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Nanyang Poly student, 19, wins Star Search 2024 & takes home BYD car
Congratulations.
November 25, 2024, 06:21 PM
The winner of Star Search 2024 has been revealed.
Tiffany Ho, a 19-year-old student from Nanyang Polytechnic, was crowned champion in the competition's grand finale.
The finale took place at The Theatre at Mediacorp.
This marked the series' return after a five-year hiatus.
Ho takes home a BYD electric vehicle and a Mediacorp contract as the winner of the 12th season of the talent scouting competition.
Photo courtesy of Mediacorp.
She also made history as the first female champion in 21 years, with the previous one being Felicia Chin’s victory in Season 8 in 2003.
Besides the recent five-year hiatus, Star Search had a nine-year hiatus between the 10th season in 2010, and the 11th season in 2019.
Who are the winners?
Originally from Hong Kong, Ho moved to Singapore at the age of 14.
She is currently studying Information Technology at Nanyang Polytechnic.
In addition to her academic pursuits, she is passionate about dance, which she showcased in a Chinese fan dance performance during the finale.
Ho’s family flew in from Hong Kong to support her and she mentioned that her father was especially excited to see her perform on stage.
Photo from Mediacorp's YouTube.
The first runner-up of Star Search 2024 was competitive breakdancer Gladys Bay.
Photo courtesy of Mediacorp.
A multimedia host, Bay has represented Singapore in breaking competitions and was a contender in the Olympic Qualifier series for the sport.
Swim coach Jona Chung claimed second runner-up.
Photo courtesy of Mediacorp.
Chung holds certifications in both badminton refereeing and swim coaching.
Three-hour showdown
The grand finale was a three-hour live event, where the top 12 finalists competed in four segments.
The show was hosted by Quan Yifong and Jeff Goh.
Photo courtesy of Mediacorp.
One of the segments includes sparring with a panel of Mediacorp stars such as Desmond Tan, Richie Koh, Carrie Wong, Hong Ling and more.
Photo courtesy of Mediacorp.
The judging panel included Hong Kong actress Sandra Ng, actor-singer Raymond Lam and actor Christopher Lee.
Photo courtesy of Mediacorp.
The finalists were evaluated based on the following:
- X-Factor (25 per cent)
- Body expression (15 per cent)
- Spontaneous eloquence (30 per cent)
- Acting (30 per cent)
Guest performers during the finale included Desmond Ng and Tasha Low.
Star Search 2024 kicked off in July with an open audition process for aspiring talents aged 17 to 30.
Prior to the open auditions, talent scouts visited five polytechnics to select contestants.
From the 20 contestants who qualified through the open auditions, 12 finalists emerged to compete in the live shows.
The five-episode series documenting the contestants' journey, from auditions to the grand final, is available to watch on mewatch and Mediacorp Entertainment’s YouTube channel.
About Star Search
The series has uncovered many local stars, including Chen Han Wei, Zoe Tay, and Christopher Lee, since its debut in 1988.
The last Star Search competition took place in 2019, with Zhang Zetong emerging as the winner.
Top images via Tiffany Ho and Mediacorp.
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