DJ Jillian Lim – co-host of Kiss92 FM’s The Morning Show with Carol, Josh and Jill – has something to get off her chest. “You can’t be [about] fake positivity, that’s not real. You’ve got to be your authentic self,” she declares.
The outspoken 32-year-old then goes on to share how she was “suckered” into cooking a meal for her co-host Joshua Simon while visiting him at home – on air, no less.
Joshua sheepishly admits to putting her on the spot, and their banter reveals a clever segue into the topic of the day: What to do with friends who use you to do their chores for them?
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Together with Caroline Smith, the trio tackle life’s everyday challenges on their breakfast show through candid observations and brutally honest anecdotes, engaging their audience on subjects ranging from relationships to career advice. They share an easy chemistry, but it’s also the result of months of hard work since their debut in July.
“No one starts off being the best of friends. With three people hosting a show, it’s very difficult. For very diverse individuals to come together and talk about the most random things, or having three different opinions about pertinent topics, but from three different angles, takes a lot of effort,” says Jillian.
Caroline, who tables the talksets and helps to manage the flow of the show in real-time, admits that helming a prime-time slot is a big responsibility.
“It’s about growing and evolving. You may not know how the show will flesh out eventually, but radio itself is about creating magic for our listeners, so we do have to be aware of what we can or should say on air. We are also always checking in with each other. Is everyone ok? What’s going on at home? Is everything alright? Josh is always going, let’s put on a good show! And this energy is infectious. It’s simple things like these, and we’re drawn back to the present moment.”
With that said, the three DJs take us on their journeys of self-discovery, and share how they are coping with being in the spotlight.
Caroline, who married data scientist Euan MacInnes in 2021, started in radio when she won Singapore’s first-ever female DJ hunt at the age of 19.
“When I started my career hosting weekend slots on 987FM, I didn’t have a lot of guidance and had to figure out a lot of things on my own: what topics are entertaining, whether or not it’s ok to talk about myself. At the beginning I shied from giving away too much. Now, while I’m definitely more confident in expressing my own opinions and am a little more ‘refined’ in my style of speaking, I still find myself going back to the first time I got into radio, because that’s also a very pure form of who you are.
I didn’t grow up wanting to be a DJ. If you remember Rediffusion’s Roger Kiew (also known as Roger Kool), he had a radio show for Coca-Cola in the ’80s, with kids in the background going ‘whoo whoo’ as a sound effect – I actually wanted to be a ‘whoo whoo’ person. When I won the DJ contest, I thought, ‘Wow, I can actually be like Roger Kiew.’ That’s one thing I will never forget.
One highlight of my career was being able to host Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong when he toured my studio some years ago. I was very honoured to be able to give him an idea of how DJs work. He actually talked about it on Instagram!
Being a DJ can be challenging. Once, around Christmas, I went on air and said Santa Claus isn’t real – people actually called up to complain to my boss. I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ She explained that there were also kids listening in. Someone also wrote in and said, ‘Hey Carol, you don’t cover a lot of local stories.’ We didn’t have social media then, so I scoured the newspaper before my shift as a result. I found a way to turn these experiences into something positive, so I can cater to the listener, because it is about them.
Before hosting the morning show, I had not had a lot of opportunities to work very closely with Josh and Jill. I’ve always known Josh to be good with videos and doing interviews, and always staying calm even when a storm is brewing. He’s also got all these other talents like singing and podcasting. Jill is a very keen observer of life. She’s very quick to spot interesting social behaviours, which serve as a very incisive critique. She will find a way to spin it into a conversation topic for everyone. I also appreciate how she’s juggling all these things as a mum. It’s not easy having a family and two dogs. I’ve got one dog, and I’m already very tired.
We all have different versions of ourselves – we are one way with family and another with friends, but it’s still us. The version of me that is on air is extra bubbly – someone who endeavours to speak well so as to communicate well with our listeners. In the end, we all have stuff going on in our lives. For example, if you’re going through a break-up, how do you go on air and put on that smile? It’s not easy, and we’ve all been through that. But as we evolve, we learn that it is all part and parcel of the job.”
The “newly single” multi-hyphenate, who made his radio debut on Hot FM’s Hot 30 Countdown in 2012, is also a singer-songwriter and podcaster representing the LGBTQ+ community.
“I studied film in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and was in the film unit during national service during the time when social media and Youtube were picking up. So when I joined (SPH) Lifestyle Media, I was tasked with building a social media presence for the radio stations. DJs Gerald Koh and Adam Piperdy also had me observe the night show on Hot FM (now One FM91.3), so I was there to do the weather reports as well.
Over the years, I have benefited a lot from learning from people who are older than me, or who have lived experiences that are different from mine… I sort of view these perspectives as a ‘bank’ of knowledge of what life was like before today. One of the favourite aspects of my job is interviewing people that I’d never dreamt I’d ever meet, like Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.
These ‘pinch myself’ moments are significant to me because I wasn’t allowed to listen to the radio when I was a kid. I grew up in a very strict household, and when my parents finally gave in, I used to have a stereo right next to my bed, and I would listen to the radio every night. That’s what I would fall asleep and wake up to.
I can be pretty loud, fun and wacky on the show, so a lot of people are very surprised that I’m actually a loner off air. I really like doing things on my own. I’m currently sketching again – I haven’t drawn in a while – and I also like writing, gaming, cooking and watching movies on my own.
I’m not good at large parties either; I have some social anxiety. But when I’m on the microphone, I’m very much an extrovert. The experiences and stories that I share come from a place of authenticity, but when it comes to presenting, I approach it like it’s theatre. When it comes to dealing with negative feedback, if it’s insulting to my character, personality or an aspect of my life that I don’t bring to the show, then that person is clearly looking for trouble, and I’m not going to give it energy. I ask myself whose feedback matters to me the most – otherwise, it can be overwhelming to get caught up in everyone’s thoughts.
I’m learning that I am capable of being objective. For a very long time, I was the ‘drama queen’ among my friends. I used to exaggerate everything and made things out to be more than what they were. But as I grow older, I’ve learnt that it’s not helpful to myself and those around me.
With this show, I try to focus on what we have to do and finding solutions to problems. This has become more important to me than I’ve ever anticipated, because we are reaching out to a vast audience, who are tuning in at the start of their day.”
Being a radio jock, and a mum of a two-year-old girl Lily Indie Meals, is a balancing act for Jillian Lim. Married to local musician Kenneth Christopher Meals, the animal lover – who also has two dogs – hopes to raise more awareness for animal shelters in Singapore.
“When I joined radio in 2009, I was hired to present the news and traffic reports for Hot FM’s The Married Men, a morning show led by DJs Rod Monteiro and Andre Hoeden. I was also a writer for the show – I wrote the skits and news snippets, and adapted stories for the show – so that’s where I learnt comedy. I think it’s funny whenever a listener remembers what I said on air; they’ll come up to me and quote me verbatim.
Early on in my career, the jokes were what resonated with listeners. Now that I’ve become a mum, I get a lot of DMs on social media about being a parent – like yeah, my kid isn’t sleeping either. Anything that they remember from the show is always really cool. It makes me proud whenever what we’ve discussed has made an impact on someone.
There was a time when I was too preoccupied with saying the ‘right thing’, because my opinions are usually very different from what others might think. But now, with social media, it’s all about the interaction and engagement – someone else may share the same thoughts about a topic, and by voicing your own opinions, you are validating their experiences as well. So I’m a little bit more free with what I say, and not too caught up with what people are going to think about me.
When it was announced that Carol, Josh and I were doing the morning show on Kiss92 in July, quite a number of people said I wouldn’t be able to do it because I’m a mum. As mothers, we have to deal with the expectations that society puts on us: If you don’t work, then you’re just a housewife, but if you do, how are you going to manage a career and family? They would say things like, she’s not going to be able to cope with waking up early in the morning and having a kid. Now, I’m trying for a second child. So, it can be done; women are capable of achieving a lot of things.
Juggling a morning show, a toddler, and two dogs is exhausting on many fronts. My older dog Blitz had a urinary tract infection and, because I’d been so busy, it took a week before I could get her to the vet. My kid is also not sleeping through the night and she had Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in August, a month after I started at the morning show. So, I was just constantly tired, and when I got HFMD too, I became a little bit more short-tempered. I can’t help feeling mum guilt – it was also my husband’s birthday when all of this was happening, and I couldn’t really celebrate with him. I thought, I’m not giving my 100 per cent as a wife, as a fur mum to my dogs, and as a mum to Lily. But it’s only been a couple of months, so we will figure this out. I just need more time to power through this adjustment period.
When I first started, I was told that you can’t say you’re tired because no one wants to hear that from a DJ. But now, people want to know – if you’re having a bad day, listeners can really relate, and they even engage with advice. Being truthful about who you are and what you are feeling helps a lot. As long as you stay true to who you are, someone will connect with you.”
The Morning Show on Kiss92 FM airs weekdays, 6-10am.
PHOTOGRAPHY Lawrence Teo
CREATIVE DIRECTION Windy Aulia
ART DIRECTION Adeline Eng
STYLING Dolphin Yeo, assisted by Thomas Hong
HAIR & MAKEUP Aung Apichai, using Bobbi Brown and Kevin Murphy; Benedict Choo, using MAC Cosmetics
Text: Azlinda Said & Chelsia Tan/HerWorld