http://www.divaasia.com/article/7891 Tue, Mar 09, 2010 The Straits Times Kit is back in showbiz by Adeline Chia Pressed up against the wall, singer Kit Chan smoulders at the camera. A haughty ice-queen glare for a second-click; sexily parting her lips-click; elegantly popping the collar of her cream dress-click. Big in the 1990s for her moving Mandarin and Cantonese ballads, she has been out of the news in recent years. But she still works the camera like a pro and is clearly in her element. So it may come as no surprise that the 37-year-old is announcing a return to show business after being out of action for about six years. She has plenty on her plate now. She has just completed filming her feature film debut in a Hong Kong movie, Love's Discourse, a portmanteau film with five stories. It is the directorial debut of Derek Tsang, son of Hong Kong veteran actor Eric Tsang. Next, she will headline December Rain, the Mandarin musical directed by Toy Factory Productions' artistic director Goh Boon Teck, in August. She plays the female lead, Li Qing, a student in Singapore's tumultuous 1950s, during the time of the Hock Lee bus riots. And in the meantime, she is planning a new album and concert. She is coy about whether the album will include covers or new songs. Her comeback is a little belated, considering that she had quit her job in public relations in April last year. She says she had been resting and travelling to recuperate from the corporate lifestyle. She meets Life! at a salon in Orchard Road, where she gets her hair and make-up done. The glacial diva during the photo shoot melts into a girlish and chatty interview subject. She says she lasted 19 months at her PR job. 'Nineteen months,' she says, savouring the idea. 'That was a huge achievement for me. When I started, people were taking bets on when I'd quit. One month, three months or six months.' She eventually left Hill & Knowlton because she had 'learnt enough about the corporate world'. She calls that job 'an adventure', adding: 'I never said that I was going to retire from performing anyway.' During her time in the firm, she picked up general knowledge of different sectors because of the variety of her clients, which ranged from the civil service and car companies to healthcare companies. She also found pleasure in the little routines of office life, which opened up a whole new world to her. 'There was the lunch hour, the office pantry, the stationery drawer, watercooler talk. All that was new to me.' Her computer skills had also improved beyond knowing how to e-mail. Now she can put together a Powerpoint presentation in a short time. 'With animation,' she adds with a laugh. These details may seem mundane compared to her high-profile first job of 'regional star'. Signed on by Singapore label Ocean Butterflies when she was 19, she became an overnight success here and in Taiwan and Hong Kong for hit songs such as Liking You and Heartache. She released more than 20 albums and ventured into theatre, acting in the critically acclaimed Cantonese musical Snow.Wolf.Lake with Jacky Cheung, and local musical Forbidden City: Portrait of An Empress, where she played the young Empress Dowager Cixi. She also sang the National Day theme songs Home and There's No Place I'd Rather Be. In 2004, she announced an indefinite break from her singing career. After chilling out for a few years and pursuing her own interests, she joined Hill & Knowlton in 2007 to stretch herself. She says the relatively static corporate lifestyle caused her to put on about 5kg. She says, still judging herself by the strict standards of the entertainment industry: 'I was so busy, I felt that I could eat whatever I could find. I really let myself go.' She lost it all by jogging once a week and doing Pilates. She says: 'I'm 37 and I have never been fitter in my life.' Now that the office chapter of her life has come to a close, she seems eager to embrace a performer's life again - but on her own terms. She says she will not sign with any record labels ('Record labels own you') and she will work at a pace she feels comfortable with. Embracing life as it comes seems to be her philosophy. She says: 'I am a bohemian, it's very hard to pin me down. Maybe that's why I am not married.' She adds though that she is still dating her long-time banker boyfriend, who is in his 40s. 'I'm not trying to run away from marriage, I'm just busy chasing all my other to-do lists. We're happy and comfortable. I believe I will get married one day - but I don't need to plan it.' [email protected] --

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