Actor Yang Yan is sole S'porean contestant on Starlight Boys
Home-grown actor Yang Yan is the lone Singaporean in upcoming idol survival programme Starlight Boys.
The 22-year-old from local host Dasmond Koh’s entertainment agency NoonTalk Media is among 69 contestants competing to debut as a member of a K-pop group on the reality competition by streamer iQiyi International.
The global show, which is hosted by South Korean actress Lee Sung-kyung, features contestants from around the world including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Canada and the United States.
They will be mentored by famed K-pop artistes, including boy band BigBang’s vocalist Daesung, balladeer Lee Seung-gi, dance choreographer Choi Young-jun, singer Kwon Eun-bi, girl group Stayc’s member Yoon, boy band Pentagon’s Hui, boy band The Boyz’ Eric and rapper Hanhae.
Starlight Boys is slated to premiere on iQiyi International (iq.com) in October, though an exact premiere date has yet to be announced.
Yang, who stands at 1.77m, counts playing both the guitar and piano under his list of talents. The Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate was discovered by Koh about four years ago and he signed with NoonTalk Media as a full-time artiste after completing his national service in 2023.
He made his television debut in the Mediacorp series Stranger In The Dark (2023), and was nominated for Best Rising Star for his performance as a science geek in it at the Star Awards in 2024. He lost to his Stranger In The Dark co-star Yunis To.
In an interview with Chinese-language publication Lianhe Zaobao, Koh said Yang has always been interested in singing and dancing, and spends time writing songs and learning dance moves.
Koh said: “We hope that he can venture overseas to gain more experience and become a more well-rounded artiste.”
Notable contestants in Starlight Boys’ list include Duan Xingxing, Sun Yinghao and Neil Liu – former contestants of Season 3 of Chinese idol survival programme Youth With You (2021) – as well as Thai actor Pentor.
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