Choosing Yahoo! Singapore 9 finalists an ‘arduous’ task: judges

Six long hours.

That’s how long it took for the judges of Yahoo!’s Singapore 9 -- a campaign to celebrate young, undiscovered local talent – to whittle down the initial list of 65 nominees to the final nine.

Held at the Yahoo! Singapore office at Anson Road on Wednesday, the unexpectedly lengthy session was supposed to be done in just three hours but stretched out to double the allocated time due to the strength and quality of the nominees.

It prompted one of the three judges, entrepreneur Elim Chew, to jokingly describe the process as “painful”.

“All the nominees are reaching out and helping different groups of people with the things they do. So it is very painful for me to have to cut the list down,” the founder and owner of popular street-wear fashion chain 77th Street said.

Yet,  arduous a task as it was, the judges did eventually decide on the final nine young men and women whom they felt are most deserving of the Singapore 9 accolade, now in its second year.

Over 150 submissions from the public were received over the past fortnight, of which 65 made the initial cut: 25 nominees from the Business Category, 21 from Social Entrepreneurs and 19 from Entertainment.

BUSINESS

In the Business category, a trio of enterprising individuals – Michelle Tham, 33, the director of therapy centre Leapfrogs, Grace Wong, 31, the creative director behind stage costume label Awesome Costumes, and Mohan Belani, the 29-year-old co-founder and director of technology outfit e27 – emerged from the list.

Strong contenders such as Elisha Ong, co-founder of popular mobile app Burpple, fashionista Viola Tan of Love, Bonito fame and Jackie Lee, the founder of Hardware Zone, lost out as the judges collectively decided to go for raw, young talent.

Businessman and food and beverage operator Michel Lu, one of the other two judges along with actor Adrian Pang, said he arrived at his final selection after considering a specific set of criteria.

He explained, “In each category, the nominees have to be innovative and be able differentiate themselves from the others. They need to prove whatever they’re doing is scalable and sustainable.”

The ability to stand out in her chosen field is what swayed Lu towards Wong, who founded Awesome with nothing more than $500 in her bank account.

Now, her imaginative designs and intricate creations are worn by many of Singapore’s best and brightest performing talents, in large-scale productions such as the President’s Star Charity and the annual Chingay parades.

“Grace has created her own niche in a craft-driven business, which is something Singapore needs. Her business is also scalable and can be expanded regionally and internationally,” Lu said.

On Belani, Lu noted that it is “particularly interesting that he has created a platform for all technology start-up businesses”, while in Tham, Lu saw a parallel with himself.

“She was an early entrepreneur, quite like myself, and she has persevered and is now looking to take her company regional,” Lu said of the spunky speech therapist whose journey to the top of the business world began when she was just 22.

ENTERTAINMENT

For a country whose people have often been called kiasu, Pang enthused that “it is very encouraging to see so many Singaporeans dare to set out to achieve so much”.

Needless to say, selecting the finalists from the Entertainment category – a field which contained the likes of “The Noose” actors Alaric Tay and Judee Tan -- was something he found “surprisingly difficult”.

“As we were discussing, new criteria kept coming up, so it was difficult and painful,” said the co-founder of theatre company Pangdemonium! Productions.

He described Singapore 9 finalist,  27-year-old writer/director Ray Pang, as having “a very unique visual sense”.

“It is very important that we champion these solo filmmakers who are trying to put Singapore filmmaking on the global map,” he said. “And hopefully, he can give me a job in one of his future feature films,” he joked.

He also lauded the other two nominees – percussionist Riduan Zalani, 26 and creative director/artist/musician Le Messie, 31 – for reaching out to the community with their work.

“One common denominator is that what they are doing in their lives is not just self-serving. Riduan, for example, is nurturing and mentoring other aspiring percussionists,” he noted.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

The final three nominees for the Singapore 9 campaign came from the field of social entrepreneurship: social entrepreneur Zhang Tingjun, 29, radio deejay with a heart Emily Teng, 25 and Pamela Yeo, 24, who gave up a promising legal career for a business selling jewellery made of scrap metal from war remnants in Cambodia.

Calling everyone “a winner”, Chew delivered a personal salute to the three young female nominees in the Social Enterprise category when she said, “They could have been professionals, yet they have put that aside to pursue a social career.”

She added, “We are looking for emerging young people who are able to use this platform as a breakthrough not just for themselves, but also for their chosen industry.”

Asked what qualities she is looking for in her ideal Singapore 9 winners, Chew said, “Commitment, dedication and innovation. And whether there is sustainability and tenacity because what they are doing is not easy.”

PRESENTING YOUR SINGAPORE 9 FINALISTS. VOTE FOR YOUR WINNER IN EACH CATEGORY