Aiken Chia (Singapore YouTuber)

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Aiken Chia (born 18 April 1989) is an online personality and independent content creator that had previously worked with Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) as a partner, video producer, and talent.[1] 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 May 2022, Aiken has over 86,500 followers on Instagram. He also has over 6,600 followers on his YouTube channel, AIKEN CHIA.[3]

Aiken Chia. Photo from Instagram.

Background

Aiken is forthcoming about his background on his social media platforms. He has spoken about his life experiences on his public Instagram profile, NOC's YouTube channel, and on the The Daily Ketchup Podcast.[4]

Early life & family

Aiken grew up in a low-income and single-parent household where he was raised by his mother.[5] In a video titled 'My Biggest Regret', Aiken shared that their electricity got cut occasionally because they could not afford to pay the bills.[6] During his teenage years, Aiken fell in the wrong company which resulted in a police case when he was 14 years old.[7] After the incident, he completed his secondary education while also serving as a singer during the school’s chapel sessions.[8]

Aiken Chia
Aiken Chia profile.png
Born18 April 1989
EducationBachelor of Applied Science in Psychology
Alma materSingapore Institute of Management (SIM)

Education

Aiken went to Saint Hilda’s Secondary School.[9] For his GCE 'O' Levels, he registered as a private candidate for Pure Literature for which he received an A2 grade.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

987TV (2013 - 2014) - YouTube host

Aiken pictured in 2013 as the host for 987TV's Wacky Wednesdays with Aiken. Photo from video.

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".[13] His second show which he hosted jointly with Kimberly Wang debuted in September 2014.[14]

The 5 Search (2014 - 2015) - First runner-up

Aiken (third from left) pictured on the set of The 5 Search (2015). Photo from Facebook.

At 25 years old, Aiken joined The 5 Search as one of the show's fifteen contestants.[15] The winner of the talent search stood to win a S$30,000 cash prize and a two-year management contract with MediaCorp.[16] Although he made it to the finals,[17] fellow contestant Kayly emerged as the winner of the competition.[18]

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 [19]
2016 Fine Tune Barry "Potato" Chan [20]
Tanglin Brandon Wee [21]
Okto Don't Try This At Home Host [22]

Night Owl Cinematics (2017 - 2021)

As of 2021, Aiken has left NOC and Food King.[4][23]

Ryan Sylvia - Talent & producer

Aiken (middle) is one of the hosts for Food King, a show on the Ryan Sylvia YouTube channel. Photo from video.

Aiken joined the NOC team in 2017.[24] His debut appearance on the Ryan Sylvia YouTube channel was in February 2017 in the first episode of 'Food King'.[25] To date, 'Food King' has had three successful seasons with over 120 episodes.[26][27][28] '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

Sgcickenrice exposé (7 October 2021)

On 7 October 2021, an anonymous Instagram account sgcickenrice uploaded several posts of Night Owl Cinematics co-founder, Sylvia Chan, allegedly insulting one of their talents, Samantha Tan.[29] Sylvia has issued a lawyer’s letter against the anonymous account detailing the series of allegations made by the account against her.[30]

One of the claims made against Sylvia as stated in the lawyer’s letter has singled out Aiken as being passive while Sylvia was allegedly bullying employees.[30] In a series of WhatsApp screenshots, Aiken also allegedly allowed Sylvia to scold a producer for a mistake that he made, before stepping in and admitting his fault.[31]

Samantha Tan vouched for Aiken’s kindness, stating that Aiken had prayed for her when she experienced anxiety during one of her shoots.[32]

Following this incident, Aiken has since resigned from NOC and Food King to become an independent content creator.[4][23]

AIKEN CHIA (2022 - Present)

Aiken Chia's "How Are You Welcome To Aiken!" music video. Photo from YouTube.

On 20 May 2022, Aiken launched his very own YouTube channel, AIKEN CHIA. Following that, he also uploaded his first video titled, "How Are You Welcome to Aiken!", a music video adapted from Pamela Bowden's How Are You.[33] As of May 2022, the video has garnered over 28,000 views.

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.[34] In 2017, Aiken vlogged about his trip to Nepal with his mother where they visited the children's home.[35]

References/ Citations

  1. ↑ “About Night Owl Cinematics”. Night Owl Cinematics. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  2. ↑ 987FM. "WE HAVE A WINNER!! 987TV STAR - results". YouTube. April 14, 2013. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Aiken Chia. "AIKEN CHIA". YouTube. n.d. Accessed 24 May 2022.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Daily Ketchup Podcast. "Life After The NOC Saga ft. Aiken Chia | TDK Podcast #78". YouTube. March 14, 2022. Accessed 24 May 2022.
  5. ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. July 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzp1mTNFrRw/
  6. ↑ Night Owl Cinematics. “My Biggest Regret”. YouTube. July 6, 2019. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Ibid.
  8. ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsXYkpAFpe_/
  9. ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsXYkpAFpe_/
  10. ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. March 6, 2019. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bup7EctlU5_/
  11. ↑ Chia, Aiken. “Aiken Chia”. LinkedIn. Accessed on 10 June 2020.
  12. ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. July 22, 2017. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BW1Y5IughbO/
  13. ↑ 987FM. "Wacky Wednesdays with Aiken - What Singaporeans Don't Say". YouTube. August 13, 2020. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
  14. ↑ 987FM. "Homerun Baseball - 987 Recommends". YouTube. September 16, 2014. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ "Kayly wins MediaCorp’s The 5 Search". Today. March 1, 2015. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
  17. ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. March 3, 2015. Accessed on 10 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/zwIvm6i7qZ/
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ “TGI...WTF (Thank God It's...Wed, Thu, Fri)”. MeWatch. January 4, 2017. Accessed on 9 June 2020.  
  20. ↑ Mediacorp Channel 5. “FINE TUNE - A new Dramedy set in the 80s and 2016…”. Facebook. September 2, 2016. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  21. ↑ “Don't Forget To Remember - EP8, All In A Day's Work”. MeWatch. June 27, 2016. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  22. ↑ “Don't Try This At Home - EP1”. MeWatch. January 26, 2016. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Aiken Chia. "aikenchia". Instagram. December 31, 2021. Accessed 24 May 2022.
  24. ↑ aikenchia. Instagram. May 9, 2020. Accessed on 9 June 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_9NJpipy7g/
  25. ↑ Ryan Sylvia. "Food King Singapore: Best Hawker Food in Central?!". YouTube. February 25, 2017. Accessed on 17 June 2020.
  26. ↑ “Food King Singapore 2017”. YouTube. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  27. ↑ “Food King Singapore 2018”. YouTube. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  28. ↑ “Food King Singapore 2019”. YouTube. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
  29. ↑ “Is this discriminating against employees? @samanthatyf are you aware that this is going on? How do you feel?.” Instagram. October 7, 2021. Accessed 15 October 2021.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 “We have received a lawyer’s letter.” Instagram. October 10, 2021. Accessed 15 October 2021.
  31. ↑ Miss Vanjie. “Sylvia Chan Accused Of Discriminating Night Owl Cinematics Talent Samantha Tan?.” Hype. October 8, 2021. Accessed 15 October 2021.
  32. ↑ Justin. “Colgate Terminates Collab With Sylvia Chan; Night Owl Cinematics Talents Defend Ryan & Aiken.” Hype. October 9, 2021. Accessed 15 October 2021.
  33. ↑ Aiken Chia. "How Are You Welcome to Aiken! | Aiken Chia". YouTube. May 20, 2022. Accessed 24 May 2022.
  34. ↑ “AIKEN MATTHEW CHIA”. The Best of You. Accessed on 15 June 2020.
  35. ↑ Ryan Sylvia. “Vlog #10 - Aiken Goes to Nepal”. YouTube. April 18, 2017. Accessed on 9 June 2020.
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