Evan Yo: I'm a coward when it comes to girls

AT 21, Evan Yo is already a self-made millionaire - in Taiwanese dollars, that is. The Taiwanese singer-songwriter made his first million (or $45,000) performing his own music, hosting TV shows and acting in idol dramas. He told The New Paper that he has saved the money to fulfill his bigger dreams in the future. 'When I earn my first five million dollars, I'll treat all the staff in my company to a vacation,' he chirpily declared over the phone from Taipei last week. 'My dreams are limitless. I dream of starting my own production house and doing my music freely, and also starting a multimedia company and dabbling in movie production. 'I'm also interested in acting. It's all about accumulating experience and creating memories in life.'

For now, though, he is focused on promoting his new album Search Evan Yo, a follow-up to his much lauded debut in 2006. It is out in stores here.

He's back

He took five months to produce the album, and he wrote the first single I'm Back to tell the world that he has returned to do music after spending a year and eight months on other pursuits, such as filming, studying and travelling. The music major at National Taiwan Normal University also hopes that critics will stop comparing him to established names such as David Tao and Jay Chou, and recognise him for his own pop-rock style.

Does he feel he is all grown-up? With a laugh, Evan said: 'I'm still a teenager! My mental age is, erm, 3years old, haha.' Turning serious, he added that he was brooding too much when he first started out two years ago. 'Now I try to simplify things and not think too much. During my debut, I was scared and overtly cautious with whatever I said or did. But now, I'm more relaxed and I can express myself more directly.'

What has not changed is how he is still shy around girls and scared of rejection. 'I'm a su la (Taiwanese slang for coward)... There's someone I'm interested in, she's a friend, but I don't dare to woo her. I tend to be more passive when it comes to relationships.'

As for his largely female fan base, Evan welcomes any kind of wild antics. 'My fans are usually rational, but I like them to be crazy,' he said. 'Seeing them do unexpected things and behave passionately towards me makes me feel happy and excited.'

Having visited Singapore twice for work, he fondly remembers the 'green cake' (pandan cake) here and joked that he hopes to get 'a lot of it' from his fans.