Now we all know what’s the next thing on Star Search 2024 champ Tiffany Ho’s to-do list.
The 19-year-old from Hong Kong walked home with a Mediacorp contract and a brand new BYD Seal last night at the Star Search finals (Nov 25) after emerging champion. Coming in second was competitive breakdancer Gladys Bay while swim coach Jona Chung was third.
She definitely left an impression on the guest judges — Christopher Lee as well as Hong Kong stars Sandra Ng and Raymond Lam — with her unassailable confidence, natural talent, and for being, in Sandra’s words, “the representative from Hong Kong”.
When asked if having two judges from Hong Kong worked in her favour, the Nanyang Polytechnic information technology first year student is quick to rubbish that correlation.
“They are really, really famous in Hong Kong and every Hongkonger, including myself, knows them,” says Tiffany, when she the met the media after her win.
“We all watched their shows growing up. If anything, having them as judges made me even more stressed out. It‘s not an advantage. In fact, it’s a disadvantage!” she adds.
While you would think anyone who has just won a car would want to take a test drive immediately and bask in the brand-new car, Tiffany, sadly, can only enjoy the second part for now.
“I don’t have a license but I’m of age so I can take the test. I’m going to do it right away!” she chirps.
Will she be able to pass it on her her first try though? She tells 8days.sg she’s not so confident about that.
“I need to hold my hands up and [make the L sign] to tell left from right, so I’m not sure if I can pass the driving test,” she says sheepishly.
But if she ever gets her license, she wants her first passenger to be fellow Star Search contestant Gladys Ng, who stays in Sembawang just like her.
“Then we can go eat lok lok together!” she beams.
Tiffany, who moved to Singapore to study when she was 13, also says she won’t be leaving our country anytime soon.
She says she was only going to be in Singapore for her studies, but now, she’ll “definitely be staying” though she still needs to discuss the details with her parents as she’s still a student.
“We’ll see how it goes from here. I haven’t even been able to process the fact that I’ve won,” says Tiffany. “I’m still a little lost about what’s going to happen next.”
She doesn’t seem to know how she plans to celebrate her win either.
“I just wanted to spend time with my parents [who flew over for the finals] because they are returning to Hong Kong tomorrow. But it looks like I won’t be able to since there are many interviews waiting for me,” she says.
Speaking of her parents, during her victory speech Tiffany thanked them for “giving her a lot of money” to come to Singapore.
Tiffany’s dad is in his 60s and is a taxi driver while her mum is in her 50s and works as a luxury goods wholesaler.
“It’s natural for my parents to support me financially because I’m studying, but it’s not like they had to scrimp and save lah,” she chuckles, casually avoiding the question about how much her parents have given her.
“But I have to say every single cent was hard earned and I’m very thankful towards them,” she says.