Huh, the Star Awards still exist? 

Yes, dear reader. While many of us have moved on to Netflix and Disney+, there are still a substantial amount of people who faithfully watch Channel 8.

With a cute new robot and some unexpected results, here are 8 facts about Star Awards 2022.

Chen Hanwei’s First Solo Hosting Experience, Did It Without Cue Cards

The veteran Mediacorp artist was revealed to be the sole host of this year’s Star Awards.

According to CNA, while the thought of doing it alone intimidated Chen at first, he agreed to take up the task after being persuaded for almost two hours by producers.

Reasons behind selecting Chen to be the sole anchor for this year’s award show were largely due to his good rapport with many other artistes, not just locally but overseas too.

But what makes his hosting stint even more remarkable is that the veteran actor will be doing it without the use of cue cards.

Instead, Chen has made the choice to host the entire awards ceremony through pure memory work. Impressively, there wasn’t a single mishap, except when he wrongly addressed guest presenter Mickey Huang as Jacky Wu.

However, the banter they exchanged was so natural that many would have thought it was scripted if they didn’t know Chen was hosting without any aid.

Of course, Huang’s “Don’t think I can’t hear you just because I’m in Taiwan” also masterfully defused the situation.

Speaking of Mickey Huang…

World-Renowned Celebs As Virtual Presenters

Aside from witnessing our local star power shine during the awards, we also got a glimpse of other global artists with the help of technology.

The Star Awards 2022 featured world-renowned celebrities like Aaron Kwok, Jacky Wu, Carol Cheng, Moses Chan, and Mickey Huang to appear as life-sized, three-dimensional holograms.

They announced the prize recipients in real-time via a ‘holoportation’ device called Proto.

TBH, it just looked like a normal flat-screen to me. But the interactions between Chen and the guests were pretty cool:

But if the guests were mere holograms, then who gave the trophies to the winners?

LeoBot Stole the Show

This year’s Star Awards introduced a new robot escort, LeoBot, who delivered the awards to the recipients on stage.

The LeoBots were super cute, decked out in an escort’s uniform with little bowties.

The trophies were placed on a little plate and stand that the LeoBot carries, and the recipients would pick the awards up while the robot patiently waits:

You can watch this video for a more complete introduction of the LeoBot, where it flaunted a super cute (^^) expression:

All-Time Favourite Artiste: Auntie Lucy Makes Surprise Appearance

Those who’ve been loyal fans of the show are no stranger to the prestigious All-Time Favourite Artiste award.

But for those who have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s an award that an artiste receives after winning 10 times in the Top 10 Male/Female Artistes Award, which is no mean feat given that the results are decided by public voting.

Former recipients of this award include Fann Wong, Christopher Lee, Li Nanxing and Rui En. After receiving their tenth award last year, Dennis Chew and Zheng Ge Ping were awarded the All-Time Favourite Artiste Award this year.

After his speech, Chew suddenly transformed on stage, revealing a classic flowery top underneath his suit.

Pulling on a wig and glasses, he switched into Auntie Lucy persona immediately, prompting cheers from the audience. He definitely reminded everyone that he’s not just a good radio deejay, but a stellar actor as well.

Best Supporting Actor and Actress

The Best Supporting Actor award went to Jeffrey Xu, for his role as Lin Jinxiong in “The Takedown”.

Meanwhile, the Best Supporting Actress award went to Lin Meijiao, for her role as Pan Xiuqin in “My Star Bride”.

BTW, there was a super sweet moment where her daughter, Chantalle Ng, literally teared up for her mother.

Lin also said in her acceptance speech that it was really special to star alongside her daughter on screen.

Aww. 

Best Actor and Actress

The Best Actor award went to the host, Chen Hanwei, for his role as Zhou Beifa in “Recipe of Life”.

In an interview with CNA, Chen expressed that he was grateful for his win, but really wanted to hand the award to a younger artiste. What a big-brother mentality he has, to think about the younger generation of actors even while collecting his award. 

Meanwhile, the Best Actress award went to Huang Biren, for her role as Chen Huiying in “Recipe of Life”.  In the same CNA interview, Huang said that he only takes on roles that she likes, and spends most of her time at home with her kids. She was thus surprised by her win.

But given how she pours her 101% into every role she takes, is this award really a surprise at all?

Brandon Wong’s First Award in 27-Year Career

Brandon Wong debuted in showbiz in 1995, but has never won an award despite past nominations.

On 24 April 2022, the 50-year-old veteran actor finally got the chance to step on stage, as he collected his first-ever award: a Top 10 Male Artiste award.

It was a very moving moment, with the audience going wild and Wong being so overwhelmed he cried on stage. He acknowledged that it hasn’t been easy for the past 27 years, and that he worries it’ll take him another 27 years to win a second award.

He described himself as a “Qian Li Ma” that can take criticism and hardship, which translates to “a horse that runs a thousand miles”. This phrase is usually used to describe someone with great talent that’s waiting for someone with good judgement to acknowledge them.

But this ward wasn’t the only one that he took home: he also won “Most Hated Villian” for his role as Qian Nanhua in “Recipe of Life”, a testament to his acting abilities.

Felicia Chin Finally Got 10th Top 10 Award

Everyone was outraged when Felicia Chin didn’t manage to get her tenth Top 10 Award last year.

Well, she finally got it this year, which means she’ll be receiving the All-Time Favourite Artiste award at Star Awards 2023.

Other than Chin, popular actress Rebecca Lim also received her tenth Top 10 award, so she’ll be joining Chin to receive the All-Time Favourite Artiste award next year.

Meanwhile, rising actress Chantalle Ng, who went home empty-handed last year, snagged her first Top 10 award.

Featured Image: Wikipedia