Drama Focus ~i’m the girl who reviews~

Click HERE for the FULL list of nominations!!

===

*all nominations are listed according to alphabetical order*

BEST NEWCOMER 最佳新人

1. Andie Chen (”The Defining Moment”, “The Little Nyonya”)
   
2. Dai Yangtian (”Taste of Love”, “The Little Nyonya”)
   
3. Jerry Yeo (”Beach.Ball.Babes”, “Crime Busters x2″)
   
4. Koh Yah Hwee (”Love Blossoms”, “Reunion Dinner”)
   
5. Paige Chua (”Just in Singapore”, “La Femme”, “Crime Busters x2″)
   
6. Zhang Zhen Huan (”The Dream-catchers”)
   

MY THOUGHTS:

Andie Chen — he’s the winner of Star Search 2007. i didn’t think much of him in his debut appearance in “The Defining Moment”. he was just a spoilt good-for-nothing kid, who depended on his family’s (his sister’s more like) money to venture into businesses which only lose money. and his character wasn’t smart either, and was always getting cheated. but i found that he was a pretty suitable choice to play Tianbao in “The Little Nyonya”. his onscreen chemistry with his father (Darren Lim) was very natural. he’s a good actor (of course there’s room for improvement), and i’ve seen that he has crossed over to Channel 5 to do some shows too. pretty versatile!

Dai Yangtian — from China; signed on by Mediacorp in 2007. what MORE can i say?! nothing much was known of him when he made his debut in “Taste of Love”, but when he appeared (for a mere 5 episodes) in “The Little Nyonya”, as the mild-mannered Japanese photographer hero, everyone wanted to know WHO HE WAS! if i remember correctly, when the drama went back to the 1930s, he was the first character to appear. he made such a big impact as Yamamoto Yousuke, that he (who was virtually unknown) shot to fame, overnight, clinching 2/8 of the ‘Top 8 Most Likable Male Lead Characters 年度8大最喜爱的男角色‘ - for “Taste of Love 缘之烩” and and “The Little Nyonya 小娘惹”. i think we’ll be able to see how versatile he is when he plays the lead in “Table of Glory”, as a bad-attitude ping-ping player.

Jerry Yeo — the 1st runner-up of Star Search 2007. his debut was in “Beach.Ball.Babes 球爱大战” as Jesseca Liu’s goody-two-shoes brother, where he tried romancing Dawn Yeoh’s character, and then he guest-starred and played the mentally unsound genius in “Crime Busters x2 叮当神探” where he murdered someone very brutally. he was also in “Perfect Cut”, but i didn’t see that; however, i’ve heard he was impressive there! i was impressed by his role, however small, in “Crime Busters x2 叮当神探”. it seemed so real and looked so real that it freaked me out.

Koh Yah Hwee — a finalist from Star Search 2007. she was the first Star Search ‘07 alumi to make her screen debut. in “Love Blossoms”, she was the youngest daughter, Wenzhu. in the drama, she won a campus beauty contest, and was offered an acting contract with the TV station. there, she rose quickly to fame, which infuriated dethroned ah-jie (May Phua), who created a lot of trouble for her. she then appeared in “Reunion Dinner” as the goody-two-shoes older daughter who had a scare, when she thought she was pregnant. both her characters are pretty much the same; i’d like to see her in a more challenging role!

Paige Chua — she made her debut in “Just in Singapore”, where she was the materialistic girl wanting to erase her lowly background, and acknowledge her wealthy father and marry into a rich family; at the same time, she won a campus beauty contest. her character was really hateable! she was so selfish, and very ice-queen-ish. argh!! then she appeared in “La Femme”, where she was a married woman, who was childish and threw tantrums. she didn’t carry her role very well there as she was not really good at portraying a bubbly character. then came the role in which she impressed, as a mentally disturbed forensic pathologist. she was really great there! she was full of pain, angst, suffering…

Zhang Zhenhuan — he’s from “U are the One”. i’ve seen him as one of the 6 hosts of the eco-friendly, saving the earth show, with Jeff Wang etc. on Ch U, and he also acts in “The Dream-catchers”. he’s the only host on this list, and he’s not made much an impression, as compared to the rest. his appearance in “The Dream-catchers” may have come too late and too close to the awards that people would overlook him as a nominee. i don’t have much of an impression of him. his works pale in comparison to the rest of the nominees.

i’d like to win: Jerry Yeo (based on the fact that i was really impressed by his acting! for a newcomer, he has the versatility of a more experienced actor. he really impressed me in “Crime Busters x2″, where he played a mentally-psycho genius. so real; so scary; he’s so pro!)

who would win: Dai Yangtian (he’s rightly named ‘Mr Little Nyonya’. other than the drama itself, Jeanette Aw, and songs, he’s the other thing which got people talking! his role in “The Little Nyonya” is definately the turning-point in his career. and that turning-point will most definately be a Best Newcomer award. see what happened to this barely known actor in the Countdown Show awards? he played only 2 roles, and he won for both of them!)

(by Shi Liang)

predictions to win / want to win: Dai Yangtian
why: “The Little Nyonya” is only his 2nd drama, and he managed to perform really well. i also like his pairing with Jeanette Aw.