The 8 SPOP WAVE! Contestants Revealed... Includes The Husband Of A ‘Princess’ & An Ah Boy

Like we mentioned in a previous story, one of the contestants had talked about having a cat who got really sick, which was a pretty obvious clue about his identity. Our condolences to Jeremy and his wife Jesseca Liu — aka the ‘Mediacorp Princess’ we’re referring to in the headline — on the recent passing of Crusso, by the way.

While he’s known for being an actor and a host these days, Jeremy, 40, actually got his start in showbiz thanks to another Mediacorp singing competition, 2006’s Project SuperStar.

Yes, Jeremy hails from the same season that introduced us to Chen Diya and Carrie Yeo of local pop duo The Freshman, who are Jeremy’s mentors on SPOP WAVE!.

According to his official profile, Jeremy gained the confidence to pursue his singing dreams once again after recording the theme song for Mediacorp dramedy Crouching Tiger Hidden Ghost.

Another name that many netizens guessed correctly was YES 933 DJ, who, like Jeremy, took part in a Mediacorp talent competition in 2006... except hers was Campus SuperStar.

Besides playing songs for her listeners on the radio, Mei Gui has also done musical collaborations with other singers as well as song covers, including a Chinese rendition of ‘Bedroom’, JJ Lin’s English duet with British singer Anne-Marie.

Participating in Campus SuperStar the year after Mei Gui in 2007 was former Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) artiste Zijie, who was only 18 at that time.

Zijie went on to join two more singing competitions in Taiwan and released his debut single ‘Tick Tock’, which is dedicated to his mother’, in 2019.

While most YouTube fans remember him more for his comedic chops, Zijie says he hopes to be known as a singer through SPOP WAVE!.

SPOP WAVE! is certainly full of Campus Superstar alums, with YouTuber and Ah Boys to Men actor Ridhwan Azman, who goes by just Ridhwan or Ren Yi Xiang in Chinese, coming from the 2009 batch.

The 28-year-old, who says his passion for singing Chinese songs began when he dated a Chinese girl as a teenager, now manages his own production company and YouTube channel, and aspires to release his own Chinese songs one day.

With all her hosting gigs and acting roles in dramas like Old is Gold and The Takedown, it’s probably easy to forget that Yang Guang Ke Le, 24, was originally a getai singer. She was in the top five of Mediacorp singing competition GeTai Challenge 2018.

Although Sherly failed to make it into the Top 20 of Ch 5 singing competition The Final 1 in 2013 (where SPOP WAVE! judge Kit Chan was also on the judging panel), she still managed to carve out a showbiz career for herself with roles in Tanglin and That Girl in Pinafore.

By taking part in SPOP WAVE! eight years after The Final 1, she hopes to conquer her fear of performing and return to the stage to sing once again.

Now here’s someone who is truly stepping into brand new territory (again). 33-year-old Leon, a former full-time Chinese tutor, was the runner-up of MasterChef Singapore’s second season earlier this year and now works as a consultant at a Queenstown cafe, but he still has dreams of becoming a singer.

His goal? To be like JJ Lin and bring Singapore-made music to the world stage. #localpride

The only one who didn’t come from any previous Mediacorp competitions, the 29-year-old’s showbiz career kicked off after going for a movie audition in 2014, and he has since appeared in films like The Lion Men and Ah Boys to Men 3.

He has also been releasing his own music on Spotify since 2017 and has done covers with his old friend and fellow SPOP WAVE! hopeful Rao Zijie.

SPOP WAVE! airs Tuesdays, 8pm on YES 933, meLISTEN, meWATCH, and Mediacorp Entertainment Youtube Channel.

Photos: Mediacorp