Canto-pop star Kay Tse On-kei sings it as she feels it

amused hesitancy when Kay Tse On-kei brings up an innocuous question recently posed by her young son: What is the meaning of "milestones"?

"He encountered the word and came to us for an explanation," says Tse of her six-year-old son with her husband, singer-songwriter Louis Cheung Kai-chung. "It's quite funny. I was like, 'Oh, you're only six, what milestones can you have at that age?' And then I suddenly thought to myself: what are my own milestones?"

It's not that difficult a question for the 36-year-old pop singer, who was named as one of Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 2010, although she admits that she has no career goals. "I have no specific targets," she stresses. "I actually have none. I just want to have the freedom [to do my music]. I'm like those kids who can't stop running when they're let loose on the grass. I'm in that state right now," she adds.

To others, Tse's milestones are apparent. Her catchy 2008 song, Wedding Card Street, wasn't just championed as the number one Canto-pop tune of the year at local award ceremonies, it also left a lasting impression on the collective local consciousness because of its concern for the consequences of our city's urban renewal plans. The controversy over Wan Chai's Lee Tung Street - the nickname of which gave Tse's song its title - has served to remind everyone of the song's message about conservation.

So it's no surprise to note that the song is on the set list for Tse's upcoming concert with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Named after the Teresa Teng Li-chun song The Moon is Like My Heart, the programme will include rearranged versions of five ballads by the Mandarin pop icon, including timeless titles such as I Only Care About You and I Wish You a Long Life. Chew Hee-chiat, the resident conductor of the orchestra will preside over the numbers. It's the second collaboration between Tse and the orchestra - after a two-song performance at a charity gig in 2012 - and her second recent rendition of Teng's classics, which she performed in a tribute to Teng on June 25.

"To me, Teng Li-chun was a definitive figure when it comes to the gentle image of Chinese women," says Tse. "She was tender, had a very warm and sweet voice, and brought out the sentiment of both home and nation in an expressive way. When I was growing up, my parents always played her albums; they are very shy people, so they sang only privately to themselves. I was often listening to Teng's music at home." Tse has studied Teng's singing techniques, and others. "I love to observe the way a singer takes a breath at a certain point in a song - that in itself is a way of expressing emotions," she says. "I'm appreciative of the tiniest details."

Yet while Teng has been an inevitable point of reference, Tse attributes the influence of the Cantonese rock band Beyond - and particularly their late frontman Wong Ka-kui, who died 20 years ago in a stage accident during the filming of a game show in Japan - as a major motivation behind her decision to pursue a music career of her own.