Local artistes

Well said. I always felt the same sentiment for local scene. There could be so many potentials but as with all monopoly, complacency contentment always sets in.

It is sad that we are so far down the ranks compared to Hong Kong. We tried with Mediaworks but lost the patience for the results.

Creating another competitor for Mediacorp should be the long term plan albeit it will take someone with a lot of dough to spare. Short term, Mediacorp should outsource its artistes management unit. Only by doing so will some competition be artifically created and only then, will there be improvements.

From what I remember, Mediacorp did create a music entity to turn some of their artistes into singers but that project never take off.

Just look at how many internationall acclaimed artisted Mediacorp had created? Fann Wong full stop and even her international career seems to have dwindled. Stefanie Sun, A-do, JJ Lin, etc were not from Mediacorp stable.

The Electric New Paper :

Where's the plan?


Singapore's artistes need a master plan and more verve if they want to make their mark in the region, say industry experts

By Avis Wong

01 February 2006

HOW many of us can sing and dance?

Local show host Quan Yifeng posed this question during a recent interview with The New Paper on whether stunts were necessary in local charity shows.

Why, she wondered, couldn't artistes showcase other talents instead? 'The local scene is not competitive... we're not pushed to learn other skills,' she said.

It's a sentiment shared by several industry professionals and other artistes The New Paper has since spoken to.

Singapore needs a master plan, said the man behind top Taiwanese acts like 5566, 183 Club, Cyndi Wang and K One.

Mr Sun Te-jung, the general manager of Taiwan's star making firm Jungiery Star, is known for developing all-round stars - those who can sing, dance, act and host.

'The biggest problem in Singapore is that no one has a plan to develop the artistes in the region. You must do long-term planning or Singapore artistes will never become famous,' he told The New Paper over the phone from Taipei recently.Harsh as that might sound, the showbiz veteran makes a good point - not enough thought has been given to developing local stars and marketing them overseas.

Actor Jeff Wang, who won MediaCorp's Star Search contest in 1999,said Singapore artistes are mostly unknown outside of the country.

'We need more exposure so that people from other countries can see that even though Singapore is small, we can provide an interesting talking point for them,' he said.

TOO QUIET

Many of those interviewed noted that things were not exactly bustling in the local entertainment scene.

Mr Lim Sek, chief executive of Music Movement, which manages Sandy Lam, Tanya Chua, Dick Lee, Najip Ali and Sheikh Haikel, said that artistes here are not given enough chances to showcase the range of their talents because the industry is dominated by one TV station, MediaCorp.

There are a limited number of programmes that artistes can appear in.

'This translates into opportunities that are not as wide,' he said.

'For example, how many singers can appear on a singing programme? If the artistes are not of a certain level of popularity, they won't even get on TV.

'If artistes are not given the ground to grow, we won't ever see them grow.'

Mr Keith Sim, spokesman for Biz Trends, which manages Nancy Sit, Joe Ma and Jeff, agreed that opportunity determines whether an artiste makes or breaks it in the business.

'There are many artistes who have a lot of potential and talent but the people managing them must know how to discover and nurture those talents,' he said.

TV host Kym Ng noted that many local artistes have abilities that are unknown to their fans.

'There's not much chance for us to showcase our talent,' she said.

For example, she revealed that she plays the traditional Chinese instrument the er hu, her colleague Bryan Wong tinkles on the piano and Michelle Chia dabbles in calligraphy, oil painting and gu zheng.

TOO SHY

Jeff added that fans are not clued in to stars' talents because artistes are 'passive'.

'Would I go around telling people that I can do hip-hop very well? That would be so thick-skinned. It's only when others ask, that you tell them you know these things,' he said.

Mr Sun said that any showbusiness endeavour should be run like a private company and that TV stations and media companies should striveto get the best out of every artiste they sign on.

'You shouldn't just sign as many artistes as you can and hope that if your artistes get famous, good, and if they don't, never mind,' he said.

MediaCorp declined to respond to The New Paper's queries.

TOO CONTENTED

While Singapore artistes are not necessarily less talented, most agree that the environment here is less competitive than in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Local artistes' seeming complacency was a common complaint.

'Most Singapore artistes seem very contented, like they will have a job as long as they get along with the management,' said Mr Sun.

Mr Sim felt that many local artistes are 'quite contented with who, where and what they are' - so much so that they lack the 'conscientiousness to improve themselves'.

Some celebrities agreed.

Kym said: 'There's definitely less competition here. Everyone is doing his own thing and everyone's doing the same thing, that is acting or hosting. We're not afraid of competition as we know we'll still have a job.'

Mr Lim attributed the complacency to a few big names hogging the limelight.

'If the scene is dominated by a few people and you do always see the same people on TV - Bryan, Yifeng, Kym, Gurmit Singh, Adrian Pang - you cannot blame artistes for not bettering themselves. They have no catalyst for improving themselves,' he said.

TO-DO LIST

Even if there are fewer opportunities here than elsewhere, celebrities should stay on their toes, say industry insiders.

Said Jeff: 'Artistes must constantly work hard to improve, set trends and provide fodder for media talking points,' he said.

'They may be waiting for opportunities, but opportunities are only available to those who are ready (to seize them).

'Don't wait until you are given the chance before you go and learn something. Nobody wants to invest in an artiste they cannot see a future in.'

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What's good for stars is good for the country

MENTION Korea and what comes to mind?
Most likely it's stars like Bae Yong Joon, Jang Dong Gun, Song Hye Kyo and Rain.

It's no exaggeration to say that a country's celebrities are its ambassadors.

'Artistes are the representatives of a country. They can create interest for tourists to visit the place. For example, Korea is getting a lot of tourists because of their stars,' said Mr Sun Te-jung, general manager of Taiwanese artiste management firm Jungiery Star.

Competition is tight and there's plenty of sweat and blood behind the scene in order to stay on top.

Said Mr James Chiang of Phoenix Talent, which manages artistes like actor Eli Shih Yi-nan, actress-singer Augustine Ye Huan and singer Fang Wen-ling: 'The Taiwanese entertainment scene is considered small but competition has brought about improvements in the quality of production.

'The quality of Taiwanese artistes are also very high and many put in a lot of effort.'

Jungiery Star's artistes undergo 12 to 18 months of intensive training in singing, dancing and communicating before they are sent out to face the world.

In Hong Kong, the largest TV station, TVB, also demands a lot from its artistes, said TVBI's production resources deputy controller Regina Lok.

'But our artistes are given just as much back in terms of opportunities and basic training in every aspect of entertainment,' she said.

'Of course, we cannot force them to be multi-talented. But artistes today must be able to act, sing, dance and fight (for period dramas). They need to do as much in as many areas as possible to better their careers.'

Added Mr Scott Kam, director of A Entertainment, which manages Hong Kong TV actors such as Bobby Au-Yeung, Marco Ngai, Joyce Tang and Michael Dao Tai-yu: 'The more you do, the more exposure you get. It's a very competitive industry - just look at how many newcomers come into the scene each year through beauty contests or acting classes.'

Ms Lok agreed.

'The key thing is to work hard, be humble and adopt a learning attitude. If you can do everything, people will remember you as multi-talented and they will call upon you when required,' she said.