Actress Aileen Tan reveals she joined Star Search 1988 after being told 'they only focused on looks that year'

With Star Search 2024 well underway now , who can better relate to the Top 20 contestants than former Star Search alums Aileen Tan, 58, Desmond Tan, 38, and Zhang Zetong, 31. The trio appeared in the latest episode of #JustSwipeLah, where they spoke to host Jernelle Oh about their time on the talent search. Aileen placed second in the inaugural Star Search in 1988.

Desmond was a finalist in Star Search 2007, while Zetong was crowned champ in Star Search 2019. Jernelle too, was a finalist in Zetong’s season. The Star Search alums first shared their reasons for participating in the talent search.

Watching an old clip of herself in Star Search 1988, Aileen laughed and said: "I'm old already." She continued: “It wasn’t that I wanted to join, but the person who nominated me saw me working out in a gym. She [was a script supervisor], and she approached me and asked if I wanted to enter.

My Mandarin back then was horrible, so I asked “Are you sure you want me to join?”. She told me they only focused on looks that year,” laughed Aileen. Aileen also added that there was a “S$25 registration fee” for the competition.

“Just like that, I somehow managed to muddle along [in showbusiness] for more than 30 years,” she continued. Desmond, on the other hand, auditioned for Star Search at 21 after completing his National Service. He had a six-month break before starting university, and thought he would give it a shot since he had “nothing to lose”.

Zetong had a full-tim.