Shock TacticsWith her dramatic transformation in the runaway box-office smash Love on a Diet, Canto superstar Sammi Cheng underlined her chameleon-like reputation for dramatic image changes. As she prepares for a new series of concerts in Hong Kong, B International went in search of the real Sammi Cheng. Shocking is a word that well fits the career of local singing and movie star Sammi Cheng, not only because it is the theme of her latest CD, Shocking Pink, as well as her Shocking Colours concert tour, but also because it is a perfect description of the local star's rise to megastardom. First, of course, there is her continually surprising, Madonna-esque image changes ?from her daring album The Ten Commandments, (1994) and her trend-setting "Nike" eyebrows and feather bra-top stage costume, to the winsome office lady in the film Needing You, and more recently as the hilariously obese love interest in the recent cinema smash, Love on a Diet, in which she starred with Andy Lau. And even if this fails to impress, the numbers certainly do. So far, Love on a Diet has earned in the region of HK$40 million. Not bad for someone who is still a comparative newcomer to the movie world. Meanwhile, her newly released album, Shocking Pink, which is number one on the HMV Canto pop chart, is predicted to be the best-selling album of the year. In face of all these accomplishments, who can argue that Sammi is not Hong Kong's current it girl? Although it is probably going too far to say that meeting Sammi is a shocking experience, it does serve to surprise, particularly in light of all the gossip that is churned out about her, especially her quick and unpredictable temper. As a result, before our interview I was bracing myself for combative hour or so. Yet after only a short while Sammi revealed herself to be reassuringly unassuming and down to earth, and sometimes downright funny. Sammi was a young starter in the Canto pop scene. At only 15, while still a secondary school student, she was a contestant in TVB's New Talent Singing Contest, finally coming in a close second. "I went [to the contest] for the sake of accompanying a male friend who liked singing. At that time, the application fee was only $10 or $15, so I went with him. I never thought I would make it, though," says Sammi. "In fact, I never thought of becoming a star when I was a kid. To be frank, even to this day, I still don't feel that I'm a star. I think of myself as a singer and an actress. To me, a star is someone who lives a very glamorous and colourful life, but I still live with my parents and siblings. When I get home after work my life is very ordinary. I'm just playing the role of a daughter and am very attached to my family." Although Sammi is adamant that her lifestyle is very mundane outside of work, some of her habits and hobbies might be considered eccentric for the average Hong Konger. "I usually can't fall asleep early, so I won't go to bed till dawn, and then sleep till noon," she says. "When I'm awake at night, I usually read or write letters. Sometimes it's difficult to express things verbally, and I prefer to use writing instead. I've had the habit for a long time, since I was studying in form one. I know it's not a fashionable thing to do any more, but I like the feeling of picking up a pen to write. These days I usually write to my family, because sometimes the timing is not right ?either I'm in bed or my sisters are at work. Sometimes my letters are on trivial stuff, but sometimes there are important things such as my feelings. I don't talk about them much, so I write instead." After having come in second runner-up in the New Talent Singing Contest, Sammi was signed by local independent record company Capital Artists and her singing career was launched. It was at this time that Sammi made a serious promise to her father. "When I first entered showbiz, my father became quite ill and had to have an operation. I remember just before he went into theatre, we were uncertain whether he would make it, so I made a promise to him that I would try my best at work to achieve good results. I don't know whether or not he still remembers that incident now ?perhaps it's too embarrassing for us to talk about it again after all these years ?but I have been trying to keep my promise." Certainly, few could argue with her spectacular rise, yet the path to success hasn't always been easy. When she first began her career, Sammi admits that she was a little on the chubby side, particularly when compared to her present figure. For someone who works in a competitive industry where image and appearance come first, her weight could be one of the biggest career hurdles. She tells me about some of the programs-from-hell that she underwent, which saw her weight plunge from 138lbs to just over 100lbs. "I'm still on a diet," she confesses. "Everything has a price. I've already passed the phase when I am very worn out every day. I think my body has adapted to this kind of physical overload. Shooting a movie is a great physical strain, but my body knows how to adjust to it. Today, I've been eating more, especially protein-rich foods, for the upcoming concert. I need to tone up my muscles and have been doing two hours of weight training each day. I have put on five pounds and weigh 107lbs now." Over the years, fans have seen Sammi's career go through many different stages, but the one change that audiences may not have noticed, but which is significant to Sammi, is how she relates to her concert audiences. "In the past, I relied on the audience to ignite me in a concert, but now I realise that I'm the one who has to ignite their emotions. It requires an enormous amount of energy to propel the audience when you are on stage." In her previous concerts, extravagant stage sets, outlandish makeup and lavish costumes have all conveyed the image of an untouchable superstar, yet today Sammi believes this image is less tenable. "I think audiences have found me more approachable since I began to act, especially in those comedies," she says. "Nowadays, my singing career and my movies are very much tied together. Many of my songs are movie theme songs, and audiences tend to project the roles I've played in movies onto Sammi. For example, fans often project the nervousness of Kinki [the heroine of Needing You] onto me. "But apart from doing the kind of mainstream stuff that the market demands, I also want to do the kind of things I like. For example, I'll continue to collaborate with Chen Shan Nei. Shan Nei is a Taiwanese songwriter whom I like very much. Her music is quite avant-garde in Taiwan and she has a strong personality. I like to have a little non-mainstream kind of music on my albums otherwise I find it a little bit boring. Shan Nei knows how to turn my music into something more refreshing." With concert dates ahead, as well as a string of new movies and future album projects lined up in Hong Kong and Taiwan, people tend to think that Sammi is a career woman with serious long-term plans, but Sammi disagrees. "I don't have a lot of goals - honestly - and they are not very long term. They're usually within the time frame of half a year to a year. As a result, I don't plan for something, say, three years ahead. I'm not that far-sighted. It's like when you feel hungry ?you will go to eat even when you are on a diet. I'm very intuitive." But could Sammi's intuitive approach to life, especially in relationships ?business and otherwise ?be the cause of the widespread rumours that she is a difficult person to get along with? "I think getting along with people and becoming friends is something that happens naturally and can't be forced," she says. "Even the nastiest robber may have good qualities, whereas the most saintly person has got his dark side. It's a matter of how much a person exposes himself. I guess it requires a bit of patience to get along with me because I'm the kind of person that takes a bit of warming up." With Sammi turning 29 in August, I asked her how she feels about the approach of the big 30? "Many people think that a 30-year-old woman should be independent and mature. I think it gives me less excuse to do things that I'm not supposed to do, such as losing my temper and not doing work well. I used to be very impatient and became frustrated quite easily. My father hasn't got a drop ?and I mean one single drop ?of patience at all, and I learned to be impatient from him. But you have to have patience working in showbiz; have the patience to wait for your luck, and wait for the process of work. I've been trained to be much more patient now. While trying to get rid of bad habits, I feel that one can face one's 30s more light-heartedly as well. After all, having lived for 30 years, one can relax a bit to welcome a new phase." By Eleanor Cheung
My life is very ordinary I'm just playing the role of a daughter.
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