PUBLISHED: DEC 31, 2020

Life Power List: What rocked Singapore’s lifestyle scene in a Covid-19 year?

1. Netflix, streaming take off

A tipping point was reached in Singapore in 2020: More dollars spent on video streaming from providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video than in cinemas.
Netflix fans kept K-drama It’s Okay To Not Be Okay on Singapore’s top 10 list for 103 days.

2. Singer Sokko widens reach

After Jasmine Sokko was crowned Best South-east Asia Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards in late 2019, she forged full speed ahead, making an impact in the English and Chinese music markets.

3. Poet Marylyn Tan blazes trail

She made history by becoming the first woman to win the Singapore Literature Prize for English poetry. Her subversive debut collection, Gaze Back, was praised as “a clarion call for gender and linguistic reclamation”.

“I find discomfort a great tool for empowerment or even awakening. If you look at a piece of art and you find that it nauseates you... it’s an accomplishment.”

POET MARYLYN TAN

4. Helping hawkers stay afloat

Hawker Melvin Chew founded Facebook group Hawkers United - Dabao 2020 during the circuit breaker and it has over 282,000 members. He also got together Delivery United to link hawkers with delivery drivers.

“I’m just kaypoh (a busybody). If you want the truth, you come to me. If you want everything to sound nice, go somewhere else. If I have issues, I will bring it up.”

HAWKER MELVIN CHEW, ON BEING DESCRIBED AS A MENTOR WITHIN THE INDUSTRY

From an actor to gaming chairs to restaurants, find out who or what else rocked the Life Power List.

SOURCE: ST REPORTS BY JOHN LUI, EDDINO ABDUL HADI, OLIVIA HO AND EUNICE QUEK; ST VIDEO BY RACHEL QUEK, SACHIN GUILDER, CHONG LII AND ALEXIS GABRIELLE; VIDEOS BY NETFLIX ASIA/YOUTUBE, JASMINE SOKKO/YOUTUBE, SINGAPORE BOOK COUNCIL/YOUTUBE AND HAWKERSUNITED2020/FACEBOOK

PRODUCED BY: DENISE CHONG