Alien's not so out of this world

THE first thing that grabs your attention about singer-host Alien Huang - other than his uncanny resemblance to fellow Taiwanese artiste Show Luo - is his odd name.

It's not unusual for celebrities in the region to take on weird names, but Alien seems to be in a league of its own.

And yes, it was his own idea.

With a hearty chuckle, the 26-year-old told local reporters that he had given himself the name in junior high school.

'First, I am a big fan of the Alien films,' he said, referring to the classic sci-fi horror series that shot Sigourney Weaver to fame in the 1980s.

'Also, I wanted to find a name that was close to my Chinese nickname, Xiao Gui (Little Ghost).

'I was called Xiao Gui in my younger days because I was always doing things out of the box, things that seemed weird to people.'

He hoped his English name would similarly reflect this unorthodox side of his personality.

Alien, who was in town to promote his debut album, Love Hero, settled on the name after looking up the definition of 'alien' in the dictionary.

'I liked the fact that it meant a 'foreigner', one who doesn't belong,' he explained.

'I don't want to be boxed in by conventions. I believe I am not easily defined and I can evolve to become someone unique, with my own style.

'So, this name suits me best. It might sound strange, but it constantly motivates me to do better.'

Disbelief

His fans in Taiwan and Asia have taken to his name well, but when he has to introduce himself to Caucasians, 'the situation can turn into quite a comical one', said Alien.

'Whenever I say, 'Hi, I'm Alien', they will give me a look of astonishment and disbelief,' he continued.

'Then, there are those who are good-humoured and would reply jokingly with the Vulcan salute!

'At that point, I will definitely do the salute back, so you'd end up seeing a group of people acting like aliens.'

Alien promptly showed The New Paper the Vulcan salute, popularised by the character MrSpock on the television series Star Trek.

Alien's solo debut, released in December, comes seven years after the last full-length effort by Cosmo, the boy band in which he was a member.

It was disbanded in 2003 and, since then, he has ventured into television hosting and is best known for being Show Luo's co-host on the variety programme 100% Entertainment.

Alien considers Show, 30, who hosts, acts, sings and dances, as 'a wonderful mentor'.

'Without his guidance, I will not be who I am today,' he said. 'He has given me lots of encouragement and helped to boost my confidence.'

Alien bagged the Most Popular Regional Newcomer prize at the Singapore Entertainment Awards, held on Saturday night at The Float@Marina Bay.

Aware that he has been criticised for 'trying too hard to imitate Show Luo', Alien said: 'It is inevitable that people will say that.

'I've known him (Show) for so long and we share very good chemistry on our TV programme. I can't say I haven't been influenced by him.

'However, if you look closely at both of us, you'd know that we are different, right down to the way we talk.'

They also cover different music genres.

While Show sings mainly hip-hop and dance tunes, Alien's Love Hero is full of catchy rock anthems.

'I'm so blessed that I had music veterans like Wu Bai and Mayday guitarist Monster produce and contribute their songs to my album,' he said.

'It makes me even more determined to carve out a niche for myself in rock.'

The New Paper