Vivian Hsu
Encyclopedia
Vivian Hsu is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and model
who has gained remarkable popularity in East Asia, mainly in Taiwan and Japan.
Hsu rose to prominence in Japan, where she made her first appearance in 1995 and has become a highly-recognized celebrity with her countless appearances in media during the late 1990s.
She was also the main vocalist for the Japanese dance band Black Biscuits. Black Biscuits released four singles, Stamina, Timing, Relax, Bye-Bye, and one album Life. All of these four singles reached the top 5 spots of the Oricon singles chart
, and Life reached #6 in the album chart.
Jianxing Elementary School and Taipei Shulinguo Junior High School.
Hsu's career in entertainment industry started after winning first place in a "Talented Beautiful Girl" contest held by Taiwan's CTS
in 1990. At that point, she was working by delivering food on her bicycle, and her customers began to recognise her from her television appearances. The same year she joined a musical trio named "Girls' Team" (少女隊). They released two albums, in 1991 and 1992, then broke up. Following this, Hsu started modeling.
Angel, published in 1995, was shot in Capri
and Sicily
.
Venus, published on July 7, 1996, was shot in Mexico
and had separate runs in Taiwan and Japan.
Hsu's success in modeling achieved its zenith in July 1996 when she was featured on the cover of two Asian-edition Penthouse magazines (the Japanese edition, and the comparatively low-distribution Hong Kong edition). Like the photobooks, both these items have become very sought after by collectors and fans.
Hsu has continued to model for designers such as Hang Ten
, Gucci
and Mode Marie, and has modelled in all three of her brief, autobiographical books: Earth Onigiri (2001), Privacy (2001, ISBN 4-88745-060-5), and Wo Ai Taiwan (2002). In addition, most of her musical albums contain substantial inserts featuring new modelling work.
, a romance film
that takes place between the CCP
's takeover of mainland China and the present. Her debut film was Shaolin Popey
(1994), a comedy film
which became a box office hit in Taiwan and Hong Kong. She also has some experience as a seiyu
(voice actress), having voiced Aisha in Gundam SEED for three episodes.
Hsu also starred in three Hong Kong Category III films
, "Hunting List", Devil Angel and Angel Heart. She played the role of Chao Jiale in Love Storm (2003), alongside Vic Chou
and Ken Chu
. She also composed and sang the opening theme for this series, Decide to Love You (決定愛你), which was released as a single in 2003. As with many actors and actresses, she appears from time to time in commercials and as spokesperson for various causes. In 2006, Hsu played a role in the film The Shoe Fairy of Do Do, a modern fairy tale
.
Also appeared in the 2001 film 'The Accidental Spy', with Jackie Chan.
(天使想) in 1996. Shortly thereafter, she took a speed course in Korean, and released a Korean version of the album titled Cheonsa Misonyeo
(天使美少女). Unusually, neither of Hsu's first two albums was sung in her native language.
In 1997, with two Japanese comedians—Kyoya Nanami
and Amazan—and later with a second female vocalist known as 'Keddy', she was included in a musical act known as the Black Biscuits. The group was formed primarily as a "rival band" for the Japanese music group Pocket Biscuits, which was the creation of the Japanese variety show Utchan Nanchan no UriNari. Between 1997 and 1999, they released four hit singles and a full-length album, Life. Their single CD "Timing" recorded 1.5 million sales in 1998. And, they participated in Kōhaku Uta Gassen
in 1998.
Towards the end of the group's run, they failed to accomplish one of the challenges set forth by the variety show and the resulting punishment was the disbanding of Black Biscuits.
During this period, Hsu also released two more solo albums: Da Mafan
(大麻煩) in 1998, and Bubai de Lianren
(不敗の戀人) in 1999. She followed Bubai de Lianren with a Japanese translation, Fuhai no Koibito, in 2000.
Later that same year she released another new album, Jiaban de Tianshi
(假扮的天使).
In 2001, she formed The d.e.p with Masahide Sakuma, Gota Yashiki, Masami Tsuchiya and Mick Karn. The band was short-lived: by the end of the year they had released all the music they ever would. This amounted to two singles and a full-length album, 地球的病気 -We Are the d.e.p-.
Over the next two years, she released a few more singles, including, alongside Kazuma Endo
of Siam Shade, Moment, the second opening theme to Gundam SEED, followed in 2003 by her next solo album, The Secret to Happiness Is Love
. Her last album is Hen Hen Ai
(狠狠愛), released in April 2005. Her most recent album is Vivi and...
, released in September 2006. For this album, Hsu collaborated with many artists and people including Jay Chou, Wang Leehom, Gary Cao, Nicky Lee and even her little brother and uncle.
Hsu's music, especially in her later work, covers a great range of genres. Included are slow love songs, R&B, hard rock, and of course J-pop. She has even dabbled in rap. This, combined with the fact that she is fluent in Mandarin
, Cantonese
, and Japanese
makes her a very versatile artist.
Hsu is also an accomplished lyricist. Her lyric-writing talent first gained serious notice when she completed several songs for Taiwan's R&B singer/songwriter Jay Chou
. By proving that she is not just another pretty idol, but a very capable artist, Hsu surprised both her critics and adorned fans. She continued to collaborate with Jay on his second and third albums after his triumphant self-titled debut, and co-wrote songs for other pop performers, such as Vanness Wu
, Show Luo
and Gigi Leung
. Her lyric work is much praised for its clever and straightforward simplicity.
Some Jay Chou songs that she wrote lyrics for are as follows:
television shows, and two television commercials for the aesthetic salon
Slim Beauty House, and Kao's Essential hair care
brand line as one of its three newfaces along with Yuriko Yoshitaka
and Nozomi Sasaki.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
who has gained remarkable popularity in East Asia, mainly in Taiwan and Japan.
Hsu rose to prominence in Japan, where she made her first appearance in 1995 and has become a highly-recognized celebrity with her countless appearances in media during the late 1990s.
She was also the main vocalist for the Japanese dance band Black Biscuits. Black Biscuits released four singles, Stamina, Timing, Relax, Bye-Bye, and one album Life. All of these four singles reached the top 5 spots of the Oricon singles chart
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
, and Life reached #6 in the album chart.
Early career
The second of three children, Hsu was born to a Taiwanese father and Tayal-Taiwanese mother as Hsu Su-chuan , and used this name until she began her modeling career. Her parents divorced when she was a young child. She attended TaipeiTaipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
Jianxing Elementary School and Taipei Shulinguo Junior High School.
Hsu's career in entertainment industry started after winning first place in a "Talented Beautiful Girl" contest held by Taiwan's CTS
China Television
China Television Company, Ltd. was established on September 3, 1968 by the then-ruling Nationalist Party of the Republic of China . The party owned the majority stake of the network...
in 1990. At that point, she was working by delivering food on her bicycle, and her customers began to recognise her from her television appearances. The same year she joined a musical trio named "Girls' Team" (少女隊). They released two albums, in 1991 and 1992, then broke up. Following this, Hsu started modeling.
Modelling
As a model, she posed in two photobooks titled Angel (天使心) and Venus.Angel, published in 1995, was shot in Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
Venus, published on July 7, 1996, was shot in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and had separate runs in Taiwan and Japan.
Hsu's success in modeling achieved its zenith in July 1996 when she was featured on the cover of two Asian-edition Penthouse magazines (the Japanese edition, and the comparatively low-distribution Hong Kong edition). Like the photobooks, both these items have become very sought after by collectors and fans.
Hsu has continued to model for designers such as Hang Ten
Hang Ten
Hanging Ten is a surfing maneuver and is considered one of the most impressive and iconic stunts one can perform with a surfboard. Hanging ten is when the surfer positions the surfboard in such a way that the back of it is covered by the wave and the wave rider is free to walk to the front of the...
, Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
and Mode Marie, and has modelled in all three of her brief, autobiographical books: Earth Onigiri (2001), Privacy (2001, ISBN 4-88745-060-5), and Wo Ai Taiwan (2002). In addition, most of her musical albums contain substantial inserts featuring new modelling work.
Acting
Hsu has appeared in a number of films and television programs both in Taiwan and Japan. She appeared in the ambitious 2006 mainland China-Taiwan-Hong Kong collaboration The KnotThe Knot
The Knot is a 2006 Chinese film directed by Yin Li. It was China's submission to the 80th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not nominated....
, a romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
that takes place between the CCP
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
's takeover of mainland China and the present. Her debut film was Shaolin Popey
Shaolin Popey
Shaolin Popey（笑林小子）is a movie directed by a Zhu Yanping. The movie premiere was on 21 July 1994. It is starred Lin Zhiying, Xu Ruoxuan, Hao Shaowen, Shi Xiaolong,and Zhang Zhengyue. Lin Zhiying and Zhang Zhenyue also sang. The movie tells a story that a young boy helps his older brother to win the...
(1994), a comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
which became a box office hit in Taiwan and Hong Kong. She also has some experience as a seiyu
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
(voice actress), having voiced Aisha in Gundam SEED for three episodes.
Hsu also starred in three Hong Kong Category III films
Hong Kong motion picture rating system
The Hong Kong motion picture rating system is a legal system of movie screening and rating. An official government agency issues ratings for any movie that will be shown in Hong Kong movie theatres.-History:...
, "Hunting List", Devil Angel and Angel Heart. She played the role of Chao Jiale in Love Storm (2003), alongside Vic Chou
Vic Chou
Vic Chou is a Taiwanese actor, singer and commercial model. He is a member of the Taiwanese boy band F4, and has starred in Taiwanese dramas. His stage name, 周渝民, literally means “a completely changed person”...
and Ken Chu
Ken Chu
Ken Chu |F4]]. Educated in Singapore , he speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English.-Biography:Chu was working as a waiter in Taiwan when he was discovered by Cai Zhiping, the creator of the boy band F4...
. She also composed and sang the opening theme for this series, Decide to Love You (決定愛你), which was released as a single in 2003. As with many actors and actresses, she appears from time to time in commercials and as spokesperson for various causes. In 2006, Hsu played a role in the film The Shoe Fairy of Do Do, a modern fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
.
Also appeared in the 2001 film 'The Accidental Spy', with Jackie Chan.
Music
Hsu released her first solo single in 1995. She released her first full-length album, Tianshi XiangTianshi Xiang
天使想 is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released April 10, 1996 on the Toshiba-EMI label. It was her first full-length album, and was later reprinted, with two extra tracks, as 想 New Edition in 1998.Interestingly, although her first album, it is not sung in her native...
(天使想) in 1996. Shortly thereafter, she took a speed course in Korean, and released a Korean version of the album titled Cheonsa Misonyeo
Cheonsa Misonyeo
Cheonsa Misonyeo is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released October 10, 1996 on the SAMPONY label. It is Vivian's first and, , only foray into the Korean language...
(天使美少女). Unusually, neither of Hsu's first two albums was sung in her native language.
In 1997, with two Japanese comedians—Kyoya Nanami
Kiyotaka Nanbara
is a Japanese comedian known as a member of the manzai duo Utchan Nanchan along with Teruyoshi Uchimura. He is the boke of the two.-Career:...
and Amazan—and later with a second female vocalist known as 'Keddy', she was included in a musical act known as the Black Biscuits. The group was formed primarily as a "rival band" for the Japanese music group Pocket Biscuits, which was the creation of the Japanese variety show Utchan Nanchan no UriNari. Between 1997 and 1999, they released four hit singles and a full-length album, Life. Their single CD "Timing" recorded 1.5 million sales in 1998. And, they participated in Kōhaku Uta Gassen
Kohaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...
in 1998.
Towards the end of the group's run, they failed to accomplish one of the challenges set forth by the variety show and the resulting punishment was the disbanding of Black Biscuits.
During this period, Hsu also released two more solo albums: Da Mafan
Da Mafan
大麻煩 is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released April 29, 1998 on the BMG label. Though Vivian's third solo album, it is her first solo Chinese-language album, despite that language being her mother tongue.-Track listing:# 大麻煩 – 5:00# COOL – 4:29# 台北下了雪 大麻煩 (py. Dà Máfán,...
(大麻煩) in 1998, and Bubai de Lianren
Bubai de Lianren
不敗の戀人 is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released October 18, 1999 on the BMG label. Vivian's older sister Penny sang backup on some of the tracks, and later married the producer of this album.Track 10 is a Japanese translation of track 3...
(不敗の戀人) in 1999. She followed Bubai de Lianren with a Japanese translation, Fuhai no Koibito, in 2000.
Later that same year she released another new album, Jiaban de Tianshi
Jiaban de Tianshi
假扮的天使 is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released September 19, 2000 on the BMG label. This is Vivian's first album that prominently features hard rock songs...
(假扮的天使).
In 2001, she formed The d.e.p with Masahide Sakuma, Gota Yashiki, Masami Tsuchiya and Mick Karn. The band was short-lived: by the end of the year they had released all the music they ever would. This amounted to two singles and a full-length album, 地球的病気 -We Are the d.e.p-.
Over the next two years, she released a few more singles, including, alongside Kazuma Endo
Siam Shade
Siam Shade was a five-piece Japanese rock band, which broke onto the visual kei scene alongside a multitude of other artists in the early 1990s. They enjoyed a decade of relative popularity before disbanding in early 2002. On November 18, 2007, they reunited for a concert in honor of their...
of Siam Shade, Moment, the second opening theme to Gundam SEED, followed in 2003 by her next solo album, The Secret to Happiness Is Love
The Secret to Happiness Is Love
我愛你 x4 the secret to happiness is love is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released September 28, 2003 on the Avex label. The Hanzi in the title read 'Wǒ Ài Nǐ', which means 'I Love You'...
. Her last album is Hen Hen Ai
Hen Hen Ai
狠狠愛 is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released April 1, 2005 on the Avex label. Three versions were released: an unlimited version, a limited version with bonus VCD of music videos, and a special preorder version with the VCD as well as a folder full of various promotional...
(狠狠愛), released in April 2005. Her most recent album is Vivi and...
Vivi and...
Vivi and... is an album by Taiwanese singer/actress/model Vivian Hsu, released September 19, 2006 on the Avex label. This album includes the hit single 美人魚 written by Jay Chou.*Catalog number: AVCCD90085/AVTCD95920-Track listing:# SOSO – 3:39...
, released in September 2006. For this album, Hsu collaborated with many artists and people including Jay Chou, Wang Leehom, Gary Cao, Nicky Lee and even her little brother and uncle.
Hsu's music, especially in her later work, covers a great range of genres. Included are slow love songs, R&B, hard rock, and of course J-pop. She has even dabbled in rap. This, combined with the fact that she is fluent in Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, Cantonese
Cantonese
Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
, and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
makes her a very versatile artist.
Hsu is also an accomplished lyricist. Her lyric-writing talent first gained serious notice when she completed several songs for Taiwan's R&B singer/songwriter Jay Chou
Jay Chou
Jay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for...
. By proving that she is not just another pretty idol, but a very capable artist, Hsu surprised both her critics and adorned fans. She continued to collaborate with Jay on his second and third albums after his triumphant self-titled debut, and co-wrote songs for other pop performers, such as Vanness Wu
Vanness Wu
Van Ness Wu is a American actor, singer, director, producer based in Asia. He was born on August 7, 1978 in Santa Monica, California and worked as a telemarketer before moving to Taiwan...
, Show Luo
Show Luo
Show Luo also known as Xiao Zhu was born on 30 July 1979. He is a Taiwanese entertainer: Mandopop singer, dancer, host and actor. He has been dubbed "Dancing King of Asia" for his dancing skills.-Biography:...
and Gigi Leung
Gigi Leung
Gigi Leung Wing-kei is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress.-Biography:Given the name Leung Bik-Zi at birth, at the age of 7 her mother changed her name changed to 'Wing-Kei' for superstitious reasons; as a child, Leung suffered from frequent asthma attacks and it was believed a change of name...
. Her lyric work is much praised for its clever and straightforward simplicity.
Some Jay Chou songs that she wrote lyrics for are as follows:
- Adorable Woman (可愛女人)
- Can't Say (開不了口)
- Istanbul (伊斯坦堡)
- Love's Cliff (愛情懸崖)
- Simple Love (簡單愛)
- Tornado (龍捲風)
Return to Japan
Hsu returned to Japan after a seven-year absence to release her new single Beautiful Day on March 3, 2010. Since 2010 she has appeared in two NTVNippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
television shows, and two television commercials for the aesthetic salon
Japanese Aesthetic Salons
Japanese Aesthetic Salons are popular establishments in Japan where men and women go to receive a great variety of mostly non-surgical beauty treatments, including hair removal, slimming treatments, and facial care...
Slim Beauty House, and Kao's Essential hair care
Hair care
Hair care is an overall term for parts of hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair on the human head. Hair care will differ according to one's hair type and according to various processes that can be applied to hair...
brand line as one of its three newfaces along with Yuriko Yoshitaka
Yuriko Yoshitaka
is a Japanese actress who is represented by the Japanese agency Amuse.-Career:Yoshitaka made her acting debut in 2006. She was given the lead role in the live-action adaptation of Hitomi Kanehara's award-winning novel Snakes and Earrings in 2007...
and Nozomi Sasaki.