SINGAPORE – Rainie Yang is known for several things. These include her saccharine Mandopop ballads such as Ambiguous Love, Ideal Lover and Allergy; her highly popular television series, including Hi My Sweetheart, Devil Beside You and Drunken To Love You; and that ridiculous “jellyfish” haircut she sported in 2007.

But if there is one thing Yang’s fans love most about her, it is her candour.

And the 30-year-old Taiwanese singer-actress known to her most loyal supporters as “Brother Cheng” recently gave us a taste of just how forthcoming she can be over the weekend.

“My period is here, so I am especially tired today. I’ve just popped a few painkillers,” she announced quite unceremoniously at the press conference in support of her latest album, A Tale Of Two Rainie. This was, mind you, in response to a run-of-the-mill enquiry about her health.

HONESTY IS HER POLICY

Open, candid and genuine — that’s the sort of person Yang appears to be. During our interview, she said her friends are welcome to visit her at her home, even when she is decked out, quite unglamorously, in her everyday “hairclip, glasses and onesie pyjamas”.

Through experience, however, Yang added that she had learnt how to temper her honesty with delicacy.

“I think there is nothing wrong with being direct,” she said. “But how do you balance between being real and straightforward, and being insensitive? I think (learning how to do so) comes with age.”

She added: “I think I would still like to be natural and forthcoming, but I also try to be more tactful, because our work usually involves teamwork. Over time, I have realised I no longer speak to people in the same way I used to, even though I am still the same person. I don’t want to be false or pretend to be someone I am not, so I really need to know how to balance everything. And that takes time.”

But that is not all Yang has learnt. As she grows further in her career as a performer, she also wants to be recognised as a serious actress, rather than repeat the sugary roles she used to play. And for the pop star, it means becoming much more prudent in her choice of projects.

“I am now more picky about the roles I take. In the past, I used to choose roles I believed could challenge me. But now, if the script moves me and inspires me to want to experience the character’s life, then I will agree to do it,” she explained. “Even in terms of commercials — it’s easy to make money from a day or two’s work. Still, I think it’s important that the work is of a high quality and is aligned with what I see myself doing in the future. If it’s a job that doesn’t quite fit with my goals, then I just won’t choose to accept the pay cheque.”

However, it is not always easy to convince her handlers to turn down offers.

“My company tries to talk me into accepting them, but I don’t want to make exceptions. I think it is okay to play roles that are friendly and approachable, but I don’t want to play characters that are silly and playful anymore. Even if they offer a lot of money, I will turn them down,” she said. “I mean, I am still able to pull it off if I had to, but my audiences will think I am still the same person I was before.”

THE ART OF SLOWING DOWN

After spending literally half her life in the entertainment business, one of the biggest lessons she has had to learn is the art of slowing down.

Yang told us jokingly that she aims to take 10 days off every month — a real stretch for an artiste as popular as she is.

“(In the past), when projects came, I just went ahead to do them. There was no room for hesitation and no opportunity for refusal. I just kept pushing myself,” said the self-acknowledged workaholic, who once revealed in an interview that she had rejected a marriage proposal in her early 20s because she wanted to focus on her career.

“But along the way, I realised I didn’t experience what I should have,” she said. “Some of my more experienced colleagues told me artistes need to learn how to live, so they can enrich their performance. So I think I want to experience life. That could mean short trips or a simple stroll down the street. I never had that in the past.”

Luckily for Yang, it is never really too late to begin living.

“I used to think my life was quite normal, even though I had entered the industry quite early as a teenager. But that is not true, I was just used to the life!” she said. “Last year, I spent two or three days in eastern Taiwan. It’s very common for people to go there for holiday and visit the night markets there. But I was so happy and excited! I was as gleeful as a child who had just learnt how to ride a bicycle. My friends thought it was inconceivable.”

She continued: “I think I will know precisely what I have missed out on in life only when I feel that excitement again.”