Mirror: Hong Kong Music Icons Discuss English-Language Debut, Ok-Pop

To the 12 members of Mirror, forming a boy band and changing into Hong Kong’s Canto-pop singing sensation upon profitable a actuality present in 2018 was a dream come true. 5 years on, the boys are dreaming larger than ever.

“A few of us actually wish to be part of Marvel,” Mirror member Edan Lui tells Selection in an interview. The assertion could come throughout as a joke. However no, it’s not, as fellow member Anson Lo, Lui’s co-star within the 2021 hit ViuTV BL drama “Ossan’s Love Hong Kong,” echoes: “We wish to get on some speak reveals within the U.S. as effectively, or any Hollywood films, TV, dwell performances. Sure, please invite us.”

The band’s Hollywood wishlist didn’t emerge simply out of the blue. It got here after the recording of their English debut single “Rumours,” a catchy EDM-influenced tune that has simply been launched worldwide Friday (March 17), together with a storied music video that follows the 12 members — Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Ian Chan, Jeremy Lee, Keung To, Tiger Yau, Lui and Lo — on a secret mission after a mysterious woman, jammed with dance sequences set within the Hong Kong streetscape.

The discharge is a part of an unique cope with Sony Music Leisure to launch Mirror into the worldwide music house. “Rumours” is helmed by Swedish songwriters and producers Chris Meyer and Alex Ludwig Lindell, whose credit included Ok-pop teams Tremendous Junior and SHINee. Vocal producer Andrew Choi and Grammy award-nominated mixing engineer Ken Lewis are among the many supporting A&R workforce working alongside producer Edward Chan. 

The end result is a tune with a extra mature sound than Mirror’s earlier group hits akin to “Ignited,” “Boss” and “Warrior.” Band members added that they’d assist from a voice coach for his or her efficiency in English, which proved to be a problem for them as they grew up talking Cantonese in Hong Kong.

The discharge of “Rumours” additionally proved to be a serious step ahead for Mirror after final yr’s stunning incident the place an enormous video display screen fell from the ceiling throughout their Hong Kong live performance. The intense incident not solely injured two dancers, one severely, it additionally abruptly ended the group’s live performance collection and shelved the band’s preliminary abroad launch plans. Band members suspended work for a couple of month to course of the unlucky occasions.

“It was a really troublesome time for us, for dancers, and for Hong Kong residents. We actually wanted the time to digest what occurred. We couldn’t perceive why or the way it may occur,” Lui says.

“We tried to cope with our feelings first,” provides Stanley Yau. “And through our time without work, we strived to continue learning new expertise or polish our crafts as a part of the method.” 

“An important factor for us proper now could be to get again on stage. We have to be sturdy for our followers. They waited for us to make a comeback,” Lo notes.

Mirror rose to stardom to start with of 2021 after band member Keung To grew to become the youngest to win the coveted My Favourite Male Singer Award and My Favourite Tune Award on the Final Tune Chart Awards Presentation. It got here at a time when Hong Kong was enduring a difficult political and social surroundings, following a collection of political turmoil and hard COVID restrictions. The band’s success introduced a glimpse of hope to the Hong Kong public.

And Mirror is credited for reviving folks’s pursuits in Cantonese-language pop music, which fell out of favor for almost a decade, when many stars had ventured into the huge mainland Chinese language market and targeted on Mando-pop (songs carried out in Mandarin).

Music-wise, Mirror’s English debut won’t sound too totally different from the Ok-pop dance tunes which have dominated the mainstream, the band admits. However by way of how the band works, Mirror is adamant that they stand in stark distinction to their Ok-pop contemporaries. 

“Not like typical Ok-pop idols, we aren’t confined to a specific good picture or to look a sure manner,” Lui says. “We are able to all the time make humorous faces, make enjoyable of others throughout our interviews, and even act a bit loopy. We are able to simply preserve laughing.”

Though Mirror is primarily a pop group, every member has particular person initiatives, too. Jeremy Lee, Jer Lau, and Ian Chan, for instance, have every launched their very own singles throughout the previous month. 

Some are additionally concerned in movie and tv initiatives. The band’s chief Lokman Yeung (“The Manner We Dance”) made an look in Berlin for the world premiere of Soi Cheang’s crime thriller “Mad Destiny,” wherein he performs one of many essential characters. The movie can also be one in all two curtain-raisers for the Hong Kong Worldwide Movie Pageant, opening on March 30. 

The previous week additionally noticed Mirror attend the Hong Kong FilMart for the announcement of their new movie initiatives, together with crime drama “The Moon Thieves” starring Lo and Lui, who’re presently taking pictures the movie in Japan. All 12 members can even make their group movie debut in sci-fi hero fantasy “We 12,” produced by their administration MakerVille, a subsidiary of PCCW.