Unscripted with Brandon Ho

By Chew Yan-Y

 

Sometime in 2009, Brandon Ho, aged 16 at the time, was working part-time at a warehouse sale when the DJ for the event fell sick. Ho’s boss then asked the teenager to replace the DJ for the next day. Scared as he was, Ho still said, “Let’s try it.” The DJ was not called back to work for the rest of the event’s days. Fast forward five years later; Ho is a regular host on the popular variety show, The 8tv Quickie and is slowly but surely becoming a celebrity. 

 

Now at 21, Ho is in his final year as an accounting and finance student in Taylor’s University and although he has raked up a steady following of fans through his work on Quickie, life for him hasn’t changed much. Except for the fact that he’s much busier now than 16 months ago, Ho said he is “still the exact same guy” he was before he signed up for the show. 

 

Ho’s journey to the show began when the show first aired 10 years ago. He became a fast fan. “I knew all the hosts by name and I would watch them and think, ‘Hey I could really do that!’” While people usually practised their singing in the bathroom, the young Ho practised his hosting abilities instead.

 

When he was finally eligible to join the 8tv Quickie Search, the eager student was more than prepared to meet the producers. “When I went for the audition, I already knew their phone number, their e-mail address and their Facebook page! I really did my homework,” he stated with a laugh. 

 

Spending the last few years perfecting his craft by emceeing at various events was just the preparation Ho needed for what he has to do on the Quickie every week. On the show, hosts are not given scripts, only cue cards. Apart from that, Ho and hisco-hosts depend on their own personality and prowess to get them through the 15-minute show. While just the thought of giving a presentation in class can make most people weak in the knees, Ho is unfazed by it. “I don’t like scripts so I really like this.” 

 

Strong in his Christian belief, Ho has always wanted to become a pastor. “I am a Christian so a lot of what drives me and a lot of what motivates me is very much related to my faith,” he said.

 

Although he has found success on screen, he insisted that he was not in it for the fame or the money. “I do this for Him, not for myself.”

 

Though he may be on TV now, nothing is to stop him from achieving his dream of becoming a pastor in the future. At this moment, he is simply enjoying the fact that he gets to live out his passion of speaking to crowds. Seeing how entertained people are by him is as he says, “The beautiful part”.

 

As to why he isn’t studying for a mass communication degree, the TV host himself has yet to figure it out. Ho, who is a recipient of the Taylor’s World Class Scholarship, had at first chosen to study mass communication but it was his father who changed his mind. While accounting and finance is not something he hates, he does not love it either.

 

When asked if it was his second choice, he replied with a laugh, “It would’ve been my eighth, ninth or 10th choice! The more I delve deeper, the more I want to get out of it but I’ve got one more year to go so I’m just going to close an eye and slug it out.”

 

“Studying accounting and finance is a single thorn in my flesh that reminds me to stay grounded. It reminds me that I still need to work hard.” 

 

As a scholar with a full-time job, he has had to make a lot of sacrifices. Since he started working on 8tv, he has had little time to socialise with friends because of his hectic schedule. With most of his days ending at 1am after classes and filming on set, Ho said, “Weekends are very precious to me. Sleep is very, very precious to me.” 

 

The past year has been a full-on effect of working and studying and it has been a difficult thing for Ho to manage but he tries hard to not let it get the best of him.

 

“I feel like 10 years of my life have been sucked out of me (in the past one year)! It just wears you down but it’s a type of stress I enjoy,” he added. 

 

Looking at the rate Ho is moving, it is safe to say that we can expect to see more of him in the years to come. He shows what hard work, passion and courage can do. 

 

If the scholar had not taken that step of faith on that fateful day at the warehouse sale, he would not be where he is today.

 

“I still remember that DJ’s face and if I ever meet him again I’ll definitely apologise. I won’t forget him! I still do feel quite bad!”