While the rest of Singapore was busy celebrating Singapore’s 52nd birthday, a couple of Singaporeans were busy earning a spot on the global headlines.
Just last month, a graphic novelist became the first Singaporean to win an Eisner Award, which is the comic-equivalent of the Oscars; a local author’s book titled Suicide Club about a dystopian future where life expectancy is 300 years and that society’s obsession with genetic perfection and wellness, was picked up by big publishers in the UK and US; a 23-year-old bagged the prestigious Game of the Year award in this year’s The Rookies competition; and the founder of a volunteer group that does humanitarian work was among six winners at Philippines’ Magsaysay awards.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Last week has been particularly good for the Lion City too.
Not one, but four Singaporeans vie for top spots on Sing! China
More and more Singaporeans have joined the popular singing contest, which was once part of The Voice’s global franchise, after Nathan Hartono paved the way by coming in second during last year’s grand finals. Singer-songwriter Stella Seah, who’s currently under Ocean Butterflies Music, has been on the competition circuit since the 2007 edition of local reality contest, Campus Superstar, and is currently on Chinese singer Na Ying’s team.
Another singer who’s no stranger to our little red dot is Olinda Cho, who emerged as the second runner-up of Singapore Idol in 2004. The 37-year-old didn’t make it last year, but tried again this year after receiving a call from the producers. She’s now landed a spot on Taiwanese star Jay Chou’s team.
Local jazz vocalist from Red Roof Records Joanna Dong did a jazzy version of a classic love song and won the heart of judge-mentor Chou less than a minute into her performance.
And last but not least, joining Na Ying’s team is student Curley Gao, who had the choice between her idol and Hong Kong singer Eason Chan to be her mentor in the competition.
We are the world’s best debaters; at least on the high school-level
Apart from a steady flow of complaints about everything under the sun, it seems like we Singaporeans can really talk. Just last year, a member of Punggol Park Community Centre’s Toastmasters Club won the World Championship of Public Speaking in Washington, DC last year. This time, we beat defending champion England in the World Schools Debating Championships, making it the third time we’ve come out on top. For this year’s competition, the Ministry of Education picked five students from Hwa Chong Institution and Raffles Institution to represent Singapore.
Body aesthetics isn’t enough; this gym now holds a prestigious design accolade
Although this urban gym is located in Beijing, it’s still a win for us since it was opened by a Singaporean co-founder, Mervin Ho, who was once a national rugby player and sprinter. Zwyn has earn itself a Red Dot Award for product design because of its “zen-like interior”. Ho said that he’s always dreamed of a fitness center that combines elements of design, art and music and focuses on a back-to-basics type of strength training.
Local boxer punches his way to win huge World Boxing Council (WBC) title
Mohamed Nor Rizan may be 39 years old this year, but he won the WBC Asia Continental bantamweight title after knocking out his opponent, Piched Chianawa, in the ninth round. His younger opponent tried to go for a knockout after the fifth round, but Rizan was all ready to go for 10 rounds.
