Emil Chau is proud of having achieved many things, among them: 1. Tickets for his two concerts here in 1995 sold out in two days flat; when a third was added, tickets were snapped up within a day (this scenario could well repeat itself this year --- the first two shows sold out long ago). That same year, his album Love Follows Us sold 100,000 copies here, making it Singapore's best-selling Chinese pop album. 2. In 1995, too, he received the American Billboard Asian Artistic Excellence Award. 3. Friends, his latest offering, has sold a whopping two million copies across Asia. 4. He can still dine in relative peace despite 1, 2, and 3.

"We'll eat in the same room as everyone else, thank you."

We're at a busy seafood restaurant in East Coast on a Sunday night, and Emil is digging into his black pepper crab with relish. The other diners recognize him, of course. Some take occasional sidelong glances (the ones who try to ogle and look cool at the same time); others stare blatantly, fascinated by the man's obvious appreciation of his crustaceans; and a few summon enough courage to approach him for an autograph, to whom he smiles apologetically and asks: "Can I get back to you when I'm done eating?" But apart from these minor distractions, dinner with Emil Chau is a fairly mundane affair.

Later, over cut watermelon, he confides very matter-of-factly: "I don't think other [popular] singers would be able to eat like this, you know, without getting mobbed or having to reserve a VIP room." As you ponder over this statement, he finishes the thought for you. "But I don't sell any less albums than they do."

He did it his way.

If you're a wannabe making your first cautious steps into the treacherous world of Chinese pop, you can consider several ways of making it big: There's the keep-'em-guessing tack --- cultivate an aura of enigmatic charm people will hopefully find irresistible (as in, "I wish I could figure out Faye Wong, but I'm glad I can't"). Or the approach favoured by many newcomers --- "this is the real me, take it or leave it" tack that belies the artfully subtle image packaging by recording companies. (The epitome being Nicholas Tse, of course.)

And then there's the down-to-earth Emil Chau way. No sense of mystery, no in-your-face attitude. In the style-over-substance realm of Chinese popular culture where stars are manufactured rather than discovered, Emil Chau's success is an industry idiosyncrasy. So he doesn't have a face that turns your knees to jelly and he can't dance to save his life. But what he does have is an endearingly self-deprecating sense of humour, an infectious energy level and stage charisma bar none.

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