Vivian Hsu

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徐若瑄
Vivian Hsu
Image:VivianHsu.jpg
Vivian 徐若瑄
Info
Origin Taiwan, 台中
Birthday March 19, 1975
Record label(s) Avex Trax

Vivian Hsu (Hanzi: 徐若瑄, pinyin: Xú Ruòxuān, Wade-Giles: Hsú Jòhsuān, Japanese: ビビアン・スー) born March 19 1975 in Taichung, Taiwan, is a famous singer, actress, and model who has worked mainly in Taiwan and Japan.

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Beginnings

The second of three children, Vivian was born 徐淑娟 (py. Xú Shújuān), and used this name until she began modelling nude. Her parents divorced when she was a child. She attended Taipei Jianxing Elementary School and Taipei Shulinguo Junior High School.

She got her start in entertainment after winning first place in a "Talented Beautiful Girl" contest held by Taiwan CTS TV in 1990. At this point, she was working by delivering food on her bicycle, and her customers began to recongise her from her television appearances. The same year she joined a musical duo named 少女隊 (py. Shàonǔ Dùi, en. Girls Team). They released two albums, in 1991 and 1992, then broke up. Following this, Vivian got her start in modelling.

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Modelling

As a model, she produced two nude photobooks: 天使心 (py. Tiānshǐ Xīn, en. Angel Heart) and Venus.

Tianshi Xin, published in 1995, was shot in Sicily. In the United States, the title of this book is often mistranslated simply as 'Angel', which may be related to the mistranslation of one of Vivian's films.

Venus (ISBN 4-8211-2097-6), published on July 7, 1996, had separate runs in Taiwan and Japan, with five of the photos being stricken entirely from the Taiwanese version of the book.

It has been argued by Dr Josephine Ho (PDF) that Tianshi Xin "unwittingly opened a new door to self-expression for teenage girls" and represented the beginning of a new image for teenage sexuality in Taiwan. Sociological issues aside, both of Vivian's nude photobooks sold very well and are now considered collector's items.

Apart from her two main photobooks, Vivian appeared nude in two Taiwanese movies: 赤裸天使 (py. Chìluǒ Tiānshǐ, en. Barenaked Angel) in 1994, and 魔鬼天使 (py. Móguǐ Tiānshǐ, en. Devil Angel) in 1995. Chiluo Tianshi has been officially translated in international versions as 'Angel Heart', which may explain why Tianshi Xin is often referred to simply as 'Angel'.

Though she gave up nude work after 1996, Vivian has continued to model for designers such as Hang Ten and Gucci, and has modelled in all three of her brief, autobiographical books: Earth Onigiri (2001), Privacy (2001, ISBN 4-88745-060-5), and Wo Ai Taiwan (2002). In addition, most of her musical albums contain substantial inserts featuring new modelling work.

When modelling, her official vital statistics were as follows:

  • Figure: Chest 85cm, Waist 57cm, Hips 85cm
  • Height: 161cm
  • Weight: 45kg
  • Blood Type: A
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Music

Vivian released her first solo single in 1995. She released her first full-length album, 天使想 (py. Tiānshǐ Xiǎng, jp. Tenshi Sou, en. Angel Dreaming) in 1996. Shortly thereafter, she took a speed course in Korean, and released a Korean version of the album titled 天使美少女 (kr. Cheonsa Misonyeo, py. Tiānshǐ Měishàonǔ, jp. Tenshi Bishoujo, en. Angel Prettygirl). Unusually, neither of Vivian's first two albums was sung in her native language.

In 1997, with two Japanese comedians -- Kyoya Nanami and Amazon -- and a second female vocalist known as 'Keddy', she formed a band known as the Black Biscuits. Between 1997 and 1999, they released three hit singles and a full-length album, Life, but shortly thereafter the group disbanded. Their music suffered somewhat because neither of the men in the group possessed good singing voices.

During this period, Vivian also released two more solo albums: 大麻煩 (py. Dà Máfán, en. Big Trouble) in 1998, and 不敗の戀人 (py. Bùbài de Liànrén, en. Undefeatable Lover) in 1999. She followed Bubai de Lianren with a Japanese translation, Fuhai no Koibito, in 2000.

Later that same year, she released another new album, 假扮的天使 (py. Jiǎbàn de Tiānshǐ, en. Pretend Angel).

In 2001, she formed The d.e.p with Masahide Sakuma, Gota Yashiki, Masami Tsuchiya and Mick Karn. The band was short-lived: by the end of the year they had released all the music they ever would. This amounted to two singles and a full-length album, 地球的病気 -We Are the d.e.p-.

Over the next two years, she released a few more singles, including, alongside Kazuma Endo, Moment, the second opening theme to Gundam Seed, followed in 2003 by her next solo album, 我愛你 x4 the secret to happiness is love. Her most recent album is 狠狠愛 (py. Hěn Hěn Ài), released in April 2005.

Vivian's music, especially in her later work, covers a great range of genres. Included are slow love songs, R&B, hard rock, and of course J-pop. She has even dabbled in rap. This, combined with the fact that she is fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and Japanese, makes her a very versatile artist.

Vivian is also an accomplished lyricist. Her lyric-writing talent first gained serious notice when she completed several songs for Taiwan's R&B singer/songwriter Jay Chou. By proving that she's not just another pretty idol, but a very capable artist, Vivian surprised both her critics and adorned fans. She continued to collaborate with Jay on his second and third albums after his triumphant self-titled debut, and co-wrote songs for other pop performers, such as Vanness Wu and Gigi Leung. Her lyric work is much praised for its clever and straightforward simplicity.

Some Jay Chou songs that she wrote lyrics for are as follows:

  • Adorable Woman 可愛女人
  • Can't Say 開不了口
  • Istanbul 伊斯坦堡
  • Love's Cliff 愛進懸崖
  • Simple Love 簡單愛
  • Tornado 龍捲風
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Acting

Vivian has appeared in a number of movies and television programs both in Taiwan and in Japan. Her debut films are Chiluo Tianshi in 1994 and Mogui Tianshi in 1995 (see Modelling section). Both of these Taiwanese films were produced with low budgets, feature nude work by Vivian, and have achieved cult status in the Asian VCD market.

She also has some experience as a seiyu (voice actress), having voiced Aisha in Gundam Seed for three episodes, as well as Princess Morebucks in the Taiwanese Powerpuff Girls. Perhaps her most recongisable role to Westerners was opposite Jackie Chan in The Accidental Spy.

She played the role of Chao Jia Le in Love Storm (2003), alongside Vic Chou and Ken Chu. She also composed and sang the opening theme for this series, 決定愛你 (py. Juédìng Ài Nǐ, en. Decide to Love You), which was released as a single in 2003.

As with many actors and actresses, she appears from time to time in commercials and as spokesperson for various causes. A complete list of these uncreditable roles (through 2002) can be found at this career timeline.

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Complete Discography

See also Category:Vivian Hsu albums.

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External links


zh:徐若瑄

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