Insta-buzz: What the stars were up to this week

On Monday (August 22), former president S R Nathan passed away at the age of 92, and many artistes paid tribute on social media. Xiang Yun, Huang Bi Ren, 987FM’s Joakim Gomez and Class 95FM’s Yasminne Cheng took it one step further and shared photos of themselves with the late Mr. Nathan: Xiang Yun and Bi Ren’s were of them receiving Star Awards trophies from him, Joakim fondly remembered the time they talked about football, and Yasminne recalled that Mr. Nathan’s “mind was still sharp” when he came onto her talk show at the age of 91 last year.

Rest in peace, Sir.

Photos: Xiang Yun/Instagram, Joakim Gomez/Instagram, Huang Bi Ren/Instagram, Yasminne Cheng/Instagram

On Thursday (August 25), Romeo Tan, Ian Fang and Zhang Zhen Huan jetted off to the China capital to promote The Dream Job as part of an international film and TV show festival. Ian even got to take a picture with veteran Hong Kong actor Benz Hui (Hui Shiu Hung)!

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Photos: The Celebrity Agency, Romeo Tan/Instagram, Ian Fang/Instagram

No caption was needed for this epic wefie of Nathan Hartono – who looks like he’s beaming so hard his face probably hurts, as we would be too – and his Sing! China mentor Jay Chou. We’re also pretty amazed at how Jay, who is 37, looks the same age as (or even younger than) the 25-year-old local crooner.

Photo: Nathan Hartono/Instagram

Smouldering Scarlet Heart lead actor Lee Joon Ki shared a snippet of a behind-the-scenes shoot for the upcoming drama, which included glimpses of an adorable bromance with co-star Kang Ha Neul, who was in town for a public fan meeting last night. Also, we’re still wondering how IU managed to survive being stared at by Joon Ki like that! (Swoons)

A few days later, he shared another bromantic moment with another co-star at the drama’s press conference; this time, it was real-life prince (of K-pop), EXO’s Baekhyun. Can you believe that they’re 10 years apart in age? (Joon Ki is 34, Baekhyun is 24.)

Scarlet Heart premieres on August 29 and airs every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm on ONE (Singtel TV channels 513 & 604 and StarHub TV channels 124, 820 & 823), at the same time as its Korean telecast.

Photo: Lee Joon Ki/Instagram

On August 24, a duke from Singapore, an idol from Korea and a “rocker” (as his Instagram handle says) celebrated their birthdays – Aloysius Pang turned 26, Super Junior’s Yesung turned 32 (we can’t believe it either) and former Fahrenheit member Jiro Wang turned 34 (we can’t believe this even more).

All three took to social media to commemorate the occasion: Aloysius called it his “self-reflection day” and thanked his parents, friends and fans; Yesung shared a picture of his chubby-cheeked infant self and wished for “bigger hands but I understand because no one’s perfect” (he’s known for his tiny hands almost as much as his unique vocals), and Jiro settled for hashtags and let his toned arms holding a cake do the talking.

August 24 was also the day when Peter Yu’s son Israel made his entrance into the world. If he grows up to follow in his dad’s acting footsteps, then he can join this list of Asian showbiz heartthrobs who were born on this seemingly special date!

Photos: Aloysius Pang/Instagram, Yesung/Instagram, Jiro Wang/Instagram

The popular idol girl group member, who received severe backlash after using a Snapchat filter with Japan’s rising sun flag (a severe offence among Koreans), finally broke her silence on Friday (August 26), over ten days after posting her first apology letter on Instagram.

In the handwritten note, which is much longer than the first one, she apologises for the lack of sincerity in her first letter and for her insensitive mistake, and promises to expand her knowledge beyond just singing and dancing. Thankfully, netizens reacted a lot more positively this time around, with many leaving comments encouraging the entertainer.

Photos: Tiffany/Instagram

Wow, Baby Qi, who turned a year old earlier this month, is certainly getting very big! Her dad Qi Yu Wu shared a picture of her sitting on his shoulders as they both overlook the majestic Forbidden City in Beijing, China, but it seems like the little one seems a lot more fascinated by rocks instead! “This was such a sensory experience for #babyqi who kept feeling and touching the stones, amazed to discover them for the first time,” wrote mummy Joanne Peh. We’re sure she’ll come to appreciate views of historical sites more one day.

Photo: Qi Yu Wu/Instagram, Joanne Peh/Instagram

Can you believe it’s been a year since Carole Lin’s daughter Brooklyn was born? Her parents celebrated the occasion with a sweet and very colourful party, which clearly delighted the little one, judging from this precious family picture. “Brooklyn is still too young to make sense of this celebration but she will grow up and appreciate the "memory" through the photos,” wrote Carole. Indeed, she will.

Photo: Carole Lin/Instagram

Desmond Tan just can’t seem to get enough of dogs (even when he’s already dad to two adorable ones) wherever he is in the world! During the duke’s recent Taipei trip, he made a new furry friend at the airport, and he also showed off a painting he did of a pup as part of The Blue Socks, an initiative he co-founded to raise awareness and funds for animal abandonment and shelters in Singapore. Many of his famous friends have also shown their support for the campaign, such as Priscelia Chan, Jeffrey Xu, Ben Yeo and Yao Wen Long. Don’t you just love a guy who loves animals?

Photos: Desmond Tan/Instagram

About a week after legalising their union, FLY Entertainment lovebirds Liv Lo and Henry Golding held a lavish wedding ceremony – complete with enough flowers to rival the arrangements at Kim and Kanye’s nuptials, if we do say so – in Kuching, Sarawak (the groom is half Malaysian), with fellow celebs including Rosalyn, Fiona Xie, Fiona Fussi, Hanli Hoefer and more in attendance. The newlyweds then jet off to a romantic getaway (she called it a “minimoon”) in none other than Venice, Italy. Congratulations!

Photos: Liv Lo/Instagram, Henry Golding/Instagram, Rosalyn Lee/Instagram

If you’re a feline-loving lady, your heart probably skipped a beat (in delight) when you saw these heaven-sent pictures of Godfrey Gao lovingly snuggling with his new furry friend on set, a cat named Mia, who looks just content to be in the arms of the towering heartthrob (as we would be too, if we’re being honest).

Photos: Godfrey Gao/Instagram

Final Recipe, which first premiered at a film festival in 2013, finally got its theatrical release in China theatres on Friday (August 26), and lead actors Michelle Yeoh and Henry Lau (from Super Junior-M) were reunited at a press conference, where they took an adorable picture together with a huge bouquet of flowers. Hey guys, are you coming to Singapore to promote the film? After all, it was shot here and features a Singaporean chef family.

Photo: Henry Lau/Instagram

The Mandopop princess brought sexy back in a sexy almost-backless top during her yearly vacation with family and friends. We have on question, though: isn’t she worried about the potential elaborate tan lines?

Photos: Jolin Tsai/Instagram

Yup, the Pokémon GO craze is still blazing on strong, with celebs like Dennis Chew, Ben Yeo and even 2NE1’s Sandara Park continuing to share pictures of themselves – or in Ben’s case, his two sons – with the adorable little virtual critters. Hmmm, we wonder how our Pokémon collection stacks up against theirs?

Photos: Dennis Chew/Instagram, Ben Yeo/Instagram, Sandara Park/Instagram

We were hoping for another nice family picture, but this picture of Shaun looking positively content with a simple but scrumptious-looking spread of home-cooked dishes, courtesy of his wife and mother-in-law, makes for a pretty sweet sight too. Hey Chens, care to invite us over for dinner too?

Photo: Shaun Chen/Instagram

Ah Jie Zoe shared what we assume is a drawing by one of her sons and a rather touching conversation she had with him about people eventually needing to leave this earth.

Son: Why will grandma die?
Mum: Because when people get old, they will die!
Son: Then I no longer want to celebrate grandma’s birthday!
Mum: Why?
Son: I don’t want grandma to get old, so that she won’t die!

How positively sweet is that…

Photo: Zoe Tay/Instagram

Awww, wonder what made adorable Avery Chen so happy? We were also squealing over the shot of Aden next to the Hello Kitty statue at the airport café. Don’t you love how their outfits almost match?

Photos: Kate Pang/Instagram

Boyzone crooner Ronan Keating was in town for an exclusive showcase on Wednesday (August 24) and DJs Jean Danker of Class 95FM and 987FM’s Muttons, Vernon A and Justin Ang, got to hang out with him. We must say, Ronan still looks mighty fine even after all these years!

Photos: Jean Danker/Instagram, Muttons in the Morning/Instagram