SPOP Sing! (season 1)
SPOP Sing! is a Chinese singing reality competition broadcast by MediaCorp Channel 8. Season 1 premiered on 9 August after the broadcast of National Day Parade and ended on the live finale on 4 November at Padang.
During the live finals, 18-year-old Singapore Polytechnic student Jarrell Huang was announced the winner of SPOP Sing!, and 21-year-old LASALLE College of the Arts student Marcus Tay was declared as a runner-up.
Development
The show was first revealed to the public on 22 April 2018 during the broadcast of Star Awards 2018 with a teaser clip uploaded to Toggle, aimed to promote the Chinese culture, the music genre of mandopop and xinyao, and paying tribute to local singing talents of Singapore. This is also the first S-Pop themed competition in more than a decade, since SPOP Hurray! in 2008. The grand prize for winning SPOP Sing! is a cash prize of S$30,000, and the winner's own debut single, titled "逆风飞翔" released under a recording deal.The show also revealed former Sing! China finalists Nathan Hartono and Joanna Dong, as well as songwriter Boon Hui Lu, to be appointed as the show's ambassadors, while Lee Teng, Bonnie Loo and YES 933 DJ Gao Meigui are appointed the hosts of the programme.
The show premiered on national TV with the prelude episode "" on National Day 2018 at 9pm on Channel U. Apart from the top 20 contestants, judges and ambassadors, Jim Lim was revealed as the Music Director, and Serene Koong was revealed as the Vocal and Performance Mentor.
Auditions
The auditions were announced on 17 May 2018, along with a list of the 200 shortlisted mandopop/xinyao songs published on the Toggle website, which participants are required to sing one of the 200 songs during the audition. Auditions were held at nine different locations, which were either open to public or held privately. Similar to Campus SuperStar, auditions were open to students studying on a local institution with an age limit between 13 and 25 years old, and in a change to the former, Polytechnic and University students were also eligible to participate as well. Lee Teng did not appear after the Cineleisure open auditions onwards.| Date | Venue | Ambassador |
| 21 May 2018 | ITE College Central | Nathan Hartono |
| 9 June 2018 | Cathay Cineleisure Orchard | Nathan Hartono |
| 16 June 2018 | The Cathay | Joanna Dong |
| Date | Venue | Ambassador |
| 30 May 2018 | Temasek Polytechnic | Joanna Dong |
| 23 June 2018 | Victoria Junior College | Boon Hui Lu |
| 27 June 2018 | Evergreen Secondary School | Joanna Dong |
| 28 June 2018 | Anglican High School | Boon Hui Lu |
| 30 June 2018 | Nanyang Junior College | Boon Hui Lu |
| 7 July 2018 | Pei Hwa Secondary School | Joanna Dong |
The auditions required singers to enter an egg-shaped karaoke booth to perform a song of their choice. Their performance was recorded under video surveillance, which would be reviewed by the panel of judges after the auditions.
Short episodes
Several short videos of audition highlights were uploaded on Toggle starting on 7 June 2018. Another short episode, Fun With SPOP Sing! was broadcast on Mediacorp Channel 8 on 5 June 2018 at 9.50pm, right after the finale of Babies On Board. A Toggle-exclusive six-episode spin-off of the show, All About SPOP, premiered on 27 July, featuring celebrities and composers sharing their knowledge on Mandopop/xinyao music genre.Marketing
The Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning, a committee which promote Mandarin Chinese to Singapore, was the supporting partner of the show. Ambassador Hartono was among the ambassadors of CPCLL since 2017. Other sponsors include Bonia, Huawei, KFC, Mitsubishi Electric, Win2 Crackers and Simmons.Revealing of the Top 20 contestants
On 16 July, the judges have confirmed and the Top 20 contestants who would advance to the live shows were announced. The identities of the top 20 were revealed to public for the first time in a meet-and-greet session on 21 July at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. The broadcast is streamed live on Channel 8's Facebook page.SHINE Festival
The Top 20 contestants appeared at Shine Festival at OCBC Square on 4 August, where they sang "无底洞", "幸福不难", "王妃" and "不为谁而作的歌" in groups.Non-competition episodes
Three non-competition episodes were aired during the season. A half-hour episode titled Prelude was broadcast on 9 August on Mediacorp Channel 8 and Channel U after the 2018 National Day Parade, and re-ran on 19 August after the 2018 National Day Rally. It featured interviews from singers, songwriters and producers in Singapore's music industry, as well as the competition's ambassadors, and provides a brief introduction to each of the 20 contestants. The music video for its theme song, "听我唱响", as well as the show's new title card, premiered during this episode.Two more were aired before the semi-final and grand finals on 28 October and 3 November, respectively. A half-hour episode aired before the semi-final, titled The Final 10, featured the ten contestants on their preparation leading up to the semi-finals. A two-hour special aired the day before the grand finals, which features a compilation of performances, was titled Non-Stop Music. Unlike the regular episodes, Non-Stop Music was not available for catch-up.
Pop-up Store Promotion
A SPOP Sing! promotional pop-up store appeared on Bugis Junction on 29 and 30 September 2018 in promotion of the show. Hosts Lee Teng and Gao Meigui appeared on the 29th, and YES 933 DJs Henry Law and Hazelle Teo appeared on the 30th.Semi-finalist Meet-and-Greet
A second pop-up store was held on orchardgateway on 27 October and the semi-finalists appeared in a meet-and-greet session. The semi-finalists also appeared in Ngee Ann Plaza for guest performances in the Mediacorp Subaru Car Challenge.Grand Finals Pre-show Showcase
A non-telecast pre-show music showcase was held at the Padang on 4 November at 4.00pm and featured local musicians Derrick Hoh and Trouze, Kelvin Tan, Desmond Ng, AL4HA, Kelly Poon, StellaVee, The Apex Project, and Elton Lee.Contestants
After rounds of auditions, on 16 July, the judges selected and confirmed the final 20 finalists and revealed on 21 July. The 20 finalists, along with their Instagram handles, are as follows:Key:
| 张稙勤 Ally Teo 13, St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School | 黄彤欣 Celine Wong 20, Ngee Ann Polytechnic | 蔡佳潓 Charlene Chua 16, Temasek Junior College | 胡护腾 Clayton Oh 21, Temasek Polytechnic |
| 谢政哲 Darwin Shia 24, Nanyang Technological University | 傅巧涵 Fu Qiao Han 22, National University of Singapore | 何鎔廷 He Rong Tin 19, Hwa Chong Junior College | 莉玉 Daryl-Ann Jansen 20, Temasek Polytechnic |
| 黄俊融 Jarrell Ng 17, Singapore Polytechnic | 林佳藴 Jessica "Bunny" Lim 23, Singapore Management University | 杨凯玲 Karena Yeo 21, Murdoch University, Kaplan Singapore | 卓康恩 Kenneth Toh 22, National University of Singapore |
| 林延芯 Lim Yan Xin 21, University of Buffalo, Singapore Institute of Management | 郑骏杰 Marcus Tay 21, LASALLE College of the Arts | 林崇庆 Pheron Lim 25, Management Development Institute of Singapore | 傅伟健 Poh Wei Jian 24, University of London, Singapore Institute of Management |
| 王柏淳 Raymond Wang 18, Serangoon Junior College | 黄晚清 Renee Wang 20, Singapore Institute of Technology | 苏荟琦 Shermaine Saw 14, Anglo-Chinese School | 卓振声 Sherman Toh 22, Singapore Institute of Management |
Live Shows
The series consist of seven episodes, with the first episode first aired on Toggle via Toggle-It-First service on 21 September and on Mediacorp Channel 8 on 24 September, and ending on 4 November for both Toggle and Mediacorp Channel 8. Episodes rerun on Sundays at 2.30pm the week after the episode broadcast. The quarter-finals were taped and pre-recorded at the open field near *SCAPE, the semi-final episode was taped inside Capitol Theatre, and the grand finals at the Padang.In a competition format which was previously seen on the fourth season of Campus Superstar, it was mandatory for contestants to perform renditions of songs performed or composed by homegrown talents for the entire competition, hence the theme of the competition.
In contrary to most reality competitions where it involve public voting, the judges and the audience itself will make the decision to eliminate contestants from the competition, while public voting would only be allowed to cast their votes when the competition is left with the final two contestants to decide on the winner. This format was previously seen on another Singaporean singing competition, the second season of The Final 1.
Color key:
| Contestant was advanced by judges | |
| Contestant was saved by audience | |
| Contestant was saved by judges | |
| Contestant was eliminated | |
| Contestant was eliminated without facing the audience's save |
Week 1: Quarter Finals 1
- Airdate: 21 September 2018 ; 24 September 2018
For all episodes, Billy Koh and Lee Shih Shiong were the first two judges, while the third judge was rotated in each quarter-final, with singer Joi Chua taking on the first and third quarter-finals, and Jimmy Ye on the second and fourth quarter-finals; both singers joined as judges on the wildcard round.
| Order | Contestant | Song | Popular index | Result |
| 1 | Clayton Oh | "那些你很冒险的梦" | 65 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Charlene Chua | "想着你的感觉" | 87 | Audience's save |
| 3 | Fu Qiao Han | "接受" | 70 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Jarrell Ng | "明知道" | 79 | Judge's choice |
| 5 | Celine Wong | "十万毫升泪水" | 76 | Judge's choice |
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 1.1 | Joanna Dong | "恋之憩" |
Week 2: Quarter Finals 2
- Airdate: 28 September 2018 ; 1 October 2018
| Order | Contestant | Song | Popular index | Result |
| 1 | Marcus Tay | "逆光" | 82 | Judge's choice |
| 2 | Kenneth Toh | "遗憾" | 69 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Lim Yan Xin | "天黑黑" | 68 | Judge's choice |
| 4 | Darwin Shia | "末日之恋" | 66 | Eliminated |
| 5 | He Rong Tin | "爱笑的眼睛" | 84 | Audience's save |
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 2.1 | Boon Hui Lu | "给我一个" |
Week 3: Quarter Finals 3
- Airdate: 5 October 2018 ; 8 October 2018
| Order | Contestant | Song | Popular index | Result |
| 1 | Renee Wang | "我恨我爱你" | 68 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Shermaine Saw | "爱是怀疑" | 72 | Judge's choice |
| 3 | Pheron Lim | "会有那么一天" | 69 | Audience's save |
| 4 | Jessica "Bunny" Lim | "踮起脚尖爱" | 67 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Sherman Toh | "身后" | 89 | Judge's choice |
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 3.1 | Nathan Hartono | "讨厌" |
Week 4: Quarter Finals 4
- Airdate: 12 October 2018 ; 15 October 2018
| Order | Contestant | Song | Popular index | Result |
| 1 | Karena Yeo | "不值得" | 72 | Judge's save |
| 2 | Poh Wei Jian | "柠檬草的味道" | 65 | Audience's save |
| 3 | Raymond Wang | "我感觉不到你" | 81 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Ally Teo | "我要快乐" | 71 | Judge's choice |
| 5 | Daryl-Ann Jansen | "幸福不难" | 84 | Judge's choice |
Week 5: Quarter Finals 5- Wildcard round
- Airdate: 19 October 2018 ; 22 October 2018
| Order | Contestant | Song | Score | Result |
| 1 | Poh Wei Jian | "最近" | 78 | Eliminated |
| 2 | He Rong Tin | "同类" | 86 | Judge's choice |
| 3 | Karena Yeo | "可惜没如果" | 85 | Judge's choice |
| 4 | Pheron Lim | "开始懂了" | 72 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Charlene Chua | "担心" | 73 | Eliminated |
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 5.1 | Bonnie Loo | "听我唱响" |
Week 6: Semi-Final
- Airdate: 25 October 2018 ; 28 October 2018
After each performance, two different set of scores were shown; one after the group's/every two solo performance, and another after all the contestants have performed, with the latter accounted to the overall score. After the first round scores are revealed, each judge then picked one contestant from each group to receive a bonus score for their individual performance as a group. The first round has a 30% weightage towards the overall score, and the second round covered the remaining 70%. Only the scores for the top five contestants were revealed ; contestants with the three highest combined scores will directly advance to the grand finals, while the two remaining contestants will compete for the fourth and final finalist via the "audience's save".
Mediacorp host Quan Yi Fong was officially introduced as the fourth host of SPOP Sing!, and Joi Chua served as the episode's third judge. Before the start of the second round, group performances were made to pay tribute to the late-xinyao singer Dawn Gan, who died on 22 September 2018.
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 6.1 | Billy Koh and Lee Shih Shiong | "毕业以后" |
| 6.2 | Jim Lim, Serene Koong and all 20 SPOP Sing! finalists | "水的话"/"月色同行" |
Week 7: Grand Final
- Airdate: 4 November 2018
Eliminations occur at the end of each round starting from round two, in which one contestant who received the lowest judge's score was eliminated. In round one, the contestant with the highest judge's score was exempt from performing round two. During the fourth and final round, online votes cast from the public decide on which contestant will win SPOP Sing!.
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 7.1 | Liang Wern Fook and Karena Yeo | "麻雀衔竹枝" |
| 7.2 | Joanna Dong | "喜欢你" |
| 7.3 | Joanna Dong and Daryl-Ann Jansen | "城里的月光" |
| 7.4 | Boon Hui Lu and Marcus Tay | "他来听我的演唱会"/"纸飞机" |
| 7.5 | Nathan Hartono | "无底洞" |
| 7.6 | Nathan Hartono and Jarrell Ng | "翅膀" |
| 7.7 | Liang Wern Fook and SPOP Sing! ambassadors | "细水长流" |
| 7.8 | All SPOP Sing! ambassadors and finalists | "听我唱响" |
| 7.9 | Eric Moo and Joanna Dong | "邂逅" |
| 7.10 | Jarrell Ng | "逆风飞翔" |
Elimination chart
Color key:Contestants' appearances on earlier talent shows
- Charlene Chua and Fu Qiao Han both participated in the second season of tvN's K-Pop Star Hunt and were chosen as top 16 contestants in the Singapore leg; both singers were eliminated in the regional finals and did not advance to the final 16.
- Jarrell Ng was a contestant on four shows prior to SPOP Sing!: in 2007, Ng won the singing competition segment on the inaugural season of The Sheng Siong Show. In 2009, he was among a child cast in the 2009 drama Together. In 2011, he participated on the first season of Chinese Million Star, where he finished in ninth place. In 2017, he appeared on the second season of Sound Of My Dream, but failed to receive mentorship from guest mentor Fish Leong.
- Celine Wong was a contestant under team Gary Chaw in the first season of The Voice Jue Zhan Hao Sheng, where she was eliminated during the battle rounds.
Reception