Emperor Watch & Jewellery 英皇鐘錶珠寶 Malaysia branch official opening at Pavilion KL (27th November 2018) - special guest : Joey Yung 容祖兒

“Emperor Watch & Jewellery” has expanded its global footprint to South East Asia, branching into Singapore and now, Malaysia.  Renowned figures Datuk Jimmy Choo, local celebrities Awal and Scha, tycoon/entertainment mogul, Albert Yeung (chairman of Emperor conglomerate), his daughter, Cindy Yeung (CEO of “Emperor Jewellery”) and my all time favourite diva, Joey Yung, graced the official opening of its very first boutique at the upscale Pavilion mall. Joey looks super elegant in a black gown with plunging neckline, showcasing the exquisite diamond necklace.  The event also features the Nuo collection by Cindy Yeung. Cindy is not just the CEO but designs jewellery pieces as well.  For those who doesn’t know, Cindy’s spouse is Alfred Cheung Kin-ting (the HK actor/director). 

I am definitely beyond elated when I heard that Joey is one of the VIPs at the grand opening. Initially, I thought EEG will send Carlos Chan or Twins.  Joey took the time to participate in a few radio interviews to promote her latest Mandarin album, after a 6 year lapse.  It was quite a hectic schedule for Joey, who had just concluded her solo musical showcase in Taiwan on Sunday night. The euphoric moment for me is having Joey finally announcing her 20^th Anniversary concert schedule for next year !!! Yes, folks, it’s  August 2019.  Mark your calendar, I know I certainly will.  August means sweltering hot summer heat and typhoon risks in HK but anything for Joey ! I’ve been anxiously waiting and monitoring various social medias for the announcement….at first, fans speculated that it will be Feb, then June (to coincide with her birthday) and just last month, rumours swirled that it will be August coz Sammi’s concert run is in July.  However, Joey did not officially confirm the schedule until this trip. Joey will be releasing another Cantonese album prior to the concert. Hopefully, she will consider promoting her new Canto album in Malaysia when the time comes. She also made a cameo appearance in a CNY movie, with Wong Cho Lam.  

Aside from officiating the Emperor Watch & Jewellery store, Joey also took part in a closed-door meet-the-fans session organized by 988.  988’s gift exchange concept for the get-together is quite misleading/confusing. Instead of having strangers exchanging Xmas gift with each other, wouldn't it be more meaningful to have them present Xmas gifts to Joey and get her latest autographed CD in-return ?   I noticed that most of the rookie deejays in 988 and One FM stations are lacking in Cantonese proficiency. I may not like most of the obnoxious deejays at MyFM but at least, most of them are fluent in Cantonese. What a shame…at one time, our radio deejays used to pride themselves in having good command of both Cantonese and Mandarin. 

TVB Awards 2018 meet and greet (万千星辉颁奖典礼-2018马来西亚造势&拉票活动)-黎诺懿、Benjamin袁伟豪、Shaun谭俊彦、Nancy胡定欣、Mandy黄智雯、Selena李施嬅、Alice陈炜- Sunway Velocity (October 28, 2018)

The writing is on the wall since the past few months. Bleeding from a significant dip in their net profit, TVB resorted to retrenchment drive (the casualties are mostly from their international division), shutting down TVB8 channel and slashing the annual TVB award ceremonies in this region. TVB also embarked on their e-commerce venture via their “Big Big Channel” app, to boost their revenue. Some diehard supporters kept their fingers crossed and prayed hard that the inevitable does not happen. The wishful thinking was finally put to rest when TVB officially announced that Malaysian and Singaporean could still vote on-line for 3 categories (Malaysia and Singapore’s Fave Drama, Fave TV Actor and Actress in a Leading Role)….. BUT the award presentation will be in HK. As a consolation, TVB will continue the practice of having the artistes promote the event and fish for votes in Singapore and Malaysia.

I believe many may not be aware that TVB pulled the very same stunt in 2010. The local TVB award thingy actually started in year 2004 and was known as “Astro Wah Loi Toi Drama awards”. 

TVB then suddenly switched the venue from Malaysia to HK in 2010. It was resurrected in 2011 and the name was altered to “My AOD (Astro On Demand) Favourites Awards”.  TVB took over from Astro in 2013 and replaced it with “TVB Star Awards Malaysia”, introducing the on-line voting concept. I have had the good fortune of attending all the 12 shows here (none in 2009-2010).   You can run through my blog to read about my coverage over the years.  Personally, I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. It’s no secret that TVB’s popularity had plunged  in recent years and let’s not kid ourselves, it’s just a matter of time before TVB comes to this painful decision.  Still, despite my constant ramblings, deep down, I look forward to participating in the voting frenzy and be part of the studio audience. Would TVB reverse its decision later on ? Not likely, unless their revenue returns to the good old days, which is a pretty tall order for now. 

This time around, TVB roped-in seven celebs for the meet & greet sessions in Ipoh & KL.  Shaun is TVB’s new blue-eyed  boy and filming one drama after another. His acting is decent but the hot-headed emperor role (Succession War drama) is an overkill for me. He got too carried away with the growling and menacing expression.  I don’t think he will walk away with the TV King award this year…too soon..afterall, he is still a rookie in TVB.  I honestly can’t think of any outstanding characters this year. If it’s me, my choice would be Kenneth Ma or Selena Lee. TVB might just hand the award to Benjamin but frankly, his acting skills is still a hit and miss. Sometimes good, sometimes mediocre.   Selena actually acted well in “Succession War” but the drama had appalling ratings in HK. Her chances are not high but I still hope TVB accords Selena with some form of recognition. Or TVB might just lose Selena soon.  Her  contract is almost up, if I’m not wrong.

 I don’t mind Alice Chan winning the TV female leading role, too. She has the looks and is a very capable actress.  Rumours abounded that Mandy is a strong contender for the TV queen honour this year….again, Mandy’s acting is solid but her drama characters are hardly a breakthrough.  Sadly, I guess this year’s winners would have to rely on luck, rather than acting abilities. 

Alice was visibly delighted to be in Malaysia, especially seeing a bunch of placards-bearing fans turning up to support her in KL.  This is the first time she took part in TVB's voting campaign here.  Same goes for Shaun.  Shaun was in the latest "Wellness On The Go - Season 5" but had not appeared in any public functions organized by TVB before.  Benjamin performed his usual Lee Hom song-爱的就是你.  It was a real eye-opener when Mandy gave a snazzy performance of Joey Yung's 另眼相看.  To everyone's astonishment, Mandy can sing and dance very well. Selena sang Beyond's classic 喜歡你, in a private function before this and took selfie with fans.  Selena mentioned that she was just in KL two months ago, for "All Things Girls" program and professed her love for durians. She also shared her experience shooting "Succession War" with Shaun. Shaun almost accidentally strangled  Selena, which reminded her of BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) choke technique. Nancy seems pretty at ease.  Somehow, I sensed that she is more relax about the whole award thingy this year.  Nancy sang in Ipoh but not in KL.  Nevertheless, Nancy still urged fans to vote despite it not being held in Malaysia anymore and shared that selected lucky voters might get a chance to attend the live show in HK.  Alice chimed in and said the voting process is akin to taking medicine every 4 hours because fans can vote five times a day. Benjamin and Mandy acted a scene from "Threesome".  Coincidently, Benjamin's gf, Bowie is also in Malaysia to shoot a segment of "Sidewalk Scientist".  You can always count on Lai Lok Yee to entertain the crowd with his funny banters and always give the best fan service, without fail.