AT A petite 1.6m and weighing 46kg, Claire Kuo looks like a delicate China doll.

But this sweetie-pie songstress was a competitive cheerleader for eight years and that tiny frame of hers can do mean somersaults and backflips.

She was so good at it that her cheerleading squad once clinched first prize in a cheerleading competition in Japan.

The amiable 27-year-old, who was in town recently to promote her sophomore album The Next Dawn, which has just been released regionwide, says that her cheerleading experience has been invaluable in her new incarnation as a pop starlet.

'I definitely face more pressure in singing than in cheerleading, but my cheerleading experience has helped me be less nervous and panicky when I perform on stage,' says the Taiwanese singer.

She burst onto the music scene last year, garnering 12 awards including the Best Newcomer Award 2007 in a music awards ceremony organised by Chunghwa Telecommunications.

She first made her mark singing hit theme songs for Taiwanese drama serials such as My Sassy Prince and Crisis Mission.

Getting physical is evidently something that is not daunting for the athletic singer, who went hang-gliding in the music video for the title song in her new album.

Although she was intimidated at first, she says: 'I managed to overcome my fear, and I wouldn't mind trying bungee jumping in the future.'

Her love of new experiences extends to food. Here on her first visit to the Republic, she enthused about carrot cake and Hainanese chicken rice.

A graduate from Taiwan's Shih Tsin University, she has an older brother. Her father is the owner of a Hong Kong-style restaurant, which was where she was scouted to become an artiste.

The singer with the sweetly alluring voice who is best known as a balladeer, ventures into new musical territory with her latest album, which features trip-hop percussion beats and funk rhythm.

Kuo's album centres on the theme of pure love. She admits coyly that she has experienced pure love before but refuses to dish out the details.

She will, however, say what pure love means to her: 'It's a love that is simple. Simple actions like holding hands and hugging truly touch you deeply.'

She reveals her sentimental side when she confesses that her favourite song is The Next Dawn, a bittersweet melody that paints a picture of a girl desiring to meet her lover at daybreak.

She says she has matured now that she has to be in the limelight all the time. 'I have learnt to deal with the pressure of my success because I now see myself as an artiste. I know how to react better to criticism now.'

» Claire Kuo's album The Next Dawn is out in stores.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jun 7, 2008.