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By boon chan

Top actress Zoe Tay has critiqued seven of MediaCorp's most popular young actresses in an interview with a fashion magazine.

On Rui En: "She is totally different from the rest. She has character and a bit of a temper, like an ice queen. Not everyone will like her. But what we have to admit is that she leaves a deep impression."



Source: The Straits Times

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The Sunday Times lifestyle | 12 July 2009 | Jocelyn Lee

Indeed, the three shows preceding The Ultimatum featured way more down-to-earth characters engaged in humdrum, everyday activities such as going to school, playing table tennis and keeping house. Viewers could identify with the characters and the plotlines.

All three serials fared better than The Ultimatum despite starring mostly second- string artists, newcomers and veteran character actors.

My School Daze was about primary school children and their kiasu parents, and starred Chen Hanwei, Terence Cao and Rui En. It had an average of 986,000 viewers from April to May.

Table Of Glory was an idol drama which revolved around table tennis. Its stars, Joshua Ang and Dai Yangtian, are promising actors whose track records as marquee names are as yet unproven. It attracted an average of 1,016,000 viewers in April.

With a median 1,076,000 viewers, Housewives' Holiday, which aired in March, fared best of all three. The dramedy starred veteran actresses Hong Huifang, Xiang Yun and Ann Kok playing housewives with problems such as unfaithful husbands and nosey in-laws.

Obviously, viewers had no trouble identifying with such dramas dealing with real- life issues.



Source: The Sunday Times

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The Sunday Times Lifestyle 5th July 2009 Boon Chan

THE DEFINING MOMENT (2008)

Rui En rejected the high-profile role of an ambitious businesswoman struggling with mental illness because of a rape scene in the script. It went to Fann Wong instead.



Source: The Sunday Times

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Wed, Mar 11, 2009
ST, AsiaOne

THIS year's Singapore Day will be celebrated on a bigger scale despite the economic downturn.

In fact, the one-day event to be held on April 25 at Hampton Court Palace, southwest of Central London, will cost more than double that of last year's in Melbourne.
'We asked ourselves whether we should continue with organising this event given the economic downturn. We went through the analyses, assessment, videos and feedback of overseas Singaporeans and we felt the firm response is yes we need to go ahead,' said Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Director, Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU), at a media briefing on Wednesday.

With the theme of "Relook, Refresh & Reconnect", overseas Singaporeans will experience a slice of home through Singaporean sights, sounds and tastes.
Creative Director for Singapore Day 2009, Mr Eric Khoo, said: "I want to create a happy fun-filled environment that overseas Singaporeans could connect to - local icons re-fashioned in a pop art sort of way. And for the entertainment, I could not resist pulling in some of Singapore's finest artistes."

They will be able to enjoy homegrown humour by local artistes like Dim Sum Dollies, Hossan Leong, Jack Neo and blogger Mr Brown, and sway to songs by singer Rui En and Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah.

Authentic local delights such as chicken rice, roti prata, char kway teow and satay will be specially prepared by hawkers chosen by Makansutra.
About Singapore Day

Singapore Day is a signature event to engage Overseas Singaporeans and help them stay connected with one another and with Singapore. It is organised in cities with a significant number of Overseas Singaporeans. The inaugural Singapore Day held in New York in 2007 attracted 6,000 attendees, while the second in Melbourne in 2008 had 11,000 participants. There are an estimated 40,000 Singaporeans in the United Kingdom.

For more information and to register for entry, go to www.SingaporeDay.sg

Source: AsiaOne News

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Rui En's 《共和國》 Second Autograph Session
Date: 17th January 2009, Saturday
Time: 5pm
Venue: Jurong Point JP1 (Level 1, Centrestage)

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The Straits Times, 20 Dec 2008

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The Straits Times Life! | Page E8 | 20 December 2008

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The Monday Interview with Rui En by Andy Chen
The Straits Times | 15 December 2008 | Life! People, Page C4



In the flesh, 27-year-old Singaporean actress-singer Rui En could pass for a junior college student. She is 1.68m tall and says she weighs about 52kg.

So it is disconcerting to hear this slip of a girl intone in all seriousness: "I've decided to reveal certain things that I've never revealed before. I've decided to be a lot more personal. So when I was preparing for this interview, I was thinking I have enough stories for three lifetimes."

Her full name is Lu Rui En and she is usually tight-lipped about her personal life, especially about her broken family.

"You know how people are asked if they would change anything about their lives? Many say no, they wouldn't change a thing. Well, I would change the first 24 years of my life."

For instance, she would burn the photos from an FHM shoot she did during her modelling career. These days, she does not even wear revealing clothes on TV.

It would seem like this interview is the confessional she has been looking for. This is not because she needs to promote her recently released second album, United States, so called because she wrote the lyrics to many of the songs to unite her different states of mind.

It is because she has read The Monday Interview series in The Straits Times and has decided this is the "right platform".

She says: "You're not going to reveal things about your childhood in a magazine asking you about your new album or TV show. It is simply not appropriate."

She also thinks she is ready to unload her tale. "I used to be really angsty. That's the thing I like about getting older. You accept yourself a little bit more. I used to hate myself."

Today, she is not the straight-talking non-conformist who used to fire take- no-prisoners barbs like: "I never set out to be a Zoe or Fann. I don't like acting-acting. That's Channel 8 acting."

Instead, she is guarded and hesitant. "Petrified," she says. Most likely, she has run through many times in her head what she is going to say here and does not want to deviate from the chronological order of her life, just in case she gets "mixed up".

"I don't want to hurt my parents because they've been through a lot. I told them I was doing this interview and cleared it with them so they won't be shocked."

She starts at the beginning with her childhood. She is the only child of a property agent and a housewife. By all accounts, she was "very quiet". Unfortunately, her parents fought all the time.

"They were the most incompatible couple I have ever seen," she says.

"From the time I could understand things as a child, I learnt to be very careful, so as not to set off a war between them. If you did something wrong, it would set them off. The instability and insecurity I felt would plague me and influence my decisions for the rest of my life."

Her parents divorced when she was 17. Her father remarried three years later and her mother did the same a year ago.

She now lives with her dad, stepmother and grandmother in a flat in Clementi, and admits she is daddy's girl. But she is also close to her mother, whom she calls her No 1 fan in the album notes of United States.

"It's kind of squeezy at home but I like the fact that there are people around me, simply because I think things are a lot more stable at home now and I didn't have that when I was a kid."

On those tumultuous years, she says: "My career started when I was about 20 but I actually started acting when I was a child. I developed a very fertile imagination because I was lonely and I didn't have anyone to share my loneliness and frustrations with.

"It's irrational, but when your parents are fighting, you feel the need to take sides. And after you take sides, you feel a lot of guilt. You just blame yourself because, as a kid, you don't know what else to do. When you have to be so careful around your parents, you end up withdrawing into yourself."

It became a pattern: She felt like an outsider in her own home and everywhere she went subsequently.

During her primary and secondary school years in Singapore Chinese Girls' School, she felt she was from the wrong socio-economic class. "If you go to SCGS and you're not rich, it just makes it worse. From that point on, I was always an outsider looking in."

At Raffles Junior College, she was from "the wrong side of the tracks, by RJC standards", flunking her first-year exams. At Nanyang Technological University, she was a fish out of water--a literature lover studying banking and finance because it was "practical".

At MediaCorp now, she is also an outsider of sorts, trying not to be the average vacuous Channel 8 star. "Well, I try my best not to be," she says, and this has led to accusations that she is cold and unfriendly.

Her decision at Primary 5 to take up ballet, which she loves, deepened her feelings of rejection because the world of pirouettes in SCGS largely comprised "socialites' daughters" whose "mums knew one another and went for high tea".

She says: "Eventually, the whole not fitting in and feeling like an outsider just got to me and I quit after Secondary 1. And that is something I regret till now because I really love dance."

Without dance, there was a "hole in my heart", she says in an exaggerated fashion, acknowledging the melodrama of the phrase. This was when she "was drawn" to a schoolmate who was from a worse background than hers and yet "seemed so strong, streetwise and cool".

That started her period of delinquency during which she began to experiment with cigarettes and alcohol.

She says: "I hung out with the kind of people I shouldn't have hung out with. I was also probably trying, in my own ridiculous way, to annoy my parents because I wanted their attention."

Yet, she would always study at the last minute for her major exams and do well.

While waiting to enter university, she sent her photos to a modelling agency. "If somebody was going to pay me to take a picture, that was proof to myself that I was not unwanted, that I was pretty."

The agency signed her on and in 2001, got her in a SingTel TV ad, which in turn landed her a contract with Hype Records. This was followed by her first album, Rui En Vol 1, in 2002.

"When I did that first album, I didn't pay my dues. I was just given the opportunity," she admits. Before that, the only musical training she had was two years of choir experience in Secondary 3 and 4.

"Again, I got into show business for the wrong reasons, thinking if someone wants to sign me, it means I'm not that unwanted, I'm not so ugly. It was just this stupid insecurity thing again."

Until she was in her early 20s, she smoked and drank socially. "Smoking was something I did because I wanted to be cool," she says.

But in 2004, she started an overhaul of her life. On her own, she realised how her teenage delinquency, which set off another war at home between her and her parents, and her modelling, singing and acting career were all symptoms of her insecurity.

"I was looking for ways to fill the emptiness that I felt. And I used everything, from hanging out with older people to partying to fame. I thought that fame was the ultimate answer to my problems.

"So from 2002 to 2004, it was just about that, about my ego. That part of my career is completely regrettable. During that time, I did a couple of Chinese shows, including My Mighty In-Laws, but the worst was Achar!."

In 2004, in the second season of the Channel 5 sitcom about an Indian- Chinese couple, she replaced actress Steph Song and turned in a performance that disgusted herself.

"I remember watching Achar! and thinking that I didn't recognise myself. I was doing kissing scenes and all this annoying behaviour. I watched the show and thought that was not me. All I saw in my eyes was the hunger for fame and popularity. I really hated what I had become.

"So I decided to sit down and take stock of my whole life. I realised that I was just allowing myself to be a victim."

She adds: "I didn't want to be a victim anymore. I didn't want to use my broken family as an excuse for my behaviour anymore. I had to grow up."

So she quit smoking and drinking. She quit wanting to be famous and popular. And most significantly for her career, she quit doing kissing and intimate scenes.

Ironically, in that same year, she was nominated for Best Newcomer at MediaCorp's Star Awards. Effectively, she stuck a knife in her own career when it was just starting to blossom.

She says: "The result of my decision is that my opportunities now are very much limited, because generally, such kissing scenes are required."

Since 2005, she has played variations of the feisty, young woman in shows such as A Promise For Tomorrow (2005), Love At 0 Deg C (2006), Honour And Passion (2007) and Metamorphosis (2008).

Earlier this year, she rejected a role in the Channel 8 drama The Defining Moment because of a rape scene in the script. The high-profile part of a go-getting businesswoman struggling with mental illness went to Fann Wong instead.

It has also been reported that there are influential TV producers who will not cast her in their shows. This does not concern her, not when she is finally at peace with herself. She says she is in a good place in her life because she is not fighting with herself anymore.

When she is filming--her current project is The Dreamcatchers where her character is stuck in a love triangle with Shaun Chen and Elvin Ng--she mostly keeps to herself in between takes by reading and listening to her iPod. When she is not working, she watches DVDs, reads, surfs the Internet and goes running.

She says she does not have any good friends in the industry. She does not have many good friends, period.

"I don't understand why people are so fearful of being alone. I love being alone."

As impressive as her Wolverine-like self-healing ability is, a counsellor or therapist might say she still has some things to work on. For one thing, she seems a little too thin, although she says her negative body image days are behind her.

Also, she seems to have a fear of relationships. Currently single, she says she regrets all the romantic relationships she has had till now and admits she might never get married.

"My mother is quite upset and has said to me, 'Please don't use us as an example'. But when you grow up in that environment, you become careful. I would rather not put my welfare or my fate in the hands of somebody else."

Then why did she do this heart-to-heart interview, which certainly requires a great amount of trust?

"I am hoping that kids who read this might realise that no matter how bad your family situation is, you have a choice not to be a victim," she says.

Source: asianewsnet.net

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Scans of articles:

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Rui En's album has been reviewed on Straits Times Life! section under Short Spins (Page D8). It's rated 3 out of 5 stars.

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The Straits Times, 29 Dec 2007

Eddino Abdul Hadi
MUSIC REPORTER

ASIA’S newly crowned idol Hady Mirza will have his first public performance since his big win at a New Year countdown show on Monday night.
But if you think it’s at a glitzy do, think again.
Hady will be singing in the heartlands. More specifically, in a field in Punggol, near his home.
Together with fellow Hype Records labelmates Rui En and Jonathan Leong, he will be belting out three songs to an estimated crowd of 10,000, including a duet with Mr Michael Palmer, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
The gig is organised by Punggol East Citizen’s Consultative Committees and its grassroots organisations.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 27 Dec 2007
























IN AN acting stable filled with sweet young things, Rui En is a breath of fresh air with her edgy dressing and nonchalant love for the colour black.
Eschewing pretty frocks for sexy pants, designer labels for vintage fare, the 26-year-old MediaCorp artiste needs no help from style gurus to make a fashion statement.
Which is why she has earned a spot in our list of top 10 fashion icons this year, which honours those who have defied sartorial conventions and proved that innovation is way more fun than imitation.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 27 Dec 2007

These are the people who defied fashion conventions and created their own styles this year.
In the world of fashion where trends come and go swiftly, the element of surprise is a highly prized asset.
The ones who stood out this year turned the rules upside down (a boy wearing make-up became hot, a geek became cool), defied expectations (cute hairstyles transformed near has-beens into trend-setters) and proved that innovation is way more fun than imitation.
The bottomline: Our list of 10 new fashion icons (in no particular order) were those whom you couldn’t stop looking at or talking about.








































Rui En (above, right), 26
She may be one of MediaCorp’s Seven Princesses, but froufrou frocks don’t make the cut for this cool customer.
Instead of making high-end designer gowns resemble This Fashion bargain-bin finds like many of her colleagues, the singer-actress stands out for the matter-of-fact way she sticks to what she likes when it comes to style.
That usually means wearing pants rather than dresses, a nonchalant preference for the colour black and high-street brands rather than haute couture.
Just like last year, she chose to wear her own togs to the recent Star Awards (above), pairing a H&M jacket with Aldo shoes and latex tights bought online for $200. The whole outfit probably cost less than one of the gem-encrusted baubles on Fann Wong, but Rui En made it work with her take-me-as-I-am personality.
And fans seem to have no problem with that. While the fortunes of the other princesses rise and fall, she’s made the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes list for three years running. Which just goes to show that you don’t always need David Gan’s magic style wand to make it in this town.


Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 18 Dec 2007

The stars who chose to dress themselves instead of relying on couture labels fared better in the style stakes.
WHILE the seven princesses did not sweep MediaCorp’s Star Awards on Sunday night as many had anticipated, most of them did pretty well in the style stakes.
Rui En, who jokingly called herself “a fashionista on a budget”, eschewed stylists for her own too-cool-for-school all-black ensemble of a H&M jacket, rocker-chic latex tights and Aldo shoes.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 18 Dec 2007

Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes: Kym Ng, Xiang Yun, Vivian Lai, Jesseca Liu, Ivy Lee, Quan Yifeng, Rui En, Felicia Chin, Huang Biren and Michelle Chia

Source: The Straits Times

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Dec 17, 2007

By Hong Xinyi

DESPITE the considerable hype about a new generation of TV idols, it was the veterans rather than sweet young things who stole the show at this year's Star Awards.

The annual ceremony honours MediaCorp TV's top thespians and most popular stars, and took place last night at the Caldecott Hill TV Theatre.

'Tomorrow is supposed to be the day the seven princesses officially take their thrones,' said host Quan Yifeng jokingly at the beginning of the show.

She was referring to the seven starlets anointed by the Chinese press as the next leading ladies of the station: Jesseca Liu, Felicia Chin, Joanne Peh, Rui En, Fiona Xie, Dawn Yeoh and Jeanette Aw.

But only three of them - Liu, Chin, and Rui En - made it into the coveted Top 10 list of Most Popular Female Artistes, compared to five last year.

Instead, it was more seasoned actresses like Vivian Lai, Huang Biren, Quan and Xiang Yun who made up the rest of the Top 10.

'Sorry I'm fighting for a place with the princesses,' quipped an elated Lai, 30, after she received her award.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 16 Dec 2007

They are not your regular starlets, but these upcoming actresses have got the substance.
MUCH fuss has been made of rising TV starlets Jesseca Liu, Felicia Chin, Fiona Xie, Joanne Peh, Jeanette Aw, Dawn Yeoh and Rui En. Dubbed the Seven Princesses by the Chinese press about a year ago, they are tipped to succeed Caldecott Hill queens Zoe Tay and Fann Wong.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 13 Oct 2007

THERE’S no place for Vincent Ng and Ann Kok in the race for Star Awards this year.
But Christopher Lee, who was jailed recently for drink driving, is in.
This was revealed at a press conference yesterday to announce the 40 nominees for two categories – top 10 most popular male and female artistes – in the annual Media- Corp event. The names are nominated via a public survey.
The nomination list has its fair share of veterans like Xiang Yun, Chen Hanwei and Edmund Chen, and first-timers such as Zhang Yaodong and Dawn Yeoh.
The so-called “Seven Princesses” – Yeoh, Fiona Xie, Jesseca Liu, Jeanette Aw, Rui En, Joanne Peh and Felicia Chin – are in the list.
The Star Awards will be held on Dec 16.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 12 Jul 2007





































THE guys in green march into the spotlight in Channel 8’s new drama serial Honour And Passion, which will run from July 24. The 20-part series, commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, revolves around a family headed by an army warrant officer. The men – Huang Wenyong, Tay Ping Hui, Bryan Wong, Nat Ho and Ix Shen – trade acting chops with Hong Huifang, Felicia Chin, Rui En and Dawn Yeoh.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 26 Apr 2007

michtay@sph.com.sg

Actress-singer Rui En, 25, kept a low profile until she started endorsing American beauty brand Olay last October. An endorsement for the Motorola Red phone followed in December and, later that month, she made it into the Star Awards’ Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes.


Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 26 Apr 2007

Rui En, 25, actress-singer
Past endorsements: StarHub’s mobile data service i-Mode, TianPo Jewellery, 7-Eleven
Endorsement income then: A “low five-figure sum” for a single deal, says an industry insider
Current endorsements: Motorola mobile phones, Olay skin-care products
Endorsement income now: A mid five-figure sum per deal that’s “easily over $50,000”, says an insider. Wong estimates she would receive about $30,000 to $40,000 for her Olay deal alone.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 22 Mar 2007



Movie stars and other public figures often have a host of help – good genes, truckloads of creams, plastic surgeons on speed dial – to maintain great skin. Still, no one can really ward off the signs of ageing. Here’s what to look out for from the age of 25.

Age: 25
Actress-singer Rui En
Even at this age, lines start appearing around the eyes and laugh lines around the mouth. Uneven pigmentation may occur if you are in the sun without sufficient sunblock protection.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 19 Mar 2007

The Monday Interview
Bryan Wong started in showbiz at the age of eight, starred in the bomb Masters Of The Sea, and has survived it all to be last year’s top TV host.
He has made a name for himself as a host of Chinese programmes, but will be appearing in his first MediaCorp drama in July. The Channel 8 show about life in the army was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, and he co-stars with actors Tay Ping Hui and Rui En.

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2006

HOW do the five starlets fare in the eyes of industry players? Hairstylists David Gan (DG) and Addy Lee (AL), MediaCorp’s managing executive producer Lee Ee Wurn (LEW) and Life!’s Lee Sze Yong (LSY) rate them out of a total of five points.

Rui En, 24
SHE models, acts and sings. The former Raffles JC girl was first talent-spotted by Hype Records in 2001 after appearing in a SingTel TV ad, and then did a cameo in the Channel 8 drama serial No Problem. She also starred in the recent Love @ 0 deg C.
DG: 3.5/5. She is hardworking and her X-factor is just waiting to explode. Her forthright character may work against her, though.
AL: 2/5. I didn’t expect her to be in the Top 10 again this year. She has this very cold image that is not appealing to me.
LEW: 3/5. Her acting is average, and the impression she projects is a sense of arrogance, which works against her. However, she has the attitude other starlets don’t.
LSY: 3.5/5. Rui En is a rebel in the making. Pubescent fans should take to her attitude, but she’ll need to work harder to charm the uncles and the aunties.
Total: 12/20

Source: The Straits Times

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The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2006

Five fresh faces stood out at Sunday’s Star Awards, but can one of them become the next Zoe or Fann?

Lee Sze Yong
MEDIA REPORTER

GASPS of surprise could be heard when the words “Quan Yifeng” rolled off presenter Zax Wang’s tongue on Sunday night.
Quan, an eloquent show host, was the last name on the coveted Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes list at the annual MediaCorp Star Awards ceremony.
No, the artistes and fans gathered at St James Power Station were not surprised that the glib-tongued host made it to the list, which is decided by viewers through a telepoll and a survey of 600 Singaporeans.
Rather, they were stunned by who did not make it this year: Best Actress Ivy Lee – out. Former Star Search champion Jacelyn Tay – out. Much talked-about new face Joanne Peh – out.
Instead, the night belonged to Felicia Chin, Fiona Xie, Jeanette Aw, Jesseca Liu and Rui En.

These newer faces took their place on stage with veterans like Quan, Kym Ng, Huang Biren, Xiang Yun and Michelle Chia in the Top 10 category.

Could the five girls usher in a new era of TV actresses? Pretty, talented and all under 28, they are already being talked about as The Next Big Things to come out of Caldecott Hill.
Could one of them emerge to reach the heights of popularity that Tay and Fann have?
The five are not exactly new faces. But, sometimes, it takes time before an actress registers in the public consciousness and is catapulted to the next level of fame.

Source: The Straits Times

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08 December 2006

THESE are the nominees for this year’s awards:
Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes:
Pan Lingling, Joanne Peh, Fiona Xie, Kym Ng, Xiang Yun, Rui En, Patricia Mok, Bukoh Mary, Priscelia Chan, Quan Yifeng, Yvonne Lim, Jacelyn Tay, Jesseca Liu, Huang Biren, Michelle Chong, Michelle Chia, Jeanette Aw, Ivy Lee and Felicia Chin.

Source: The Straits Times

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02 December 2006

Motorola dials into the charitable mode with red phones endorsed by 14 local celebs
IT MAY not be Motorola’s latest phone, but 14 local celebrities won’t be caught using anything other than Motorola’s Moto Red Motorazr V3.
The group, which includes Eunice Olsen, Rui En, Beatrice Chia-Richmond and Jonathan Leong, showed up as non-paid ambassadors at yesterday’s launch of Motorola’s charity project Moto Red.
While they get the phones free, Motorola says several have offered to pay for them.
The six-year Moto Red project aims to help eliminate Aids in Africa through the sale of specially designed red phones from popular lines, starting with the Motorazr V3.
From next month, the 14 local celebrities will appear in Project Red posters in newspapers and magazines for free.

Source: The Straits Times

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13 October 2006

Despite his drink driving troubles, Christopher Lee is in the running for the 2006 Star Awards’ Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste award.

Lee Sze Yong
MEDIA REPORTER

New face Elvin Ng and Project SuperStar champion Kelvin Tan will also be contesting the Most Popular Newcomer award, along with female artistes Chew Sin Huey, Candyce Toh and Dawn Yeoh.
Chew, a first-timer in the race, will face competition from 19 female artistes for the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award.
They are: Pan Lingling, Joanne Peh, Fiona Xie, Kym Ng, Xiang Yun, Rui En, Patricia Mok, Bukoh Mary, Priscelia Chan, Quan Yifeng, Yvonne Lim, Jacelyn Tay, Jesseca Liu, Huang Biren, Michelle Chong, Michelle Chia, Jeanette Aw, Ivy Lee and Felicia Chin.
Star Awards will be held on Dec 10 at MediaCorp’s TV Theatre. In previous years, voting took place one week before the awards ceremony. This year, telepoll lines will be open from next Tuesday to Dec 10, for two months. Calls cost 80 cents each.
A lead-up series, Star Awards Up-close, will air every Tuesday starting next week on Channel 8 to update voting results.

Source: The Straits Times

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26 June 2006

Most people know Ken Lim as the stern and sometimes brutally honest Singapore Idol judge. But – surprise, surprise – there is a soft side to him, according to his friends and wife

The Monday Interview
Professional man

He started composing and producing soundtracks for Channel 8 drama serials like Return Of The Condor Heroes, and recording albums with local artistes such as Fann Wong and Ann Kok.
He had banked on people’s familiarity with them to “save on promotional budget”. The albums did very well, he recalls drily, selling in the region of 20,000 each.
Hype has since branched out, with artiste management arm Artiste Network minding artistes like Phyllis Quek, Jeanette Aw and Rui En.
Other ventures include concert promotion – it organised concerts by Taiwanese stars Jay Chou and Mayday – and production.
He also took the unconventional path of marketing his artistes – such as Fann when she was still signed to Hype and, more recently, Rui En – overseas on his own.

Source: The Straits Times

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18 June 2006

Cool Speak on Sunday
She couldn’t string a proper sentence together in Mandarin but singer-actress-host Rui En, 25, has come a long way. She tells JEAN LOO how she worked hard at the language.

You were from Raffles Junior College and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. How was your standard of Chinese in school?

I had many weekly Chinese tuition sessions from primary to secondary school, but my Chinese wasn’t good at all. Other than the assessment books and homework, the thing I remember most clearly was that I hated mo xie (dictation). I hated writing chunks of Chinese characters. Of course, my grades weren’t very good. I think it’s partly because my parents introduced me to English books when I was quite young, so I spoke English more and found Mandarin harder to pick up.

But you’ve acted in a number of Chinese drama serials like A Better Tomorrow and My Sassy In-Laws and even released a self-titled debut Mandarin album. How did you manage to accomplish all that?
Yes, that’s the irony of it all — memorising scripts is like studying mo xie. Both singing and acting were very difficult because they were in Mandarin and I had to struggle a lot. When I did the first few dramas, I didn’t have a clue what I was saying. I was focusing more on showing the right expressions. It was really very stressful because I knew my Chinese was bad. But it’s a lot easier now because I do a lot of research on the characters I play and make it a point to write out a whole history about the character. I think it’s important to understand why a character behaves in a certain way. Now, when I start filming, I can connect better with the character I’m playing. Then the dialogue comes more naturally and it’s not so much about memorising any more.

So why did you enter the Chinese market even though Mandarin isn’t your strongest suit?
Because I’m Chinese. Even though I started on the wrong foot and didn’t really concentrate on my Chinese in school, I think I’ve more than made up for it by now. When I started out in showbiz four years ago, my Mandarin was horrendous. It was so bad, I could not even put a simple sentence together, much less express myself. During my stint in Taiwan, where I starred in a couple of Taiwanese singer Jay Chou’s music videos, I was absolutely petrified. Their Mandarin was so advanced and there were many embarrassing incidents when I didn’t realise the mistakes I was making. For example, only child means du sheng nu, but to me it was dan sheng nu, which actually means single and available.

So how did you improve your command of the language?
From the start, I knew I had to improve my Mandarin. Of course, it took a lot of time, but I tried to speed it up as much as I could. I started watching a lot of Chinese variety shows and dramas with subtitles — which is one tip I have for readers who want to improve their Chinese. It really helped a lot. You read the subtitles on the screen and listen to the dialogue at the same time, putting the dialogue in context. This is more effective than if you were to read a Chinese book.
When I think back about how bad my Chinese was, I’m proud of how fluent I am now. It seemed an impossible task at first because I didn’t know how I was going to catch up. But I finally did through sheer hard work.


Source: The Straits Times

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04 May 2006

Actress Steph Song is going places, appearing with Jet Li and Jason Statham in a new movie, but she hopes to return to Singapore one day. Song, who is signed on with artiste management company Fly Entertainment here, is best-known here for her role in TV sitcom Achar, and her rumoured conflicts with her co-star, Indian actor Jas Arora.
Her role was played by actress-singer Rui En in the second season.

Source: The Straits Times

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06 December 2005

One reason the Star Awards has been losing its lustre is the lack of fresh faces and talent on the showbiz scene.
Year in and year out, almost the same faces get voted onto the Top 10 most popular awards list - the most watched segment of the show.
So even though fresh faces like Fiona Xie, Felicia Chin, Rui En and Julian Hee have entered the scene, it has been an uphill task for them to make the Top 10 list and share the limelight.


Source: The Straits Times

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06 December 2005

Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes:
Rui En, Joanne Peh, Michelle Chong, Jeanette Aw, Xiang Yun, Huang Biren, Michelle Chia, Jacelyn Tay, Chen Liping and Quan Yifeng

Source: The Straits Times

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12 August 2005

Some artistes are losing it - their weight. Urban finds out if this a new way of gaining fame.
ARE Singapore's TV actresses getting too skinny for their own good?
At the recent National Day Parade, the sight of host Rui En's bony shoulders got viewers talking.
In today's issue of Urban, we look at whether a smaller frame means bigger fame for celebrities in their race to make it to the A-list and snagging some endorsement deals along the way.

Source: The Straits Times

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27 June 2005

FIRST, she screamed. Then, she cried. You would too, if you were Steph Song and looking for work.
On her part, Song has had work issues to grapple with before, when her role in MediaCorp sitcom Achar in 2003 put her at loggerheads with her co-star, Indian actor Jas Arora.
But MediaCorp replaced her with actress-singer Rui En in the second season of Achar and Song has heard that the show may not return.

Source: The Straits Times

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05 Feb 2005

If you listen too much, it'll get too noisy in your head.
- Singer-actress Rui En on criticism


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31 January 2005

NO, MEDIACORP was not holding a mass wedding for their artistes at Chijmes last Friday.
It was in fact a press conference to launch their new romantic drama serial, You Are The One, about a widower (Richard Low), his three daughters, and their exploits in love.
Chew Chor Meng walked down the aisle with Hong Kong actress Nnadia Chan; Christopher Lee with Jacelyn Tay; and Terence Cao with Rui En. The series debuts on Valentine's Day at 9pm.

Source: The Straits Times

Labels: The Straits Times, You Are The One

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03 January 2005

Though ousted from the Star Awards, newcomer Ng Hui isn't doing too badly.
SHE might be everywhere on TV, but that didn't guarantee actress Ng Hui a popularity award at last month's Star Awards.
And, she admits, it was embarrassing to have lost.
Although nominated for the newcomer category at the Star Awards on Dec 12, she was the first to be voted out from a group of five.
Joanne Peh took the award which was decided by a telepoll, and the other nominees were Felicia Chin, Rui En and Lim Yi Chyi.

Source: The Straits Times

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11 December 2004

Playing against type, glamourpuss Zoe Tay is quite funny as a hooligan. But will this role gain her thespian street cred?
TELEVISION
MY MIGHTY IN-LAWS
Channel 8 Weekdays, 9pm

Awards or no, we say Tay's tomboy turn in this Channel 8 drama is well worth a watch.
As the ringleader of a group of hooligans, the actress seems to enjoy unleashing her character's loudmouthed brashness.
Also putting in pleasantly surprising performances is the fresh-faced pair of Vincent Ng and Rui En.
The latter plays Tay's step-daughter and the former plays her boyfriend. They make an unlikely couple, with the brawny Ng covering up his muscular physique for once to convey his character's loveable geekiness.
Rui En's character is an outspoken puppeteer, and the role showcases the actress-singer's bubbly persona.
But all in all, a fun show to follow. Watch out for the finale next Tuesday.

Source: The Straits Times

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22 November 2004

THE sort of politically correct spiel that avoids any satisfactory engagement of thorny questions is not Rui En's style. The intrepid singer-actress has, after all, stepped into the role vacated by Steph Song in the sitcom Achar!.
Faced with the fairly generic question of 'What kind of experience did you have filming Achar?', she chooses to tackle the unspoken subtext head-on instead.'The experience was quite pleasant,' says the 23-year-old matter-of-factly in a phone interview last Saturday.
Her experience is in stark contrast to the reportedly tumultuous relationship between her predecessor Song and co-star, Bollywood actor Jas Arora, during the filming of the first season of the Channel 5 sitcom last year.
'I'm sure everyone has heard all the rumours about the last season,' Rui En says. 'When I took on this project, I kept telling myself not to make judgments and to go in with an open mind. And it was fine, really.'
She insists that her screen husband is 'very well-mannered and gentlemanly in a way that you don't really see much nowadays'.'He actually does things like opening doors for you. The chivalry is quite refreshing.'
Rui En, who bears some resemblance to Song, first came into the spotlight in 2001, when she appeared in a SingTel TV commercial. She then starred in a Jay Chou music video before releasing a Mandarin album in 2003.
Tackling challenging roles is what she has set her mind on after graduating from her banking and finance course from Nanyang Technological University last year.
'This character is quite feminine, very different from my previous tomboyish roles and my own personality,' she recalls.
'It's quite a challenge to wear skirts and be graceful. The character's wardrobe is very different from what I would wear in real life.'
Currently starring in the Channel 8 drama My In-Laws, Rui En has also been nominated in the Most Popular Newcomer category for this year's Star Awards. 'I was very surprised when I found out because I've only been in a few shows.
'She adds: 'I won't be wearing a dress to the Awards. It's such a struggle to wear them for work.'
The new season of Achar! starts on Dec 2 on Channel 5 at 8.30pm.

Source: The Straits Times

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19 November 2004

Twenty artists have been nominated in both the male and female categories. Fans call their respective 1900 numbers to cast votes for their favourites. The top 10 nominees in each category who get the most votes receive the award.
With well-known faces like Tay not in the race for votes, the spotlight this year falls on the Most Popular Newcomer category.
All five nominees this year are women: Joanne Peh, Felicia Chin, Ng Hui, Rui En and Lim Yi Chyi.
The Star Awards will air on Dec 12 on Channel 8 at 7pm. Log on to www.channel8.com.sg for the relevant numbers to call and vote for your favourite artists.


Source: The Straits Times

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06 January 2004

Youth Concert @ South East 2004 will have plenty of artists on hand to raise funds for local charities
FANS of late Hong Kong entertainer Anita Mui have a good reason to attend the Youth Concert @ South East 2004 this Saturday.
Ex-Grasshopper and Anita Mui protege Remus Choy will open the star-studded concert, to be held at the open field next to the Singapore Post Centre (near the Paya Lebar MRT station) at 6.30pm.
Taiwan's R&B group B.A.D. and singer Joanna Feng Wei Jun, Singaporeans Rui En, Sheikh Haikel and Ben Yeung and Scottish newcomer Derek McDonald will also perform.
Proceeds from the sales of tickets, priced at $2 each, will be donated to three charities: the Goodlife Centre @ South East, the Salvation Army-Bedok Multiservice Centre for the Elderly and the Metta School.

Source: The Straits Times

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07 August 2003

THE world of showbiz can be cruel.
Singers Karen Mok and eVonne Hsu were crowned Best Female Singer and Best Newcomer respectively at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards last Saturday.
But they are absent from the list of nominees for the Singapore Hit Awards.

SINGAPORE HIT AWARDS NOMINEES
Best Local Singer
Shaun Yong Bang, Stella Ng, Rui En, Kit Chan, A-do, Wayne 'JJ' Lin, Seven, Celest Chong, Ho Yeow Sun, Stefanie Sun


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30 May 2003

Readers write in about Lionel Seah's negative review of the new Channel 5 drama Chemistry, which is produced by Rushes Networks, and Ong Sor Fern's Tome Raider column and article on The Matrix.

I REFER to Lionel Seah's review of Chemistry (Chemistry Flunks The Test, May 26).
The show had me glued for the whole half-hour.
Sure it helps that the leads are attractive, but Lu Rui En's acting actually draws you in.
Being a woman, it would have been easy for me to hate her for her beauty and I wouldn't hesitate to criticise her acting skills.
But she came across as natural and definitely outshone Howard Cheung in the first episode.
Acting skills aside, the plot might not be the most original, but it is good enough for some relaxing entertainment on TV. I don't feel in any way that it flunked the test. I think it only failed Mr Seah's test.
I hope he wasn't using personal, biased reasons in judging Chemistry because, honestly, it is one of the more watchable locally produced shows.
Sparks do fly in Chemistry and I won't put it down so fast.
It definitely deserves better reviews, not prejudiced, immature comments.
FIONA YU

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26 May 2003

The results are in: Channel 5's new series - Chemistry - doesn't so much sizzle as fizzle. Will someone light a bunsen burner under it, please?

DRAMA
CHEMISTRY
Channel 5
Thursdays, 8.30 pm

IF THERE is one thing more exciting than watching the debut episode of Channel 5's new series, Chemistry, it is memorising the Periodic Table.
Judging by the episode last Thursday, the 13-parter is the television equivalent of helium, the most inert element in the table. Half an hour of it is enough to leave viewers bereft of life.
Chemistry is produced by Rushes Network, the production house of Hype Records to which the series' leads, Lu Rui En and Howard Cheung, are signed on to.
The storyline revolves around a girl and a guy with clashing personalities who finally overcome their animosity and fall in love. Only the words in a Hallmark card can beat this for originality.
In the first episode, the male and female leads, played by newcomers Cheung and Rui En respectively, swopped souls and took over each others' bodies.
It was very much like Prelude To A Kiss. But, presumably, the scriptwriter has not watched that film before. Or All Of Me. Or Freaky Friday. Or The Hot Chick.
Maybe because the debut episode was expository, setting the scene for what is to unfold in future episodes, there wasn't much excitement going on.
Thursday's show moved like a one-legged man with gout, though only to explode in its own face like a bad experiment that went horribly wrong.
The casting of singer and part-time model Rui En as Rachel, a headstrong radio DJ, is a huge mistake.
She is pretty, but no actress. Her acting lacks subtlety and has as much depth as a petri dish in a laboratory.
She carries a wide range of expressions. All, unfortunately, involve her playing cute and putting on a series of exasperated looks. We could be looking at the next Fiona Xie here.
Rui En is actually fine in small doses. In fact, her 'acting' is passable in Jay Chou's Secret Signal MTV clip and in the SingTel HiCard advertisement in which she appears.
And, she's a much better singer than actress, as those who have heard her self-titled debut Mandarin album would attest to.
Who knows, Chemistry, the musical might have worked better for her?
Thankfully, there are redeeming factors to the show. Each episode is only 30 minutes long. And the colours look rich and deep, like Money, one of MediaCorp's better series, a few years back.
In fact, the colours are so brilliant that in the first episode, Rui En's multi-coloured eye-shadow - though no fault of hers, poor girl - made her look like a talking parrot.
The best thing about the show is Hong Kong-based model Cheung. He doesn't over act, and in an industry known for over-the-top acting, he bucks the trend.
He is also eye candy, which is a requirement in a series that is - like others before and many to follow - essentially a case of style over substance.
And if Cheung goes topless ever so often as Vincent Ng does in Heartlanders, he might well be guaranteed longevity in Singapore's TV scene.
Chemistry is a wake up call that there should be a Geneva Convention for television, that gratuitous showing of pretty faces without acting talent should be banned.
Admittedly, Chemistry could do a U-turn and show an impressive next 12 episodes. Right now, it positively makes Light Years, the teen series on Channel 5, watchable.
But only after one has exhausted memorising the Periodic Table.


Source: The Straits Times

Labels: Chemistry, The Straits Times

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22 May 2003

Will Chemistry, a new Channel 5 romantic comedy premiering tonight, fare better than recent teen drama Light Years and comeback sitcom Under One Roof? The 13-episode series starts off on a Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus footing before twisting into a happy ending.

SAMUEL LEE talks to lead actors Howard Cheung and Lu Rui En.

WHO: Lu Rui En, 22
RUI EN WHO?: I was the 'running girl' in the SingTel HiCard ad. I've also appeared on Channel 8 drama No Problem and in Jay Chou's music video for Secret Signal last year. I released my first Mandarin R&B album earlier this year.
WHAT'S UP: I'm now one semester away from a degree in banking and finance at Nanyang Technological University.
WHY SHOULD WE WATCH CHEMISTRY: It's not the usual boy-meets-girl, enemies-become-lovers storyline. There are lots of supernatural and fantasy elements, and some sleaze and suspense. In Episode 1, Howard and I swop souls and go into each other's bodies - which means I have to act like him and he, me.
WHAT DO YOU PLAY: Rachel, a stubborn radio DJ quite like me - clumsy, un-girl and jaded about love and men because of my single-parent upbringing. The only difference is that I don't suan people (make sarcastic jibes) at every turn.
CHEMISTRY MEANS: No bedroom scene and not much kissing - both on- and off-screen - because I have no time to create any chemistry with anyone.

Chemistry debuts tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm, but will air at 8.30pm on Thursdays starting next week.


Source: The Straits Times

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17 April 2003

FESTIVAL OPENERS :
Singapore singers Stella Ng and Lu Rui En will take the lead in opening the Singapore Street Festival next month.
TO ENCOURAGE youths to come out to play, Singapore singers Stella Ng and Lu Rui En will open the Singapore Street Festival on May 31 at 7 pm at the open field next to Faber House in Orchard Road.


Source: The Straits Times

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22 January 2003

HOMEGROWN R&B newcomer Lu Rui En wants to set the record straight.
If her slurry singing sounds suspiciously like that of labelmate Jay Chou, it's not a case of her being a copycat.
'It sounds this way because I'm more accustomed to speaking in English,' Lu, a 21-year-old business school undergraduate at NTU, said in Mandarin during a press conference and mini-showcase at Embassy club yesterday.
'My Mandarin was unbelievably lan before I was discovered,' says the former Raffles Junior College student, using the Mandarin colloquialism for 'atrocious'.
Talent-spotted by Hype Records in 2001 after appearing in a SingTel TV commercial, she went on to do a cameo appearance in Channel 8 drama serial No Problem, last year.
But it was all because of Chou's concert here in February last year that Lu got her big break.
Mr R.J. Yang, a Taiwanese director from the record label Alpha, was in Hype's office when he chanced upon her demo tape. He heard it and was impressed.
A month later, she was signed up.
Soon, she was appearing alongside Chou for a mobile phone ad in Taiwan and, more recently, as a love interest in his music video for Secret Code.
He also penned the track White Feather for her debut CD, Rui En Vol.01 Album, which was released last month.
It has sold 50,000 copies in Taiwan and 3,000 here so far.
She performed White Feather during Chou's sold-out shows as a guest earlier this month at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Though she thanks Chou for opening doors for her, she said that being associated with the Taiwanese R&B superstar puts her under 'tremendous pressure'.
Some of Chou's fanatical fans in Taiwan had told her to 'lay off' their idol.
More at ease now, she will be playing an uncouth and boyish radio DJ-love counsellor in the upcoming Channel 5 urban romance drama, Chemistry.
Of her acting role, a source close to her said yesterday: 'The part fits her because Lu's like that - a bit of a tomboy with no pretence. What you see is what you get.'

Rui ∑n vol. 01 Album is out in the stores.


Source: The Straits Times

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31 December 2002

Singapore songbird Stefanie Sun made a splash in the regional pop scene in 2000 and this year.She paved the way for other homegrown acts like singing pastor Ho Yeow Sun and construction dude-turned-crooner A-do to make good.
Their continued success means that recording companies are jumping on the bandwagon, grooming a whole barrage of new voices. One fresh face, Lu Rui En, has already come out with a debut album Rui ∑n vol. 01 Album which is doing well.
After J-pop and K-pop, could S-pop be the next big thing on the airwaves?

Source: The Straits Times

Labels: Rui ∑n vol. 01, The Straits Times

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20 December 2002

VOL. 01 ALBUM
Lu Rui En
(Alfa Music)
*** 1/2

AS A music reviewer, nothing warms me more than releases by homegrown artistes which make me hit the repeat button.
This week, I experienced it twice with two rather different debut albums.
Less captivating, but more commercially-minded and street savvy, is Lu Rui En's R&B-infused Vol. 01 Album.
Arguably Singapore's answer to Elva Hsiao and Landy Wen Lan, the pixie-looking NTU Business undergraduate who first did some part-time modelling and later acted for Channel 8, resembles a younger version of MediaWorks artiste Irin Gan.
Unlike Chua, Lu's vocals are more rough-cut, and are suited for the hefty contributions from R&B heavyweights such as Jay Chou, his collaborator Vincent Fang, and Michael Lynn Hammar.
That Lu has a style all her own is more than audible on tracks such as the Misia-sounding Dislike and the mid-tempo ballad Tired.
What sucks is when she attempts to mimic Chou and Landy Wen Lan's mumbly singing on White Feathers, and comes off as a badly-cloned copy.

Source: The Straits Times

Labels: Rui ∑n vol. 01, The Straits Times

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06 September 2002

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT BIG THING?

LU RUI EN, 21
Last spotted playing Chen Hanwei's go-getting girlfriend on Channel 8 drama serial, No Problem, this NTU business undergraduate also sang its end-title track and the theme song to another Channel 8 serial, Beautiful Connections. After she clears her examinations next month, she will go to Taiwan to record her debut solo album.


Source: The Straits Times

Labels: No Problem, The Straits Times

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19 July 2002

MORNING EXPRESS 6
Various Artistes
(Hype Records/MediaCorp Studios)
*** 1/2

Also on the Express are Michelle Saram, with three tracks from her Fantasy serial, and new face Lu Rui En. Channel U defector Jeanette Aw also does a passable turn with Was It Wrong?


Source: The Straits Times

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