Prince Chiu (born 14 April 1989) is a Taiwanese singer, actor, model, and television host. He is a member of a trio boyband, JPM,"JPM Official Facebook account" .Facebook.Retrieved 2013-06-09. with Liao Xiao Jie/Liljay"Liao Xiao Jie Official Facebook account" .Facebook.Retrieved 2013-06-11. and his younger brother, Mao Di."Qiu Mao Di Official Facebook Account".Facebook.Retrieved 2013-06-11."Wang Zi Official Facebook account".Facebook.Retrieved 2013-06-11.
He is a former member of Lollipop, a Taiwanese Mandopop boyband, which consisted of six other members: Zhuang Ao Quan/Owodog, Liao Xiao Jie/Liljay, Yang Xiao Yu/Fabien, Liao Wei Lian/William, and Liu A-wei."Formation of JPM" . Lollipop (a.k.a. Bang Bang Tang) .Retrieved.2013-05-20."Lollipop F Website in Gold Typhoon" .GoldTyphoon.Retrieved 2013-06-11. They were all selected from Channel [V] Taiwan's reality show Bang Bang Tang (BBT 模范棒棒堂), which sought to create new male artists in the Taiwanese entertainment business.模范棒棒堂. Channel [V]. Taiwan, 2006. Television.
Lollipop signed their contracts under Gold Typhoon (formerly EMI Capitol) and Channel [V] Taiwan in 2006."棒棒糖" .Chinaw3.Retrieved 2013-06-11. However, their contracts with Channel [V] Taiwan terminated at the end of 2009."Repackaged boy group JPM gets ready to launch" .Cpopaccess.Retrieved 2013-06-11. From 2010-2015, Chiu worked with A Legend Star Entertainment Corp., a company founded by the former Channel [V] Taiwan director, Andy Chang."A Legend Star Entertainment Official Facebook Account".Facebook.Retrieved 2013-06-11. From 2015 onwards, he signed under HIM International Music.
Early life Chiu was born in Taichung City, Taiwan on April 14, 1989."Wang Zi's bio " .JpopAsia.Retrieved 2013-06-12/ His younger brother, Mao Di, was a former member of Choc7, and is currently one of Chiu's co-members in JPM, a mandopop band under Sony Music Taiwan. He attended Zhuangjing Senior Vocational School, where he graduated high school. After graduating, he continued studying English at Hsing Wu University. He later transferred to Tungnan University."JPM" .Hewiki.Retrieved.2013-05-23"邱勝翊".Chinese Wikipedia.Retrieved 2013-06-12.
Career Pre-debut Chiu was a bright student throughout his academic life. He participated in various extracurriculars, ranging from sports to school clubs.毛弟 王子私生活大突击. 2006. Variety Show.
In middle school, he joined Taiwan's track and field team and placed 9th in a 100-meter race. He also learned Taekwondo, which he achieved a red belt in.
His stage name Prince (or Wang Zi) was coined by Andy Zhang, the former Channel [V]'s director, when he took the role of a prince in a Shakespearean play in high school. When he first entered the entertainment industry, Zhang suggested the name Prince to Chiu because he thought the name was both catchy and easy to remember."JPM’s Prince Always in the Spotlight" .jaynestars.com.Retrieved.2013-05-23
2006: Formation of Lollipop In 2006, Chiu attended the Bang Bang Tang audition (BBT) in Taipei and was selected to be in the "Bang Bang Tang" variety show. On November 27, the six members of the boy group Lollipop were revealed."邁向演藝聖堂 棒棒堂六男確定!!". 模范棒棒堂. Season 1. Episode 76. 2006-11-27 Chiu was the second member to be revealed,"男孩徵選北區特集". 模范棒棒堂. Season 1. Episode 2. 2006. after Liao Xiao Jie."男孩徵選北區特集". 模范棒棒堂. Season 1. Episode 1. 2006-08-14. Lollipop officially signed a contract with EMI Capitol on December 2, 2006,"棒棒糖" .Chinaw3.Retrieved 2013-06-11. and on December 9, 2006, the group performed publicly for the first time."Colorful Lollipop (EP+DVD)- Lollipop Introduction" .Yesasia.Retrieved 2013-06-11.
2007–08: Acting, Hosting, and Music debut
Lollipop's first EP, Colorful LollipopLollipop. Colorful Lollipop. 2007. CD. was released on January 26, 2007, with six different covers, each featuring a member of the group. Four months later, on May 25, a second EP titled Summer's First ExperienceLollipop. Summer's First Experience. 2007. CD. was released along with a photobook compiled with photos taken in Okinawa, as well as a DVD. Lyrics were written by Qiu and himself for the song "Summer's First Experience."
During the summer of 2007, Chiu and the other members of Lollipop made their acting debut in the drama Brown Sugar Macchiato,"黑糖瑪奇朵電視小說" .Books.com.Retrieved 2013-06-11. a collaboration with Hey Girl. The first episode was aired in Taiwan on July 15, 2007.黑糖瑪奇朵.FTV. Taiwan, 2007. Television. Later, Lollipop admits on Kangxi Lai Le that the drama had been more of an introduction of the two groups instead of a major acting challenge, as the members were told to act like themselves, and that many subplots were explained only briefly due to the large number of main characters."棒棒堂怎麼可能紅到香港去". 康熙來了. 2007-10-03. After thirteen episodes, the drama ended on October 7, 2007. They released an official soundtrack, then, with songs from Lollipop and Hey Girl.Lollipop & Hey Girl. Brown Sugar Macchiato OST. 2007.CD. The said television drama allowed Chiu to receive the Best Onscreen Couple with Gui Gui(Emma Wu), a member of Hey Girl. .SOSO.Retrieved.2013-05-24
Chiu also starred in the drama They Kiss Again as the older Ah Nuo (阿諾) or Nobu.They Kiss Again. Dir. Chu Yu-ning. Perf. Ariel Lin, Joe Cheng, and Jiro Wang. 2007. TV Series.
On September 26, 2007, Lollipop visited Hong Kong to promote their television soundtrack Brown Sugar Macchiato. This was their first overseas promotional activity ever since their debut, and a huge fan turnout caused a great commotion at the shopping mall where they were having their autograph session棒棒堂襲港Fans迫爆7層商場"LOLLIPOP香港行特別企劃". 模范棒棒堂. Season 1. Episode 308. 2006-10-17. At the same year, Lollipop began hosting their own show Lollipop Gyashan (LOLLIPOP哪裡怕)"小女孩孤單的煩惱". LOLLIPOP哪裡怕. Episode 1. 2007-10-27. on October 27 until April 19, 2008, when the show stopped airing."小女孩孤單的煩惱". LOLLIPOP哪裡怕. 2008-04-19.
Lollipop's debut album Gyashan (哪裡怕) was released on December 28, 2007.Lollipop. 哪裡怕. 2007. CD. Gyashan entered Mandarin charts in the number one position, outselling F4's album Waiting for You – Await Your Love (在這裡等你) which was released on the same day.Album sales (week of 28 December 2007) Liao contributed lyrics to three of the ten songs in this album. On January 26, 2008, a year after the release of their first EP, Lollipop held its debut concert at the Taipei Arena."夢想出發 閃耀小巨蛋演唱會 (DVD)" .Yesasia.Retrieved 2013-06-11. The concert DVD was released on June 6, 2008, breaking chart records with sales rates of more than 35%.5 Music Taiwan Week 24 chart The DVD has topped the charts for a period of one month since.G-Music Taiwan Week 27 chart5 Music Taiwan Week 25 chart
2008–09: Graduation from BBT, I Am Legend Album, tours and Acting Lollipop had been appearing regularly on Bang Bang Tang since August 14, 2006. With Channel [V]'s decision to select a new batch of boys and create a second season, Lollipop and most of the other members "graduated" from Bang Bang Tang after their last performances as members of the show."畢業升級總評比 (上)". 模范棒棒堂. Season 1. Episode 529. 2008-08-25."畢業升級總評比 (中)". 模范棒棒堂. Season 1. Episode 530. 2008-08-26. Their last official episode aired on August 29, 2008, marking the end of the first season."棒棒堂二軍正選名單公佈 (下)". 模范棒棒堂. Season 1. Episode 533. 2008-08-29. In total, the members of Lollipop had participated in more than 500 episodes of the show.棒棒堂. Taiwan, 2007-2008. Television
After graduation from Bang Bang Tang television show, Chiu had been busy filming The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries. He was cast as the main lead, Linghu Cong (令狐聰), with Albee Hwang from July 26 to October 18, 2008. On October 3, 2008, the original soundtrack was released by Gold Typhoon."The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries TV Original Soundtrack (OST) (Limited Edition) (Autographed Version)".Yesasia.Retrieved 2013-06-12. In this album, Chiu wrote and sang the ending song for the series entitled Sorry (對不起 Dui Bu Qi).Lollipop & Hey Girl.The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries.2008.CD Two editions were released for the soundtrack, one being a 10,000 limited edition."The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries TV Original Soundtrack (OST) (Version 2)" .Yesasia.Retrieved 2013-06-12.
On December 6, 2008, Lollipop performed four songs with themes of wushu at the 45th Golden Horse Awards ceremony.第四十五屆金馬獎頒獎典禮暨星光大道衛視電影台獨家直播
In 2009, Lollipop made its first lyric contributions to other artists, which are included in the mini album of the group Choc7,"Choc7" .Jpopasia.Retrieved 2013-06-12. composed of seven members selected from the same show. Chiu wrote Too Young(太青春) and I'm Stupid(我太笨).Choc7. Too Young. 2009. CD.
Lollipop's second album I am Legend"I Am Legend (Limited Edition)".Yesasia.Retrieved 2013-06-12. was released on June 19, 2009. Chiu contributed the lyrics to three songs in the album.Lollipop. I Am Legend. 2009. CD. A concert tour in Asia with the same name commenced in Hong Kong Coliseum on July 4–5, 2009.棒棒堂2009《我是傳奇》亞洲巡迴演唱會七月開唱 While promoting I am Legend on several Taiwanese variety shows, including Kangxi Lai Le, 100% Entertainment, Azio Superstar, etc., Lollipop created a series of dance performances specifically for the show hosts of each show, thus completing a mini TV tour.
Aside from music career, he has also starred on his first film entitled Love (愛到底 - 第六號瀏海) with his brother, Mao Di.愛到底(第六號瀏海). 2009.
Chiu lived with the other members of Lollipop from 2006 to 2009. Due to disturbances caused by fans gathering outside their apartment, Lollipop had to move several times since their debut and had once lived in an apartment rented to them by BBT show host Fan Fan in Taipei.棒棒堂摸黑搬家 甩不掉跟蹤粉絲 However, at the end of 2009, Chiu has moved away from Lollipop's apartment and is now living with Liao Xiao Jie and Qiu Mao Di.棒棒堂4對2 王子小傑攆出門
2010–11: A Legend Star contract & Formation of JPM Lollipop's artist management contract with Channel [V] Taiwan ended at the end of 2009. Former Lollipop members, Liao and himself had been undergoing a series of secret training for the past year after they had separated with the band in 2009. On July 8, 2010, the two of them released a single entitled Dance Can Be Replaced ("舞可取代")."2010-07-08 傳奇星facebook ~ 棒棒堂王子小傑[舞可取代]MV完整首播" . YouTube. Retrieved 2013-06-09. On September 10, they had their first concert at the Hong Kong Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Center to promote their single."王子&小傑香港開唱人氣火爆 苦練Jolin折手舞答謝粉絲" .Yahoo Taiwan.Retrieved 2013-06-09. In the end, their first single was successful as they received six awards at the end of the year, which includes "Popular Dance Song Award" and "Idol Award" by the "Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards Presentation","2010年度新城國語力頒獎禮得獎名單".Chinese Wikipedia."維基百科" .KKBox.Retrieved 2013-06-09. "Best Dance Song Award" and "Idol Award" by the "Seventh Hit Golden King Awards", and "Outstanding Dance Song Singers" and "Network Popular Singers" by the "Chinese Golden Melody Awards"."20100902 華語金曲獎2010盛典--王子 小傑獲獎" .56.Retrieved 2013-06-12.
On the day of A Legend Star Entertainment Corp.'''s first anniversary, Chiu and Liao Xiao Jie decided to get back together and formed a new group called JPM, alongside Chiu's brother, Mao Di, on January 11, 2011."Repackaged boy group JPM gets ready to launch" .PopAsia.Retrieved 2013-06-09. They signed a contract under A Legend Star Entertainment Corp., a company founded by former Channel [V] Taiwan director, Andy Chang. On August 26, 2011, JPM finally released their first album entitled Moonwalk."Moonwalk details" .KKBox.Retrieved 2013-06-09. In this album, Chiu contributed to the lyrics of three songs and composer of two songs.JPM. Moonwalk. 2011. CD