'Actions speak louder than words' is a sentiment bad boy Nicholas Tse Ting-fung has taken on board. The 24-year-old said he had entered a new stage in his life and hoped his actions would show people how he'd changed his ways.
'Recent experience has inspired me,' said Tse, who released his new Canto-pop album, One Inch Closer, earlier this week. 'My attitude to music hasn't changed, but I decided to take a different approach. I don't want to say too much. I want to prove myself through my actions and my work.'
The record is Tse's first album since 2003's Reborn and has a more mellow and easy listening feel to it than his previous offerings. He said the lyrics were about his life. 'I hope people can learn about me through my music instead of through media coverage,' he said.
Tse, the son of veteran actors Patrick Tse Yin and Deborah Li, was offered a record deal from the now defunct Fitto Entertainment when he was 16 and released his debut album My Attitude soon after.
In 2001, Tse's relationship with Faye Wong Fei hit the headlines. But a car crash on Cotton Tree Drive revealed an affair with actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi and put a glitch in his career. He was later charged with perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service.
'People may think I'm bitter about what's happened,' he said. 'But I've learned from those incidents and gathered a lot of valuable experience.'