| Who's 5566? |
| By
Eunice Wong • Urbanwire • email reporter • email story • printer friendly version |
If you read that as anything but double 5, double 6, you probably thought this was the number of seconds you spend queuing to buy Lim Chee Guan brand bak kwa (barbecued sweetmeat) for Chinese New Year rather than Taiwan's hot new boy band. They join groups such as like F4, B.A.D, Tension, Energy, and Comic Boyz in raising screams from girls, pre-pubescent or otherwise. Why the name? Basically, this band is made up of 5 guys - Tony Sun, Zax Wang, Sam Wang, Rio Pang and Jason Hsu who dabble into 6 areas of entertainment - singing, dancing, acting, slamdunking, hosting and modelling. According to their leader, Tony Sun, they chose Arabic numerals rather than Chinese words and alphabets to represent themselves, as these are recognised internationally and people have no problem translating the name. We're here to EAT! That's the revelation from their press conference hosted by 93.3FM DJ Zhou Chongqing. Tony, 24, dressed in a smart khaki jacket like the others, said that he missed Hainanese chicken rice, which he'd tried on his last trip here in early January. This remark sparked off a joyous discussion among the other members. Their faces beamed when local specialities like Bak Kut Teh (spicy pork rib soup) and black pepper crab were mentioned. "I guess the media knows what's our purpose [for coming] here now," Rio, also 24, joked in Mandarin. Chongqing suggested for 5566's second album's songs to be named after Singapore's delicacies. Rio laughed, and launched into a mock introduction, "Yah, let's welcome 5566 with the song 'Bak Kut Teh'." Who's who in 5566 Although Sam's the oldest in the group at 26, the commander of this quintet is ironically Tony, the smallest in build. Assisting Tony is Zax, while Sam sits as counsellor. As for 17-year-old Jason, the baby of the group, he considers his main role to pull down the mean age of 5566. The most "difficult" role of interacting with people falls on Rio - the Public Relations officer.
You've heard it often enough that boy bands are just a collection of overpaid pretty boys who can't sing. For what it's worth, 5566 was crowned "Best boy band vocals" by the Taiwanese media. On this honour, Tony said, "We are not sure if we are the best but we work very hard to make everything the best, [whether it's] singing, acting, dancing or hosting. Whether we fit the bill, it's up to everyone to judge after listening to our album." The polished sound didn't come effortlessly, however. They spent 2 months on 1 song "Yi Guang Nian" (loosely translated "One light year") until their producer was satisfied that 5566 had put their hearts and souls into bringing out the meaning of the song. So who's the heartthrob and love letter magnet? "I think Tony gets the most love letters," Jason answered. Tony qualified that comment, saying, "Being in show biz for this long [since he was 17], I guess I've definitely received more fan letters than the rest… in terms of popularity, all 5 of us are on par with each other… but there's a dark-horse who's struck fear in the other 4 seniors and that's Jason. Jason's fans are very fanatic. Once Jason appears, they'll shout "Ahhh… 5566, I only want Jason!" "Eh… when the fans shouted those words I'm very embarrassed and feel sorry for the other members," a humble Jason added. Dodging fans 101 Fame may buy them a lush life, but there's the usual celeb cross to bear: being mobbed by fans for autographs and photos. However the guys have devised strategies to escape. Jason chooses to stay at home or walk briskly among people; Rio chats with fans for a while but excuses himself, blaming a tight schedule for his haste while Sam normally goes out in groups. If problems arise, he'll get his friends to help. As for Tony, he also prefers to stay at home, making his house spick and span and listening to music. He might accept requests of autographs from small groups of fans but not for bigger ones. Witty Zax will stage an act with his handphone, discussing some "issues" with his record company when he meets fanatical fans. "Yes, yes! Oh yah… Very busy? Ok, I'll be right back." This line has saved him many times but now that we've talked about it, it's probably time to get a new strategy. Hosts with the mosts 5566's unimaginatively titled First Album has topped the Taiwan's record charts for 3 weeks consecutively, selling 100,000 copies in a fortnight. They managed to dethrone the famous quartet F4's second album Fantasy 4 Ever, consigning it to the third place. In Singapore, the 5 sold about 20,000 copies and secured the No.1 throne for 2 weeks on the Singapore Phonogram & Videogram Association (SPVA) charts since they came here for promotions. Tony was still plugging their successful debut, saying "We spent a lot of time preparing our debut album… I really hope everyone can listen to it… you'll find rap by Jason, and Sam does fast tempo songs and 'R & B Duo Singing'." "What's 'R&B Duo singing'?" Rio asked. "That's our strength," chimes Tony, "We ask and answer questions ourselves as we are all hosts. And I'll pass this question to Zax." Zax hems and haws a bit before continuing, "We have like Tony singing the melody and I'll do the backup … our voices will be layered like tiers." "Eh… I'll like to ask Sam and Jason about their rap…" piped Rio, attempting to steal Chongqing's "rice bowl". Zax then asked if Chongqing needed a toilet break. Naughty, aren't they? How hot is 5566? The answer is no more elusive than their meet-the-fans sessions… Venue: Outside
Heeren Shops
Rain couldn't
dampen 3,000 fans' enthusiasm to meet their idols. An hour before
the event started, gloomy clouds heartlessly unzipped themselves
on the anticipating fans.
UrbanWire spoke to a couple of them before the event started, on what they like about this quintet. "I like Jason… he's same age as me!" commented Fadila, a 17-year-old Malay girl who never fails to catch My MVP Valentine, a drama serial starring 5566. "They are superb… handsome…and can dance, sing and host," gushed Leong Mei Feng, 18. Her friends are especially devoted to Zax. Their appeal, unlike for groups like F4, is not only restricted to the fairer sex. Sean Tan, 15, who supports Jason, said, "I like their songs… and My MVP Valentine."
About 4,000 supporters at Junction 8 were much fortunate than those at Heeren Shops. They were well sheltered under tentages; there were electric fans, which sadly, failed to work. It could be that their fans from Heeren Shops managed to rush down for the event, because 15 minutes before the event started, there seemed to be sudden surge of people, which resulted in a plunge in the oxygen level. During the long hours of waiting, the only entertainment for the fans was the oft-repeated sing-along session to 5566's songs.
During the event,
5566 called back to Showbiz, a popular entertainment show
playing on Channel
U hosted by Zax, Jason and Zhang Shan Wei. They asked Singapore's
fans to say hi to the audience back in Taiwan. Besides these 2 events, there was another at Plaza Singapura on Sunday. Although it was pouring heavily that day, the event still attracted 5,000 eager supporters of the group. Latest news: 5566 will be back very soon on Apr 5 for a concert in the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
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