Star Awards () are awards for artistic and technical merit where Mediacorp recognises entertainers under their employment for outstanding performances of the year.
The first Star Awards presentation was held on 26 February 1994, took place at the Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Mediacorp TV Theatre with an audience of about 500 people. There have no other pre-show and post-awards ceremony held in that year. Winners were announced during the presentation of the ceremony, the ceremony also presented a popularity contest, with Li Nanxing, Chew Chor Meng and Zoe Tay winning the Most Popular Actor and Actress award, respectively. The first Best Drama Serial was only awarded during the third Awards in 1996 to Tofu Street for an outstanding overall performance. The nominees are determined by a team of judges employed by Mediacorp and winners are selected by a majority vote from the entire judging panel. Chew Chor Meng, Li Nanxing, Terence Cao, Sean Say, Desmond Sim, Chen Liping, Chen Xiuhuan, Pan Lingling, Aileen Tan, and Zoe Tay received the award as the 10 Most Popular Artistes, with five awards given to male and female artistes; these artistes were awarded by popularity among the television audience based from the public via telephone and SMS text voting. Since 1997, the number of recipients for each category were expanded to ten.
In 2022, the ceremony launched the My Pick! Awards; Favourite Couple Pairing (CP), the Male Show Stealer, the Female Show Stealer, Most Hated Villain, Perfect Combo and Most Attention-Seeking New Gen Host. The awards would be given out during the Backstage Live segment of the 2022 ceremony.
Since 1995, the signature theme tune titled "Linking the World", composed by Christopher Evans. It was subsequently modified to have different renditions of the same tune for subsequent ceremonies.
Since 2019, the original theme tune was re-composed as "Starlight" ãÂÂæÂÂå ÂãÂÂ, with a new rendition and lyrics. This new rendition was used as the opener for the ceremony since 2021.
Since its establishment in 1994, the Star Awards trophy has undergone four distinct design changes, with a fifth introduced in 2025
Here is a complete list of Mediacorp Star Awards ceremonies.
The latest ceremony, 30th Star Awards ceremony, held on July 6, 2025.
In 1994, the first Star Awards were presented at the Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Mediacorp TV Theatre and the following year until 2015; however, seven ceremonies were held outside the studios: in 1996, the venue of Star Awards changed to World Trade Centre, Harbour Pavilion and was hosted by Guo Liang and Yvette Tsui. In 2006, the ceremony was held at St James Power Station, near VivoCity and Sentosa. Between 2010 and 2014, the ceremony was also held outside location while the show was split into two, with the first show held at Caldecott Hill, while the second show was held at Resorts World Sentosa (2010 and 2011), Marina Bay Sands (2012 and 2013) and Suntec City (2014).
In 2016, the awards had since held at the new Mediacorp Campus, MES Theatre @ Mediacorp, and it became the presentation's current venue with incredibly spacious interior and stunning architectural designs, the 1,500-seater performance venue features tiered seating in its stalls and two circle levels, including removable seats at the lower stall and additional audience sitting space at the orchestra pit for people with special needs. However, two other ceremonies that are held outside the studios, making the tradition of holding the ceremonies outside the studios being brought back after a 9 year hiatus and 5 years after the new theatre was opened. The 2021 was held in Jewel Changi Airport and Changi Airport Terminal 4 while the 2023 ceremony was held in Marina Bay Sands for the third time, after 10 years.
Lists of Mediacorp Star Awards venues:
The Star Awards were traditionally held in end of the year or December until 2009, when Mediacorp rescheduled the ceremony to April to align with the full calendar-year eligibility period from January 1 to December 31. This change was primarily influenced by the overwhelming success of "The Little Nyonya" (2008), ensuring that productions from the preceding year were appropriately recognized within the awards cycle.
In 2010, the format of the awards underwent further restructuring with the introduction of two separate ceremonies to better acknowledge various aspects of the television industry. The format of the Star Awards underwent further restructuring with the introduction of two separate televised ceremonies to better acknowledge various aspects of the television industry. "Star Awards Show 1" was established to honor technical achievements, production teams, and backstage contributions, while "Star Awards Show 2" remained the primary televised event, focusing on major performance categories, live entertainment, and the presentation of the most prestigious accolades. This change allowed for a more comprehensive recognition of both on-screen talents and industry professionals working behind the scenes, ensuring that all contributors to SingaporeâÂÂs television landscape received due recognition. This change allowed for a more comprehensive recognition of both on-screen talents and industry professionals working behind the scenes.
In 2025, Mediacorp revised the Star Awards ceremony schedule to mark its 30th anniversary. Initial speculation suggested the change was to align with the release of The Little Nyonya: Emerald Hill, but this was later disproven when the drama did not appear in the nomination list. 2025 is scheduled to take place on this date to commemorate the special occasion.
When citing each Star Awards ceremony, the convention may either refer to the year of its eligibility period (i.e., the calendar year in which the television programs were broadcast) or the year in which the ceremony was held.
The following individuals have hosted the Star Awards ceremony.
Multiple hosts (Show 2 & Main Ceremony)
Multiple hosts (Show 1) âÂÂDiscontinued Since 2017
The following individuals have hosted (or co-hosted) the Star Awards ceremony on the same year in which the individual was also a nominee.
The Mediacorp Star Awards, established in 1994, is one of SingaporeâÂÂs most prestigious television awards, celebrating excellence in the local entertainment industry. Initially held in December, the ceremony was rescheduled to April in 2009 to align with the full calendar-year eligibility period and to accommodate the overwhelming success of The Little Nyonya (2008).
The 2007 ceremony introduced the first-ever double ceremony, with one segment paying tribute to the 25th Anniversary of Singapore television, followed by the regular awards presentation. In 2010, the awards format changed significantly, splitting the event into two separate televised ceremonies, with "Show 1" recognizing technical and production achievements, and "Show 2" featuring major performance categories and live entertainment. This format continued until 2015, with both events airing a week apart.
In 2016, the technical awards were moved to an off-site non-televised presentation, while the main ceremony was split into two distinct shows, focusing separately on variety/info-ed categories and drama categories. For the first time, the Top 10 Artistes awards were divided between Show 1 (Female Artistes) and Show 2 (Male Artistes).
By 2017, the awards reverted to a single-show format, eliminating the post-show party. In 2018, the traditional three-episode prelude was also discontinued.
Following the 2005 merger between Mediacorp and SPH MediaWorks, the awards expanded to include nominees from Channel U. Online live streaming was introduced via xinmsn (2010âÂÂ2014) and Toggle (2013âÂÂ2019), though initially restricted to Singapore-based audiences. From 2019 onwards, the Star Awards were made globally accessible via YouTube, broadening its international reach.
Technical awards<br> As of 2018, only four technical awards were presented during off-site ceremony.
One-time special awards
Technical awards<br>Note: All the categories were introduced in 1998 (unless otherwise stated), and these awards were presented outside broadcast except for 2010âÂÂ2015, where it was presented on one show.
A number of awards have either suspended or retired throughout the years, including some that have been replaced by similar award categories in other areas of recognition:
Suspended awards
As of :
Most wins by a drama serial in a single year
Most nominations by a drama serial in a single year
Drama series with all five wins in acting categories:
Most Best Actor wins
Most Best Actress wins
Most Best Actor nominations
Most Best Actress nominations
Most Best Supporting Actor wins
Most Best Supporting Actress wins
Most Best Supporting Actor nominations
Most Best Supporting Actress nominations
Most Young Talent wins
Artist with Most Theme Song wins
Artist with Most Theme Song nominations
Youngest artist to win ten consecutive Top 10 Most Popular Artistes awards
All-time Favourite Artistes with ten consecutive Top 10 Most Popular Artistes awards
Most wins by a variety/info-ad programme in a single year
Most nominations by variety/info-ad programme in a single year
Most wins for a Variety Programme
Most nominations for a Variety Programme
Most wins for an Info-ad Programme
Most nominations for an Info-ad Programme
Most wins for a Variety Special
Most nominations for a Variety Special
Most Variety Show Host nominations (programme hosts inclusive)
Most Variety Show Host wins (programme hosts exclusive)
Most Variety Show Host wins (programme hosts inclusive)
Most Info-Ed Programme Host nominations
Most Info-Ed Programme Host wins
Star Awards had been nominated for 16 times since the Best Variety Special category was introduced in 1998 (with the exceptions for five shows, the award was not presented in years 2000 and 2018; while the ceremony were not nominated in years 1999, 2001 and 2006). As of 2021, eight shows, out of the total 22 ceremonies since 1997 were won, with their first win in 2007 which was awarded for the 2006's ceremony.
<small>The last 2 awards at Star Awards 2022 were the Best Actor and Best Actress Awards instead of the Top 10 Awards.</small><small><br> Previously, technical category awards (e.g. Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Variety Show Producer, etc.), newscaster and current affairs awards and, for a time, the Young Talent Award (for child actors) were held separately at a gala dinner (or afternoon conference) due to time constraints and results and clips from the event would be shown either during the ceremony, or live-streaming before the ceremony. Between 2010 and 2015, and again in 2017, those technical awards were presented in Show 1 (or during the three prelude episodes, in 2017), while the Show 2 presented the main awards. Since 2016 (with the exception for 2017), the format was reverted with the technical category awards presented at an off-site ceremony.<br> In accordance to the social distancing measures, the ceremony is conducted closed-doors, and international celebrities communicate via teleconference due to travel restrictions.</small>