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Written by Teo Shu May
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Page 1 of 2 5566, the Taiwanese boy-to-man band, recently swept into town on a blast of cold air, after making a quick stop in Beijing. Despite the sudden uncomfortable rise in temperature, they were still wrapped up in thick leather jackets during the press conference of their latest album, Bravo.
From their similar attire to the way they handled the questions, it was soon clear that 5566 are more than just pretty boys - they are a band of brothers with a mission.
5566 was formed in 2002, when the original five
members, Tony Sun, Jason Hsu, Sam Wang, Zax Wang and Rio Peng, starred
in the idol drama My MVP Valentine that rocketed them to instant
fame. Capitalising on this, they soon released albums and accompanying
soundtracks, while continually capturing teenage girls' hearts with swoon-worthy
performances in idol dramas like West Side Story.
While Rio Peng
has now left the group, the other four have continued building their
careers in fields as diverse as acting and modelling. However, they
have now come together to release their eleventh album, Bravo,
and one which is trumpeted to be a musical breakthrough for their group.
Left-Right: Zax, Tony, Jason, Sam
The
press conference for Bravo
was held at the Lunar Asian Fusion
Bar, a bar decked out in screaming red which seemed to fit in well with
the celebratory mood of their new album. However, the press conference
was less festive.
Moderated by YES 93.3 DJ Liyi, the boys were obliging
with their answers, but overall the group came across as rather subdued.
Perhaps it was due to their frenetic travelling schedule, but Tony (the
band leader) seemed to be the one answering most of the questions, while
the others simply sat and agreed, or in the case of Sam, hid behind
large sunglasses.
 As
Tony mentioned repeatedly, Bravo
is supposed to mark a "musical
breakthrough" for the group, as they have moved away from love ballads
and "cool songs". Instead, their eleventh album has taken a more
sober turn. Its concept is now a collection of what the band members
wish to say as individuals, and their messages to their fans, children
and more.
Descending from the heights of bopping idols, the members
now want to be seen as "normal people with a message" - a message
of peace. As their work ties in with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it interestingly, also seems to fit in well with their expansion into
the mainland Chinese market.
This led one to ask, "Is 5566 forgetting
their homeland Taiwanese market?" The group replied that they
need to be "fair to all the fans", and that includes fans outside
Taiwan.
While they acknowledged the impossibility of ever leaving Taiwan,
owing to their many acting and hosting commitments rooted there, they still
expressed a desire to tour Asia and meet all their fans overseas. As their
answers showed, their appreciation for their
fans underscores a work ethic that is geared towards what their
fans want.
This
work ethic is also the reason why 5566 has taken such a long time
to release their latest album. Two years of remaining under the radar
might seem like career suicide to many people, but as Tony argued, they
did not want to release an album simply to fend off competition, but only when
they have had a breakthrough.
As he said, "It is only fair to the
fans that we give them new material in this eleventh album, and that
is why we've spent so much time wrangling with our record company
to find a sound that captures our musical identity."
 However, while
the group conceded that the situation is less favourable now, they continue
to believe that audiences are discerning, and would still appreciate
their music.
On a musical front, this album presents the most combined
effort ever, and also the one with the most original compositions. In addition, to give a fuller and more
diverse sound to the album, they roped in other artistes for collaborations as well. Sam and Jason also took time to elaborate on one of their
combined tracks.
"We wanted to make the song sound more natural, so
that it would almost be like a conversation between the two of us. Focusing
on the problems between two brothers would be too serious, so we decided
to make it sound like an everyday conversation. Interestingly, this
track ended up with a hiphop flavour, which is a fresh approach," explained Sam.
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