Dawn Yeoh Wanted To Be An Actress After Watching Fann Wong & Thomas Ong's 1996 Mediacorp Drama Wild Orchids

These days, you’re more likely to catch former Mediacorp actress Dawn Yeoh, 37, on a live stream rather than acting in a drama.

In 2021, she co-founded e-commerce platform Sibay Shiok with Terence Cao. More recently, the pair sparked dating rumours when they were seen hugging like a couple in a live stream. She only sees the 56-year-old former Mediacorp actor as a brother, by the way.

However, who knew Dawn is a singer too?

On Friday (Jan 5), Dawn will be performing at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s TGIF Music Station alongside Bonnie Loo, Mai Zhiqi, Music-In-Law, and Arya Yunata. 

Speaking to 8world, Dawn admitted to having pre-show jitters.

“It’s good to be nervou. It means the performance means a lot to me and I wish to do it to the best of my ability. Live shows can be unpredictable as well, so it’s normal to be nervous about it,” she said. 

When asked to choose a song that represents her youth, Dawn picked ‘Declaration of Love’ (真爱宣言). 

‘Declaration of Love’ is the theme song of the classic 1996 Mediacorp drama Wild Orchids (再见萤光兰). It starred Thomas Ong and Fann Wong, who is the original singer of the tune.

“It was after watching this show that I started to aspire to become an actress," said Dawn about her pick.

“The song is mainly about love [between a couple], but I feel like that same love can also be extended to family members, friends, and oneself. Love during that era is pure and blissful, and is uncomplicated. I wish to convey the same feelings of innocence and purity in my singing,” she continued.

Although she reminisces about the time from her youth, Dawn also believes that growth can allow one to develop their full potential. 

“In the past two years, my biggest breakthrough was finding out that I could accomplish a lot of things. In the past, as an actress, I felt like my duty was simply to work hard at acting. However, I only lived in the roles which I played. I couldn’t really find myself outside of that,” she said. 

She went on to speak about her e-commerce biz: “In 2023, the biggest enlightenment I got was learning not to put all my eggs in one basket. It’s good to focus on doing one thing well, but the current market trend emphasises the importance of having multiple ventures. My goal is to take on two, or even three ventures, and to manage all of them to the best of my abilities.”

In order to increase viewership on her live stream channel, Dawn has ventured into singing. According to Dawn, it sparked her love for singing and a single is already in the works. 

In the meantime, you can catch Dawn in her last Mediacorp drama, Fix My Live on meWATCH, or watch an episode below.