FLOWER 4 [F4]
how F4 started | jerry yan | vanness wu | ken zhu | more on f4
Call it luck, call it perfect timing or call it whatever you want, these four young men simply are a phenomenon. From out of nowhere, Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu and American-born Vanness Wu have shocked the lives of millions of Filipinos. It took the guys' good looks, talents, Lady Luck and a drama series to transform F4 from total unknowns into Asian pop idols who have created mass hysteria. The boy band's rise to stardom has been nothing but meteoric. Their drama series was launched in Taiwan in April 2001 and just a year after, these four guys have become a household names not only in Taiwan but also in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Brunei and now, the Philippines.
F4 is made up of
Vanness Wu, Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou and Ken Zhu. It all started with "Meteor Garden"
the Taiwanese version of a Japanese comic book series known as "Hana Yori Dango"
(Boys Rather Than Flowers) or "Mr. Handsome." Chai Zhi Ping, an executive
producer of a show called "Super Sunday," loved the four characters so much, she
decided to find four guys to play the human adaptation to the comic. It wasn't
easy, but she managed to find all four Mr. Handsome.
Jerry Yan was already an actor/model when his picture was spotted on the
newspaper. His look matched the character, Doumyouji Tsukasa, so he was
contacted about the plan. Vic Zhou was seen talking on the phone, in his
Hanazawa Rui's way, while accompanying his friend to an audition. Ken Zhu was a
waiter in a barbecue restaurant and for a second, he was thought as Nishikado
Soujirou, with his long hair. Vanness Wu was working out in a gym when he was
spotted as the live version of Mimasaka Akira. These four strangers joined
together with Big S (Barbie Hsu) in the series "Meteor Garden," and the ratings
went up the roof when it came out. The four became stars overnight and opened
this whole new opportunity for Taiwan shows to go nationwide as did "Autumn's
Tale," for Korea.
Because of the commotion and success of Meteor Garden, the
four had captured the attention of Sony. Sony Music immediately asked them to
form together to make their first album "Meteor Rain" and decided to call them
"F4" which was their group's name in the series. F4 mainly means "Flower Four."
Luckily, the four guys all have some knowledge of music. Vanness knows a lot
about Hip Hop, R&B and Raps since he was brought up from the United States. Ken
was in a band. Together, the four took singing lessons before their recordings
in the studio. They signed a contract to record a Mandarin album even before
they finished recording the TV show, and 2 others later! Thinking that probably
no one was going to buy their CDs, they've decided that they would buy 10,000
copies themselves if that was to happen. Amazingly, their CDs sold like hotcakes
and they've won the hearts of many fans. F4 becomes the most popular boy group
in Taiwan when their debut album, Meteor Rain brought in a pre-sale bookings of
150,000. They even have their own TV show called ABCDEF4 and are guest-hosts to
many other Taiwan entertainment shows. Their overnight, instantaneous fame has
brought these four virtually unknown boys to limelight.
| Chinese Name: Yan Cheng Xu Real Name: Liao Yang Zheng English Name: Jerry Nickname: Bao Long(Hot-tempered Dragon), Xiao Bai Tu(Little White Rabbit) Nationality: Taiwanese Birthday: January 1, 1977 Zodiac Sign: Capricorn Language: Mandarin Personality: lively, quick/alert, sociable, pushes himself to learn more, an avid reader, fast learner, interested in new things Specialties: Playing Ball Wish: Open a farm and to breed a lot of animals The most unforgettable thing: The teacher cried in front of him because of his bad grades. The best talent: Dancing Preferred lifestyle: quiet lifestyle and close to nature |
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Favorites Favorite Athletic Activity: Dancing, Playing Basketball Favorite Collection: Different types of glasses Favorite Food: Anything that is edible (not choosy when it comes to food) Favorite Color: Black Favorite part of the body: Finger tip Favorite artist: Any artist that makes progress, those who are hardworking Favorite Instrument: Piano Favorite Country: Japan Favorite Pet: All of them Favorite clothing: Comfortable clothing, Casual Favorite Drink: Water The place that he wants to go most: U.S.A Favorite music: All types Dislikes The most disliked thing: Not being respected by others |
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Chinese Name: Wu Jian
Hao |
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Other Stuff About Vanness  >> 'His moniker is a road name in hometown Los Angeles. 'My Dad chose
it because he thought it sounded nice.'>> Family: American-born Chinese. 'Growing up was hard; my parents are separated.' But his family still enjoys 'close, good relations. While filming, I missed home terribly and wanted to give up, but my family dissuaded me'. >> Path to fame: When he was 13, he started practicing dance moves with ex-Taiwanese boy band, The L.A. Boyz. He wanted to make a record last September, but it fell through. His sister, Stacy Wu Jia Jia, cut an album in 1995 with the group Babes. 'I've always been interested in acting. So I came to Taiwan to be a part of the entertainment scene.' He joined Super Sunday's YMCA segment, a male talent contest-cum-pageant. He was spotted by the series' producers, who asked him to audition. >> On Mei Zhuo: 'He's a sunshine boy, happy-go-lucky  and spur of the
moment.'>> Vanness has a lot of potential in him. He does put up any airs about himself, thus he becomes very nice towards everyone. His songs is slowly determining his future, and is even opening more fields for him. However, he could loosen the reins on his girl at times, and the girl goes home. Vanness prefers girls that are obedient, filial, clean and innocent. And of course who is loyal to the relationship. She has to be dedicated and sensitive. But she has to put in work too to become a good girlfriend. >> Vanness said he had only a pair of sports shoe during his poorest days; he still keeps that pair of shoes to remind himself of the difficult times. >> Vanness is fit and stylish, any color clothes suits him well because of his perfect physique and fair complexion. He can’t keep still at all and it’ll be lively whenever he’s around. Sporty clothes are his trademark and a simple T-shirt can best display his good physique. Vanness’s stage presence/ performance is one of the strongest among F4; his singing and dancing skills are full of zhang1 li4, therefore, his costumes must project his individual charm. His gem-blue costume matched with dark blue and a little hip-hop long pants & wild dance moves affects people with his vitality and love for music. |
| Chinese name: Zhu Xiao Tian English name: Ken Zhu Birthday: 15 January 1979 Place of Birth: Nanjing Zodiac Sign: Capricorn Languages: Mandarin, English, Cantonese Specialty: cooking Personality: carefree, happy-go-lucky Special Traits: kind, doesn't want to see others get hurt, sociable, easy to talk to, principled, curious, willing to accept challenges Wish: Traveling around the world in back-pack way The most unforgettable thing: The days spent in Singapore The best talent: Acting cheap Preferred lifestyle: doing nothing, get to eat everyday |
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Other Stuff About Ken  >> Family: Born in Taiwan, but was raised in Singapore by a guardian. In the
eight years he lived there, he attended Bukit Merah Primary and Boon Lay
Secondary. 'I consider myself a Singaporean. I miss the food and shopping.'>> Path to fame: Was discovered while working as a captain in a Japanese BBQ restaurant. This pretty boy is also a good cook who likes to whip up 'simple dishes'. >> On Xi Men: Zhu is a diehard romantic. He reveals that his first love, in Third Year High School, had been a girl from Thomson Secondary named Lin Xin Yu, a 'cute Malaysian girl, a friend of my sister's. It ended when she went to Australia for further studies in 1996'. >> Keeping to himself, Ken sees life with anxiety and joy. Meeting with the recent issues, he should slowly and carefully take the opportunity, to keep his anxiety in check so that he does not blows his chances. Ken is one that gets attracted to girls who are beautiful looking. His Cupid Arrow is also tagged along with love and sensitivity, how could one not resist his charm? But everyone should grab her chances, if not, Ken would have a chance to become a "A man not bad, A woman not being loved" bad man! >> Ken’s gentlemanly nature and a little baby fat on the face make people feel safe and secure. Therefore, any intelligent  color, soft shirt and jeans
make him even more creative. Among F4, Ken is the most nei4 lian3, hence his
image in concerts are usually simple and plain. Red checked shirt with his
long layered hair, peaceful and leisurely, his guitar performance also makes
his checked shirt more xiang2 he2. >> Ken and ZZ are completely opposite. Even before Chen Shu Hua (a famous stylist) started talking, Ken began speaking non-stop about his own views and even posed questions: “What do u think? What do u think is the reason?” as if he was sitting for an oral exam, made CSH not knowing whether to laugh or cry. |
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Extremely Zai Zai © 2003
This site was made last September 20, 2003.
>> First brush with tabloids: Scribes alleged amorous intent when talk-show
host Matilda Tao gave him a diamond necklace in return for a pen he gave
her.
