Star Awards will celebrate its 30th anniversary in July with a nostalgic show lineup

The first Star Awards took place in 1994 with just eight trophies given out in the same number of categories.

This year, the annual ceremony honouring the best in Singapore's Chinese entertainment celebrates its 30th anniversary with many more awards than that to give out, as well as a show filled with nostalgia and memories.

To be held on Jul 6 at The Theatre at Mediacorp, the awards and fashion extravaganza will take the theme “Walking Through Time Together”.

To commemorate three decades of Star Awards, familiar faces long retired from the screen will make an appearance, alongside celebrity guests from around Asia. All-Time Favourite Artistes throughout the years will come together for a big reunion, while a live orchestra will perform iconic drama theme songs. And, not only will artistes past and present share their stories and memories; viewers will also have a chance to share, revealed Jean Toh, Mediacorp’s Vice President, Chinese Entertainment Productions and executive producer of Star Awards 2025.

On the red carpet, artistes will be challenged to up their outfit game as there will also be viewer participation this year in the form of a “fashion police” element involving interactive posts and voting, as well as a live call-in backstage segment.

Red carpet walkers will, however, be collectively overshadowed by a a giant, larger-than-life Star Awards trophy 30 times the size of the real thing.

WHO ARE THE NOMINEES?

Nominees for the 2025 Star Awards were announced on May 20 with a mix of predictable veterans and new faces in the performance categories.

In the running for Best Actor are Christopher Lee for his work in the drama Kill Sera Sera; Andie Chen (Born to Shine); Qi Yuwu (Once Upon A New Year’s Eve); Richie Koh (Coded Love); and, nominated for the first time, Gavin Teo for his role in To Be Loved.

Up for Best Actress are Chantalle Ng (Hope Afloat), Felicia Chin (I Do, Do I?), Hong Ling, Jesseca Liu (Unforgivable) and Jessica Hsuan (Kill Sera Sera).

Best Supporting Actor nominees are Guo Liang (To Be Loved), Pierre Png (Moments), Xu Bin (Kill Sera Sera), Chen Hanwei and Chen Shu Cheng (Unforgivable).

Meanwhile, Emerald Hill's Tasha Low scored her first nomination in an acting category for her work in Coded Love, alongside Cynthia Koh (Hope Afloat), Lynn Lim (Kill Sera Sera), Meixin (Born To Shine) and Ya Hui (Coded Love).

"When I heard that I was nominated, I asked my manager, ‘Are you sure?’ Because I never thought I’d be nominated for an acting award," said Low. "I think I still have a lot to improve on, so it’s a real honour."

In the Best Rising Star category, nominees are Herman Keh, Joey Tay, Juin Teh, Tyler Ten and Ye Jia Yun.

The drama that leads with the most number of nominations is crime drama Unforgivable, with 10 gongs including Best Drama Serial and Best Theme Song; followed by parenting-focused drama Born to Shine with seven nominations.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?  

The awards ceremony this year will see some fresh, new changes.

One bit of news is that this year, the post-show party will return after a hiatus of six years, giving viewers a glimpse into candid moments and backstage reactions.

Criteria for eligibility for some awards has shifted. In the category of the Top 10 Most Popular Artistes Award, for the first time, artistes who are nominees of any performance-based award will automatically qualify to run for the popularity award in the same year. Artistes who play the lead role or main host in a series with at least two episodes, as well as artistes who have a total of at least 13 episodes in a combination of roles, will also be eligible.

Meanwhile, the Most Popular Rising Star award is for artistes with five or fewer years of experience, but now, artistes who receive the award three times will automatically be bumped up into the main Top 10 Most Popular Artiste Award category.

And, the Best Rising Star award now allows for repeat nominations, as long as nominees continue to have five or fewer years of experience and have not won in the same category.

Public voting is now open for the categories of Top 10 Most Popular Male and Female Artistes and Most Popular Rising Star awards, while other categories will open for voting on May 26.

There’s even a chance for voters to win something. Those who cast votes in the BYD Favourite Character categories will stand a chance to win a new BYD Sealion 7, an all-electric SUV valued at S$94,888, excluding COE.

Star Awards 2025 takes place on Jul 6. Catch it live on Channel 8, Channel U, mewatch and the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel. For more information, visit https://www.mediacorp.sg/starawards.