Hype Records artiste Rui En reverted to using her original name recently. Despite it being only a slight change in the Chinese character “Rui”, she felt more at eased than before.
Rui En, though known to many as a straightforward and opinionated artiste, seems to have her reservations too.
When she first entered the industry, her company in Taiwan gave her an artiste name; she did not like it, but neither did she voice out nor ask for the reason.
“Nothing special that happened that made me want to change back to my original name. I don’t know how to explain in words, it’s just an uncomfortable feeling towards my previous artiste name. I don’t feel that I’m being my natural self,” Rui En added, “I have never asked if they had seek a fortune teller’s advice when they decided to give me an artiste name, but I do not really believe in fortune telling, or to change names for better luck. I feel that being natural, being me is the best.”
Despite Rui En being more fluent in and comfortable with the English language, the company wanted her to start her singing career with Mandarin pop. Rui En agreed without expressing her own opinions and feelings at that point in time.
“Though I speak English most of the time, I have not considered singing any English songs yet. I think the English music industry in Singapore is very small,” Rui En explained.
She denied that commercial considerations stopped her from singing English songs.
“The company wanted me to sing Mandarin songs from the very start. That’s the way it is. But I do hope that I can record one or two English songs in the future.”
The 28 year-old artiste described herself as someone who “gives a very distant feeling”. Some adore her personality; others simply hate her for that aloof look.
While some artiste managers will take the extra effort to “package” their artistes and cover up the non-media-friendly side of their artistes, Rui En’s boss, Ken Lim, encouraged her to be her real self.
Rui En shared, “Ken has never had objections to anything. He has never said things like ‘we can’t be like that because of fans or public opinions. He gave me the courage to be who I really am. Going back to be one true self needs a lot of courage, especially in the entertainment industry. Everyone has already pre-determined an image or a certain personality for you.”
Rui En admitted that there are many different sides of her; most artistes portray a happy and bubbly image in front of the camera to create entertainment effects, but are actually quiet and solemn in their personal lives; Rui En is a complete opposite. In front of the media, she is like an “ice princess”; but tends to be more jovial when she is around her family members and friends.
Her latest album “United Nations” is a merger of both sides of her character.
“I believe that all of us will tend to behave differently in different situations or when we meet different people. I hope to bring all the different sides of myself and merge them into a “united nation”. I am bubbly in front of my family members and friends but I don’t find the need to give a fake reaction in front of the audiences,” Rui En said.
Recently, Rui En’s account in Facebook surfaced, surprisingly, and is open to public. She, who prides her personal life as highly private and confidential, explained that the account was set up in conjunction with a magazine’s promotional event; it is now purely an advertising tool and she does not have a private account separately.
“I was quite against the idea initially. However, I continued using it to thank my fans and provide them with updates on my work or album. But I would definitely not post up anything personal!” she exclaimed.
Source: Yahoo! Singapore News
Categorised in 共和國, Yahoo.sg.
