Famed superstar Sammi Cheng and vocal powerhouse Jam Hsiao to headline star-studded show at Star Awards 2023

Singapore, 6 March 2023 – Hold on to your seats and get ready to make some noise, as Star Awards 2023 (SA2023) unveils its hosts, headlining acts and a bumper crop of nominees for the highly coveted popularity awards. It’s time to make your favourite celebrities shine!

Themed “Beyond | Celebrations” (新跨越 星狂欢), SA2023 will take place as a star-studded concert at the Marina Bay Sands on 9 April. In what promises to be a spectacular extravaganza that honours the best of local content and talents, the evening will see popular celebrity Matilda Tao 陶晶莹 and local artiste Lee Teng 李腾 join hands for the first time as hosts for the night. With their infectious energy and quick wit, the dynamic duo will open the show with a bang and keep audiences pumped up through the evening.

As excitement mounts, prepare to be blown away by famed superstar Sammi Cheng 郑秀文! Known for her exceptional showmanship, Sammi has long captivated audiences worldwide with her ability to switch seamlessly between high-energy rock anthems and soulful ballads. As she takes the stage at SA2023, fans will witness her electrifying stage presence on full display. The excitement doesn’t let up from there, as audiences will also be treated to a mesmerising performance by vocal powerhouse Jam Hsiao 萧敬腾, whose dynamic vocals onstage magnetism are sure to be a feast for the senses. As epitomes of the universal language of artistry and creativity, both icons will double up as performers and award presenters, and are set to light up the night with surprises and immersive acts that will leave fans wanting more.

For the profiles of overseas celebrities, please refer to Annex A.

The stage is set, and the excitement is palpable. As each song builds to a heart-pounding crescendo, the spotlight turns to the nominees. In Mediacorp’s commitment to better engage audiences and reflect their views, a record 75 artistes – 36 female and 39 male – will vie for a coveted spot in the “Top 10 Most Popular Male/Female Artistes” awards. The bumper crop marks a departure from precedence as Mediacorp does away with a preliminary shortlist of “Top 40” artistes via a nationwide poll of 1,000 people (“Popularity Survey”). Instead, fans can vote directly for all eligible nominees, giving them more power than ever to make their voices heard and vote count. This is also true for the inaugural “Most Popular Rising Star” award, which will see 39 artistes with five years or less of experience competing for one of three spots reserved for the stars of tomorrow.

Fans can start voting for the “Top 10 Most Popular Male/Female Artiste” and “Most Popular Rising Star” awards from 6 March, 12pm on mediacorp.sg/StarAwards. To pave the way for a final sprint on show day, the voting portal for each award will remain open until 7.30pm and 5pm respectively on 9 April. Results of the vote, as verified by professional auditors, will make up 80% of the final results, with the remaining 20% determined by the Popularity Survey, which is conducted by an accredited market research company and reflects the views of various age groups across Singapore’s population.

Angeline Poh, Chief Customer & Corporate Development Officer, Mediacorp, said, “Every year, the ‘Top 10 Most Popular Artistes’ award takes centre stage at the Star Awards and shines a spotlight on artistes who possess the greatest charisma. By opening the competition for this hotly-contested category to all eligible artistes this year, audiences will get to appreciate the unique appeal of each artiste in an increasingly competitive industry. As we turn to the polls to reveal the personalities who command the greatest star power, we hope fans will continue to vote enthusiastically and look forward to honouring the top stars at SA2023 with everyone!”

Please refer to Annex B for voting details and Annex C for the list of nominees. For eligibility criteria and profiles of judges, please refer to mediacorp.sg/StarAwards.

And that’s not all! To further acknowledge the inimitable charm of local celebrity icons, the “Bioskin Most Charismatic Award” will be presented for the fourth year, with voting taking place from 6 March, 12.00pm till 2 April, 11.59pm. Running concurrently are the polls for four coveted MyPICK! Awards, namely “Favourite CP”, “Male/Female Show Stealer” as well as “Most Hated Villain”, and winners will be crowned at the seven-hour Backstage LIVE programme for the second year running. Please refer to Annex D for the list of nominees.

SA2023 will be available live on 9 April on Channel 8 and U, with simulcast on mewatch and the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel. For viewing details, please refer to Annex E.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg/StarAwards.

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Overseas Award Presenters and Performers
	Sammi Cheng is a singer and actress. Having sold more than a million copies of her albums throughout Asia, Sammi has been dubbed by the media as “Cantopop Queen” since the 1990s. Beyond her music career, Sammi is also a prolific actress and has starred in multiple box office hits. Testament to her success, Sammi holds the record of having the greatest number of “Best Sales” albums and “Best Sales – Local Female Vocalist” awards in the Hong Kong Cantopop industry. From 1993 to 2010, she won a total of 12 “Top Female Vocalist” awards, 14 “Best Sales – Local Female Vocalist Awards” and has seven albums conferred with the “Best Sales – Cantonese Release” accolade, in addition to multiple top honours in various Chinese music awards held across Asia. Apart from her music achievements, Sammi has also starred in close to 40 films and seven television dramas, with numerous acting accolades to her name. Her recent awards include “Excellence in Asian Cinema Award” at the 2017 Asian Film Awards, “Best Actress” in 2020 Chinese American Film Festival and her latest “Best Actress” awarded this year at Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. 郑秀文 女艺人、歌手及演员，有“百变天后”及“乐坛天后”之称。 出道以来，曾10度在红磡香港体育馆举行个人大型售票演唱会，为全港第三位突破红馆100场的女艺人，并获得九次IFPI香港唱片销量大奖“全年最高销量本地女歌手”大奖的女歌手，更于1997年至2007年一度被媒体称为香港电影首席票房纪录女星。她主演的电影累积票房达港币3.7亿元，被媒体评价其具备影响力且引领时尚潮流，且被媒体《Vogue》评价为 “能歌擅演，时尚品味同样绝佳”、“演歌双栖最成功的模范表率”、“华语乐坛的跨世纪天后”。 郑秀文多年来于各演艺奖项也有所收获，2017年获颁“卓越亚洲电影人”，2020年于中美电影节获得“最佳女主角”，2023年也刚在香港电影评论学会大奖获颁“最佳女主角”。
	Jam Hsiao is a singer, composer and actor. He first rose to fame after participating in the first season of singing competition One Million Star in 2007, leaving audiences in awe of his powerful vocals and stage presence. Since then, Jam has gained a strong following across Asia with albums that consistently top music charts. After earning a “Best New Artist” nomination at the 20th Golden Melody Awards with his debut album in 2008, Jam has gone to amass a range of accolades including “Best Male Vocalist – Mandarin” at the 24th Golden Melody Awards, and multiple “Songs of the Year” awards from the HITO Radio Music Awards and Metro Radio Mandarin Music Awards. In 2012, Jam played the lead role in action film The Killer Who Never Kills and won the “Best New Performer” award at Hong Kong Film Awards. Having found success in both the music and film industries, Jam has established a name for himself as a multi-talented artiste. 萧敬腾 华语流行乐男歌手、影视演员、音乐创作人。 2007年参加《超级星光大道》节目踢馆，一战成名。2008年发行同名专辑正式出道 ，发片首周即登上“G-MUSIC”与“五大金榜”双榜冠军，凭借该专辑获得第20届台湾金曲奖最佳新人奖提名。2009年在台北小巨蛋举行个人演唱会；同年获得第31届十大中文金曲最有前途新人奖优异奖 。而后也陆续获得台湾金曲奖最佳国语男歌手奖和MusicRadio中国TOP排行榜港台年度传媒推荐歌手奖 。 2012年跨界参与电影演出，并获得第31届香港电影金像奖“最佳新演员”奖 、香港电影导演会“年度新晋演员”铜奖的肯定；萧敬腾唱而优则演，并且积极投身音乐创作和乐团，实属难得的全方位艺人。
Overseas Host
	Matilda Tao is a singer, actor, television host and author. She first entered the entertainment industry as a singer in 1990, and as she transitioned into television hosting, Matilda's quick wit and natural charisma quickly made her a household name and launched her career as a successful host. Matilda has received critical acclaim across fields. In addition to several music accolades, she also won three “Best Host” awards from the Golden Bell Awards, conferred in 1999, 2001 and most notably in 2007 for hosting One Million Star, which she hosted for seven seasons. As one of the foremost hosts in the Chinese entertainment industry, Matilda often hosts several prominent award ceremonies including Golden Horse Awards, Golden Bell Awards, and Golden Melody Awards. 陶晶莹 绰号陶子，女艺人，身兼女歌手、主持人和作家的身份。1990年发行首张个人专辑，以歌手身份出道，而后转换领域成为主持人。 出道至今，演唱和主持都深获好评；曾获得“跨界女艺人”、“年度金曲”等奖项。主持方面，1999年以节目《恋爱讲义》获得第34届金钟奖“最佳综艺节目主持人” 、2001年以《娱乐新闻》获第36届金钟奖“最佳娱乐谐趣节目主持人”、2007年，以节目《超级星光大道》获第42届金钟奖“最佳综艺节目主持人” 。 陶晶莹主持功力深厚，亲切风格深得人心，不但多次主持过台湾三金（金马奖、金钟奖和金曲奖）典礼，也是各大型盛会主持人的不二人选，近期也积极经营网络谈话节目，是华人娱乐圈最代表性的主持人之一。

Annex B: Voting Details

Voting will take place at mediacorp.sg/StarAwards.

Annex C: Nominees for “Top 10 Most Popular Artistes” and “Most Popular Rising Star” Awards

*Names are listed in alphabetical order.

Annex D - Nominees for Bioskin Most Charismatic Award and MyPICK! Awards

Nominees for MY PICK! Awards

Annex E - Star Awards 2023 Telecast Details

Pauline Chua
Communications Specialist
chuapauline@mediacorp.com.sg

Lim Zi Ai
Communications Specialist
ziai.lim@mediacorp.com.sg

About Mediacorp

Mediacorp is Singapore’s national media network and largest content creator. Its purpose is to create engaging and trusted content, as well as to connect communities and inspire people. Mediacorp engages over three million people in Singapore daily across four languages on its digital platforms including mewatch, melisten and CNA.asia, six TV channels and 11 radio stations. Beyond Singapore, Mediacorp also has a growing international audience through CNA and content distributed across markets.

With a focus on nurturing talent and growing the sector, the company is committed to investing in nation-wide initiatives like Star Search, Anugerah, Yaar Antha Star and SPOP, commissioning a wide variety of work from local content creators, and collaborating with institutes of higher learning. As Singapore’s first local Multi-Channel Network in partnership with YouTube, Mediacorp is also committed to developing a network of digital content creators.

For advertisers, Mediacorp has partnered industry-leading brands like ESPN, Mothership, Popcorn, Singapore Tatler, theAsianparent, VICE, YouTube and 99.co to form the Mediacorp Digital Network in offering more effective content-driven solutions.

Mediacorp is the recipient of industry accolades including New York Festivals, World Media Festivals, PromaxBDA (World and Asia) and Asian Academy Creative Awards.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg.