Tan Yng Jich | 22 Aug 2000

Walking into the hotel room where the press conference was held, I was captivated by this 16-year-old singer who wore a sleeveless floral print skirt, coupled with a pair of inch-high pink heels.

Being late for the press conference, due to no fault of our own (the receptionist gave a bunch of us reporters the wrong information), I missed out on fifteen minutes of Q&A. Nevertheless, we still managed to catch a couple of questions that was asked to Mandy.

Talking to a room filled with reporters, Mandy appeared poised and confident, answering all questions with a slight toss of her head and a smile at the end.

On questions about her music style, Mandy says that she'll make a couple of changes in terms of music styles in her next record. She likes "I Wanna Be With You" as well as "Walk Me Home" from her album, as she feels that a lot of people can relate to it. Mandy adds that she can't stand to hear herself sing and that her parents do listen to her album once in a while. According to our teen popster, "I find it cheesy!"

Mandy also comments on the effects of her super stardom, saying that she finds that her circle of friends has indeed grew smaller, and that right now, she treasures the time that she spends with her family and friends. With her very own doll out in the market soon, Mandy finds the idea of people playing with her really "terrifying" but interesting at the same time, and that the first time she saw the life-like face of her doll was very surreal for her.

Recording her second album in October, Mandy would love to work with producer Diane Warren. She loves travelling for the reason that she gets to see the different cultures of each country though because of her commitments, Mandy had to make certain sacrifices.

Mandy enjoyed touring with Backstreet Boys and N'Sync and thanked them for giving her the exposure. But for Mandy, these guys are way too old for her and she does not think her parents would be happy if she gets romantically involved with any of them.

In town to promote her album, renamed "I Wanna Be With You", Mandy has matured well for someone so young. But of course, Mandy still retains that teenage spark of hers that makes her so special to her fans.