There is no love lost between Cantopop queen Joey Yung and disgraced actor Edison Chen.

Speaking at a teleconference from Hong Kong, she says: 'It's beneath me to have anything to do with him. I have never been a fan of his.'

Her good friend Gillian Chung, one half of the popular duo Twins, was among the female stars whose explicit sex photos with Chen were circulated online early last year. Her career has gone into deep freeze since the scandal.

Yung, 28, will be staging a concert here at Singapore Expo's Max Pavilion on April 18. Asked if she would invite Chung to be a guest performer at her concert to help kickstart her career, Yung says: 'I think it's not befitting for her to be just a guest. Hopefully, the next time she appears on stage, it will be as the star.'

She adds: 'No one can take away the pain and hurt she has suffered in the past year. As a friend, I can only talk or exercise with her to lessen the pressure. I hope that what happened will be a valuable lesson, that she will love herself more.'

Yung herself has also had to face tabloid buzz. There were rumours of a lesbian relationship between her and fellow singer Denise Ho. Yung says she and Ho were friends before she entered showbusiness.

'She's a friend who inspires me because she has a different way of looking at things. It's hard to meet friends you can trust in showbiz and I don't want unfounded rumours to affect this relationship.'

Her love life is 'quite empty at the moment', she adds, as she is busy with her career.

'But it's not something I worry about since I've never had very good results in the romance department. Still, if I want to date or fall in love, no one would object or think it strange. After all, it's an important stage in life as well.'

Her results in the career department, on the other hand, have been nothing short of stellar. Since releasing her debut EP in 1999, she has risen to the top of the Hong Kong pop music scene.

Her first compilation album, Love Joey, was the best-selling album in 2001 and she racked up five straight wins for Most Popular Female Singer Award at the Jade Solid Gold Awards from 2003 to 2007.

Her Mandarin releases, though, have made less of an impact. She has not released another Mandarin album since Little Little in July 2007.

'Everyone's working hard and advancing their careers in China and I'm no exception, but it's a challenge since I speak Cantonese. It takes more time for me to cut a Mandarin album,' she admits.

For her concert here, she will perform an energetic dance and acrobatic routine.

'I have always focused on singing but have not really danced that well. After a few years of training, I think I can finally present something new to my fans in Singapore,' she says.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.