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Star Awards 2021 (SA 2021) is in its 26th year.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, the Star Awards 2020 that was initially scheduled for Apr. 26, 2020, was eventually postponed to the following year.
If you have missed the show on Sunday night (Apr. 18), here are the highlights (in our opinion) of the main awards ceremony held at Jewel Changi Airport.
1. The camera panning to Ian Fang twice when Rebecca Lim won
Prior to the leaked explicit texts between Fang and fellow actress Carrie Wong in May 2019, Lim had been romantically linked to Fang for a couple of years.
In Jul. 2019, Lim said that she has not been in touch with Fang since the leaked texts incident.
However, it appears that Lim is still unable to shake off her previous connections to Fang.
The camera panned to Fang twice when during the announcement of the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes.
It first panned to him when Lim was announced as an award recipient, marking her ninth Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste award.
Deadpan and stoic. Screenshot via Mediacorp Entertainment's YouTube channel.
The camera panned to him again during her speech when she was thanking her "good friends."
Screenshot via Mediacorp Entertainment's YouTube channel.
Shortly after this, Lim went on to thank an ambiguous person who "who has always loved" her.
The 34-year-old later clarified in a media interview after the awards ceremony that this "special someone" was her grandfather who had just passed away, and who had been her "biggest fan."
2. Carrie Wong's teary and meaningful thank you speech
The camera did not pan to Fang during Wong's moment, but Wong subtly alluded to the scandal in her thank you speech (or so we think).
Wong first thanked her loyal fan club who remained by her side despite "adversities", as well as the people who "never gave up on" her even when she was "miserable and unhappy."
Screenshot from Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.
"There may be many things that I did not do particularly well but I am definitely a person who is willing to learn. Thank you everyone for giving me this opportunity, I will continue to work hard."
3. Pierre Png hyping and consoling Felicia Chin
Png continues to live up to his reputation as one of the nicest Mediacorp stars and the hype man we all need in our lives.
Right before the eighth recipient of the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes was announced. Screenshot from Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.
Chin was nominated for the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes, which would be the tenth and final award she needs in order to receive the All-Time Favourite Artiste award at the next Star Awards.
It was no surprise that all eyes (and the camera) were on Chin that night.
Right before the ninth recipient of the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes was announced. Screenshot from Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.
Png and Chin co-starred in 2020 series "A Jungle Survivor" as lovers, and were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress for their respective roles.
Right before the final recipient of the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes was announced. Screenshot from Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.
Both of them were also in running for Top 10 Most Popular Male and Female Artistes.
Png consoling Chin after Bonnie Loo was named the final recipient. Screenshot from Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.
When the last name for the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award was announced to be Bonnie Loo, Png could be seen mouthing what looked like "it's okay" while consoling Chin, who remained sporting and clapped for her colleague.
Png later said at the post-ceremony media interview that he belatedly realised he may have unintentionally given Chin pressure and felt bad for it.
4. An overjoyed Jin Yinji shouting out to her helpers on stage
Despite her shock at clinching a Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste, Jin remembered to thank her "family's two precious helpers," albeit a little incoherently due to her excitement.
Screenshot from Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.
Jin gained some unexpected TikTok fame after appearing in her helper's TikTok videos late last year.
Besides this thoughtful shout-out, the 74-year-old also brought smiles and laughter to the audience with her adorable gaffes, such as accidentally referring to her "television fans" as "music fans" and thanking them for calling in to vote even though the Star Awards have transitioned to online voting this year.
5. Bonnie Loo and Hong Ling winning Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste
Rookie actresses Loo and Hong each took home a Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste award for the first time last night.
Loo was nominated for the fourth year in a row, while it was Hong's third year of being nominated for this category.
Screenshot via Mediacorp Entertainment's YouTube channel.
Both dark horses covered their mouths in shock as they collected their awards on-stage and started their speeches by sobbing.
Screenshot via Mediacorp Entertainment's YouTube channel.
The sobbing continued well into the their thanks, conveying how momentous the occasion was for them.
6. Zoe Tay winning Best Actress for the fourth time
When Tay was announced as the recipient of the Best Actress award, her jaw dropped in shock.
Tay's shocked face in the far left corner. Screenshot by Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.
She started her speech by emphasising her surprise for winning the award.
Viewers, however, were less than surprised, as Tay is already widely regarded as a well-established actress with more than enough accolades under her belt.
Tay played a tai tai (lady of leisure) forced to leave her life of luxury and single-handedly raise two daughters after her husband passes away in "My Guardian Angels".
This is the fourth time Tay has bagged the Best Actress award; the other three times were in 1996, 2017, and 2019.
This means that her 2021 win was her second consecutive one.
7. Elvin Ng's gradient suit
We noted that his ombre pink suit looked like unstirred bandung here, and the sentiment soon became a meme.
Meme by Diaozui Hotline Memes.
Others also shared their interpretation of Ng's Alexander McQueen suit (that costs S$5,709, by the way).
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNzwTfnHpAc
Meme by Memedef
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN1hxlBhqeN
Ng has openly embraced the memes, specifically the one comparing his outfit to unstirred bandung, in an Instagram post earlier today.
Extra: Less interaction due to Covid-19 safety distancing
Hosting an awards ceremony while maintaining safe distancing is definitely a challenge.
First, there has been constant debate surrounding the safe distancing measures taken during the awards ceremony, to which Mediacorp has clarified that they have adhered to the relevant guidelines and measures.
The division of celebrities have refrained from mingling, it seems.
Admit it, we've all used social distancing as an excuse to avoid people we don't like.
Likewise, such measures give celebrities an excuse to avoid someone without causing (or making explicit) any bad blood.
On the other hand, viewers won't be able to witness public displays of affection between artistes who share close bonds, either.
Who knows when we will get to see them smooch and hug again? (It's a rhetorical question. Just watch local TV.)
Top images via Mediacorp Entertainment's Youtube channel.