Meet Amanda Chaang. Now, you might be wondering, where have we seen that face before? For some, you’ll recognise her as the lively host at beauty or lifestyle events in Singapore. Or, you might have caught a glimpse of her on your television screens, especially since she’s a female anchor on Astro SuperSport. More realistically though, you probably know her for being the wife and charming beau of musician Jon Chua, of The Sam Willows fame, and no lie, that’s how her name got onto our radar too. We’ll say this though. Whatever preconception you have of her, leave them at the door — or you know, wherever you happen to be reading this on your mobile screen.
Here, it’s clear to see that the Malaysian and up-and-coming artiste doesn’t let anything get in her way when it comes to chasing her dreams, especially with the challenge of having to move to Singapore in order to expand her career opportunities, all while facing the reality of starting over from scratch. For those with similar career aspirations, it’s not as easy as you’d think; imagine leaving everything you love behind — friends, family, and everything you’ve worked hard for — for a new life, in a new city. “It’s never easy”, she says. “But, hey, I like a challenge,” she tells us confidently. That, and her honest struggle with loneliness and having to find the strength to be positive; or learning that it’s okay to be at a crossroads in life and still challenging yourself, still trusting. Because this is a girl who’s relatable (fyi, she buys her own beauty products at Sephora too), and combined with a refreshing attitude, and how she beams with pride and passion while sharing about her goals and future plans, we’d say she’s one to watch. Don’t write her off just yet, or at all.
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ON HOSTING
“I like to talk. I like the sound of my voice, which is not a bad thing. I started as a journalist before I became a host; and for me, it was a lot about telling people stories. Giving them a platform to kind of have a voice, and it started off from there. Then I eventually became a host which I did for about three to four years.”
BEING A FEMALE SPORTS ANCHOR
“To be honest, the producer approached me. I prefer lifestyle shows so I do more of their lifestyle programmes, and I don’t do anything too technical. But yes, it is a very male-dominated industry, and I think it’s very important to not get carried away and hold your head up high in the industry because sports fans are very brutal and I have gotten backlash before; it’s very, very sexist. You really need to know your stuff. And look, the truth of the matter is, sometimes you don’t know everything and it’s okay to admit that.”
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ON THE MEDIA INDUSTRY
“Last year was my first year here in Singapore. It was great because I had amazing support from my friends, my husband, my management. But on a personal level, it was hard for me because it was basically building my network all over again. Trying to get to know the people here, the people in the industry, the people who do PR, my peers — it was starting back from scratch again. Then again, I also had really good support, so I’m not complaining. Like what I had to do three to four years ago in KL, I have to do it all over again. But hey, I like the challenge. It’s fun! It keeps me young.”
PLANS FOR 2019
“At the moment, I have been going to a lot of auditions and to acting classes as well. I also do a lot of hosting gigs and I hope to continue with that. But I will also be going back to KL to start my show — it’s my new season with Astro and I’m excited about that! It’s all slowly coming together.”
FUTURE GOALS
“I hope to get into acting; it’s something very exciting for me, and something that’s very daunting at the same time. I do think that Singapore does have better opportunities for me. Here, it’s a predominantly Chinese- and English-speaking country, so I think there will be more chances for me to spread my wings. For the moment, I’m going to focus on hosting and getting more jobs, getting to know more people, getting my name out there. Fingers crossed!”
“If it were up to me, honestly, I would just live on the beach and be a fish, but I can’t do that because I’m a human being. I really want to host my own talk show one day — like an all-female panel talk show. I don’t think we have anything similar or, at least a lot of people have tried to do it; but it’s just the execution that’s a bit hard and getting the right people to host the show. I don’t necessarily have to host it, but I don’t mind producing it as well. I think that will be interesting.”
WHY SINGAPORE?
“Better career opportunities and I’ve heard so much about Singapore! I’ve never actually seriously considered moving here. I always did have it at the back of my mind that maybe in two years, maybe in three years, I will do it. But I never really had a solid plan until I met my husband, which was the final push for me to bite the bullet and come here.”
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ON MARRIAGE
“Honestly, it’s the same. Just more commitment. Whether you like it or not, the person is there. You can’t be like ‘Okay, time out’. He’s going to be there, you’re under the same roof. Definitely shared responsibilities, more commitments. It’s not just about you anymore. It’s you and someone else. But so far, so good.”
ON MOVING TO SINGAPORE
“It was very fast actually. Jon and I hit it off because we were discussing our careers, what we wanted to do. And I told him ‘Yes, I do want to come to Singapore, like I said.’ But it was never in the immediate plan. It was maybe, two to three years later? I don’t know what I was waiting for. And he was like ‘Ya, you should come and see how it goes.’ So I came here first, for my career. Then Jon and I started dating after that, and I guess, I moved in here quite fast. Then I signed with FLY Entertainment. It was very fast. I didn’t really feel anything. That sounds really weird but it was so exciting for me. It was so new and exciting — new friends, new people, new environment, a new climate. And it felt very natural for me.
Jon and I drive up and down [from Singapore to Malaysia]. We don’t really fly. We drive a lot so it makes it easy to bring a whole ton of stuff. So it’s very easy to take everything from my room and put it in the car and drive. But also at the same time, I’m not going to lie — my wardrobe here is very limited. I still haven’t brought everything because I don’t have as much space here. So I do wear a lot of the same outfits. And after a while, I still do look the same. I’m just constantly wearing the same thing. But it’s just clothes, right?
Sometimes it feels like I gave up my whole life. And it does make me sad. And I think it’s okay because it’s part of being a human being. I have moments of extreme happiness here, but I also have moments of extreme sadness.
When I’m lonely, I’m very, very lonely, but that’s life you know? It’s all a tradeoff. And this is a choice that I made and it’s something that I have to face. I was struggling with it for the longest time, but this year I chose to look at it in a different way — with more positivity and not blaming it on other people or anyone at all, but rather facing it head on and finding solutions for myself. That includes doing things for myself: my career, what I like, my hobbies, what makes me happy. So this year, I’m going to focus on that. And it also meant giving up a lot of the things I love — my routine, my habits — it’s not something easy to give up, especially after living like that for 20 years and stopping everything and moving to another country. It’s fun and exciting at the beginning but once that wears off, what happens? What am I left with? Where are my friends? I do have very good friends here, but what about the people I grew up with? How about the people I trust at home? I don’t have that ecosystem. I don’t have that support system, which is something that my husband and I discuss a lot. So it’s up to me to create that for myself.”
ON STYLE
“I get that question a lot but I never know how to answer it because I don’t have a particular style per se. I used to have a very feminine style; I loved dresses and skirts. I still love them by the way, I still do love them. But lately I’ve been embracing the whole street, 90s trend and it’s so comfortable and it’s so hard to let go. So for now, I’m wearing a lot of sneakers, a lot of comfy pants, jeans, a lot of adidas. I mean, I used to wear adidas, but I’m wearing it even more. But it really depends on what the occasion calls for.
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I love Lauren Santo Domingo. She started this website called Moda Operandi. It’s an online store that does trunk shows as well, so you can buy outfits fresh off the runway, but it’s ridiculously expensive. But I just like looking at it because she has impeccable style. I also really like Olivia Palermo. But when it comes to daily looks, I prefer Bella and Gigi Hadid. But I mostly dress for what suits me and my body type. I know what my strengths and weaknesses are, so I try to choose the items that complement my body.
I’m a very small person, so it’s very hard for me to find clothes that fit well. I would say eight out of 10 times when I buy clothes, I have to alter it — waist and length. Most of the clothes that we buy is made by Westerners; so I really like it when they have petite sizes — petite fits me! Especially where we live in this part of the world, everyone else is petite, so it always sells out.
I like to do a lot of online shopping but it’s a black hole because you can’t stop, and you don’t feel it. You’re just keying in your numbers and you’re just like ‘Yes, this is great!’. It also comes to bite you in the butt because you cannot try it, so when it comes it’s really not what you wanted or expected at all.”
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KEEPING FIT
“I try to workout two to three times a week. The number one reason why I was working out was so that I feel better about myself. I like to eat whatever I want to eat, and as you grow older, you’re just going to be like ‘Oh no, I’m going to regret this’. So I just wanted to do something for myself and that’s working out. I still do it religiously. Sometimes I have to force myself. But in the end, after working out, I never regret it. There was never a day where I go, ‘Aw man, that was a crappy workout’. No, never.
I like workouts that don’t feel like workouts. So I do a lot of shadowboxing classes and those spin classes because the music is so good and you don’t feel like you’re working out.”
THE BEAUTY REGIME
“I love skincare because I have to love skincare. It’s something that I’m very grateful for because if I didn’t like skincare, then I wouldn’t be bothered about my skin, and my skin would be horrible because I’m not born with good skin. I love masking; it’s my favourite thing to do. I like having a mini home spa thing — so I love double masking, I love triple masking, because I feel it’s very important for my skin. But more importantly, I remove my makeup thoroughly. I don’t ever go to bed with makeup on. I also go for facials and am trying some laser treatments and peels, to kind of get ready for my wedding in July.
I generally don’t use a lot of makeup; I just put on CC Cream, do my brows and my lip balm and it makes me really happy because I don’t look dead. You can do your hair, you can do your makeup but it really takes effort; I don’t really have time for that. I mean, my dogs are sh*tting on the floor, I need to clean my dog’s sh*t!”
Follow Amanda on Instagram here.
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