The Star Awards 2024 Top 10 Most Popular nominees list was released yesterday (Mar 18), and even though a whopping 94 artistes made the cut, there were some familiar faces who were left out.
Veteran actresses Jin Yinji, 76, and Aileen Tan, 57, in particular, were deemed ineligible for the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award despite both being in the race for the Best Supporting Actress this year.
According to a Mediacorp spokesperson, they were unable to fulfil a criteria for nomination — their episode count in a supporting role did not hit the minimum of 30 episodes.
The eligibility criteria states that nominees in the Top 10 categories have to meet at least one of the following criteria (full eligibility and judging criteria can be found here):
- Have a lead role or be a main host in at least one eligible programme; or
- Play a supporting role or be an episodic host (for video) or co-host (for audio) in a) at least 3 eligible programmes, or b) at least 30 episodes in total across all eligible programmes
In an interview with 8world, Jin-jie admitted to being “slightly disappointed” about the situation.
“No choice, there are too many people vying for an award,” she said. “It’s also not up to us to decide who will win at the Star Awards. I can only hope to receive the Best Supporting Actress award,” she said.
Jin-jie initially thought she would be in contention for the Top 10 category due to the popularity of last year’s most-watched drama Strike Gold.
“I felt like I would have had a shot … Now when I think about it, I feel more sad than disappointed,” she said. “Many of my supporters were waiting to vote for me and give me their encouragement. Now, I feel too embarrassed to face them.”
Aileen, on the other hand, is more chill about being left out of the Top 10 race.
“It’s okay! I’m used to the rules of the game. Star Awards takes place every year, and last year, I was nominated for three awards but went home empty-handed. I wasn’t nominated for a popularity award last year as well, but I’m still thankful to the audience for their support, and for watching my performance all these years,” she said.
Though she remains optimistic, Aileen is not pinning all her hopes on clinching the Best Supporting Actress this year as well.
“My fellow nominees are all friends and long-time colleagues. However, it’s worth mentioning that I’ve been nominated for my role as a villain (in SHERO), and the entire team also travelled to Australia for filming. It was hard on everyone. Still, getting an award is dependent on luck and fate. Will my luck still be poor this year? Ha! I hope that I will be able to successfully get an award,” she said.
She then added that even if she is not lucky enough to win Best Supporting Actress this year, she will continue to work hard and perform to the best of her ability.
You can now cast your vote for both performance and popularity awards here.
Catch the Backstage LIVE event of Star Awards 2024 from 3.30pm – 10.30pm on mewatch or Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel on April 21 (Sunday).
The Walk Of Fame will be from 5pm – 6.30pm, on mewatch, Ch 8, Ch U, and Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel on the same day.
It will be followed by the Star Awards 2024 Live Show from 7pm – 10pm on mewatch, Ch 8, Ch U, and Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel.
The repeat telecast for the Walk of Fame and Award Ceremony will air on Ch 8 from 2pm – 6.30pm on April 28 (Sunday).
Photos: Jin Yinji/ Instagram, Aileen Tan/ Instagram
You can also rewatch Jin jie and Aileen in Strike Gold and SHERO respectively on meWATCH, or in the clips below.