SINGAPORE: As 2023 winds down, be prepared to find out who made it big in the different spheres of life, including social media. Media monitoring company Meltwater has released its list of the top 10 most influential social media personalities in Singapore for 2023, and the number one spot has gone to none other than—drumroll please—Ms Naomi Neo!
Ms Neo, now 26, entered her social media era as a content creator when she was only 11 and became a professional blogger in 2011. She quickly followed this up with a YouTube channel the next year. She’s only gone from strength to strength since then and now has slightly under half a million subscribers on YouTube, almost 875,000 on Instagram, and a whopping 1.8 million followers on TikTok.
@naomineo my daughter has entered the chat 😂 #husband swipe #toddler #fyp
She covers a range of topics from the daily to the lofty to confessionals, including building her dream house, discussing being adopted, and being a parent of two—although netizens have not always agreed with her parenting choices. Nevertheless, her brand has resonated with many, and Ms Neo is well-beloved. Her savvy social media choices have paid off, and she is estimated to earn six figures a year through content creation and sponsorships.
Coming in at number two on Meltwater’s list is actor Noah Yap. Mr Yap, who turned 30 last month, is best known for the Ah Boys To Men series. He starred as IP Man in the four Ah Boys movies. Like Ms Neo, he also has a YouTube channel with over 76,000 subscribers. He has over 129,000 followers on Instagram, and on TikTok, he has over 285,000.
@onlynoah who want sit my GrabShare, watch this video first 😛 remember to book your GrabShare earlier! you can save up to 30% on your rides, so good deal already don’t kpkb or chut pattern for your Grab driver lah!! @Grab Singapore
At 19, the actor left school to pursue his career. And while this is hardly a popular choice in Singapore, Mr Yap’s parents were fully on board. Also, like Ms Neo, the actor has been candid about his personal life. In 2017, he shared the story of having been caught with cannabis and getting detained for nine months the year before. He has been open with his experience to tell people not to misuse drugs, as well as for others to give a second chance to ex-offenders.
Third on Meltwater’s list is the CEO of Titan Digital Media, Jian Hao Tan. He was followed by actor and musician Tosh Rock, actress Kimberly Chia, singer-songwriter and former national swimmer Benjamin Kheng and the first Singapore Idol Taufik Batisa, in fourth to seventh places, respectively. Rounding out the top ten are controversial media personality Xiaxue and actresses Jayley Woo and Jeanette Aw. /TISG
Read also: Netizen asks Naomi Neo how she became the person she is now; she says her life is the opposite of what she had pictured before /TISG