Vic Changing His Name? “Please call me Chou Zai.”

Vic was well-known for his interesting accent when speaking; when I first interviewed him three years ago; he couldn’t have been shyer. As if it would bite, when asked a question, Vic would always respond in the shortest way possible. Now, it is clear Vic has changed a great deal; he’s become noticeably upbeat, and when asked a question he could just go on for up to 3 minutes. He would even interject during the interview with his infamous “dry” jokes.


On his change, Vic commented: “It’s been 7 years since my debut; I think no one could tolerate Rui’s (Hanazawa Rui, Meteor Garden) kind of timid, introverted form of communications for several years unchanged, right?......If I want to just look cool, I could easily keep acting like Rui – he’s
cool enough and he doesn’t talk. But, we all have to grow up!”


Proclaiming His Desire to Detach from F4 by Singing “I’m Not F4”?


“It’s not about getting detached from the group – F4 has created a certain phenomenon in Asia - the term F4 has become generic such that there exists a “F4 of something” in many locations and professions. For instance, popular athletes may be called “F4 in Athletics”. So if you ask “What exactly is F4?” They would respond “The top of the line is F4.” The term has become a generic name. This means tremendous burden and pressure upon us (F4 members); but, at the same time, many people learned about Taiwan because of us; they learned to speak Chinese because of us; they’d like to use us as examples when educating their children; and, they grow up with us. So, I think we understand our positions very well – there’re many things we can’t control and can’t do; but they’re more we have to accomplish and/or sustain. So, this is not about detaching from the group; I think it’s a sweet burden.”


F4 is Still Popular because….


“I think in the first three years after our debut, people would think: they’re still popular only because of ‘Meteor Garden’. The group and I have been in the entertainment industry for 7 years – I think the reason we still exist and have a place in this industry is because each of us is unique in our way. When some male idol groups become famous, the media or their agencies will like to say, “They’re past F4 now; sorry, they’re the best in Asia.” Many groups have said the same thing in the past 7 years, but I submit to you that no group dares to say that now, or, the groups that used to say that won’t be saying that again now. Because they realized after the “F4 publicity stunt” is over, what lies ahead depends on their uniqueness and personal appeal as artists. So why can we still survive today? I think that’s because each of us is a unique individual – together we’re powerful; when going solo, we can each showcase our charming appeal to the audience. I have my appeal and so does Jerry; Vanness has his on stage, and Ken is talented. Our styles are different and non-redundant; that’s why we can be this powerful when united together.”


Vic’s Most Powerful Appeal is……


“I think my most powerful appeal is in my ability to pull people together. I love to say jokes; and I love to interact with others. I love to make funny faces in front of fans. I think many idols can’t quite cross the line and let themselves go. But I like to perform this way. I’m not easily embarrassed; when fans reminded me online not to forget the lyrics, I would respond, “If I remember the lyrics, that won’t be me, Vic Chou Zai Zai.” This is my uniqueness. It may not be good, but it’s different than others. I won’t go over the board to force myself to memorize all the lyrics; but when I forget the words, I won’t let the atmosphere to go stale either. That to me is my most powerful appeal. I would take the atmosphere up a notch to the next level; I would intentionally make up some lyrics and I would just deliberately go “blah blah” to fill in the words and make the fans laugh.”


Wanting to Drop his Nick Name “Zai Zai”?


I hope everybody can see not the “Zai Zai” in the past but the real “Zai Zai”. I wish to tell everybody “I’m not only F4 and I’m not only ‘Zai Zai’. I’m Vic Chou and I can boldly say my name out loud. Perhaps there was a misinterpretation in my intent, so some of my fans called me by my name after reading the news report. So I jokingly told them to just call me ‘Chou Zai’. Just like ‘Hua Zai’ (Andy Lau), ‘Wei Zai’ (Tony Lueng), and ‘Fa Zai’ (Chou Yun Fat). Since I ‘came’ with the word ‘Zai’ already, so maybe they can just call me ‘Chou Zai.’ Perhaps I could become as popular as they (the celebrities mentioned) are!”


Words to Say to Fans before New Year…


“You mean my last words...HAHA. Who knows maybe I’ll collapse after half a month. Though now I’m telling you snobbishly that I can pull it all through, maybe in half a month I’ll simply collapse. HAHA! So you mean what do I have to say to my fans? – Sorry I haven’t gone to see you all for so long.....this time I promise I’ll try my best to go to meet with you, my friends. I hope you can see for yourselves and recognize how I have grown and matured; I also hope to bring you this CD album in which I personally am very satisfied with my performance. I want to let you listen to my singing live on stage, so you can tell if I have improved my singing skills or not.”