F4 (band)

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F4 is a boy band from Taiwan. The group began in the Taiwanese television series Meteor Garden. Over time, F4 became popular in Asia. In April 2005, they launched into Japanese market. They were a pop group, targeting Asia's teenage market, and comprised of the four main characters from Meteor Garden.

The series is an adaptation of the Japanese shōjo manga series, Hana Yori Dango ("Boys Over Flowers"). 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 - played by Barbie Hsu. Zhou, Wu and Zhu play his friends Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men respectively. The four boys were the most popular and handsome boys at the university; they were recognised as the group named the "Flower Four", hence the title: F4.

Meteor Garden was released in Taiwan in 2001 and turned the leads into stars. In 2002 Meteor Garden was released in Hong Kong,Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and in the Philippines in 2003. The series was 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, F4 became a boyband and signed a record deal with Sony. 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 cover of Can't Help Falling in Love 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 1961 Elvis Presley hit "Can't Help Falling In Love".

F4 has been sponsored by Pepsi, Yamaha Motorbikes and Samuel & Kevin.

[edit] Members

Vanness Wu - Wu Jianhao
Vic Zhou - Zhou Yumin
Jerry Yan - Yan Chengxu
Ken Chu - Zhu Xiaotian

[edit] Recent projects

F4 are currently working on their solo careers in acting and music, but are also preparing for their 3rd album. A drama that involves all four of the F4 members has been confirmed by several sources.

According to the Taipei Times, F4 will be involved in the production a 25 part television series called Wish to See you in Taiwan, sponsored by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.[1]