From left: Emily Song, Tia and Puff of Dream Girls, and Julian Chen, Nicky Wu and Alec Su of Xiao Hu Dui/Little Tigers. (Photo : www.dorian.com.tw/www.ent.sina.com.cn)
In Taiwan, there is one active girl group whose three members were initially budding actresses before jointly embarking on a singing career; on the other hand, the three members of a disbanded boy group individually established a flourishing acting career after they split up.
Breaking into the music scene in April 2011 via a self-titled debut album, Dream Girls is composed of Puff (Guo Xue Fu), Emily Song (Song Mi-Qin), and Tia (Li Yufen).
The group released their second album, “Girl’s Talk,” in Dec. 2012. It was followed by the 10-track album, “Beautiful Headlines,” in Dec. 2013.
Puff first graced the TV screen in Taiwan in a McDonald’s commercial, which opened a new door for her as Dorian Entertainment took her as one of its artists. She first tried acting via the Taiwanese TV series “Inborn Pair” (Dec. 13, 2011-April 9, 2012).
The 27-year-old self-confessed lover of cats got included for three consecutive times in FHM Taiwan’s 100 Sexiest Women, claiming the number one spot since 2013.
Emily, the 32-year-old South Korean in the trio, made her TV debut via “Invincible Lee Pyung Kang” in 2009. She married Kevin Chen (Chen Kai Wen), a restaurant owner, in May 2015.
Tia, 30, played a small part in the 2006 TV drama, “New Stars in the Night”; received a supporting role in another TV drama, “Office Girls,” in 2011; and, finally, had her biggest TV break through a lead role in “Fall in Love with Me” in 2014.
Their last concert tour was in Dec. 2013 in different parts of Taiwan. Taiwanese broadcasting network HitFM’s Hito Music Awards named the Dream Girls the “Most Popular Group” in 2014.
Now, anyone remembers the ‘80s-‘90s phenomenal pop sensation, Xiao Hu Dui or Little Tigers?
Julian Chen (Chen Zhi Peng) and Nicky Wu (Wu Qi Long) were both 17 and Alec Su (Su You-peng) was 15 when they joined the group. The dynamic trio was active from 1988-1991 and from 1994-1995.
Their first and last acting gig as a trio was in “Ranger Children,” aka “Wandering Heroes” (1990).
After Little Tigers disbanded, the members established their own separate acting careers both in TV and film. Chen even appeared in a number of stage plays.
Their paths crossed, nonetheless.
Su and Wu appeared together in “Forever Friends” (1996) opposite a 22-year-old Takeshi Kaneshiro and a 21-year-old Jimmy Lin.
Chen and Su got reunited in the first season (1998) of the TV drama, “My Fair Princess,” which starred a 16-year-old Fan Bingbing.
Chen, the “Handsome Tiger,” now 44, was last seen in the movie, “Ju Ke Zhen” (2013).
Su, the “Obedient/Good/Well-behaved Tiger,” now 41, made his producing debut in 2014 via “Destiny by Love.” He played an emperor in the 2014 wuxia film, “The Four III.”
Wu, the “Thunderbolt Tiger," now 44 and husband to Chinese actress Cecilia Liu (Liu Shishi), has so far produced five TV series and was last seen on the big screen in “Dreaming Back to Ludingji” (2011).
The ultimate reunion of Little Tigers happened in 2010. They shared the stage in a production number for CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala.
In the entertainment industry, it seems that talented individuals will always find a place for themselves.
