The Star Voice Celeb Guest Judge Guo Liang Was So Strict, Even Dennis Chew Was No Match For Him

Remember when Love 972 DJ and All-Time Favourite Artiste Dennis Chew intimidated the contestants (and us viewers at home too) with his tough love critiques in the first episode of The Star Voice?

Well, in this week’s episode of Mediacorp's radio DJ talent hunt, the ante was upped, thanks to Guo Liang, 53.

With only seven contestants left in the competition, the three teams had to work with their celeb DJ mentors — Dennis, as well as Capital 958 sports commentator Pan Jiabiao and YES933 jock Zhong Kunhua, to come up with a radio drama to present on-air.

For those not familiar with radio dramas, here’s a quick guide. Radio dramas are common in Chinese-language radio shows, and are a dramatised, purely acoustic performance, with the DJs relying on their voices and various sound props to deliver a story that fully immerses the listener.

When the time came to present their work, apart from the three celebrity guest judges — veteran host Guo Liang, LOVE 972 Chen Biyu (aka Bjork Chen), CAPITAL 958’s Lyu Linxuan, there was also a panel of nine listeners, who could cast a votes if they enjoyed the team’s work.

And boy, the guest judges really, really, did not hold back. If you thought Dennis was scary, wait till you hear Guo Liang.

The veteran host took his judging duties very seriously, and Dennis himself was not spared.

Dennis shared that he felt super scared for his team, after hearing how strict Guo Liang was with Kunhua’s team.

After all, even the celeb mentors were shot down, one by one, when they attempted to try and speak up for their protégées.

Kunhua’s team was first to perform, and were told that their performance was not immersive. Rather, it felt like the two contestants, Jeff Tan, 29, and Sammi Tan, 21, were simply reading off a script.

Next came Dennis’s team, made up of Esther Leong, 25, Kharissa Pundarika, 24, and Jensen Wang, 21.

This time round, the critiques were stricter. Even Biyu, who co-hosts The Breakfast Quartet with Dennis, did not go easy on her pal. She told Dennis that his team’s arrangement of roles was not clear, and their voices were not distinct enough for listeners to know that they were playing different characters.

Finally, it was Jiabiao’s team, which had Joey Tay, 27 and Yunis To, 28. Similarly, they were critiqued harshly by the guest judges.

“My dilemma now is — should I scold the students or should I scold the mentor?” remarked Guo Liang, who clearly couldn't be bothered hiding the disappointment on his face.

“Maybe after listening to my critique, everyone might feel that I have a ‘poisoned tongue’, but actually I feel that I’m not harsh at all. I think that a competition must be competitive, right? If everyone ends up as “all good” or “all bad" after a competition, then there’s no point, isn’t there?” Guo Liang said.

“I think a good thing about today is that I didn’t see anyone who was suffering stage fright, overly nervous, or out of it. I believe that all of you showcased the basic level of competency that is expected. There’s not a lot of strong points, but at the end of the day, someone has to leave,” he added later.

So, after seeing the critiques given by the guest judges this week, are you able to tell which group came up tops, and which two groups will have to eliminate someone? Watch the full episode below to find out.

Catch more of The Star Voice and behind-the-scenes clips on meWATCH here.

Photos: meWATCH