There were stars from Singapore. There were stars from Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Korea. There were even stars from Sweden. Over two star-studded nights, the glitterati from around the region shone in their finery and those that received accolades for their work shone brighter still.
Into its 20th instalment, the 20th Asian Television Awards’ defining feature was the large coverage and viewership reach, enabling fans to share the moment of glory with those who took home the coveted sleek silver statuette. This keystone event in a series of motion picture events coming under the umbrella of the Singapore Media Festival which ran from 26 November to 6 December 2015, and brought together industry leaders, movers and shakers to explore fresh possibilities in content creation, collaboration and viewer engagement.
Submissions for the awards this time was overwhelming; there were 1,416 entrants vying for 40 awards over three categories (awards details here). Billed as “Television’s Biggest Night”, the event was for the first time held over two nights, with the second night being televised live both on regional broadcast television channels and online. Channels across Asia including Astro Ria, Astro Ria HD, Bugaboo.tv, LeTV, Media Channel, Toggle and Tonton participated in this coordinated proceedings of this celebratory affair into screens into homes in real time. This has enabled the night’s fanfare to reach more than 300 million viewers and to extend that reach just a little further, seats were opened up to welcome members of the public to sit alongside, shoulder to shoulder with their idols.
Performances punctuated the presentation of prizes. Swedish boyband JTR swept young female heats with their boyish grins and floppy golden locks, while Korean girl band, Secret, did the same to males in the crowd with signature girl band moves like the hair toss and the twisty squat (my term for the often-seen racy K-Pop dance move where the songstress lowers her erect body by bending her knees to a position close to a squat while twisting their waist).
Anggun, easily one of the biggest stars of the night, owned the night with her powerful vocals and commanding stage presence, showing her less experienced colleagues how to really grab the attention of the audience. Belting out her latest hit, “Saviour”, she put on a rousing show, one that her devotees appreciated wholeheartedly. Even hosts Allan Wu, Max Loong, Joey Mead King and Munah Bagharib, were noticably in awe. Respected Taiwanese veteran Jeff Chang also made an appearance, performing favourites from his illustrious singing career.
With the flurry of activity happening on stage , it was difficult to remember that it was a night to pay tribute to the hard work of those who have toiled to keep us entertained. So, a round up of the winners in each category is in order and can be found here.
The after party, also held at Suntec City was a friendly affair where members of the media mingled with the celebrities on an equal footing. Sensing an opportunity to get a picture, I mosied quietly up to Anggun and rather shyly intruded on her conversation to ask for a photograph.
She was disarmingly friendly, obliging my request with a bright smile and some banter at the end too. For some strange reason, not having mastered the art of the pick up, it was a lot easier to approach any one of the artistes with some casual conversation and end it with a photograph.
If the future is about melding the celluloid world with the corporeal one in which most of us inhabit, recognising that it really is a symbiotic relationship on an equal footing, I like what I’m watching unfold.
