23 January 2003

IS newbie singer Lu Rui En an ‘all natural’ girl as her record company touts her to be?

Well, she appeared to be – at first.

Dressed in casual gear for her press conference to launch her debut album, the Singaporean wore minimal makeup and looked like any trendy youngster plucked off the street.

‘This is how I usually dress. I like comfy and baggy clothes,’ she said.

Grimacing, the 21-year-old added: ‘I can never ever have a sexy image because I don’t like to wear tight clothing. I will not be able to tahan (Malay for take it)!’

But when it came to fielding media queries, being ‘natural’ with her responses was a big no-go for Rui En.

Or maybe it was her manager.

At the barest hint of anything controversial, she would cut in and try to answer on Rui En’s behalf.

Like when we asked Rui En if she felt any frustration while in Taiwan because of her limited Mandarin.

Before Rui En could reply, her manager said rather defensively: ‘She wasn’t like, frustrated. It was more awkward than anything.’

Or when we asked how it was like for Rui En to work with Taiwanese singer Jay Chou (he wrote her a song and she appeared in his music video).

‘Oh, we are just like siblings,’ said Rui En, glancing at her manager, and trying to explain.

‘I see him only as a brother and we like to kid around,’ she added, as her manager nodded.

MORE INTERRUPTIONS

An attempt to find out more about Rui En’s upcoming Channel 5 drama, Chemistry, was also nipped in the bud by the ever-so-protective minder.

In Chemistry, Rui En is paired up with newcomer Howard Cheung, and their characters are supposed to fall in love after some initial misunderstandings.

We tried to ask if there were any awkward scenes.

And, expectedly, the manager decided to reply on her behalf: ‘Why don’t you go and watch the show?’

When Rui En admitted that she did have a kissing scene, her manager cut in with: ‘It was just a resuscitation scene!’

But Rui En corrected her: ‘Yes, there was a resuscitation scene, but there was also a kissing scene.

‘The resuscitation scene was awkward because we really had to kiss, and we didn’t do it very naturally because we were nervous.’

It was probably her most ‘natural’ comment throughout the interview.

It would be nice to talk to Rui En again – that is, if she can speak for herself.

Rui En’s self-titled album is out in stores now.

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in Rui ∑n vol. 01, The New Paper.