F4 (band)
| F4 | |
|---|---|
 Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. | |
| Origin | Taiwan |
| Other name(s) | JVKV (April 29, 2007) |
| Occupation | Singers, actors |
| Genre(s) | Mandopop |
| Label(s) | Sony Music Entertainment (2001–2004) Sony BMG (2004–2007) |
| Years active | 2001–2003, 2007 |
| Current Members | Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, Vic Chou |
| Official Website | sonymusic.com.tw/pop/f4 |
F4 is a popular Taiwanese boy band. The group began in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden as F4 with members Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou. They have also attained popularity in other part of Asia, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and in the Philippines.
Contents |
Musical career
F4 (2001–2002)
The Meteor Garden series is an adaptation of the Japanese shōjo manga series, ' (Hana Yori Dango). Yan plays the lead role of Dao Ming Si, an extremely arrogant and rich university student who meets his match in the poor but proud girl, Shan Cai - played by Barbie Hsu. Chou, Wu and Chu play his friends Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men respectively. The four boys were the most popular and handsome boys at the university; they were recognised as the group named the "Flower Four", hence the title: F4.
Meteor Garden was released in Taiwan in 2001 and turned the leads into stars virtually overnight[citation needed]. In 2002 Meteor Garden was released in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and in the Philippines in 2003. It was also released in some place of Europe. The series was aired on Xing Kong channel, and later remade title Meteor Shower, which was a commercial flop. A sequel, Meteor Garden II, was shot in Spain later and released in 2002.
In 2001, F4 became a boy-group and signed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment. Together they have released three albums, Meteor Rain, Fantasy 4ever, and "Waiting for You Here". In 2002, F4 sang the Mandarin cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love" included in the Asian version of Walt Disney's Lilo & Stitch soundtrack.[1] The English version of this song is sung by A*Teens, which is a cover of the 1961 Elvis Presley hit of the same title. They also made the Mandarin cover of Yo Te Amo by Chayanne.
JVKV (April 29, 2007)
On April 29, 2007, Meteor Garden producer Angie Chai announced that the group would no longer be known as F4. The change in name stemmed from copyright-related issues. Japanese publisher Shueisha, who owns the copyright to Hana Yori Dango allowed the group to use F4 as its band name in 2001. However, as Japan had filmed and aired its own live action versions of the popular manga, with its own cast of four, the publisher felt that there may be confusion over the name in different countries.[2][3] Due to this conflict, the group was renamed JVKV using the first initials of each of the group's members. According to the producer, the members are listed in the new name by the order of their birth dates from oldest to youngest, thus Vanness Wu's name appears before Vic Chou's.[4]
Despite rumours of disbanding,[5] JVKV released their third album, Waiting For You, on December 28, 2007.[6] Their third album still bore the name F4, not JVKV.
2008
F4 were the first foreign artists to hold 7 consecutive concerts in Japan. Thousands flooded Narita Airport when the band's plane touched down. Jerry Yan even attracted two thousand fans at the airport during his solo fan meeting.
Solo projects
JVKV are also concentrating on their solo careers in acting and music.
Wu has focused more of his attention on movies and music. He released his 2nd album, titled "V.Dubb" (his nickname), in April 2007, five years after his first album, "Body Will Sing", and has released his 3rd album titled "In Between 2008 new song + collection album" in June 2008. He's been in numerous music videos, such as "Ai Cuo" with Wang Leehom, the Chinese version of "Crazy in Love" with Beyoncé Knowles, and Coco Lee's "Hip Hop Tonight". He has also been involved with several big-screen movies such as "Star Runner", "Kung Fu Fighter", "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon", and "Dragon Squad", among others. Many of his movies relate to his love of stunts and martial arts.
In August 2004, Yan came out with his first solo album titled, "The First Time" (第一次 Jerry for You). He's acted in Taiwanese drama series such as "Spicy Teacher", "Meteor Garden", its sequel "Meteor Garden 2", "Meteor Rain", "Come To My place", "Love Scar", "The Hospital", and made a movie, "Magic Kitchen" 魔幻廚房 (2004). "Hot Shot" (2008) was broadcast in Taiwan, and "Starlit" aired in Taiwan in 2009. He is filming a new series, called "Down With Love", with Ella Chen of S.H.E.
Chou has come out with 3 solo albums, "Make a Wish" (2002), "Remember I Love You" (2004), and "I'm not F4" (2007), and has acted in at least one drama series every year since 2001, with the exception of 2003. Within the last year, he came out with two movies: "Linger" and "Tea Fight".
Chu, known to love food and cooking, came out with his own cookbook, "Delicious Relations" (美味關係) in 2006, after starring in a string of idol dramas. He has also starred in at least one drama per year since 2001, except 2005, where he came out with his own solo album, "On Ken's Time". He has released his 2nd solo album "2009 Getting Real new songs + collections album" in January 2009 (just before his birthday). He has filmed three movies to date. In a recent interview with F4, Chu has mentioned that he is growing increasingly more interested in music.
Three of the four appeared in "Wish To See You Again", starring Vic Chou and Ken Chu, while Vanness had guest appearances in a few episodes. Due to scheduling conflicts, Jerry Yan did not appear; his part was played by Kingone Wang. Yan filmed a series in Taiwan alongside Wu Chun of Fahrenheit and Show Luo, called "Hot Shot" which was released in the Summer 2008. The series revolves around basketball and the boys' competition on court. This series was highly anticipated due to the star status of thethree male leads.
Discography
流星雨 (Meteor Rain) (November 2001)
- 流星雨 - (liu xing yu / Meteor Rain) - F4
- 我是真的真的很愛你 - (wo shi zhen de zhen de ai ni / I Truly Love You) - Jerry
- Here We Are - Ken
- 誰讓你流淚 (shei rang ni liu lei / Who Made You Cry?) - Vanness
- 為你執著 - (wei ni zhi zhuo / Persistence For You) - Vic
- 第一時間 - (di yi shi jian / First Time) - F4
- 要定你 - (yao ding ni / Setting On You) - Jerry
- 你不愛我愛誰？ (ni bu ai wo ai shei - Who Do You Love If Not Me?) - Vanness
- 愛不會一直等你 - (ai bu hui yi zhi deng ni / Love Will Not Wait For You) - Ken
- 最特別的存在 - (zui te bie de cun zai / The Most Special Existence) - Vic
Fantasy 4ever (January 2003)
- 絕不能失去你 (jue bu neng shi qu ni / Can't Lose You) - F4
- 煙火的季節 (yan huo de ji jue / Season of Fireworks) - F4
- 愛的領域 (ai de ling yu / Love's Terrain) - F4
- 一個人的冬季 (yi ge ren de dong ji / Lonely Winter) - Vic
- 晴天 - (qing tian / One Fine Day) - Ken
- 當你是朋友 (dang ni shi peng you / You As A Friend) - Vanness and Ken
- Te Amo我愛你 - (Te Amo/wo ai ni/I Love You) - F4
- 只有我 - (zhi you wo / Only I) - Jerry
- 心理測驗 (xin li ce yan - Psychological Test) - Vanness
- 怎麽會是你 - (zen me hui shi ni / How Is It You) - Vic
- Ask For More - F4
- Can't Help Falling in Love - F4
Waiting for you 在這裡等你 (28 December 2007)
- 體驗 (ti yan / Experience) - F4
- 在這裡等你 (zai zhe li deng ni / Waiting For You) - F4
- 你是我唯一的執著 (ni shi wo wei yi de zhi zhuo / You Are My Only Persistence) - Jerry
- Listen To Your Heart - Vanness
- 殘念 (can nian) - Vic
- 愛不停止 (ai bu ting zhi / Love Nonstop) - Ken
- 七天 (qi tian / seven days) - Sung by Vanness
- 白 (bai / White) - Vic
- 無所謂 (wu suo wei / Doesn't Matter) - Ken
- 我沒有辦法離開你 (wo mei you ban fa li kai ni / I Have No Way To Leave You) - Jerry
References
- ^ (Chinese) "F4主唱《星际宝贝》横袭好莱坞 F4 singers hit Hollywood in Lilo & Stitch". NETandTV.com. 2002-06-26. Archived from the original on 2007-06-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070627093714/http://www.netandtv.com/newspage/htm2002-6/200262695110716233.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ^ Wang, Vivien (2007-04-29). "Boy band changes name F4 into JVKV". China Daily. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/lifestyle/2007-04/29/content_863824.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ "Boys over Flowers Forces F4 Idol Band to Rename Itself". Anime News Network. 2007-05-14. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-05-14/boys-over-flowers-forces-f4-idol-band-to-rename-itself. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ (Chinese) F4嫌新称呼JVKV绕口 合体宣传用回本名. May 2, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
- ^ "F4 to Formally Disband in October". CRI English. 2007-08-31. http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/31/1042@268383.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ^ (Chinese) F4再度合體發行全新專輯「在這裡等你」 四騎士劍誓再度征服全亞洲. December 28, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
