Aiken Chia (Singapore YouTuber)
Aiken Chia (born 18 April 1989) is an online personality and content creator associated with Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) where he is a partner, video producer and talent.[1] Aiken is the director for the YouTube segment, 'Food King' which he also hosts alongside Dee Kosh. In 2013, he was the winner of 987FM’s TV Star competition.[2] Two years later, he emerged as the first runner-up for the reality television hosting competition, The 5 Search. As of June 2020, Aiken has over 83,000 followers on Instagram.
Aiken Chia | |
---|---|
Born | 18 April 1989 |
Education | Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology |
Alma mater | Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) |
Background
Aiken is forthcoming about his background on his social media platforms. He has spoken about his life experiences on his public Instagram profile and also on NOC's YouTube channel.
Early life & family
Aiken grew up in a low-income and single-parent household where he was raised by his mother.[3] In a video titled 'My Biggest Regret', Aiken shared that their electricity got cut occasionally because they could not afford to pay the bills.[4] During his teenage years, Aiken fell in the wrong company which resulted in a police case when he was 14 years old.[5] After the incident, he completed his secondary education while also serving as a singer during the school’s chapel sessions.[6]
Education
Aiken went to Saint Hilda’s Secondary School.[7] For his GCE 'O' Levels, he registered as a private candidate for Pure Literature for which he received an A2 grade.[8] He then enrolled in Temasek Polytechnic where he studied Psychology. Aiken furthered his studies in Psychology at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) under the University of Wollongong.[9] He graduated in 2017 with a degree in Applied Science (Psychology).
Early career
In an Instagram post from 2017, Aiken shared that he was a customer service officer at Changi Airport before entering show business in 2010.[10]
987TV (2013 - 2014) - YouTube host
In 2013, Aiken won the 987TV Star competition, earning him screen time on 987FM's YouTube channel. The following table lists the details of his YouTube shows while working at the radio station.
Year | Segment | Episodes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | 987 Recommends | 7 | Playlist |
2013 | Wacky Wednesdays with Aiken | 25 | Playlist |
Aiken's first show, 'Wacky Wednesdays with Aiken' debuted in August 2013 with an episode about "things that Singaporeans won't say".[11] His second show which he hosted jointly with Kimberly Wang debuted in September 2014.[12]
The 5 Search (2014 - 2015) - First runner-up
At 25 years old, Aiken joined The 5 Search as one of the show's fifteen contestants.[13] The winner of the talent search stood to win a S$30,000 cash prize and a two-year management contract with MediaCorp.[14] Although he made it to the finals,[15] fellow contestant Kayly emerged as the winner of the competition.[16]
Acting & hosting (2016 - 2017)
Following his success in The 5 Search, Aiken appeared in several MediaCorp productions. These shows are listed in the table below.
Year | Channel | Programme | Role/Character | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Channel 5 | TGI...WTF (Thank God It's...Wed, Thu, Fri) | Boss | [17] |
2016 | Fine Tune | Barry "Potato" Chan | [18] | |
Tanglin | Brandon Wee | [19] | ||
Okto | Don't Try This At Home | Host | [20] |
Night Owl Cinematics (2017 - present)
As of June 2020, Aiken is listed as a partner on the NOC website.[21]
Ryan Sylvia - Talent & producer
Aiken joined the NOC team in 2017.[22] His debut appearance on the Ryan Sylvia YouTube channel was in February 2017 in the first episode of 'Food King'.[23] To date, 'Food King' has had three successful seasons with over 120 episodes.[24][25][26] 'Food King' also has an Instagram page with over 100,000 followers as of June 2020. Apart from directing and hosting the series, Aiken has also acted in a few of NOC's comedy sketches and short films. The table below lists some of his appearances over the years.
Year | Title | Role/ Character | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Singapore's Richest Try Being Poor For a Day | Baeken | Video |
2019 | Types of People During Robbery | Banker | Video |
2018 | Short Film: Dear, Replace The Batteries | - | Video |
Short Film: The Table | - | Video | |
2017 | 13 Teachers We Hate | Student | Video |
Top 5 Public Nuisance in Singapore | Police Officer | Video |
Personal advocacy
UNTIE/UNITE (2013) - Singer & songwriter
In 2013, Aiken co-produced six acoustic tracks for an extended play (EP) album titled UNTIE/UNITE. The proceeds from the EP, which amounted to S$17,000, were donated to the less fortunate children in Nepal.[27] In 2017, Aiken vlogged his trip to Nepal with his mother where they visited the children's home.[28]
References/ Citations
- ↑ “About Night Owl Cinematics”. Night Owl Cinematics. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ 987FM. "WE HAVE A WINNER!! 987TV STAR - results". YouTube. April 14, 2013. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
- ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. July 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzp1mTNFrRw/
- ↑ Night Owl Cinematics. “My Biggest Regret”. YouTube. July 6, 2019. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsXYkpAFpe_/
- ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsXYkpAFpe_/
- ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. March 6, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bup7EctlU5_/
- ↑ Chia, Aiken. “Aiken Chia”. LinkedIn. Accessed on 10 June 2020.
- ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. July 22, 2017. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BW1Y5IughbO/
- ↑ 987FM. "Wacky Wednesdays with Aiken - What Singaporeans Don't Say". YouTube. August 13, 2020. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
- ↑ 987FM. "Homerun Baseball - 987 Recommends". YouTube. September 16, 2014. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
- ↑ Goh, Kenneth. "Winner of Ch5 talent show Kayly Loh gives up business for acting career". The Straits Times. March 3, 2015. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
- ↑ "Kayly wins MediaCorp’s The 5 Search". Today. March 1, 2015. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
- ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. March 3, 2015. Accessed on 10 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/zwIvm6i7qZ/
- ↑ Goh, Kenneth. "Winner of Ch5 talent show Kayly Loh gives up business for acting career". The Straits Times. March 3, 2015. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
- ↑ “TGI...WTF (Thank God It's...Wed, Thu, Fri)”. MeWatch. January 4, 2017. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ Mediacorp Channel 5. “FINE TUNE - A new Dramedy set in the 80s and 2016…”. Facebook. September 2, 2016. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ “Don't Forget To Remember - EP8, All In A Day's Work”. MeWatch. June 27, 2016. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ “Don't Try This At Home - EP1”. MeWatch. January 26, 2016. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ “About Night Owl Cinematics”. Night Owl Cinematics. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. May 9, 2020. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_9NJpipy7g/
- ↑ Ryan Sylvia. "Food King Singapore: Best Hawker Food in Central?!". YouTube. February 25, 2017. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
- ↑ “Food King Singapore 2017”. YouTube. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ “Food King Singapore 2018”. YouTube. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ “Food King Singapore 2019”. YouTube. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
- ↑ “AIKEN MATTHEW CHIA”. The Best of You. Accessed on 15 June 2020.
- ↑ Ryan Sylvia. “Vlog #10 - Aiken Goes to Nepal”. YouTube. April 18, 2017. Accessed on 9 June 2020.