SOO Wincci's self-titled album may have garnered skepticism, but she's not about to back down anytime soon from her dream of becoming a full-fledged singer.

She has signed a five year contract and will hopefully fly off to Taiwan soon.

In an exclusive interview with The Malay Mail, the 24-year-old who once trained under the same music school that made Stephanie Sun a big name, talks about meeting the Taiwanese President and how fate played a big part in her musical journey.

THE MALAY MAIL: It's hard not to be skeptical of the idea of a beauty queen who can sing.

WINCCI SOO: Yes, I get that a lot. Every time I perform, people mention that to me. But those who know me are aware that I come from a musical background.

I've been learning the piano since I was five years old and at 16, I took up vocal training at the Lee Wei SongSchool of Music.

During that time I was also already going to performances.

Isn't Lee Wei Song the one who trained Stephanie Sun?

I was among the first batch of students in his school.

Stephanie was in the Singapore branch while I was training at the KL branch. I'm considered a late comer in the industry. Many of my classmates have already carved a name for themselves. Some have released albums and are even hosting.

Jym Zhuang Jing Yi from Astro used to train with me, and now he is doing well.

How did someone aspiring to sing ended up in a beauty pageant?

Actually, I was offered the chance to release an album at 18. But my father thought I was too young. It was around this time that my friend convinced me to take part in a beauty pageant.

There were not enough contestants and I thought I'd help out by taking part. I was surprised to get the second place.

And you decided that beauty pageants might be your ticket to fame?

My mum was actually the one who convinced me to use beauty pageants as a stepping stone to achieve my dream. I didn't really give it much thought but there was no harm trying.

Miss Malaysia came when I was 22. The age limit was 24, and I thought, if not now, when? You sang a song while performing the mask-changing technique during Miss World Malaysia.

How did the idea come about?

There was a talent segment and the first thing that came to my mind was to sing. Initially, I thought of playing the music, singing and dancing at the same time, but it was too ridiculous an idea. I wanted my performance to be unique, so I went to Youtube and searched for something interesting.

The art of changing masks caught my eye, but it was only two weeks before the competition that I found a sifu (master) to teach me. It was very difficult.

The sifu is from China and used to learn under the same master who trained Andy Lau.

So, preparations are underway to get into the international market through Taiwan?

If everything goes according to plan, I will soon be based in Taiwan. However, I won't be giving up on the Malaysian market and will be flying to and fro.

The song I wrote for Miss World Malaysia – Beauty with a Purpose can also be found in my first record. It's been sung in three languages, Mandarin, English and Malay. The Malay song is doing quite well on the airwaves.

Things seem to be working out quite well for you.

I'm actually a big believer of fate. Things just fell into place after I met my current manager through Miss World Malaysia and he really does believe in me.

While doing some charity work as Miss Malaysia, I was the peace ambassador for the Universal Peace Federation.

They were having a Global Peace Festival in Taiwan and invited me to go over. I wasn't scheduled to sing, but my manager pushed for me to perform in front of 30,000 people and it was broadcast live in Taiwan!

I was so nervous because I was a rookie when it comes to singing. I had to be on the same stage with big names like Jam Hsiao and Micheal Wong.

And I even got to meet the Taiwanese President, Ma Ying-Jeou!

How are plans for the second album coming along? Will fans get to see more of your music compositions?

I've already recorded the first song. This time, there will definitely be more compositions by me.

However, we've also got big names in the local industry composing for my upcoming album including M. Nasir.

But currently, we're keeping the theme of my second album a secret. Fans will get to know more about it when the time comes.