Star Search 2019 is the 11th installment of the long-running Chinese talent competition Star Search, hosted by Mediacorp, since 1988. This was the first season of Star Search since 2010, returning after a nine-year hiatus. The grand prize includes a Mediacorp management contract and an Audi Q2 SUV (without Certificate of Entitlement).
The series premiered on 20 September on Toggle and 22 September on both Channel 8 and their YouTube channel. Three live telecast episodes were streamed live on 6 and 13 October (semi-finals), and 3 November (finals). The series concluded on a clip show titled The Journey aired on 8 and 10 November, on Toggle and Channel 8, respectively.
On the finals aired 3 November, Zhang Zetong, a 26-year-old Carousell assistant manager from Malaysia who mentored by Christopher Lee, was announced the winner, while Herman Keh from Team Christopher Lee and Ye Jiayun from Team Chen Hanwei finished second and third, respectively. While the top three contestants were offered a contract and won respective prizes, in an unprecedented move made on 5 November, Mediacorp announced that all 12 finalists were all offered contracts, a first in Star Search history.
Development
The show's revival was first announced by the last season's host Quan Yi Fong and former contestants Christopher Lee and Zoe Tay during the Star Awards 2019 award ceremony held on 14 April 2019 (as part of the award's silver jubilee celebration), after featuring a walk-in showcase performance as one of the performance segments. A teaser clip was first shown on-air on that night, featuring Tay that bragged the show's success, how they changed their lives in their entertainment career and gone on winning awards from Star Awards, while the narrator narrates at the closing of the clip (今天的超级红星, 来自/出自于当年的才华新秀 (lit. The All-time Favorite Artistes that came/first appeared from that year's Star Search); displayed on-screen as 红星出于新秀 (lit. The stars originated from Star Search)); the season will be billed as one of the "biggest returns in television history".
To commemorate the franchise's return, Toggle archived the previous ten seasons of the show's grand finals.
Auditions
The auditions were announced on 14 April 2019 with the open auditions held on May; other auditions not announced on-air were Talent Scout Auditions, replacing overseas auditions, which were not held for the first time since the season five. Contestants can also submit their online applications (for Open auditions) until 10 May 2019. Selected contestants from the scouting or closed auditions may receive Express Pass (shaped as a chatbox with the show's hashtag) and could directly perform the talent round without having to queue. Known judges appeared in the auditions include Irene Ang, and former Star Search winners Qi Yuwu and Zoe Tay.
For the first time, augmented reality and virtual reality were used onto green screen during the acting segment in the auditions. The augmented reality version were also heavily used during the grand finals, notably the title card before and after commercial cuts, as well as the NOOOICE! guest performance.
Marketing
Jean Yip Group was the only sponsor to return from the past season. New sponsors include Bee Cheng Hiang, Bonia, KFC, Mitsubishi Electric, Simmons and Win2 Crackers, who previously sponsored another reality competition SPOP Sing! last year, as well as Samsung Galaxy, Senka, PD Door, Poh Heng jewelry, official car Audi and travel agency website Trip.com.
Top 24 Meet and Greet
A meet-and-greet session was held on 21 July 2019 at Funan's The Base, with special guests and former contestants Zoe Tay, Vivian Lai, Yao Wenlong and Brandon Wong. A second session was held on both locations at Gardens by the Bay and Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange on 10 August 2019. A third meet-and-greet session, which also officiated the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 in Singapore, was held on Plaza Singapura on 17 August 2019. A fourth meet-and-greet session was held at Bugis+ on 15 September 2019.
Another meet-and-greet session featuring the top 12 finalists and former contestants will be held 19 October at Wisma Atria.
Screen Debut short videos
A 24 one-minute video series titled Screen Debut, each featuring a contestant pairing with guidance trained by former Star Search contestants, were uploaded on Toggle and aired as commercials starting on 30 August 2019. Each video featured different approaches and stories, and how the finalists made their debut on its first role and showcasing their talents.