Tiaras and babies? City Harvest Church members show how to be married and still have “it.”

CHC’s mission is for its members to shine brightly for God in society and the marketplace, and many have certainly done so in the public arena this past year, with the emergence of numerous pageant and talent contest winners from the congregation.

Kenny Santika Lau, a volunteer charity worker and wife to entrepreneur Kevin Lau emerged Mrs. Singapore World 2010. The pageant saw not only Lau but two of her fellow church mates scooping up awards. Cassandra Zulkarnain, familiar to the church as its drama director and as wife of one of CHC’s pastors, Aries Zulkarnain, was crowned First Runner-Up for Mrs. Singapore World 2010. Goh Wenling, a company director and wife to another CHC pastor, Goh Yock Kiang, was crowned Mrs. Singapore Queen of Hope 2010/11.

All three winners made juggling their professional lives, marriages and kids look like a piece of cake, but each one attributed a large part of their achievements to the strong support of their husbands and families.

The men in City Harvest did not fare poorly in this arena either. Lim Wee Lee, an events program executive and father to a four-year-old boy, did all fathers proud by emerging tops in NUYOU’s Men We Love 2010 list, gaining an edge with his boyish good looks and charming disposition. His competitors included former Manhunt winners and professional models, but Lim beat them all with his unique combination of looks, personality and heart.

These attractive, talented individuals proved that even after being married with young kids and juggling busy careers, they still have what it takes to emerge victorious in such talent contests with the grace of God.

CN FILE PHOTOS

The Next Wave

Other competition winners included Zechariah Koh, the 2010 Teens Model Search winner, as well as CHC contestants in the Miss Earth Singapore 2010 contest and Miss Singapore World 2010 awards.

At the Miss Earth competition, Chloe Lo was named Miss Earth Water and Miss Friendship, while Lavigne Shi was awarded Miss Earth Fire and Shannon Lim was voted Miss Photogenic.

At Miss Singapore World 2010, Keong Hui Shan was bestowed the Miss Singapore Global Beauty award, while Louisa Althea Tay was named Miss Internet Popularity and Miss Lumiere.

More recently, Sally Ng was crowned the “Queen of Queens” by Seventeen magazine, and Wong Yu Lan emerged as the Most Gorgeous Female in Female’s magazine Top 50 Gorgeous People contest.

2010 has evidently been a memorable year for many CHC members and with the onset of 2011, we look forward to seeing many more talented church members emerging to make their mark in nationwide competitions.

City Harvest Church’s TV Ministry breaks new ground with the production of its first short film.

The City Harvest Church TV Ministry has produced a short film for the very first time. Titled Who Cares?, the production also involved volunteers from other CHC ministries such as the Drama, Make-up and Photography ministries, as well as their family and friends.

Who Cares? is a remake of a 1998 film which was screened as part of the church’s Christian Education curriculum in the training of its leaders. As the original video was narrative-based and needed to be updated, the CHC TV Ministry decided to come up with a fresh concept which viewers could relate to.

Instead of a narrative approach, the team chose to dramatize the story based on the Caring System, a practical approach to evangelism espoused by CHC which involves meeting the needs of those around us through building relationships with them.
The team that spearheaded the project included director Renier Flores, producer Danielle Ho, assistant producer Joey Lim, production manager Lor Huiyun and art director Sunny Sun. Calling themselves Z4TEN STUDIOS, they were inspired by Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)—“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.” In the same vein, Z4TEN STUDIOS is starting small and stepping out, challenging itself to do different things with greater creativity.

Planning for the whole production was challenging, as there were many aspects to handle and finalize within a tight timeframe and budget. The crew and cast had to be assembled; the budget finalized; shoots needed to be coordinated and scheduled; locations had to be selected and equipment sourced.

For Ho, it was the first time she was involved as a producer of a short film and she found this to be a priceless experience.
“As a producer, it was a huge task trying to balance the creative and the practical. Ambitious and grandiose ideas, which we had loads of during our brainstorming sessions and even during filming, were really tempting, but could have jeopardized the schedule or budget,” she says.

Ho is very grateful for the huge favor the team received during the production. The weather was perfect during the two days of filming even though it had been raining every day in the lead up to the shoot. Many friends and family members supported the team in bringing the production to fruition. They loaned them equipment for free, opened their apartments for filming and availed their services wherever necessary. The volunteers had their own work on weekdays, but were absolutely committed and happily gave up their weekends to film the story.

“I believe it’s the first time—outside of Big Day (large-scale) productions in church—that so many different ministries came together and collaborated on the same project. Despite all the challenges and difficulties, we forged on ahead to see this project to fruition, because we shared the same dream and passion. In everything we did, we walked by faith and prayed to God that we didn’t miss out anything essential,” Ho says.

Since the film’s storyline is based in Singapore, shoot locations included HDB flats, basketball courts and Changi Beach. The storyline also required a rooftop scene, and finding a suitable location turned out to be more challenging than expected. The team drove around the whole island trying to find the perfect venue, and only managed to find a rooftop garden that offered a great view one day before filming was to start. When they went for the shoot, there was an elevated section offering a view which made the location even more perfect.

When filming a barbeque scene, the crew realized that the other pits in the location had been booked by two different groups of Filipinos. Since Flores is also a Filipino, an invitation was extended to them to join in the shoot and they happily took it up. Their participation definitely helped to build the atmosphere in that particular scene.

The main character in Who Cares? is Benny Chiam, played by Nelson Tong. He and his family go through a rough patch with the economic crisis and had to downsize. At about the same time, his daughter (played by Germaine Tan) gets caught for shoplifting and has to undergo Community Service Order. Nelson’s wife is played by a familiar face on the CHC stage, Shelia Ther. During this time, their new neighbors, Mr. Tan (played by Lee Kiam Hiong) and Mrs. Tan (played by Janet Kuah), initiate contact with the Chiam family and slowly reach out to them. Lionel Choong (winner of the Manhunt pageant in CGI-Asia Conference 2010) plays their son, Roger Tan.

In the film, Benny Chiam has two “alter-egos” that act out the different scenarios based on the choices he makes at different times, played by Gary Sim and Steven Tan.

For Nelson Tong, the lead actor in the production, it was his first time working with the TV Ministry and also his first time as the lead. “I really enjoyed myself and it was great working with the TV Ministry, witnessing their professionalism in all that they did. This is one project that the CHC Drama and TV Ministries actually worked together—it was a new collaborative experience that was very enriching. Hopefully, the TV Ministry will scale greater heights and do more productions to reach out to more people,” he says.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHC TV MINISTRY

The production also features other familiar faces on the CHC stage such as Bernard Loh, Esther Teo and George Kuruvilla. According to Ho, the seasoned actors took the initiative to rehearse and work through the scenes with some of the less experienced actors, and this helped to boost their performances.

Who Cares? is still in the midst of post-production and the team hopes to launch it for sale in mid-November. The DVD will come with extras like behind-the-scenes footage, which captures all the laughter and tears of the cast and crew, as well as interviews with them. The price of the DVD is yet to be determined, but sales proceeds will be channeled back into the production of more short films.

As there are no overt Christian references in Who Cares? the team will be combining this short film with an explanation of how the Caring System works, and how effective it is in reaching out to people. The production is aimed at becoming a useful CHC resource.

Flores says, “Z4TEN STUDIOS hopes to produce a repertoire of films in various genres that will show viewers how to apply the golden rule of loving others as oneself and God above all.”

Says Ho, “Through Z4TEN STUDIOS, we also want to extend opportunities to filmmaking enthusiasts or anyone interested in any aspect of the production, be it as actors, dancers, makeup artists, stylists, or crew for video, audio and lighting—to participate in upcoming projects.”

The wedding of Brian Wong and Jacelyn Tay was a touching and elegant affair, which glorified God and showed how instrumental He had been in bringing them together in holy matrimony.

PHOTOS: John Dave Ng

Celebrity and founder of slimming company Body Inc, Jacelyn Tay and former Mediacorp vice-president of Sales, Brian Wong, exchanged wedding vows and rings at the Pan Pacific Singapore ballroom with Tan Ye Peng, deputy senior pastor of City Harvest Church, officiating the Holy Matrimony. The couple chose the date 10.10.10 because it sounded like the tune of the wedding march “ten, ten, ten ten.”

Amongst the 560 guests witnessing this auspicious day were Ms. Ellen Lee, MP for Sembawang GRC, Chang Long Jong, deputy CEO of Mediacorp, celebrities like Patricia Mok, Christopher Lee, Jack Neo, Huang Shinan, Pan Ling Ling, Chen Hanwei, Yvonne Lim, Terence Cao, Ann Kok, Rayson Tan, as well as Radio DJs Glenn Ong and Jean Danker.

Tay looked stunning in an exclusive white gown from Vera Wang’s 2010 Fall bridal gown collection. Her white tulle strapless ball gown with floating crystal petals was simple and very elegant. She also wore an exquisite pair of ear clips from Chopard’s Red Carpet High Jewellery collection, which comprised multi-colored pearls and 19 rose-cut diamonds. Her hair and makeup were done by celebrity hair stylist David Gan and celebrity makeup artist Andy Lee.

The theme for the night was blue chic, and was very lovely with ivory rose table arrangements, light blue seat ribbons and flowing candlelit crystal stands, complemented with white feathers.

9-year-old Joie Teo sang an acoustic version of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” and just like her father, Teo Poh Heng, who has led worship at CHC for 15 years, she was a natural on stage and delivered a sterling performance. There was also an energetic dance item by O School, which seemed to end all too soon. Calvin Ho, cell group mate of Wong and Tay, also performed Phil Collin’s “You Will Be in My Heart.”

The couple aired a specially commissioned video titled “A Love Story,” which showed how they came together and their journey to knowing God and one another. The couple attributed their love and happiness to God, even stating that their union would have been impossible without Him. The video was very touching and occasionally hilarious, bringing much laughter to the audience.

During their moving “Thank you” speeches, the couple thanked their mothers, with Wong being moved to tears at the sacrifices his mother had made over the years. To express their gratitude and appreciation, the couple knelt in front of their mothers and presented large bouquets of flowers to them.

There was also a surprise item during the wedding, in which Wong was blindfolded and made to sit down, while people from the audience were randomly picked to come onstage and kiss him. These people included celebrities like Patricia Mok, Christopher Lee and Glenn Ong. Wong had to guess who amongst them was his bride, and even though the celebrities used Tay’s hand to touch Wong in a bid to confused him, he still managed to guess which kiss was Tay’s. This segment resulted in quite a few guffaws from the audience and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The wedding was a very touching affair, where the couple gave thanks to God all the way and glorified Him at every opportunity.

Phil Pringle reiterates the importance of being planted in God’s House, where dreams are birthed and visions fulfilled.

CN PHOTO: Jason Lee

As part of CHC’s continuing efforts to improve on its structure, governance and accountability, A.R. Bernard of Christian Cultural Center and Phil Pringle of Christian City Church are now members of the church’s advisory committee, which is in the process of being formed.

Bernard will be chairman of the advisory committee. A former Wall Street banker, Bernard oversees the 33,000-member Christian Cultural Center in New York. He is the president of the Council of Churches of the city of New York, and sits on the New York City Economic Development Corporation Board. He is also a member of the Debt Reduction Task Force for the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.

Pringle is the senior minister of Christian City Church in Oxford Falls, Sydney, and oversees more than 250 Christian City Churches worldwide. In 2000, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for extraordinary services to the community.

While Pringle consults on day-to-day matters, Bernard’s role is to oversee the governance and structure of the church.

The news was met with resounding applause and excitement from church-goers as it heralds the start of an exciting future for CHC in which it will be moving on to the next level of ministry and influence.

Before Pringle’s first sermon at CHC in his official capacity as advisory pastor, the air was thick with anticipation. He spoke about how instrumental CHC is in kingdom building and expansion, and that throughout its history, the Church of Jesus Christ has always been the “gate of heaven” and “home to God” on earth. Over the centuries, many have tried to destroy the Church, but it has proven to be unshakeable and indestructible. God has created a place for each and every believer in His house to serve Him, and it is also when the believer is planted in God’s house that he can discover his destiny and birth his dreams.

Pringle shared the story of Jonathan and David in the Bible to reiterate the importance of humility in serving God. Although Jonathan was supposed to be the next in line to the throne, he recognized that this was not God’s will and abdicated the throne in favor of his friend, David. His humility and genuine friendship with David enabled God’s will to be fulfilled and David to live out his destiny. Pringle stated that while some might find it difficult to play second fiddle, there are individuals who very often are more effective being second in command than first. Ultimately, added Pringle, it is about following God’s plan for one’s life and what is needed to further His kingdom.

Pringle also emphasized the importance for Christians not to be misplaced, displaced or replaced in the ministry. Being misplaced refers to wandering about aimlessly in life, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The house of God is where a Christian gets his vision for life, hence, Christians cannot afford to wander from God’s house, said Pringle.

When Christians are not properly equipped for ministry, they might temporarily be replaced in favor of others who are better prepared at that point. However, there is a need to ensure that this replacement is not permanent. Pringle cited the example from the Bible of Barnabas’ faith in John Mark, thus ensuring that Mark would fulfill his destiny to become useful for God’s ministry.

Throughout the service, Pringle’s trademark candor and humor had the crowd engaged. Ryan Tan, 26, student, said, “I really benefited from Pastor Phil’s message today—he covered so many important themes, all the while capturing the crowd’s attention with his wit. He is such a blessing to us!”

“We have to love the house of God and not be misplaced, displaced or replaced for whatever reason. This is where our destinies and dreams are fulfilled!” said Calvin Ho, 37, an IT business development manager.

As advisory pastor to CHC, Pringle will be coming to CHC once or twice a month. He will be assisting CHC’s pastoral ministry in the planning, organizing, initiating, promoting, coordinating and reviewing of the worship, religious education and mission activities within the church.

Phil Pringle has already begun functioning in his role as advisory pastor to City Harvest Church since he arrived in Singapore last weekend. Aside from preaching in all four weekend services, he prayed with the music department before each service, exhorting the musicians and singers as “the Levites who lead God’s people into His presence.”

That evening, Pringle also sat down with the church management board over dinner for the purpose of discipleship and to set the direction for the months ahead.

On Tuesday morning, Pringle met with all the staff members of CHC and shared with them from the Word of God on the importance of encouragement, appreciation, recognition, connection and value. The advisory pastor then toured the church’s corporate office, speaking to the staff and getting to know the various departments in the office.

Joining Pringle on this trip was his wife, Christine. Meetings were set up for her and some of the female staff, as well as the pastors’ wives, for fellowship and discipleship.

Preventing ill health from even beginning—that’s the mission of Healthystars, a personal wellness chain of stores.

CN PHOTO: Desmond Tan

John Lynn Chien Yu, 52, is the founder and clinical nutritionist of Healthy-stars, a chain of personal wellness stores that offers diagnostics systems, coupled with the use of preventive solutions.

Lynn has a business degree and a post-diploma in nutrition. He is now pursuing a Masters in Human Nutrition at the Deakin University of Melbourne, renowned for its life sciences and nutrition programs.

Prior to entering the field of nutrition, the fit father of three grown children was in healthcare information technology for two decades, and used to work for multi-national corporations dealing with information systems for hospitals and other organisations.

A turning point of his life came when he got to know Professor Wong P.K., the former dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, who taught him a great deal about nutrition.

Inspired, Lynn traveled to the United States and visited a number of health and nutrition companies. He became acquainted with many nutritionists and elderly professors who were in the pink of health despite their advanced age. They had an innate understanding of the body’s self-healing properties, and Lynn gleaned many valuable insights from them. His orientation of health changed from medicine and intervention to holistic wellness—“The healing of our bodies is innate and problems occur only when there are too many obstacles in its way of healing.”

Lynn’s passion for wellness and nutrition was further solidified when a string of health crises struck his family in the late 1990s. His sister-in-law, auntie and mother were diagnosed with cancer, and it was extremely difficult for him to watch them cope with the ravages of the disease, and the chemotherapy treatment. “It was an extremely stressful period watching them suffer­—I found the treatments to be draconian.”

He began to use his knowledge of nutrition that was gained over the years to help them. His sister-in-law had an egg-sized tumor in her breast, and the cancer spread to her brain. She was given a month to live by her doctors, but is miraculously alive and well today. Another sister-in-law of Lynn accepted his advice on lifestyle changes and was also cured of diabetes.

Despite these successes, Lynn recognizes that disease is the domain of medicine; Healthystars does not deal with disease. Unlike doctors, he does not treat cancer or diabetes, but aims to improve his patients’ eight bodily functions, which include metabolism and circulation. When all these systems are functioning properly, those who are ill are more likely to get well and recover from serious, life-threatening diseases ­—“The solution is to go back to how the health problem came about. We are never medicine deficient, but we commonly eat deficient food.”

He takes heart in knowing that he has made a difference in the lives of others. One particularly memorable example was when a lecturer from a local university was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through one round of chemotherapy and it made her so sick and depressed, she wanted to give up the battle with cancer there and then. She visited Lynn at Healthystars and was certified cancer-free after one year.

“Cancer patients should not just fight the battle at the tumor level, for it is at the end of the production line. The battle must be fought from the beginning to the end. Your mindset and overall well-being also matter. It is also important that we starve the tumor and deplete it of the nutrients that it requires—such as fake estrogen from foods containing animal steroids,” says Lynn.

Having seen countless people suffer from cancer, Lynn is determined to do his part to help cancer patients get better. “Cancer killed seven percent of our population in the 1950s, and now the number has shot up to 30 percent within one generation. This is abnormal. I believe this has to do with the fact that we live in a chemical-laden world, where our food items contain many chemicals­—a fact that is unbeknownst to many. For example, do you know that fishballs contain polymer, a fabric strengthener? Knowledge is very important.”

With his passion for helping as many people as possible regain their health in a holistic way, Lynn established Healthystars three years ago in Plaza Singapura, and opened another outlet in Raffles City Shopping Centre two months ago. He has further plans for expansion in Singapore, and also intends to teach as many people as possible what he knows about health and nutrition.

At Healthystars, Lynn and his team use the latest diagnostics equipment to find out the status of their patients’ health and advise them on how to improve upon it. He spends approximately an hour with each patient trying to find out what lifestyle changes they need to make, to effect positive changes in their health.

Apart from cancer and diabetic patients, Lynn has also treated patients who are obese and cannot lose weight despite exercising and dieting. He regularly organises health talks free-of-charge for organizations such as Seng Kang Secondary School, the Autistics Association of Singapore and OCBC.

• Minimize the use of plastic food/drink containers.

• Eradicate foods with animal steroids, which are commonly fed to farm-bred fish like Pacific Dory and seabass, as well as common livestock like cattle to speed up their growth, from your diet.

• Reduce intake of processed and artificial foods such as Spam, sausages and hamburgers.

• Minimize intake of food chemicals such as preservatives, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium benzoate and nitrates which are commonly found in sauces such as soya sauce and tomato ketchup.

• Incorporate more whole grain foods and real food i.e. non-processed meats and vegetables into your daily diet.

• Take nutritional supplements to ensure your body has enough nutrients.

Healthystars
68 Orchard Road
#B2-04 Plaza Singapura
Tel: +65 6336 3311
www.healthystars.info

An accidental beginning sets the stage for musical talents.

Teo Poh Heng has led worship in City Harvest Church for more than 15 years. He graduated in 1996 from the Yamaha Music Academy with a Diploma in Music and from the School of Creative Arts in 2001. He is a contributing songwriter and musician on more than 15 music albums in his 15 years as a professional artist. In the local music scene, Teo is a well-known figure, having worked with luminaries in the film-making industry and TV commercials such as the popular international movie Rule #1 and Wee Li Lin’s Gone Shopping in Singapore.

Teo had always dreamed of starting his own music school but it didn’t materialize until an accident took place in 2008. During a mission trip that year, Teo met with an accident which caused him to rethink his goals in life. The injuries he sustained were so severe that Teo was unable to lift up his hands, let alone strum a guitar.

Due to his condition, Teo stopped serving in the worship ministry so his injuries could heal. For six months, Teo faced the possibility that he might never be able to play the guitar again or lead worship the way he used to do. This thought saddened him deeply but in his darkest moment, Teo remembered God’s faithfulness in his life and put his faith in God’s healing power, determined to get back in health.

It was during this season that Teo remembered his dream of starting a music school and decided to make it a reality. Teo established Riffs Music School in 2008 with the aim of honing music talents of all ages who are keen in the music industry. The school offers guitar, singing and song-writing classes, with a focus on the students’ performance skills.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RIFFS MUSIC SCHOOL

The teachers include Zhang Si’er, a songwriter who has composed for established singers like JJ Lin, Harlem Yu and Tarcy Su, and Sherlyn Chia, formerly the main regional vocal coach for talent company, Ocean Butterflies. With their practical knowledge of the industry and their extensive experience, coupled with small class sizes (the biggest has only 10 students), the teachers at Riffs Music School provide their students with an experience like no other. Another feature of the school lies in its focus on contemporary pop music compared to Yamaha Music School which focuses more on the classical music genre.

Riffs Music School is now in its second year of operation and has celebrated some successes. An outstanding example is Michael Lau, 18, whose band, Sour Plum, emerged champion in the recent Battle of the Bands competition organized by Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Following their win, Sour Plum was subsequently invited to perform at an upcoming Youth Olympic Games event. Another milestone for the school was when the London College of Music selected Riffs Music School as their Official Exam Centre in Singapore.

In the next 10 years, Teo aims to increase the number of courses offered at Riffs and to continue nurturing a generation of young musicians who will use their God-given talents in the music scene.

“At Riffs Music School, we really believe that talent is something that can be cultivated. As long as our students have a real passion for music and the hunger to improve, we will definitely be able to help them reach their fullest potential,” says Teo.

For more information on Riffs Music School, please visit www.riffsmusicschool.com.

Jack Neo shoots short film with CHC drama team.

A 22-minute short film, The Little Star, directed by Jack Neo debuted during City Harvest Church’s Father’s Day weekend services.

This is Neo’s first collaboration with the CHC drama team and the script was completed by Tan Chin Ling in consultation with the drama team. Shooting got underway in mid-October of 2009.

Neo said: “I’ve long wanted to direct a film for the church. It’s a very apt story for Father’s Day.”

The film depicts a single father struggling to cope with the myriad of problems brought about by his young son with behavioural problems. Although he loves his son very much, he is unable to deal with the boy’s issues and lack of communicativeness. Driven by frustration, the father resorts to caning and shouting in order to get through to his son. It is only after things get out of hand —when he is reported by his neighbours to the police for mistreating his son—and a chance encounter with a gangster in jail, that the father realizes the error of his ways and finally sees his son for who he is and how special he is. The father attempts to communicate with the son in a language that the special child is familiar with­—art. This causes their relationship to improve immeasurably.

The film is poignant and moving.  It mirrors the love that God has for His children in many ways. The message is: although we are all inherently flawed, God will always love us and reach out to us in languages which we can understand.

“We are really privileged to be working with Jack on this production—he is a most experienced film director, and we have learned so much from him during the duration of the shoot,” says Jaslynn Khoo, Assistant Drama Director for CHC.

When asked if he would be embarking on similar projects with the CHC drama team in future, Neo smiles. “The CHC drama team has been very professional and I hold them in very high regard.

“I would definitely want to pursue more projects like this with the team. And if there are any new projects, we will definitely keep everyone posted!”

Former MediaCorp star Jacelyn Tay marries the man she reached out to with Bible verses.

On May 6, entrepreneur and former MediaCorp star Jacelyn Tay wed Brian Wong in an intimate ceremony presided by CHC’s deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng. It took place at City Harvest’s Jurong West church, witnessed by 130 of their family members and friends.

The hall was bedecked with white balloons and blooms, but none of it rivaled the blushing bride herself, who made her entrance in an elegant cocktail dress, arm in arm with her debonair groom.

The moment vows were exchanged, everyone erupted into loud cheers and thunderous applause, filled with joy that a year of dating had culminated in this lovely and holy union.

Tay and Wong met in 2008, when Tay was looking to place advertisements for her business Body Inc. Wong was heading a sales team at MediaCorp at the time. From that encounter, they became friends. Tay found herself reaching out to Wong, sharing the Word and texting him Bible verses regularly. Initially sceptical, Wong was touched when he saw for himself how Tay’s life had been changed for the better by her faith.

Ultimately it was a Bible verse that convinced Wong to pursue Tay. While praying, he was reminded of the verse from Ecclesiastes 4:9: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.” Unbeknownst to him, when Tay prayed about a life partner, this was the same verse God led her to. Upon sharing this, they realized that God meant them for each other.

The Wongs say they have good role models for marriage. “We take inspiration from couples in church who remain steadfast in their love for each other despite difficulties along the way. A sterling example is Pastor Tan; he is able to juggle so much and yet be a loving family man. His heart is so loyal and faithful—one God, one woman and one family. We look up to him very much.”

City News congratulates the happy couple!

For the full report, please log on to www.citynews.sg.

This year’s MediaCorp Star Awards seemed to sparkle more than before, with new stars and a new venue.

Mediacorp’s annual Star Awards is a star-studded affair where the glitterati of local Mandarin television gather to recognize their finest and most favorite.

This was a year of many firsts. It was the first time that the Star Awards was split into two award shows held over two weekends, with the first taking place on April 18, and the second taking place at Resorts World Sentosa’s Compass Ballroom on April 25.  This was the first time the award show has been held outside the MediaCorp Theatre.

Several new awards were also introduced this year, including Favorite Male Character, Favorite Female Character and Most Unforgettable TV Villain.

Up-and-coming actor Dai Yang Tian won the Male Media Darling, while Joanne Peh was his female counterpart. Jerry Yeo was named the Most Unforgettable Villain for his role in The Ultimatum.

The event at Resorts World Sentosa was spectacular with the stars all dressed to thrill as they strolled down the red carpet, much to the delight of the screaming fans. Hosted by veterans emcees Guo Liang and Quan Yifeng, the night’s guest-of-honor was Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

With special appearances by regional celebrities such as Mark Chao, Susanna Kwan and Cai Yue Xun, as well as a special performance by singer JJ Lin, it truly was a night to remember.

Despite the hype generated by the media for the newcomers on the scene, the veterans dominated the spotlight by sweeping the top acting accolades. Chen Han Wei was named Best Actor for his role as a house-husband in Daddy At Home and Chen Li Ping (aka Ai-Yo-Yo) won the coveted Best Actress Award for her portrayal as a housewife making ends meet in Reunion Dinner. Zhu Hou Ren, who, in the same series, played Chen’s father-in-law who suffers from dementia, went home with the Best Supporting Actor award. Constance Song was named Best Supporting Actress for her villainous role in The Ultimatum. She gave a tearful thank you speech, stating that she had waited 12 years for this recognition.

Blockbuster drama Together won Best Drama Serial. Bryan Wong was recognized as the Best Info-Ed Program Host for Food Hometown 2 and Mark Lee went home with the Best Variety Show Host award for It’s A Small World.

This year, Mark Lee and Christopher Lee were named All-Time Favorite Artistes in recognition of their 10 years of receiving the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes award.

The most striking outfit of the evening had to be Joanne Peh’s black Gucci stunner which had two cut-outs on either side of her torso. “So revealing!” screeched some, but the statuesque beauty carried it off beautifully. As the last award for the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes was about to be given out and a handful of stars were already crowding around Peh with their hands outstretched, waiting to congratulate her, even before her name was announced.

When her name was indeed called, she went on stage to receive her award, revealing her sexy black dress in all its glory.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANE CHIANG

This year was also the first time Belinda Lee was a nominee for the Top 20 Female Artistes at the Star Awards 2010. “I didn’t have much to showcase this year, such as a memorable travelogue, for my audience to want to nominate me, and yet I was still nominated for the Top 20 Female Artistes at the Star Awards. As such, I knew in my heart that this had to be a miracle from God.”

The bubbly star said, “At the end of the awards ceremony, the first thing that came to my mind was to run towards my friends who were supporting me at the show, to say a very, very big thank you! It was so surreal to see all these familiar faces—it was like I was back home in church. I felt God’s love and presence all the more, because even though I didn’t go on stage to win an award, I still felt like a winner at the end of the day. My heartfelt gratitude to everyone for their unwavering support —for your calls, messages, and just being there for me this whole time. Your strong belief in me drives me to continue striving for excellence in all that I do.”

Best Actor: Chen Hanwei (Daddy At Home)
Best Actress: Chen Liping (Reunion Dinner)
Best Supporting Actor: Zhu Hou Ren (Reunion Dinner)
Best Supporting Actress: Constance Song (The Ultimatum)
Best Drama Serial: Together
Best Variety Program: It’s A Small World
Best Variety Special: The Chinese Challenge Grand Final
Best Newscaster: Zhao Wenbei
Best Current Affairs Presenter: Chun Guek Lay
Best Variety Show Host: Mark Lee (It’s A Small World)
Best Info-Ed Program Host: Bryan Wong (Food Hometown 2)
Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes:
Quan Yifeng,
Xiang Yun,
Rui En, Vivian Lai,
Michelle Chia,
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Singapore’s got talent—but someone’s got to unearth the many gifted individuals in this small island. Talentz Inc. is an agency that believes in the star next door.

Talentz Inc. was started in March 2009 by entrepreneur S.N. Koh. The talent agency and training business was born out of a desire to equip young people interested in media and entertainment with the skills to fulfill their dreams.

PHOTO: Talentz Inc

Through mentorship, training and guidance, Talentz Inc. aims to develop the potential of these actors, models and singers, so they can gain exposure in the entertainment industry, locally and internationally.

Every Talentz Inc. artist is put through training before being sent out for auditions or casting sessions. The trainers the agency engages are high profile names such as DJ and artiste Danny Yeo, singer Sherlyn Chia, entrepreneur and beauty queen Genecia Luo, and lauded actor-director Chris Lee. These trainers expose the talents to industry standards in various areas, from etiquette to public speaking, to having a good walk, and even basic acting skills.

Talentz Inc. carefully matches auditions or jobs to the talent to increase each individual’s likelihood of getting shortlisted or picked for jobs.

Talentz Inc.’s talents fall into two groups: Young Talentz Inc. for artists aged 3 to 15, and Talentz Inc. for those 16 and above.

Talentz Inc. targets attractive individuals below 30 who have experience in modeling, acting or singing. While there is no signon fee, a portfolio is required before talents can be sent for any casting calls. A majority of talents under Talentz Inc. are also signed on after they have attended at least one of its acting/modeling/hosting/ singing workshops and the fee for each workshop ranges from S$100 to S$400.

Not even a year old, Talentz Inc. has seen impressive achievements, with many of its talents finishing in pole position for beauty pageants such as Miss Singapore International (Ashley Ng, 2nd runner up), Manhunt 2009 (Teo Yu Hao, winner) and Miss Singapore Earth (Deborah Chan, 2nd runner up). Talents have emerged winners in high-profile contests such as the Nuyou “Men We Love” Contest (Brian Liu) and Female’s “50 Most Gorgeous People” Contest (Annabel Tan, female category) and the Teen “Model Search” (Zechariah Koh, winner). Other talents have appeared in local television dramas, variety shows and films.

While the world of showbiz looks glamorous, it really involves a lot of hard work behind the scenes, and there is no guarantee of success. Talentz Inc. artist manager Priscilla Kua explains the agency’s stand: “It is important that talents remind themselves to work hard and remain grounded.”

Says Liu, “The opportunities I’ve gained through Talentz Inc. have undoubtedly contributed to the recent successes in my life. It has inspired me to believe I have something unique to offer.”

Talentz Inc. is on the constant lookout for outstanding talent. To find out more, contact Talentz Inc at info@talentz.com.sg.