Six years after his movie and album debut, 27-year-old Jaycee Chan said he was starting to shed the baggage of his famous family name and finding his niche in the Chinese-language entertainment industry.
"At first I did (have doubts), but not any more because I found quite a few supporters and fewer and fewer haters," Chan told The Associated Press with a chuckle. "So I'm happy with what I'm doing now."
But speaking late Monday on the sidelines of the Hong Kong premiere for his new romance, "Break Up Club," the singer-songwriter was keener to speak about his music career. The younger Chan recently released his third album, "Messy," which he hopes will offer an alternative to the sappy ballads that dominate Chinese pop.
"I'm not that into that. I think music is more than only love. It can be family love. It can be friendship," Chan said.
He said he enjoys music more than the trade of his action-star father.
"My music career is actually more important than my movie career because music is me, only. I create them (the songs), I sing them, I write them, I direct most of my own music videos," Chan said.
He said in movies he felt like a pawn. "People tell me to do this, I do it, I get the money and I'm happy. If the movie does well, I'm even happier," Chan said. "But if it's music, that's on me. If it's not good, I'm the one to blame."
He penned 16 of the 18 songs on his new album.
Chan said his parents - his mother is retired Taiwanese actress Lin Feng-jiao - are supportive and often give him advice, but he retains control over the direction of his career.
"They want (my career) to be better, so they tell me, 'You should do this and that,' but at the end of the day I'm the one who's in charge of quality control. I try to put my stuff out the way I want to," he said.
