HK veteran singer Sally Yeh boldly professed the current love of her life when she breezed into town recently - badminton! Gahsaus makes sense of this and reviews her Valentine-themed concert.

The ever-exuberant Yeh was a picture of comfort and grace as she bantered with the media like a big sister at a campfire, switching back and forth between English and Mandarin though she is more conversant in the former; a result of her growing up years in Canada.

It was amazing how she could have the word "badminton" ready at the tip of her tongue and turn visibly excited like a kid in Walmart whenever she steered the topic to her current passion. She loves the sport so much that she has been taking on administrative and promotional duties, seven days a week from 10am to 11pm at a California badminton club opened by her friend.

"I play five times a week for such long hours; my body can't take it and even injured myself. It's such an intelligent sport, trains my reflexes. I don't know how fit I am in singing now but definitely very physically fit in badminton," she gushed.

Don't be misled into thinking she has not been keeping up with singing, as she had a highly lauded performance with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO), which is considered quite the ultimate platform to prove your singing mettle. And in the same year, she gave a concert here with husband, George Lam.

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Yeh is the ever diligent learner who gives energetic performances such as her shoutout "Now's My Prime" concert, at which she celebrated 25 years in the music industry back in 2004. When asked if she had other singing projects in the pipeline, she shared, "Nope, I've come to a stage where I can afford to be choosy in my work and do what I wish to."

But rest assured we'll seeing more of her as she is definitely open to gigging with other Hong Kong and Taiwan artistes, as long as they have vocal chemistry like in the case with fellow Hong Konger powerhouse, Eason Chan.

"I loved singing with him very much, we both have such strong voices", she added as a matter of fact. Yeh has her eye on the newer generation of Hong Kong singers like Joey Yung (whom she praised as hardworking), Justin Lo (who holds the record of staging a Hong Kong Coliseum concert after just one album) and Janice Vidal (groomed by Leon Lai).

She listens to all sorts of music and is capable of pulling off almost any genre you can think of, as witnessed at her concert here. Yeh, tonight it's just me and you! Kickstarting her concert by shouting "Tonight no VIP, no lou gong (Cantonese for hubby), just me and you!" Sally Yeh worked the excited audience effortlessly and had them lapping up all she had to offer for the next two-and-a-half hours.

She opened with a nostalgic medley of eighties and nineties hits, comprising collaborations with Sammi Cheng ("Love Talk"), "Cheers" (Sammi's song choice when she entered the all-important Hong Kong New Talent Singing Contest in 1988 which became her break into stardom), the theme from her movie Cupid One and "Ten Past Midnight", a tune from George Lam, her music mentor then.

The next hour was entirely devoted to Chinese, English covers and even a Hokkien classic - songs you could tell moved Yeh and in which she indulged in. After pleasing the Chinese speaking crowd, she worked her magic on the English crowd and got everyone stomping during "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions" and tapping to "American Pie". One of her priceless skills is how she injects personal flavour and almost claims them as her own.

Then came a rare 15-minute concert intermission, which she joked was for her to try and fit into her costumes. The audience was entertained by footage of her meticulous preparation for the HKPO showcase and got to see the perfectionist and demanding side of her, all for the love of music.

She returned to display incredible control and seemingly impossible vocal range in belting "Wang Zhao Jun" a song dating from the Han dynasty! Again, she seamlessly weaved in comparatively contemporary numbers like "Phantom Of The Opera and "Chiquitita" to the delight of adoring fans and scored a high with the youths when she even squeezed in Jay Chou's "Black Humour".

The climax of the night came when she appealed for audience participation and got an overwhelming response from over 30 hardcore fans (especially a local Michael Jackson-wannabe Uncle complete with white gloves) who were not the least bit shy in attempting to gyrate their bodies. Yeh, she sure was groovy and can't wait for her to rock our island again!