taken from [Newsweek]Sept 22, 2003 issue
The Boys in the Band
F4 may be the first Mandarin pop band that all of Asia can love. And they`re helping to make Chinese culture cool 
By Alexandra A. Seno
NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL
Sept. 22 issue ¡X Many southeast Asians are full of worries about China, ranging from the effects of the region`s new trade pact to how to compete with Beijing for foreign investment. But for tens of millions of young Asians, there is a far more burning question at hand: who is the cutest member of F4¡XJerry, Vic, Ken or Vanness?
THE BOY-BAND pop singers may be Taiwanese, but they sing in Mandarin and have Southeast Asia deep in the throes of a love affair with all things Chinese. Says Indonesian entertainment executive Daniel Tumiwa: ¡§Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers. For ordinary people here, it doesn`t matter; it`s just Chinese to them. It makes no difference. F4 is huge, huge, huge.¡¨
Not to mention hot, hot, hot. F4 is the first Mandarin pop band to win a devoted¡Xsome would say fanatic¡Xpan-Asian audience. In many places, they are even bigger than the local acts¡Xhighly unusual in Asia`s widely segmented music market. Pop tastes in east Asia have traditionally been split, with the north looking to Japan and Hong Kong, and the south to their home markets. F4 has radically altered the equation. They¡¦ve sold 3.5 million albums¡Xan astonishing number on a continent where pirated CDs are the norm. In Manila last week, ¡Xfans paid up to $200¡Xthe equivalent of several months` salary¡Xto see F4 members sing and dance live. Their faces loom large on billboards advertising Pepsi along Bangkok¡¦s expressways. On streets throughout the region, children can be heard belting F4 lyrics in passable Mandarin. ¡§This is the first time I¡¦ve ever seen a group actually conquering all markets here,¡¨ says Mishal Varma, Singapore-based vice president for talent relations at MTV Asia. ¡§No one else has crossed over the way they have.¡¨
Their staggering appeal is not easy to explain¡Xeven among music experts. A la ¡¥N Sync, they don¡¦t play any instruments and they are not great singers. Few people even know what they¡¦re singing about. But the four twentysomething band members¡XJerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu and Vanness Wu¡Xbelt out frothy tunes with a bubble-gum beat, and possess clean-cut good looks that have landed them on magazine covers, posters, key chains, T shirts and the bedroom walls of countless teenage girls. Indeed, their most committed fans know not just their birth dates but their blood types as well. They seem to possess that elusive blend of charisma and good timing that strikes only rarely among musicians. ¡§In life, there comes only one Elvis Presley, one Ricky Martin, one F4,¡¨ says Varma.
Their wholesome image is a big selling point. In person, the bandmates tend to be exceptionally polite. During an interview, Wu, the only F4 member who speaks fluent English, tosses off lines like, ¡§The Vanness dream is to take care of my family one day so they don¡¦t have to work so hard.¡¨ Such emphasis on family values plays well with young Asians. ¡§F4 represents something they can aspire to within reach,¡¨ says Ian Stewart, CEO of The Filter Group, an Asian trend consultancy. ¡§Compared with Robbie Williams, Asians can connect more with F4.¡¨
The band¡¦s rise began with ¡§Meteor Garden,¡¨ a slick television drama launched in Taiwan two years ago. Based on a Japanese comic book, the series revolves around a group of Taiwanese students nicknamed F4¡X¡¨Flower Four¡¨¡Xbecause they are so pretty. The show, massively popular in Taiwan, also turned into a runaway hit on Southeast Asian TV when dubbed or subtitled in local languages.
The program ran for two seasons. Like many Asian actors, the four boys also sang and danced. They quickly released two albums under Sony Music, and began playing to sellout crowds from Hong Kong to Manila. Today, in addition to touring, making TV appearances and hanging out together, the members are also busy working on solo careers. ¡§We want to grow,¡¨ says Wu, who just finished shooting his first film, a Hong Kong martial arts movie.
Wu laughs when asked if he feels famous. Three years ago, he was living in his native Los Angeles (he is named after the famous street in L.A. and San Francisco) and working as a customer-service rep for a phone company. Then he decided to indulge his passion and pursue a show-business career in Taiwan, where his parents were born. For the first year, he slept on friends¡¦ couches in Taipei. Now, though he¡¦s glad to have his own place, he says the band is still adjusting to its stardom. ¡§We had ¡Xnever met until ¡¥Meteor Garden¡¦,¡¨ he says. ¡§Our personalities are so different, which is probably why our fans like us.¡¨ Indeed, there seems to be something for everyone. Wu says he thinks he¡¦s seen as the extrovert, Jerry Yan is the funny but mercurial one, Vic Zhou is quiet but ¡§off the wall¡¨ and Ken Zhu is ¡§cool and collected¡Xbut a deep thinker.¡¨
The members have turned into unwitting ambassadors for greater China. Thanks largely to F4, Thais, Filipinos and Indonesians¡Xnot generally known for their interest in contemporary Chinese culture¡Xare embracing it with a vengeance. In Jakarta, ¡§There is growing acceptance that Chinese boys are good looking,¡¨ says Tumiwa. ¡§It¡¦s quite a shift here.¡¨ Indonesia has had a checkered history with its Chinese population, highlighted by anti-Chinese riots and targeted violence. Now, the only mobs are those lining up to see F4 perform in concert. Young people are adopting F4¡¦s style of dress, which tends to be casual with a flair, such as tight jeans and fitted white shirts. Fans have also copied their trademark long hairstyles. Says Bangkok hotel clerk Praphaphorn Sithuha, an admitted F4 fanatic: ¡§F4 has good style, they sing well and are very funny.¡¨
The band members have also sparked an unlikely interest in the Mandarin language. ¡§Now my workers are listening to Chinese songs all day long,¡¨ says Charlie Clement, a flower-farm owner in the central Philippines. ¡§They sing along but don¡¦t understand.¡¨ At least one is going even further; Thai fan Praphaphorn has a friend who was so inspired by the group that she enrolled in Chinese language lessons.
Not surprisingly, everyone is trying to discover the next F4. TV executives in Manila, for example, have been snapping up other Taiwanese soaps, like ¡§Lavender¡¨ and ¡§MVP Valentine.¡¨ In Jakarta, the Taiwan all-male hip-hop group Energy, which also sings only in Mandarin, has been performing to packed crowds. ¡§They have good music,¡¨ says Harry Hui, Asia president for Universal Music. ¡¨[But] teenagers in Southeast Asia don¡¦t yet think of China as a source of cool.¡¨ Just give them time.
With Erin Prelypchan in Manila
scan credits to credit to mei520104 of yanchengxu.net
posted by blueangel
