Singapore, 22 December 2018 – The inaugural StarHub Night of Stars ended on a high note as 34 artistes from across Asia lit up the Sands Theatre in Marina Bay Sands to celebrate the best of Asian entertainment on StarHub TV. Korean sensation Lee Joon Gi and Chinese actress Qin Lan emerged as the big winners of the night, taking home the 2018 StarHub Best Male and Female Asian Star Awards respectively. The Samsung Galaxy presents StarHub Night of Stars saw a total of 13 awards presented to artistes from China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan to recognise their achievements in 2018.
“We are privileged to have some of Asia’s biggest celebrities join us at StarHub Night of Stars. In addition to congratulating the artistes on a year of hard work, we wanted to do more for our customers by bringing them closer to their favourite celebrities,” said Mr Johan Buse, Chief of Consumer Business Group, StarHub. “This event would not have been possible without our customers. We thank them for their support and assure them that they can look forward to more exciting changes at StarHub TV in 2019.”
To kick start the celebrations, hosts Dennis Nieh, Lulu Huang and Kate Pang delighted the 1,980-strong crowd with a short opening skit. The first award of the night, the 2018 StarHub Best Host Award, was then presented to veteran host Pauline Lan for the enduring success of Lady First Singapore, which is now in its sixth season. Lady First Singapore is a collaboration among StarHub, Hong Kong TVBI and TVBS. Pauline Lan took to the stage again to present Taiwanese actress Chen Meifeng with the 2018 StarHub Evergreen Artiste Award, in recognition of her extensive contributions to the entertainment industry.
In the acting category, Lee Joon Gi’s realistic portrayal of the Lawless Lawyer earned him the 2018 StarHub Best Male Asian Star Award; the series went on to become one of the highest rated Korean dramas in Korea cable television history. In the series, he played a gangster-turned-lawyer who would frequently use loopholes in the law to seek justice against those in power.
Story of Yanxi Palace is undisputedly the biggest Asian drama of 2018 and propelled many of its leading cast members to superstar status. Qin Lan, as Fucha Rong Yin, told the story of a warm-hearted, gentle empress thrown into the turmoil of the imperial harem. Her performance won the hearts of fans worldwide and scored a deserving win of the 2018 StarHub Best Female Asian Star Award. In another win for Story of Yanxi Palace, Singaporean actor Lawrence Wong, who played lively general Hai Lan Cha, took home the 2018 StarHub Breakthrough Star Award. The multi-talented artiste then dazzled the crowd with a performance of his latest single.
Popular Taiwanese actor Jasper Liu received the 2018 StarHub Dazzling Star Award for his consistently captivating performances over the past year; contributing to the box office success of Take Me to the Moon and playing the leading man of My Goddess, available on StarHub TV. Fellow Taiwanese actor Derek Chang accepted the 2018 StarHub Rising Star Award for his role as a budding designer An Qing Hui in My Dear Boy.
Fresh off receiving the highly coveted Best Actor in a Leading Role award in Hong Kong, Joe Ma who played a head paramedic in Life on The Line, TVB’s highest rated drama of the year, bagged the 2018 StarHub Best TVB Artiste Award which was presented to him by TVB icon Benz Hui. Rebecca Zhu’s portrayal of Sheung Mei Mui, a lively stuntwoman in The Stunt earned her the 2018 StarHub Best TV Drama Character Award.
Fans also got to vote for their 2018 StarHub Favourite Korean Drama Character on StarHub’s Facebook page. Taking up the role of Lee Shi Kyung in Andante, Kai emerged as the ultimate fan-favourite, defeating other hugely popular Korean actors Cha Eun Woo, Lee Seung Gi and Park Hyun Shik.
On to the music category, South Korean boy band A.C.E nabbed the 2018 StarHub Best Newcomer Award and took centre stage to perform their hit songs Cactus and Take Me Higher. 2018 StarHub Most Charismatic Performance Award winners girl group Cosmic Girls then wowed the crowd with their song and dance items Secret and Save Me, Save You.
The audience was also treated to a stellar performance of It’s You, from the original soundtrack of top Korean drama What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, by the winner of the 2018 StarHub Best Asian Drama OST Award, Korean singer Jeong Sewoon. Taiwanese ballad singer Sam Lee made a special guest appearance and presented Cosmic Girls and Jeong Sewoon with their award, before bringing the house down with his hit classics.
“We set out to deliver a memorable night of entertainment for our customers and we are proud to say that we did it! I would like to express our deepest gratitude to our presenter and sponsors who have been with us every step of this journey. Congratulations to the team on putting together a great show, we will continue to work hard and deliver the best of Asian entertainment to our customers,” added Mr Buse.
Viewers can catch the premiere of StarHub Night of Stars on Hub VV Drama (StarHub TV Channel 855) on 13 January 2019, 7pm. The show will also be made available on Hub E City (StarHub TV Channel 111/825) on 19 January 2019, 8:45pm and 4 February 2019, 4:30pm.
Samsung Galaxy presents StarHub Night of Stars is produced by H.A.H Entertainment, proudly sponsored by main sponsors Toyogo, Chan Brothers Travel, KFC, Systema and Kyusoku Jikan. Co-sponsored by Seng Choon Farm, Mitsubishi Electric Starmex, Royal Caribbean, PacificLight, Cielo and SingHaiYi. Supporting partners include Gold Kili and Eight Design. Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands is the official venue of StarHub Night of Stars.
