Genie Chuo wants to shed cutie-pie image

LOOKS can be deceiving.

Take Taiwanese pop singer-actress Genie Chuo, for instance, Beneath her sweet appearance is a tomboyish streak. The 24-year-old cutie-pie is in town for a one-night gig at Mandopop club Dragonfly.

In an interview with The New Paper, the petite 1.58m-tall starlet said: 'I might look like a little girl, but I can be really masculine.' Genie was referring to a remark by actor-singer Danson Tang - her co-star in the 2008 idol drama Rolling Love - published in the Taiwanese press.

When asked on the possibility of a romance with Genie, Danson had blurted out: 'She's too man (sic) for me.' And Genie whole-heartedly agreed with him.

'Many guys have the impression that I need to be protected,' she said. 'But after getting to know me better, they're usually very surprised that I'm so independent.

'As much as I can, I like to handle matters on my own.'

She is also not afraid of creepy crawlies - cockroaches, lizards or spiders, bring them on.

'I'm not scared of any of them,' she said.

Genie said she displays more of her manly side when she wants to reject a guy's undesirable advances.

'I'd deliberately act like a buddy to him just to put him off.'

She said feels sorry for the actors who are rumoured to have been with her.

Rumours
In the last two years, Genie was said to have dated R&B singer Wilber Pan, singer-host Alien Huang and Jiro Wang, a member of popular boyband Fahrenheit who also starred in Rolling Love.

'They must have felt quite terrible to be linked with a tomboy like me,' she said, laughing.

While Genie has denied all the rumours, she had good things to say of all three men.

'Alien has a lively nature and thinks on his feet, while both Wilber and Jiro are very filial,' she said.

'Jiro loves his mummy to bits. He'd bring his mum's homemade fruit juice when he comes to work on Rolling Love.'

With the release of her greatest hits album - a compilation of songs from her eight-year music career - last November, Genie hopes to shed her cutesy image once and for all.

Her image has taken a beating lately, with the Taiwanese media accusing her of 'wrestling for the title of cute pop princess' with similar artistes like Rainie Yang and Cyndi Wang.

'Never did I set out to give myself a pop princess tag,' she said with a hint of resignation in her voice. 'I can't control the way I look.'

With her next album, Genie hopes to present a whole new image.

'Visually, I hope it creates a great impact,' she said firmly. 'It'll definitely be sexier.

'After all, I'm already 24 this year. I can't be cute forever.'

The New Paper