Did A-Mei cave in to popular opinion?

Or did she simply start exercising again?

After being plagued by reports of weight gain over the past few months, the Taiwanese songstress stepped out on Saturday night at her AMeiZING Encore World Tour Live concert here looking considerably slimmer.

A-Mei, whose full name is Chang Hui-mei, had a concert wardrobe consisting mainly of short dresses, and seemed to have lost some weight.

While her thighs may not be as slender, they were also nowhere near as "thick", as reported by the Taiwanese media during her last major performance on New Year's Day in Taipei.

Saturday's concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium was part of her ongoing tour, celebrating her 15th anniversary in showbiz.

A-Mei, 40, had reportedly gained 11kg since the tour began in September 2011.

Last September, she shocked viewers when she performed in Shanghai at the finale of talent show The Voice looking rounder than before.

She explained that she had exercised little because of a leg injury, and was well-fed while recovering.

Her slimmer figure was first revealed on a Facebook page, The Mei Global Fan Club Association, last Friday night where photos of her rehearsals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium were uploaded.

One photo showed A-Mei posing with one of her back-up vocalists, with little sign of her previous weight gain.

Throughout the 31/2-hour concert the next day, A-Mei did not address the weight issue, but was in high spirits and good form.

Even when the stage lights went out momentarily during her performance of 2007's Summer Wave, she continued singing with just the spotlight trailing her and the 10,000-strong crowd cheering her on.

Her only response to controversy in general came in a video that aired during a costume change where she said she had been "discussed and commented upon" all these years.

"I know I can't satisfy everyone, but when it comes to singing, I can say with a clear conscience that I've done my best," she added.

Surprised

Concertgoer Clare Wong, a 28-year-old logistics executive who also watched A-Mei's New Year's Day performance on television, was surprised by the amount of weight she seemed to have shed in less than a month.

"She looked slimmer tonight," said Ms Wong. "But I hope she lost the weight in a healthy way." On the other hand, 33-year-old sales manager Nick Kwan wondered why A-Mei decided to lose weight now.

"If she gave in to all that criticism, it would seem rather uncharacteristic of her," he said.

"But if she is resuming exercise that she has put off for some time, then maybe her figure will go back to normal and she won't be bugged by such reports in future."

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