Preap Sovath ( Cambdian Singer

Cambodia’s best-known celebrity is actor and singer Preap Sovath. Immensely popular in his home country, Sovath has a talent for keeping his audience interested. Above all, he's a singer, but few will doubt his talent on the big screen.

Appearing in everything from music videos, to film, Sorvath's exploits in 2007 earned him the top honour at the Cambodian Film Festival. For Sovath, the biggest challenge was not simply becoming a celebrity, but remaining one - he confided to RFI.

In Cambodia, new stars appear every day: They are born at nightfall and then disappear as soon as the sun rises, making way for those to come the night after. It’s rare for an actor to survive longer than three years. As a result, they tend to adopt a similar, rigid, style and find it difficult to adapt to the tastes of the public.

Sovath, to the contrary, knew how to conserve his popularity. He’s been the country’s highest-billed star for almost 20 years. It all started when he began singing in 1990, at a time when Cambodian cinema was not yet developed.

Apart from foreign films, karaoke music clips were all the graced screens in Cambodia. Sovath, a singer but also a talented actor, quickly joined Hang Meas, the biggest producer of music video clips in Cambodia.