Many people dread early mornings. Not Germaine Leonora Tan. The multi-hyphenate radio DJ is on air from 8pm to midnight, Monday to Friday, co-hosting The Down Low on MediaCorp 987FM—yet by 9am she’s already in the studio chair, chatting easily with hairstylist Aung and makeup artist Nicole.
“Hello!” she chirps, spotting us. “Thank you so much for having me!”
Her schedule is hectic. We need to wrap by 12.30pm for her next assignment, but Tan remains unruffled. Her manager Daphne leans over to say she had a high fever the day before. Thankfully, she’s bounced back.
Off-air, Tan, who calls herself a “professional yapper”, creates content for 200,000 followers across IG and TikTok. Until last May, she was also Chief Marketing Officer at Hao Corp, her father’s minimart chain, before stepping down. “Burnout,” she cites.
This freed the 30-year-old up to launch Brave Voices, which teaches public speaking skills to children from underprivileged backgrounds. “I’ve been a media professional for 10 years. I guess I know something about public speaking.”
Tan works hard and seems to relish it. She takes direction with ease, peppers her answers with “please” and “thank you,” and serves them with that dazzling smile. It’s a good morning.
Tan answers a couple of questions posed by her fiance Andrew Li, CEO of Zouk Group.
We both love animals and can’t wait for our first safari trip together. If you could become any animal, which would you choose?
I’d love to be a bird. There’s something powerful about the freedom of flight, soaring high above it all and gliding effortlessly with such perspective. When you’re up there, the little stressors of daily life seem so small, almost insignificant. I love the idea of having that bird’s-eye view and seeing the bigger picture. It feels like the kind of reminder I need in life: to rise above the noise and focus on what truly matters.
If we could wake up tomorrow in another country, living and working side by side, where would we be and what would we be doing?
As much as we love the idea of a quiet countryside life, we are definitely city people at heart—we thrive on energy, convenience, and constant motion. Tokyo would be my choice. It’s one of our favourite food destinations and I can see us eating our way around every neighbourhood. Our dogs would be with us, of course. We’d take them around the country to experience every season and watch them roll around in the snow. That’s been a huge dream of ours.
I can see how deeply you love your family and friends, and how much they have shaped you into the person you are. In what ways have they influenced your values and guided your professional journey?
I believe we are an amalgamation of the people we hold closest to our hearts. The company you keep shapes who you become. I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by some of the most loyal and protective people I know. They love me in exactly the ways I need, celebrate the highs with me, and stand by me in the tougher seasons. This kind of support system is everything. It reminds me to stay grounded, lead with loyalty and love, and never forget what matters most—no matter how hectic my professional journey gets.
Photography Joel Low
Styling Chia Wei Choong
Hair Aung Apichai/Arly using Kevin.Murphy & Tuft
Makeup Nicole Ang/The Suburbs Studio, using Chanel Beauty
Photography assistant Eddie Teo
Styling assistant Megan Lim
