Peh-Ing Tribute

- Cheryl Ong

"Byeeee, 8 DAYS!” chirps Joanne in her usual bright and bubbly self. She’s standing tall, perched on a bed of 8 DAYS magazines scattered haphazardly on the floor of the photo studio. Our art director and hair stylist, stationed on the side lines, fling magazines over Joanne’s head. One moment, the actress jokes that she looks like “the poor intern” as she squats in the midst of the pile while striking the ‘migraine pose’. Then she’s channelling a powerful editrix, a girlboss who lives and breathes magazines. Whatever Joanne — and you, dear reader — does with her 8 DAYS print issues, she won’t be able to do it after this month, when we go fully digital. While www.8days.sg may not be as ideal as a hard copy of the magazine for hurling in the air like a graduation hat — like what Joanne’s doing in her final print cover for 8 DAYS — it’s still got all the stuff you love about us, and then some.

Given that it’s Joanne’s final time fronting our print cover, what better way to do it than with the ones she loves most, right? If we had our way, Joanne would be on this cover with hubby Qi Yuwu and their three-year-old daughter Baby Qi and one-year-old son Qi Di Di. With the faces of their kids creatively-hidden, of course. By now, you’d know that the fiercely-private couple keeps their kids away from the spotlight, their faces strategically-hidden on their socials. Alas, that Qi family cover didn’t materialise as Yuwu is busy filming in China and the couple didn’t want to put their kids under the stress.