The hours before the Star Awards go live are always a mad rush for the stars as they (with the help of their stylists, make-up artistes, hair stylists and personal assistants) hurry to get all glammed up  for the cameras.

And the already hectic backstage prep for Star Awards 2021 got even more frantic as there were safe distancing regulations to adhere to as well as logistical issues to deal with — hair and make-up was done bright and early at the Mediacorp Campus at Stars Avenue while the show, of course, was held at Changi Airport in the evening. 

But in the midst of all that hustle and bustle, reporters cosied up to the stars to see what they had to say about local showbiz's biggest night.

Chantalle Ng

"I picked out this fairytale-looking dress for the red carpet because I know that people want to see a "wedding scene" for Xu Bin and I. We're doing it for the fans!"

- Chantalle Ng knows the importance of making her fans happy.

Chantalle Ng Part 2

"They told us to wear comfy slippers while backstage but I'm wearing socks. Wanna know why? Just in case I get cold feet. Ha... ha. But seriously, it's very cold. My feet are freezing!"

- Chantalle Ng is also a dad joke machine.

Benjamin Tan

"I wanted to hit the gym so that I'd look better in this outfit, but I didn't have time since I've been busy filming. But I still look okay... I think?"

- Benjamin Tan wants a slice of Desmond Tan and Zheng Geping's suit-without-a-shirt pie.

Elvin Ng

We spotted 1.81m-tall Elvin Ng stuffing shoe lifts into his boots and when we asked the actor about it, he said: "Everyone wears them, so I'll look shorter if I don't do the same! (Laughs) But seriously, they make most footwear a lot more comfortable."

Bryan Wong

"I go in to every awards show with zero expectations. If I win something, it's a bonus. I'm too old for disappointment!"

- Bryan Wong scored a huge bonus on Sunday night.

Jesseca Liu

"My dress is called 'The Nymph' and I'm going for a fairy-out-of-the-woods look this year."

- Is that why Jesseca Liu looked absolutely magical... and the Chopard bling definitely helped.

Rui En

"My look was inspired by Meghan Markle. I was so inspired by what she wore to her wedding, and decided that I'd do the same for this year's awards."

- No wonder Rui En looked like royalty in her all-black number.

Ian Fang
​
"This is the longest my hair has ever been, and washing it is such a chore. I can't wait to cut it once I finish filming my current project!"

- Oh, so Ian Fang's hair is like that because of work. 

​Kym Ng

"I'm wearing a longer dress this year because I remember how troublesome it is to wear a short one. You have to make sure that you walk and sit properly, or else you'll end up in trouble!"

- Kym Ng making smart decisions in life.

Paige Chua

"I'm wearing very expensive jewellery so I'll have guards with me the entire night just in case I decide to pull an Ocean's Eight on them (laughs)."

- We're happy to report that Paige Chua managed to resist the urge to run away with her Harry Winston jewels.

Romeo Tan
​
"I'm wearing a sweater inside, so I'm actually pretty worried about the red carpet since it's outdoors. Hopefully I'll be able to make it without needing to dry off in the bathroom after."

- Romeo Tan please let us know if you managed to stay dry. 

Yvonne Lim clinched her eighth Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award at Sunday’s (Apr 18) Star Awards and no one was more surprised at the win than the actress herself.

When reporters spoke to Yvonne over the phone, the 44-year-old, who is based in Taipei, revealed that she was at a kid’s birthday party that night and only found out about her win when her manager texted her.

“We had just returned home and I was putting down my bag when my manager texted me to congratulate me. That’s when I turned on meWATCH and saw my name on screen,” said Yvonne.

What happened after was a blur, according to Yvonne, who told us that there were a lot of emotions involved.

“I cried, though I am embarrassed to admit it,” laughed Yvonne. “I was very overwhelmed and emotional ‘cos I didn’t expect to win. When I watched bits of the show earlier at the party, I felt a little sad ‘cos I miss home. So when I won, I started crying.”

Yvonne relocated to Taipei after tying the knot with ex-Taiwanese boy band B.A.D member, Alex Tien, in 2014 and made her TV comeback in 2019 with While You Were Away after a five-year hiatus.

Even though she wasn’t in Singapore to accept the award, the win was extra special for Yvonne ‘cos she now has her two kids, AJ, 6, and Alexa, 4, to share the moment with.

“I was alone and not married when I last won the Top 10 award [in 2014], but this time I have my kids by my side,” explained Yvonne. “This is the first time they're seeing me win an award, and [I am not] just a mummy who loves them deeply, cooks and takes care of them. I [want them to] feel proud of me and that was the moment I felt I did it.”

Now that she’s back in the Top 10 race, Yvonne said it “would be nice” to be able to “graduate” and win the All-Time Favourite Artiste Award. If and when that happens, she hopes her family will be with her in Singapore to witness the moment.

YVONNE LIM: I was replying to congratulatory messages and getting my kids ready for bed when the earthquakes struck, so the joy was short-lived. [Ed: Taiwan was struck by magnitude 5.8 and 6.2 quakes three minutes apart on Sunday night]. The joy is still there, it’s just that with earthquakes, you never know.

The reason I miss Singapore so much is ‘cos we don’t have earthquakes and we can sleep peacefully. I haven’t been able to sleep well since I experienced my first earthquake in Taiwan. I am very paranoid when I hear a click or crack sound or the sound of something dropping ‘cos I will be worried that I cannot get to my kids in time. And also ‘cos my husband is a very heavy sleeper. He once slept through a strong earthquake in Los Angeles — he fell off the bed and continued sleeping. That's why one of us has to be alert.

I didn’t think about the earthquake when I decided to bring them with me to Taiwan. I had never experienced an earthquake before that so I didn’t know what to expect. Honestly, I love the Star Awards trophies ‘cos of the curves, so Alex had a cupboard specially made for me to showcase them. The cupboard is safe and sturdy, so hopefully there’s no violent shaking. But because we are staying on the highest floor [of our building], the shaking is even worse… If they do get damaged, I will see if Mediacorp can make replacements for me.

Will they be sending you your new Top 10 trophy?

I really don’t know what the arrangement is. [They might not ‘cos] The trophy is pretty heavy and it might get damaged in the process of sending it over, and it’s not like they can get someone to bring it over ‘cos of the pandemic. Everyone keeps telling me that they really want to see a pic of me with the trophy but I don’t know when it will happen.

Any plans to return to Singapore soon?

I would love to go back but it’s not easy because of the quarantine. Going to Singapore is easy ‘cos we just have to take the COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction Test, but when we return to Taiwan, we not only have to quarantine for 14 days but also have to serve a seven-day stay-home notice, so I am waiting for Taiwan to relax the rules first. AJ is supposed to start primary one in Taiwan this year and he has a one-week orientation period [in end-August], so if we go back, he will not be able to start school on the first day.

Your last drama was 2019's While You Were Away. Any acting projects in the pipeline?
​
I don’t know if I am ready to return to acting. I love acting and it is my passion and something that I am good at, but the timing has to be right. With AJ starting primary one, I would want to see if he is adjusting well, so taking on a new project during this period would be tough. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, especially with the ongoing pandemic. I will have to come back alone and it will be difficult to leave my kids. So only when I know they are well-settled, and if there is a good script and role at the same time, then I will do it.

In 2019, you mentioned that you planned to relocate your family to Singapore. What happened?

The plan was for us to move to Singapore and Alex would fly back and forth from Taiwan for work. I even got AJ into a local primary school. Then COVID-19 happened and travelling had to be put on hold, so we are just waiting to see how the situation pans out.

Oh, what school did he get into?

I don't want to reveal [what school] until we go back to Singapore. I don't want to jinx our return (laughs). I got more pantang after becoming a mum. Hopefully everything can be smooth sailing until the day AJ can attend his school.

So you are still open to relocating?

Yes, definitely. We are just waiting for the time when we can travel. I would want to come back for the vaccination too. My heart is in Singapore. I was so worried when Singapore had a spike in COVID-19 cases, which was why I made nougat cookies and sent them to the healthcare workers in Singapore. And because of this, I managed to strike a friendship with some of them on Instagram and they voted for me, and I would like to thank the healthcare workers. 

I enrolled AJ in an international school which is very much like the schools in Singapore, so that when we move back to Singapore, the environment will not be so foreign to him. They offer bilingual education, students wear school uniforms and even the building looks like the schools in Singapore.

​Bobby Au Yeung and Joe Ma recently expressed their happiness to be able to reunite in the new TVB series, "Shadow of Justice", more than 20 years since their last drama together, as reported on Mingpao.

Joe, who appeared alongside his co-star at the promotional event of the said series, stated that he was still a small fry when he first worked with Bobby on "Armed Reaction II", and is happy that he now gets to play the lead alongside the actor.

Said Bobby in response, "I am most grateful that I have not retired. It feels very good to get to see him grow from a small time actor to win TV King and then get to cooperate with him again."

It is noted that Joe won his first TV King award in 2018 for his role in "Life On the Line".

Asked if there is any pressure to do well in the ratings, Bobby stated that TV viewership rating is meaningless seeing that people watch dramas on various platforms nowadays.

"The most important thing is the word of mouth," he added.

As for Joe, the actor said that he would not worry too much.

"I am just happy to get to work in this project and hopefully the viewers will like it too," he said.

Prominent singers in Hong Kong have come together to release a single, 'All U Need Is Love', the title track to the film of the same name.

They include Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Hacken Lee, Joey Yung, Grasshopper, William So, Edmond Leung, Pakho Chau, Fiona Sit, Joyce Cheng, Stephy Tang, Stephanie Cheng, Shiga Lin, Deep Ng and more.

The song was composed by Lowell Lo (Lo Lo), and his wife, Susan Tang wrote the lyrics. On producing the track, Lo Lo said that although there was a rush in composing, recording, and arranging, everyone's combined efforts gave the song "more feel".

Joey Yung expressed that she was excited to work with Lo Lo for the first time, as it was a rare opportunity. The latter, on the other hand, admired Yung's voice.

Cantopop group Grasshopper, under Lo Lo's guidance, impressively recorded their parts in just one take. Remus Choy said that due to the impact of COVID-19, he had not entered a recording studio in a while, and even the three Grasshoppers have not met each other in a long time. Calvin Choy hopes to use the song to convey and remind everyone to pay heed to good hygiene. At the end of their recording, the group met Stephy Tang and grabbed a selfie with her.

Even Shiga Lin and Stephanie Cheng were ecstatic to meet their idol Andy Lau in the recording studio and seized the opportunity to take a group photo. Although it was done in a hurry, Lin said shyly: "I was really nervous taking a photo with him!"

Although the singers recorded only a short paragraph or segment of the song, everyone was serious in creating this masterpiece.

All parents want the best for their children, which is why we can’t say we were surprised to hear about yet another celeb kid attending a super prestigious, super expensive school.

Earlier this month, Cantopop singer Kay Tse, 44, shared two photos from her daughter Karina’s yearbook shoot on the Instagram account she manages for the girl.

Karina is Kay’s second child with Hongkong singer-actor Louis Cheung, 41. The couple also has a 13-year-old son named James.

In one of the pics, the sassy four-year-old, whose nickname is Kaka Ball (hence the IG handle), is seen crossing her arms and giving the camera her best “model face”. Hm, looks like Dee Hsu’s daughter’s got some competition.

“Who says I have to smile for my [yearbook] photo?” Kay wrote in the caption from Karina’s POV.

​​​​​​​As cute and amusing as that post was, it was the second shot that really got people’s attention, simply ‘cos the visible school logo pretty much announced to the entire world that Karina is enrolled at ESF Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten.

​ESF, which stands for English Schools Foundation, is said to be the largest English-medium international school organisation in Hongkong with 22 schools under its umbrella.

Studying at one of its kindergartens will guarantee the student a place in an ESF primary and secondary school in the future without the need for more interviews or entrance exams, thanks to its ‘Through-train Education System’.

According to reports, the kindy tuition fees cost HK$85,000 (S$14,600) a year. Parents may also choose to shell out an additional HK$500,000 (S$86,000) for a debenture that gains them interview priority for kindergarten admissions.

Debentures are typically used to cover a school’s capital and running costs, and in the case of ESF, the full amount is only refundable if the child completes kindergarten without moving on to another one of their schools.

Raymond Lam has always been a very private person but all that changed after he took part in two variety shows that gave his fans a peek into his married life.

The first, Viva La Romance, sees celeb wives travel together while their husbands observe the adventures their better halves get up to.

More recently, Raymond guested on talk show Sweet Tasks, where he opened up about fatherhood and why he's now doing reality shows (spoiler alert: it’s for his wife Carina Zhang).

Raymond explained, “I hope to get to know my wife better through these shows. We’ve only been married for a year and I’m working most of the time. I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with my wife and filming these shows made me realise that. I’ll be making adjustments to my work schedule from now on so that I’ll be able to spend more time with my family.”

While many new dads see their kids as the new centre of their lives, Raymond admitted that the arrival of his daughter reminded him of just how important his wife is instead.

“I want to rush home the minute I end work,” he laughed. “When I get home, the first thing I want to do is to see my wife. She’ll always on the top of my list.”

​In fact, Carina’s so important to him that Raymond says he always apologises to her when they have disagreements.

“What’s most important in a fight is to deescalate it, which is why I always apologise first," he said. "Regardless of what started it, I’ll always apologise first and tell her that I’m at fault.”

Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock are working together on another project. The 57-year-old actor will join Lost City of D, Bullock's upcoming romantic action-adventure comedy with Channing Tatum. The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the news. 

Pitt and Bullock got their first chance to share the screen in Pitt's Sony action movie, Bullet Train. The two were photographed on set together last month. 

In Paramount's Lost City of D, Bullock stars as a reclusive romance novelist who was sure nothing could be worse than getting stuck on a book tour with her cover model (Tatum), until a kidnapping attempt sweeps them both into a cutthroat jungle adventure, proving life can be so much stranger, and more romantic, than any of her paperback fictions. 

Pitt will appear in a cameo role, while Patti Harrison, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Daniel Radcliffe also star in the upcoming movie. 

Bullock is also producing through her Fortis Films banner, with Liza Chasin and her company, 3dot Productions. Seth Gordon is also attached to produce via Exhibit A. Adam and Aaron Nee are directing and working with Dana Fox on the production draft. 

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have broken up. After a two-year engagement and four years of dating, the pair officially called it quits, they revealed in a joint statement to reporters.

"We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so," the former couple said. "We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects."

"We wish the best for each other and one another's children," they continued of Lopez's 13-year-old twins, Emme and Max, and Rodriguez's daughters, Natasha, 16, and Ella, 12. "Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to every one who has sent kind words and support." 

Hours before the announcement, Rodriguez shared an Instagram Stories video of framed photo of himself and Lopez, tagging the performer in the post. 

Prior to their split, multiple sources told reporters on March 12 that the two had called off their engagement, with one source noting that the 45-year-old former baseball pro and the 51-year-old triple-threat star had decided their relationship "had run its course." However, one day later, a source told reporters that the two were continuing their relationship and "working through things," and that "no third party was involved."

Lopez mocked the split headlines in a TikTok set to rapper Saweetie's song, "Pretty B**ch Freestyle," while Rodriguez declared he was "not single" in a video obtained by reporters. He also tagged Lopez in an Instagram post, writing, "New week. New day. Onward, upward."

Another source later told reporters that both Lopez and Rodriguez's kids wanted them to work things out. 

"Their kids have grown to be so close and they are all hoping for the best," the source said.

Amid the rumors, the former pair visited the Dominican Republic together last month with their children, sharing photos on social media from the trip. But Lopez shared several new photos to Instagram this past week, not wearing her engagement ring, adding further fuel to the split speculation. 

Chinese actress Vicki Zhao’s daughter April turned 11 on April 11 (wow, that's a mouthful) and netizens are already gushing over how much the girl resembles her mother, saying that she has clearly “inherited her Vicki's signature doe eyes”. 

Some netizens also say that April has “lost her baby fat” and that she looks more grown up now. 

Previously, the 45-year-old actress had revealed in an interview that she lets April dress herself.

And of course, like most kids that age, all April wanted was “for the colours [of her clothes] to match”.

Other netizens also said that April’s smile resembles Vicki to a tee, with some even calling the two of them an “ultra-attractive mother and daughter team”... which is just weird considering how young April is. 

There are quite a number of celebrity real estate moguls in Hongkong who have made a fortune from well-planned investments, and one of them is Singaporean actor Hugo Ng, whose low-key but lucrative purchases have earned him the title of “Showbiz’s Invisible Property King”.

Together with his wife, former actress Lily Chung, the couple is estimated to have amassed around HK$500mil (S$86.4mil) worth of property in Hongkong, China, and other countries in Southeast Asia. Whistles.

And it looks like their collection may not stop growing any time soon.

Recently, Hugo and his assistant were spotted meeting real estate agents to look at houses in the Kowloon City district. The 61-year-old reportedly checked out a low-rise unit with a view of the Kowloon Walled City Park, but he didn’t seem too keen on the place.

It’s not known whether he continued viewing other apartments before leaving the neighbourhood about 45 minutes later.

When contacted by journos, Hugo clarified that he did not buy anything and was just casually looking at units since he had the time.

“I have always been addicted to looking at houses and I like to explore different areas,” he explained. “If the timing and the price are right, I will buy it, but for big purchases, I always see what my wife thinks first. She’s not in Hongkong now so I’ll have to wait for her to come back before going to see the place again.”

As it turns out, one of the flats Hugo viewed that day was a duplex unit with an asking price of more than HK$60mil (S$10.4mil). When asked whether he liked it, he said: “There’s no use in me liking it, I want my wife to be satisfied with it.”

According to reports, Hugo gives all his earnings to his missus to invest, and all of their properties are registered under her name.

It seems like he made the right choice: Lily previously cashed out tens of millions of dollars (HK$10mil is about S$1.7mil) from five of their property investments, showing just how savvy she is.

In a recent interview with a local Chinese daily, Hugo revealed that he bought a house in Sengkang last year, and that the family of three plans to live there after his son Justin returns to Singapore from England, where he is studying special effects in filmmaking.