| Artist in Evolution: F4 |
| Category: Pop/Rock |
| Language: Mandarin |
| Members: Four - Ken, Vic, Jerry, Vanness |
| Date Founded: Late 2001 |
| Pic Gallery: SinaNet F4 |
F4. This has become a houshold name in parts of Asia. This name has been rumored to mean a couple things since their debut in late 2001-early 2002: Flower Four; Friends Four; Fantasy Four. These are all just there to show how these four guys have become like brothers since they launched their public careers as actors/singers.
Basically, their whole acting/singing careers started out as a contest open to almost anyone. The judges then picked from within the contestants to choose a group of guys who were about the same hieght, same builds, could act, and could sing. If you look on the inside cover of the F4: Meteor Garden booklet from the CD, you'll see what im talking about. Their show, METEOR GARDEN, first debuted in Taiwan and has since had many spinoffs and translations, especially in in Indonesia, where Taiwanese culture is popular. Now, late in 2002 and going into the 2003 season, METEOR GARDEN 2 has been debuted, with the four returning guys: Ken, Vic, Vanness, and Jerry. The story basically comprises of a typical soap opera, where there are two guys who love the same girl, and other people just pop up in the plot to make it more interesting. Reviews have given this series a very good rating and it is very widespread throughout the world, as mentioned above.
The members are interesting also. Vanness is actually an ABC (American Born Chinese) from California (no surprise there) and can speak English pretty well. Vic hasn't had much luck in love at all, where his longest relationship lasted for a year, but none of the 5 relationships he's had ever lasted long enough for Valentine's Day, and Vic's favorite type of music is actually electronic (go trance!). Ken can speak Cantonese fluently and plays the guitar. Jerry is comical and gets buff.
Right now, F4 has 2 group albums out: 1st - Meteor Rain and 2nd - Fantasy 4 Ever. Also, Vic and Vanness have both released their own albums; Vanness' album is titled "Body Will Sing" and Vic's is entitled "Make A Wish". There are also sort of "in-between" songs that feature solos of each singer, and they also have other group songs, such as "Ask For More", which is F4's Pepsi commercial song that also has a full length version and a music video, and also they have done a version of Disney's Lilo & Stitch theme song, which too has a music video. |
| 1st Album Meteor Rain | |
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This album is very good, seeing as how it is these guys' first shot at professional music. They have very mellow and soothing songs, such as "Meteor Rain" (the title track) and "Perfect World" (sung solo by Ken). They also have faster paced songs, such as track number 8, which features rap/hip-hop style blended with R&B. Though the CD only features 10 tracks (a little short for my tastes), they are all top-quality and over, the CD is a good buy for those who like ballad and pop/rock styles. The CD version that I bought came with the CD, Case, Album Booklet with lyrics and pictures, and a Photo Shoot Booklet of about 10 to 12 pictures. |
| 2nd Album Fantasy 4 Ever | |
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This album I actually downloaded (eek, i'm gonna go buy it tho), and I must say it doesn't disappoint at all. It equals and maybe even surpasses their first album. On this album, they start out with more ballad tracks such as "Can't Lose You" (track 1) and "Lonely Winter" (track 4), and they again feature solo tracks sung by the members, going along with the Meteor Garden 2 theme of soap opera love. Near the end of the CD, they pick up the pace with tracks like "Ask For More" (track 11; actually is their full length featured Pepsi Commercial Song) and "Can't Help Falling In Love" (track 12; remake of Elvis' song done for the Chinese version of Disney's Lilo & Stitch animated film). I think that these songs are great and upbeat and catchy, and they're great as "feel good" songs. Just dont try to pump them in your pinto while driving down Main Street. People would probably shoot you. ^_^. Anyway, this CD is definitely a good buy if you want more F4 and if you're into the whiole Cpop scene. It features 12 tracks. Other CD features are unknown at the moment. |
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I have just found out (as of 12.30.02) that the whole F4 thing and Meteor Garden show is actually based off of a Japanese anime called Hana Yori Dango. The story from Meteor Garden is just a live action performance of that anime. Here is a review of Hana Yori Dango from The DewDrop Garden: - "Makino Tsukushi is a student at the elite Eitoku Gakuen, a very exclusive school that is attended by the elites. All Tsukushi wants is to just have the next 2 years go by as quickly as possible without anyone ever noticing her. She had one friend at the school, Makiko, and things were going as planned until an untimely accident occurred and Tsukushi comes face to face with the F4. The F4 are the 4 richest guys at Eitoku Gakuen and they rule the place. When Tsukushi stands up against the leader of the F4, Doumyouji, he declares war on her and "red tags" her locker. With this, the entire school is against her and what comes about is a lot of torment and abuse for Tsukushi, but all the while, standing tall. But because of her encounter with the F4, her old fighting spirit returns and she challenges them to her fullest, and vows not to let them and the other students of the school win. 
With her guard up and her challenges against the F4, Doumyouji finds himself attracted to Tsukushi, and goes out of his way to tease her to his fullest, and do all sorts of things to get her attention. Tsukushi is not impressed and finds herself attracted to Hanazawa Rui, the quiet and sensitive member of the F4. What comes about now is a crazy triangle full of love & hate and the test of friendships.... This is a great story and if you have the chance to see it, then see it! In addition to the series, there is a long running manga that is still going on! The anime series is 52 episodes and ends around Volume 18 of the manga, and the manga is up to Volume 32 now, so there is a LOT more to the story, so after you watch the series, you will DEFINITELY want more, so I suggest reading the manga. There is also a Hana Yori Dango animated movie that has nothing to do with the series at all. It's just a 30 minute story, and while the characters are still the same, the story is a lot different. Fun to see for kicks. If you are into Japanese dramas, then there is a live action Hana Yori Dango. I haven't seen it yet, but I should be getting it in the mail soon. Of course those kind of things don't compare to the anime, but still fun to watch it "live". And the most popular is the live action tawainese drama series Meteor Garden, which is the Hana Yori Dango animated series all over again, however, the story continues into the manga, so if you haven't read the manga, you will find out some other goodies in this series. " |
| EvoSky Review: Meteor Garden |
| Series Length: Season1 ~ 19 episodes / Season2 ~ 31+ episodes |
| First Aired in Taiwan: Season1 ~ 2001 / Season2 ~ 2002 |
 The first thing I want to say in this review section is wow. This is one quality piece of work, considering it is Taiwan, and they don't have the resources that the US does. Ok, so here's a low down of the story:
There is a girl named Shan Cai, whose family is about middle class society, and she has just joined a school of wealthy (and snobby) students. She hears a rumor about the school gang called F4 (in Chinese they call it F-"Si") and finds out they are feared by everyone, including teachers, because they are the four richest kids in town. So Shan Cai encounters the F4 numerous times and they have various confrontations, but she steadily grows to like them, and vice versa, and soon, they become friends. The two F4 members that Shan Cai becomes attracted to are Ah Si (Jerry) and Lei (Vic). (Yeah, it basically follows the basic themes of Hana Yori Dango, for the first season at least) to be continued... |
