Netizens call Star Awards 2025 a 'trainwreck' despite star-studded night
Despite being the 30th anniversary of the Star Awards, which honours achievements in local Mandarin television, the production was widely panned in a Reddit thread that quickly gained traction and hundreds of comments.
Users called the show a "hosting and floor management nightmare", with some labelling it a "glorified D&D" for Mediacorp staff.
Chantalle Ng 'truly dreadful'
Much of the criticism was directed at co-host and actress Chantalle Ng, 30, who was accused of being unprofessional and overly focused on herself.
"She was truly dreadful, sorry to say," one Reddit user wrote. "She has serious main character syndrome." Another commented: "Which host screams into the mic 'my friend!!!' when announcing an award?"
Viewers also felt veteran host Guo Liang, 54, had to work overtime to carry the show. While he kept a steady hand, his attempts to build chemistry with Ng were seen as awkward, with one user declaring the pair simply had "no rapport."
Acceptance speeches cut short
Others pointed out that the show ran under time by about seven minutes, even after multiple winners had their acceptance speeches abruptly cut short.
Among them was Jim Lim, winner for Best Theme Song, whose microphone was muted midway through his thank-you speech. "The poor bloke was just trying to blabber his thank-you speech away without realising he was muted. I just felt so mad for him," a viewer wrote.
"On the bright side, I got curious and searched for that song. What an amazing gem of a song!"
The show, which featured Hong Kong superstars Chow Yun Fat, 70, and Jessica Hsuan, 54, as presenters, ran for just under three hours. Hsuan also picked up a Best Actress award, which some online felt was a strange fit for a local television prize.
Awkward camera angles
There was also criticism of the way the production was filmed, including abrupt switches, awkward angles, and failed attempts to capture reaction shots. One user remarked: "I've seen high school plays with better production value."
Despite the missteps, some fans found humour in the chaos. "It's entertaining yearly for our family precisely because it's always a trainwreck," said one Redditor.
Others were more critical: "Star Awards 2025 should just be renamed the Christopher Lee Awards," wrote one user, referring to the actor's repeated wins over the years. There were also murmurs of dissatisfaction over perceived favouritism and lack of recognition for new talent.
A beloved institution
Nevertheless, there were positive comments about the awards show, which first began in 1994. Some left encouraging comments on Chantalle's Instagram page, with one saying: "I'm surprised that you can host well too. So proud of you!"
Suggestions from netizens ranged from extending the show by 30 minutes to moving the 10pm news to a later timeslot. "Korea lets award shows run into the night. But here, we rush the biggest show of the year just to make way for the news," one commenter said.
Still, for all its stumbles, the Star Awards remains one of the few annual events dedicated to celebrating local TV. As one viewer dryly put it, "I'm more surprised there are people still watching this."
The New Paper has reached out to Mediacorp for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.
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