Star Awards 2023: Richie Koh, Huang Biren named best actors as Your World In Mine continues winning streak
The annual awards ceremony recognising the best in Mandarin television in Singapore saw last year’s runaway hit show, Your World In Mine, sweeping awards in several categories.
Your World In Mine's Huang Biren (left) and Richie Koh win Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, at the Star Awards 2023. (Photo: Mediacorp Studio 3)
The Star Awards 2023, held on Sunday (Apr 9) at Marina Bay Sands, threw no surprise punches as acclaimed drama Your World In Mine, about a family with an intellectually disabled son, swept awards in several categories.
Having already won Best Drama and Best Theme Song at the Star Awards Gala Dinner on Mar 30, the show, which had a total of nine nominations, went on to claim the Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards.
Best Actor went to hot favourite Richie Koh for his compelling performance as a 21-year-old with the intellectual age of a seven-year-old, while Huang Biren was named Best Actress for her emotional turn as his struggling mother.
Koh, 29, thanked his family and everyone involved in the production of Your World In Mine. "I believe every actor wants to get a challenging role like this. Being able to tell the story of a kid with an intellectual disability has been my honour," he said.
"Johannes and Anna, thank you for letting me into your world. Your world is very beautiful, and now we all know that," added the actor.
It was the second Best Actress trophy in a row for Huang, who won the same prize last year for her work in Recipe Of Life.
"I want to take this chance to tell people with special needs and their families, especially their parents – your world, we understand it. If anyone still doesn't understand, please watch Your World In Mine online," said the 54-year-old actress, who beat out fellow Best Actress nominees Zoe Tay, Rebecca Lim, Jesseca Liu and Hong Ling.
The Best Supporting Actress award went to Xiang Yun for her performance in the same drama as an elderly woman with dementia. It was the second award the actress picked up that night, as she was also awarded the Evergreen Artiste award for the fourth time, an award she was clearly more prepared to receive; she dedicated it to her son, actor Chen Xi, who is preparing to leave the industry this August to study arts management in the UK.
Meanwhile, the Best Supporting Actor award went to Brandon Wong for his work in Dark Angel. With a tremble in his voice, the 51-year-old looked back on his nearly three decades of acting, saying: “In these 28 years, my dreams have been beautiful but reality has been cruel. I’ve experienced storms, but I’ve kept the fire for acting burning.” Wong also got into the ranks of Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes.
Coincidentally, he’d also been wearing red last year, when he took home his first Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes award, so, “someone told me that if I won this time, I should wear red every year.” Looks like Brandon Wong in a red suit is the new black rose on Chen Hanwei – a lucky charm for the actor.
In the Best Programme Host category, Christopher Lee emerged top for Dishing With Chris Lee. The actor-host was unable to attend, so his wife Fann Wong went on stage to give his speech – which included a message for her.
"To my beautiful wife, without you, there would not be Chris Lee's everyday dishes. Thank you for being my guinea pig," said Wong, who patted herself on the shoulder for comic effect.
During the course of the evening, Rebecca Lim and Felicia Chin each took to the stage to receive their All-Time Favourite Artiste trophies, having won 10 Top 10 Most Popular Artistes awards apiece. In her speech, Lim recalled how, as a young girl with “no confidence”, she “never dreamed there would be a day like this”. She thanked her fans and family, including new husband Matthew Webster “for being my peace”.
Chin didn’t forget to thank her husband, either – fellow actor Jeffrey Xu. “Whenever I want to hide and give up, you always encourage me,” she said to him as he recorded her speech on his phone. Backstage, she told media that she'd like to thank all those who had watched her grow up.
The Young Talent award went to Alfred Ong who acted alongside Ann Kok in Healing Heroes. "I want to specially thank Ann Kok (who played my) mummy. Ann Kok mummy. Ann Kok mummy. Important people must be mentioned thrice," said the boy through sobs.
The best surprise, though, was probably YouTuber Das DD winning the Best Rising Star award for his work in the web series #JustSwipeLah. Visibly flustered, he told reporters backstage, “I'm just a simple boy who lives in Woodlands, and now i'm the first Indian to be nominated for and win a Star Award, so, clearly, anything is possible!”
In the popularity categories, Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes awards were bagged by: Paige Chua, Carrie Wong, Ya Hui, Ann Kok, Chen Ning, Chen Biyu, Denise Camillia Tan, Jesseca Liu, Tasha Low, and Chantalle Ng.
The Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes were: Romeo Tan, Shaun Chen, Desmond Tan, Marcus Chin, Desmond Ng, Jeff Goh, Brandon Wong, Jeremy Chan, Guo Liang, and Xu Bin.
Most Popular Rising Stars awards, a new category for artistes with five years or less of experience, went to Gao Mei Gui, Richie Koh and Ayden Sng.
With the show returning to Marina Bay Sands for the first time in 10 years, artistes walked the pre-show red carpet against the backdrop of glittering Marina Bay and the Singapore skyline, bringing a one-night-only touch of glamour to the heart of the city.
STAR AWARDS 2023 FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Best Actor: Richie Koh (Your World In Mine)
Best Actress: Huang Biren (Your World In Mine)
Best Supporting Actor: Brandon Wong (Dark Angel)
Best Supporting Actress: Xiang Yun (Your World In Mine)
Best Programme Host (Entertainment & Infotainment): Christopher Lee (Dishing With Chris Lee)
Best Rising Star: Dharmadasa D Dharamahsena (Das DD) (#justswipelah)
Evergreen Artiste Award: Xiang Yun
Young Talent Award: Alfred Ong (Healing Heroes)
All-Time Favourite Artistes: Felicia Chin, Rebecca Lim
Most Popular Rising Stars: Ayden Sng, Richie Koh, Gao Mei Gui
Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes: Romeo Tan, Shaun Chen, Desmond Tan, Marcus Chin, Desmond Ng, Jeff Goh, Brandon Wong, Jeremy Chan, Guo Liang, Xu Bin
Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes: Paige Chua, Carrie Wong, Ya Hui, Ann Kok, Chen Ning, Chen Biyu, Denise Camillia Tan, Jesseca Liu, Tasha Low, Chantalle Ng
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(Winners announced on Mar 30)
Best Drama Serial: Your World In Mine
Best Entertainment Programme: Dishing With Chris Lee
Best Entertainment Special Programme: Star Awards 2022 – Awards Ceremony
Best Infotainment Programme: Forgotten Children
Best Short-Form Entertainment Programme: Mr Zhou's Ghost Stories @ Singapore Sightings
Best Radio Programme: The Breakfast Quartet (Love 972)
Best Theme Song: Your World In Mine (Lennerd Lim)
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MY PICK! AWARDS
Favourite CP: Xu Bin and Chantalle Ng (Love At First Bite)
Male Show Stealer: Richie Koh (Your World In Mine)
Female Show Stealer: Jesseca Liu (Soul Detective)
Most Hated Villain: Jeffrey Xu (Dark Angel)
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Bioskin Most Charismatic Award: Ayden Sng
Catch the repeat telecast of the Walk of Fame and Awards Ceremony on Apr 16 from 2pm to 6.30pm on Channel 8.
