Vanness Wu
Vanness Wu (Chinese: 吳建豪; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô͘ Kiàn-hô; born August 7, 1978) is a Taiwanese-American singer and actor. He was a member of the Taiwanese boyband F4 and the Korean Mandopop duo Kangta & Vanness.
Vanness Wu | |||||||||||||||
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吳建豪 | |||||||||||||||
 Wu at the Joyful Family Music Event in 2012 | |||||||||||||||
| Born | August 7, 1978 Santa Monica, California, United States | ||||||||||||||
| Other names | Van Ness Wu | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Corona del Mar High School | ||||||||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–present | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Arissa Cheo
(m. 2013; div. 2018) | ||||||||||||||
| Parent | Mimi Yang (mother) | ||||||||||||||
| Musical career | |||||||||||||||
| Origin | Taiwan | ||||||||||||||
| Genres | |||||||||||||||
| Labels | |||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 吳建豪 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 吴建豪 | ||||||||||||||
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| Website | Vanness Wu on Facebook | ||||||||||||||
Early life
Wu was born in Santa Monica, California. After graduating from Corona Del Mar High School, he moved to Taiwan to pursue a career in entertainment. He learned to breakdance as a teenager and competed in numerous dance competitions throughout the 90s[1] and featured in the breakdancing-themed 1998 music video for Jason Nevin's remix of Run-D.M.C.'s "It's Like That".
Career
Early career with F4
Wu starred as Mei Zuo (美作), one of the F4 members, in the Taiwanese drama series Meteor Garden and its sequel, Meteor Garden II. At the conclusion of the series, they continued to perform together and released three studio albums as the boy band F4. In 2002, Wu became the second F4 member, after Vic Chou, to release his debut solo album, Body Will Sing. The track, "I Hate Myself" is listed at number 95 on Hit Fm Taiwan's Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart for 2002.[2] The album was awarded as one of the "Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year" at the 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.[3]
In 2003, he performed a Mandarin Chinese rap in a version Beyoncé's single "Crazy in Love", featured on the Asian special edition of her album Dangerously in Love.
In 2004, Wu made his film debut in the Hong Kong film Star Runner and was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Newcomer.
In 2006, he collaborated with Korean singer Kangta, forming Kangta & Vanness. The duo released the album Scandal.
In 2008, Wu was announced as the opening act and special guest for Kanye West's "Glow in the Dark" concert in Shanghai. They performed the hit song “Good Life”[4]
Solo career success and acting career
Wu has appeared in several Taiwanese dramas as well as motion pictures. In 2009, he starred as Ren Guang Xi in Autumn's Concerto, one of the highest-rated Taiwanese idol drama. He also released his first Japanese single "Only", which entered Top 10 of the Oricon Chart, as well as another single "I Don't Wanna Lose You".
In 2010, Wu became the executive producer for the television series Year of the Rain.
Wu's third Chinese solo album C'est La V was released July 2011 under Universal Music Taiwan. It features collaborations with international artistes such as Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic, as well as Bruno Mars and Justin Michael who wrote the track "Knockin".
Besides directing, producing, acting, and singing, Wu is also the creator/designer of his own jewelry line 3.V.O.7. He is also the creative director of Reebok (greater China division).
In 2012, Wu won the "Best Crossover Singer" at the 16th Chinese Global Music Charts.
In 2013, Wu joined Jiangsu TV's diving variety show Stars in Danger: The High Dive, and won the silver medal.
In January 2015, Wu was announced to be one of the judges of the talent show Asia's Got Talent, along with Indonesian-French singer Anggun, Canadian musician David Foster, and former Spice Girls member Melanie C, which aired from March to May on AXN Asia.[5]
In July 2015, Wu returned to the Philippines after a decade of his first visit for the special show for the #LiveinLevis event sponsored by Levi's in line with the launch of the Women's Denim Collection for Fall 2015. Wu's performance was a way of thanking the brand's fans and style seekers.[6][7]
In 2016, it was announced that Wu would star in his first Chinese television series The Princess Weiyoung alongside Tiffany Tang, playing the 5th century prince and then Emperor Tuoba Yu of the Northern Wei Dynasty. He was also in the science fiction film Pili Back. In the same year, he participated with his sister Melody in the third season of The Amazing Race China, based on CBS's reality program of the same name, where they were eliminated on the ninth leg and finished 4th.
In 2019. he starred in Ip Man 4: The Finale alongside Donnie Yen where he played Hartman Wu, a U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant and Bruce Lee's student.
Filmography
Television series
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Meteor Garden | 流星花園 | Mei Zuo | Live-action adaptation of Japanese manga Boys Over Flowers |
| Meteor Rain | 流星雨 | Mei Zuo | Mei Zuo's chapter | |
| Peach Girl | 蜜桃女孩 | Ah Li | Live-action adaptation of Japanese manga Peach Girl | |
| 2002 | Meteor Garden II | 流星花園2 | Mei Zuo | |
| Come to My Place | 來我家吧 | JJ | Live-action adaptation of Japanese manga Uchi ni Oideyo by Hidenori Hara | |
| 2004 | Say Yes Enterprise | 求婚事務所 | Song Zhenkai | Story 01: Cinderella |
| 2008 | Wish to See You Again | 這裡發現愛 | Leo | |
| 2009 | Autumn's Concerto | 下一站,幸福 | Ren Guang Xi | |
| 2010 | Year of the Rain | 那年，雨不停國 | Ah Huang's cousin | Guest star, executive producer |
| 2011 | Material Queen | 拜金女王 | Cai Jiahao | |
| 2012 | Ti Amo Chocolate | 愛上巧克力 | Fang Jiahua | |
| 2016 | The Princess Weiyoung | 锦绣未央 | Tuoba Yu | [8] |
| 2018 | Love Won't Wait | 如果，爱 | Song Qiaozhi | [9] |
Film
| Year | Title | Alternate | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Star Runner | 少年阿虎 The Kumite (Canada, USA) | Bond Cheung (Zheng Jianbang) | Film debut Nominated―Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Newcomer |
| 2005 | Dragon Squad | 猛龍 Dragon Heat (USA) | Wang Sun-ho | |
| 2006 | Cars | 汽車總動員 | Lightning McQueen | Voice-acting, Taiwanese version only. |
| 2007 | Kung Fu Fighter | 功夫無敵 | Ma Li | |
| 2008 | Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon | 三國之見龍卸甲 | Guan Xing | |
| 2009 | LaMB | Dr. Jack Griswold | English voice-acting. | |
| Kung Fu Chefs | 功夫廚神 | Long Jianyi | ||
| 2010 | The Haunting Lover | 借室還魂 | Liang Guang | |
| 1040 Movie | Himself | Exclusive interview. | ||
| 2011 | The Road Less Traveled | 樂之路 | Mike | Produced by Smash and Grab (co-founded by Vanness). |
| 2012 | Baseballove | 球愛天空 | Lin Chenghui | |
| 2013 | Machi Action | 變身 | Cameo appearance. | |
| 2014 | Girls | 閨蜜 | Sky (Jiu Tian) | |
| 2015 | Dragon Blade | 天將雄獅 | Cameo appearance. | |
| Monk Comes Down the Mountain | 道士下山 | Cui Daorong | ||
| 2016 | Lulu the Movie | 露露的电影 | Himself | Exclusive interview. |
| 2017 | A-Choo | 打噴嚏 | Alternative title: My Lover is a Superman (我的情敌是超人). | |
| Pili Back | 霹雳再现 | |||
| 2019 | Undercover Punch and Gun | Hou Wu | ||
| Ip Man 4: The Finale | 葉問4 | Hartman Wu |
Variety and reality show
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Stars in Danger: The High Dive | 星跳水立方 | Diving variety show Qualified into finals |
| 2015 | Asia's Got Talent | — | Judge (Season 1) |
| 2016 | The Amazing Race China 3 | 极速前进第三季 | With sister Melody |
| 2019 | Street Dance of China | 就是街舞 | Judge (Season 2) |
| 2022 | Call Me by Fire | 披荊斬棘 | Season 2 |
Discography
Studio album
| Album# | Title | Track List | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Body Will Sing (身體會唱歌)
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"CD + CD Extra" version also featured "Ask for More" by F4 |
| 2nd | V.DUBB
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Japanese release featured a Japanese version of "Wanna Love Somebody" as Track 11, plus a Japanese version of "Wanna Love Somebody (Justin Michael Remix)" as Track 12 |
| 3rd | In Between (New + Best Selection)
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| 4th | Reflections
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First Japanese album |
| 5th | V
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Second Japanese album
Better was written by Bruno Mars |
| 6th | C'est La V
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Knockin' was written and produced by Bruno Mars
有你在 was featured in TV Drama "Material Queen" Is This All was written and composed by Ryan Tedder, and was also the theme song from TV Drama "Material Queen". |
| 7th | Different Man
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Love Overtime is a tribute to Michael Jackson and Prince | |
| 8th | #MWHYB
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| 9th | Vanness Best
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| 10th | Take a Ride
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Singles
| Single# | Title | Track List |
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| 1st | Only
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| 2nd | I Don't Wanna Lose You
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| 3rd | Reason
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| 4th | No More Tears
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| 5th | Soldier
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| 6th | Endless Dance
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| 7th | Summertime Love - Single
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With Kangta and Vanness
- 2006 – Scandal – Kangta & Vanness Collaboration
Other collaborations
- Beyoncé – "Crazy in Love" (Asian releases only) [2004]
- Coco Lee – "Hip Hop Tonight" [2006]
- Brian Joo – "Everything to Me" [2010] – 3rd Wave Music – I WILL BE THERE Album – www.3rdwavemusic.org
- Sammi Cheng – "Forgiveness" (In both English and Chinese) [2010]
- Lee Junho – "Undefeated" [2012] (M/V)
- Avicii – "Levels" (Mandarin Version) [2013]
- David Foster, Anggun and Melanie C – "Let's Groove" (charity single for the victims of Nepal earthquake) [2015]
- Danson Tang, Selina Ren, Diamond Zhang, Madoka Yonezawa, Siwon, Yao Yao, Rainie Yang, Amber Kuo, Wayne Huang – "Blessing (Chinese edition)" [2015]
References
- "1997年VanNess吳建豪參加街舞比賽影片". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021.
- (in Chinese) Hit-Fm年度百首單曲 2002 (#51 to 100) Retrieved 16 April 2011
- IFPI Hong Kong 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Archived July 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 19 April 2011
- "China Plus".
- "'Asia's Got Talent' judges announced". The Philippine Star. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- Lejano, Don (August 1, 2015). "IN PHOTOS: F4's Van Ness Wu returns to Manila". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- Tantuco, Vernise (July 31, 2015). "IN PHOTOS: Vanness Wu performs in the Philippines". Rappler. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- 吴建豪加盟《锦绣未央》 饰演腹黑王爷拓跋余. Netease (in Chinese). October 20, 2015.
- 张柏芝霸气回归荧屏 携手吴建豪演绎《如果，爱》 (in Chinese). Sina Corp. May 8, 2017.
- "Vanness Wu". chinesemov.com. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- "Official Movie Site – VanNess Wu". 1040movie.com. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
External links
- Vanness Wu on Facebook
- Vanness Wu at IMDb