F4 (band)
F4 is a popular boy band from Taiwan. The group began in the Taiwanese television series Meteor Garden. Over time, F4 became popular in Asia - mobbed in Chinese-speaking cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore and profusely idolized in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. In April 2005, they landed in Japan for the next phase of their pop career.
The F4 are Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Chu. Thanks to their good looks and height - their requirement was that they were all at least 6 feet tall (about 180cm) - Yan, a model-turned-actor, Zhou, a schoolboy, Wu, a pop-star wannabe, and Chu, a one-time waiter, were chosen by producer Angie Tsai to star in Meteor Garden and capture the hearts of girls and women across Asia. Many referred to the fanatics as having caught the "F4 Fever".
The series is based on the Japanese shoujo manga series, Hana Yori Dango, which roughly means Boys Over Flowers. Yan plays Dao Ming Si, an extremely arrogant Mr Darcy type, who meets his match in poor but proud Shan Cai, played by Barbie Xu. Zhou, Wu and Zhu play his buddies Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo and Xi Men respectively, all of whom are as rich and spoilt as Dao Ming Si. Together, they compose the elite gang of four pretty boys, F4, or Flower 4, terrorising everybody else in school. However, the strong "weed-like" character of Shan Cai slowly digs into their hearts and brings out their love and care for other people.
Because Cai was right on the money in mixing romantic comedy with raw pop-idol charisma, Meteor Garden was a huge hit in Taiwan in 2001 and made overnight stars of Yan and company. It started the ouxiang ju (idol drama) genre, too. Meanwhile, Meteor Garden took the rest of Asia as well when the series was also shown in 2002 in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia and in 2003 in the Philippines, with Japan as the latest country to have caught its "fever" when the series was shown on local cable there in April 2005. The series was also smuggled into Mainland China in 2002 despite an official ban by the authorities there on its showing due to its emphasis on power and materialism. A sequel, Meteor Garden II, was shot in Spain later and released in 2002.
In 2001, Sony came calling with record deals. Yan and company became F4, a name taken from their series. Together they have released two albums, Meteor Rain and Fantasy 4ever. Zhou has released two of his own. Wu, Yan and Zhu have released one each.
In 2002, F4 sang the Mandarin version of "Can't Help Fallin' in Love" to be included in Walt Disney's Lilo & Stitch soundtrack for the region of Asia. The English version of this song is sung by A*Teens, which is a cover of the Elvis Presley hit "Can't Help Falling In Love".
F4 has come together as spokespeople for several Pepsi, Yamaha Motorbikes and Samuel & Kevin commercials.
They are currently working on their solo careers in acting and music, but are also preparing for their 3rd album.