''Star Search'' () is a

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

from 1988 to 2019 organised by

MediaCorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

to scout for Chinese language-speaking acting talent.

History

Star Search started out as a Singapore local

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

, restricted to residents of Singapore. After the

Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

discontinued its drama training courses in the early 1990s, Star Search became one of Channel 8's main sources to scout for talent. In 1999, the show expanded to include regions such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Guangzhou (China). From 1999 to 2003, the show took the format of a knockout competition where the male and female champions and first runners-up from each country will go to Singapore compete for the overall champion prize in their respective genders. Back after a four-year hiatus and into its 9th installment, Star Search 2007 marks the return of the mother of talent search programs in Singapore. Many of its "alumni" have gone on to have successful careers in showbiz with

and elsewhere. A tenth installment returned again in 2010. On April 14, 2019, the 11th series of ''Star Search'' was announced during the ''

Star Awards 2019 Star Awards 2019 (also SA25, Chinese: 红星大奖25) is a television award ceremony which is held in Singapore. Star Awards 2019 marks the 25th anniversary, or Silver Jubilee, of the Star Awards since it was first awarded in 1994, hence subti ...

'', with auditions announced starting on May, returning after a nine-year hiatus.

Format

Auditions typically take place several months beforehand. The chosen contestants are sent for training and begin rehearsing. Finalists are usually mentored by veteran MediaCorp artists. There are different segments to test the contestant in several areas. In the acting segment the contestant acts out a skit prepared beforehand, which often features a current MediaCorp artist. While it is scripted, the artist may improvise to test the contestant's ability to do so. In the Q & A segment, contestants are tested on their oratorical skills by answering a randomly chosen question on the spot. In the performance segment, each contestant is to perform a special item and are judged on their charisma, confidence and ability to perform under pressure. They are judged by a panel consisting of both local and foreign celebrities. Past judges have included

Anita Mui Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...

Alfred Cheung Alfred Cheung '' (; born 28 December 1955) is a Chinese actor, director, writer and producer. Early life Cheung's mother, with one suitcase and two children, left their hometown in China in order to find better opportunities in Hong Kong. Cheung ...

and

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

. The winner would be awarded a full-time contract with MediaCorp besides the prizes. Other finalists deemed suitable enough are often given contracts as well.

Past winners

Past contestants

Chen Hanwei Tan Hung Wee (born 29 August 1969), better known by his Chinese stage name Chen Han Wei (), is a Malaysian actor based in Singapore. Early life Chen Han Wei grew up in Kampung Ungku Mohsin, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Adopted since birth, Hanwei ...

陈汉玮 (1988) *Peter Yu 余宏荣 (1990) *

Ann Kok Ann Kok (; born 11 January 1973) is a Singaporean actress. She started her acting career in 1993 after emerging as a finalist in the local talent-search competition ''Star Search'', where she won a contract to work on Chinese-language TV chan ...

郭舒贤 (1993) *

Yao Wenlong Yao Wenlong (, born 14 November 1970) is a Singapore based Malaysian actor. Career Yao entered the local television scene after winning the Star Search 1993 (Male category) organised by then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (now MediaCorp). W ...

姚玟隆 (1993) *

Carole Lin Carole Lin () is a Singaporean actress. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1995 to 2009. Career Lin joined MediaCorp after taking part in Star Search Singapore 1995. She shot to fame for her role in ''The Price of Peace'' an ...

林晓佩 (1995) * Brandon Wong 黄炯耀 (1995) *

Yvonne Lim Yvonne Lim (, born 28 September 1976) is a Singaporean actress. Early life and education Lim was born to Hokkien-speaking family. She studied at CHIJ St Theresa's Convent and graduated with a Diploma in Electronic, Computer & Communication E ...

林湘萍 (1997) *

Vincent Ng Vincent Ng Cheng Hye (born 6 December 1975), also known as Weng Qinghai, is a Singaporean martial artist and former actor. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp actor from 1997 to 2007. He is best known for acting in Chinese-language televisi ...

翁清海 (1997) *

Constance Song Constance Song () is a Singaporean actress, model and entrepreneur. Career Song was a model before joining Star Search Singapore in 1997 and was subsequently offered a contract by TCS (predecessor of MediaCorp). She made her television debut in ...

宋怡霏 (1997)
Joey Swee
徐绮 (1997) *

Evelyn Tan Evelyn Tan () is a Singaporean actress and former singer. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1997 to 2005. Career Tan joined Star Search Singapore in 1997 after university and was offered a contract by Television Corporation ...

陈毓芸 (1997) *

Apple Hong Apple Hong (; born 31 October 1978) is a Malaysia-Born Singaporean actress and singer. She was a Mediacorp artiste from 1999 to 2011 but continues to film on TV and ad-hoc basis. Career Hong was first runner-up in the Malaysian edition of Star S ...

洪乙心 (1999) *

Priscelia Chan Priscelia Chan Shih Mei, also known as Zeng Shimei, is a Singaporean television actress and host. Career Chan was a tax auditor before taking part in Star Search Singapore 1999. Despite being eliminated in the semifinals, she was offered a co ...

曾诗梅 (1999) *

Zzen Zhang Zen Chong (; born on 15 August 1978) is a Malaysian actor who is based in Singapore and contracted artiste under MediaCorp. Career Chong joined MediaCorp in 2001 after finishing third in that year's Malaysian edition of Star Search Singapore. ...

章缜翔 (2001) *

Melvin Sia Melvin Sia (born 14 June 1979), is a Malaysian actor, model and singer. He won the Best Actor Award at the Malaysia Golden Awards for his role in ''Romantic Delicacies''. He also won Most Popular Actor in Viewers' Choice category in the same a ...

谢佳见 (2003) * Tracy Lee 李美玲 (2007) * Robin Goh 吴罗宾 (1995) * Dennis Toh 卓庆成（2001）

References

{{Star Search (Singaporean TV series)

External links