Kang Ta Forms Group with Taiwanese Singer Vanness Wu
Singer Kang Ta has formed a group with singer Vanness Wu (Wu Jianhao in Chinese), a member of the Taiwanese group "F4," with the purpose of sweeping the Asian music market together.
The new group "KANGTA & VANNESS" will release its first album, which was produced by South Korean producers, across Asia in mid-May.
Music fans are excited at the fact that two top stars in Asia have joined efforts. The collaboration between Kang and Wu was anticipated when the "Golden Melody Awards" ceremony, the largest music awards ceremony in Taiwan, was held on May 8, 2004.
With the awards ceremony giving momentum, they became friends and promised to "engage in new kinds of activities to surprise all of Asia together." Since last year, they began systematic preparations for their joint activities.
An official from SM Entertainment attached importance to the collaboration between these two Asian stars, saying, "Their formation of a group is not a mere outcome of cooperation between two big stars in Asia, but has presented a new formula for activities through cooperation between a hallyu star and a star from the Chinese-speaking region. Their cooperation is also very meaningful in terms of cultural exchange, as they are expected to provide fans all over Asia with high quality music content produced with Korea's outstanding technology."
Taken from KBS Global Media
Singers Seven and Kangta Achieve Success at MAA
Singer Seven gave a successful performance as a representative singer from Korea at the MTV Asia Awards (MAA) 2006. At the same event, the duo “Kangta & Vanness,” comprising Korean singer Kangta and Taiwanese singer Vanness Wu, a member of the group F4, made its debut.
Seven won the Favorite Artist Award at the event, which was held at the Royal Paragon Hall in Siam Paragon in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 6 at 8 p.m. Singer Rain was last year’s winner of the award.
The MAA is one of the largest music festivals in Asia, bringing Asian singers together.
With 4,000 fans present, the show was hosted by Taiwanese singer Wang Lee Hom and Kelly Rowland, a member of the group Destiny’s Child.
The Favorite Artist Korea was announced immediately after the opening act, attesting to the popularity of Korean pop music in the Asian region. Vanness Wu introduced the winner, saying that he was honored to give an award involving Korean music, which is the most popular these days.
Seven expressed his gratitude in English to his Korean and Asian fans.
He was the fourth singer to give a celebratory performance at the show. While introducing him, host Wang Lee Hom said he expected the Korean singer to give a performance "as hot as Korean kimchi." Clad in gold, Seven indeed presented a sensational performance.
Seven spellbound not only his fans but also the entire audience with powerful dancing and singing. He presented “Passion” and the remix version of “I Know it.”
Another Korean singer, Sean, who handed out the Style Award, said that officials from MTV praised Seven after the show and host Kelly Rowland was impressed by the explosive response he received.
The passionate response was presaged by the fact that some 3,000 fans gathered at Don Muang International Airport when Seven arrived in Bangkok on May 5.
Meanwhile, the duo Kangta & Vanness made its official debut at the MAA 2006. In the closing performance, they presented the title song “Scandal,” combining Kangta’s vocals with Vanness Wu’s rapping.
In addition to Seven and Kangta, singers from other countries appeared in the MAA 2006, such as Con, Hoobastank, Lee Ryan and Tata Young.
Major winners included Ricky Martin (Favorite Male Artist), Kelly Clarkson (Favorite Female Artist), the Back Street Boys (Favorite Pop Act), Green Day (Favorite Rock Act), Con (Favorite Video), and Simon Webbe (Favorite Breakthrough Artist).
MTV Korea will air the MAA 2006 show on May 20 at 3:30 p.m.