SINGAPORE — Two Singaporean teams have been selected to compete in the upcoming fifth season of The Amazing Race Asia, and they will vie for a US$100,000 cash prize with nine other teams from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam.

It was not an easy entry for the four of them — radio deejays and hosts of the Power98 breakfast show Jerald Justin Ko (also known as JK) and Michael Tan, as well as siblings Rei and Keiji Umehara (who are of Singapore-Japanese descent) were selected out of more than 1,500 audition videos, and the show’s producers admitted they had a hard time picking the teams.

“We were overwhelmed by the response to our casting call,” said Ang Hui Keng, senior vice-president and general manager of Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia at the official announcement in Jakarta on Thursday (July 28). “This season’s audition videos were creative, witty, clever and very surprising, so it was a tough selection process.” In the end, 11, not the initially planned 10, teams were unveiled.

Filming and pre-production of the race will begin next week, and while AXN had declined to reveal the destinations, Indonesia’s tourism minister Arief Yahya shared at the press conference that of the 10 episodes, five will showcase five different Indonesian cities. 

Wonderful Indonesia, the tourism arm of Indonesia, is the main sponsor of this reality series.

Describing themselves as “sheer polar opposites that somehow work well together”, Ko, 29, quipped that he is only joining the race with his 33-year-old colleague “because I don’t want to divorce my wife so early into my marriage”.

He added: “(It) will be great fun to take my relationship with Mike to the next level; while at the same time traversing the globe in a competitive environment ... We reckon we can take on any challenge; together we’ve done heaps! From skydiving to ice bucket; laster tag to spin challenges and more. Might get pretty ugly and feisty with us two in the zone!”

Meanwhile, entrepreneur Rei, 30, and Youtuber-freelance videographer Keiji, 26, describe themselves as “one crazy, close-knitted, sibling pair” characterised by dramatic fights (apparently, Rei once threw a ceramic door stopper at Keiji, which caused him to have a bloody head. She also once stabbed his leg with a pencil.)

“The race is not only an adventure of a lifetime, it is a game and a challenge we would love to conquer. And importantly, it is a time for (us) to catch up since time together has come at a premium ever since Rei moved out of the house when she got married. The experience in itself is something money can’t buy,” said Keiji. ““Of course the cash prize of US$100,000 is the icing on the cake.”

The Amazing Race Asia, which is one of AXN’s more popular offerings, is based on the American series The Amazing Race. It had a six-year hiatus, with its last season in 2010, before Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia announced in May that it was bringing the show back. It is expected to premiere in October, and is hosted by Singapore actor-host Allan Wu, who helmed the first four seasons and had only just wrapped The Amazing Race China: Celebrity Edition a week ago.

The show will also, for the first time, feature a co-host — Indonesian movie star Tara Basro, who will appear with Wu at pit-stops and at selected legs of the race.

Asked what advice he had to give, Wu said: “Watch the past seasons of the race, go jogging with a backpack full of books and sleep a lot for the next week.” 

Wu is also unfazed by the new addition of Basro, adding that he welcomes the competition for his role as host. “May the best man win,” he quipped.