Loh Chuan JunnThey danced, they sang and they acted. But for 10 budding stars, their glimmering hope of stardom was cruelly snuffed out within 2 hours and 45 minutes on Nov 14.
Into the last quarter of the show, entry tickets to the final lap were awarded to the favoured ones.
In that moment, the fallen ones knew that months of practicing, hours of rehearsing and minutes of sweating had come to nought.
Sorry hun, that’s show business for you.
Lauded as one of Singapore’s most well-known talent contests, which has produced MediaCorp celebrities like Zoe Tay, Chew Chor Meng, and Felicia Chin, Star Search made a return in September after a 3-year hiatus and held its live broadcast of the semi-finals at MediaCorp last night.
The competition is now in its 10th instalment and saw popular TV hosts, Quan Yi Fong and Dasmond Koh travelling to cities across Asia in search of young blood. Open auditions were held in cities like Taipei, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, in addition to Singapore.
The top 20 contestants were narrowed down to the final 10; Teh YiLynn, Adeline Lim, Sora Ma, Vivi Hu, Peggy Lin, Jeff Lim, Jeffrey Xu, Darryl Yong, James Seah and Romeo Tan.
Shanghai beauty Peggy, Malaysian looker Sora, and home boys Romeo, James and Darryl were no surprises, having already led the pack on the scoreboard during quarter-finals.
This handpicked group of 10 lads and lasses will go on to compete in the Grand Finals come Dec 5.
Unlike past years’ Star Search contests, where getting the contestants to act was the main event, there was a twist in how things worked this year.
The group of young contestants were made to go through not 1…not 2…but 3 whole stages of nerve-wracking trials in the semi-finals.
With “romance” as the central theme of the show, the first challenge came in the form of pre-shot short video clips, testing their ability to exude on-screen charisma as pseudo couples.
The second part of the contest saw the 20 aspiring stars travelling back in time as they gyrated and swayed to the tunes of classic 1950s Shanghai, 1960s Hollywood, 1970s Bollywood and 1980s Hong Kong Pop.
As they say, practice makes perfect. The synchronized dance choreography, agile movements and nifty footwork showcased by the fame-chasers were results of numerous hours of arduous training sessions in the last 2 months that led up to the semi-finals.
Malaysian contestant, Jeff Lim, 24, told UrbanWire after the results were released, “Dancing was a struggle for me to overcome. I’ve never dance before. The first time I danced “Lucifer” [dance song by Korean band, SHINee], it was for the recording of a previous episode of Star Search. It’s only my second time dancing today.”
Following the Korean Tsunami that has hit local shores this year, it seemed like Star Search 10 couldn’t resist a ride on the high waves of k-pop successes.
Not only was Korea’s rookie singer G.NA (Choi Gina) called in for interlude song numbers, skits and characters inspired by popular Korean dramas Coffee Prince, Temptation of a Wife and Style were also carefully twisted and crafted into original short plays for the final round of the competition.
In a series of hilarious skits that had the audience tickled pink and gasping for breath, the hopeful talents pitted their acting chops against showbiz veterans Terence Cao, Michelle Chong, Patricia Mok, Tay Ping Hui and Dennis Chew who played his popular lady alter ego Auntie Lucy.
As confetti popped and congratulatory messages flowed when the semi-finals came to a close last night, UrbanWire witnessed tears also flowing uncontrollably backstage.
Emotions ran amok as victorious contestants bade farewell to ousted competitors, many of whom they’ve come to know as friends during the months of training together during the competition.
“I’m both happy and sad right now. It’s a complicated feeling,” said a visibly emotional Jeffrey, 22, his eyes welling up in tears as he spoke.
Sobs aside, the remaining contestants of the competition are determined to work hard to prove their worth in the upcoming Grand Finals, not only for themselves, but for fellow contestants who fell through.
“We will treat the Grand Finals like a show and we’re going to give it our best, so as to carry on the dreams of our eliminated friends,” Peggy, 20, told UrbanWire, her voice swelling with assertion.
Our best wishes to the eliminated contestants: Quek Jin Hao, Jocelyn Kah, Stella Koh, Lucas Lai, Gaga Lu, Teddy Chin, Alex Chuang, Mika Chung, Kristy Ho, Jerry Wang
Catch Star Search 10 – Grand Final on Dec 5, Channel 8, 7pm.
All photos are taken by Yeong Kar Yan