school. And Huang Biren returned to star in the drama Three Wishes after a seven-year hiatus. Could that be why Three Wishes was one of the top three most-watched dramas of the year?
Updated on Dec 30