Long time no see! Sharon Au, Li Nanxing, Yvonne Lim and others return to Star Awards stage , Entertainment News
Scroll down for the familiar faces. Li Nanxing
Actor Li Nanxing, for one, is attending the awards show for the first time in a decade.
"I saw a lot of old colleagues, I'll have to catch up with them later. We rarely see each other because we're all busy with our own schedules," the 60-year-old said on the red carpet.
In celebration of his 40 years in showbiz, he shared that he'll be holding a fanmeet in Shanghai, with an estimated 800 fans.
Nanxing is currently filming Mediacorp's first dystopian-thriller series The Leftovers. Yvonne Lim
Yvonne Lim walked down the red carpet with her husband and two kids.
In a backstage interview, she admitted feeling nervous as she hasn't been on stage for 10 years.
The 48-year-old recently moved back to Singapore with husband and former boy band member Alex Tien, son Alex Junior (AJ) and daughter Alexa. They had resided in Taiwan for 10 years.
"But with my family with me, I feel much more assured. Because as a mother, I have to focus my attention on my kids, and I forget about myself, and my stress," she added.
Yvonne also cried when her kids expressed their love for her and called her "the prettiest". Dasmond Koh
Known as the host of long-running variety series The Sheng Siong Show these days, Dasmond Koh shared the limelight much more in the past.
He last received a Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste Award in 2019, then earned the All-Time Favourite Artiste Award in 2021.
Dasmond is nowadays busier as the CEO of Noontalk Media, which is organising the first Golden Singa Awards to be presented in Singapore in December. Sharon Au
Sharon Au flew in from France just for the Star Awards.
The 49-year-old, who has been based in Paris since 2018, landed in Singapore on July 3.
"Just touched down in Singapore - where the air is 100 per cent humidity, and 200 per cent nostalgia. From cobblestones and croissants to orchids and Kkaya toasts.
"The gowns hung like royalty in the plane closet. The heels? Emotionally unstable. Now let's make some memories. #StarAwards30 here we go," she wrote in an Instagram post on the same day. View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Sharon Au (@sharonau13) Pornsak
Singapore-based Thai host Pornsak Prajakwit last appeared at the Star Awards in 2019 where he won a Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste trophy.
Since then, he had been more regularly seen holding sales livestreams elsewhere.
He showed up in a suit today to receive his All-Time Favourite Artiste Award. Mark Lee
Actor-comedian Mark Lee last won Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste in 2009 and All Time Favourite Artiste in 2010.
He is currently one of the four DJs in Love 972's The Breakfast Quartet, which won Best Radio Programme for four years consecutively from 2021 to 2024.
Though they were left out of the Best Audio Personality nominations this time, Mark, 56, remained objective: "I feel that the main reason for us not being nominated is because the judges have different preferences for the styles that each DJ presents.
"It could be a coincidence that this year's judges are a little 'stricter', so 'innocent and cute' DJs like us are not nominated. But it's okay, because the judges are different every year."
On whether he feels pressured to continue winning the Best Radio Programme award this year, Mark told AsiaOne he won't feel affected.
"If we can receive it for another year, it's the best, but even if we don't get it this year, it's okay also. Most importantly, it's whether the judges like it or not, because the judges are different every year. If we are awarded again this year, then 'Oh dear, we are the first again!'"
[[nid:719888]]
syarifahsn@asiaone.com
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Towards the end of the red carpet segment of Star Awards 2025 on Sunday (Jul 6) evening, a fan next to me – let's call him Overzealous Fan – remarked that he was considering hanging around at Mediacorp till midnight. It would mean waiting for six hours, mind you – around the time that he estimated the post-event party would end. He didn't have a ticket for the main show in The Theatre at Mediacorp, which was taking place after the red carpet, and staying late would mean an expensive cab ride home. But for the mere possibility of glimpsing the artistes as they left for the night? Why, it should be an easy call. Earlier in the evening, I'd spotted him setting up a stool to prop his camera tripod, allowing him to film the entire red carpet show from the back of the crowd. He stood in the same spot for the whole hour, probably willing to be sooner burnt by the sweltering heat than miss personally capturing a second of the show … which he could watch live on his mobile device. And yet, Overzealous Fan's mild hesitation to remain till the post-event party wrapped up rendered him less of a devotee than another I shall call Even More Overzealous Fan. The latter scoffed when asked whether he was staying till midnight. He had shown up at 9am, even though the first segment began at 5pm, and there was no way he was leaving before he got what I reckon he came for: Some selfies and shoulder-rubbing. 'Yes of course I will stay! There are over 200 celebrities here! We must wait! It's worth it! How dare we not stay?' Even More Overzealous Fan declared in Mandarin, seemingly indignant that an alternative was suggested at all. 'There is no reward without hard work!' CAMPING FOR CELEBRITIES Forgive my apparent befuddlement. I understand strategising to score Taylor Swift tickets, hanging out at the airport to spot K-pop idols, and perhaps even queuing outside the Apple Store before a new iPhone drops. To arrive at Star Awards eight hours ahead of time, though? I doubted there was a need to 'chope' or reserve one's spot when I was certain that supply would far exceed demand. I ate my words at 4pm – an hour before the red carpet segment began – when I came face to face with around 200 fans happy to bake in the heat while awaiting their idols. There was a dizzying array of fan clubs, including some of celebrities whose existence I was learning about for the first time that evening. Among the more creative club names on display were Elvinology (Elvin Ng), The Beckers Team (Rebecca Lim), Carrieteristic (Carrie Wong), DesTheWay (Desmond Ng), Felicity (Felicia Chin) and The Juliet Club (Romeo Tan). Then there were fan clubs whose coordinated signs and T-shirts simply showed their idol's name: Zoe Tay, Ya Hui, Yvonne Lim, Joanne Peh, Bonnie Loo, Lee Teng, Tyler Ten and Paige Chua, to name a few. But like any interviewee, they were more than happy to talk about their passion. It just so happened this passion was a person, in this instance. Olivia Lee, a first-time Star Awards attendee and new member of Elvinology, said she just discovered the fan club this year. The 38-year-old started watching Elvin Ng's shows eight years ago, and found him 'very natural'. She has since met Ng twice in person, including once on a fan club outing to Melaka, and remembers him to be 'very gentlemanly' in how he spoke. 'When you interact with him, you can feel the warmth. He's very down-to-earth. You don't feel like he's a celebrity.' If anything, it seems having no airs is why other fan clubs like their celebrity idols too. Some members of the Yverlasting Yvonne fan club – for Yvonne Lim, who else? – expressed similar reasons they were enamoured with the 48-year-old actress who took home the All-Time Favourite Artiste trophy on Sunday night. Part-time administrative worker in her 60s Catherine Pang has always watched Lim's movies but only recently started being more invested in her career. 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Though it's been a while since they've turned up for Star Awards, it seems their popularity never dimmed. Local actress Yvonne Lim and host Pornsak Prajakwit went home with the All-Time Favourite Artiste trophies tonight (July 6). The accolade is awarded to artistes who have won a cumulative 10 Top 10 Most Popular Artiste awards. Yvonne recently moved back to Singapore with her husband Alex Tien, son AJ and daughter Alexa. She thanked her loved ones and paid tribute to her late mother during her acceptance speech. "I believe it's not fame that makes someone truly memorable. It's sincerity from the heart that allows one to go far. The most precious award isn't the one you hold in your hand, but the one you hold in your heart. "This delayed recognition… I wish one person in particular could have seen this: The person who influenced me the most, and the one I've missed the most these past 35 years, my late mother. Do you see me now? I love you," said the 48-year-old. In an interview with AsiaOne backstage, she said today was particularly meaningful for her. "This return, after 10 years, is different, because I'm surrounded by family. In 2014, when I last stood on this stage, I was only here with my husband. But now, I've returned as a mother, with my children by my side. Even my outfit holds a special meaning. "The gown I'm wearing today belongs to my godmother Grace. She was with me in 2014 and said, 'If you ever win All-Time Favourite Artiste, I hope you'll wear this.' Back then, I thought it was impossible. But now, it's happened. Even the ring I'm wearing is the one Alex used to propose to me." Yvonne told us she "never had a smooth-sailing career": "I've been through many ups and downs. But thankfully, I persisted, otherwise, there wouldn't be a Yvonne Lim today. I wouldn't be standing here. "When I meet rookies, I always tell them, 'Keep going, don't give up.' And when they ask why, I say, 'Because if you truly love this craft, and if you persevere, you will succeed. Your moment will come.' That's what I truly believe." Meanwhile, Pornsak advises aspiring young talents to "experience the pain" first and work on building a fortune later. "I think a lot of us, when we first come into the industry, hope to get both fame and fortune... The ROI (return on investment) will come someday, somehow," he said in an interview with AsiaOne backstage. During his winning speech, the 43-year-old thanked his mentors and boss Michelle Chong: "I know I'm not the strongest, but I'm definitely the luckiest, because I met all of you." [[nid:719894]] syarifahsn@ No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
