The 5 Search
The 5 Search premiered on MediaCorp Channel 5 on 4 January 2015. It is a Singaporean reality-acting-hosting competition programme that finds the next face of the broadcasting channel, Channel 5. The judges are actress and Dim Sum Dollies member Selena Tan, actor Tay Ping Hui and host Bryan Wong. Class 95FM radio personality Jean Danker was employed as the host of the show.
| The 5 Search | |
|---|---|
| Hosted by | Jean Danker |
| Judges | Selena Tan Tay Ping Hui Bryan Wong Najip Ali (week 1) Irene Ang (week 2) Michelle Chong (week 3) Georgina Chang (week 4 & 8) Kumar (week 4) Chua En Lai (week 5) Terence Cao (week 6) Sebastian Tan (week 7) Eric Khoo (week 8) |
| Winner | Kayly Loh |
| Runner-up | Shrey Bhargava and Aiken Chia |
| Release | |
| Original network | MediaCorp Channel 5 |
| Original release | 4 January – 1 March 2015 |
Each week, there would be two segments of competition – one with regards to acting, and another for hosting – which all comes with a particular theme. The contestants on the show are required to outperform their fellow competitors in these segments to survive elimination for the week. They are also mentored by local industry veterans and get the opportunity to act or host alongside them.
On 1 March 2015, Kayly Loh was announced the winner of The 5 Search, with Shrey Bhargava and Aiken Chia as the runners-up. She received a two-year artiste management contract from MediaCorp, and a cash prize of $30,000.
Top 15 finalists
| Contestant | Age at time of show | Occupation | Contestant | Age at time of show | Occupation | |
| Kayly Loh | 26 | Entrepreneur | Leroy Yap | 22 | Freelance trainer | |
| Shrey Bhargava | 19 | National serviceman | Laanya Asogan | 18 | Student | |
| Aiken Chia | 25 | Student | Jeevan Kularetnam | 22 | Fitness trainer | |
| Caryn Cheng | 26 | Freelance performer | Ron Teh | 23 | Freelance model | |
| Michelle Wong | 23 | Service centre manager | Lisa Marie White | 21 | Freelance model | |
| Esther Goh | 27 | Freelance actress | Matthew Liu | 25 | Student | |
| Fadhli Abdullah | 24 | Freelance actor | Shehnaz Salim | 21 | Entrepreneur | |
| Gina Lin | 33 | Marketing executive | ||||
Finals
Color key:
| Contestant won the challenge | |
| Contestant was placed in the top 2/3 of the challenge | |
| Contestant was given immunity | |
| Contestant was safe | |
| Contestant was placed in the bottom group | |
| Contestant was eliminated |
Week 1 – Top 15
- Guest judge: Najip Ali
The show kicked off with a hosting challenge, which the contestants were tasked to pitch a product that was picked out by random to the judges within one minute. The winner of this challenge received immunity and was immediately saved from elimination for the week. For the acting challenge, the contestants were split into three groups of five, and were tasked to work on a scene from the local situation comedy Spouse for House. The resident judges also acted as the mentors for the contestants.
| Contestant | Order | Hosting challenge | Order | Acting challenge | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitching product (unique selling point) | Original character | Mentor | ||||
| Caryn Cheng | 1 | Cardboard box (converts into a toddler's mobile playpen) | 1 | Jessica | Bryan Wong | Safe |
| Fadhli Abdullah | 2 | Box (holds unlimited amount of things) | 1 | Kok Wee | Bryan Wong | Safe |
| Shrey Bhargava | 3 | Remote massager (heals pain with remote sticker) | 2 | John | Selena Tan | Safe |
| Kayly Loh | 4 | Hat (promotes hair growth) | 2 | Soo Leng | Selena Tan | Safe |
| Matthew Liu | 5 | Chopsticks (acts as mobile phone charger) | 2 | Kok Wee | Selena Tan | Eliminated |
| Esther Goh | 6 | Duct tape (shapes eyebrows) | 3 | Soo Leng | Tay Ping Hui | Bottom 6 |
| Aiken Chia | 7 | Flashlight (ability to see through walls) | 3 | John | Tay Ping Hui | Immuned |
| Michelle Wong | 8 | Shaver (instant tanning device) | 2 | Jessica | Selena Tan | Safe |
| Laanya Asogan | 9 | Mineral water (changes your voice tone) | 1 | Vanessa | Bryan Wong | Safe |
| Jeevan Kularetnam | 10 | Rolling pin (relieves muscle pain) | 3 | Vanessa | Tay Ping Hui | Bottom 6 |
| Lisa Marie White | 11 | Gumballs (grants special powers) | 2 | Vanessa | Selena Tan | Eliminated |
| Leroy Yap | 12 | Rope (lightens objects) | 1 | John | Bryan Wong | Safe |
| Gina Lin | 13 | Earrings (Wi-Fi router) | 1 | Soo Leng | Bryan Wong | Safe |
| Ron Teh | 14 | X-ray glasses (triggers ability to read minds) | 3 | Kok Wee | Tay Ping Hui | Bottom 6 |
| Shehnaz Salim | 15 | Plant (spouts motivational quotes) | 3 | Jessica | Tay Ping Hui | Eliminated |
Week 2 – Top 12
- Guest judge: Irene Ang
This week, the hosting challenge of the show required the contestants to host under circumstances that were out of their comfort zones. They were tasked to deliver an opening link, conduct an interview with an interviewee, perform an ad-lib, as well as a closing link. They were judged based on their poise and professionalism despite the discomfort. The winner of this challenge received immunity and was immediately saved from elimination for the week. For the acting challenge, the contestants paired up with one another to act out a two-minute scene, and they were all given acting roles that were outside of their personal comfort zones.
| Contestant | Order | Hosting challenge | Order | Acting challenge | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Character (description) | ||||
| Kayly Loh | 1 | Causes for Animals Singapore | 5 | Ruth (indignant wife)5 | Safe |
| Jeevan Kularetnam | 2 | Causes for Animals Singapore | 5 | Henry (cheating husband)5 | Eliminated |
| Caryn Cheng | 3 | Causes for Animals Singapore | 3 | Priscilla (snob)3 | Safe |
| Gina Lin | 4 | Causes for Animals Singapore | 2 | Felicia (retrenched sister)2 | Bottom 5 |
| Aiken Chia | 5 | MegaZip Adventure Park | 2 | Richard (rich brother)2 | Safe |
| Ron Teh | 6 | MegaZip Adventure Park | 1 | Weng Cheong (genius cop)1 | Eliminated |
| Michelle Wong | 7 | MegaZip Adventure Park | 1 | Rena (psychotic killer)1 | Safe |
| Leroy Yap | 8 | MegaZip Adventure Park | 6 | Yang (bumbling accomplice)6 | Bottom 5 |
| Shrey Bhargava | 9 | Porta Pumper | 6 | Remesh (accidental murderer)6 | Immuned |
| Esther Goh | 10 | Porta Pumper | 3 | Suzie (Ah Lian)3 | Safe |
| Laanya Asogan | 11 | Porta Pumper | 4 | Rebecca (tortured wife)4 | Eliminated |
| Fadhli Abdullah | 12 | Porta Pumper | 4 | Justin (abusive husband)4 | Safe |
- Two-minute scene titles and plots
- ^1 Ron Teh & Michelle Wong: The Interrogation – An intelligent cop and a psychotic killer pit their wits against each other
- ^2 Aiken Chia & Gina Lin: Unfilial – A retrenched factory supervisor pleads with her well-doing brother for money to support their parents
- ^3 Caryn Cheng & Esther Goh: Frenemies – Two former schoolmates meet and the snob treats the other with disdain
- ^4 Fadhli Abdullah & Laanya Asogan: Love Hurts – An abusive husband punishes his wife for scratching his car
- ^5 Jeevan Kularetnam & Kayly Loh: Broken Vows – A wife confronts her cheating husband about his affair
- ^6 Shrey Bhargava & Leroy Yap: Amateur Killers – Two bumbling friends plan to dispose a body after killing an acquaintance accidentally
Week 3 – Top 9
- Guest judge: Michelle Chong
- Guest mentor: Darren Foong
This week, the show started off with the acting challenge. The contestants were split into three groups of three, and required to come up with a two-minute skit on the spot in the improvisational theatre format. Unlike the previous weeks, the winners of this challenge received an advantage for the following hosting challenge, instead of an immunity. For the hosting challenge, the contestants were required to conduct an interview with one of the following local celebrities – Pierre Png, Aileen Tan, and Judee Tan, who acted as the "difficult guests" on a talk show. The winners of the acting challenge were given the opportunity to chat with their interviewees for 10 minutes, while the rest were given five minutes to get ready at the studio. As all contestants performed well during the acting challenge, the results for this week were solely based on the hosting challenge.
| Contestant | Order | Acting challenge | Order | Hosting challenge | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character | Talk show guest | ||||
| Shrey Bhargava | 1 | Real estate agent1 | 6 | Pierre Png | Bottom 3 |
| Aiken Chia | 1 | Newlywed husband1 | 3 | Aileen Tan | Bottom 3 |
| Kayly Loh | 1 | Newlywed wife1 | 5 | Pierre Png | Safe |
| Caryn Cheng | 2 | Female elderly2 | 1 | Aileen Tan | Safe |
| Esther Goh | 2 | Lost traveller2 | 4 | Pierre Png | Safe |
| Leroy Yap | 2 | Male elderly2 | 7 | Judee Tan | Eliminated |
| Fadhli Abdullah | 3 | Son3 | 9 | Judee Tan | Safe |
| Gina Lin | 3 | Daughter3 | 2 | Aileen Tan | Safe |
| Michelle Wong | 3 | Mother-turned-vampire3 | 8 | Judee Tan | Safe |
- Two-minute improvisational theatre skit plot
- ^1 Shrey is an overeager real estate agent who is trying to sell a haunted house to newlyweds Aiken and Kayly.
- ^2 Esther is a lost traveller who has been invited into the home of an elderly couple played by Leroy and Caryn, and they want to eat her.
- ^3 Fadhli and Gina are mourning the loss of their mother, played by Michelle, when she rises from the dead as a vampire.
Week 4 – Top 8
- Guest judges: Georgina Chang and Kumar
- Guest mentor: Robb Weller
This week, the show commenced with the hosting challenge. The contestants were required to host in pairs on a food show, and were assessed on their adaptability to new elements and last-minute changes in the course of their hosting. The winner of the hosting challenge was given the opportunity to join the hosts of the morning show on 987FM on the following day. For the acting challenge, the contestants were paired up once again and were tasked to act on the set of long-running drama series 118. The winners of the acting challenge were given the chance to watch and meet the casts of the musical Cats.
Bryan Wong did not appear on the judging panel due to work commitments with a travel show and was replaced by MediaCorp Radio's vice-president for English programming Georgina Chang.
| Contestant | Order | Hosting challenge | Order | Acting challenge | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Character (title) | ||||
| Aiken Chia | 1 | Rasa Istimewa Waterfront Restaurant | 1 | Sam (Blind Date) | Safe |
| Kayly Loh | 1 | Rasa Istimewa Waterfront Restaurant | 2 | Alex (You're Fired) | Safe |
| Fadhli Abdullah | 2 | Rasa Istimewa Waterfront Restaurant | 2 | Robert (You're Fired) | Bottom 2 |
| Michelle Wong | 2 | Rasa Istimewa Waterfront Restaurant | 1 | Jo (Blind Date) | Bottom 4 |
| Shrey Bhargava | 3 | Dancing Crab | 4 | Husband (Tough Luck) | Bottom 4 |
| Caryn Cheng | 3 | Dancing Crab | 3 | Maggie (Denial) | Safe |
| Esther Goh | 4 | Dancing Crab | 4 | Wife (Tough Luck) | Safe |
| Gina Lin | 4 | Dancing Crab | 3 | Jenny (Denial) | Eliminated |
Week 5 – Top 7
- Guest judge: Chua En Lai
This week, the show commenced with the acting challenge. The contestants were required to work with the creative and executive producer of comedy television series The Noose Prem Anand to create a "noose-worthy" comedy character. They were required to perform their own research on the possible characters that they would like to play, and later pitch their ideas to Anand who then assisted them in the scripting and developing of their characters The winner of the challenge was given the opportunity to appear in one episode of the upcoming season of The Noose. For the hosting challenge, the contestants were tasked to host an entertainment segment about the Celebrate SG50 event. They were given 24 hours to research about the event, and the celebrities that they were going to hold the backstage interviews with. They were judged based on their prep work, quality of the interview question, interaction with the celebrity interviewees, and ability to convey the sense of excitement and party atmosphere to the television audience.
| Contestant | Order | Acting challenge | Order | Hosting challenge | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character (description) | Celebrity interviewees | ||||
| Caryn Cheng | 1 | Maia Boom Khrong (Thai fashion designer) | 4 | Vernon Cornelius & The Muttons | Safe |
| Aiken Chia | 2 | Goh Ying Jim (multiple pageant winner) | 3 | Rahimah Rahim, Pam Oei & Denise Tan | Safe |
| Michelle Wong | 3 | Hally Yu (Kim So Hyot's "wife") | 6 | Benjamin Kheng, Narelle Kheng & Fauzie Laily | Bottom 3 |
| Kayly Loh | 4 | Marthalia Suharto-No Gudman (billionaire's wife) | 2 | Trick, Tabitha Nauser & John Molina | Safe |
| Esther Goh | 5 | Ai Pang Chan (carpark attendant) | 5 | Desmond Tan, Romeo Tan, Shigga Shay & Ann Hussein | Bottom 3 |
| Shrey Bhargava | 6 | Osayang Been Loving (peace correspondent) | 7 | Alfred Sim, Tay Kewei, Miguel Antonio & Suhaimi Yusof | Safe |
| Fadhli Abdullah | 7 | Si Mee #?@! (founder of National Ah Beng Education Institute) | 1 | Yasminne Cheng, Shane Pow, Julie Tan & Max Surin | Eliminated |
Week 6 – Top 6 (first week)
- Guest judge: Terence Cao
- Guest mentor: Sunny Pang
This week, the show commenced with the acting challenge. The contestants were required to work with MediaCorp actor Terence Cao on an acting sequence, and they were all given the same script and scenes to act. The winner of the challenge was given the opportunity to attend a-week-long of action classes conducted by Sunny Pang to perfect their skills. For the hosting challenge, the contestants were required to work in pairs together with a charity organisation. Each pair had to present a story, and helping their respective charity organisation with their day-to-day operations.
| Contestant | Order | Acting challenge | Order | Hosting challenge | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character | Charity organisation | ||||
| Esther Goh | 1 | Undercover agent | 3 | Singapore Buddhist Lodge | Safe |
| Caryn Cheng | 2 | Undercover agent | 1 | The Food Bank Singapore | Safe |
| Shrey Bhargava | 3 | Undercover agent | 2 | SWAMI Home | Safe |
| Kayly Loh | 4 | Undercover agent | 2 | SWAMI Home | Safe |
| Michelle Wong | 5 | Undercover agent | 3 | Singapore Buddhist Lodge | Bottom 2 |
| Aiken Chia | 6 | Undercover agent | 1 | The Food Bank Singapore | Bottom 2 |
It was revealed that Aiken Chia and Michelle Wong were in the bottom 2. However, the two contestants were then declared safe by Bryan Wong, who stated that there was no elimination for the week.
Week 7 – Top 6 (second week)
- Guest judge: Sebastian Tan
- Guest mentor: Dim Sum Dollies
This week, the show commenced with the hosting challenge. The contestants were required to hold a live interview with various celebrity interviewees on the set of The 5 Show. The winner of the challenge was given the opportunity to host a video segment on The 5 Show. For the acting challenge, the contestants were required to work in pairs, and reinterpret local musical numbers.
| Contestant | Order | Hosting challenge | Order | Acting challenge | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celebrity interviewees | Character (song – musical) | ||||
| Esther Goh | 1 | Alaric Tay & Juliet Tay | 3 | Alice ("One Step at a Time" – A Twist of Fate) | Eliminated |
| Michelle Wong | 2 | Alaric Tay & Juliet Tay | 1 | Kat ("Samsui Women" – The History of Singapore Part 1) | Safe |
| Aiken Chia | 3 | Alaric Tay & Juliet Tay | 3 | Jeremy ("One Step at a Time" – A Twist of Fate) | Bottom 3 |
| Caryn Cheng | 4 | Rosalyn Lee & Justin Vanderstraaten | 1 | Lexie ("Samsui Women" – The History of Singapore Part 1) | Bottom 3 |
| Kayly Loh | 5 | Rosalyn Lee & Justin Vanderstraaten | 2 | Sister ("Another World" – Beauty World) | Safe |
| Shrey Bhargava | 6 | Rosalyn Lee & Justin Vanderstraaten | 2 | Brother ("Another World" – Beauty World) | Safe |
Week 8 – Final: Top 5
- Guest judges: Georgina Chang and Eric Khoo
- Group performance: "Wishing on a Star" / "Superstar" / "Starships"
- Musical guest: Secondhand Serenade ("Heart Stops (By the Way)" with Veronica Ballestrini and "Fall for You")
- Prize presenter: Rebecca Lim
There were four challenges during the final – drama acting challenge, comedy acting challenge, pre-recorded hosting challenge and live hosting challenge. In the drama acting challenge, the contestants all acted in a pre-recorded short skit together with MediaCorp actress Priscelia Chan. In the comedy acting challenge, each of the contestants collaborated with a comedy actor and put up a live comedy sketch. In the pre-recorded hosting challenge, each of the contestants hosted their own show that came with a celebrity guest appearance. For the live hosting challenge, the contestants paired up with Jean Danker and presented their fellow contestants and celebrities who appeared in the comedy acting challenge.
The judges' scores made up 50% of the overall results, and the remaining 50% were determined by public votes via the Toggle Now application or text messaging.
| Contestant | Order | Drama acting challenge | Order | Live hosting challenge | Order | Comedy acting challenge | Order | Pre-recorded hosting challenge | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character (description) | Presented | Collaborated with | Programme name | Guest appearance by | ||||||
| Shrey Bhargava | 1 | Ricky (the wealthy playboy) | 1 | Kayly Loh and Michelle Chong | 4 | Judee Tan | 5 | Urban Escapes | Kelly Latimer | Runner-up/Third place |
| Caryn Cheng | 2 | Ching (Ricky's stepsister) | 2 | Michelle Wong and Chua En Lai | 5 | Alaric Tay | 1 | Fashion Forward | Seraph Sun | Fourth/fifth place |
| Kayly Loh | 3 | Kara (the other woman) | 3 | Aiken Chia and Suhaimi Yusof | 1 | Michelle Chong | 2 | Something Old Something New | Koh Chieng Mun | Winner |
| Michelle Wong | 4 | Selena (the spoilt girlfriend) | 4 | Shrey Bhargava and Judee Tan | 2 | Chua En Lai | 3 | The Sweet Life | Nat Ho | Fourth/fifth place |
| Aiken Chia | 5 | Adam (jealous best friend) | 5 | Caryn Cheng and Alaric Tay | 3 | Suhaimi Yusof | 4 | Staycation Nation | Jade Seah | Runner-up/Third place |
Elimination chart
| Females | Males | Top 15 | Winner |
| Safe | Safe First | Safe Last | Eliminated | Immuned |
| Stage: | Finals | ||||||||
| Week: | 4/1 | 11/1 | 18/1 | 25/1 | 1/2 | 8/2 | 15/2 | 1/3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Contestant | Result | |||||||
| 1 | Kayly Loh | Winner | |||||||
| 2–3 | Shrey Bhargava | Immuned | Bottom 3 | Bottom 4 | Runner-up / Third place | ||||
| Aiken Chia | Immuned | Bottom 3 | Bottom 2 | Bottom 3 | |||||
| 4–5 | Caryn Cheng | Bottom 3 | Elim | ||||||
| Michelle Wong | Bottom 4 | Bottom 3 | Bottom 2 | ||||||
| 6 | Esther Goh | Bottom 6 | Bottom 3 | Elim | |||||
| 7 | Fadhli Abdullah | Bottom 2 | Elim | ||||||
| 8 | Gina Lin | Bottom 5 | Elim | ||||||
| 9 | Leroy Yap | Bottom 5 | Elim | ||||||
| 10–12 | Laanya Asogan | Elim | |||||||
| Jeevan Kularetnam | Bottom 6 | ||||||||
| Ron Teh | Bottom 6 | ||||||||
| 13–15 | Lisa Marie White | Elim | |||||||
| Matthew Liu | |||||||||
| Shehnaz Salim | |||||||||