. "Nobody took me seriously at first. I was just the son of my mother and father. I was booed and had stuff thrown at me on stage," Asia's best-selling Cantopop singer said.
Tse grew up loathing media attention. But as the son of Patrick Tse Yin, a local hearthrob of the 1960s, and former beauty queen Deborah Lee there was no escape.
"I used to be angry at my parents for being so famous," Tse told Reuters during a recent interview at a recording studio where he was working on his latest Mandarin-language album.
To let out his frustrations, he picked up the drums, and put himself on the path to stardom.
Tse got his big break while he was singing in a karaoke bar when he was 16. The owner of a record company was there as well, and was enthralled by his deep, expressive voice.
Tse signed his first recording contract and released his first solo album soon after.
Eight movies and nine more albums later, the 20-year-old is much more at ease about being himself.
"I am just who I am," said Tse who sported an unbuttoned shirt and a chunky silver chain around the neck.
He has even openly admitted to dating Wong, a single mother 11 years his senior, in defiance of the conventional belief that pop idols must stay single and available to sustain their popularity.
"I even say this in my concerts. If you buy my CDs just because I am single, then please leave because if that's the case, it really sucks," Tse said.
But the pair, who are both known for being elusive and aloof, have made a point of keeping their relationship low-key.
Although rarely sighted together, brief glimpses have shown them sporting identical tattoos and even the same spikey hairstyle.
But Tse crushed media reports that his latest hit "Jade Butterfly" was inspired by the love of his life.
"We don't talk about work."
Tse has come a long way from being a high school drop-out.
Nowadays, he hears nothing but screaming fans when he performs across Asia. His music, mostly rock, and rugged good looks have helped him build a steady following among teenage girls.
Apart from writing his own songs, he also made his directorial debut earlier in the year with "My Beloved," a short film about a young man obsessed with guns.
In his earlier films, he was usually cast as a rebellious youth.
But the pop star said he would not recommend going into the glitzy world of entertainment to anyone, least of all his young sister now attending college in North America.
"I would say no if she was only doing it for the fame and glory. It was hard enough for me because of my parents. With her brother in the business as well, it would be three times as hard for her," he said.
With few things left to prove, Tse said he was having a hard time thinking of something to top "Jade Butterfly," his latest album, and only one in Cantonese, released earlier this year.
"It was my best album so far. Now my biggest headache is trying to match up to that."
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