Actress Belinda Lee has trumped the likes of popular host Guo Liang to win the Best Infotainment Host award at the MediaCorp Star Awards last Sunday, 26 April.
Lee, 31, received two nominations in the same category — Best Infotainment Host — for her sparkling turns in the travelogues Find Me A Singaporean (Season 2) and Come Dance With Me. She won the award for Come Dance With Me.
Come Dance With Me was an entertaining and highly unique show that brought Lee all over the world to learn different styles of dance, from Irish tap-dancing (which nearly busted her ankle) to Japanese geisha dancing. “It was a dream come true for me! I always wanted to be a dancer,” she says. In each episode through her energetic involvement, Lee brought the unusual cultures of these countries to viewers back home.
In Find Me A Singaporean, Lee traveled round the world to hunt down Singaporeans who have relocated — some to destinations as far and strange as the mountaintops of Yunnan — and find out what they are doing and how they are making a difference in this world as a Singaporean. It was the first of its kind when Lee filmed Season 1, and the response was so overwhelming that a second season was commissioned.
“I was totally shocked by the double nomination,” says Lee, who is one of only two actors who received two nominations at the Star Awards. The other is veteran Chinese TV actress Chen Li Ping who has been nominated for Best Actress in two different shows.
“But I wasn’t surprised that it was Come Dance With Me that won me the award. Either one, and I would be very happy. The hard work and effort I put in for both shows were equal.
“It was totally a miracle,” continues Lee. In past years, Lee had done a much wider variety of work (from hosting to serials). However, these past two years, she focused entirely on the two travelogues alone. That she has been nominated for both is “really a blessing”.
“These two years, my appearances, endorsements, magazine coverage have never been so low. But God opened these doors and I got two nominations!”
When Lee stepped forward to receive her award, her first thank you went to “my Heavenly Father for this gift”.
“I had a vision a few weeks ago that I was standing on a stage receiving an award,” she shares. “It really happened!”
The award is important for Lee because “it is a form of affirmation; it’s important to be recognized for my effort. It’s a privilege.”
Lee also shares that since her win, “people look at me differently”. She was invited immediately to a very exclusive closed door party organized by a fashion brand.
Lee is currently filming “the longest drama ever!” I Want To Hold Your Hand will air late this year and will run for a record eight months! “The exposure is huge.
“This is a very competitive industry,” says Lee. “I know from the bottom of my heart that these opportunities are from God. He has intervened in this whole thing – I’ve done what I love, and I’ve been recognized for it.”
Watch Belinda Lee receive her award on the repeat telecast of the Star Awards 2009 this Sunday, 3 May, on Channel 8 at 6pm.
