Vanness Wu
Vanness Wu | |
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Wu at the Joyful Family Music Event in 2012 | |
Chinese name | 吳建豪 (traditional) |
Chinese name | 吴建豪 (simplified) |
Pinyin | Wu Jian Hao (Mandarin) |
Origin | Taiwan |
Born |
Santa Monica, California, United States | 7 August 1978
Occupation | singer, actor, dancer, model, songwriter, spokesperson |
Genre(s) | Mandopop, R&B, Dance, Taiwanese hip hop, Chinese Hip-Hop, J-pop |
Voice type(s) | Dramatic Tenor |
Label(s) |
Sony Music Taiwan Pony Canyon S.M. Entertainment Universal Music Taiwan |
Years active | 2000-present |
Associated acts |
F4 Kangta & Vanness Junho |
Spouse(s) | Arissa Cheo (2013 - present) |
Official Website | Vanness Wu on Facebook |
Vanness Wu (born on August 7, 1978) is an American actor, singer, director, and producer.
Early life
Wu was born in Santa Monica, California and lived in Newport Beach in his mid-to-late teens. He made his move to Taiwan at the early age of 21 to "search for more to life".
Career beginnings
![](../I/m/MTV_Asia_Aid_2005_Vanness_Wu.jpg)
Wu starred as Mei Zuo (美作), one of the F4 members, in the Taiwanese drama series Meteor Garden. At the conclusion of the series, they continued to perform together and released three studio albums as the boy band F4. Before the series, he studied performance arts and acting classes in Hollywood, and became a polyglot fluent in Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, and Spanish, as well as English and Mandarin. In 2002, Wu was the second F4 member, after Vic Chou, to release his debut solo album, Body Will Sing. The track, "我討厭我自己" (I Hate Myself) is listed at number 95 on Hit Fm Taiwan's Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart (Hit-Fm年度百首單曲) for 2002.[1] The album was awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.[2]
He has collaborated with Korean singer Kangta to produce one album, Scandal and is featured on singles by Beyoncé and Coco Lee. Wu has directed two music videos from his second album V.DUBB, as well as a video for Nike's "This is Love" campaign in Hong Kong. He was also the executive producer, along with Terry Tye Lee, on the Nike track "She's Not Sorry." In addition, Wu has collaborated with other Chinese artists including Wang Lee Hom and made an appearance in Wang's music video for "Ai cuo." [3] Opened up and performed alongside with Kanye West, for his Glow In The Dark Tour in Shang Hai.
Wu has appeared in several Taiwanese dramas both with and without other members of F4, and has starred in three motion pictures. In 2009, Vanness performed in Autumn's Concerto, which is one of the highest rating Taiwanese Idol Drama
Wu’s third Chinese solo album C'est La "V" was released July 2011 under Universal Music Taiwan. It features international artistes such as Vic Chou from F4, Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic, and Knockin' was written by Bruno Mars and Justin Michael.
Besides directing, producing, acting, and singing, Wu is also the creator/designer of his own jewelry line 3.V.O.7. and the creative director of Reebok (greater China division).
On November 15, 2013, Wu married longtime girlfriend, Singaporean heiress and entrepreneur Arissa Cheo.
Filmography
Television series
Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Role | Notes |
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2001 | Meteor Garden | 流星花園 | Mei Zuo | live-action adaptation of Japanese manga, Boys Over Flowers |
Meteor Rain | 流星雨 | Mei Zuo | Mei Zuo's Chapter | |
Meteor Garden II | 流星花園2 | Mei Zuo | ||
2002 | Peach Girl | 蜜桃女孩 | Ah Li | live-action adaptation of Japanese manga Peach Girl |
Come To My Place | 來我家吧 | JJ | live-action adaptation of Japanese manga "Uchi ni Oideyo" by Hidenori Hara | |
2004 | Say Yes Enterprise | 求婚事務所 | Song Zhen Kai | Story 01: Cinderella |
2007 | Grand Theater | 大劇院 | ||
2008 | Wish to See You Again | 這裡發現愛 | Leo | |
2009 | Autumn's Concerto | 下一站,幸福 | Ren Guang Xi | Lead Role |
2010 | Year Of The Rain | 那年,雨不停國 | Ah Huang's cousin | guest star and executive producer |
2011 | Material Queen | 拜金女王 | Cai Jia Hao | Lead Role |
2012 | Ti Amo Chocolate | 愛上巧克力 | Fang Jia Hua | Lead Role |
2013 | Jiangsu TV "Stars in Danger: The High Dive" | 星跳水立方 | Himself | Diving variety show. Qualified into finals |
2015 | Asia's Got Talent | Himself | Judge |
Film
Year | Title | Alternate | Role | Notes |
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2003 | Star Runner | 少年阿虎 The Kumite (Canada, USA) | Bond Cheung | film debut nominated: Hong Kong Film Awards, best new artist |
2005 | Dragon Squad | 猛龍 Dragon Heat (USA) | Officer Wang Sun-Ho | |
2007 | Kung Fu Fighter | 功夫無敵 | Ma | |
2008 | Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon | 三國之見龍卸甲 | Guan Xing | |
2009 | LaMB | Dr. Grisworld (English voice acting) | ||
Kung Fu Chefs | Lung Kin Yat/Ryu Ken'ichi | |||
2010 | The Haunting Lover | |||
1040 Movie | Christianity In New Asia | Himself (exclusive interview) | ||
2011 | The Road Less Travelled | 樂之路 | Mike | Produced by Smash and Grab (co-founded by Van Ness) |
2012 | Baseballove | 球愛天空 | 林承輝 | |
2013 | Machi Action | 變身 | ||
2014 | Girls | 閨蜜 | ||
2015 | Dragon Blade | 天將雄獅 | ||
The Monk | 道士下山 |
Discography
Studio album
Album# | Title | Track List | Notes |
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1st | Body Will Sing (身體會唱歌)
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"CD + CD Extra" version also featured "Ask for More" by F4 |
2nd | V.DUBB
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Japanese release featured a Japanese version of "Wanna Love Somebody" as Track 11, plus a Japanese version of "Wanna Love Somebody (Justin Michael Remix)" as Track 12 |
3rd | In Between (New + Best Selection)
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4th | Reflections
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First Japanese album |
5th | V
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Second Japanese album
Better was written by Bruno Mars |
6th | C'est La V
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Knockin' was written and produced by Bruno Mars
有你在 was featured in TV Drama “Material Queen” Is This All was written and composed by Ryan Tedder, and was also the theme song from TV Drama “Material Queen”. |
7th | Different Man
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Love Overtime is a tribute to Michael Jackson and Prince |
Singles
Single# | Title | Track List |
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1st | Only
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2nd | I Don't Wanna Lose You
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3rd | Reason
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4th | No More Tears
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5th | Soldier
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6th | Endless Dance
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With Kangta & Vanness
2006 - Scandal - Kangta & Vanness Collaboration
Other collaborations
- Beyoncé Knowles - "Crazy in Love" (Asian releases only) [2004]
- Coco Lee - "Hip Hop Tonight" [2006]
- Brian Joo - "Everything to Me" [2010] - 3rd Wave Music - I WILL BE THERE Album - www.3rdwavemusic.org
- Sammi Cheng - "Forgiveness" (In both English and Chinese) [2010]
- Lee Junho - "Undefeated" [2012] (M/V)
- Avicii - "Levels" (Mandarin Version) [2013]
Endorsements
- Walkman
- Siemens 2118
- Legend Computers (China region)
- Mingle Shoes (China region)
- Lu Piao Shampoo (China region)
- Samuel & Kevin
- Bicowave & Bicogirl
- Pepsi - 2002~2005 (Taiwan, Hong Kong, China)
- Yamaha - 2003 (Southeast Asia)
- Hang Ten - 2012
- Hyundai - 2012
- G-Shock - 2014
- Casio - 2014
- Levi - 2014
References
- ↑ (Chinese) Hit-Fm年度百首單曲 2002 (#51 to 100) Retrieved 2011-04-16
- ↑ IFPI Hong Kong 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Retrieved 2011-04-19
- ↑ "The Expression of Chineseness and Americanness in Chinese Popular Music" http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/asian_music/v043/43.2.chen.html
- ↑ "Vanness Wu". imdb.com. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ↑ "Vanness Wu". chinesemov.com. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ↑ "Official Movie Site - VanNess Wu". 1040movie.com. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vanness Wu. |
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