Star Awards 2025 receives mixed reviews from netizens
The 30th edition of Mediacorp’s Star Awards was held on Sunday (6 July), honouring three decades of Mandarin entertainment talents.
While the event was meant to be a nostalgic celebration of local media, not all viewers were impressed.
On the Singapore subreddit, netizens slammed the show’s production quality, and in particular, co-host Chantalle Ng.
Source: Entertainment – Mediacorp on YouTube
However, most seem to have found a silver lining to the show — legendary Hong Kong actor Chow Yun Fat’s guest appearance.
Netizens have mixed reviews of Chantalle Ng’s hosting at the Star Awards
The ceremony, co-hosted by Chantalle Ng and veteran presenter Guo Liang, quickly became a hot topic online.
Ng, best known for her role as An Na in Emerald Hill, was criticised for her lack of chemistry with Guo, who has hosted numerous iterations of the award show since 1995.
Source: Entertainment – Mediacorp on YouTube
One Reddit user said, “Guo Liang seems to have a hard time carrying the show and trying to build some rapport with Chantalle, but the chemistry is just not there.”
Others described Ng’s performance as “not well-prepared” and “abysmal”, especially when compared to Guo’s seasoned presence.
Source: Facebook
Some, on the other hand, left encouraging words praising Ng for her hosting skills.
Source: Facebook
Source: Instagram
Netizens point out bad camera work
In addition to criticising the show hosts, some netizens were also unhappy with the award show’s production quality.
One netizen wrote, “I only watched snippets, and I’m already dizzy by the terrible camera work.”
Source: Reddit
From abrupt camera pans to an award recipient’s airtime getting cut short, many viewers felt the technical execution fell short, especially for such a milestone year.
Source: Reddit
Chow Yun Fat’s appearance was the ‘highlight’ of the award show
Despite all the criticism, viewers let out a collective cheer at one point in the show.
To celebrate 30 years of Star Awards, organisers invited Chow Yun Fat — who had appeared at the inaugural show back in 1994 — to present the awards for Top 10 Most Popular Male and Female Artistes.
Source: Mediacorp 热点 on Facebook
The 70-year-old actor’s appearance proved to be the high point of the ceremony.
“This is definitely the highlight of the evening besides the award presentation,” one commenter gushed, excited. “It is not every day (sic) that Chow Yun Fat is in town.”
Source: Facebook
The theme for this year’s ceremony was “Walking Through Time Together”, marking an important milestone in Singapore’s entertainment industry.
Mediacorp hopes viewers will continue supporting Chantalle Ng
In response to MS News queries, a Mediacorp spokesperson said it is aware of the online conversation surrounding Star Awards 2025.
Thanking Singaporeans for their “continued attention and interest” in the award show, the spokesperson acknowledged that there are always “unique challenges and learnings” for any live show.
The representative said the company appreciates all feedback as it helps to review and refine future productions.
As for the decision to engage Chantalle Ng for the hosting job, Mediacorp explained that her “unique journey” is a personification of the ceremony’s theme.
The company applauded the 30-year-old for her willingness to take on the challenge and praised her for her “commendable performance”.
The spokesperson ended the statement by asking viewers to continue supporting Ng as she “furthers her craft across disciplines”.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Mediacorp 热点 on Facebook and Entertainment – Mediacorp on YouTube.
