Energy (band)
| Energy | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Mandopop, Rapcore, Pop rock |
| Years active | 2002 - 2009 |
| Members | Ady, Penny, Joe, Xiao Gang |
| Past members | Milk, Toro |
Energy is a Taiwanese boy band formed in 2002. The original band consisted of five members, Milk, Ady, Toro, Penny and Joe. Toro and Milk left the band in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Xiao Gang joined the band in mid-2007. The band disbanded in 2009.
History
Early years
Five-member Energy debuted with their breakout hit "Let Go" (放手), featuring a Rapcore influenced sound uncommon to Taiwanese Mandopop scene. The band's up-tempo tracks were accompanied by dance choreography comparable to that of Korean boy bands. Energy also performed ballads such as "Love Me for Another Day" (多爱我一天) and "One Day" (某年某月某一天). The band's popularity grew at a time where several other highly successful Taiwanese boy bands such as 5566 and K One emerged.
Energy's first studio album Energy! Come On! was released within the same year of the band's formation. The cover of Korean boy band Shinhwa's "Come On" received huge publicity in Taiwanese pop culture due to its catchy hook. The album featured mostly Rapcore influenced tracks, but also contained ballads such as "Loving You the Second Time" (第二次愛上你) and "Never Say Goodbye" (永遠不說再見).
Energy's second album Invincible featured the title track "Invincible" (無懈可擊), which much like "Come On", was also a cover song of Korean track, this time being jtL's "Enter The Dragon". The single "Love Me for Another Day" (多愛我一天) remains as the most critically well received track throughout the band's history. "Boom" was used in a Converse commercial, the track being a cover of metal band Saliva's song of the same name. "Ra-Men Song" was used in an instant noodle commercial, the track featuring Terry Lee rapping alongside the band in English. Ady suffered serious injuries while filming a music video for this album and had to give their Asian tour a miss.
Energy's third and final album as a five-member band E3 was released shortly after. The single "Capturing Evil" (退魔錄) was used to promote an online computer game. Like the previous two albums, ballads were the minority of the tracks. The music video for "Only Me" (只有我) depicts Toro behaving coldly towards the other four band members. Although the scenes were scripted acting, Toro left the band not long after the music video was released. He went on to be part of a new Mandopop trio "Typhoon" (Chinese: 台風) which only has one album to date, titled Overflow (Chinese: 天大地大).
Four members
The musical style of four-member Energy went towards a more mainstream pop sound. Energy's fourth album was a Greatest Hits Collection entitled Energy 4 Ever, containing four new tracks and two mash-ups of their previous hits. A limited edition of this album contained a VCD promoting Michael's Dance, a television drama serial that Energy was in the midst of shooting at that time. Touring by the band proved to be "tough" as Toro's lines had to be covered by the remaining members. Energy expressed that they were optimistic about the situation, even joking about Toro's departure during public events.
In 2004, Energy starred in the Taiwanese idol drama serial "Michael's Dance" (Chinese: 米迦勒之舞). The show's soundtrack contained songs recorded by Energy, including "Hey You" and "I Hear the Angels Sing" (我聽見天使歌唱). "Hey You" contained lengthy rap vocals while the latter was a melodic ballad. Both songs and "Dark Times" (黑暗時期) had slight Biblical references, in keeping with the theme of the show. The soundtrack also contained songs by other artistes like Sugababes and DMX. "Let's Go" (一起走吧) is a collaboration between Energy and Taiwanese singer/host Show Luo (羅志祥). Penny recorded a solo track for the show titled It Isn't Raining (Chinese: 天空沒有下雨). This song was not included on the soundtrack or any other album. However, Penny performed it during Energy's FINAL FANTASY concert.
The 2005 album FINAL FANTASY (最後的樂園) was the final release of four-member Energy. The singles "Heaven and Earth" (天與地) and "Taste of Tears" (眼淚的味道) were released to moderate success. The album was criticised for containing an excess of freestyle battle and phony sentimentality. The music video for Heaven and Earth shows Ady trapped in a castle and the other three members saving him, seemingly hinting to fans that Ady was leaving the band, much like 'Only Me and Toro's departure. A documentary of the fans' efforts to stop the band from disbanding was released in the second edition of "FINAL FANTASY". After a series of FINAL FANTASY concerts, Milk turned to his solo career of hosting, advertising, and recording an EP titled "Puppet", released in 2006. Milk released a solo album in 2008.
After the four man split, Energy attended several award ceremonies without Milk. They only performed their award winning hit "We" (我們). The announcement of a new album New Generation (猩人类) with a new line-up confirmed that Milk was no longer a member of Energy.
2006 to Present
After a year of inactivity, three-member Energy released an album titled New Generation (猩人类) in mid-2006. This album had a more rock influenced sound. The title track "New Generation" (猩人类) featured the band dancing with extended arms, matching the album's ape-man theme. The hit ballad "Love Went Out of Control" (愛失控) was a cover of "One" by Korean boy bandTVXQ. The lyrics for Love Went Out of Control was written by Penny. The most notable track "Quick Kill" (秒殺) was written by Taiwanese rock band MayDay (Chinese: 五月天). Energy and Mayday met at a charity drive in Singapore, where MayDay agreed to compose a song for Energy. MayDay sings in the song and appears in the music video. "Defeat" (打敗) is written by Taiwanese singer/songwriter Chou Chuan-huing (Chinese: 周傳雄). He, too, sings on the track. The band's logo was revised despite having an iconic logo for the first five years. China's release of this album had two songs removed due to them being considered as "inappropriate content". One of those songs was Quick Kill, Energy's collaboration with MayDay. The band remarked in an interview that it was a "pity that the China audience don't get to enjoy the full album".
In 2007, Xiao Gang joined Energy to form a four-member group. Xiao Gang had previously helped Energy and K ONE to choreograph their dance routines, and reportedly is Penny's close friend. Energy described the addition of Xiao Gang as a move to make the band "more complete".
Energy's 2007 album Born To Be Bad (天生反骨) received generally positive reviews. Energy was praised for being more vocally sound and having unique musical ideas. The title track "Born To Be Bad" (天生反骨) received huge radio play and publicity because of its unique mix of hip-hop and rock. Energy's recording company initially didn't want the band to incorporate dance for this song, but Energy convinced them otherwise. For this dance, Energy created an exercise routine named the "Requires three thousand lives" (Chinese: 要你三千命). The lyrics of ballad "Stars" (星空) were entirely written by Joe and Ady. Another ballad, "Promise Me" (答應我) had a musical style similar to that of Energy's early years.
Members
Current
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of birth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Chinese | Romanized | Chinese | |
| Shuwei | 書偉 | Chang Shu Wei | 張書偉 | November 4, 1980 |
| KunDa | 坤達 | Hsieh Kun Da | 謝坤達 | March 18, 1982 |
| Edy | 阿弟 | Hsiao Ching Hung | 蕭景鴻 | July 21, 1982 |
| Ice | 小剛 | Tang Chen Kang | 唐振剛 | October 13, 1983 |
Former
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of birth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Chinese | Romanized | Chinese | |
| Milk | 牛奶 | Yeh Nai Wen | 葉乃文 | September 2, 1979 |
| Toro | Kuo Wei Yun | 郭葦昀 | October 2, 1981 | |
Discography
- Studio albums
- Energy! Come On! (2002)
- Invulnerable (2003)
- E3 (2003)
- Energy 4 Ever (2004)
- Hey You! (2004)
- Final Fantasy (2005)
- New Generation (2006)
- Born to Be Bad (2007)
References
External links
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