By: Rebecca Liew

Can Singapore’s most well known directors Jack Neo, Eric Khoo and Kelvin Tong agree with 8 Days magazine Editor-in-chief Lau Kuan Wei and MediaCorp’s Vice President of Branding and Promotions Serene Choo on who Singapore’s Most Deserving A-Lister is?

The answer to this question would win 1 of the 4 awards UrbanWire gave out at Zouk to celebrate our e-zine’s 10th birthday.

The award presented on Aug 18, nearly fell into the hands of familiar names like Christopher Lee and Rui En but comfortably went to veteran actor, comedian, host and sometimes interior decorator to home viewers, Mark Lee.

Source: UrbanWire

Categorised in EN, UrbanWire.

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The chickas are here!!! Today we take a look at the nominees for the Hottest Female Personality that I Wanna Date. They’ve each got their own stellar charm, but one thing in common: THEY’RE SMOKIN’ HOT and you wouldn’t mind taking them off their mama’s hands for a while to spend a couple of hours together.

2) Ms. Gentleman

Rui En’s just one of those girls that make menswear look so, so good. Maybe it’s her slim figure, or those pretty eyes, or that smile that makes the boys imagine her in nothing but one of their shirts.

Source: MCYA

Categorised in EN, UrbanWire.

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By: Noel Teo

Revolving around the martial arts scene, we are pulled into the struggles and battles for the ownership of the Yuan clan and its heirloom, the “Jade Dragon”.

The Yuan martial arts association, under the direction of Master Yuan Zhen Fei (Zheng Ge Ping), is facing many trials from its own clan. Conspiring an uprising, his ambitious disciples, Duan Tian He (Zhang Wen Xiang) and Ou Jian Feng (Andie Chen) puts the future of the Yuan clan in danger.

Expelled for creating discord within the clan, an enraged Jian Feng decides to plant his sister, Ou Ke Lu (Rui En) as a spy to gather information from the clan. Seeing through her brother’s motives, Ke Lu decides to oppose him instead, for the sake of good.

Heirless after his son, Yuan Chen Xi, (Elvin Ng) died in an accident, Zhen Fei worries about the successorship of the Yuan clan until he meets Song Ya Zai (also played by Elvin Ng), who is a splitting image of his deceased son. A worker at a fishery, Ya Zai has grown up adopting a peaceful perspective in life, preferring not to partake in these fights for fame and glory. With the future of a renowned martial arts clan falling on his shoulders, what decisions will Ya Zai make and how will it affect the martial arts world?

Produced by Yeo Saik Pin and written by Koh Teng Liang, Code of Honour is a 30-episode drama serial from Mediacorp Channel 8. The show, themed around Chinese Wushu, will feature more than 100 fighting scenes to pump up the adrenaline in viewers.

Chinese Wushu is no easy feat, requiring years of training to perfect the traditional art. For the actors and actresses, however, it meant learning it fast and executing it perfectly for the camera.

To Rui En, who had participated in many action dramas, it came as a shock when she discovered that she knew nothing about Chinese Wushu. “We only had 3 or 4 trainings before filming and learned most of the moves on location,” she revealed.

Elvin had to play as the big brother who knew his place as the next successor, as well as the younger brother who grew up away from the conflicts. The differences between the two characters and their fighting styles came as a challenge for him.

“The older brother practices Chinese Wushu, which is gentler in style, while the younger brother practices Thai boxing, which is more extreme,” Elvin explained.

Choreography isn’t all that the actors and actresses needed to learn. Meticulous details come to play in filming for the screens as well. “There is a big difference between real Wushu and Wushu on film,” Andie Chen commented.

“It’s not only about doing it correctly, you must get the right angle and exert the right amount of strength as well,” he explained.

A breath of fresh air from dramas of late, Code of Honour is a must-watch with its breath-taking locations and well-crafted fighting scenes. This is a show not be missed, especially for fans of action and period dramas.

Code of Honour 正义武馆 debuts 5 December 2011 7pm on Channel 8.

Source: UrbanWire

Categorised in Code of Honour 正义武馆, EN, UrbanWire.

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By: Yeong Kar Yan

For the first time in her acting career, Rui En sheds her icy cool image and takes on all things girly – from manicures to frilly pink dresses and skirts – for her new role as Zhang Ya Le in A Tale of 2 Cities.

You’d think this is a good break from her previous acting roles such as tough cop in Unriddle but the spunky actress claimed otherwise during the drama press conference.

Dressed in her usual black and white attire, paired with spiky bracelets and gladiators, the Nanyang Technological University business graduate exclaimed, “Before I was filming this drama, I was doing Unriddle and it was so strenuous! But during [A Tale of 2 Cities], I told [my executive producer], Paul, that I rather go back to the forest to find dead bodies, get injured fighting than do this because this girly role is really very tough to act.”

Taking care of my looks is so tiring! I do a lot of things for the first time like gel manicures so this experience really is an eye-opener for me”, she said.

Rui En plays ditzy character, Zhang Yao Le, who leads the life of a princess until she fritters all her inheritance away. When her family bridal business ends up in the red, she turns to her aunt, Jinfeng, who handles “Blissful Moments” in Singapore, another bridal business that her late mum invested in. Ya Le’s well-meaning aunt refuses to buy over her shares in the business and forces her to work in “Blissful Moments”. Will sparks fly between her and Jinfeng’s adopted son / in-house photographer, Lin Wentao?

One of 4 girls in A Tale of 2 Cities, Rui En’s 360 degree transformation is bound to tickle funny bones this coming Valentine’s Day alongside Joanne Peh (Pan Le Yao) and newcomers, Kate Pang (Lin Le) and Julie Tan (Pan Le Xuan), in their journey to find true love.

Asked if she’s more open to watching romantic comedies now, Rui En laughed out loud and said, “I’m more open lah. I mean I do believe as an actress, I can’t only watch the things I want to watch. I gotta watch stuff that most people like. Even though it’s a bit old school, I feel that Meg Ryan… she’s like the best at romantic comedies so actually, I watch a lot of her.”

A Tale of 2 Cities airs Feb 14, on Channel 8 at 9pm.

Source: UrbanWire

Categorised in A Tale of 2 Cities 乐在双城, EN, UrbanWire.

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After disappearing from local TV screens for half a year, MediaCorp artiste Rui En will be counting down to Chinese New Year with her new Channel 8 drama series, Happy Family. The soon-to-be-28 Rui En sheds her career woman image to portray Yang Xiao Dong, who co-owns a shop in Chinatown with her grandfather Dong Jianye (played by Chen Shu Cheng). Jianye, who’s 70 years old, is known to have no family members other than his adopted granddaughter Xiao Dong.

^{(All images courtesy of MediaCorp Channel 8 ) Rui En overturns her career woman image to portray “plain Jane” Xiao Dong.}

Next to Xiao Dong’s business premises is a store that sells ladies’ garments and lingerie, where university graduate Chen Haojie (Shaun Chen) temporarily helps out at after being retrenched during the economic recession. Although Haojie is already attached to a girl he’s known even before he completed his tertiary education, Xiao Dong admires him with a teenager’s pure innocent heart.

^{Shaun Chen plays Haojie, a retrenched university graduate temporarily helping his uncle sell lingerie.}

One day, a young Japanese man Noguchi Nariyasu (Remus Kam) drops by Xiao Dong’s shop, and explains that his father Dong Jinxing (Chen Tianwen) is Jianye’s son. Jianye chases him away immediately, while Xiao Dong keeps her confusion and suspicions within her. On his second visit, Nariyasu reveals that Jianye actually has 2 sons, Jinxing and Muxing (Darren Lim), as well as a daughter named Shuixing (Ann Kok).

In this family-focused drama series, it wasn’t just Rui En who had a makeover for the show, but MediaCorp actress Cynthia Koh also had to get a perm with huge curls and put on a fat suit under the harsh sun and humid weather for her role as Muxing’s wife, Mei-e.

^{Cynthia Koh also changes her appearance drastically for her role Mei-e in Happy Family.}

The plot develops when Jianye confides in Xiao Dong and Nariyasu in hospital that he wants to see his family again and take a family portrait. The 2 main characters embark on a journey together to look for Jianye’s children and fulfill the old man’s wish.

Happy Family premieres next Tuesday and airs every Monday to Friday at 9pm on MediaCorp Channel 8.

 
Source: The UrbanWire

Categorised in UrbanWire.

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The Nike + Human Race 10k is returning to Singapore again this year, following the success of last year’s multi-city event. This time, termed “the Day the World Runs”, it’ll take place on Oct 24. Singapore is the only city in South East Asia to be hosting the race, among 24 other cities around the world.

The race will kick off at 7am at the F1 Pit Building and bring runners along a scenic route where they will pass by the Kampong Glam mosque, Nicoll Highway, National Stadium and the newly renovated Kallang Leisure Park.

As part of the event, a Guys Vs Girls challenge will be held to raise funds for charities. Mediacorp Artiste Tay Ping Hui will be showing his support for the guys, while Hype Records’ artiste Rui En will lead the girls to clock the most distance and garner funds for their respective charities.

Source: UrbanWire

Categorised in Nike Human Race, UrbanWire.

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The Mighty Girl

Since we last spoke to her in 2003, Rui En seems to have become a much happier person, despite having to don a bridal gown and getting drenched by the rain.

UrbanWire caught up with the rising local star at the Singapore Zoological Gardens during filming for upcoming Channel 8 drama You Are The One, and found that Rui En appears to have transformed from a young girl full of passion and angst, to a mature young woman focused on her career.

Growing Up

Don’t worry fans, Rui En is not getting married yet.

Said the 23-year-old, who was resting while waiting for her shoot to commence, “It’s so much better to be able to focus one thing. Because, at that point [2003, being a student and artiste], it was just crazy. When you are able to just focus on your work… you will be able to concentrate.”

The Banking and Finance graduate from Nanyang Technological University is grateful she doesn’t have to balance work with school anymore.

“I have made a transition from being a little kid into a working woman. Since I graduated, it’s [been] a big change, from [being] a student to having so many possibilities and options,” Rui En recounts. “Life is just different when you have obligations! I have [become] a little bit more mature since the past.” Obligations indeed, as Rui En is bound by a 10-year contract with HYPE Records.

What’s Rui En Been Up To?

Bursting onto the media scene in 2001 as the “running” girl in the Singtel Pod ad, Rui En has since taken on numerous roles; from acting as independent outspoken deejay in Chemistry, releasing her debut Mandarin album Rui En ver.01 in 2002, to hosting the newest season of comeback variety prank show Gotcha! on Channel 5.

Having tried her hand at different professions, Rui En’s choice of the one she enjoys most is: “Singing!” the zesty star says without hesitation. But she also welcomes change. “Sometimes it’s good to try something new, like hosting on Gotcha! I’ve never hosted before, but singing is still definitely what I want to do.”

But with no news about the release of a possible 2nd album anytime soon, questions from eager fans have been sprouting on Rui Bu Ke Dang, Rui En’s online fan community.

“It’s not done, not done yet,” said an apologetic Rui En. “I keep having to telling my fans, ‘Yeah we’re working it’, but we’re definitely going to do it. I think my fans must be so annoyed with me, but I know they have been waiting for a long time and I hope all these TV shows will at least help to make them happy for this period of time,” giggled Rui En.

Rui En in “You Are The One”

The Girl and Her Roles

Depending on whether you’ve turn to Channel 5 or 8, you’ll catch her as wife of popular and dishy Bollywood actor, Jas Arora’s character in Achar! 2 or My Mighty In-Laws, which ends its run on Dec 14, as independent and over-confident Yingying.

Does Rui En feel the heat from the comparisons with Steph Song who originally played the role of Jas’s onscreen wife in the first season?

“Oh gosh, a lot. People are just going to compare us no matter what, like they’re going to say, ‘Yeah she this, she’s that’. I wanted to approach it like a new role… I didn’t want these expectations [to] get to me. The lucky thing is I didn’t watch much of Achar! the first season, so when the producers offered the role and asked me whether I wanted to take the role as it is from the last season, I said no because I just wanted to do it fresh,” said an adamant Rui En.

Rui En with co-star Vincent Ng in My Mighty In-laws

“I wouldn’t want to do a ’muo fang’ [impersonation] of Steph Song and I wouldn’t want to be influenced in that way. As for comments and comparisons, I think as artistes we are compared all the time.”

However, Rui En did express some concerns when she was approached with the offer. “I was a bit hesitant, not for these reasons [filling Song’s shoes], [but] because I was afraid it might not be suitable in the sense that the role was a lot more mature than all the other roles I ever played. I was a little worried that I might not be able to carry it off, but I thought it would be a good challenge to play someone who is 10 years older than me.”

Gaining Recognition

Despite not winning the Best Newcomer Award during this year’s Star Awards, UrbanWire found out from Rui En that she was not overly confident of her chances of going beyond her Best Newcomer Award nomination in this year’s Star Awards. “…all the other nominees have had lot more exposure than me this year. It’s only right now that both my shows are out, before this it was quite quiet. Awards to me are not a big deal; it’s not crucial to my career. I don’t feel that they are very crucial and important. But of course, it’s satisfying to know that you have had recognition for your efforts.”

Whether or not she won the award, Rui En still remains an idol to her fans. Even Singapore Idol runner-up Sylvester Sim declared Rui En as his idol in an interview on Channel NewsAsia’s Primetime Morning.

“That’s really nice of [Sylvester]! I haven’t met him actually, I will thank him, and he’s very sweet. Ahh, now I’m very scared of his fans!” joked Rui En, who had ruffled a few feathers in Taiwan with fans of Jay Chou, who had penned a song in her album and featured her in a few of his videos. “I’m going to get my car bullet-proofed!”

Catch Rui En on Achar! every Thursday night, 8.30pm on Channel 5.

Source: Urbanwire

Categorised in Achar, My Mighty In-laws 野蛮亲家, UrbanWire, You Are The One 1/2缘分.

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A new singer has emerged from the sunny shores of Singapore, and her label HYPE Records has wasted no time dubbing her with the tagline of ‘Hai Pa Ping Fan De Nu Sheng’ (the girl who fears being ordinary).

“I’m a bit embarrassed by that, it sounds arrogant,” says Rui En laughing, “I hope to express to people who listen to my songs, that I have ideas and viewpoints of my own and that they can understand them you know, everyone wants to be special and be their own individual,” says the 22-year-old.

Just what distinguishes the 1.69m tall Aquarian, who dropped her surname Lu and picked up a special ‘S’ sign for branding sake?

Is it the fact that 1 of the hottest names in Chinese pop, Jay Chou, writes songs for this newcomer? Or the fact that she shops largely on the Internet in a conscious effort to own things not easily found in local stores?

Or maybe her poor grasp of Mandarin, which resulted in a funny incident in Taiwan last month when she was there for album promotions. She kept refusing to order food because the menu were not written in the simplified Chinese script taught in Singapore schools.

Besides how many Mandarin pop singers do you know are avid fans of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth and dig books like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy?

These less than hip reading materials are what occupy her time apart from her shopping, surfing the Internet, sleeping and watching TV- if she manages to find any time at all.

“I guess in terms of lifestyle [I have] changed dramatically, I don’t have time and have no social life, it’s zero,” laments Rui En.

Call back

Her rise to fame though, was pretty run-of-the-mill. Like a plethora of local models-turned-singers like Shirley Yee, Fann Wong and Celest Chong, Rui En was picked from obscurity to star in the memorable Singtel ‘Hi!Card’ commercial in 2001. In it, she ran like the wind to top up her Hi!Card just to receive a call from a guy she’d given her number to the previous night.

From that promising debut, she landed commercials for MPH’s online bookstore and did some photo shoots for magazines. She got her first celeb break when she acted in a MediaCorp Channel 8 drama serial called No Problem opposite Chen Han Wei, after an audition at HYPE Records.

HYPE Records saw Rui Sn’s X-factor in the Singtel commercial, “[it was] her confidence and energy level that captured our attention, but her unique vocals took us by surprise during our face-to-face audition,” said Yvonne Lim, 27, Promotions Manager at HYPE Records. “These days an artiste has to be multi-talented and Rui Sn fits our requirements to a T.”

School blues

Things are a lot less peachy in her day job as a 3rd Year Banking undergraduate in Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

“No, I don’t like what I’m [studying] now, it was a mistake. If you give me a choice now, I would choose to do Arts in NUS (National University of Singapore), because I like writing, reading and especially English Literature. At that time I did pretty well for my ‘A’ levels, and I thought of going into something more prestigious and I realised after a while that I really didn’t like Math, so now I’m regretting it.”

“The fact is if I quit now I would have wasted 2 whole years, that’s quite kek sim (agonising),” she says. Rui Sn had considered quitting, but decided to be practical instead, heeding friends’ advice to avoid regretting her rashness later. “What to do, pia lor (just grit my teeth and strive harder).”

She’ll be the first to admit that balancing work and school is easier said than done. “I tell you honestly I don’t cope (laughing), I try my best…because once you become an artiste, you think it’s so fun and you go get your pictures taken, you perform in front of a lot of people, and after that you go back home and you realise that you’ve got homework to do.”

After a tough initial period of adjustment, “now it just takes a lot of determination and will power, I basically sit down and force myself to do homework.”

Family ties

Even though the self-confessed tomboy grew up with an independent streak, playing with boys, watching wrestling and riding bicycles, as an only child, her parents were understandably apprehensive about her entry to showbiz. “My dad is very liberal, he gives me a lot of freedom but my mom was a little bit worried about me being cheated by all these terrible men, now she’s pretty okay and [my parents] are pretty proud of me.”

“I have always known I like performing [previously] I was in this Singaporean mindset, where I have to graduate and get a proper job, get married and have 5,000 kids, [then] this chance came along and I realised I really want to perform.”

“In Alfa Music, a very small music company in Taiwan, there are very few artistes, so Jay [Chou] and Landy [Wen] really took care of me…especially Landy…[who was] really cool, and I hung out with her. Jay was really nice [too], he helped me a lot and gave me a lot of [criticism and praise]. It’s like having a big brother and sister, it’s really cool for me, because I’m an only child”

The long haul

“In Alfa Music, a very small music company in Taiwan, there are very few artistes, so Jay [Chou] and Landy [Wen] really took care of me…especially Landy…[who was] really cool, and I hung out with her. Jay was really nice [too], he helped me a lot and gave me a lot of [criticism and praise]. It’s like having a big brother and sister, it’s really cool for me, because I’m an only child”

The long haul

She doesn’t have to have the mind of a banker to know it’s a competitive market out there. “It’s really tough, but I think [the path I’m taking] is worth it, I can’t see myself doing anything else at all. I think I would die of boredom.”

Heavy efforts were certainly invested in Rui Sn’s debut album, RuiSn vol.01 album which was released in January here. Singer/songwriter Jay Chou, famed lyrist Fang Wen Shan and composer Lin Mai Ke were roped in to contribute to her album too. She has gone to Hong Kong last December for a brief appearance and toured Taiwan after that, with Landy and Jay giving her pointers along the way.

Her promotional activities include attending countdown shows, appearing on TV programs and conducting radio interviews throughout Taiwan. Though she has yet to achieve success similar to Kit Chan and Stefanie Sun, she is slowly gaining popularity judging from the fans that queue up as early as 6am to attend her autograph sessions. It’s no wonder she’s bound by a 10-year contract with HYPE Records.

“I trust Hype [Records] a lot they explained to me their initial capital outlay is a lot and it takes that long to establish yourself and make sure you are making money for the company I figured it benefits us both ways because I’m really serious about my career. I really want to have a career in showbiz and if they really want me for 10 years to push me, they get their money and I get my career advancement. It doesn’t really scare me because I know I’m being serious about being a singer and actress.”

So far, she has completed a MediaCorp TV Channel 5 English comedy/fantasy/drama serial called Chemistry where she stars as someone who is bitter and jaded about love initially. But after going through a whole series of events, her character Rachel realises that she should give love a chance. “All the characters were written for us, so our characters were very much like what we are [in real life]. Rachel is more sharp, mean and more sarcastic then I am, [but] I’m like her in a lot of [other] ways.” The show is slated to air next month.

For now, however, acting has taken a backseat and it’s just album promotions in Singapore, which is her last stop. She will have to concentrate on her studies soon after. A 2nd yet untitled album is underway which will see her composing lyrics for a few songs. There is no official word on the date of release yet.

Her parting advice is simple, “Don’t fake anything and just be yourself, have your own style.”

If she’s as enduring as she is insistent about being anything but ordinary, we’ll be hearing of her for a long time to come…

RuiSn vol.01 album is available in stores.

Source: Urbanwire

Categorised in Chemistry, No Problem 考试家族, Rui ∑n vol. 01, UrbanWire.

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