5566 is the cutest, most talented group of Taiwanese boys like....EVER. I'm totally hooked on them, if I've mentioned it before, I'll know. They have excellent voices, raps, dances and songs, the song playing now is one of my faves...totally COOL. Collectively known as 5566, Tony Sun Xie Zhi, Zax Wang Ren Fu, Jason Hsu Meng Zhe, Sam Wang Shao Wei and Rio Peng Kang Yu (Xiao Dao) first found fame with the basketball themed TV series MVP Valentine in 2002. In the very same year, the group released their debut Mandarin album aptly titled First Album that sold 240,000 copies in Taiwan alone. Backed by their youthful exuberance and matinee good looks, it was little wonder that 5566 soon amassed a major fanbase around the region. And everywhere they went, hordes of screaming female fans were definitely a guaranteed sight. In the following year, 5566 continued their reign. Their second feature TV series Westside Story was the No. 1 series of the year in Taiwan and their second album titled, well, Second Album proved that they are indeed a major force to be reckoned with in the Mandarin pop scene. F4 who? The Interview Which artists' concerts are you guys taking your reference from? Sam: Wow, lots of them! Zax: I should say every available one out there! As long as it's a concert footage, 5566 will take a look. Sam: Yeah, everyone has their style of performing. For instance, at the MTV Asia Awards 2004, we are really looking forward to check out the performances. How do you feel when people say your achievements have far surpassed that of F4's? Tony: I can't really say we've surpassed. We didn't set out to specifically achieve something. We just want to do our best in everything we do. Whether we have surpass whoever or not, it's best left to the press and the fans to make that conclusion. Who do you think it's the hottest male group in Taiwan right now? Zax: 5566! [Laughs] Sam: S.H.E. Zax: Eh, we are talking about male groups here! Sam: [Jokes] Yeah! Our biggest rival is... Tony: S.H.E! [Laughs] Zax: Back to what I was saying, of course we will have to see ourselves as the best group out there. Afterall, we have to introduce the group 5566 to the world. Naturally, we will have to think 5566 is the best ourselves. But what I mean by "best" is not like we are the strongest and biggest group out there. We are responsible for the group. In whatever we do, 5566 will do it with confidence and we will always bring out the best in us. I heard that famed director Wong Kar Wai has approched the group for a film adaption of Westside Story. Any new developments for that? Tony: We are not sure yet really. Rio: Our management is doing the negotiations. When things are finalized, then we'll know. Excited at the thought of working with Wong Kar Wai? Sam: Of course! Rio: We are excited, but I heard it's pretty tough doing his films. Sam: I heard that 2046 took like four or five years! Jason: I think if we go by the hourly rate for 2046, it's like earning $5 an hour! Zax: I don't think that much. More like $1 an hour! [Laughs] Tony: When we were filming Westside Story, the director, who's from Hong Kong, told us that if you were to work with Wong Kar Wai, it would be really tough. So I asked him why. And he said for one scene, it would probably take one or two weeks to finish and it won't neccessary be an okay take. But I feel that Wong Kar Wai has a more avant garde style to his work. I once saw an interview with Takuya Kimura on TV where he said that although Wong Kar Wai has a more alternative style, the end results are always very good. Zax: Actually, I'm looking forward to work with Wong Kar Wai. Everyone knows that we don't follow the script exactly -- we improvise a lot. And for Wong Kar Wai, he doesn't work with a script as well. When he thinks of something, he will ask you to do it. I think if we were to work together, we might produce something really good. When were 5566 formed? Tony Sun, Zax Wang, Sam Wang, Rio Pang and Jason Hsu have known each other for years. But the world first met them as 5566 on 21 Jan 2002, at their debut press conference in Taiwan. Touting themselves as "five members with six different talents" (singing, hosting, acting on telly, dancing, doing advertisements and movies --- or shooting hoops, according to some reports), these good-lookers seem set to establish themselves as the *NSYNC of Mandopop. Still, they were initially laughed off as F4 wannabes. "Some TV stations didn't even want us to appear on their TV shows when we were still unknowns," grouse the boys. How did they get so big, then? Credit goes to their top-rating idol drama, My MVP Valentine.(Westside Story in year 2003) Screened in Taiwan in mid-2002, the timing was perfect, since teenage girls were scrambling for something to fill the gap while F4 were away from the spotlight filming Meteor Garden 2. The angsty series, about two rival high-school basketball teams, also spawned a hit soundtrack which was snapped up by lovesick fans. Meanwhile, Zax and Jason pulled double duty and milked the exposure as the wacky hosts of popular entertainment programme, Showbiz.(Tony was the host last time ^_^) Last December, they cashed in on their popularity with a swiftly recorded debut studio album, imaginatively titled 1st Album. While 5566's popularity haven't reached feverish F4 levels just yet, thousands of Singaporean fans braved a downpour to catch them at The Heeren Shops in January. Need more proof of their upward spiralling popularity? They already have royal fans --- one Asian prince reportedly invited them to put up a private performance in his palace! Who's who in the band? There's bandleader Tony (26), an ex-Hokkien pop star who plays the slam-dunkin' hero, Prince, in My MVP Valentine. Loudmouthed Zax (24) was once part of another boyband, Postm3n. Widely regarded as the best singer and bursting with quirky quips, he frequently hogs the limelight at press conferences. Rapper Rio (26), nicknamed 'Little Knife', is a former actor who notched up credits working with famous directors Hou Hsiao Hsien and Wong Kar Wai. Sam (28), is the oldest member who plays the villain in My MVP Valentine. A one-time national soccer star turned top fashion model, he also hosts TV show, Strange Things In Taiwan. High-school student Jason (19) used to weigh a jaw-dropping 110kg but lost all that flab to become a lean, mean, dancing machine --- he's the one with the fab hip-hop moves. How do they match up to the competition? Taiwanese media have credited F4 as the most popular, Energy the best dancers and Comic Boyz the cutest, but they've also hailed 5566 the best singers! 5566's manager Sun De-rong reportedly sniggered when he first heard F4's new album: "Did they spend too little time in the studio? Their singing sucks!" He also pooh-poohed Comic Boyz' "overly made-up appearance". This led to a terse retort from F4 and Comic Boyz' record label, Sony. "Yes, 5566 can sing, but their image? Tsk, totally uncool." Information from 5566 Fanhouse. Pictures from a Tawian Magazine