If this display of showmanship — he’s accompanied on guitar by his long-time collaborator, music composer Chan Kwong Wing — is to let us know that Ekin can sing and sing live at that, well, then consider it mission accomplished. Now we can’t wait for his December 28 gig, which he says will be “like a movie” and will weave in iconic movie scenes as “a lot of [his] music comes from films”.  

Along With Ekin will be the star’s first full-fledged concert in Singapore in 21 years. His 1998 concert at the Indoor Stadium wasn’t the last time he performed here though. That would be the 45-minute showcase he gave at the now defunct Clarke Quay club Lunar in 2009, a good decade ago, when he was here to promote The Storm Warriors, the sequel to his classic wuxia movie The Storm Riders.

It’s easy to forget that Ekin first found fame when he took part in TVB’s International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship in 1986. But he would go on to achieve a lot more success, first as a TV actor then as a movie star. Talk about Ekin to anyone above the age of 25 and it’s his iconic role as Chan Ho Nam, the gangster who was the epitome of cool and brotherhood in the Young And Dangerous films of the ’90s, that they’ll bring up and start swooning over.  

For the past six years, Ekin has been married to Hongkong actress Yoyo Mung, 46. The couple famously don’t want children. When a journo during our group interview asks Ekin if he and Yoyo intend to have kids since his pal Jordan Chan is a father, the actor immediately blurts out “[He’s] so stupid” before bursting out in laughter. He’s joking of course. Well at least about Jordan being stupid. “For me and my wife, we have the same way of thinking,” he adds. “There’s a lot of things in this world that we cannot control. And we don’t think we have the ability to take care of our next generation. So that’s our opinion and they [Jordan and his wife Cherrie Ying] have their opinion.”

While many things have changed over the two decades since his last Indoor Stadium gig, there are some things that haven’t. Like his trademark long, layered locks. In fact, the man responsible for the star’s iconic hairstyle is here at the press con held at the Grand Hyatt Singapore and Ekin happily introduces him to everyone. Also at the press con are some 20 members of his devoted fan club, all of whom are dressed in orange windbreakers emblazoned with their idol’s name.

Another thing that didn’t change? Ekin’s still not fluent in Mandarin. In fact, he would have preferred to do this interview in Cantonese. “It’s okay, I’ll try my best to answer your questions well in Mandarin,” he says when a journo expresses her inability to fully comprehend Cantonese at the start of our 15-minute group chat. And so Ekin would go on to reply us in his trademark Cantonese-accented Mandarin, that may be hard to decipher, but also completes the whole Ekin Cheng experience.  

8 DAYS: The last time you had a concert at the Indoor Stadium was in 1998. So why is 2019 the year to make a comeback?
EKIN CHENG: I think since my last performance here 10 years ago, I also slowed down music-wise. A decade later, I didn’t really have the confidence to hold a concert in Hongkong but when I did, I realised that the whole world is different already. Right now, the only thing that you can’t take away is live performances. When it comes to music, a lot of it you can find easily online. But not live performances. And that’s how it started to take shape until now. Also, I feel a lot more mature now on stage. You can say that before this I was still trying things out. Before this tour, I went on a concert tour with my [Young And Dangerous] brothers, like Jordan Chan, and we thought of how we could change the formula of a concert and that’s how we came up this.

Will your wife be accompanying you for your Singapore gig?
Oh I don’t know…. Maybe? I’ve not asked her. She usually only decides at the last minute anyway.
Since your concert is on December 28, you reckon you’ll be spending New Year’s here?
Oh, we’ll be back home in Hongkong for New Year. So [actually] I don’t think she will come. Plus Christmas will be over by then. And you know there are a lot of things going on in Hongkong now, so we won’t be celebrating anything. We just want to spend it quietly and peacefully.
What sort of wife is she?
She’s very suitable for me. She’s like a guy. I trust her to do her own things. I think when two people are together, the most important thing is for them to be themselves. A lot of people when they get married, they’ll say, “Oh, we changed a lot for each other”. But I’m me and she is she. She does her own things. Like when I work, she very seldom offers her opinions ’cos she knows that me and my team have been working together even before I knew her. So she won’t interfere. She also goes her own holidays. That’s her own personality. That’s what I like about her. Her independence.  
Do you all have disagreements?
I usually give in first. If you’re smart person, you’ do that (laughs). Isn’t that right? If you want things to [blow over] fast, you should do that. Life is short, you shouldn’t waste time on unnecessary things.

There’s no doubt that the character audiences associate you with most after all these years is Young and Dangerous’ Chan Ho Nam. What do you think Chan Ho Nam would be up to in 2019?
I think he would have quit the underworld (laughs). It would have happened long ago ’cos the world is even messier now. He would have left already.
Where would he go?
I think he would have gone to a very faraway place. He wanted to do that in the first movie but he stayed on ’cos of certain things. So yeah, I think he would have gone to some underdeveloped country.

One of your most famous songs ‘Age of Friendship is about undying friendship. Now that you’re 52, has your view on friendship changed?
No. Like with my Young and Dangerous brothers… we have respect for each other. It’s not a one-sided thing. It’s a [friendship] where everyone reciprocates. 
Who among your Young and Dangerous gang are you closest to?
Actually… we're all just as close ’cos we’re always together. And our tempers are equally bad (guffaws). We’re like the [five Chinese elements] Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. We work well together. It’s very interesting. Like sometimes, I wouldn’t get along with this person but somehow when we all get together, it won’t go wrong.
Who has the worst temper?
(Pauses)… If he has the worst temper, all the more I cannot say (laughs)

Catch Ekin Cheng in his Along with Ekin concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Dec 28, 8pm. Tickets go $108 to $228. For more details go to www.sportshub.com.sg.

Photos: AC Orange