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The Unexpurgated interview with JJ Lin

SINGAPORE - We can’t help but feel just a teensy bit sorry for J J Lin.

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SINGAPORE - We can’t help but feel just a teensy bit sorry for J J Lin.

Sure, on the surface, Singapore’s Mandopop prince seems to have it pretty good: He has had a wildly successful 10-year career in pop music, with 10 albums under his belt and he has travelled the world over.

And the man reportedly bought an Aston Martin in 2010, for goodness’ sake.

But during our brief tete-a-tete with the guy, he revealed that what he would really like to do - if he could stop being “J J Lin the pop star” for one day - is spend some time at the beach with his friends.

Really.

And sometimes, just sometimes, he just wants to be your regular guy, you know?

Q: Let’s start with your concert. I’ve noticed that you’ve had a number of outrageous costumes. Can there ever be too much shimmery stuff on your costumes? Do you put limits on what you wear?

A: I don’t choose costumes according to the shimmery, er, value. (laughs) But more like, if it suits the act, it suits me. It has to feel right. I don’t know how to define it. But when you try on a costume, if it feels good, that’s the first step. Then you go on by imagining yourself on stage with that costume, with the song, singing the song. I think it all boils down to the overall “comfortable” value.

Q: There’s a segment in your concert where you’re performing in the rain, with water showering down on you. Are you really wearing leather pants for that?

A: It’s not really leather! But we actually spent some time looking for those pants because we knew it was going to be soaked. So it has to be not too heavy. It has to be light and it has to be stretchable, because of what’s going to happen after the rain part. I’m going to be dancing really hard, sliding on the floor, on the water. So the material was really crucial when we were looking for the pants - so it doesn’t stick to the skin too much, it doesn’t tear. (laughs) It’s not easy at all for the stylist because there are too many scenarios to imagine (of what) could happen on stage.

Q: They have to be easy to take off?

A: Yeah, they have to be really easy to take off as well. Costume-wise it’s quite a challenge for me this time, for the concert. Because I gave the stylist directions, saying I want it shimmery, but at the same time it cannot be too showy. I’ve tried on a lot of different kinds of costumes and images before but this concert is about “nei xin” (Mandarin for “the depths of one’s heart”). It has to be ... that’s why I gave the stylist directions, maybe think along the lines of suits. And then from the “suit” category, we can extend our creativity, try to make different styles out of it. So that’s kind of like the theme that I gave my stylist.

Q: Have you ever thought of changing your hairstyle, or growing a beard?

A: I want to! I want to try, you know? I’m always down to explore, experiment. But being like someone whom everyone wants to ... I mean (I’m) kind of, like, almost stereotyped, to be a ballad writer and singer. You can’t really go too crazy with the hair. That’s what everyone tells me! (laughs). I want to be like, experimental. But I still have to balance it out with what I am going to be singing, and how I am going to be performing in my videos. But at the concert, I think, I can afford to be a little more aggressive with the styling. But at the same time, we have to think about (things like) getting my hair wet and having to dry it, so there are a lot of factors that we have to consider.

Q: Your work is so tough. What are your biggest guilty pleasures? What do you indulge in?

A: I think I play too much computer games. (Laughs) I think it’s really just ... I’m a geek inside.

Q: How many hours do you spend on them?

A: I don’t play a lot, I don’t play many hours, but I kind of like think about it. You know, like what do you want to do now? Every time my friends are like, what do you want to do now? Okay, let’s play games. There are other things that we do in our free time, like drive up to the mountain. That’s something that I really like to do, because it’s close to nature, it’s a space that we - me and my friends - we can enjoy and share. A very real side of us comes out whenever we do that. There’s other stuff that we do like everyone does, like movies, have coffee. I don’t know, I think it’s quite normal. There’s nothing- oh! Well, I used to play war games, with BB guns. Survival games. I think that’s something a little different from your everyday activities. I used to do that when I had more time with my friends. We really dressed up like (we used to) in the army days. I miss those days!

Q: You miss the army days?

A: A little bit, a little bit.

Q: Why?

A: Well, because it’s the only time that you really get to be like in the movies. (laughs) Besides really being in the movie! I think it’s something that every guy has something for - being a soldier. To have a rifle, to run, you know?

Q: You seem to spend quite a lot of time at home. Do you do your own housework?

A: Oh, I do, and I don’t ... my house is pretty messy. (laughs). But I spend a lot of time at home, doing my own thing, writing my songs, listening to songs and going online.

Q: Which chore do you hate the most?

A: I hate having to move things around, trying to pack things because I have too much stuff and too little space. I always find myself moving this here, and moving another thing back. In the end it looks the same because, you’re not really packing stuff, you’re not really keeping stuff into storage. You’re just moving things around. My house is more like a half-home-half-studio where I work, where other people work as well. So I just have to make do for now.

Q: Why do you have so much stuff?

A: Because I have like my stocks, albums ... it’s more like a working studio. A lot of documents that we keep, because we have our own production company now. That’s kind of like my office as well, and being my studio.

Q: You mentioned spending time with your friends, we saw an interview where your friend mentioned that you jumped all along a street in Taiwan, for a bet. What is the stupidest or most ridiculous thing you’ve ever agreed to do?

A: Did I do that? Oh ... it’s something that I would do. (laughs) Stupidest thing...Go ask a girl for her number when I lost a bet? Like, randomly.

Q: This was when you were already a singer?

A: Yeah. Or like, ask a girl “do you want to take a photo with me?” Because usually people will ask you for pictures. So, if I have a bet with my friend, it’s probably like “hey, if you lose, you have to go up to that girl and ask if she wants to take a picture with you”. (laughs) I think that’s really weird! Because usually we try to stay away from that.

Q: And how did the girl react?

A: She agreed! (laughs)

Q: But how do you approach girls? Because people generally know who you are.

A: (whispers) I don’t really approach girls! (laughs) In fact, I don’t really ... I’m not used to taking the first step, getting to know girls. Ever since I was a singer, not because of my job as a singer, because it’s in me. I don’t really know how to woo a girl. I realised, when I think about it, that the last time I really tried to woo a girl was in school. And I didn’t do well! (laughs)

Q: So you’re more passive?

A: I’m actually more passive. I think I’m someone who really ... I’m afraid to take the cold shoulder. So I’m afraid to try sometimes. Well, not afraid to try. But I try in my own different ways. I’m not the kind who would go up to you and say, “Hey, I really like you, can I have your number please?” I can’t do that. Or even to a friend, whom I really like. I find myself getting nervous. I find myself getting more nervous with someone I feel for, that I really like. With other female friends around, I’m really comfortable, I’m okay. I don’t get fidgety or be at a loss for words.

Q: Besides the obvious things like privacy, what’s the most difficult thing that you’ve had to sacrifice since you started working?

A: Well, hanging out with friends? I think you just have to watch out for situations that normal people would not think about. And I think it’s hard for me because I don’t want to trouble my friends. I don’t want to ... if I go out with a group of friends I don’t want them to be thinking for me. I would just want to be around them and just be normal friends, like normal people. But when I’m out in the public with other friends, that’s what I have to remind myself and sometimes even ask my friends to help out with, like, for example, we have to be careful about paparazzi. If there’s a female member in the group, I’ll just have to stay away from her. I feel weird. I don’t think about it, but because of what I’m doing, because of what will happen, I just have to stay away, keep my distance. Or even like, not think about going out with my group of friends.

It’s getting worse! (laughs) Because of the whole, um, “climate” of things in the circle, in the media, in that world. Things have become a little more sensitive. So I have to be a bit more careful.

For me, it’s a matter of having to constantly remind myself, because I’m not the kind of person to think too much when I’m hanging out with friends, I don’t think too much. I want to be good to my friends. I want to be a good friend. But because of all these things that could happen, I have to adjust my lifestyle a little bit, to balance, to be more careful. Even with who I hang out with. Even if I hang out. So I basically just find myself staying at home more than ever! (laughs) I mean, it can be quite sad, at first. After thinking about things, it’s also a good way to see, to get to know your friends better. If they can relate with you, they will not blame you for it. They will not think you are a weirdo. If friends can really get used to it, it means they are really good friends. They are true to you. They understand your situation and they are willing to adapt.

Q: What if you could have one day where you’re not JJ, and have absolutely nothing to do. How would you spend that day? Not at home, I hope?

A: Definitely not at home! (laughs) I will go swimming in the public pool! (laughs) I will go to the beach. Because I love the beach! I love water. I love swimming. I love the sun. And I would invite all my friends, the dancers, a whole group of them, to just enjoy the sun, the beach, without worrying about being photographed topless! (laughs)

Q: When’s the last time you went to a beach?

A: I actually still go to the beach, but I can’t be myself a hundred percent. I like the beach, so I still go. I drive down, with other friends to swim and to even surf! (laughs) Nobody really can imagine me surfing. Nobody knows I surf! But I love the water, and I am still ... well, I like watersports.

Q: The solution, I suppose, is a private beach.

A: It’s hard to find a private beach! I don’t think there are any private beaches around. Maybe go on a day with less people, like a weekday. Or a better time. I’ve been to Sentosa on a weekday, and I think it’s pretty good. Good sun, good beach, clean beach - not many people around.

Q: You seem very pensive. How much time do you spend day-dreaming, or just lost in your own thoughts?

A: Do I look that way to you, like always in my own world? Ever since I was in school - young, primary school - people always tell me I’m caught up in my own world. I never really agreed with them. But I think spend a lot of time thinking. Not really thinking - but in my own world. I don’t know if that makes sense. I’m not like a “thinker”. Like, “what I am doing like” ... every time I’m alone, I don’t think about things. I don’t, like, plan things. I don’t ...

Q: Stone?

A: I don’t stone, like blank out! I just enjoy the quiet sometimes. I actually balance between enjoying the silence or enjoying the mood, listening out for things that could catch my attention. I guess it’s part of feeling the world? Feeling the world ... and at the same time thinking about how has today been, what I’m going to do tomorrow. To plan myself, not just like literally planning the time, but planning myself in life. I spend a lot of time doing that, like thinking about ... dreaming. Not day-dreaming, but dreaming about who I could be. I think that keeps me alive. That keeps me moving, and keeps me energised.

I guess part of that (attitude) went into my compositions. You need a certain level of stubbornness to be in this field. Like to tell yourself that no matter what they say, I’m just going to do what I want to do. You have to be like that sometimes. You have to tell myself – heck, I’m just going to do it. You have to have a certain level of that.

JJ Lin’s Timeline concert will be held on Nov 9 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets from S$88 to S$198 from Sistic.

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