SEXINESS has always been something she readily embraced.
But in her 10-year showbiz career, local songbird Stefanie Sun had to repress that side of herself for a long time.
The 32-year-old pop star sported a short signature hairdo on her last 10 Mandarin albums and was mostly attired in sporty tank tops or sundresses. It was an image Sun said her ex-record labels wanted to keep "constant".
"They wanted me to look spunky and eclectic," she told The New Paper yesterday evening in a phone interview from Taiwan, where she was promoting her latest album, It's Time .
Sun's debut offering under her new label, Wonderful Music (she signed on with the company in January), marks her return to the Mandopop scene after a four-year hiatus.
And this time round, there's no stopping the pixie-faced lass from flaunting her natural sexiness and femininity. At a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday last week, Sun donned a red, sexy low-cut Bally dress.
Smiling brightly as she posed for pictures, she didn't seem to mind that her outfit bared some of her cleavage, or as the Taiwanese media likes to cheekily call it, her "career line".
"I was out to dominate the headlines and get bigger media coverage," she joked, when quizzed about her wardrobe choice for the day.
On a more serious note, Sun said it was "very normal to be decked out formally" at a press conference.
"I was very comfortable in that dress," she added. "As long they're not vulgar and distasteful, I'm fine with sexy dresses."
"My only worry then was whether there would be a sudden wardrobe malfunction. And should that happen, photographers would inevitably catch me in an awkward situation."
Thankfully, the press conference, which Sun's parents and her Singaporean mentors - music producers Lee Si Song and Lee Wei Song - attended, wrapped up without a hitch.
Just in case you're wondering how Sun, who is not someone known for having a full figure, managed to brandish her "career line", she laughed and said: "Women have their secrets... You just have to squeeze a little here and there."
"My cup size? Still the same as before."
The singer's current relaxed state of mind is a sharp contrast to her tension-filled past.
Last month, on Cable TV HongKong's popular talk show The Hosts' Meeting Room, Sun revealed that back in 2003 and 2004, while at the peak of her career, she "fell into depression due to surmounting work pressure".
On the show, she said she would avoid going to work by "locking herself in her house". When her colleagues came knocking on her door, she would "purposely blast loud music and pretend not to hear them". 'Couldn't function well'
Though things didn't get so bad that she had to consult a psychiatrist, "it reached a point when I really couldn't function well", Sun told The New Paper.
"I was unhappy, but it was hard for me to talk about it."
After a slight pause, she said: "Looking back at that period in my life, I feel quite angry at my old self. "I was overly self-indulgent, I magnified all the negative stuff, allowed myself to feel totally negative when, in fact, my perspective didn't have to be so bad."
"I had everything, but I felt I had nothing."
These days, Sun no longer allows work to control her life. Spending time with family and loved ones (see report, right) is her "top priority".
More importantly, she no longer sees being an artiste as merely a job.
"Last time, it was always a struggle for me; I wanted singing to be more than just a job, but I couldn't achieve it," she said. "Now, I can confidently say singing is a part of my life."
View more photos of Stephanie here.
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This article was first published in The New Paper.
