Lollipop F

Lollipop F is a Taiwanese Mandopop boy band gaining popularity throughout Asia. Its group members were all chosen from Channel [V] Taiwan's show Bang Bang
Current members:
Owodog
Awayne
Fabien
William

Previous members:
Wang Zi (now a member of JPM)
LilJay/Xiao Jie (now a member of JPM)

Tang, or BBT, a show which sought to create new male artists in the entertainment business of Taiwan. In addition to appearing in Bang Bang Tang weekdays until August 2009, they have acted in several dramas and major movies as well as regularly hosting their own variety shows.

Lollipop signed with EMI Music Taiwan on December 2, 2006 and released their first EP in January 2007. With Gold Label Records' acquisition of EMI Music Taiwan, Lollipop is now signed under the label Gold Typhoon.

On October 13, 2010, Gold Typhoon officially changed the group's name from "Lollipop" to "Lollipop F" on their website, with F representing "four," the number of members in their group, as well as, their belief in continuing the Lollipop spirit "forever."

Background & formation (2006–2007)

Owodog and A-Wei were previous members of Taiwanese breakdance group Black Angle Crew.

In 2006, Owodog and Fabien became among the first group of boys to be selected into Lollipop F through recommendations and auditions held across Taiwan, the processes of which were shown in the show's first three episodes.[4][5][6] They are among the first 20 members of the show, as it officially debuted on August 17, 2006. William and A-Wei made their first appearances on BBT on October 13, 2006 episode as part of their auditions during the first round of new selections into BBT and were selected to become members of the show.

On November 27, 2006, the episode in which the six members of the group were selected and revealed was aired. Notably, William and A-Wei's inclusion in the group was determined only moments before the announcements were filmed. The members signed a contract to Channel V, and Dora Ao became their agent. The group, named Lollipop, then officially signed a contract with EMI Music Taiwan) on December 2, 2006. Owodog, being the leader in BBT, was named the group leader as well. On December 9, 2006, Lollipop made its first public performance as a group at the V-Power Music Storm Concert.

Music & acting debut (2007–2008)

Lollipop with six members in 2007

Lollipop debut EP Colorful Lollipop was released on January 26, 2007, with six different covers, each featuring a member of the group. Four months later, on May 25, a second EP titled Summer's First Experience was released along with a photobook compiled with photos taken in Okinawa, as well as a DVD. Lyrics were written by Liljay and Prince for the song "Summer's First Experience."

During the summer of 2007, members of Lollipop made their acting debut in Taiwanese drama Brown Sugar Macchiato, a collaboration with girl group Hey Girl. Because of the large number of main characters, fifteen in total, and the many obligations both groups had apart from the drama, the original director quit after directing five episodes. Nevertheless, the first episode was aired in Taiwan on July 15, 2007. Later, Lollipop stated on chat show Kangxi Lai Le that the drama had been more of an introduction of the two groups instead of a major acting challenge, as the members were told to act like themselves, and that many subplots were explained only briefly due to the large number of main characters. After thirteen episodes, the drama ended on October 7, 2007. Additionally, an official soundtrack was released with songs by Lollipop and Hey Girl.

The same year, Lollipop began hosting their own show Lollipop Gyashan on October 27 until April 19, 2008, when the show stopped airing.

Their debut album Gyashan was released on December 28, 2007. Gyashan entered Mandarin charts in the number one position, outselling F4's album Waiting for You – Await Your Love released the same day. Liljay contributed lyrics to three of the ten songs, cowriting one with Fabien. A solo by Fabien, who composed both the music and lyrics, was recorded as well.

On January 26, 2008, a year after the release of their first EP, the group held its debut concert at the Taipei Arena. The concert DVD was released on June 6, 2008, breaking chart records with sales rates of more than 35%. The DVD has topped the charts for a period of one month since.

Beyond Bang Bang Tang and solo projects (2008–2009)

Lollipop had been appearing regularly on Bang Bang Tang since August 14, 2006. With Channel [V]'s decision to select a new batch of boys and create a second season, Lollipop and most of the other members "graduated" from Bang Bang Tang after their last performances as members of the show. Their last official episode aired on August 29, 2008, marking the end of the first season. In total, the members of Lollipop had participated in more than 500 episodes of the show. Since the start of Bang Bang Tang II, Lollipop had, on several occasions, returned to the show as guests or co-hosts.

Drama and hosting opportunities

In May, earlier the same year, A-Wei, Prince, and Fabien, part of the main cast, began shooting Lollipop's the second drama with members of Hey Girl and Bang Bang Tang. The drama, called The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries, is a wuxia drama set in modern times, which requires the actors and actresses to learn and perform kungfu, sometimes using weapons. Additionally, wire fu and special effects were used upon the cast for qinggong and some fighting scenes. The first episode was released on July 26, 2008 on Star TV Chinese Channel and continues to be aired after the end of the first season of Bang Bang Tang. Later, Owodog guest starred in the drama, while Liljay and William had minor roles. The thirteenth and the last episode was aired on October 18, 2008, while behind-the-scene footage was aired on October 25, 2008.

On October 3, 2008, the original soundtrack was released by Gold Typhoon, the songs of which includes lyric compositions by Liljay and Prince. A collaboration with three members of Hey Girl was recorded, while Prince and Fabien both had a solo each. Two editions were released for the soundtrack, one being a 10,000 limited edition.

After leaving Bang Bang Tang, William hosted a bikini show called Wu Di Qing Chun Ke with Taiwanese singer Kenji Wu. The show finale was aired on November 5, 2008. On the other hand, Owodog, A-Wei, and Liljay began hosting Na Li Wu Da Kang with Hey Girl's Apple and Channel V's VJ Rong Jia. The show has since ended.

Film and other performing opportunities

Having performed in Singapore a week before, the group returned to Taiwan to participate in the 2008 V-Power Love Music Concert on November 29, 2008. The concert united Liljay, Owodog, and A-wei with other Black Angle Crew members for a dance performance, while Prince and Fabien performed their solos from the last soundtrack. Together, the six members performed five songs, including a remixed version of "You Make Me a Fool," Fabien's composition for the debut album. Lollipop's participation in the concert also marks, symbolically, the two year anniversary of the group's formation.

A week later, on December 6, 2008, Lollipop performed four songs with themes of wushu at the 45th Golden Horse Awards ceremony.

After talks with Paco Wong in 2008, the chairman of Gold Records, Owodog is starring in a kungfu film called Hot-blooded Union with Theresa Fu and a member of The Flowers. The film has started filming near the end of 2008 in Beijing. Later news also reveal that A-Wei, who impressed the director with his wushu skills, has been invited to guest star in the film. The name of the film has since been changed to Martial Spirit, and a trailer was shown at Lollipop's I am Legend concert in Hong Kong.

Prince and members of Choc7 took part in the film L-O-V-E, which is composed of four short films directed by four different directors. The film was released on March 6, 2009.
As one of Channel [V]'s Chinese New Year programs, a short film called 狼牙棒 aired on January 26, 2009. The short film is produced by Owodog, William, and A-Wei, who starred in the film themselves.

In February, 2009, Channel [V] began filming its revamped version and new season of Bang Bang Tang, which marked the return of several members from the first season, including Lollipop. For the new season, Owodog shot and directed a promotional ad of members dancing at several sites in Taipei with Aben of Choc7. Bang Bang Tang III began airing on March 2, 2009, with Show Luo being the first guest star. In 2009, Lollipop made its first lyric contributions to other artists, which are included in the mini album of the group Choc7, composed of seven members selected from the same show.

I am Legend: Second album and Asia tour (2009–2010)

Lollipop's second album I am Legend is released on June 19, 2009. Nine out of the ten songs in the album included lyric contributions by Liljay, Owodog, Prince, and William, while music is also composed by Fabien and Prince for two songs. Solo performances by Liljay, Fabien, and William are recorded as well. A concert tour in Asia with the same name commenced in Hong Kong Coliseum on July 4 and 5, 2009.
While promoting I am Legend on several Taiwanese variety shows, including Kangxi Lai Le, 100% Entertainment, Azio Superstar, etc., Lollipop created a series of dance performances specifically for the show hosts of each show, thus completing a mini TV tour.

With show host Christine Fan leaving the show to focus on her musical career, Bang Bang Tang's last episode was aired on July 30, 2009. The original time slot on Channel [V] has since been filled with a new show called Welcome外星人 that premièred on July 20, 2009, which is hosted by A-wei and William, along with Kevin Tsai. Prince has since been given the opportunity to be part of the cast in a film called 精舞門2. Another short film directed and shot by A-wei called The Great Escape, starring Liljay, William, and members of Choc7 and Hey Girl, aired on Channel [V] on September 12, 2009.

Four Dimensions and Dance - Debut as Lollipop F (2010-2011)

On October 21, 2010, a news conference was held as the group re-emerged with the new name "Lollipop F," signifying a reconfiguration in the group's members. Lollipop F now consists of Owodog, Fabien, William, and A-wei. Following the conference, Lollipop F's debut album "Four Dimensions was released on November 6, 2010, featuring several songs of their own compositions, including the title track.

In the summer of 2011, Lollipop F trained in South Korea for the group's upcoming album and was subsequently invited to take part in Korean TV station SBS's hit variety show Star King, singing and dancing opposite Super Junior. It was unprecedented in Taiwan's entertainment history, and the experience gave the recently reformed group a major boost in their confidence and popularity. Nearly a year after their debut album, Lollipop F released their second album Dance in a bid to claim the title of the top dance group in Taiwan. As the main plug of the album, the electronic/hip-hop title track features funky dance moves choreographed by Hamasaki Ayumi, Koda Kumi, and SMAP's dance teacher Sasaki Ko.

Overseas expansion

Hong Kong and Mainland China

Lollipop visited Hong Kong to promote their television soundtrack Brown Sugar Macchiato on September 26, 2007. This was their first overseas promotional activity ever since their debut, and a huge fan turnout caused a great commotion at the shopping mall where they were having their meet-and-greet session. Lollipop returned to Hong Kong on Christmas to promote their debut album. On February 1, 2008 they traveled Hong Kong for the third time to guest star in the Cantonese movie Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat 2, and on the 23rd of the same month, performed at Show Luo's concert as guests. On June 1, 2008, the group also participated in a fundraising concert for the Sichuan Earthquake. Since then, Lollipop has made several visits to Hong Kong for different purposes, including autograph sessions, award ceremonies, as well as an end-of-the-year countdown. In 2009, Lollipop visited Hong Kong to promote its Asia tour, which commences in Hong Kong.

Lollipop visited Mainland China on March 23, 2008, to promote their debut album. With over 3000 fans, the autograph session was canceled due to safety reasons, as the situation grew out of control. Thus, fans were able to catch only a few glimpses of the group. Nevertheless, Lollipop stayed at the venue and finished signing each album in a separate room. Later the same year, from December 18 to 26, Lollipop made visits to several cities, including Wuhan, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, to promote the soundtrack for The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries.

Singapore and Malaysia

Lollipop traveled to Singapore on June 12, 2008, to promote their concert DVD. There was an autograph session held at a bar in Clarke Quay; thus, the organisers had to give out tickets to limit the amount of fans entering. Later the same year, on November 22, Lollipop made another visit to Singapore to promote the official soundtrack of The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries, performing several songs at the Music Monster Festival, which also featured Taiwanese group Energy. The next day, an autograph session was held at IMM, which attracted more than 3000 fans.

The group visited Malaysia for the first time on June 5, 2009. They were invited to be performing guests during the finals of the television show Ultimate Power Group the next day.

South Korea

In the summer of 2011, Lollipop F was invited to take part in Korean TV station SBS's hit variety show Star King, singing and dancing opposite Super Junior. It was unprecedented in Taiwan's entertainment history, and that gave the recently reformed idol group a major boost in their confidence. · close