艾美艾尊

NOBODY ever said fame was easy.


And for Asia's hottest boy band, it seems to be coming at a price.

That's the kind of heat the members of Taiwanese pop group Fahrenheit - made up of Wu Chun, 30, Calvin Chen, 29, Jiro Wang, 28 and Aaron Yan, 24 - are feeling.

Wu Chun (top, fourth from left) said he had to forgo a swim while on holiday in Australia over the Chinese New Year, when he discovered the paparazzi snapping furiously at his half-naked torso.

Calvin did not dare ask his loved ones to attend the group's recent concert in Malaysia because of the paparazzi.

And Aaron, who's currently single, longs to 'kiss my girlfriend in public if I had one'.

Fahrenheit was in town over the weekend to promote its third and latest album, Love You More And More, that includes edgy, rock-inspired songs among the usual pop ballads.



In an interview with The New Paper, they admitted that life in the limelight has made them start weighing the pros and cons of being the pin-up fantasy of millions of teenage girls.

But that didn't stop the boys from belting out their latest hit single, Lonesome Spirit, to thunderous applause during their showcase at St James Powerhouse on Sunday.

The boys acknowledged that the 'loss of privacy' is something that 'we are still learning to cope with'.

A female fan had once lunged for Wu Chun at an airport in China when he was there for an album promotional trip several weeks ago. The security guard who came to his rescue ended up with a bloody nose.

Before that, the fan had even given Wu Chun her passport and a letter telling him that she had 'rented a room near the airport' and wanted the heartthrob to 'spend the night with her'.

At an earlier autograph session, she showed off her cleavage when she spoke to him in a low-cut top.

Calvin too, was similarly shaken up about an incident at the group's concert in Hong Kong in February.

He received news that a fan had threatened suicide because his female friend had showed up to support him. Fans had thought the girl was his girlfriend.

A daughter?

Trying to put such rumours to rest has been an uphill task for Wu Chun as well.

A picture of him piggybacking 'his daughter' had surfaced on the Internet recently. Chinese papers speculated that he was her father as there was an '80 per cent resemblance when comparing the shape of their faces and straight noses'.

Wu Chun said with a laugh: 'Of course we look alike. She's my niece. I say, bring on the milk powder endorsements.'

In another incident, a picture of him about to take a dip in the hotel pool during his vacation in Australia made the cover of Chinese magazine China Times Weekly.

Immediately after that, there was talk that he had lost a pictorial book deal because he had 'exposed his body'.

Calling it 'nonsense', Wu Chun said that he had felt 'so uncomfortable' when he spotted the paparazzi that he just walked off without a swim.

Jiro revealed that in the past, they would have been 'upset' over such falsehoods.

But now, they just laugh them off.

Calvin said jokingly: 'Sometimes, I even take the heat for the others. For example, I always tell people that Wu Chun's 'kids' are actually mine.'

Jiro recalled how in February, he was invited to take part in the 2009 Taipei CowParade - one of the largest public art events in the world - where 100 artistes were asked to draw cows that would subsequently be auctioned off for charity.

His task, however, as a graduate from a top arts school in Taiwan, was to teach an art class to kids - affectionately called the Little Cow Experience Operation.

But instead of teaching, he ended up being bombarded by a group of 5- to 9-year-olds over his rumoured relationship with Taiwanese actress-singer Rainie Yang.

Shocked by the questions, Jiro was at a loss for words. When the kids 'probed' further, all he would say was, 'not telling!'

But the singers say they do care about the well-being of their fans.

At a promotional event in Taiwan last month for his TV drama, ToGetHer, Jiro was taken aback when a young female fan suddenly whipped out a ring and knelt down to propose to him.

Greatly overwhelmed by the gesture, he confessed to feeling 'suddenly stressed' as he didn't know how to let the girl down gently.

He said: 'I eventually told her that I accepted her well wishes and that being young, she had her whole life ahead of her which she should enjoy without being tied down so early on.'

Ardent female attention aside, the boys say they still hope they can continue to have normal dating lives.

Aaron said he would love to 'go dating' but can't do so because he gets mobbed by throngs of girls whenever he steps out.

Added Jiro: 'It's really hard for us to make new friends. People should be happy for us if we get attached as that's a good thing and really so rare.'

Family time

So do the bandmembers ever wish that they could turn back time and go back to their pre-fame days?

They said they wouldn't trade what they have now for the world.

Said Aaron: 'We take all these as learning experiences because we still see ourselves as rookies.'

Added Calvin: 'I'm glad that with everything that has happened, all four of us are still the same people, on or off stage.'

So what would they do if they could be regular people for a day?

'Spend time with our families swimming at the beach, have a nice lunch at a restaurant, watch a movie and go shopping!' they said in unison.



source: www.divaasia.com