COMMENT ON ENERGY BETTER OFF COMPARED TO 5566 and F4?

In the business, what is the most prized possession of an artist? Vanness, a popular celebrity from the popular group in Asia, F4. Recently, Vanness and the other F3 have been in headlines for negative criticisms and negative news. Jerry Yan in a headline going solo and leaving F4 behind. ZZ being put in a malicious act, has been victimized by internet users, commonly known as "i'm zz" from online chats and forums asking for money and *** from teens idolizing F4. Vanness has also been targeted by false accusations that his Star Runner Movie was not
a box-office hit, and that the whole F4 group is already disbanding when in the first place, they were never a group. They were just formed because of Meteor Garden. And fans from then on learned to love them as F4 and not just casts of the phenomenal series. Energy, one of the most popular group is instead being compared to 5566 rather than F4, which only means, 5566 is maybe more popular than F4? YOur comment on Energy "We are better off compared to 5566 than F4" What is his reaction?

According to Vanness, after all these news, is it possible to remain peaceful if someone destroys one of his prized possessions? "Peace is my prized possession. I don't have a say about the comparison between 5566 and Energy. Both of them are friends, and I am dismayed by the fact that we are being compared and thus, you can hear a lot of negative remarks from one fan to another which undoubtedly hurt us.People keep on making judgements on us. In a business like this, we cannot set aside the fact that one artist will be compared to another one, that is professional rivalry and a healthy competition, sometimes you have to join the competition to improve your craft. Energy and 5566 are both groups that require more dance steps, F4 as a group is more on poppie-ballad. Our group is friends with everyone! we don't have any problem dealing with the situation, we are also ordinary people who believe that competition should not be taken seriously and let it affect our respective lives, we all do work for ourselves, for the group for our fans and for our families.

What is to be gained from losing my peaceful nature, and what benefit is there in acting in a calm and rational way? If I have all the wealth I desire, name, fame and glory yet am without health, happiness and peace of mine, can I enjoy that wealth? And what value does it really have if I cannot enjoy it? Peace of mind is one of my most prized possessions, I may spend my whole life looking for it, yet I will allow the most incident to rob me of whatever little peace I may possess. After all the rumors circulating anywhere, if I succumb to anger, then just observe how much energy is being used in a destructive manner. WHy not use that energy instead in a more creative manner? If something has been taken from me, like what I said my peace of mind, instead I'll try to learn the appropriate lesson and move ahead. In this business, you need to learn how to be strong! Your strength will move you forward, and my anger or tears absorbing this news will not resolve the situation"

Source: Taipei News March 2004 & Energy Proboards

5566 NO LIMIT FOR F4

THEY made the most unlikely idols. A passe Hokkien pop star, a forgotten boyband member, a former national soccer hero and two unknown faces.

But, combined, they have enough boyband horsepower to make F4 sweat.

Say hi to 5566, the latest pop sensation hailing from the land of pretty boys.

If you're scratching your head and wondering, 'Is that a 4D number?', you're not alone.

Yet the dauntless quintet, who catapulted to fame on the strength of the idol drama, My MVP Valentine, has declared war on F4 by releasing its debut album two weeks before the latter's sophomore outing.

The result? Shocking.

While F4 is busy serenading fanatical fans in Hong Kong and China, 5566 is quietly hogging the No 1 spot on Taiwan's CD sales chart.

In just two weeks, it has sold over 100,000 copies of its first album - titled, er, First Album.

F4's Fantasy 4 Ever, however, only made it to No 3, despite pre-sale orders of 30,000 copies.

Here in Singapore, the two pop groups are also locked in a neck-to-neck battle.

F4 made its debut at No 3 on the Recording Industry Association Singapore CD sales chart last week, one notch above 5566.

Their respective soundtracks - F4's Meteor Garden II and 5566's My MVP Valentine - are tied at ninth position.

So how did 5566 manage to rock F4's boat?

After all, the quintet, which was discovered by SET TV, was hardly in the news as a result of competition among rival TV stations.

But despite the lack of media exposure, their talents shone through.

5566, which comprises Tony Sun, Zac Wang, Jason Hsu, Sam Wang and Rio Pang, has proven that it lives up to its name.

FIVE GUYS, SIX TALENTS

Basically they are five guys with six talents - namely singing, acting, dancing, hosting, modeling and slamdunking - which has earned them the respect of many fans.

Touted as Taiwan's answer to Japan's oldest boyband Smap, the party of five has also become the role model for showbiz wanabes.

Mr James Kang, regional marketing and promotions manager for Music Street, which distributes 5566's album, said: '5566 represents the various ideals of young people.

'It demonstrates that a well-rounded array of talents is necessary to hit the big time.'

Meanwhile, F4's Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu and Vanness Wu have yet to convince critics that they can hold a tune.

Dancing-wise, only the US-born Vanness can move to the groove.

The others are either transfixed to the ground or sway their bodies like stiff robots.

Hosting? Don't even think about it. The last we saw them on TV, the guys were just too tongue-tied.

5566's wacky Zac and goofy Jason, however, managed to turn the ratings of Showbiz around and make it the most popular entertainment programme in Taiwan.

They have a big following, which includes many loyal Singaporeans who tune in to the programme shown on Channel U every morning.

Unlike F4, who drive mostly pubescent girls crazy, 5566 appeals to both guys and girls.

In fact, the president of its official fan club in Taiwan is as macho as his idols.

Singaporean Ms Karen Chan, an administrator in her 20s, is such a big fan of Tony's that she set up a website dedicated to him and flew to Taipei recently to attend 5566's press conference.

'Each of the guys sings very well, and each has his own style,' she told The New Paper.

'They are really all-rounded. Not many groups are like them.'

Comparisons aside, is 5566 feeling the heat of competing with F4?

Tony, who leads the group, said: 'Healthy competition among groups is okay.'

source: http://newpaper.asia1.com/
*thanks to Jikuok of 5566Exclusive and

briefly translate some reports from Japanese fans:

March 6: It snowed until noon today, it didn't stop until 1pm. Around 9am in the morning, it was announce that the temporary actors' scene will stop due to the weather. But around 11am Zai Zai appeared and greeted everyone. Only some racing scenes were shot that day.

March 7: The weather was sunny and cloudless today. Filming began at 8:30am. Zai Zai rode a black Yamaha motorcycle, very handsome. Lai Ya Yan (mimi from MG2, tina from LS) was also at the scene. But Zai Zai didn't have many scene in the morning. It is said that ZZ will be staying at Xian Tai until March 12th.

At 14:00 it began to snow. Filming was stopped again.

22:00 news: at around 3pm, zz fans greeted zz and asked him a few questions:
Q:What japanese food does he like?
A: ka li fan

Q: How does he feel about the snow?
A: Very happy but its cold.

And they also asked what type of girls he likes. ZZ also kept on shaking fans' hands, very courteous

Many thanks to hqhq of http://www.vicpower.net for the info and pics
translate by AMY
.......thank you ..... AMY

ETRO MAGAZINE has come out with its annual "Best of
the Best" Awards Issue. (Cover is Tessa Prieto)

F4 & JY are featured in a number of articles:

1. HEAVENLY BODIES (Best of the Best BODIES)

Intro: "More than just great physiques, these guys &
gals exuded that something extra that made them
magnets of attraction."

Article includes whole page, solo pics of the people
who made the List, including:

DAO (Jerry Yan, Actor): the pic used was taken during
bench/ presscon of JY in his "love ko bench/" tee

2. WINNERS (Best of the Best PEOPLE) - text by Lourd
de Vera

Intro: "Hats off to the people who made the
(generally) good news in 2003"

Article includes whole page, solo pics of the people
who made the List, including:

F4 (Jerry Yan, Vaness Wu, Ken Zu & Vic Zhou)

Leave it to sociologists to explain how a crew of
lanky Taiwanese boys launched a thousand Oh Baby Babys
reverberating all throughout the archipelago. Jerry
Yan, Vaness Wu, Ken Zu & Vic Zhou proved why they were
so popular in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong
Kong, and even the Chinese mainland, where Meteor
Garden is banned by the central government. Must be a
growing dissatisfaction with Western cultural
hegemony. Or the tension-filled plot of Meteor
Garden. Or probably just the cool haircuts. When
Jerry Yan a.k.a Dao Ming Su (a.k.a the latest Bench
endorser, worth 40 Million pesos) came to the
Philippines in November, he almost had the status of a
state visitor, with an enthralled Palace reception &
media devotion.

3. THE YEAR OF BREAKING UP (Best of the Best SHOWBIZ
NEWS) - text by Cecille Matutina

Includes:

"Oh baby baby, my baby baby"

Now for the other phenomenal soap on TV - Meteor
Garden. From Mari Mar, the country went crazy over
Dao Ming Si, Hua Ze Lei, Xi Men, Mei Zhuo & Shan Cai.
The series, about 4 cute, long-haired Taiwanese boys,
premiered on the dead timeslot of 4pm on May 5. By
May 6, it was rating close to 40%. When it was moved
closer to early primetime, 5:30 pm, just before TV
Patrol, it was rating close to 50%! Meteor Garden
Rewind, on the other hand, aired before MTB on
Saturdays & ASAP on Sundays, was rating on the
neighborhood of 45 & 48% - and those are replays!

All of a sudden, every kid wa singing Chinese songs,
plastering his (or even his) walls with posters of F4.
"The Event" - the concert which featured 2 of the F4,
Vanness & Ken, and the duo ASOS - was sheer
pandemonium. "Happy 50 TV" the concert, featuring
Jerry & Vic, set sales records, despite tickets at
P10,000 (~US$ 200) and even P15,000 (~US$ 300). This
created a bit of controversy; many frowned at such
super-expensive tickets.

4. HUY, HUY, HUY, HUY, HUY, HUY ... (Best of the Best
MUSIC) - text by Lourd de Vera

Article includes:

The year's most raucous show was not the NU 107 Rock
Awards or any punk rock or trash metal shebang. It
was the first F4 concert at the Ultra Football Station
last September. Scores were hurt after a horde of
drenched & eager fans tore down the barricades &
spilled into the front row, to the shock of the
Binondo elite. And that wasw just half of F4,
unquestionably
Asia's most popular boy band, at a time when groups
like Boyzone & Westlife are almost contemplating
retirement. The more popular Jerry Yan & Vic Zhou
followed only months later, with Yan - better known to
millions as MG heartthrob Dao Ming Si - being received
by screaming mobs at the NAIA (airport) & Malacanang.
For a large part of 2003, one of the most popular sons
on the airwaves has been F4's Baby Baby (Cant Lose
You), a song heard almost everywhere from noontime
shows to videoke bars to jeepneys. This was the year
when we witnessed something bizaare: millions of
Pinoys memorizing entire songs in Mandarin. But then
there's the question of how long one can stand
repeated exposure to a phrase like "Oh baby baby ..."
without developing homicidal feelings.

5. TIMELINE -

June - includes: Meteor Garden captures the
imagination of the nation
November - includes: Meteor Garden's Jerry Yan
launched as Bench's newest model

**transcribed by aivlys77ph of onlyjerry**

5566 depends on F4 to scrape money
Rumored that Jerry Yan and Vanness Wu will be on the
platform
Posted: March 8, 2004

This year 5566 has 4 big selling overseas concerts.
There are rumors saying that F4’s Jerry Yan and
Vanness Wu are invited to be special guest at 5566’s
concert in the Philippines in May. Even selling
tickets in the name of F4 on local concert
advertisements. 5566’s broker, Sun De Rong denied,
“Nonsense! Someone made it up.”

Chinese-Filipinos on the net expressed on 5566’s fan
sites, “F4 be in the Philippines in March. Afterwards
Jerry and Vanness will attend 5566’s concert in May.”
People on the internet protest that F4’s management
company isn’t doing anything about this, letting F4
help 5566 sell tickets making many local F4 fans
mistakenly buy tickets for 5566’s concert.

Source:
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/template/twap...9&art_id=771346

F4 might attend the Pepsi Music Chart this year. If everything goes smoothly, the crew would get them to attend this event as award presenters. If this is confirmed, it would be the first time where they are getting together again after they are separated.

truth is out..no such thing ...pls dun start this topic again ..juz read & forget abt it

5566 in Phillipines depends on F4 to make money
Rumoured Jerry & Vanness would be on Stage

5566 would be having 4 concerts overseas this year, and its rumoured on the internet that 5566 would be holding a concert in Phillipines in May and they would be having F4's Jerry Yan & Vanness Wu as their concert guests, using F4 to sell their tickets locally. 5566's manager Sun De Rong provoke & said, " Nonsense! Someone's trying to fake this !"

Chinese from phillipines commented online, " F4 would be coming to Phillipines in March, afterwhich, Jerry and Vanness would be concert guests at 5566's concert in May." Online friends protested that F4's management company did not bother about this thing, allowing events to use F4's name to push 5566, causing alot of local fans to buy the tickets wrongly.

5566 & F4, these 2 pop group idols have been starting this year, one locally and another going overseas. From comparing ratings of shows, appearence, vocal cords, talents and record selling numbers, war stretching to overseas. 5566 broke F4's record in number of albums sold, snatching down fans from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia as the boyband champion, causing both fans of both sides to be staying at numbers.

At 5566's April's concert in Singapore last year, Zax Wang felt that fans from both sides were quarrelling, thus he sang F4's Yan Huo De Ji Jie. When the company wanted to produce that song in the concert vcd, Sonymusic did not give the copyrights.

Jerry ever said in Zax Wang's Wan Quan Yu Le, " F4 doesn't hate 5566, there isn't any situations." There was also a " I Love 5566" on the album that F4 gave to Zax as a gift. However, there was news that these 2 groups have been critising each other down below.

Sun De Rong said, " F4 as concert guests is impossible, it's only fake news by people on the internet. It's already very messy in this world, people, please stop doing such news on the internet to scare people." Regarding the security in Phillipines, he and 5566 is not worried at all. He said, " The crew that was in charge a few days ago are over. The security isn't very good but we have another group taking over . I would be discussing it with them and regarding safety, i believe they would do it very well.

F4's management company said, " F4 doesn't have any scehdules in Phillipines in March, only that Vanness would be attending a concert there on the 25th, F4 would not be guests at 5566's concert."

 
***Thanks to Taiwan Appledaily.
***thanks to XiuJuan from onlyf4

There's a new song in Mandarin that's currently ruling the airwaves -- both on TV and radio. And although hardly anyone can understand what the song is about, there's no mistaking the longing in that very recognizable, melancholic, and romantic voice, a voice that can only belong to Vic Zhou. And the song is a catchy ballad that represents his signature style, called "Remember I Love You", the title track of his sophomore album.

Still most remembered as the hearbroken end of the most famous love triangle of 2003 as Hua Ze Lei in Meteor Garden, Vic Zhou is the youngest member of F4 and, it seems in the recording department, the most restless.

While Jerry Yan, Ken Zhu, and Vanness Wu are busy making films, Vic Zhou had been the first to release a solo album, last year's highly successful Make A Wish, and, in a short span of time, is already out with a second album, Remember I Love You. In between, he has filmed two more TV series after Meteor Garden and The Poor Prince, the highly anticipated Love Storm and Mars, a race car drama. He also contributed songs to the soundtrack of Love Storm.

Vic believes ther is a big difference between his first album and Remember I Love You. To make every song in the album the best possible, he has been busy with vocal training. "It's hard, but I love it," says Vic with a smile. "Singing well needs not only your full devotion, but also vocal skills. So, this time, I didn't just 'make a wish,' I tried my best to make my dream come true."

The songs are also more varied on this new album. While still tender and sentimental, he sings more passionately, as noted by various reviewers from Taiwan and Hong Kong. And his songs run the different gamut of emotions, even if it does seem like women perpetually leave him on every song. "Your Body Heat" and "Try To Love Me For One Day" have hopeful, happy beats. There's a hint of his comic side in "Ma Ma Says" and an altogether different Vic Zhou on "Message of 3000 Years Ago." But the Vic everybody knows and loves shines in the sad songs "Unforgettable," "Promise of Happiness," and "Why Don't You Come." Vic's favorite track on this album is "Suddenly," a poignant song accompanied by a piano, guitar, and dreamy synths. Also included in the album is "I Feel You" from the soundtrack of his upcoming chinovela Love Storm.

While he has yet to find a love in his life, he doesn't find it stange to be single and singing love songs. "I'm growing up, so are my songs," Vic explains. "This album is about those subtle and complex feelings in love, the multifaceted, more mature love. And I hope that my fans can remember that I love you, all of you."

Source: Manila Standard, 9 March 2004, Page C5

***Thanks to Tina of viczhoufamily and rubypurple of Faithful 4ever

When Jerry flimed Meteor Garden 1 and went popular. Afterwhich, many bad reports keep coming up. He was rather affected by it at first, very often he trys to explain but ended up saying the wrong things, making him feel so helpless. However, when fliming Magical Kitchen, no one said anything, Jerry laugh and said, " There was once when Sammi talk about me with my friend, she said i was a rather nice person. After that, i find that, whever in open public, everyone would try to cover words, but hearing her say that down below, i feel very happy."

Jerry's friends kept saying he was a very innocent person, to say it in a bad way, its that he's stupid. Thus, it was easy for others to trap him to say out things, with some spreading with what he says out with traps,it would change. A few years ago, facing the media, with huge pressure, plus working through day and night, his stomach gastrics acted up and he had to leave halfway through a interview. At that time, some say he was "running" and some said he was trying to "Shua Da Pai". Jerry said, " It's all over, i am using chinese medicine to get well, and its much better."

***Thanks to Zhong Shi Wan Bao.

Manager reveals for the 1st time, the truth about the
disbandment of F4


Rumor #1: The truth about the disbandment of F4
According to a particular newspaper which reportedly
received
reliable news, reported that Jerry Yan, who has only 6
mths left to
his existing contract with his management agency, has
the intention
of forming his own company for his own future
developments, and he's
holding a very firm stance on his decision to not
extend his current
contract. As such, F4 will officially disband come
September. That
article also provided a very clear view regarding the
contracts F4
signed. That is, the 4 of them currently belong to
Taiwan Fulong,
Ken Chu has signed a 10-year contract a long time ago,
Vic Chou has
also extended his contract by 3 yrs at the start of
this year, thus
leaving Vanness Wu and Jerry Yan, both having 6 mths
left to their
contracts. Fulong is currently trying very hard to get
the 2 of them
to extend their contracts, as understood, the chances
of Vanness
extending his is very high, whereas Jerry Yan is
proving to be a
very difficult target, he has told Fulong straight
that he intends
to form his own company to manage his own
developments. He's bent on
leaving, as such, it's unavoidable that F4 will
disband
Clarification #1
Zhi Xiang Li too seems very helpless when he was
replying our
questions, but still, he made the simplest rebuttal:
"No such thing.
It's the first time we've heard this, this rumor will
occur almost
every month. There's no such thing."
With regards to the particular newspaper reporting
that Jerry wish
to form his own company, Zhi Xiang Li clarified that
actually each
of F4 have all along have had their own company, that
being offices
opened under their own names. "They had these offices
since they
signed the contracts with us", Zhi Xiang Li said: "In
Taiwan, every
artiste will open an office of their own, this is for
them to handle
some of their private stuff."
As for the most debatable question regarding Jerry
Yan's contract,
Zhi Xiang Li insisted that Jerry's contract with them
will not be
ending so soon, but they have been discussing the
issue of extending
his contract. As for the progress of the discussion,
he said: "The
discussion went very happily, but this is confidential
to our
company.
Rumor #2: F4 is not a group
To support the 'fact' that F4 has already disbanded,
that particular
newspaper reported that since last year, basically
each of F4 have
already started on their individual developments -
Jerry filmed
<Magic Kitchen>, Vanness filmed <Star Runner>, Ken
filmed <Sky of
Love>, while Vic concentrated on filming idol drama
<Love Storm>.
Also, when they were interviewed on several occasions,
they insisted
that the 4 of them only got together because of
<Meteor Garden>, and
that they hope that come the future, each of them will
be able to
identify his own goals and work towards that. But even
though the
disbandment of F4 is at hand, the 4 of them cannot
avoid the
possibility of working together again, because the
commercial
contracts they signed with Pepsi and S&K were signed
under the name
of F4, as such, if the advertisors organises any
promotion, the 4 of
them will have to come together as F4 again.
Clarification #2
With regards to this question, Zhi Xiang Li feels that
"we'll need
to have a really long discussion". Because, it seems
that till now,
others still don't seem to understand the nature of
the existence of
the group F4. "Initially, the 4 of them is neither a
group nor a
boyband. In <Meteor Garden>, their roles is that of a
group, but
when they signed their contracts with us, it was as
individuals, and
not as a group, hence now we are also waiting for good
scripts, good
music, only then will they be able to come together as
a group.
There may be some concerns raised towards Zhi Xiang
Li's answer,
because looking at F4's current hectic schedule, it
seems almost
impossible that the 4 of them will be able to spare
some time to
come together to film a drama serial, but still, he
brought another
good news: "We still want to hold concerts. Hopefully
by year end or
beginning of next year, we'll be able to hold a
worldwide tour.
Rumor #3: We did not get others to sing on behalf
Another recent issue is that recently, while being
interviewed by a
HongKong radio station, Luo Da Yuo announced publicly
that he does
not like F4, because entertainment factor stood 90% of
F4's music,
making it totally different from actual music. He even
said that a
friend told him that when F4 sings the harmonization
part of their
songs, it's not totally sang by them alone, but got
others to sing
on their behalf.
Clarification #3
With regards to Luo's criticisms, Zhi Xiang Li
insisted that they
did not get others to sing and emphasized that that's
only back-up
vocals: "You all also listen to a lot of cds, actually
nowadays back-
up vocals need not be sang by yourself, you can employ
professional
back-up singers to sing it for you, but the main vocal
is still sang
by themselves. Be it Jay Chou, Jolin Cai or Elva
Hsiao, they also
employed professional back-up singers to act as their
back-up
vocals!"
As for the part about entertainment factor exceeding
that of real
music, F4's album producer Liu Tian Jian said
adamantly the other
day that the music industry itself is an entertainment
industry, and
F4 is an entertainment group, entertainment is a
singer's
responsibility. Compared to Liu's outburst, Zhi Xiang
Li's answer is
much more polite: "Everyone has his/her own standard
towards
appreciating any songs, he's a senior, of course we
will thank him
for his guidance and comments."
Then will F4 change their music direction because of
this? Zhi Xiang
Li feels that: "We can't do anything about this,
because there's
always so many comments, F4's fans feel that their
songs are very
nice, we'll not change their music direction just
because Teacher
Luo said that their songs contain too much of the
entertainment
factor, what if we change the type of music they do,
and the fans
feel that their songs are not nice, then what are we
to do? But of
course, we'll still look for songs that suit the 4 of
them.
from Big Star 5th Mar 2004