SINGAPORE, May 9 — Hong Kong-born star Wakin Chau would not encourage his daughter, Anya Chua, to enter the music business.
Anya, 23, is studying music and about to graduate. She also has a Youtube channel, on which she occasionally posts videos of herself singing.
But Chau, 56, thinks that she is “just alright” and “not outstanding” when it comes to singing.
He added: “I feel that one member of the family being in the music line is enough.”
He would be happy if her aspirations were simply to be a music teacher, he said. Chau, who spoke at a press conference to promote his upcoming August show in Singapore, revealed that he has been disappointed in the past when he has invited Anya to record in his studio.
She nonchalantly tells him “No, it’s alright, I am not very interested”, Chau said, with the sigh of a belaboured father.
On the other hand, the award-winning singer — known as the “maestro of Mandarin love ballads” — is all for his son, Andrew, making forays into acting.
The 27-year-old has appeared on Chinese variety shows, sometimes alongside his famous father.
Andrew has had an interest in theatre since he was a teen, said Chau, whose two children are with his American wife, Constance Woods.
He has no intention of appearing with Andrew in any future shows, and has full confidence that Andrew can make it on his own — without his father’s help.
“I think he can do it, he is pretty good at (acting),” he said.
Chau himself has appeared in films such as Gorgeous (1999), Mr Nice Guy (1997) and Purple Storm (1999).
But for most part, he has focused on music, releasing some 40 albums — in Cantonese, Mandarin and English — since 1985.
During the press conference, he looked back on his long career, saying it was tough to be accepted in the music industry.
“When I first entered the industry, I was still a greenhorn and very new. I was just learning how to write songs,” he recalled.
In the beginning, he also often had to pay for recordings out of his own pocket.
Chau, who comes from a family of seven children, began playing music in coffee shops and cafes as a student at National Taiwan University.
He had dreams of becoming a singer, but constantly ran into dead ends. Instead, he became an assistant producer at Taiwan’s Rock Records, where he wrote pop songs for others.
As luck would have it, he ended up singing several commercial jingles, and one caught the ear of his Rock Records boss.
It led to Chau recording an album under Rock Records in 1987, and he remains with the label to this day.
Although it is some 30 years later, Chau is not quite done with making music. Looking towards the future, he will focus on “writing songs that I want”.
Some 20 years ago, Chau experienced a revelation. He had been turning out records almost yearly in the 1990s.
In the 2000s, he said he felt as though he was “just handing in homework”.
Now, he will only release music he feels strongly about, even if it means lapses between albums.
His last album was Jiang Hu (2013).
He is currently working on assembling a new band, with younger talent, said Chua. “We are looking to develop a unique, personal style,” he said.
“I want to focus on soft rock, kind of like Coldplay.”
“We may surprise people ... I may not even be the lead singer in the band.” — TODAY
* The Wakin Chau 2017 Encore in Singapore concert will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on August 26.
** Tickets, from S$98 to S$198 (RM302.28 to RM610.73), are available at Sports Hub.
