SINGAPORE - Dressed in a blue and silver number adorned with neon lights and a pair of wings, Taiwanese singer and host Hao Hao hit all the right notes with his rendition of Cantopop singer Sammi Cheng's Overjoyed (Mei Fei Se Wu) on Sunday night (Oct 23) in front of an audience of 6,000.

He was performing in the name of getai - literally "song stage" in Mandarin - but the stage was not in the usual open field in a housing or industrial estate, but inside the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre instead.

The 36-year-old, who opened the Shin Min-Wanbao Getai Awards 2016 with his performance, was one of the evening's biggest winners.

The Singapore-based Taiwanese singer and host, whose real name is Cheng Shih-wen, snagged three of the 29 awards - for best male emcee, best male getai singer and being one of the top 10 most popular getai artistes.

Now in its seventh run, the yearly event is organised by Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese evening newspapers Shin Min Daily News and Lianhe Wanbao.

Out of the 29 awards, 24 are based on votes cast by readers.

In the audience were Health Minister Gan Kim Yong; Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng; and Member of Parliament Patrick Tay Teck Guan.

Proceeds of ticket sales will be donated to Ren Ci Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health. The total amount was not finalised as at press time.

Asked about his popularity, Hao Hao said: "I think it's the varied costumes I wear. Everyone also knows I'm a kind person and I really love all my fans, both young and old."

The crowd was also wowed yesterday by seven-year-old Wang Qing Ru, who took home the most popular newcomer award to become the event's youngest award winner.