the STAR next door (Copyrights, HER WORLD MAGAZINE)
Stefanie Sun's bigger than ever after one-year hiatus, but you
wouldn't be able to tell if you bumped into her on the street.
DONNA TANG basks in her warmth.
SHE WAS SUPPOSED to spend her break recharging her batteries.
But Stefanie Sun's idea of vegging out isn't like us mortal folks'.
Granted, she did do the usual stuff like travelling to Bangkok
and Tokyo and slumping in her sofa to watch reruns of American
soap Days Of Our Lives. But she also managed to set up Make Music,
a talent management agency-cum-music production house here, and
recorded her comeback album, Stefanie.
It's what you would expect of a hyperactive star anyway. After all,
she didn't become Singapore's best-known export with million-dollar
record sales to her name by just sitting around watching daytime soaps.
"I know my career will be shortlived," says the 26-year-old songbird,
whose five years in the industry has given her an insight into
the fickle world of pop music.
"If I don't give my best now, it'll be over soon. I have big plans
for my current album, which was launched late last year.
It's already sold xx,xxx copies here. I want to move on from doing
'achy-breaky' songs."
But if Her World Young Woman Achiever in 2001 has any worries about
her career, it isn't obvious when she strides in for the interview,
dressed simply in a spaghetti-strapped top and jeans. She looks
happy and relaxed despite the fact that she's just taking a breather
from promoting her album and has sprained her toe in a freak domestic
accident.
And she just can't keep still, bouncing up and down in the makeup chair,
twisting around to share snippets of gossip with everyone.
"I guess I'll mellow at some stage," she says, "But right now,
I just want breakneck speed and lots of excitement."
There are no airs about this star whose eight albums have sold a total
of x.x million copies and who is so recognisable that she came in
third in a poll for Singaporean of the Year 2003, just 30 votes behind
then - Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
No sunglasses, no bodyguards. Stefanie comes alone (she
dodged her managers to do do this interview) and is not above
helping stylist Johnny Khoo carry the bagloads of clothes and
accessories she is to wear for the photo shoot later.
Even Johnny, who has styled many a famous face before and is
understandably blase about meeting stars, falls under her spell.
"Stef is such a sweet girl, " he tells everyone at the studio.
"She doesn't have to do that, for who she is. We aren't even
close; I haven't worked with her for the last few years."
But that's the kind of girl she is. Her tutorial-mates from
the Nanyang Technological University, where she studied
business, say that when they bump into her, she'd come over
and say hi first.
There's just something about her that makes you want to
sit down with her and have a girly chat. Marcia Tan, one
the singer's managers, says it's her unpretentious nature
at play: "She is someone whom girls find non-threatening
and guys find likeable. There's a realness to her that
makes easy to like and work with, and I think that's
exactly what makes her so successful."
Everything about Stefanie is designed to put you at ease
- from her cheeky grin to her speech peppered with "lah"s
and "lor"s. A peek into her family life shows how
similar she is to other 26-year-olds: "My younger
sis and I are always scolding each other and calling
each other 'Bitch'. It's fun."
This is the side of Stefanie that has endeared her to
millions. But it's this very niceness that worries celeb
hairdresser and starmaker David Gan. "I like her
because she's nice and down-to-earth. But I think
stars shouldn't be so down-to-earth; they have to have
X-factor. People want to see a star, not their neighbour."
Her thousands of fans, who cherish her personal e-mail
updates and replies on fan-sites, wouldn't agree.
They rave instead about how she makes sure she signs
every autograph at meet-the-fans sessions,
bringing a small pillow and getting massages from
her attendees to ease her aching wrists.
"She's not 'posey' or 'plastic' like other singers."
explains Susan Chia, 26, who's been a fan for four years.
"She's accessible, polite and approachable in person.
You get a sense that she's real and genuine, just like
her songs are. That's exactly her charm."
~HER WORLD MAGAZINE~
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