By Jocelyn Lee

Hong Kong veteran singer Eason Chan is so confident of the quality of his new album 5th Floor's Happiness that he promises to jump into the sea if he does not win anything at next year's Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, the Chinese music industry's equivalent of the Grammys.

Helmed by famed producer Lin Wei-tse, who has produced for such talents as Cheer Chen, Faith Yang and sodagreen, the latest album has some new elements in it, including You & Me, Chan's first Hokkien song.

When the album was released in September, Lin was so proud of the product that he vowed publicly to jump into the sea if Chan does not win any award for it. So Chan also gamely announced that he would do the same thing.

Talking to Life! over the telephone from Hong Kong recently, the chatty singer, who is a frequent winner of the Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan, says: "I had to support my producer, so I repeated the same words after him. That said, I would have to find a cleaner river or sea to jump into if I don't get any award next year."

However, the Canto and Mandopop singer adds that getting awards is no longer his priority when it comes to making music.

'I hope my fans respect my choice of songs and will like the album after listening to it more. As a musician, I must be courageous and willing to try' - Eason Chan responding to fans who do not like his new album.

The 35-year-old says: "Over the years, I've got many prestigious awards, so I am fine if I don't get any next year. When it comes to making music, we must always improve and maintain a good attitude. That is the most important thing."

Hence he decided to try singing in Hokkien for his latest album. Learning to pronounce the different words in dialect was the biggest challenge he faced and he overcame the problem by listening to the demo over and over again.

Singing a few lines of the song over the telephone, he explains: "When you listen to it, it is a rather easy song to sing. To sing it well, all I did was to keep memorising the words."

Chan, who broke into the scene in 1996, has released more than 20 Cantonese and Mandarin albums over the past years, including U87, which was the best-selling album in Hong Kong in 2005.

Some fans have already expressed dismay over his new direction in the album, which has fewer catchy tunes he is known for than previous albums.

But he defends the album, saying that fans just need to get used to him tackling new things.

He says: "I feel that my new album is one that grows on listeners. I hope my fans respect my choice of songs and will like the album after listening to it more. As a musician, I must be courageous and willing to try."

The busy star, who is married to former actress Hilary Tsui with whom he has a five-year-old daughter named Constance, is trying to slow down his working pace to spend some time with his family.

However, with an upcoming tour of more than 20 gigs in China, he admits it can be quite difficult to strike a balance between work and family.

"My family has never complained about my long working hours and I always try to be with them when I have the time. When I don't have to work, I would wake up early to take my daughter to school."

He adds: "As I am still young, I want to achieve as much as I can in my career when I have the chance to do so."

jocelee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times.