Star Awards 2019 (SA 2019) is in the 25th year.

This annual gala event is a highly anticipated jamboree for the local entertainment industry because it involves ranking people, putting them in nice clothes and parading them around.

If you have missed out on the show on Sunday night, April 15, here are the highlights of the three-hour gala that I and many others sat through -- while flinching slightly.

1. Quan Yi Fong hosted alone

While this is not the first time that actor-host Guo Liang has taken a break from hosting Star Awards, his absence from the event was felt as Quan Yi Fong helmed the whole show alone.

One cannot help but speculate if the planning committee of SA 2019 was turning Quan into our very own Ellen DeGeneres.

As the theme of the night was "The Moment", Quan also began the ceremony with a monologue (like Ellen), which recounted some supposedly epic moments from a bygone era (probably anytime more than three weeks old).

That included Fann Wong's amateur attempt to host at one of the Star Awards, which Wong and her husband laughed off graciously.

Then there was that time Jeanette Aw and Quan fell on the stage in the past.

Here's the reaction from the crowd:

Hmmm, not too amused it seems.

Besides cracking jokes to warm the audience up, Quan also had to keep track of time and jio people to go up on stage.

It is definitely not an easy feat to host such a long live-telecast ceremony alone.

2. Signalling new Ah Ge, Ah Jie

Following the introduction, Zoe Tay, Chen Han Wei, Rebecca Lim and Desmond Tan performed the theme song of SA 2019.

Some eagle-eyed viewers also noticed that they lipsynced to the song instead of singing live.

However, did you also notice Quan describe the four of them as the two generations of Ah Ge, Ah Jie?

Could it mean that Tan and Lim have really emerged as the new generation's king and queen of Caldecott Hill Stars Ave?

Wew.

3. Tribute to Aloysius Pang

A tribute was also paid to the late actor Aloysius Pang in the form of a two-minute video, accompanied by singing by four Noontalk artistes.

The video montage was both meaningful yet heartbreaking to watch for those who were close to Pang.

Several Mediacorp artistes were tearing up as they watched the video, which included Dasmond Koh, Chen Shu Cheng, Jayley Woo and Ian Fang.

The brothers of the late Pang were also present at the ceremony and they were visibly saddened by the tribute too.

Both Koh and Chen were also part of the Top 10 + 1 Popular Male Artistes -- with Chen specially added to the award this year.

In their thank you speeches, both Koh and Chen also dedicated their award to Pang.

4. More veterans in Top 10 Popular Artistes awards

Speaking of the Top 10 Popular Female and Male Artistes awards, there were many Merdeka Generation veteran actors and actresses honoured this year as they received a fair share of the top awards this year.

Hong Hui Fang got into Top 10 for the first time -- and it was the first time for Hong to share a stage with Pan Ling Ling since they crossed swords.

We also had both Chen Xiu Huan and Lina Ng, who returned to the showbiz in recent years, receiving this award for the second time after more than a decade.

Both Chen and Ng took a pretty long hiatus from acting to focus on their family.

They used to be the powerhouses of Caldecott Hill.

In their return, Chen acted as Chew Chor Meng's wife in Fifty & Fabulous, while Ng is one of the main leads in the Channel 5 drama Lion Mums.

On the other hand, 64-year-old Zhu Hou Ren was also among the Top 10 Male Artistes for this year.

Like Chen Shu Cheng, it was Zhu's first time receiving this award after acting for decades.

Zhu quipped in his speech that this year is definitely the year of Merdeka Generation, which made the entire hall roar with laughter.

5. Other notable speeches

Besides Zhu, there were also other notable details in other award recipients' speech.

Yes, these seemingly repetitive speeches are not just about thanking mother, father, fans and loved ones.

Notably, Rebecca Lim seemed to have hinted there is someone special when she said at the end of her speech: "Thank you too."

The camera panned over to Ian Fang right after that.

The duo have been close pals.

You should also definitely not miss Chew Chor Meng's moving speech as he received the Special Achievement Award.

6. Award presenters

Overseas artistes are also one of the highlights of every year's Star Awards.

Like past years, there were quite a few popular celebrities that many fans were looking forward too.

This included the female lead of Yan Xi Palace, Wu Jin Yan, former F4 member Jerry Yan, and 5566 leader Tony Sun.

It was also evident that the planning team deliberately matched certain award presenters together.

Take, for example, Tony Sun and Kym Ng who were paired up to present awards because both of them previously acted in a Taiwanese idol drama, Westside Story.

However, the chemistry between several matches did not seem to work well, which might have contributed to SA 2019 being dull at times.

For example, even Elvin Ng admitted that pairing him up with Blue Lan was peculiar, as Ng described Lan as a man of few words and he himself not being good with words.

On the other hand, solo presenters such as Cecilia Cheung and Bowie Tsang had engaged the crowd much better with their eloquence.

Perhaps precisely because they were comfortable on stage alone, they did not need to be accompanied by another celebrity.

7. Star Search is back

There were also many familiar faces that we no longer see on screen these days, such as Jeff Wang (in red) and Florence Tan (beside 715, aka Qi Yuwu) who also attended the event.

Familiar faces?

That's because they are Star Search alumni.

This then lead to the announcement that Star Search is returning in 2019.

With Chen Han Wei bagging six Best Actor awards, Zoe Tay winning Best Actress Award three times and Quan Yi Fong winning Best Programme Host three times consecutively, one might see this recruitment ad as a necessary move to reinvigorate our entertainment scene.

8. Very nostalgic for 80s and 90s viewers

If you have read this article until this point, thank you for your patience.

All in all, Star Awards 2019 has somehow successfully created a sense of nostalgia for someone like me from the 1990s generation.

The whole ceremony included many flashbacks from Mediacorp's heyday, which were the good old days when many audiences patiently waited in front of the television for shows such as Holland V to start.

With Chew winning the Special Achievement Award, it reminded many viewers of the classic shows he starred in, such as Lobang King and Mr Kiasu.

Ng also reminded us of her old days in City Beat and Right Frequency.

Not forgetting the Kym Ng who won the All-Time Favourite Artiste award and who has since come a long way.

Many veterans have been acting for decades as supporting roles, which we may or may not remember, but their on-screen presence has accompanied many viewers through the years.

Similar to how Jin Yinji won the Top 10 Most Popular award in 2018, seeing how these senior folks get the recognition for their talents after all these years is pretty wholesome.

You can watch the full uncut Star Awards 2019 here:

You're welcome.

Top photo collage and all screenshots are from Channel 8 YouTube live of Star Awards 2019 

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