Jin Yin Ji Is The Big Winner At Star Awards 2021 With The Evergreen Artiste And Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste Awards

Jin Yinji’s on a roll. Back in 2018, she won her very first award after more than three decades in showbiz. And it was a Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award too, arguably the most competitive Star Awards category.

Now, three years on, the 74-year-old more than topped her previous achievement, with two shiny new awards to take home — her second Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award, as well as her first Evergreen Artiste award.

One might even consider her the biggest winner of the night, with two individual awards to call her own. (Yes, both Dennis Chew and Marcus Chin also ascended the stage twice, but they did have to share the Best Radio Programme Award award among themselves and fellow 972 DJs Chen Biyu and Mark Lee.)

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“How could something like this possibly happen to me? Winning two awards [in one night]. It’s really beyond my wildest imaginations. I’m really too grateful to everyone,” she shares in a phone call with 8days.sg after her Top 10 win.

“I didn't even think about getting the [Top 10] award, ‘cos there are 30 nominees this year after all. To me, just being able to come to the airport, all dressed up, to attend the ceremony and see the young artistes win was good enough,” she adds.

Earlier, in a group Zoom interview (‘cos COVID-19, remember?) after her Evergreen Artiste award win, she’d also revealed that she was trembling so much” she barely knew what she was saying during her speech.

I'm already bad with words, and even now, I don't really know what to say, I'm just really happy.” she gushed.

And Yinji’s elation at having won clearly shone through on stage, as she ran through a list of people to thank during her two speeches, from the adorable (her grandsons, her helpers, all the cameramen and staff members she’s worked with, and even the bus drivers), to the serious (her colleagues and bosses at Mediacorp).

“I'm happy to have received such an affirmation from the audience and the bosses at this age,” she later shared in her first post-win interview.

She then continued: ”The most important thing [for me] is to show my [two] grandsons the award, [and tell them] that Grandma's won. Before I left the house, my eldest grandson even congratulated me in advance, and told me that I must definitely win an award. I actually kept my previous award in [the study room], 'cos I didn't dare to take it out. And now, I can [finally] let them see the award.”

But now that she has three awards, Yinji’s looking forward to finding a new place to display all three of them together, instead of keeping them in the study room.

“I definitely have to put them [all] on display this time, 'cos I have to repay everyone for their love, and prove that I can indeed do it! I have to be even more motivated, and act even better from now on,” she said.

Photos: Mediacorp/Photo Unit

Catch up on the Star Awards 2021 on meWATCH here.