They may be in their early and mid-20s, but these young radio DJs already have what it takes to ride the airwaves with confidence. Tune in and read on as we get to know some of MediaCorp Radio’s freshest talents: 987FM’s Kimberly Wang, Sonia Chew and Tabitha Nauser; YES 93.3FM’s Chan Ning; and Lush 99.5FM’s Elias Soh.

KIMBERLY WANG, 987FM

“I’ll probably get a partner, start a new show and take over the world!” It’s impossible not to love the mischievous, self-deprecating and down-to-earth Wang, 23, who recalled how she started off as a winner of 987FM’s So You Wanna Be A DJ contest back in 2011.

“I’m not very ballsy when it comes to competitions, especially those that require people to vote for you. It was mortifying, but I gave it a shot,” said Wang, who handles the noontime show The Hit List on weekdays. “I was definitely nowhere near slick and cool during the competition. I think it only came in long after I had joined 987FM. One of the best advice I’ve received was: Fake it till you make it.”

Wang added: “Radio is like magic, and I get to make someone’s day just by playing them a song he or she wants to hear or listening to his or her stories — even the strange ones. It sounds super corny, but this is one of those jobs that make dreams come true.”

That’s not to say that being a radio DJ has always been a bed of roses for Wang. “I never got to go on my graduation trip (as an NTU student). It wasn’t easy to get a two-month break to just hop from country to country,” she shared. “And sometimes, when I don’t get to come home for dinner all week, my mum would get unhappy. But you know parents. I’ll always be a little girl to them — their nagging is their way of letting me know they care.”

ELIAS SOH, LUSH 99.5FM

It has been five years since you’ve heard Elias Soh on Lush — after being a radio DJ for a year and a half in 2009, he took a break from the industry before coming back to helm The Evening Lush programme.

Still, rave heads would be familiar with the 25-year-old’s music under the pseudonym Izaak Stern — even though he hasn’t quite been spinning the decks recently. The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student juggles schoolwork and radio these days, attending classes in the day while hosting his show at night (and squeezing in some time to do voice-over work from his home studio for his website (http://www.eliassoh.net).

To top it all off, he has other sportier pursuits: “I am an avid Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. I am chasing validation in that realm by training under black belt and world champion Shane Suzuki and competing in as many tournaments as I can.”

Known for his dry humour, Soh seems to have been made for radio.

“My parents were worried because when I was three, I exclaimed one evening that I wanted to be a ‘rubbish man’, as one of the books I owned had illustrated the rubbish collector in a particularly heroic light,” he joked, adding the idea of becoming a DJ first entered his mind when he was 9 or 10, after catching the late Robin Williams’ performance in the movie Good Morning Vietnam. “I would pretend to be a DJ with a dual tape deck stereo and record myself introducing songs. My parents never have qualms about things that involve (my) work. My dad’s car still has a Lush decal from 2009!”

SONIA CHEW, 987FM

“There are days when I just want to go to work in my PJs. My first alarm goes off at 4.30am. The second goes off at 4.45am. When 5am comes, I know I have to drag myself out of my bed no matter what,” said the ever-charming Sonia Chew, who’s one-half of 987FM’s morning radio show, The Wakeup Call, alongside Joakim Gomez.

With an FHM cover shoot and tons of hosting credits under her belt, it’s somewhat of a surprise that the 22-year-old admitted to having “zero confidence” when she first signed up for the radio station’s Radio Star in 2012.

“It was a gruelling process. Prior to Radio Star, I had never participated in any competition, but I felt strongly for this one. I’m a competitive and ambitious person by nature, and although I got kicked out in the second round, the judges brought me back as a wild card and I tried to spring back during the finals. Hey, it worked!”

Chew eventually realised that one of her perceived strengths was a double-edged sword. “I have a low voice in general and that causes me to sound a lot more mellow, which is not what 987FM is all about. It took me a few months and some help from colleagues like The Muttons to get to where I am right now.”

With both parents in the media industry, her decision to be a DJ was met with support. “They were so excited, possibly even more than me. My mum loves stalking me on social media,” she joked. “They worry about my health, mostly, but they have to come to accept that their daughter will never settle for a conventional job!”

TABITHA NAUSER, 987FM

The 22-year-old Singapore Idol alumnus has just wrapped up her latest project, performing in Dick Lee’s musical Hotpants, and is now back to focusing completely on her radio gig.

Having been with 987FM every Saturday afternoon for the past year, Nauser speaks fiercely and passionately about her work. “I find it very fulfilling. I guess it also helps that every work day is another day to live my dream, as cheesy as that sounds,” she said, recalling how, as a child, she had aspirations to be everything from a singer to a newscaster to a professional tennis player.

The winner of the station’s Radio Star competition last year, Nauser shared that one of the challenges she faced early in her radio career was multi-tasking. “Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I can automatically multi-task, okay?” she quipped.

The Swiss-Indian looker also speaks proudly of her mixed heritage. “Stereotypically speaking, I’ve got the Asian values of ‘family comes before everything else’, but I’ve also got a pretty liberal and independent way of thinking, which people consider to be European. I really wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.

And is there anything else we don’t know about her? “I freakin’ kick ass at Cards Against Humanity. Oh, and I curse like a sailor,” she said, before adding that one important factor motivates her burgeoning DJ career.

“One day, I’ll interview Beyonce!”

CHAN NING, YES 93.3FM

“Would you feel like rolling your eyes if I were to say that I live for today and that the future is too far to think about?” teased the young YES 93.3FM DJ, for whom the catchphrase “Carpe diem” seems to be the perfect fit.

Currently in her second year as a Communications and New Media student at the National University of Singapore, it has been two years since Chan was crowned first runner-up in the radio station’s DJ Hunt. “With no prize, I have to emphasise,” the jovial 22-year-old quipped.

“The weird thing is that the nerve-racking moment isn’t when you’re on stage, but when you’re preparing the things to say while onstage,” she revealed.

In many ways, Chan Ning’s positive outlook seems primed for a successful career in radio. “I love music. I have a short attention span and I really dislike predictability. Radio’s unplanned playlists draw me in and I love how personal it is. There’s a sense of exclusivity, as if the DJ is talking only to you. Also, on a slightly more selfish agenda, I’m able to share the songs and quotes that I like, or even movies that made me cry like a baby. Good things are meant to be shared!” she said.