F4 (band)
F4 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | JVKV |
| Origin | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Genres | Mandopop |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | Sony Music Taiwan (2001–2007) |
| Past members | Jerry Yan Vanness Wu Ken Chu Vic Chou |
| Website | Sony Music Taiwan |
F4 (Flower Four), later JVKV, was a Taiwanese boy group consisting of Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou. The group was formed in 2001 after their fictional group of the same name in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden (2001) had propelled them to pan-Asian popularity. Together they have starred in several Taiwanese drama series and released three albums, Meteor Rain (2001), Fantasy 4ever (2002), and Waiting for You (2007).
F4 embarked on several concert tours, including the Fantasy Live World Tour and the F4 Japan Tour, with the former attracting around 600,000 people. In 2007, due to copyright issues, the group changed its name to JVKV, using the first initials of its members' names in descending order by age.[1] The group disbanded in 2009.[2]
History
[edit]2001: Formation and Meteor Garden
[edit]The group formed as a result of the success of a Taiwanese drama series, Meteor Garden. The 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. Chou, Wu and Chu play as his friends Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men, respectively. In the series, the four guys identify themselves as a group called "Flower Four", or often shortened as F4.
Meteor Garden was released in Taiwan in 2001 and turned the leads into stars virtually overnight.[3] In 2002 Meteor Garden was released in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and Korea and in 2003 the Philippines. The series was aired on Xing Kong channel in 2008 and was later remade in China. A sequel, Meteor Garden II, was shot in Spain later and released in 2002.
2001–2004: Musical venture, Meteor Rain, and Fantasy 4ever
[edit]In 2001, F4 became a boy band and signed a record deal with Sony Music Taiwan. In the same year they released their debut album, Meteor Rain, and in the following year they released Fantasy 4ever. The album includes the Mandarin version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" that they recorded for the Asian version of Walt Disney's Lilo & Stitch soundtrack,[4] a Mandarin version of "Yo Te Amo" by Chayanne, and a Pepsi advertisement theme song "Ask For More".
From 2002 to 2003, F4 held the Fantasy Live World Tour spanning 19 shows across 12 cities, which attracted a total audience of 570,000 to 600,000 people.[5][6] In 2003, they embarked on an Asian tour to support Fantasy 4ever, and went on an unannounced hiatus in 2004 afterwards as the members began to focus on their solo careers.
2007–2009: Waiting for You and name change to JVKV
[edit]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.[7][8] 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.[1]
Despite rumours of disbanding,[9] JVKV released their third album, Waiting For You, on December 28, 2007.[10] Their third album still bore the name F4, not JVKV. F4 were the first foreign artists to hold 7 consecutive concerts in Japan, which attracted around 80,000 people.[11] The individual members of the group developed solo careers in both acting and music. Three of them appeared in Wish To See You Again, starring Chou and Chu, while Wu made a few guest appearances in a few episodes. Due to scheduling conflicts, Yan did not star in the series; his part was played by Kingone Wang. Yan filmed a series in Taiwan alongside Wu Chun of Fahrenheit and Show Lo, called Hot Shot otherwise known as 篮球火 which was released in the Summer 2008.
2013–2020: Jiangsu TV reunions
[edit]F4 had performed twice together after their announcement of disbanding in 2009. In January 2013, the group was confirmed to perform at Jiangsu TV's Spring Festival in China along with Harlem Yu.[12] The performance was taped in Beijing on January 30, 2013,[13][14] and was aired on February 10, 2013. During the show, they hinted that they were going to have a concert tour in China, which did not come to fruition. On October 30, 2020, at Jiangsu TV’s ‘1001 Night Festival’ concert, Vanness Wu appeared live on stage, while his bandmates’ pre-recorded performances were projected via holograms, allowing them to share the stage with him during the broadcast.[15]
2025–present: Reunion
[edit]On June 4, 2025, it was reported that F4 had reached an agreement to reunite for a concert tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut, which would take place in 2026.[16]
Members
[edit]- Jerry Yan (言承旭)
- Vanness Wu (吳建豪)
- Ken Chu (朱孝天)
- Vic Chou (周渝民)
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWN [17] |
JPN [18] |
SGP [19] | |||
| Meteor Rain (流星雨) |
|
— | 10 | 1 | |
| Fantasy 4ever (煙火的季節) |
|
— | 17 | 3 | |
| Waiting for You (在這裡等你) |
|
2 | 17 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | |||||
Compilation albums
[edit]| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| F4 Five Years Glorious Collection |
|
| Fabulous |
|
Live albums
[edit]| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Meteor Garden F4 Music Party |
|
| F4 Fantasy Live Concert World Tour in Hong Kong |
|
Video albums
[edit]| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| F4 Five Years Glorious Collection |
|
| Precious |
|
| Precious II |
|
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Meteor Garden | Yan as Dao Ming Si Chou as Hua Ze Lei Wu as Mei Zuo Chu as Xi Men |
Drama series |
| 2001 | Meteor Rain | Mini series | |
| 2002 | Meteor Garden II | Drama series | |
| 2002 | Come to My Place | Yan as Zhong Yi Ye Chou as Zhong Yuan Wu as JJ Chu as Guang Tian Jian |
Drama series |
Concerts
[edit]Headlining tours
- Meteor Garden F4 Music Party (2001–2002)
- Fantasy Live Concert World Tour (2002–2003)
- F4 Japan Tour (2008)
Awards
[edit]| Year | Awards | Category | Nomination | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Hong Kong TVB8 Awards | Best Group (Gold) | F4 | Won | |
| IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards | Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year | Meteor Rain | Won | [23] | |
| 2003 | Fantasy 4ever | Won | [24] | ||
| MTV Asia Awards | Inspiration Award | F4 | Won | [25] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b (in Chinese) F4嫌新称呼JVKV绕口 合体宣传用回本名. May 2, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
- ^ "言承旭吳建豪承認F4互相嫉妒 決定解散反而鬆一口氣". Sing Tao Canada 星島加拿大 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
- ^ "CNN.com – F4 Talkasia Transcript – Jun 16, 2006". CNN. CNN. June 16, 2006. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- ^ "F4主唱《星际宝贝》横袭好莱坞 F4 singers hit Hollywood in Lilo & Stitch" (in Chinese). NETandTV.com. June 26, 2002. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "F4傳出道25週年將合體開唱! 仔仔鬆口曝內幕" [F4 will reunite for concert on their 25th anniversary! Zai Zai reveals the inside story]. Yahoo News (in Chinese). June 5, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ "F4要合体开演唱会了，青春回忆值多少钱？" [F4 is going to reunite for a concert. How much are the memories of youth worth?]. www.163.com (in Chinese). June 5, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ Wang, Vivien (April 29, 2007). "Boy band changes name F4 into JVKV". China Daily. Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- ^ "Boys over Flowers Forces F4 Idol Band to Rename Itself". Anime News Network. May 14, 2007. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
- ^ "F4 to Formally Disband in October". CRI English. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ ":: 新力博德曼音樂 [新聞] :: SONY BMG Music Entertainment (Taiwan) ::". www.sonymusic.com.tw. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ^ a b "F4、初の日本公演は「いままでと違う」". Oricon News (in Japanese). March 4, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ Belmonte, Maureen Marie (January 11, 2013). "'Meteor Gardens F4 To Reunite at China's Spring Festival". The Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^ "F4 arrives in beijing for spring festival gala". xinMSN. February 1, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ^ "F4 performs in million dollar costumes". xinMSN. February 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ^ Merican, Sara. "Iconic Taiwanese Boyband F4 Makes An Unconventional Reunion". Forbes. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
- ^ "Former Taiwanese boy band F4 reportedly planning to reunite for concert in 2026". The Straits Times. June 4, 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ "G-Music 風雲榜 (綜合榜)". www.g-music.com.tw. Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ "F4のアルバム売上TOP3作品" [F4 ranking information]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^
The RIAS album chart operated from December 2001 to June 2005.
- "Meteor Garden". Archived from the original on December 29, 2001. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- "Fantasy 4ever". Archived from the original on February 6, 2003. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ "F4的诱惑_三联生活周刊". old.lifeweek.com.cn. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ a b Benke, Benny (January 11, 2003). ""Fantasy 4-ever" Benar-benar Fantastis". Suara Merdeka (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ^ "亚洲偶像团体F4当年到底有多红 创造的神话至今无人能及-明星-福州便民网". www.fzbm.com (in Chinese). November 1, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ IFPI Hong Kong 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Archived July 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 19, 2011
- ^ IFPI Hong Kong 2003 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Archived February 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 19, 2011
- ^ AVRIL LAVIGNE, LINKIN PARK WIN BIG AT MTV ASIA AWARDS, January 24, 2003, archived from the original on November 2, 2020, retrieved November 14, 2021,
In other categories, Robbie Williams won Favorite Male Artist, Blue took Favorite Pop Act and F4 earned the Inspiration Award.
External links
[edit]
- Can't Help Falling In Love – Sony Music Taiwan
- F4Vevo
- (in Chinese) Official SonyMusic F4 360 site
- F4 in CNN's Talkasia
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