Malaysian wins Taiwan’s Top Million Star singing contest

Say cheese: Cheah once belonged to a group named Double Cheese Burger.

PETALING JAYA: Daniel Cheah Chee Lik is now the man of the moment, having won Taiwan’s Top Million Star singing competition.

The Malaysian, who was once a member of a group called ­Double Cheese Burger, proved that there was nothing cheesy about his triumph when he wowed the judges and audience on Saturday with his captivating rendition of Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You.

And the jovial and quite ample Cheah promptly joked with Malay­sian reporters later that he might try to slim down now.

In the telephone interview, the 30-year-old said it had been his dream to be the champion and to prove his ability.

“I am so happy that my dreams came true at last,” he said.

Known also as Daniel Chezi, he beat 49 others, including two other Malaysians, in the earlier rounds before making it to the top 10.

Cheah scored high for his performance of Eason Chan’s Love is Dubious in the first of two rounds.

On Saturday, he was crowned the champion with a score of 85.8 points.

Cheah is the second Malaysian to come out tops in this competition after Jess Lee, who is now a singer based in Taiwan.

Two other Malaysians did well, too. Apple Kho was in fifth place with 80.6 points and Susean Yong, who scored 75.1 points, took the sixth spot.

Cheah shed tears of joy when the results were announced and he thanked his family members who were present.

“I have finally proven that I can sing,” he said.

His win was widely reported in the Chinese press in Malaysia.