Malaysian beauty queen is no sleeping beauty

SINGAPORE — On the face of it, Malaysian singer Wincci Soo seems to have done almost everything under the sun.

The Mandopop artiste has a degree in law, a master’s degree in Business Administration and is en route to obtaining a PhD in the same discipline. Soo was crowned Miss World Malaysia in 2008 and has appeared in several movies and television shows, is an accomplished cook and even dabbles in pole-dancing and the ancient Chinese dramatic art of bian lian (literally translated as “face-changing”).

But it seems that the best word to describe Soo — who insists that she isn’t trying to become the Asian James Franco — is “businesswoman”.

“I don’t want to be just an artiste. That’s not all there is to life,” the 29-year-old explained. “If you talk to the management team as an artiste, they don’t take you seriously. Why should they listen to you? So you need to have substance, to show them (you have what it takes).”

That is why the singer is now also the director of her own artiste management team and is using what she has learnt from her multiple degrees to advance her career. Soo described how she planned to build her brand by studying what different Mandopop artistes have to offer in the region and then filling the gap with her particular brand of songs. Even though she remains a fairly unfamiliar name in the Mandopop world — despite gaining more than 2.7 million views for her 2012 single, I’ll Be All Right — Soo said she isn’t about sweating the small stuff and remains focused on the goal ahead.

“If you look at the bigger picture, you’ll feel more secure,” she said. “If you’re a worker, you’ll be scared that you might lose your job at any time. But if you see yourself as a brand, then you will feel more secure. I am learning so many things now because I am looking at the big picture.”

Ultimately, Soo explained, it’s not about winning or losing, but about patience and determination, adding that her ultimate goal was to go to Hollywood.

“I want to set a far-reaching goal, because I don’t want to let myself become lazy. It’s not about the results — for me, it’s about whether we fought hard enough,” she said.