Chen Tianwen’s Baby Unbelievable expected any day now

SINGAPORE — Most people play Mozart to their unborn babies. Chen Tianwen, naturally, plays his own magnum opus: The song Unbelievable, which propelled him to new heights of stardom when it went viral in April.

Chen and his wife, who married last year, are expecting a baby boy any day now. “We tell him stories every night,” he shared. “(And) I do sing Unbelievable to him. Sometimes, we play him the song. When I’m performing and singing, he kicks. He also kicks when his mother is watching me in 118.”

It was announced on Tuesday that 118, the long-form half-hour dramedy Chen stars in, will be extended from an initial 190 episodes to 255 episodes and will end its run in mid-October.

After a 30-year career — Chen got his start in the dramas The Awakening, Man From The Past and Airforce — the hilarious Unbelievable music video, which aired as part of the Channel 5 sitcom Spouse For House, saw a career resurgence that even he describes as “really unbelievable”.

“Now, when I’m out, quite a few people recognise me, even people of other races,” Chen shared. “And they are friendlier — in the past, they’d just look at me from a distance. Now, they come over and say hi. Mostly they call me Mr Unbelievable, not by my name.”

Either it has taken the public this long to discover that he has a sense of humour or he has been cleverly hiding its existence all this while. In any case, Chen thinks this just might be the peak of his acting career.

“I hope it continues,” he said, adding that more scenes in Spouse For House are being planned for him.

Is he worried about whether he can outdo himself?

“No, these things go in phases,” he mused. “For example, if action movies are popular, a lot of them will be made. But then romances may become popular and then action movies will die down. It’s a wave, a trend. You mustn’t fear what lies down the road. The pace of life in Singapore is so fast — if you don’t follow up your work, people will forget you. That’s quite natural.”

For now, the expectant father is definitely in a very good place. “My wife and my baby have brought me a lot of luck, so I’m very happy,” he said. “Some endorsement deals have come in, and appearances.”

He is currently in talks with MediaCorp about renewing his contract when it expires in June — but for now, he has one major thing on his mind.

“I’m just anxious about how to bring up and instruct the baby.”

Catch 118 on weekdays, 7.30pm, on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.