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F4 (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

F4
Also known asJVKV
OriginTaipei, Taiwan
GenresMandopop
Years active
  • 2001–2009
  • 2025–present
LabelSony Music Taiwan (2001–2007)
MembersJerry Yan
Vanness Wu
Vic Chou
Past membersKen Chu
WebsiteSony Music Taiwan

F4 (Flower Four), later JVKV, is a Taiwanese boy group consisting of Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou. The group was formed in 2001 after their fictional group of the same name in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden (2001) propelled them to fame across Asia. Together, they starred in the sequel Meteor Garden II (2002) and released three albums, Meteor Rain (2001), Fantasy 4ever (2002), and Waiting for You (2007). In 2007, due to copyright issues, the group changed its name to JVKV, using the first initials of its members' names in descending order by age.[1] The group disbanded in 2009, but has reunited several times for performances since.[2]

In 2025, the group announced their reunion and embarked on a concert tour as a three-member group without Ken Chu, titled the F Forever City of Stars Tour, beginning in Shanghai, China in December.

History

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2001: Meteor Garden and formation of F4

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Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden was broadcast in 2001. The series is an adaptation of the Japanese shōjo manga series Hana Yori Dango. Jerry Yan plays the lead role of Dao Ming Si, an extremely arrogant and rich college student who meets his match in the poor but proud girl, Shan Cai (played by Barbie Hsu). Vic Chou, Vanness Wu, and Ken Chu play his friends Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men respectively. In the series, the four boys were nicknamed "Flower Four" due to their handsome appearances. The name was often shortened to F4.

The series was a massive success. Upon its release in April, Meteor Garden propelled all five of its leads to pan-Asian fame.[3] A sequel, Meteor Garden II, was released in 2002. The four male leads kept the name F4 and became a boyband.

2001–2004: Meteor Rain and Fantasy 4ever

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In 2001, F4 signed a record deal with Sony Music Taiwan. That same year, they released their debut album, Meteor Rain, and in the following year they released Fantasy 4ever. The album includes the Mandarin version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" that they recorded for the Asian version of Walt Disney's Lilo & Stitch soundtrack,[4] a Mandarin version of "Yo Te Amo" by Chayanne, and a Pepsi advertisement theme song "Ask For More".

From 2002 to 2003, F4 held the Fantasy Live World Tour, spanning 19 shows across 12 cities. They garnered a total audience of approximately 570,000 to 600,000 people.[5][6] In 2003, they embarked on an Asian tour to support Fantasy 4ever, and went on an unannounced hiatus in 2004 afterwards as the members began to focus on their solo careers.

2007–2009: Waiting for You and name change to JVKV

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On April 29, 2007, Meteor Garden producer Angie Chai announced that the group would no longer be known as F4, due to copyright issues. Japanese publisher Shueisha, who owns the copyright to Hana Yori Dango, allowed the group to use F4 as its band name in 2001. However, as Japan had filmed and aired its own live action version of the manga, the Taiwanese group was renamed to avoid confusion over the name in different countries,[7][8]. They were renamed JVKV, a name stemming from the initials of each member, by the order of their birth dates from oldest to youngest.[1] However, the name JVKV has never gained recognition, nor has it replaced F4 in popular usage.

Three F4 members appeared in the 2008 drama Wish To See You Again, starring Chou and Chu, while Wu made guest appearances in a few episodes. Due to scheduling conflicts, Yan did not star in the series; his part was played by Kingone Wang. Despite rumors of disbanding,[9] JVKV released their third album, Waiting For You, on December 28, 2007.[10] Their third album still bore the name F4, instead of JVKV. In 2008, F4 held a tour in Japan, making them the first foreign artists to host seven consecutive concerts in the country, which attracted around 80,000 people.[11]

In 2009, F4 announced that they were disbanding.

2010–present: Solo careers and reunions

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In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, all four of the F4 members pursued solo careers in music, film, and television.

In January 2013, the group was confirmed to perform at Jiangsu TV's Spring Festival Gala in China along with Harlem Yu.[12] The performance was taped in Beijing on January 30, 2013,[13][14] and was aired on February 10, 2013. During the show, they hinted that they were going to have a concert tour in China, which did not come to fruition. On 30 October 2020, at Jiangsu TV’s "1001 Night Festival" concert, Wu appeared live on stage, while his bandmates’ pre-recorded performances were projected onto the stage via holograms.[15]

On 12 July 2025, F4 reunited for a surprise performance at the Mayday concert 5525 Back to That Day Tour in Taipei, Taiwan.[16] In December 2025, three F4 members, Yan, Chou, and Wu, launched a reunion concert tour. Due to a contract disagreement with F4's management label B'in Music, Chu was not invited to participate (the only of the four singers to be excluded).[17] The tour began in Shanghai, and Ashin of Mayday served as the music producer and chief planner of the tour.[18]

On June 27, 2026, F4 held their F Forever 1st World Tour concert at the Philippine Arena in Manila.[19]

Members

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Current Members

Past Members

Tour Members

Discography

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Studio albums

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions Sales
TWN
[20]		 JPN
[21]		 SGP
[22]
Meteor Rain (流星雨) — 10 1
Fantasy 4ever (煙火的季節)
  • Released: December 18, 2002 (TWN)
    July 20, 2005 (JPN)
  • Label: Sony Music Taiwan
  • Formats: CD, digital download, cassette
 — 17 3
Waiting for You (在這裡等你)
  • Released: December 28, 2007 (TWN)
    February 6, 2008 (JPN)
  • Label: Sony Music Taiwan
  • Formats: CD, digital download, streaming
 2 17 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Compilation albums

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Title Details
F4 Five Years Glorious Collection
Fabulous
  • Released: September 24, 2008 (JPN)
  • Label: Sony Music Japan
  • Formats: CD, digital download

Live albums

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Title Details
Meteor Garden F4 Music Party
F4 Fantasy Live Concert World Tour in Hong Kong
  • Released: July 1, 2003
  • Label: Sony Music Taiwan
  • Formats: CD, digital download

Video albums

[edit]
Title Details
F4 Five Years Glorious Collection
  • Released: December 18, 2006 (TWN)
  • Label: Sony Music Taiwan
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Precious
  • Released: September 24, 2008 (JPN)
  • Label: Sony Music Japan
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Precious II
  • Released: February 18, 2009 (JPN)
  • Label: Sony Music Japan
  • Formats: CD, digital download

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 Meteor Garden Yan as Dao Ming Si
Chou as Hua Ze Lei
Wu as Mei Zuo
Chu as Xi Men		 Drama series
2001 Meteor Rain Mini series
2002 Meteor Garden II Drama series
2002 Come to My Place Yan as Zhong Yi Ye
Chou as Zhong Yuan
Wu as JJ
Chu as Guang Tian Jian		 Drama series

Concerts

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Headlining tours

  • Meteor Garden F4 Music Party (2001–2002)
  • Fantasy Live Concert World Tour (2002–2003)
  • F4 Japan Tour (2008)
  • F Forever City of Stars Tour (2025–2026)

Awards

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YearAwardsCategoryNominationResultRef.
2002Hong Kong TVB8 AwardsBest Group (Gold)F4Won
IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales AwardsTop 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the YearMeteor RainWon[26]
2003Fantasy 4everWon[27]
MTV Asia AwardsInspiration AwardF4Won[28]

References

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  1. 1 2 (in Chinese) F4嫌新称呼JVKV绕口 合体宣传用回本名. May 2, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  2. ↑ "言承旭吳建豪承認F4互相嫉妒 決定解散反而鬆一口氣". Sing Tao Canada 星島加拿大 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ "CNN.com – F4 Talkasia Transcript – Jun 16, 2006". CNN. CNN. June 16, 2006. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  4. ↑ "F4主唱《星际宝贝》横袭好莱坞 F4 singers hit Hollywood in Lilo & Stitch" (in Chinese). NETandTV.com. June 26, 2002. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
  5. ↑ "F4傳出道25週年將合體開唱! 仔仔鬆口曝內幕" [F4 will reunite for concert on their 25th anniversary! Zai Zai reveals the inside story]. Yahoo News (in Chinese). June 5, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  6. ↑ "F4要合体开演唱会了，青春回忆值多少钱？" [F4 is going to reunite for a concert. How much are the memories of youth worth?]. www.163.com (in Chinese). June 5, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ Wang, Vivien (April 29, 2007). "Boy band changes name F4 into JVKV". China Daily. Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Boys over Flowers Forces F4 Idol Band to Rename Itself". Anime News Network. May 14, 2007. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
  9. ↑ "F4 to Formally Disband in October". CRI English. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
  10. ↑ ":: 新力博德曼音樂 [新聞] :: SONY BMG Music Entertainment (Taiwan) ::". www.sonymusic.com.tw. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "F4、初の日本公演は「いままでと違う」". Oricon News (in Japanese). March 4, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  12. ↑ Belmonte, Maureen Marie (January 11, 2013). "'Meteor Garden''s F4 To Reunite at China's Spring Festival". The Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  13. ↑ "F4 arrives in beijing for spring festival gala". xinMSN. February 1, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  14. ↑ "F4 performs in million dollar costumes". xinMSN. February 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  15. ↑ Merican, Sara. "Iconic Taiwanese Boyband F4 Makes An Unconventional Reunion". Forbes. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Meteor Garden's boy band F4 thrills fans with surprise reunion".
  17. ↑ Pasajol, Anne (December 9, 2025). "F4 no more? Ken Chu confirms exclusion from group's 2026 reunion concert". Inquirer. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  18. ↑ ""一秒售罄"背后的演唱会经济：F4与阿信合体，撬动消费热潮". m.yicai.com. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Manila Concert Scene".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ↑ "G-Music 風雲榜 (綜合榜)". www.g-music.com.tw. Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  21. ↑ "F4のアルバム売上TOP3作品" [F4 ranking information]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  22. ↑ The RIAS album chart operated from December 2001 to June 2005.
  23. ↑ "F4的诱惑_三联生活周刊". old.lifeweek.com.cn. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  24. 1 2 Benke, Benny (January 11, 2003). ""Fantasy 4-ever" Benar-benar Fantastis". Suara Merdeka (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  25. ↑ "亚洲偶像团体F4当年到底有多红 创造的神话至今无人能及-明星-福州便民网". www.fzbm.com (in Chinese). November 1, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  26. ↑ IFPI Hong Kong 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Archived July 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 19, 2011
  27. ↑ IFPI Hong Kong 2003 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Archived February 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 19, 2011
  28. ↑ AVRIL LAVIGNE, LINKIN PARK WIN BIG AT MTV ASIA AWARDS, January 24, 2003, archived from the original on November 2, 2020, retrieved November 14, 2021, In other categories, Robbie Williams won Favorite Male Artist, Blue took Favorite Pop Act and F4 earned the Inspiration Award.
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