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Much-loved children's show Hi-5 is about to get even bigger with plans for merchandising and foreign language spin-offsJedi Lim may be only five years old, but he wields great power.迷你倉It was, after all, a few words from the boy that convinced his Malaysian businessman father Datuk Jared Lim that there was money to be made in acquiring Hi-5.Started in 1999, the Australian children's TV show is a global hit that is seen by more than one million children in 80 countries.It made headlines here last week as its latest season is being filmed in Singapore, the first time the 14-year show is being produced outside of Australia.In his first interview with Life! about the show, Mr Lim, 42, the managing director and founder of Asiasons Group, the Singapore-listed private equity firm that acquired Hi-5 last year, said: "I have been watching Hi-5 with my son since he was born, and it is the only show that he continues to watch now. He has grown out of Wiggles and Barney but not Hi-5, so I knew there may be something quite special here."I asked him what it was about Hi-5 that he liked so much and I remember he said clearly, 'Dad, it's the only show that teaches me how to sing and dance'. That really stuck with me."In July last year, Asiasons bought the show from TV network Nine Network Australia and production group Southern Star Entertainment for an undisclosed sum. It now has full ownership, including production, licensing and merchandising rights.Obviously, Mr Lim and his partners at the firm crunched their numbers and did their research before the acquisition. Asiasons' portfolio includes Chaswood Resources, which owns food and beverage brands such as the T.G.I.F. franchise in Asia, as well as EMS Exhibits, a company that stages exhibitions.Mr Lim said: "The show was already popular, but we felt it had the potential to become even bigger, just that maybe not as much management resources had been given to Hi-5 in the past. That is, of course, understandable because the previous owner was a big entertainment group with many more high- profile programmes than a children's show."Asiasons, he added, felt a lot more could be done to build up the Hi-5 brand, especially in Asia, where polls and surveys by the company found that "a lot of kids are still really passionate about the show".He let on, for example, that whenever the TV series' cast of five Australian members do their annual tour across Asia, where they put on shows in malls and other ticketed live performances, many shows quickly sell out."Even though the show in many Asian countries is aired only on cable TV or seen on home video and is not really profiled heavily on free-to-air channels, the response to the live shows has always been very good across Asia," said Mr Lim, who also has a three-year-old daughter with his property developer wife, Datin Dian Lee, 29, the daughter of Malaysian property tycoon Lee Kim Yew.In fact, Singapore is where the show has become "really huge", he added, which was why Asiasons decided to film Season 14 here. The company could not provide viewership figures, but pointed out that Singapore is Hi-5's most-visited place outside Australia. Every year, the cast comes and puts on shows at least two or three times.Filming began on Aug 12 and is expected to take five weeks."When you're building on a brand, you want to first reward your fans," said Mr Lim. "It would have been cheaper to produce the show in Malaysia, but the point is we should reward our big fans here."It also made sense to film in Singapore as production facilities are in place, he added, and people here speak good English and are well-versed in international programming, which allow them to work well with the show's Australian creative team.Hi-5 Operations is working with home-grown production company Oak3 Films to produce the show.Some lucky viewers have been able to interact with the cast on screen, as certain episodes feature local children, who are usually picked via contest promotions.While there are location shoots at places such as the zoo and Sentosa, most of the filming takes place at Infinite Studios' soundstage facilities at One North @ Mediapolis.The set is bright, multi-coloured and designed to look like a house where each of the five cast members has his or her own room and space. Together, the shape of the five "rooms" look like the Hi-5 hand logo and form a "house", in line with the series' new name, Hi-5 House.The new 25-part season is slated to air in Australia from Oct 15 and in Singapore, from Nov 1 on okto channel and Disney Junior (StarHub TV Channel 311).When Life! visited the set on Thursday, three of the cast members were in the midst of filming a storytelling segment, where one would read aloud a story from a book while the others perform the story in costume.It happened to be a story about a leopard who ran so fast that she lost all her spots. Cast member Lauren Brant, 24, who was dressed in a furry leopard costume, was seen dashing all over the space lined with cardboard trees and grass.Taking a quick breather in between multiple takes, she said with a laugh: "I'm so glad there is air-conditioning in here. I'm sweating like mad."When all five cast members sat down for separate interviews later, all agreed that there is something "special" about the audience here.Cast member Mary Lascaris, 22, said: "The audience here can go from very young to teenagers, and all of them are really enthusiastic about the show. They get into the music and sing and dance along with us. Even the parents get involved and it's just amazing."The June release of Hi-5: Some Kind Of Wonderful, a movie which depicts how the show's three latest cast members were picked, is proof of how popular Hi-5 is here.Tickets to a one-off special screening held at the 602-seat GVMax theatre at Golden Village VivoCity, which also included a meet-and-greet with the cast, sold out within 36 hours. A spokesman for the Hi-5 sales team told Life! parents continued to call in for days asking for additional sessions.Looking ahead, Mr Lim said his company is in talks to spin off foreign-language versions of the show, including in Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese."So far, the shows have been dubbed, but that's not very natural for a live performance show," he pointed out.More, too, can be done in terms of merchandising, he noted.When he attended a live Hi-5 show in Australia a few years ago, he recalled there were only "three or four" products on sale."The queue was so long and they didn't sell the merchandise anywhere else, so you had no choice but to line up and the selection was small."By year-end, he promises to launch an online store with a "huge portfolio" of merchandise. These may eventually be sold in retail stores.There are also plans for tie-ups with more Asian brands, on top of the recent partnership with Singapore-based low-cost carrier Scoot - both parties are working on developing apps to entertain children when they fly with the airline.To further boost Hi-5's profile, Asiasons will engage with its fans through social media.Previously, parents would film shaky, grainy videos of their TV screens showing Hi-5 performances and post them on YouTube. Even though the picture quality was poor, the clips would get "millions of views", said Mr Lim.In July last year, his team created an official YouTube channel, named Hi5OfficialTV, with hundreds of high-quality Hi-5 clips. The clips have garnered anything from 2,500 to more than 30,000 hits."Some of these clips are special mish-mashes of other segments, so they are unique. Fans will get to see something totally different that way."His company's multi-pronged approach in beefing up the brand seems to be working. Before the acquisition, Hi-5's official Facebook page had 5,000 "likes". The number has since jumped to more than 163,000."Many kids still love the show even though it's been around for so long, and new audiences for the show keep growing. I believe there is still a lot more that Hi-5 can offer in the coming years," said Mr Lim.Case in point: His son Jedi accidentally walked in on Life!'s interview with Hi-5 cast member Stevie Nicholson, 29, and was visibly excited at spotting his TV idol.Jedi began chatting with Nicholson easily, then casually showed a toy to him, as if they were the best of friends.Just when you thought the kid's confidence stemmed from his father's influence - Mr Lim is boss, after all - Nicholson 儲存aid brightly: "All the kids do this all the time. They come up to us and talk to us as if we're long-time friends because they've seen us on the show and really trust us. We just love these kids and it seems they love us too."yipwy@sph.com.sgLAUREN BRANT, 24Lauren Brant has performed in various shows and commercials from young and got her first lead role as a dancer in a show at the age of 14. Before joining Hi-5 in 2009, she played Beatrice in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and taught a musical theatre course to young children at the Sydney performing arts academy, Brightstars.The singleton professes to being a "big kid myself" and readily sings all the Hi-5 songs along with her nieces and nephews. Dressed in a cheerleader-inspired outfit, she adds: "I also love clothing and fashion and I designed this myself. I design half of the costumes that I wear for the show."Since you are into fashion, have you considered expanding in that department?Actually, I'm working on a line of children's clothing and I hope to launch it by the end of this year. I'm so excited.Doing a children's show and singing and dancing all the time - is it difficult for people to take you seriously?Well, we do go on stage and do silly stuff, but people also do realise that it's very hard work to be a cast member of Hi-5. I think we've actually gained respect from many people for being a part of it because first, you need a lot of confidence to do that and, second, we can pull it off. I think they also know that we're not really shy or afraid to do anything, so they respect us for that.What have you been up to in your spare time in Singapore?I discovered floating yoga, which is where you do yoga in a hanging hammock and it has been so much fun. I also love the traditional and heritage aspects of Singapore, so I walk around a lot to look at old buildings and roads. I love shopping, too, of course, but not in malls. I prefer the boutiques in Haji Lane and I always find something new and fascinating at the markets in Bugis Street.STEVIE NICHOLSON, 29Of the current cast, this spirited blond has been with Hi-5 the longest - since 2007. A former tennis coach and tennis journalist with an Australian magazine, Stevie Nicholson, who is single, says he joined Hi-5 as he had always wanted to work with children.The bachelor studied Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, as well as music theatre at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.Do you miss tennis?I used to want to be a tennis player and I sometimes still harbour the wish. But you know, I love my job at Hi-5.Every time I see those kids and how happy and curious they are, it reminds me why I'm still doing this after so many years.How much longer do you think you will stay with Hi-5?For as long as it excites me and, up to now, it still does. Spending time with the kids and getting the chance to travel and do charity work with Hi-5 - it's the best thing ever.What do you like about filming in Singapore?I like how Singapore is such a cultural hub. You can walk for three minutes and almost feel like you're in a different country, from Little India to Haji Lane and so on. It's been really great.You have been with the cast the longest. Do kids recognise you on the street?Yes, they do, and in Singapore, kids and parents will come up every now and then and ask for photos. But they're all extremely polite and it's just very sweet.How would you like to be remembered?As a merchant of fun.DAYEN ZHENG, 23This bubbly lass was born in South Korea but moved to Australia with her parents at the age of five. Dayen Zheng, whose parents run restaurants in Queensland, is a trained ballerina and holds an advanced level certification from the Royal Academy of Dance.The singleton joined Hi-5 in the middle of last year and is "loving every minute" of the experience so far. Proud of being the only Asian on the show, she says: "Hi-5 goes worldwide and is popular in Asia, so as the only member who is Asian now, I think I bring that special sense of unity to the group. I stand for a very universal reputation of the group, which is great."Why did you want to join Hi-5?I was a full-time ballerina before this and I grew up always wanting to dance. I was also doing a bit of singing and acting on the side. I love being around children and Hi-5 just happens to be a job that has all of these elements. I used to want to start my own performing arts school and teach children to dance. Hi-5 is another avenue to do that same sort of thing.What do you bring to the table that is different?I'm the clown, so everyone loves to laugh with me and at me. And being the only Asian, I represent somthing more universal, especially for our audience in Asia.How do your parents feel about your job?They have been the most supportive people of all. They did not have the opportunity to do whatever they wanted, so they made sure they could give me that. I'm an only child and I'm very close to my family. I am doing what I love and they are proud of me. They still can't believe all this is happening.MARY LASCARIS, 22The brunette, who is said to bear a resemblance to Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway, joined Hi-5 in January this year.Mary Lascaris, who is single, says Hi-5 is "especially meaningful" to her as she used to sing its songs to her leukaemia-stricken god-sister in the latter's baby years."Hi-5 songs were the only thing that would calm her down enough to take her medication, so I learnt many of the Hi-5 songs so I could sing them to her whenever I babysat," she recalls with a smile. Her god-sister is now nine years old.Formerly a performer at Universal Studios Japan, she has no issues with having to film Hi-5 in Singapore, away from her family in Melbourne. "I love trying new things and seeing new places and Singapore has been really wonderful so far. Everyone is so nice and helpful. It's easy to get around too."Performing with Hi-5 requires a lot of energy. Where do you get all that energy from?I was born with energy. Growing up, I was always jumping around and singing and dancing all over the place. In school, I used to get bruises on my knees because I would keep shuffling and tapping my feet under the table and my knees kept hitting the table. I just can't sit still for long.Does it ever get exhausting though?Well, you try to keep things fun all the time and it's no problem. Even offscreen, I'm having so much fun with the camera guys here. They love to sing pop classics from the 1980s and 1990s. One time, the power in the studio went out and I started singing I've Got The Power, and everyone just started to laugh and dance.What's the best thing about being a part of Hi-5?It's the fact that we can always remind others to stay positive and be happy. It's fun to dress in so much colour, sing, dance and concentrate on the good things. Like, let's have fun, let's go say hello to the sun and just remember the simple things in life that make us happy.AINSLEY MELHAM, 21The youngest of the lot, dark-haired Ainsley Melham is a skilled tap dancer and can also play the guitar and the piano.Armed with a bachelor's degree in music theatre from the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts - the same school that produced stars such as Hugh Jackman and Frances O'Connor - the singleton joined Hi-5 upon graduation early this year.Why did you want to join Hi-5?I watched the show when I was young and I've always wanted to go into something to do with music and dance, so Hi-5 was the perfect place to do that.I hope to do more mash-ups of Hi-5 tunes as well as more vocal arrangements - I just love music.Who are your musical influences?I love jazz music, mostly because it's what my father used to listen to. Like really old-style jazz, Frank Sinatra and the classic, beautiful stuff.Any embarrassing moments with Hi-5 so far?I had a cute one. Well, it was sort of cute. There was a young kid who took her sister up on stage, but she was only a little baby. And I was like, "Hey, champion, how are you?", and her sister looked at me squarely and said, "It's a girl."What's the best thing about being a part of Hi-5?It's when we're meeting the kids and you see the realisation in their eyes as to who they're looking at.For them to watch TV and then see Hi-5 in person, and then realise we're actually people and this big - their eyes go wide, like, "Oh wow".To see them so overcome with joy, that's just wonderful.新蒲崗迷你倉