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... and that does not include his lover, Faye Wong. But hang on, the IT Boy in Hongkong Nicholas Tse is just talking about his prized guitar collection
By Suzanne Sng
-from Straits Times
NICHOLAS TSE sure sounds like a man truly, madly, deeply in love.But if you think that the enfant terrible of Hongkong's showbiz is besotted blindly with his girlfriend Faye Wong, who is 11 years older, well, think again.
The 20-year-old popster's obsession is of a more lyrical nature - what he loves to caress more are not the curves of his diva girlfriend of one year, but those of his shapely guitars.
His prized collection of 50 Fender Stratocastor, Ibanez, Gibson and other electric guitars has been built up painstakingly from the time when he was 15. That was the year his celebrity parents, Deborah Li and Patrick Tse, divorced and packed their troubled offspring off to study music and dance in Japan.
No wonder, then, that the lonesome boy found solace in musical instruments. 'The best thing about guitars is that they don't talk back,' he says, mustering an almost-passionate inflection to his lazy American drawl. 'If you keep them in good condition, they're great,' he raves over the phone from Hongkong in an interview. 'They allow you to express your fear, passion, happiness, joy, everything.
'But people can't do that,' he adds with a snort of laughter. Known for his reticence when it comes to matters of the heart, the practised charmer fends off probing questions with easy humour. 'Young men, they have a period of time when they have a liking for certain things.'
He lists them off the top of his head: 'Guitars, sports cars, guns, rock music ...'
Older women, perhaps? The sly man-boy keeps mum. All he lets slip is a philosophical piece of hokum: 'Love does not have to be something between man and woman, woman and woman or man and man.'
Right, the artful dodger is talking about those darned guitars again.
DON'T WORRY, HE WON'T REPEAT IT
REBEL without a cause. Gen-Y bad boy. Ill-mannered rock punk. Negative labels have been slapped on this dashing young man since he made his expletive-spewing, guitar-smashing debut four years ago.
Add to this, whispers of his riding on Daddy's celebrity cachet - Tse senior was a movie heart-throb in his heyday in the 1960s and is still a commanding presence in showbiz - and his eyebrow-raising courtship of Wong, the divorced older pop diva with child Dou Jingtong in tow. No wonder the rumour mill has gone into rabid overdrive.
Among the reams of tabloid news devoted to him, few focused on his talents as a melancholic rock singer, hotly-sought-after songwriter or credible teen actor. No wonder he is angry. No wonder he is guarded.
No wonder at his first concert at the Hongkong Coliseum last November - you are a nobody until you perform at the Coliseum - he wore a singlet that screamed 'F*** you'.
Unrepentantly, after the brouhaha has died down, he says: 'I was surprised by the reaction. It suited well to what I wanted to say. 'It's my reaction to the media and what they've been writing about me and my career the whole of last year.' 'The word described them pretty well,' he says of the media.
But in case the audience here is worried that he may repeat his performance - right down to the letter F - later this month in his first Singapore concert, he reassures by saying: 'I don't think the Singapore media needs that.'
In spite of all the bad press, he is the undisputed It Boy in Hongkong.
But don't expect this brash upstart to pander to popular tastes either. There will be no crowd-pleasing song-and-dance items. No flamboyant, gender-bending costumes. As he puts it succinctly: 'Music.'
'I didn't lower myself to do the typical Hongkong fashion show. I don't like changing on stage,' he says proudly of his six pared-down sold-out shows in Hongkong. His concert tour itinerary will also include Beijing, Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur.
'Don't tell me how fast I have to change, how many changes I have to make, how many firecrackers you're going to set off. 'It doesn't mean jack to me.'
Not one to mince his words, he continues: 'When I smashed a guitar, people said I threw a tantrum. But you look at AC/DC and Nirvana. They smashed guitars and threw drums into the audience. I think it's fantastic.'
Although his beloved guitars are the casualties of his idolisation of those heavy-metal rockers, he says: 'I pick up the remains and keep them at home. Although the guitar is dead, it is still living in my life.'
His defiance comes through over the static on the phone line: 'Just because the four Heavenly Kings don't do that doesn't mean I can't do it.' Yet, in the next breath, he protests: 'But I don't break that many rules.' Reformed rebel? Nope, he is not quite there yet. And thank goodness, for who needs yet another Andy or Aaron?
DADDY AND MUMMY DEAREST
PATRICK TSE, 64, and Deborah Li, 49. Both were screen idols in the 1960s. NICHOLAS TSE grew up coddled in the bosoms of film stars and dandled on the knees of movie moguls - all friends of his famous parents. Patrick Tse and Deborah Li - their names have resurfaced a lot more recently, thanks to their son overtaking them in the popularity stakes - had been married for more than two decades.
Life was a star-filled fairytale for the precocious boy and his younger sister Ting Ting, until the celebrity coupling fell apart in 1995. His Mum remarried last year to a Singaporean commercial pilot known only as Mr Kong or Moustache Kong. Although family ties remain strong, with his Dad even giving away his ex-wife at her wedding last year, relations are less than smooth, with the son airing dirty laundry on Dad's financial problems ever so often. And, concerning his stepfather, Tse only said nonchalantly: 'I have only one Dad.'
OLDER WOMAN
FAYE WONG, 31, undisputed diva of Chinese pop and divorced mother of Dou Jingtong, four, her daughter from her three-year marriage to rocker Dou Wei. The headline-hogging 11-year gap between the divorced pop icon and the brash young upstart is by now so well-documented that further recounting is superfluous.
But consider that it has been one whole year since the incredulous story surfaced in the Hongkong rags that they were spotted sharing an intimate mug of beer - and they are still together. And if anything, the love affair between these strange bedfellows has grown more open and tender.
The most touching story so far? A petulant Wong had penned Love Letters To Myself in her latest album, Fable, as her lover-boy did not give her enough honeyed words. But they soon kissed and made up when the love-struck youth wrote Senses for his album Viva, with soppy lines like: 'My life only begins when I see you sleeping next to me' and 'When I think of you (and only you), I can't help but quiver.' Awwww, the power of love.
THE STARK FACT: The tongue-wagging age gap between the couple means that the year she made her recording debut, 1988, was when he was celebrating his seventh birthday. Naysayers bet that, 10 to one, the couple will not make it. Only time will tell.
At the rehearsal, Nicolas Tse Ting-Feng (centre) used his new record label mate Eason Chan Yik-Shun (left) in denying rumours that he has proposed to girlfriend Faye Wong on their recent trip to Paris. The rumours were sparked when Tse and Wong were spotted wearing matching rings upon their return. Tse: "I did not propose. I don't know why this rumour would get out. Does wearing a ring on your finger mean you proposed? Well, Eason just gave me a ring as a birthday present. Does that mean Eason proposed?"
When asked if the rings had any significance, Tse replied: "I'm not answering that. Rings can represent something but they can also represent nothing."
Na Ying, Carina Lau Ka-Ling and Nicolas Tse Ting-Feng attended a Mid-Autumn Festival event last night in which Tse performed. When reporters suggested that Na did not approve of the Tse - Wong relationship by noting that Tse -- boyfriend of Faye Wong -- and Na -- friend of Faye Wong -- ignored each other by sitting three tables away, Tse answered: "Do you think that I can sit where I want to sit? I don't even know her. We actually haven't been introduced yet. What's the big deal whether or not we exchange greetings? If we do, you'll write about it. If we don't, you'll write about it. I hope you guys relax."
When Na was asked about the situation, she replied: "I don't know him so why should we exchange greetings. If I went over to say allow, wouldn't you say it was strange? I'm not crazy. The reason that I haven't spoken to him is that because I don't know him."
When asked if she thinks of Tse's looks and his music, Na answered: "I haven't had the urge to listen to his music. What business of mine whether or not he's good looking? In Beijing, there are good looking guys all over the place."
UNDERSTAND -- Nicholas Tse
EQ Music
EFFORTS to find traces of Faye Wong's influence in this album are futile.
What you find in abundance, instead, is Nicholas Tse baring his soul and pectorals. Not that he needs to resort to flesh tactics to sell his album.
His first Mandarin record Grateful For Your Love 1999, riding on his popularity as a Young Heavenly King, was a bestseller.
So it is not surprising that his follow-up would trek the same vein and pack in more of the angst and moody songs. In fact, the first single You Won't Understand is Grateful For Your Love 2000 -- but with a new set of lyrics.
Tse is like the antithesis of Panda Xiong. The latter soothes pain over with his mellifluous voice and brittle hopes, but Tse plunges down to depths of sub-zero emotional freeze.
He wants to reach out for love, but arms himself with gnarling guitar riffs against heartbreak and what-ifs. Not recommended if you are in a state of depression -- unless you have Wong as a band-aid, of course.
-from Straits Times
OVER the past weekend, the outspoken Nicholas Tse had been engulfed in yet another media controversy, this time not over his love life, but over remarks he made to an online magazine. This led to a ban on him by TVB, a major Hongkong TV station.
When asked for his opinion on www.timeasia.com on why Hongkong did not have a band culture, he replied: "There are several reasons. Firstly, there are not enough live shows here.
"Secondly, let's say the biggest local media in Hongkong is TVB. To me, that is the most disgraceful media in Hongkong.
"They are delivering the worst message to the audience in terms of music, you get three minutes at most, no rehearsals. I've done a couple of screwed-up shows for them and it really pissed me off.
"Thirdly, there are only really four or five guitarists in Hongkong. There aren't many musicians."
Taking offence at his words, TVB last Friday put the singer in cold storage, banning him from performing on the station's shows. Only an apology from him will get the ban lifted.
When he met the press here last Saturday, he said: "I don't want to say any more. Words are useless." He clarified: "In the interview, I did not use such serious words. But after being translated and written down, it sounded much more serious."
Denying reports that he had apologised to TVB, he insisted: "This is the matter of principle. If my words are true, I will never change them."
-from Straits Times
NICHOLAS TSE
AGE: He turns 20 on Aug 29
MARITAL STATUS: Single
FAMILY AFFAIRS: Dad is Patrick Tse, flamboyant movie heartthrob of the 1960s. Mom is Deborah Li, another showbiz star. The couple divorced in 1996.
MUSIC: Made his recording debut in 1997 at the age of 17. (Coincidentally, that was the same year that Faye Wong's daughter Dou Jingtong was born.) Has a total of eight Mandarin and Cantonese albums under his belt, the latest being Zero Distance.
MOVIES: A slew of young punk roles in movies such as Young And Dangerous: The Prequel, Gen-X Cops and Metade Fumaca.
OTHER WOMEN: Cantopop Queen Sammi Cheng's name has been linked to his, after they were spotted singing the night away at a karaoke joint last year. She is eight years his senior, and also attached to another Hongkong singer, Andy Hui. Other rumoured paramours include Gigi Leung and Kelly Chen, all older than him.
ONCE SAID: That his role model is Faye Wong. ""I really admire her. She's my role model. Hopefully, there will come a day when I will surpass her.''
FAYE WONG
AGE: She turns 31 on Aug 8
MARITAL STATUS: Divorced last year after a three-year marriage
FAMILY AFFAIRS: Ex-husband is Dou Wei, a Chinese rocker with the band Black Panther. Daughter Dou Jingtong is three years old and in her custody.
MUSIC: Made her recording debut in Hongkong with the decidedly uncool name of Shirley Wong in 1988. (Coincidentally, that was when Tse left Hongkong to study in Canada at the age of seven.) She has more than 40 singles and albums to her name, in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Her last Mandarin offering was Lovers And Strangers.
MOVIES: Acting is not this songbird's forte, though she did turn in a commendable performance in Chungking Express.
OTHER MEN: She has a soft spot for guitar-slinging dudes. Before marrying rocker Dou Wei, she dated his fellow band member, Shu Wei. And Tse is known for playing a mean electric guitar.
ONCE SAID: After her much-publicised split from Dou, she was asked about falling in love again. ""I'd rather take things as they come. There is no need to be anxious about these things. I'm leaving it to fate.''
Nicholas Tse says he can learn a thing or two from Dou Wei -from Straits Times
ALMOST a week after being photographed holding hands with singer Faye Wong, Hongkong heart-throb Nicholas Tse is still keeping his lips sealed about the relationship.
In Beijing last Friday to receive an award at the 2000 CCTV-MTV Music Awards, he barred questions on the issue when he met the press.
So he was shocked momentarily when a reporter asked him a question instead on Wong's former husband, Chinese rocker Dou Wei.
However, Tse, who won an award for Artiste With Best Potential, handled the question coolly and with aplomb.
Asked whether he would work with Dou in recording projects, he replies: ""I won't mind working with Dou Wei. I can learn from him as I want to learn more.''
He even defended Dou by refuting a reporter's comment that the latter's songs are not popular. ""Being popular doesn't mean that one's music is good. I listened to many of Dou's songs,'' he said.
The romance of Tse and Wong has been the talk of the Hongkong media as Tse is 19 and Wong, who has a daughter, is 31.
Wong flew reportedly to Beijing last week in what appears to be yet another secret rendezvous with Tse.
Meanwhile, Dou has reportedly separated from Gao Yuan, the Chinese photographer, who was the third party in the break up of his marriage.
Tse charms but evades Faye Wong queries In town to open Bossini's new concept store, Hongkong upstart Nicholas Tse proves evasive when questioned about his romance with diva Faye Wong
By SUZANNE SNG
OVERHEARD: "Ooh, he's only 19 years old, but he is so man. No wonder Faye Wong likes him." The man-boy in question was Hongkong upstart Nicholas Tse -- budding singer-actor, offspring of divorced celebs Patrick Tse and Deborah Li, and the hand-holding partner of 11-years-older Faye Wong. Boyishly charming, he looked every bit the teenager with his long tinted fringe and clad casually in Bossini togs -- he's the Hongkong label's latest poster-boy and was in town for a new store's opening last Saturday. But his quiet words and demeanour betrayed his weariness of constant media scrutiny.
Of late, reams of newsprint have been devoted -- not to his meteorically rising career -- but to his spring- 80m summer romance with Wong, who is not only a pop icon, but also a 30-year-old divorced mother.
The most recent reports were a fortnight ago, when the two were snapped hand-in-hand and beaming as they left a party in the wee hours of the morning in Hongkong. This confirmed months of rumours that they were lovers, which began after they were spotted sharing a mug of beer and kissing in March. But when quizzed about the hand-holding incident last Saturday, the cheeky chap merely quipped: "Just holding a person's hand, does it mean that we are in love?" He then proceeded to clutch the hand of the emcee of the event. An embarrassed male emcee, to be exact.
Armed with such non-answers and oiled with his sly humour, he wriggled out of each probing question fired by the swarm of notepad-clutching journalists. For instance, he was prodded on whether Wong had accompanied him on this whirl-wind promotion trip, since she had recently acquired the habit of jet-setting around to be with him.
"You can go and look for her," he threw back at the reporters, flashing his trademark puppydog grin. "I won't say that it is impossible to find her. And if you find her, do let me know." Hoping to fish some tidbit of gossip, a juicy quote, anything at all, from the smooth operator, the reporters then asked him to choose his favourite role -- singer, actor, son or boyfriend.
"I like all of them," he replied without revealing anything. Continuing cryptically, he added: "I can choose not to be a singer or actor. I can choose not to be a boyfriend. But this is a rare chance for me to do something that I like. I must treasure it."
He was stumped only when a scribe went for the jugular. What exactly attracted him to the insouciant pop queen? Was it because she was the embodiment of "cool"? "I really don't know what 'cool' means. Maybe when you are serious about something, then it seems cool," he said. After hemming and hawing painfully, he confessed feebly: "I really don't know. I really don't know."
Throughout the 1-1/2-hour opening ceremony, fashion show and press conference at Ngee Ann City, he was all fidgety. Flicking his green-tinted fringe. Tapping his feet to the thumping music. Rearranging himself on the couch. Gazing around constantly . But his guard did not drop even when questions steered towards his series of solo concerts in November in Hongkong. Especially when the subject of whom he will choose to be his special guest star came up.
"Why must it be her?" he queried, showing signs of impatience for a split second, but not once referring to Wong as his girlfriend, or even by name. However, recovering his composure, he added: "Any singer can come and be my special guest star." As for movies, he was also not likely to have her play his leading lady. "At first there was nothing. Then it became something vague," he joked, about how the whole affair came to light in the press. "Then there was holding of hands. It's a real-life drama."
Grinning over how cleverly he evaded yet another loaded question, he added: "So there is no need to make a movie with both of us in it."
(c) Copyright Singapore Press Holdings Ltd,
FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS TVB'S BAN ON NICHOLAS TSE TING FUNG IS REASONABLE
Nicholas Tse Ting Fung in the Time magazine online interview criticized TVB music program and was banned by TVB. Finally he has publicly admitted that he has made a mistake.
TVB's ban against Tse Ting Fung included no appearance on TVB program and no Jade Solid Gold award for him. When a medium is openly criticized by its contract singers, a ban is perfectly suitable. Though the boss of Tse Ting Fung's management agency, Empire Entertainment, Yeung Sau Sing has also openly accepted TVB's punishment. TVB has also made a clear point to only target Tse Ting Fung and not the entire Empire Entertainment Group.
On the second day after TVB taking action, Tse Ting Fung admitted that he made a mistake. The matter should not go further. One should say, temporarily both sides have done what they should do.
Whether Tse Ting Fung's interview was translated incorrectly, his words have suspicions of being overboard. His personality was originally even more rebellious, but last year he has became more reserved and thus he became more successful. Hopefully he can learn from this time and watch what he says even more.
Tse Ting Fung is a TVB contract singer. If he is upset at TVB, he can communicate his opinion through his management agency or other means. If TVB does not accept his suggestion, he can decline to renew his contract once it is up as a sign of protest. Without a TVB contract, he can criticize all he wants. Like Francis Ng Chun Yu and Patrick Tam Yiu Man who have discussed some of TVB's negative points publicly, TVB has said that it would take action.
However because when they made the discussions they had no contract with TVB, if TVB took drastically action, everyone would feel TVB to be tyrannical. The difference lies there. Criticized by contract singers, TVB naturally felt disrespected and had to take action.
However, besides taking action, TVB should think about the singer's criticism to see how much of it is true. In terms of music program, TVB indeed has not done a good enough job. Music program flagship JADE SOLID GOLD has become a practical joke game show. Since the show can go without its music portion, singers naturally are a little upset. This is not the first time factory style production has had a problem.
If rehearsal time was not enough, if that is true, improvement must be made. This is a constructive suggestion. Ample rehearsal time means better preparation for a singer. The result would be even better.
If music program rating is not good enough, perhaps the station can create a few more sincere and professional music program for off peak hours. With TVB's resources, it would be easy. Any criticism, with the emotional parts removed, can reveal some truth.
- KWOK HIN CHING
***=Interview and source credits go to "Hong Kong Entertainment in Review"
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