MediaCorp star Belinda Lee scores her first nomination into the Top 20 Female Artists at Star Awards 2010.
 |
|
| PHOTO COURTESY OF MEDIACORP | |
Star Awards is the equivalent of the Oscars in Singapore, and the 2010 awards will happen on April 25.
Making this year’s list of Top 20 Most Popular Female Artistes for the first time are Belinda Lee and Pei Xuan, who both star in the series Your Hand In Mine.
Lee, who is in her early 30s, is no stranger to churchgoers at CHC—the actress and host is also a popular face of an announcement video screened during the services.
The petite dynamo started as a veejay for MTV 1998—the first-ever Singaporean to be hired as a face for MTV—before joining Mediacorp in 2003. Lee has seen a surge of popularity in recent years because of her popular infotainment programs. There was the award-winning Find Me A Singaporean, in which Lee traveled the world to unearth Singaporeans changing the world from Yunnan to Africa; and the memorable Come Dance With Me in which Lee learned a plethora of different ethnic dances. Both proved that Lee was a wonderful reality TV host, and fulfilled her biggest dreams.
“The highlight of my career was to be given the opportunity to travel round the world,” says Lee. “I was also able to fulfill my childhood dream to be a dancer when I went to different parts of the world to learn their dance and culture. My next goal would be to act in a local or international movie or documentary that impacts lives.”
Lee has spent the past year honing her craft as a dramatic actress. With this nomination, it’s clear that she is gifted in more than one area of entertainment.
On being nominated for the top 40 for the first time, Lee says, “First things first, it is definitely a miracle from God. Even if my own efforts were to measure up, it could only be 10 percent my own and 90 percent God. The fact remains that I didn’t have much to show the public, whether in dramas or hosting assignments.” In order for an actor to be nominated, he or she should gain popularity by appearing in as many shows as possible, as frequently as possible.
“Just a week before the Top 40 nominees were announced, I was just whining and telling God, ‘All these years I’ve never been nominated for Top 40; if this year I were to get into Top 40, I will know that it is really from You!’” Lee laughs.
And sure enough, God blesses. Lee is in the Top 40 Most Popular Artistes list alongside veteran actors and actresses like Christopher Lee and Fann Wong.
In case you haven’t watched any of the popular 180-episode drama serial Your Hand In Mine, on Channel 8, you can still catch Lee in action. She plays a young auditor who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and is extremely paranoid about cleanliness and hygiene. In the drama, she falls in love with a guy completely the opposite—a total slob.
“This is an interesting role for me because I have to memorize the names of many bacteria,” says Lee dramatically. “The names of these bacteria are already complicated and long enough in English, just imagine, I have to memorize the Chinese versions!”
How does Lee compare her previous awards with this Top 40 nomination? “The award I won as best infotainment host was a recognition of my strength and effort as a host,” she explains. “But being nominated into the Top 40 is really about popularity. Delay is not denial—I feel that this is the time that God is showing me that He knows all this while I’ve waited and now He is rewarding me.”
The Top 40 Most Popular Nominees were chosen via a poll of around 1,000 people conducted by a media research company. The results of the Top 40 will be revealed during the Star Awards 2010 show, which will be shown live on Sunday, April 25, 7 p.m., on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.
Fans can vote for their favorite stars by phone. Voting lines are currently open and will close on April 25, just before the award show.
“Being in the Top 40 is already a blessing to me but I do hope to be part of the Top 10!” says Lee.
In an industry that is cynical, Lee has been open about her faith. “Ever since becoming a Christian, my source of strength and comfort comes from God. In the past, I would try my best to please people as it’s in my character. As a result, I would get affected easily by criticism. But now, I have learned that they don’t have to affect me, as long as I have the blessings of my loved ones and God who loves me. Because of that, I have an inner confidence—I believe that’s what makes us Christians different,” notes Lee.
If you’re not a Channel 8 viewer, you can still catch Lee on screen at City Harvest. She is one of the famous faces for the announcement segment, Harvest Highlights. “I love to do it! It is quite a challenge as each of these ‘short’ announcement videos takes about three hours to complete. We are given the script and are expected to ‘work’ the script and inject our personality into it or make it engaging. It is especially stressful for me as I am deemed a professional!” she laughs. “On a side note, I like to work with Bernard as he is very funny and isn’t afraid to sacrifice his ‘face’ to make the video announcement hilarious.
“Harvest Highlights gives me great satisfaction when we get good feedback from the congregation!”
FUN FACTS ABOUT BELINDA
Chinese stage name: 李心钰
Best known for: Hosting Find Me A Singaporean
Been in CHC since: 2003
HOW TO VOTE FOR BELINDA
You can vote for Belinda Lee through telepoll number 1900-112-2024. Voting lines are now open and will close at 9 p.m., April 25. For more details, go to http://starawards2010.mediacorptv.sg/
