Lime Mag (Singapore) March 2004 issue

As befitting an F4 pop prince, local fans gave JERRY YEN a ear-
busting welcome when he came to town to promote his debut movie,
Magic Kitchen. LIME was there to record the action and provide audio
insulation advice. This story has been brought to you after much
elbow action, many "ouch!"-es and one very firm "Excuse Me!". As a
non-Jerry fan and a diligent press member who's trying to get my
work done, meeting the F4 member and his very vocal fan squad can
be, literally, a blast.

Fans of Jerry Yen are treated to an extra hour of anticipation on 14
January as they wait eagerly for their idol, (almost) here to
promote his first ever movie Magic Kitchen, also starring Sammi
Cheng and Andy Lau.

The air is electric with anticipation at Bishan Junction 8. As fans
chatter feverishly, press members try in vain to look nonchalent.
That is, until the subject responsible for a small eruption of
screams appears. Emcee n YES FM93.3 DJ Chen Liyi rallies the fans
on, "I see a black leather jacket!" the decibels treble as the 27-
year-old emerges n strides onstage with co-stars Nicola Cheung,
pretty in pink, n Vietnamese-American actress Maggi Q, elegant in a
white n gold dress. Yup, that's about the only time any of us paid
attention to poor Nicola and Maggi. Clearly, this is Jerry's night.
Even before his lady co-stars can take their seats beside Jerry,
security is struggling to push back metal barricades that keep
screaming fans away from the main press area, where us lucky journos
get the best view of his tousled locks.

Jerry picks up the microphone. "Hello." My hearing will never be the
same. Really, they should provide protective hearing gear for the
press.

Soon, he's bantering cheerfully and flirting with the fans.
Obviously they have already forgiven him for being an hour late.
Prompting excited squeals from fans, the F4 member divulged that the
popular taiwanese pop group has plans to work on a movie together,
quelling rumours of a break-up following their various solo
projects. In fact, he reveals that things are so healthy in the
group, all four of them recently met up for a screening of Vanness
Wu's film, Star Runner.

Supportively, Jerry even thinks Vanness' kissing scenes were
fantastic. There's also a friendly plug for Vic Chou's recently
released album, Remember, I Love You . "We try to support each other
as much as we can", he quips in a show of camaraderie.

In Magic Kitchen, Jerry plays a young chef's assistant quietly
infatuated with Sammi Cheng's character. But in real life, he proves
to be quite the romantic. He admits that back in high school, he'd
once yell out, "I love you!" in public on Valentine's Day and even
though he never did find out for sure, he thinks his then-girlfriend
must have been touched by his gesture.

Uncharacteristically talkative, he also confesses he'd gone out with
an older woman before. And joy of joys, he has no qualms about
dating a fan if opportunity presents itself. Nodding thoughtfully as
he breaks into a smile, he adds, "Some of the fans are really not bad
looking," drawing appreciative laughs from the hormonal crowd.

And what could be sweeter than a man cooking for the woman he loves?
Yes, Jerry will be doing just that this Lunar New Year, as he whips
up dishes he'd learnt while filming Magic Kitchen for...Mrs Yen, his
mum. Heart skipped a beat, huh? No, he didn't pull a Britney Spears,
rest assured.

But the pots n pans can wait as the comely star says goodbye to his
love-sick Singapore fans. After a mere 40-minute audience with the
pop prince, the adoring masses who've gathered since midday for the
7pm press con bid adieu to their idol the only way they know - very
loudly. Here's a thought: do the F4 boys suffer from hearing
problem, you think?

Juicy Jerry Facts

Have a yen for Jerry? Savour these little-known titbits then

** It took 20 takes before he could kiss co-star Barbie Hsu properly
in their hit drama, Meteor Garden. What's up with that? It's Barbie
Hsu, you should have taken 50!

** Jerry's got really weird fans! One fan message at an online forum
reads, "I am really a freak of yours".

** He has a refrigerator at home that's more than 20 years old.
You'd think with all the dough he's rolling in, he could afford a
new one.

** A filipino news site reported that even big names like Mariah
Carey n Dionne Warwick did not attract as big an audience as F4 when
they visited the country.

** Ooh la la! In an internet poll pitting Jerry, clad only in jeans,
against fellow bare-bodied Takuya Kimura and Korean actor Won Bin,
Jerry won an overwhelming 70 percent of the votes.

** Jerry only knows one line of cantonese to save his life: "I'm
very happy to see everyone!". Gee, that's useful.

** He used to believe nasty rumours about Sammi Cheng until he
worked with her on Magic Kitchen. Hey, we reckon she could say the
same about him!

* His favourite part of his body? His fingers!

thanks to likejycx

03/Mar/04 - F4 goes solo - Not looking good.., Lets review back F4 recent years' news.
Source: Lian He Zao Bao

 

Taiwanese boyband F4 after attending a March Charity concert in Hong Kong, announced the news of going solo. Unfortunately, their popularity had been falling.

Can they really fly solo? Are they up to standard? Let's look back at these 2 years what F4 achieved and have been doing.

After charity concert in Hongkong, each F4 individual dreamt of own amibition and developing their own solo career - publishing solo album and filming movies. Soon after 1 year, the results are obvious enough to see... its not appealing and unpleasent reported by the media.

About this report, F4 manager Angie Cai then unwillingly answered, "In this kind of situation, who can gaurentee 100% ticket box sale?" She feels that economy is not doing good and it is still in the state of recovering, and facing the problem of privacy, this entirely is not F4's individual's fault.

Recently, media reports claim that Angie Cai is a bloodsucker of Jerry, therefore Jerry insisted going solo in other company and instead of continuing the contract with Fu Long management. On the other side, Vic just continued his contract at the beginning of this year already. As for Ken Chu, he has already fixed a decade contract and the possibility for Vanness to continue his contract is high. Therefore, this might result them to become F4 - 1 = F3 forever.

F4 Popularity drops? Going solo is gonna help or be bad?

To find out the results, reporters and media have gathered all their 2years achievements and at the same time, discussing which member of F4 can still make it through this few years and who will fall flat.

TV/Drama Series: After flying solo, potential decreased greatly.
Let's talk about drama series first. All F4 members after shooting Meteor Garden, continued to flim other Tv/Drama Series. For Jerry, he had <Love Injury>, <Come to my home!> For Vic, he filmed <Poor Prince> and once again co-operate with Ken and came out with <Love Storm>. For Ken, he hosted <Marmalade Boy>. Lastly, for Vanness, he hosted <Marriage Office (Qiu Hun Shi Wu Suo)>.

Out of so many dramas, Jerry's <Come to My House> seemed to do better in this case. However, when comparing to 5566's <My MVP Valentine>, it seemed to lose out a bit. This made people think twice again bout their real potential.

 

SOUNDTRACK:LOW PURCHASE RATE OF LOVESTORM and Vic's Remember I Love YouNow, lets change the subject to Soundtrack. Previous year, ZZ released his 1st album Make a Wish as well as Vanness Body Will Sing.

 

These two 'hot'bods made their very first step in the music industry. Under focused publicity, Vic's virgin album squeezed in smoothly into Singapore's RIAS Year Best-Selling Album. Vanness's then a bit lower.. but it was still nominated as Best Selling Album too.

This month, Vic Zhou Yu Min released his 2nd album 'Remember I Love You' which only remain in the Taiwan G-Music's billboard for only a week. Obviously losing to 5566 and Elva Hsiao and other singers who similarly released their albums in the same month. .

Some people thinks that F4 isnt that hot anymore, but Angie Cai then disagrees that because ZZ released his album around the Chinese New Year. So less publicity was did and plus the roaring of piracy products.

Another 2 members, Jerry Yan and Ken Chu then never had their albums released yet. If the delay is because that they cannot find suitable songs, then theres nothing they can do. But if they are to delayed any further, perhaps, it will affect greatly their popularity and attention by fans.

MOVIE INDUSTRY: Vanness awaits Korean Movie industry.

Now to Movies. Among the 4 members, only Vic have not join in the crowd.

Comparing to performance, Vanness did a good job and making a new perfect appearance. However, no matter where we see, only his body improve more than his heart. or probably, Vanness' role is better to make use of than the role that Jerry hosted in Magic Kitchen, secretly falling in love with Sammi.

Ken acted as a student in Sky of Love. His acting skills is so-so, but worst, this movie is originally extracted from a Korean movie. If audience is to compare both of this test, i am afraid to say that it is not to ken's advantage.

When comparnig ticket box sales, no one did good. Magic Kitchen had the benefit of releasing in Chinese New Year and acting with Andy Lau and Sammi Cheung, but never did they thought it will crash with another big blockbuster movie: Gui Ma Kuang Xiang Qu which did better.

 

Vanness is then waiting for Star Runner to be filmed in Korean. He also awaits for better results as he is acting with Korean Hot female star or maybe stepping into Korean music industry?

In conclusion from the results above, we can actually confirmed that F4's popularity did fell after the individual fled solo. For Jerry who always is the main lead, in anywhere, he still can develop further. As for the other 3, there are more for them to catch up. Especially for Ken, he needs to put in more effort.

 

Source: Lian He Zao Bao
Translated personally by kEn`kAn of Faithful 4Ever. http://s2.invisionfree.com/faithful4ever/index.php?
Please indicate proper credit when posting this anywhere. Thank You
 
***thanks to woweureka of www.onlyf4.com

Zaizai denies F4 will split and hopes for a Hong Kong
F4 concert
Posted: March 2, 2004

Pic from Apple Daily

A few days ago, Vic Zhou accepted an interview from
the program "Shi Ye Bu Shi Ye." He said that he really
likes to sing and act. When working he prefers to work
together with F4 members because he doesn't have to
sing as much on stage and it is very lonely working
alone.

Denies that F4 is disbanding
Zai Zai's schedule for 2004 is already jam-packed.
Therefore there are currently no plans yet for F4 to
appear together this year. But he thinks that it isn't
good to always depend on others. The four of them will
have to go their own ways sooner or later. When he was
asked whether this implied that F4 will be disbanding,
he immediately denied and said that he really looks
forward to holding another concert with F4. As for the
place, he chose Hong Kong. The reason being that the
last time they recieved a very good response from Hong
Kong fans the last time they held a concert there, he
wants to be in this kind of atmosphere again.

He had was said out to the public that he wants to
date, to feel the sweetness of love. When asked what
his ideal girlfriend would look like, he said that the
outside isn't important, he only requests for
something reasonable. Instead, the most important is
that they have an obedient personality and can cook so
that she can take care of him, a greedy eater. He will
also sing love songs for his girlfriend, especially
love songs by his idol Andy Lau.

Source: Ming Bao

Translated by Amy of http://f4ever.azn.nu

Zaizai < Ji De Wo Ai Ni > Special
Don’t like pink, sexy, and late girls

Probably the majority of us believe that late is already a pronoun for celebrities. Before I was a celebrity, being late wasn’t a personal habit of mine, especially on dates. I used to really hate those guys that are always late and make the girl wait for them. It is because I believe that it’s righteous for a male to wait for a female. To make a beautiful young lady stand at a street corner alone and wait is something that makes one’s heart ache when they picture it.

Nowadays, work is very busy. When following the announcements I’m afraid to meet up with an accident. For instance, stopping the car, stomachache, a change in time for recording a program, flight delays, etc., all lead to lateness which is already out of my control. Every time I see fans drenched from the rain waiting or the media waiting impatiently, inside my heart I say countless “sorry’s” continuously. If I there was an arbitrary choice, I think that every celebrity won’t want play the role of the one that’s late.

Getting back on the subject, even though during dates it is righteous for a male to wait for a female, but ladies should not keep the men wait too long for this reason. I personally dread those girls that spend all this money and time putting blush on their face. There’s nothing wrong with girls dressing up nicely, what’s wrong is that they waste too much time, killing many male’s patience cells. Perhaps it’s because I personally dislike sexy girls dressed in pink. After all, under the pinkness is true person. Simplicity is actually already basic mannerism. If you want a male to like you, why don’t you just make your true self emerge under the glamorous light?

Source: Xing Zhou Ri Bao

3/Mar/04: Theres still hope for F4, THEY ALWAYS HAVE HOPE!

Source: Lian He Zao Bao
Reporter interviewed a few experienced professionals in the music industry and media represensitives. The thing that is interesting is that both sides almost agree to a certain extend

Out of the 3 pros, 2 said that as long as everything is organised properly, F4 still has a higher possibility of returning to the highest peak of all bands just like when they started. 3 then said that as long as F4 never announced they are officially disbanded, they always have a chance to revert back and this have to depend on the 4's decision.

If these 4 were together again, they might attracted another wave of heat. However, if Jerry were to insist on not continuing the contract, result might not be good. They also said that F4 have the basic foundation's benefit which is better than these new-comers. If they can maintain the support of the fans, it will be even better that they wont be disqualified out of so many singers.

3 Media represensitives then think that when these 4 boys were together, their popularity is higher. When looking at their current individual condition, going back to their 4's normal state is difficult as they have to depend more on themselves now. So maybe in the future, they would not be as hot as previous. Just because from the beginning, they were as deafening as the thunder, fans tend to look out for more higher results from them, and because of this pressure, F4 cannot hang on. Therefore the stress is too harsh on them.

But worth reminding is that... when beginning, it is F4 who raised up the heat of boyband.. in Asia. And soon, large bunchs of bands of different people were formed. But til now, it is still quite peaceful for F4. Only competitive bands are 5566 and Energy. However, these 2 bands cannot even stepped into hongkong's music industry. To think that F4 have already overcome the language barrier in Philippines, Thailand and Hongkong, why not dont talk about their competitors? Because the real rival and problem are themselves.
The Next Question is: When is F4's Next Cannon gonna be Fired?!

Source: Lian He Zao Bao

Translated personally by kEn`kAn of Faithful 4Ever

2/27 Help! This dude is stuck in uncool tearjerker
 
 
THIS is probably one show that Ken Zhu wants to
forget.
Before Meteor Garden ould propel this F4 poster boy to
stardom alongside Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou and Vanness Wu,
Ken was in a Taiwanese tearjerker called Sunflower.
While Ken played one cool rich dude in Meteor Garden,
he was just a rich dude in the uncool Sunflower.
He plays Xiao Long, the pampered only grandson in a
large family ruled by a draconian matriarch.
All his life the troublemaker Xiao Long has been
protected by his grandmother’s wealth and influence,
and this incurs the wrath of his own father, who is
jealous that his son is more favoured than he is.
As with all families with more money than they can
deal with, there’s a lot of fighting among the member
for their share of the moolah.
In typical Taiwanese soap opera style – think Taiwan
Ah Seng and Fiery Thunder bolt – the men do a lot of
backstabbing, plotting and all that nasty stuff.
The ladies just look wretched and do a lot (and I mean
a lot) of sobbing, except for the control freak
granny, of course.
Rising starlet Lin Weijun (infamous for cheating on
WeWe’s Lin Youwei with Ambrose Hui) also has a
supporting role here, as Xiao Long’s cousin.
Apparently, it was a toss up between Jerry and Ken for
the role of Xiao Long.
But in the end, Ken’s sunny disposition won him the
role – rather apparent from his hair-flipping and
toothy grins throughout the show.
And since then, Ken has gone onto play the shaoye
(Mandarin for rich boy) many times more.
But maybe Ken has done it once too often. For the
actor in him seems to have trouble shaking off the
spoilt brat persona even now.
Sunflower is showing over VV Drama (StarHub Ch 55),
Saturdays at 10.30pm

extracted from TNP, Watch It, 27 Feb 04 – Wendy Teo.
Thanks to Jordan of http://onlyf4.proboards4.com

Pardon, what’s your name again?

When F4’s Vanness Wu was here recently for movie
promotions, a curious reporter stood up and asked:
“Were your parents hoping for a girl to call Vannessa
when then had you?
Vanness chuckled – though he’s probably heard the
question a zillion times.
For the record, the American-born star did not choose
it himself.
It was his parents who named him after a road in Los
Angeles, known as Van Ness.
But, at least his unique name had made many people sit
up and take note.
Welcome to the world of Asian showbiz, where some
celebrities pick the most bizarre names for
themselves.
What’s a walking road sign when compared to, say,
Noddle, Jingle, and Shooky?
Is it just bad English? Or do these ludicrous names
have logical explanations?
Here we try to unearth the stores behind every unique
celebrity name.
extracted from TNP, 01 Mar 04 –Chang May Choon

*Only extracted the relevant bit about Vanness.
*thanks to jordan of onlyf4

"Big Card?" We can't take the burden
Posted: February 28, 2004

If one must immediately say a “big card player”
celebrity, Lan Zheng Long, Jerry Yan, Qin Yang, Leon
and others would probably be selected. They are not
actually that spoiled. The several times they “played
big card” were all a result from a misunderstanding.
Jerry Yan:
Escape group to practice, is that wrong?
When Jerry Yan held a concert in Hong Kong, he usually
hid in his room by himself not interacting with the
other F3. At that time, the media suddenly inspected
and discovered that Zai Zai, Vanness and Ken were
backstage putting on make-up and preparing their
clothes talking and laughing. Only Jerry escaped the
group. Before Jerry, who was originally an unskilled
dancer, got on stage, he hid in his room, wiping away
his sweat and practicing. At that time he was shocked
and smiled shyly.
When the media reporter returned to Taiwan, the
reporter put in big letters that Jerry escaped his
group and “played big card.” He was antisocial,
shutting himself in his room and did not interact with
others. Jerry replied angrily to this issue, “I can’t
dance well so I need to practice even more than
others. Before getting on stage I was in my room
practicing. I took it very seriously. What’s wrong?
Why does everyone have to treat me like?”

Source: Zhong Shi Wan Bao
Translated by Amy of http://f4ever.azn.nu

Energy "Niu Nai (Milk) was forced to join F4???
 
He called Angie Cai....Angie Cai suggested next time
called "Auntie"
 
Artistes if possible, don't easily attend
entertainment programme called "Kang Xi Coming".
Energy attended this programme and was asked to play a
game called "Zhen Xin Hua Da Mao Xian (that's mean
whatever you said, must come truely from your heart)"
Energy's member "Niu Nai (Milk)" was asked to answered
"Which Energy members do u wish to see him joining
5566"?  With regards to this sensitive question, Milk
was asked to telephone Angie Cai (F4's manager) to
express that he wish to join F4 as his punishment.
Because of this, Milk don't dare to phone Angie Cai,
therefore another Energy member's Shu Wei helped him
to phone Angie Cai.  When the call is through, Shu Wei
shyly asked Angie Cai: "Cai Sister, I am Shu Wei from
Energy, our group leader Milk wanted to leave our
group, don't know if he can join "F4"?
When this sentence was announced from Shu Wei, Shu Wei
and Milk was already very scared and having cold
sweats, as for Angie Cai, her reaction was "this news
was really shocked, but Angie cai was very calm and
said, im supposed you all are having a programme
recording now".
Once Angie Cai knew that Energy was really in
recording "Kang Xi Coming" programme, Angie Cai said
in a humourous way that " if i know earlier, i will
react if the news is true", next time if Angie Cai
still have this kind of request, she will suggested
that they should call "Auntie"! (actually im not sure
why angie cai asked them to call auntie).
 
 
Source taken from Min Sheng Bao
 
Please credit to nanako_joycelyn of
http://groups.msn.com/Flower4Creation

Vanness Wu “Proposing” Big Risk

Intensely chasing the distressed girl Hebe, noble prince Vanness shows his love. In “Qiu Hun Shi Wu Suo’s” (Office Proposal) first monophyletic, “Ma Que Bian Feng Huang” (Sparrow Transforms into a Phoenix), Hebe portrays a girl from an impoverished family. In order to marry Hebe, not only was Vanness mutinous to his family in the drama, he even eloped with her. In the end he also overcame acrophobia and stood on top of bridge and screams to Hebe, showing his love for her.

Vanness, who have played as a rich guy several times, will once again play a noble prince in “Office Proposal.” But that this time he’ll be learning “Meteor Garden’s” Bao Long and San Cai. The male is rich and the female is poor. However, to seek true love, Vanness will first break off all ties with his mother, acted by Xu Gui Ying. In order to win Hebe’s heart, the acrophobic Vanness let out tooth and nail and climbed up a bridge to shout to the world, “I swear I will definitely marry you.”

Because the winds were too strong the day of the shooting, Vanness didn’t climb up the bridge. The mischievous Hebe first said in a frightened state, “Be careful! The winds are so strong today, you must be careful or you’ll fall down!” Vanness at the side showed no signs of fear until the director ordered him to stand atop. Vanness, who was originally not afraid of heights, had signs of fear taking over him and blurted out, “Will we be filming long? I’m already feeling light headed!”

Source: Xing Bao

Translated by Amy of http://f4ever.azn.nu