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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Ming Dao postpones enlistment till 2013

Ming Dao has just finished filming the period drama, “The King’s Women”, and returned to Taiwan from the mainland. Recent rumors suggested that Ming Dao has been avoiding his military duties, but his management company clarified that he has just paid his tuition fees for the new semester at Tungnan University, and is not purposely avoiding his military duties. His management company further revealed that after he has completed all the work that they have signed for, he will be enlisted in 2013.

According to the military service law, it is mandatory for men of age 33 to accept enlistment. Whether they are still in school or not, they must suspend their studies. Ming Dao, who’s 31 years old right now, still has two years time; He has been an university student for 11 years and has switched four different schools.

In related news, 31 year old actor Bobby Dou who has also been an university student for 11 years, has finally enlisted back in April. Other actors who still have not fulfilled their military duties include Ethan Ruan, Mike He, Joe Cheng and more. However, Ethan Ruan has confirmed that he will fulfill his duties after completing the filming of his upcoming new movie, “Love”.

In order related news, 24 years old Jam Hsiao expressed that he hasn’t thought about his enlistment yet and says that he wants to continue studying in school. Jam Hsiao started as a university student in September of 2007, but he is still in his second year of studies.

Source: UDN, Appledaily
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

Mature, but still young at heart, Rainie Yang reveals her shoulders for new album

Rainie Yang’s star-power has been shining brightly this year, with her latest drama “Love You” bringing idol dramas out of the latest trend of low ratings. Her music has also caught the attention of fans, with the drama’s insert song “We are all fools” becoming a hit. Fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of new album, but in the meantime have created their own versions of the music video for the song. More than 10 versions have been uploaded online, and one has even reached 1.5 million views. The overwhelming popularity of the song has prompted Rainie’s record company, Sony to look to the internet for inspiration for the actual music video.

Going along with the theme of the song, Rainie, who has always been open-minded and reasonable in relationships, revealed a painful personal experience. In one particular relationship, the other would always switch off his cellphone during dates, but Rainie who was considerate would remind him that he shouldn’t switch his cellphone off because he could miss important calls. The other persuaded her that he wanted to enjoy their sweet time together uninterrupted because it belonged only to the two of them. It was only until after their separation that Rainie discovered the truth: he had been cheating on her with a particularly clingy girl, and he switched off his cellphone during dates to prevent himself from being caught out. Thinking back on how she completely fell for his sweet-talking and that she didn’t even know for how long he was unfaithful, Rainie couldn’t help but reprimand herself for being so foolish.

The new album “Gaze”* has Rainie transformed into a mature and elegant young lady. Wearing a many-layered white dress in her photoshoot, her previously well-hidden legs make an appearance now and then and her feminine side is flaunted with the revealing of her graceful shoulders. For her facial make-up, Rainie added in her own flourish with a design drawn from her ear to her cheek. The visual concept revolves around the intensity of fire which is what Rainie hopes to achieve as both a singer and actress.

*Just a translation, not the official English title

Source: UDN
Translated by: mishi @ CpopAccess

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Shu Qi takes a pay cut to film new movie with Ethan Ruan

After reaping in $250 million TWD at the box office for “Monga”, many anticipate to see Doze Niu’s upcoming movie, “Love”. The movie will star the golden pair Ethan Ruan and Mark Chao, and it has just been confirmed yesterday that Shu Qi and Vicki Zhao will be the female leads. The movie is set to begin filming next month and it is estimated to cost $170 million TWD to make.

When “Monga” was being filmed two years ago, Shu Qi had often visited the crew and even expressed that she wanted to take part in it. To show her support in Doze’s movies, she reportedly took a $8.9 million TWD pay cut (taking $13.4 million) to film “Love”. In the movie, 35 year old Shu Qi will be paired with 28 year old Ethan. Shu Qi expressed that she was impressed by Ethan’s acting in “Fated To Love You” and “Queen”, and had been wanting to work with him. Thus, when Doze asked if she wanted to be in the movie, she accepted the offer without reading the script.

When the movie was still in its pre-production phase, Doze had originally wanted to cast Zhou Xun in Vicki’s role. According to various sources, Zhou Xun dropped the role after feeling that it wasn’t challenging enough.

Source: Appledaily
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

Bianca Bai wants to work with Lau Ching Wan

Top Taiwan sexy model Bianca Bai yesterday came to Hong Kong for two days to work on a print ad for a skin care center. Bianca Bai said that she already took a new film that will start work at the end of the year but she still could not reveal her co-stars. She would like to work with Lau Ching Wan the most. In her eyes, Ching Wan loved his family and was masculine. He was very easy on the eyes and had no distance. She said, "I just like him very much, I already saw many of his movies." Would she mind passionate bed scenes? She giggled and said how could that be possible as if she did not believe she would be so lucky. She was asked whether she would like a passionate kiss scene. She said, "I would faint on the spot. I am better off treating it like a fantasy, I feel embarrassed when I talk about it."

Sources: takungpao, on.cc, singtao
Translated by: hktopten

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Show Luo to release Photo Book and Japanese version of “Only for You”

During the Australian leg of his World Live Tour, Show Luo was able to enjoy a few days’ holiday in Cairns and at the same time take photographs for his upcoming Photo Book. One particular sequence of shots involved Show posing with a US$20,000 motorcycle which the star wasn’t keen on letting go of, and he was very vocal in expressing his interest in transporting the motorcycle back to Taiwan. The reason? Show said it was very easy for him to be tailed by paparazzi if he left his house driving a car, but the nimbleness and manoeuvrability of a motorcycle would be useful in evading the pesky reporters. A co-worker joked that the real reason he wanted the motorcycle was to attract the attention of girls and teased him by asking “So which girl are you planning to take for a ride?”

The first batch of his photo book “Show Escape” has only been made available to members of his fan club (SFC) for pre-order, but the 10,000 copies have already been sold-out. Parents have even left messages on Show’s official website, asking for more copies to be made available, as they would like to give the photo book to their children as graduation gifts; in response to the demand, Show’s management company has ordered a further 10,000 copies which will be released onto the market in August.

Earlier this year, Show signed on with Japanese record company, Pony Canyon and will be releasing a Japanese version of “Only for You” on July 20th, which will include a CD with 13 tracks and a DVD with 8 music videos. In addition to singing a few of his songs in Japanese, the cover of the album is based of the concept of “Asia’s most charming flower boy”, done in collaboration with a photographer who has worked with Japanese star Ayumi Hamasaki in the past. Beneath the flowery prints on his outfit for the album cover, Show proudly expressed that his pecs and abs have become almost as hard as stone and that he has been preparing very diligently for the last Taiwan concert of his live tour which will take place in Kaohsiung on August 13th.

Back in Taiwan, Show and his co-hosts from GTV’s 100% Entertainment, Alien Huang and Butterfly took time to film a talent show segment on their sister show hosted by Lollipop F. The three presented themselves as an imitation of F.I.R with Show as Ian Chen and Alien as Real Huang, but the two of them had to work together to save Butterfly from singing disaster as lead singer Faye Chen. Since Show had the most experience as a host amongst everyone there, and even though he was on the show as a guest, he couldn’t help but slip back into his host persona, teaching Lollipop F some tricks of the trade.

In the last bit of news, earlier this month it was reported that Show would be signing on to star in Stephen Chow’s next project, which is another rendition of “Journey to the West” (西遊記之三藏伏魔). The movie, which is set to start filming next month in Hengdian, China, was rumoured to have Show starring as the Buddhist monk Tang Zan-zang (唐三藏) and Ethan Ruan as his disciple Sun Wukong/Monkey King (孫悟空), but yesterday new rumours emerged stating that Show would be starring as Sun Wukong instead. In response to these rumours, Show’s management company expressed that they had not yet had any contact with the production team, and do not know where the news originated from.

Source: Appledaily, UDN, Libertytimes
Translated by: mishi @ CpopAccess

A-Mei Chang attracts twenty thousand fans to concert

Torrential rain was expected to hit Taiwan on Saturday, which was the day A-Mei Chang had arranged to hold her free album celebration concert. It was still raining hard late night on Friday as A-Mei continued practicing singing at home. In hope to chase away the storm, she tied some red chilies onto a post on the stage and burned some paper turtles. A-Mei also attended all her rehearsals on time so that the Gods would be moved and have mercy on the weather.

Luckily, the skies cleared up in the afternoon on Saturday and A-Mei attracted twenty-thousand fans to the event. A-Mei told the fans, “Thank you for coming. None of us knew how the weather was going to be. I can sing in the rain, but I don’t want you guys to be soaked.”

The concert was A-Mei’s last free show before her paid concert tour begins in September. Fans exclaimed, “This is too great! But I will buy tickets to see her concert.” Many fans who couldn’t get a ticket decided to sit on the staircases of the National Theater and Concert Hall, which actually made it look like VIP sections. A-Mei wowed the audience with an unplugged version of Justin Bieber’s “Baby”, followed by S.H.E’s “Superstar” and Show Luo’s “Only You”.

Source: Appledaily
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

Aaron Yan Draws Energy From Crowd

Despite getting no sleep the night before, Aaron Yan's spirits rose as his fans showed him love during a fan meet.

Fans came from all over the world for Aaron Yan's fan meet and album signing in Fuzhou, China. People from as far as the United Kingdom came to see their idol.

Heavy rains in Beijing where the singer was located caused flight delays. The event was originally scheduled to begin in the afternoon but ended up starting as the night began. When Aaron finally arrive, his dedicated fans immediately cheered. The singer was deeply moved and apologized for being late.

Aaron did not sleep the night before the event and was very tired when he arrived. However, after hearing his fans cheer so loudly for him, Aaron drew energy from the enthusiastic crowd and became just as excited for the event as they were. He performed the title track from his debut solo album "The Next Me" as his fans sung along, creating a great night not only for his fans but for himself as well.

Source: ent.163.com
Translation: Aysohmay @ JpopAsia

Monday, June 27, 2011

Joe Chen gets teary eyed from Chow Yun Fat's gift

Joe Chen Qiao-En, Peter Ho Yun Tung, Xia Zitong and director Soi Cheang Po Shui yesterday attended a press conference for the film THE MONKEY KING (DAI LAU TIN GUNG) and a game site. Although the Heavenly Palace CEO Chow Yun Fat could not attend, he asked Filmko boss Alex Wong HOi Fung to bring his on the set photos of Princess Iron Fan Chen Qiao-En and Erlang Shen Ho Yun Tung in costumes. Qiao-En and Ho Yun Tung could not be happier.

When Chen Qiao-En saw Fat Gor's photo of her in costume, Qiao-En was teary eyed. "Fat Gor is very thoughtful. After taking the photo he even puts it in a frame for me. When I receive it my heart truly shudders, I was very touched!" Ho Yun Tung who has asked Fat Gor for photography tips could not open his mouth for several seconds when he got hte photo. "I never thought my idol Fat Gor would give me a gift. The film has been finished for month, Fat Gor is still so thoughtful. On the photo is Fat Gor's autograph as well as the word love!" Nine Tailed Fox Xia Zitong went to study in the U.S. after completing the film. After the press conference she had to rush back to the U.S. for school.

Sources: takungpao, on.cc
Translated by: hktopten

Rainie Yang: It’s awkward kissing Alien Huang

How often do you get to kiss your high-school sweetheart after you've broken up with each other? For Taiwanese actress Rainie Yang, it was almost 10 years later.

Yesterday, Rainie and co-star Joseph Chang were in town to promote their latest idol drama While We Were Drunk (aka Love You). Upon arriving at the press conference held at the Conrad Centennial Singapore, the chatty actress started off by asking the media if they had lunch.

In While We Were Drunk (aka Love You), Rainie plays Lin Xiao Ru, a girl who accidentally marries Song Jie Xiu (played by Joseph Chang) while they were drunk. The couple quickly realizes their error once they sobered up, resulting in them trying to undo every mistake they made in the last 24 hours.

Apart from her "husband" Jie Xiu, there were two other men in Xiao Ru's life -- her ex-boyfriend Ren Yi Xiang (played by Kingone Wang) and her boss-cum-childhood friend Daniel Geng (played by Alien Huang).

Rainie and Alien had dated during their high-school days.

On acting with Alien for the first time, Rainie first let out an uncomfortable giggle before admitting "it's awkward to kiss Alien".

"I think you all know my relationship with him [Alien Huang]. It's the first time we're acting together; even though it was just a peck on the lips, I felt really shy," the 26-year-old replied.

Rainie Yang felt "more sparks" with Joseph Chang

Rainie then said that she felt "more sparks" when acting with Joseph.

"That's probably because the scenes [with Joseph] are more romantic. The one which I shared a kiss with Alien is not very romantic," Rainie explained quickly.

While We Were Drunk (aka Love You) is touted as the sequel to Fated to Love You, the most well-received Taiwanese idol drama to date, and boasts of many passionate bed scenes.

However, the pair clarified that their drama "is not a direct sequel to Fated to Love You" and had a vastly different plot from its predecessor.

"There would definitely be comparisons [between the various dramas]; but all we [the actors] can do is to do our best," Rainie answered.

Commenting on the intimate scenes, Joseph said, "I started my first day of filming with the most passionate scene in the drama. It helped to build our chemistry with each other and we don't really feel awkward with each other later."

Many firsts for Rainie Yang

This was the first time Rainie sported a short hair cut in a drama. In all of her other dramas, where she was the female lead, the actress had long hair.

Rainie admitted that she was afraid of how the audience would take her new image initially. However, she later felt that "if Xiao Ru [Rainie's character] had long hair, it wouldn't be her anymore", suggesting that the actress was satisfied with the final result.

The short hair cut definitely gave Rainie a more matured look, which fitted her role as somebody's wife -- another first for her.

When asked if she did anything to prepare for her role, Rainie said, "I'm actually similar to my character, in that we've not been married before. I didn't do any special homework on how to portray Xiao Ru because she was thrown into marriage suddenly; so I just went along with the situations in the drama."

The actress let on that she did, however, take a month to get used to wearing the wedding ring -- which was encrusted with real diamonds -- on her ring finger. She would take every chance she had, including during meals, to take it off her finger.

Source: XINMSN

Jay Chou Says Nicholas Tse Is Happy On Set

Despite his high-profile divorce from Cecilia Cheung, Jay Chou says Nicholas Tse is in good spirits on the set of their upcoming movie "The Viral Factor".

Jay Chou has many reasons to be happy; he is currently filming a new movie, "The Viral Factor", which is sure to be a hit, plus he was the big winner at last week's Golden Melody Awards. Jay's costar in the movie, Nicholas Tse, has less to be happy about with the year's highest profile divorce in China.

Reporters have pressed Jay to comment on the situation. The singer responded by saying that Nicholas is actually in a pretty good mood while on set. "His emotional intelligence is high, filming is happy, he should be very happy on set", Jay stated.

"If it was me in his situation, I wouldn't be able to handle it", Jay admitted.

Source: ent.163.com
Translator: Aysohmay @ JpopAsia

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Hebe Says S.H.E Will Reunite

During a press conference for a make-up brand yesterday, Hebe told reporters that S.H.E will reunite.

S.H.E member Hebe has been a solo artist for nearly a year now. The singer released her first solo album last September and has been working on a follow up to her hugely successful solo debut. Despite all her solo work, Hebe promised that S.H.E would reunite as a group once more.

When asked about fellow group-mate Selina Jen, Hebe said that she respects her hard work at this critical stage of her recovery process. She also confirmed that Selina would be getting married on her birthday as long as she was still feeling well enough to do so.

Although all 3 S.H.E members are busy doing their own individual activities, the time is ripe for the group to reform and debut once again.

Source: ent.163.com
Translation: Aysohmay @ JpopAsia

Ivy Chen appears in kimono, Siwon gets wide-eyed and praises that she is pretty

Ivy Chen discarded her chicken outfit, and changed into a Japanese kimono to become a famous kabuki, successfully stopping male lead Choi Siwon, who plays opposite her, in his tracks. Aside from causing his eyes to brighten up, he also praised that: "(She's) very pretty! Not everyone can pull it off this well." On the other day, the production team went to Danshui* Itteki Memorial House for filming purposes, and the both of them took photos in front of the Japanese-styled house which had a hundred years of history. To the outsiders, it may seem as though that they were a couple taking their wedding photos. Choi Siwon laughed and replied in fluent Mandarin that: "It looks like an international marriage with Yihan."

They who looked compatible in front of the camera lens, had to withstand high temperatures of up to 36 degrees under the sun in order to film for their scenes. From 10am when the UV rays were the strongest, they filmed until the time when the sun sets in the evening before they wrapped things up. The male lead was wearing a suit, while the female lead was wrapped in layers of the thick kimono. Ivy Chen smiled bitterly and said that: "My whole body has been restrained, I can't open my legs, can't eat well, and I'm covered in sweat!" She only had the opportunity to walk under the shade away from the sun after the filming that ran close to 8 hours had ended. During that period of time, Ivy Chen could only walk in small, dainty steps, and in accordance with the script she was required to kneel down for long periods of time and perform the tea ceremony. In front of the camera, it was full of Japanese flair, but no one knows that her legs were hurting to the point that they had no energy left in them. Siwon admired the female lead for being able to maintain her posture and actions in a graceful manner, (saying that) she was very dedicated.

Beside him, Ivy Chen stuck out her tongue and said: "My legs are so numbed that they're about to fall off." However, through the toiling she was able to learn a new experience. The production team set up the props for the tea ceremony in front of the Japanese-styled house for the filming, and the hundred-year-old mansion behind them only served as a background. This building was built by a great Japanese literate for his father, and was dismantled from its original location in Japan to be shipped and rebuilt in Danshui, Taiwan. The entire process took 9 years to complete, and in order to preserve the monument they were unable to film within the building. When Siwon saw the antique building, it caused him to remember about his grandmother's house, and also felt that he was working in a different country. Ivy, who had a fiery personality, was worried that she would ruin the building by just breathing, so she did not dare to approach it. However, when she saw that Siwon's elbow was leaning against the railing, she played a prank and scared him: "Hey! You shouldn't touch it! This is a hundred years old, if you break it you'll have to pay for compensation~" It seemed that Siwon was able to understand it, as he immediately withdrew his hand and kept a distance (away from the building).

This scene mainly depicted the first collaboration between super star "Dun Helian", which is played by Siwon, and Lee Yiqin, who plays the role of popular idol singer "Liu Li-er" for their movie. "Gong Xi" Ivy Chen, who had successfully entered the management company and was in charge of running errands, in turn had her life made difficult by Lee Yiqin('s character), who purposely made Gong Xi carry Li-er on her back up the hill to the filming location, making her suffer thoroughly. However, the other party threw a huge tantrum and refused to carry on with the filming, and Ivy Chen was pushed into the frontline in order to help out, but because she had lived at a Japanese-styled hot spring hotel in order to learn the etiquettes, she was able to successfully finish the filming with relative ease. This caused Siwon to be amazed, and Lee Yiqin to be even more embarrassed.**

* Danshui is a seaside district in Xinbei City, Taiwan.
** The final paragraph is talking entirely about the scene that Siwon and Ivy were supposed to film.

Source: GTV
Translated by: eternalsnow @ SJ-WORLD.NET
Shared by: LacusClyne @ SJ-WORLD.NET

Stars struck down by rain

Adverse weather conditions have been tormenting both China and Taiwan for the past few days, making travel by air or road very difficult. The rainstorms are said to be Beijing’s heaviest in 50 years and even the biggest stars from Taiwan were helpless against Mother Nature and her mighty tantrums.


"My feelings are like the designs on this garment, I feel like soaking in the sea with Poseidon and drifting off in my thoughts"

Two days ago, Elva Hsiao held a press conference for her July 16th concert in Beijing. After concluding the event, she had to make her way by car to a radio station interview. The trip which would have normally taken less than half an hour took 6 hours. Her muscles became cramped from the long hours sitting in the car, and she had to stop and use restrooms in random shops along the way, with staff in one shop exclaiming in surprise at the presence of a big star in their humble establishment. To make matters worse, the car tailing Elva’s bus needed to overtake them because onboard, there was a pregnant lady on the verge of giving birth. Eventually, Elva had to have her interview conducted by a phone call, and was only able to make it to her next scheduled events which were two television show recordings at 11:30pm. The recordings wrapped up at 1:30am but Elva had to rehearse her opening performance for an award ceremony the next day, so her long day only ended at 03:00am when she finally reached her hotel, her last stop for the day.


Elva at her concert press conference

Elva’s predicament didn’t earn her much sympathy though, with the star once nicknamed the “Rain Queen” because she often met with rain during her promotional activities and outdoor events. That same afternoon, she posted a picture of herself with this post on the micro-blogging site, Weibo: “My feelings are like the designs on this garment, I feel like soaking in the sea with Poseidon and drifting off in my thoughts”; her wish was fulfilled... in a way she probably never thought of.


Cyndi while stuck in traffic

Cyndi Wang was also unlucky; she was bogged down in traffic for five hours, and was only able to pass the time by posting messages on Weibo and conversing with Elva and Wilber Pan, sharing in their woes. Although Wilber was also stuck for 3 hours, he reached his hotel earlier than Cyndi, and posted to her “Where in the world are you? I’m already fooling around in my hotel.” Earlier on though, Wilber made this humorous post: “God of Eating, Sleeping Bug, Backside hurts, this is going to kill me, have eaten till my mouth no longer shuts.”


Fan Fan and Aya stuck in the air

In the air, Christine "Fan Fan" Fan and Aya were stuck onboard a flight from Taipei to Beijing that was scheduled to arrive at 21:00pm. However, they were unable to land and stayed airborne for another hour before diverting to Shenyang to refuel. By the time they reached their hotel in Beijing, it was already 02:00am.


Stefanie at the award ceremony she was in Beijing for

The only unscathed star in this mess was Stefanie Sun who arrived at her hotel in time to escape the traffic nightmare, and was able to enjoy a scrumptious hotpot dinner while her fellow stars were stuck in cars, passing time by eating and blogging.

Source: UDN, Appledaily
Translated by: mishi @ CpopAccess

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Jam Hsiao Reveals He Is Dyslexic

Jam Hsiao has shocked many by revealing for the first time that he cannot read or write because he is dyslexic.

Jam Hsiao has been keeping a secret from the world for his entire life. The 24-year-old singer has revealed a shocking fact about himself: he can't read or write because he is dyslexic.

Jam only stayed in school until his second year of junior college, quitting school early due to his disability. He regrets not studying and trying to overcome the disability. He feels like he is a bad example.

Jam has gotten through his career with the help of those around him. Instead of reading lyrics, someone reads lyrics to him for him to memorize and sing. During autograph sessions, staff members write down fans' names so he can copy the kanji.

Although Jam has let his disability get in the way of his literacy, he has worked hard to not let this get in the way of his singing. His record company has not made a big deal about his dyslexia and so he will continue to sing and show that he can still be a successful artist.

Source: Sina, Formosa News
Translation: Aysohmay @ JpopAsia

Jam Hsiao Reveals MV For "You"

Jam Hsiao released the MV for his touching ballad "You".

Jam Hsiao has released his second video off of his new album "Rhapsody". The video is for the song "You".

The music video is shot all in black and white. The simple video style allows viewers to focus on the song which features a strong vocal performance and touching lyrics. Check out the video below:



Source: warnertaiwan @ YouTube
Translated by: Aysohmay @ jpopasia

Wu Chun makes ten million without Fahrenheit

Despite announcing his departure from Fahrenheit, Wu Chun’s popularity doesn’t seem to have declined one bit. In fact, Fahrenheit’s 2-year clothing endorsement has now gone to Wu Chun, who will be the new spokesperson in the new season. The clothing brand expressed, “Wu Chun’s handsome appearance and refined looks bring a unique style to the brand.”

According to various sources, Fahrenheit pocketed ten-million TWD as a whole when they were endorsing the brand, but Wu Chun alone now costs the same price.

Wu Chun was unaffected by the news surrounding his leave from the group; he completed his 7-hour photo shoot with a smile. He revealed that he already signed two new movies; right now, he will be busy doing promotional activities for the movie, “My Kingdom”, and drama, “Sunshine Angel”.

Source: UDN, Appledaily
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

May Day does it all for its movie

Taiwan music group May Day earlier attended a Taiwan mobile phone press conference. The May Day written, directed and starred 3D film MAY DAY 3DNA (NG YUET TIN JUI MUNG) has already reached its music score stage and will be released in September.

Source: on.cc
Translated by: hktopten

Joe Cheng Celebrates Birthday with Mike He and Jiro Wang

A couple of days ago, Joe Cheng celebrated his 29th birthday in the company of close friends!

Joe Cheng updated his Weibo with celebratory pictures taken with Mike He and Fahrenheit's Jiro Wang!

He also uploaded a picture of himself standing next to a huge birthday cake, with his fans in the background, captioning it, "Thank you for loving me, I love you too."

Translated by: silverlining @ JpopAsia
Source: iamjoe0619 @ Weibo

Friday, June 24, 2011

David Tao becomes a judge for new season of One Million Star

The new (Chinese) One Million Star recorded their first episode on the 20th. For this season, the show has invited David Tao, Albert Leung (Lin Xi), James Li, and Kay Huang to be the judges. Eighty-four contestants performed and half have already been eliminated. Host Matilda Tao revealed, “The judges eliminated ten contestants in a roll! I saw the other contestants holding hands and crying together backstage just now!”

Matilda calls James the “ruthless judge”; James agreed, “I think I am too ruthless, but then I thought, if they can’t even handle something like this, how are they going to survive in showbiz?” The award-winning lyricist, Albert, who has written over 3000 song lyrics, is a judge for the first time. He expressed that he is a man with compassion, but has discovered his dark side after this show, “It’s the first time I’m deciding someone else’s fate, and can feel the power and desire. After recording the first episode, I realize that I was very despicable in pressing the light (strict on giving points). I prefer those with emotions over techniques.”

It’s also David’s first time being a judge at a singing competition show. He expressed that he would like to hear the contestants sing more of their own works instead of pretending to sing like other singers, “They need to have feelings instead of being like a robot. If they have potential, I won’t rule out the possibility of signing and training them.” However, David’s opinion seem to collide with John Yuan’s, who has been a judge for the show since season 1, “The ones we think are not okay, he actually thinks they’re fine. Maybe they are good contestants, but I think that possibility is very low!” Matilda immediately teased, “We only kept him (John) on the show out of compassion.”

For this new season, Matilda’s pay has also doubled to $250,000 TWD per episode. David, Albert, and James brought their managers, stylists, and assistants along, totalling eighteen people, costing $2 million TWD. As a result, each episode costs $4 million TWD to make. Matilda explained, “We’ve renamed the show to ‘Chinese’ One Million Star because we want to include all Chinese people in the world. We want to find the next Jay Chou, the next David Tao. Unlike other shows that likes to do things for fame, we are very strict on choosing contestants. But our judges will definitely not eliminate a contestant on purpose just to marry them home (referring to Jerry Huang).”

Source: Chinatimes
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

SETTV picks Janine Chang over Joe Chen and Ady An to be its lead

Taiwanese idols’ prices go up once they go overseas. Rumors say that Joe Chen Qiao-En and Ady An pocket $170,000 and $180,000 RMB per episode (~$800,000 TWD). Therefore, although SETTV’s upcoming drama, “小襄的美麗人生” (Xiao Xiang’s Beautiful Life), was originally considering one of the two stars as its lead, they decided to have Janine Chang take the role in the end.

From the same production crew as “Love You”, the drama has already stirred up a lot of attention on the web. The network’s executive VP Su Li-Mei stated that Ariel Lin was her ideal Xiao Xiang, which led to a war of words between Ariel and Joe fans. Nonetheless, it will be Janine and Peter Ho to star in the new drama.

Drama production director Liu Si-Ming denied rumors of having contacted Ariel and Joe previously, “It was only an online discussion, and no contact was made. After the script was done, we felt that Janine suited the role better. Her schedule is also accomadating and we have no issues with her pay.” Liu Si-Ming pointed out that the production cost for filming dramas in Taiwan is much different than in the mainland. Thus, the actors/actresses’ asking price would be different. However, Liu Si-Ming does not feel that it’s wrong for actors/actresses to be asking for high prices, “This is a free market. The more expensive the actor’s pay is, it means the bigger the market is. We should work even harder to push the industry forward.”

Source: UDN
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

Van Ness receives blessings from Nicolas Tse for his new Mandarin album

NextTV, CTS, and SuperTV celebrated the premiere* of “Material Queen” yesterday. With Lynn Xiong absent, lead actor Van Ness Wu was much more lively yesterday than at last week’s screening press conference. Van Ness not only teased Harry (Da Mouth) by “dubbing” his voice since he couldn’t talk due to a callus in his throat, Van Ness also helped model/actress Hua Hua answer questions from the media. When asked why his interactions with Lynn felt rather distant at last conference, he frowned, “After the news came out, Director Chen (Wei-Ling) called me and gave me a scolding.”

“Material Queen” debuted with only 0.77% in ratings, but Van Ness is confident that the series will gain its momentum soon.

Van Ness is also getting busy with his new album’s promotions. After three years since his last mandarin album, “C’est La V” will be available for preorder starting tomorrow and be released on July 15th. Van Ness will be holding an autographing and mini concert events this weekend at Kaohsiung and Taipei. The album will come with a photo book with three different covers to choose from. Van Ness also especially invited Bruno Mars and OneRepublic to compose songs for his new album.

Van Ness received blessings from good friends from both Hong Kong and Taiwan, most notably, Nicolas Tse, who is currently filming in Malaysia, gave him a short word of encouragement in English, “Congrats, keep working hard, believe in what you believe in.” In regards to recent news of the breakup between Nicolas and his wife Cecilia Cheung, Van Ness expressed, “I expressed my concern through a friend, and wished him well.”

Other friends including Aimee Sun, ELVA and Cheryl Yang also sent their blessings. Jay Chou praised Van Ness’s album for having new concepts and wished his album a success.

*”Material Queen” gets its first run on CTS, then reruns on Saturdays and Sundays on NextTV and SuperTV. CTS also reruns the episode on the following Monday.

Check out Van Ness's "Is This All" MV:

Source: UDN, Appledaily / Video: Universaltwn
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Heavy make up dries up Barbie Hsu's face

The Wu Chun, Han Geng, Barbie Hsu (Tsui Hei Woon)'s Beijing opera costumes in MY KINGDOM (DAI MO SUN) opened the eyes of many. Han Geng and Wu Chun two months before the film began production started to rehearse Beijing Opera. Big Si in order to play the prettiest action actress risked his beauty for heavy Beijing Opera make up.

One of Wu Chun's costumes was Sun Wukong in HAVOC IN HEAVENLY PALACE. Every time the facial make up was a challenge and each time took one or two hours, its removal was torture for him. He could not move when the make up was removed, otherwise it would run. "The first time with the monkey make up because I didn't know how to remove the make up, I couldn't get it off when I got back."

As a beauty expert in show business, Big S was quite picky with her skin care. In order to play the Bund's top action actress Xi Mulan, she was willing to risk ruining her face. "Every time at head binding it would hurt the scalp. When it was released I would get dizzy. Most importantly, no matter what look the make up would suck the entire face dry." Big S revealed, "At the time the make up artist told me, as a Beijing actor on the face aside from acne was also acne."

Source: takungpao
Translated by: hktopten

Kenji Wu to star in idol drama

CTV announced their new self-produced idol drama project yesterday called, “百年好合” (Bai Nian Hao He / rough trans: Together Forever). For a refreshing cast combo, they especially invited singer Kenji Wu and Rhydian Vaughan to star in the drama as chefs. It has been eight years since Kenji’s last drama, but he confidently said, “I will act well.” Kenji has also taken part in the drama’s screenwriting meetings and encourages his costars, “We’re all in the same boat. We must not fail, and we must not drag anyone else down.”

Kenji even provided input on the cast's costumes. Kenji commented, “God! I don’t want to be minding so much either!” but admitted that he had a good feeling about the drama after the audition, “Otherwise if the tone is off, it’ll be very hard (to act in it).” Kenji revealed that he previously had turned down many drama offers due to his music career; after he accepted this drama offer, he has been doing his homework by watching dramas that are currently airing.

Rhydian Vaughan is also a fresh face to TV dramas. He rose to fame after filming the movies “Winds of September” and “Monga”. Rhydian recently graduated from EAST 15 Acting School in United Kingdom and is already loaded with work. Even Kenji feels the pressure from the rising star, “I heard that he has a six-pack, so I’d better work on my eight-pack.” The drama crew also revealed that Kenji and Rydian like to compete to see who arrives to their training sessions the earliest.

Source: Appledaily, Chinatimes
Translated by: fufu @ CpopAccess

Make-up Artist Reveals Celebrity Plastic Surgery List

Artists depend on their looks to make money and take extreme measures to showcase their best side to the public. When certain artists were accused of plastic surgery in the past, they credited make-up artists for their improved looks. While filming program Trendy Master "教主來了" in Thailand, renowned Taiwanese make-up artist, Ray Chen, shared insight on how people can become more beautiful and revealed a list of Hong Kong and Taiwanese celebrities who had received plastic surgery, which included Raymond Lam (林峯), Huang Xiaoming (黃曉明), Leehom Wang (王力宏), Barbie Xu (徐熙媛), Dee Xu (徐熙娣), Angelababy, Cecilia Cheung (張栢芝), Fan Bingbing (范冰冰), Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒), Fish Leung (梁靜茹) and Jolin Tsai (蔡依林).

Angelababy Had Extensive Plastic Surgery

With over ten years’ experience as a make-up artist, Ray Chen has worked with Cartier, Piaget, Dior, Agnè s b. and other international brands. He had first-hand contact with artists in their “nude” skin and applied make-up on superstars such as Alan Luo (羅志祥), Lin Chiling (林志玲), Leehom Wang, Bianca Bai, Barbie Xu, Dee Xu, Lisa S. and Rainie Yang (楊丞琳). Ray identified that Fan Bingbing’s facial features have been enhanced via plastic surgery, “Fan Bingbing received double eyelid surgery and had her chin altered. Currently, many people who are interested in plastic surgery set Fan Bingbing’s face as their ideal target.”

Ray continued, “Fish Leong’s eyes, nose and chin were altered. Angelababy had the most extreme make-over. Whatever features she could alter, Angelababy had already done so. Her [original] face has worn away!”

Currently facing marital strife, Cecilia Cheung was identified by Ray as receiving plastic surgery. “Cecilia received [porcelain veneers] for her teeth and got botox injections. Her breasts are too perfect and do not meet the normal ratio where typically, a woman with big breasts possesses large upper arms as well. Her upper arms are too thin. There are only two possibilities: either breast augmentation or liposuction on her arm.”

Barbie Xu’s Extreme Facial Changes

Currently plagued by rumors of a third party in her marriage with Wang Xiaofei, Barbie Xu received plastic surgery on her face. Ray noted, “Barbie’s face underwent significant changes. This was not achieved through alteration of [facial bone structure] but through botox instead. You can see that when Barbie appears on camera, her face appears ‘frozen.’ This is due to frequent botox injections. Facial bone surgery would require a one-month recovery process, however botox only requires one week.” Ray revealed that Barbie’s face looked dramatically different before and after make-up use. “Each time she applies make-up, she needs to draw two lines around her eyes. Each line needs to be dragged out very long.”

To catch on to the wave, Amei (張惠妹) received injections to alter her chin. Ray said, “Her suddenly pointed chin was achieved through the use of Radiesse shots. Radiesse is considered a relatively hard dermal filler, providing better, long-lasting support.”

Raymond Lam, Huang Xiao Ming, Leehom Wang Altered Chins

Ray also revealed that Raymond Lam, Huang Xiao Ming, and Leehom Wang also have secrets to hide. Ray commented, “Raymond Lam and Huang Xiao Ming altered their chins. Everyone looks for the same excuse, claiming that they had car accidents previously. How come everyone who has a car accident has a scar on their chin? The same thing happened for Huang Xiao Ming and Leehom Wang in their ‘car accidents.’” Ray was not against plastic surgery. “It’s not a big deal to get plastic surgery. However, some artists maintain that they never received plastic surgery and claimed to ask doctors to examine them, without willing to produce X-rays; then you know what is happening.”

Elva Hsiao’s Horrifying Face

Ray noted, “For example, Jolin Tsai looked prettier after plastic surgery. On the other hand, Elva Hsiao’s face is quite horrifying after alterations. The top part of her face is quite high and the lower part is also high. Jolin and Elva received the most extensive plastic surgery in the entertainment industry.” Ray referred to the addictive nature of plastic surgery. Perhaps Elva Hsiao, who once admitted receiving double eyelid surgery, may be an example.

Ray noted that numerous artists go on an overseas vacation and appear more beautiful after returning home. Obviously, plastic surgery occurred while they were on vacation. “Make-up artists’ skills are not that magical!” He stressed that when applying make-up for artists who were plastically altered, there was a need to exercise caution [in the pressure used on the face].

Natural Beauties

When asked which artists possessed the most natural beauty, Ray said, “Zhang Ziyi (章子怡)and Patty Hou (佩岑應) should be natural beauties. At most, Michelle Reis (李嘉欣)received injections, so she is considered a natural beauty as well. Mike Ha (賀軍翔)and Jerry Yan (言承旭)look extremely different before and after make-up. In real life, you will not notice them unless they put themselves together nicely.”

Ray Chen’s shattering expose on celebrities who received plastic surgery circulated widely online yesterday. Currently filming with Ray in Thailand, host Lawrence Huang (黃小龍)returned to Hong Kong last night. On the phone, Lawrence said, “I serve as witness that Ray did accept such an interview and he did make those comments.”

Source: Appledaily
Translated by: JayneStars
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