(All images courtesy of Utt TV)

Utt TV


Looking not a day older than when he became the face of MTV Asia in 1998, this Thai/Chinese American heartthrob hasn’t contented himself with being one of the most recognisable faces and voices in the regional music scene, he also runs an artiste management company, seven95ive, which has in its stable hot stars like Taya Rogers and Leon Williams.

Recently, Greg Uttsada Panichkul or Utt has added to his burgeoning business his own TV show. His countless hordes of screaming young Asian girl fans, the ones whose votes gave him his recent win as “Cutest Male Personality I Wanna Bring Home” at the m:idea Youth Choice Awards can’t get enough of it.

Utt TV is a collaboration between seven95ive and Gilarock, a local production company managed by Egan Jeremiah Hwan, better known as the EggMan. Utt always wanted to run his own TV show and Egan had an idea of producing an online entertainment reality TV. Their dreams were brought to life with the birth of Utt TV on Dec 21, 2009, an online portal where “real shit [is] turned digital”, Egan tells UrbanWire.


Utt TV sustains the edge in entertainment with its spunky coverage and exclusive ‘live’ footage of ordinary people. “Utt TV is currently random fun stuff, much like how you see reality content. It’s another avenue to showcase everyday random quirks in my daily life or life around me,” Utt tells UrbanWire.

“Currently we have viewers from Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia. The hits are not amazing just yet, but this is only the initial stages of everything and in time to come we believe we can be hitting thousands a week” said Egan. His hopes are high for Utt TV especially with the upcoming changes to the current website.

“It is definitely a good try as Utt TV tries various styles of interviewing to give a different perspective,” says Jonathan Foo, a TV Studio Production lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies.

The varieties you will see on Utt TV include videos of Utt on the go, quirky videos titled “baby drunk” or even “saving the lizard”, coverage of events that Utt has been to such as the EP launch of local band Vermillion, and even special interviews with hip hop act Micbandits from Brunei.

“It’s an interesting take for Utt TV and it’s a good try although it’s still in its experimental phrase. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Utt TV,” adds Foo.

Utt TV is definitely unlike your conventional scripted comical parody. How it differentiates itself from other online video networks like Click Network or Razor TV, is that “it is more of a reality TV where it provides solid content such as exclusive ‘live’ footage that’s guerilla,” said Egan. Guerilla in the sense of its marketing and the outlook of Utt TV itself.


What’s Utt TV about?

There are 3 components of Utt TV. The primary component being for Utt and by Utt, which allows his fans and groupies to have up-close and personal access to his life – his whereabouts, recent activities and anything he feels like saying, really. This is a direct ticket for an on-the-go coverage of Utt traveling, or seeing him in office, and even to check out what mischief Utt has been up to lately. Look out for the video clip of his recent win at the m:idea youth choice award which will be up on Utt TV in no time.

Egan produces and occasionally hosts the EggMan segment where he offers a good variety of anything and everything that’s hot and brewing, from down-to-earth coverage of music interviews to mood-triggering topics that might just leave one peeved (with some element of fun, of course).

Viewers of Utt TV will not only be entertained with the extensive content, but they will also be able to participate in the freebies giveaway section. This is the interactive component called the FU! FU! You can decide how to decipher what FU means.

Everybody loves freebies and the screaming fan girls probably can’t get enough of those free Utt posters and T-shirts. If you needed any extra incentive to tune in, the FU! FU! has been giving away eco-friendly goodies from Envi.Me for the ladies.

Utt TV is going through a minor re-construction for a new outlook. Expect to see a refreshed homepage where the videos of Utt TV are organised in episodes and seasons for your convenience, and a new pictures page, a ‘Hear me out’ page featuring interviews with music artistes that people should look out for. Don’t fret, as the giveaway page is here to stay.

For now, Utt TV is not out to make profits. “Eventually yes that would be great! With moolah we can expand and explore, but in the meantime we’re keeping it simple and fun,” says Utt.


The EggMan

Sharing the limelight and working with one of Asia’s hottest guys is no mean feat, especially when you’re only 21 years old.

But if determination and hard work can get you anywhere, they certainly have served Egan Jeremiah Hwan the workaholic well. What’s with the EggMan moniker? That was a nickname given affectionately by his peers back in his school days at Hai Sing Catholic School, because Egg sounds like Egan.

Since he was 16, an age when most of his peers took on jobs giving tuition or working at fast-food joints or malls, Egan interned for a year at a local music label, Wake Me Up Music, before moving on to Gilarock, a production company previously owned by the late Wayne “Thunder” Seah of The Suns. Having worked in the production industry for 4 years, one of his most successful achievements would definitely be the “Rock For Wayne” tribute concert for Wayne Thunder in 2007. Egan has been busy juggling his first love, his band Vermillion where he plays the guitar, managing Gilarock and now, Utt TV.

According to Egan, having a band isn’t easy as it takes up most of his time, but he won’t give up, as music is his passion.

Despite having considerable experience at his age, Egan isn’t complacent, and said: “I want to be on top of my game and not allow myself to slack up one bit. Hard work produces favorable results and I just need to be patient.” This might just well explain how Egan juggles his band with his working life with Gilarock and Utt TV.

His Role in Utt TV

This man not only shoots and edits the clips you see on Utt TV, he occasionally hosts the show with Utt himself.

“He jams with me every now and then for fun. Our chemistry is pretty rock on, we have fun with what we do,” says Utt.

Egan has his hands full working at making Utt TV a household name and to produce more content that will rock your socks off. Egan says: “I hope to have more content that will keep people coming to Utt TV for more and to entertain, entertain, entertain.”