S.H.E

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Biography

S.H.E is a Taiwanese people|Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen , Hebe Tien , Ella Chen . The name of the group is an alphabetism derived from the first letter of each member's name. Since releasing their first album '' Girl's Dorm|Girls Dorm (2001), S.H.E has recorded 12 albums with sales totalling over 15 million,See S.H.E discography . and set ticketing records in each of their two concert tours. The group has acted in seven Taiwanese drama|drama series , hosted two variety shows, and contributed 10 songs to six drama soundtracks. S.H.E has endorsed more than 30 companies and products, including Coca-Cola and World of Warcraft ''. Han, Lei, Shi Xisheng and Kan Wenting. . June 16, 2005. Retrieved January 30, 2007. Sina.com. June 20, 2005. Retrieved January 30, 2007. Thanks largely to S.H.E's success, other Taiwanese record labels began forming their own girl groups.

In 2000, Jen, Tien and Chen signed up for a singing contest, and the winner, Jen, was awarded a record contract. Tien and Chen, who were both finalists, joined Jen to form S.H.E. The trio frequently Cover version|covers songs by other artists, and performs original compositions. The group produces albums under the HIM International Music label. Avex Trax|Avex Asia distributed S.H.E's music in Hong Kong , but transferred this role to WOW Music in 2007. EMI|EMI Music China is the distributor in Singapore and the Mainland China|People's Republic of China .

Background

The Universal Talent and Beauty Girl Contest

On August 12, 2000, Taiwanese record label HIM International held open auditions, searching for new talent to complement Power Station (Taiwanese band)|Power Station . During the auditions, Taipei native Ren Chia-Hsüan sang Coco Lee 's "Before I Fall in Love", Tien Fu-Chen, who hailed from Hsinchu City|Hsinchu , sang Shunza 's "Write a Song" (), . September 14, 2004. Retrieved February 13, 2007. and Chen Chia-Hwa, from Pingtung City|Pingtung , sang Wu Yue Tian|Mayday 's "Gentle and Soft" (). Sina.com. . September 14, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007. All three were successful and were recommended to be included in the Universal Talent and Beauty Girl Contest. The preliminary rounds of the contest were held on August 20, 2000 in New York City . Entering the final preliminary round, Jen Chia-Hsüan was slated to sing Elva Hsiao 's "The Closest Stranger" (); both Tien and Chen planned on singing Karen Mok 's "Cloudy Sky" (). All three girls were successful again and secured three of seven spots in the TV round.

For the televised portion of the contest, to be aired on China Television|CTV 's "TV Citizen", Tien Fu-Chen was scheduled to perform first, followed by Jen Chia-Hsüan. During the television round, each of the five judges would turn a light on if a singing flaw was identified — a total of three lights resulted in elimination. Ren Chia-Hsüan sang Christina Aguilera 's " Reflection (song)|Reflection " with her singing flaws resulting in two lights. Tien Fu-Chen sang Kit Chan 's "Loving You" (). Despite forgetting the majority of the lyrics, she received only two lights. Chen Chia-Hwa chose Rene Liu 's "Afterwards" (), but was eliminated after receiving four lights. At the end of the round, only four contestants remained, three of whom were Jen Chia-Hsüan, Tien Fu-Chen, and Chen Chia-Hwa. Among the four, the judges selected Jen as the winner, and awarded her a record contract with HIM International. Later that summer, HIM International contacted Chen and Tien, and asked both girls to audition once again. After a few test recordings, HIM signed both Chen Chia-Hwa and Tien Fu-Chen to record contracts.

Origin of the name

After recording the songs for their first album, the trio needed a name for the group. The company suggested several names, including H.B.O, Digi Girl, 3C Girls (), and S.H.E Girl Friends (). The name Digi Girl would have reflected HIM's endorsement of Digimaster products, whereas H.B.O would have coincided with one of the songs on the girls' first album. Sina.com. . September 14, 2004. Retrieved February 13, 2007. HIM finally decided on S.H.E; as a result, Jen Chia-Hsüan became Selina, Tien Fu-Chen became Hebe, and Chen Chia-Hwa became Ella.

The group's name, S.H.E, was selected for two reasons. With the dots in S.H.E removed, the resulting word would emphasize the fact that S.H.E was a girl group; the dots symbolized individual differences with the three members. In addition, having an English name made the group more accessible to an international audience. However, there were concerns about how audiences would react to such a name; it was sufficiently similar to S.E.S. (group)|S.E.S. , a then-established Korean girl group, that it was thought S.H.E might be labelled as plagiarists. As a result, HIM provided local audiences with an alternative Chinese name for their new group: ??? ().

Musical career

Before releasing S.H.E's first songs, HIM International focused on the group's chemistry, and assigned the three girls to live together in a dormitory room. . September 14, 2004. Retrieved September 3, 2007. On 11 September 2001, S.H.E released their first album, '' Girl's Dorm|Girls Dorm '', in memory of their prior living quarters. Although the album sold an impressive 150,000 copies for a debut group, . November 11, 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2007. the trio gained notoriety for singing off-key during their first live performance. Sina.com Entertainment. . August 12, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2007. Zhang, Wen. Xinhua News. . December 17, 2004. Retrieved April 2, 2007. Nevertheless, sales of Girls Dorm resulted in a nomination for Best New Artist at the 13th Golden Melody Awards . Government Information Office, R.O.C (Taiwan). . April 28, 2004. Retrieved June 22, 2007. On 29 January 2002, Youth Society was released and went on to sell more than 250,000 copies. CCTV.com Music. (album review). August 1, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2007. With the release of their second album, "S.H.E Girl Friends" underwent a name change and became simply "S.H.E".
The trio's third album, Genesis (S.H.E album)|Genesis , was released on 5 August 2002, approximately six months after Youth Society . Continuing the successes of the group's previous albums, 20,000 copies of Genesis were ordered in advance of the release date. The album would go on to sell 180,000 copies. S.H.E later signed an endorsement deal with N-age, a South Korean on-line game company. Not only did N-age appear in a couple of music videos, they also sponsored S.H.E's first major concert in Tainan City , the N-age Genesis Concert, which attracted over 20,000 fans. N-age. . August 27, 2002. Retrieved February 6, 2007. On 23 January 2003, S.H.E released Together (S.H.E album)|Together , their first compilation album.

S.H.E had released albums every few months until the end of 2004. But due to their busy concert schedule, it was over a year until their next album appeared. After releasing Encore , they contributed to the Reaching for the Stars (soundtrack)| Reaching for the Stars soundtrack , which sold only 50,000 copies. That same year, the girl group Twins (band)|Twins released their first Mandarin album, Trainee Cupid , in the Taiwanese market. That album would sell 800,000 copies in two months. Li Zhiming. Guangxi News. . March 30, 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2007. The poor sales of the soundtrack and the success of the Twins album led to this period being described as one of the lowest times of S.H.E's career. . May 24, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2007. On 25 November 2005, the trio finally released their seventh album, Once Upon a Time (S.H.E album)|Once Upon a Time . The album not only set a record with 50,000 pre-orders, but it sold more than one million copies, overshadowing Trainee Cupid . Once Upon a Time debuted on the :zh:G-music|G-music Chinese language album charts at #1, retained that position for four consecutive weeks, and stayed on the charts for a total of 13 weeks. . Retrieved February 23, 2007. Select "2006" under the year menu, choose week 6. The album's title track, "Don't Wanna Grow Up" (), won Song of the Year at Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited|TVB8 Awards. . December 17, 2006. Retrieved June 28, 2007.

On 21 July 2006, S.H.E released a second compilation album, Forever (S.H.E album)|Forever , which sold over 150,000 copies within a week. . July 29, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2007. The album featured five new songs, a compilation of older works, and three songs from older drama soundtracks. Forever included many collaborative works with other artists in the Taiwanese pop music industry. C-pop megastar Jay Chou composed "Electric Shock" () for the album. The song "Solo Madrigal" () was a duet between Selina and Tank (Taiwanese singer)|Tank , the latter of whom had originally recorded the song for his debut album. For the Tokyo Juliet (soundtrack)| Tokyo Juliet soundtrack , Hebe and boyband Fahrenheit (Taiwanese band)|Fahrenheit sang "Only Have Feelings for You" (), which won several awards including Taiwan's Best Duet Song at the 2006 Sprite China Music Awards. . January 21, 2007.

S.H.E's second major concert tour, The Perfect 3 World Tour, commenced on 8 July 2006 in Shanghai, where they set yet another attendance record by filling more than 60% of the stadium. Lan Di. The Epoch Times (Taiwan branch). . August 2, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2007. After their Perfect 3 concert in Hong Kong, which was recorded and released as the group's second live album, S.H.E was commended for their perseverance, amount of dance preparation, and ability to hit their notes. Shang Zhongren. Asia Times. . July 14, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2007. Within the tour's first five months, the group attracted over 200,000 fans, and collected NT$200 million in gate receipts. Xinhua News. . November 8, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2007. On 18 April, S.H.E signed on with WOW Music to improve their presence in Hong Kong. Sina.com.. April 18, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2007. Play (S.H.E album)|Play , the trio's eighth album, was released on 11 May 2007, and was the first S.H.E album released under the new distribution label. . March 30, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007. Play went double gold within the first four days of the album's pre-order period; HIM International. . April 29, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007. by 5 June, more than 150,000 copies were sold.. June 5, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007. A month after Play s release, S.H.E was nominated for the Most Popular Female Artist award at the 18th Golden Melody Awards but lost to pop diva Jolin Tsai . . June 16, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2007.

On 23 September 2008, S.H.E released their ninth album, FM S.H.E . On this album, members of the band take on the role of radio hosts, and the album itself is interspersed with radio station-esque snippets. The album had a pre-order sale of 42,000 copies in Taiwan. An online radio station, FM S.H.E, was also set up for a month in line with the album where there will be different programs being broad-casted everyday. The viewer-ship of the online radio hit a record high of 100,000 views.

In June 2009, S.H.E released their first digital album, Map of Love in China, where this album will only be digitally release on internet music stores. The album consist of 10 songs of which 8 songs are from their previous albums and 2 new songs, ???? "(Lock Up the Time)" and ???? "(Long Live Adorableness)". On 16 October 2009, S.H.E commenced their third world tour, S.H.E is the One concert, with Hong Kong being their first stop. The tickets to the Hong Kong concert were sold out within a few days and this concert had received positive reviews. As of 2010, the concert is still ongoing with more stops to be made. On 26 March 2010, S.H.E released their tenth album, SHERO . The album received positive reviews, with 50,000 copies being pre-ordered in Taiwan before it was released.

Musical style

S.H.E has released ten studio album s to date, including three compilation album s and one which is only digitally released. All of S.H.E's album covers display an oxalis , the symbol for the group. On some covers, the clover is easy to spot on the front ( Girls Dorm , Together , Encore , Forever , Play ) or on the back ( FM S.H.E ); on other covers, its appearance is more subtle ( Super Star , Once Upon a Time ). S.H.E's other contributions include songs in the soundtracks of Magical Love , The Rose (TV series)|The Rose , Reaching for the Stars , Tokyo Juliet (TV series)|Tokyo Juliet , The Little Fairy , Hanazakarino Kimitachihe , and Bull Fighting (TV series)|Bull Fighting . In 2008, they sang the ending theme for the film CJ7 .

All three members have different vocal ranges to complement each other. Ella sings within the alto to mezzo-soprano range, while Hebe and Selina sing within the mezzo-soprano to soprano range. UDN Stars. United Daily News. . September 20, 2003. Retrieved March 2, 2007.
Most S.H.E songs fall into the category of pop music . Songs from this genre consist of light melodies, Singtao News. . March 24, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2007. simple drum beats, and the occasional piano or synthesizer accompaniment. In Girls Dorm and Youth Society , acoustic guitar melody lines were used as well. While some slower songs, particularly those in Genesis , fall into the genre of Contemporary R& B|R& B , high-tempo songs, such as "Beauty Up My Life", focus more on techno . S.H.E has also sung a few pop rock|pop/rock songs, including "Piquancy" (), "Super Star", and "Star Light" (). As their career progressed, S.H.E began mixing light-hearted pop ballads with elements of Hip hop music|hip hop and Dance music|dance . Attempts to fuse these genres started with songs such as "If You're Happy, Then I'll Be Pleased" (), which contained a short rap segment, and evolved into songs such as "Listen to Yüan Wei-Jen Play Guitar" (), which is composed entirely of rap with the exception of the chorus.

Lyrics

As performers, S.H.E do not write the lyrics for the majority of their songs. Shi Rencheng (), who also writes for artists such as Rene Liu , Jordan Chan , and Yuki Hsu , has been S.H.E's main lyricist since the group's debut. Some even say that Shi's "legendary" lyrics were partially responsible for the trio's success. . July 20, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007. Between the releases of Magical Journey and Forever , Daryl Yao () was a regular contributor as well. The lyrics of Jay Chou's main lyricist, Vincent Fang , have also made numerous appearances. On some occasions, S.H.E members even contributed their own lyrics. Hebe wrote the words for "Say You Love Me" () and "Too Late" (), and penned the rap portion of "If You're Happy, Then I'll Be Pleased". Selina was responsible for the lyrics of "Wifey" () and "Silenced" ().

Most of S.H.E's songs are about love. The word "love" () appears in six song titles, and over 270 times in the lyrics alone. "Love", in its original English, is not only found in three song titles, but also countless times in the songs themselves. Related words, such as "embrace" () and "feeling" (), appear nearly 40 times. Occasionally, love stories are taken from literature and put into song. Examples include "Laurel Tree Goddess" (), which is based on the story of Apollo and Daphne , . February 6, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007. and "The Story of Romeo and Juliet" (), which is based on Romeo and Juliet and Butterfly Lovers|The Butterfly Lovers .

Covers

S.H.E's albums contain quite a number of cover version|cover songs. Among the group's 90 songs, 28 are covers. Earlier albums often included cover songs; however, since 2004, the group has recorded no more than two covers per album. In most covers, the songs' original titles were kept. Other songs, such as Westlife 's "Soledad", were simply given new Chinese titles. The lyrics are usually rewritten, but some songs, such as Charlene (singer)|Charlene 's "I've Never Been To Me", are sung in their original English. While the musical style is usually maintained, some covers, such as "Only Lonely" and "I.O.I.O", have a lighter, bubblegum pop feel.

Older pieces and nursery rhymes are occasionally parodied. "Don't Wanna Grow Up" is a parody of Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)|Mozart's 40th Symphony , and "London Bridge is Falling Down" () is based on the London Bridge is Falling Down|children's song of the same name . The verses of "Thanks for Your Gentleness" () are original compositions, but the chorus is borrowed from Wu Yue Tian|Mayday 's "Gentle and Soft".

S.H.E's covers have received less critical acclaim than their original works. During the group's career, original compositions have combined for nearly 20 awards, whereas covers have been lauded only twice.

Television and film career

From late 2001 to early 2002, Hebe and Ella acted in the drama, Magical Love . Ella starred as Juliet, a recent high school graduate who is constantly looking for her Romeo. Hebe portrayed the secondary role of Sha Sha, Juliet's self-conscious and assertive friend. Selina was absent because she was studying at the National Taiwan Normal University. . May 18, 2005. Retrieved February 24, 2007. The songs "Remember" and "Belief" were used as the drama's opening and ending themes, respectively. In February, S.H.E signed on to be co-hosts on Jacky Wu's show, Guess Guess Guess . During S.H.E's tenure on the show, ratings averaged over 3.5, regularly putting the show in the top 10 for weekend shows. Zhang Ruichen. Liberty Times. July 6, 2002. Retrieved February 27, 2007. S.H.E stopped hosting Guess Guess Guess in July. In April 2003, the trio guest-hosted two episodes of the Taiwanese variety show, Happy Sunday , before signing on as co-hosts in May. . April 16, 2003. Retrieved March 1, 2007. However, during S.H.E's Happy Sunday tenure, at the height of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome|SARS epidemic , Hebe exhibited fever-like symptoms while coming home from Singapore. Channel News Asia. . April 25, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2007. Since Ella was living with Hebe at the time, both were forced into quarantine for 10 days, leaving Selina as the only one in the group who could host the television show Happy Sunday . News Sichuan (hosted by Tom.com). . May 12, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2007.

All three S.H.E members appeared in the drama, The Rose (TV series)|The Rose , where Ella starred as Zheng Bai He, a girl suffering from low self-esteem. Selina played two secondary roles: her first character, Zhuang Zhe Qin, was a beautiful yet frail girl with a heartwarming personality. Her second character, Di Ya Man, is Qin's doppelganger with an arrogant and domineering personality. Hebe portrayed Xiao Feng, a girl who quietly pursues Han Kui but Kui is infatuated with Bai He. Each episode of The Rose was originally estimated to cost NT$1 million; Lin Jingping. The Epoch Times. . March 22, 2003. Retrieved February 26, 2007. that number quickly rose to 1.3 million by the time filming had finished. In spite of the high costs, The Rose was the highest rated television drama in its time slot. . June 30, 2004. Retrieved July 26, 2007. At the 2004 Golden Bell Awards, which are presented by the Government Information Office|GIO to honour the year's best television programs, The Rose was crowned Most Popular Drama. Wu Surou. The Epoch Times. . November 26, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2007. S.H.E sang "Flowers Have Blossomed" () for the drama's soundtrack. The song not only debuted at #1 on the UFO Music Charts, . Retrieved February 26, 2007. but it also stayed on the YES 93.3 charts for ten weeks, holding the #1 position for two consecutive weeks.

On July 29, 2003, Ella performed a stunt as part of S.H.E's Happy Sunday segment. The stunt, which involved jumping off different floors of a building, was part of a public service video that explained proper fire escape procedures.Woodworth, Mark. . January 9, 2004. Retrieved February 21, 2007. On her first attempt, Ella followed protocol, jumped off the second floor of a building, and landed safely. . July 30, 2003. Retrieved March 18, 2007. On her second attempt, she was asked to jump off the third floor. However, as she jumped off, Ella became nervous and failed to follow the safety procedures correctly, leading to her falling on a fire escape from twenty feet and shattering her hip. Xinhua Net News. . July 30, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2007. Paramedics transported her to the Neihu Tri-Service General Hospital before being redirected to the National Taiwan University Hospital. Ella was released from the hospital after a 23-day stay, . August 22, 2003. Retrieved March 19, 2007. but she went home to Pingtung for five months in order to recuperate. In spite of this incident, the Japan National Tourist Organization , who had admired S.H.E's hosting abilities, asked Happy Sunday to promote Japanese tourism. . November 8, 2003. Retrieved July 26, 2007. As a result, Selina and Hebe hosted "Yokoso& #33; Japan", a special Happy Sunday segment that explored numerous facets of Japanese culture. Sina.com Entertainment. November 14, 2003. Retrieved February 15, 2007. In January 2004, Ella returned to hosting after her recuperation period, The Epoch Times. . January 4, 2004. Retrieved July 30, 2007. and appeared in the final two episodes of "Yokoso& #33; Japan". However, during the segment's four-episode run, producers were already searching for S.H.E's replacements, and ultimately chose Taiwanese singer Phil Chang . . February 6, 2004. Retrieved July 30, 2007. S.H.E discontinued hosting Happy Sunday once they began promoting the album Magical Journey . Taipei Today. . February 5, 2004. Retrieved July 30, 2007.

Selina and Hebe, along with 28 other celebrities, were cast for the three-episode drama series Happy New Year 2004 . . January 19, 2004. Retrieved April 1, 2007. In February, both S.H.E members co-starred in the movie, A Disguised Superstar (), with Miriam Yeung ; in April, Hebe acted as the female love interest in the first episode of Say Yes Enterprise (). The episode would earn a rating of 1.93, placing third behind My Secret Garden II () and Snow Angel (). Feng Yixian, Chen Youying. The Liberty Times. . April 6, 2004. Retrieved March 3, 2007. In October 2005, all three members of S.H.E starred in the drama, Reaching for the Stars , and sang its opening theme, "Star Light". The drama focused on the fate of an electronics company whose chairman had just died. Selina played the role of Zhou Xinlei, the chairman's spoiled but good-natured daughter. Ella starred as Ren Jie, a clever girl who assumed the identity of the company's heiress to save her brother. Hebe portrayed Shen Xiaorou, a strong-willed policewoman who lives with her ailing grandmother. Reaching for the Stars had the misfortune of airing its pilot episode during the final episode of The Prince Who Turns into a Frog . While the average rating for the pilot episode of Reaching for the Stars was 1.17, the final episode of The Prince Who Turns into a Frog set a 2005 record for highest average episode rating (6.93) and highest episode rating (11.35). . October 18, 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2007. In the end, despite heavy investment in the series' production, . March 29, 2005. Retrieved April 4, 2007. Reaching for the Stars had only achieved mediocre television ratings. Nevertheless, Ella was nominated for Best Actress at the 2006 Golden Bell Awards. Sohu Entertainment. . November 29, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2007.

In the spring of 2006, Ella pursued her own on-screen interests, and was cast for the lead female role of a Taiwanese idol drama, which was scheduled to air later that year. In January 2007, S.H.E and Wu Bai were invited to voice over several characters for the Taiwanese rendition of Luc Besson 's movie, Arthur and the Minimoys . Epoch Times. January 15, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007. During the same month, Selina and Hebe signed half-year contracts to be the co-hosts of Guess Guess Guess , Sina.com Entertainment. . January 23, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2007. the show that they had hosted five years earlier. The drama starring Ella, Hanazakarino Kimitachihe , finally began airing in November, and continued until its finale on March 4, 2007. Ella was featured as Lu Ruixi, an American tomboy who transfers schools so she can see her high jump idol every day. During its 15-episode run, the drama never relinquished its ratings crown. . August 28, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2007. S.H.E sang the song, "What to Do? " () as the drama's opening theme. In June 2007, Sanlih E-Television|SET TV selected Hebe to star in Bull Fighting (TV series)|Bull Fighting as the daughter of the man who owns 13th Street. S.H.E sang "How Have You Been Lately? " () as the drama's ending theme.

In the movie CJ7, S.H.E sang one of its OST entitled "Qi Zai".

In May 2009, Ella was cast for the lead female role for the Taiwanese idol drama, Down With Love (TV Series)|Down With Love (?????). The drama was aired on 31st January, 2010. In the drama, Ella was featured as Yang Guo, kind-natured and innocent. When met with any kind of unlucky circumstances, she would always find a way to encourage and spur herself on, adopting a bright and optimistic outlook. S.H.E sang the song, "Loving You" (traditional Chinese: ???) as the drama's ending theme.

In May 2010, Selina was invited as a guest host for the 700th episode of 'Guess Guess Guess' special edition, along with Jacky Wu. From 24 July 2010 onwards, Selina would be co-hosting 'Guess Guess Guess' with Halem Yu, with changes made to the television programme.

On 22 Oct 2010. Selina was seriously injured during an accident on the set of her new drama, I have a date with spring (????????) in Shanghai. She suffered from third degree burns in 54% of her body. Her co-star Yu Haoming|Yu Haoming (???) was also seriously injured. On 19 Jan, 2011, Selina had finally made her first appearance in the press conference at the hospital. Selina was thankful for the concern, care, and blessings from the public she was also grateful to the nurses who took care of her saying that they were like angels ,and was happy that she finally got to leave the hospital and go back home.

Endorsements

In 2001, S.H.E began promoting the first of many products, including those of Digimaster and beverage chain Fuzion Smoothie. Since then, the group has endorsed numerous companies, including Bobson Jeans (2003), Wang Yingjuan. The Epoch Times. May 12, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2007. Bausch & Lomb (2002–present), . April 22, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2007. Coca-Cola (2004–present), and China Mobile (2006–present). . June 15, 2006. Retrieved September 4, 2007. One of S.H.E's more notable commercials was for World of Warcraft , where the girls were put into the context of a fantasy gaming world.Shanghai Daily. (Hosted by China Economic Net). . November 23, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2007.

S.H.E regularly contributes songs for endorsement campaigns. The songs "Too Much" and "Beauty Up My Life", from their debut album Girls Dorm , were used in commercials for Sogo and Wacoal , respectively. Liao Youde. ET Today. . March 8, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2007. "Genesis" () and "Watch Me Shine", from the 2002 album Genesis , were used for N-age, a South Korean online game. . July 12, 2002. Retrieved February 6, 2007. . August 12, 2002. Retrieved February 6, 2007. "Piquancy", from 2004 album Encore , was used to promote the online game New Legendary Twins (). In collaboration with Fahrenheit (Taiwanese band)|Fahrenheit , S.H.E sang "Always Open" for 7-Eleven . . March 8, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2007.

Companies frequently use S.H.E's music videos as advertising tools. The videos for "Genesis" and "Watch Me Shine" featured gameplay in N-age; "Excuse" () showed flashes of Inventec 's OKWAP phones. . June 14, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2007. Daphne (), a Chinese shoe company, used the songs "Super Model", "Laurel Tree Goddess" (), "Good Mood Just Be Yourself" (), and "Miss Universe" () for their promotional campaigns. . February 18, 2006. Retrieved January 4, 2008. . April 28, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2008. Top Girl, a Taiwan clothing company, had also used the song, "Girls' Be Strong" () from FM S.H.E for their promotional campaigns.

Image

S.H.E is noted as a youthful and energetic girl group. In an industry where good looks are keys to success, S.H.E's outward appearances are just icing on the cake. They become prettier and more attractive with each passing year, and their popularity is always on the rise. However, S.H.E's main selling point is not the quality of their faces, but the differences that exist between each member. Zhang Miaomiao. . Music Weekly . Week 1. April 10, 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2007.

One of S.H.E's hallmarks is their friendship. This bonding is apparent in several music videos, such as "Five Days, Four Nights" (). Some songs, such as "If You're Happy, Then I'll Be Pleased", and music videos, such as "Good People Will Get Good Hugs" (), even emphasize the importance of keeping good friends instead of pursuing true love. In 2007, S.H.E composed the song "Wifey" to commemorate their friendship.China Radio International. June 27, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2007. The term "Wifey" comes from the group's days in the girl's dormitory, when Selina would call Hebe by that name. Bao Huaxian. "S.H.E". FHM|FHM Magazine Taiwan . June 2007: 71. Since then, the name has become symbolic of the girls' camaraderie. . May 23, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2007.

Criticism

Lack of originality

A review of S.H.E's 2005 album Once Upon a Time described the majority of the songs as "mundane", "predictable" and no better than "mushy pop standards", indicating that little has changed over their career.Phipps, Gavin. December 1, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2007. Chris Taylor of the Taiwan Review stated that their songs are hardly artistic, and that the girls are merely "industry-created" idols.Taylor, Chris. . May 1, 2004. Retrieved March 18, 2007. According to Taipei Times columnist Johnny Neihu, S.H.E's music simply "sucks. really, really, really sucks. Really."Neihu, Johnny. Taipei Times . . May 12, 2007. An article in Style Weekly , a Chinese fashion magazine, asserted that the trio's songs, compared to those of "talented musicians", are lyrically weaker because they only reflect the female view of love. Style Weekly. . September 2006. Retrieved April 5, 2007.

The group's regular covering of songs has also earned some ire over the years. After the release of the Reaching for the Stars soundtrack in 2005, there were accusations on Internet forums stating that the song "Star Light" sounded suspiciously similar to Ayumi Hamasaki 's " My Story (Ayumi Hamasaki album)#Tracklisting|About You ". In response, S.H.E declared that "Star Light" and "About You" were completely different, and did not even sound similar to each other. September 26, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2007. The same year, a netizen lashed out at the group for singing too many covers over the course of their career. The Epoch Times (Hong Kong branch). . December 16, 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2007. However, S.H.E fans felt that the netizen was being slightly uptight about the issue, and stated that "as long as the song is nice, point worrying about whether the song is a cover." Despite the trio's claims that their covers were merely products of company decisions, some critics feel that the trio is still oblivious to the concept of artistic integrity. The use of covers is controversial for other artists as well as for S.H.E; an article in the Beijing times in 2007 asserted that the frequent use of cover songs to stay successful indicates the declining originality and quality of Chinese popular music. The Beijing Times. . July 14, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2007.

Comparison with group Twins

In a 2004 review of female artists in Greater China , S.H.E was given an 80% approval rating , while archrivals Twins (group)|Twins received a mere 50%. The difference in quality was apparently so great that there was no reason for S.H.E to be concerned. Epoch Times. . February 16, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2007. According to another review in early 2005, S.H.E still seemed to hold an advantage, beating out their Hong Kong counterparts in yearly earnings, and amount of progress made since their debut. . March 22, 2005. Retrieved April 5, 2007. However, Reaching for the Stars received mediocre ratings, and the group was rumored to have made a controversial comment about Political status of Taiwan|Taiwan's political relationship with mainland China by saying they were Taiwanese, not Chinese during an interview in Lanzhou . ET Today. April 22, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2007. The rumor was denied by them and the representatives from their company but it spread so quickly that it resulted in temporary falling out of favour with the Chinese media. By 2006, S.H.E had lost several product endorsements, and an entertainment review in that year gave Twins the advantage over the trio in almost every category, from song quality to concert presence. Tom.com. December 22, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007. Despite starring in several dramas, including the award-winning The Rose , S.H.E scored 2.5 out of 5 stars in the 2006 review.

Influence and impact

Musical

By 2001, the vast majority of notable singing groups in Taiwan were male. When S.H.E was formed, other girl groups were only beginning to earn their fame in the Taiwanese music industry, but few would last more than two years. Formed in 2000, 4 in Love (group)|4 in Love had similar success to S.H.E during their first year in the entertainment business, but broke up less than two years later. aigo MUSIC. . September 7, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2007. Among the former members of 4 in Love, Rainie Yang is the only member to have continued her singing career. Other groups, such as Walkie Talkie (), were formed as a result of talent competitions, but were less notable during the course of their careers. Ke Erqin. December 9, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2007. Over a year after S.H.E's formation, the state of girl groups in Taiwan had changed little. In January 2003, radio station UFM1003 released a list of its Top 10 Taiwanese Pop Groups for the year 2002. Although S.H.E was ranked first, they were the only all-female group on the list. Hong Minghua. . January 8, 2003. Retrieved March 3, 2007.

During the course of S.H.E's career, a significant number of musical groups were introduced by their companies as "the next S.H.E" with hopes of emulating their success. When Warner Music Taiwan wanted to form a three-person boy band, they planned on marketing them as "the male version of S.H.E" before coming up with the name "G-Boys". . August 12, 2005. Retrieved March 1, 2007. Some groups were formed to topple S.H.E's standing as Taiwan's premier pop group. Jungiery Star manager Sun Derong stated that 7 Flowers was formed just to provide competition for S.H.E. . March 24, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2007. Despite the increase in competition, S.H.E maintains a definitive stranglehold on the Mandopop group awards, suggesting that the formation of these new groups has done little to ruffle the trio's feathers.

Other

According to Baidu 's year-end Top Search Terms survey, the most-searched movie of 2004 was House of Flying Daggers (). The phrase logged more than 1.2 million searches, which was nearly twice as many as second place ( Kung Fu Hustle ). Baidu attributed this difference to the fact that S.H.E had released a song with the same name earlier that year. As a result, searches for the song were lumped together with the movie, thereby inflating the latter's search totals. . December 31, 2004. Retrieved April 2, 2007.

S.H.E has also influenced television dramas, education systems, and even business operations. In the I Not Stupid Too television series, Chengcai, the Chinese martial arts|wushu -practicing protagonist, was courted by three members of the school's chess society: Shirley, Helen, and Elaine, who were collectively known as S.H.E. "The Best Extracurricular Activity". MediaCorp TV Channel 8|Channel 8 . I Not Stupid Too. October 21, 2006. No. 5. On a 2005 secondary school English examination, S.H.E was the subject of a reading comprehension passage that mentioned their involvement with China Central Television|CCTV 's annual Spring Festival Evening show. . Retrieved April 1, 2007. Cliff Wu, the president of Teradata 's Greater China operations, was so amazed at how S.H.E affected his teenage daughters that he borrowed the group's name and transformed it into an acronym, summarizing the three main elements of Teradata's plan for entering the Chinese market. S represents "Strategy", while H and E represent "Human" and "Execution".. April 4, 2005. Retrieved April 7, 2007.

Discography

Major concerts

Standalone concerts

N-Age Genesis Concert in Tainan N-age ???????? (August 24, 2002)

Fantasy Land world tour

Date	Tour	Location	Venue	Special guests
4 September 2004	?????????	Taipei , Taiwan	Taipei Municipal Stadium	align="left"
30 October 2004	?????????	Shanghai , China	Hongkou Stadium	align="left"
6 November 2004	??????????	Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia	National Stadium, Bukit Jalil	align="left"
25 December 2004	S.H.E ???????	Las Vegas metropolitan area	MGM Grand Garden Arena	Nick Cheung , Z-Chen
8 January 2005	??????????	Singapore	Singapore Indoor Stadium	align="left"
15 January 2005	?????????	Guangzhou , China	Tianhe Sports Center	align="left"
23 September 2005	?????????	Beijing , China	Workers Stadium	align="left"
25 September 2005	?????????	Xi'an , China	Jiaodaruisun Stadium	align="left"
12 November 2005	?????????	Nanjing , China	Nanjing Olympic Sports Center	align="left"
7 January 2006	?????????	Genting Highlands , Malaysia	Arena of Stars	Kaira Gong

Perfect 3 world tour

Date	Tour	Location	Venue	Special guests
8 July 2006	?????????	Shanghai , China	Shanghai Stadium	Jay Chou , Wilber Pan , Tank (Taiwanese singer)
13 July 2006	?????????	Kowloon , Hong Kong	Hong Kong Coliseum	Jay Chou, Z-Chen , Tank
14 October 2006	?????????	Shenyang , China	Wulihe Stadium	Jay Chou, Wilber Pan, Tank
21 October 2006	?????????	Wuhan , China	Wuhan Stadium	Jay Chou, Wilber Pan, Tank
11 November 2006	?????????	Shenzhen , China	Shenzhen Stadium	Fahrenheit (Taiwanese band)
16 December 2006	?????????	Taipei , Taiwan	Taipei Arena	Coco Lee , Fahrenheit, Tank
27 January 2007	??????????	Singapore	Singapore Indoor Stadium	Stefanie Sun , Fahrenheit
1 September 2007	?????????	Beijing , China	Olympic Sports Centre (Beijing)	Jade Liu , Tank
13 October 2007zh icon . 18 September 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.	?????????	Changsha , China	Helong Stadium	Jay Chou, Wilber Pan
1 December 2007zh icon . 7 June 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.	?????????	Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia	Stadium Merdeka	Fahrenheit
20 June 2009	???????? Special????	Macau *	The Venetian Macao	Tank, Peter Pan

*special stop

S.H.E is the One world tour

Date	Tour	Location	Venue	Special guests
16 October 2009	?????????	Kowloon , Hong Kong	Hong Kong Coliseum	align="left"
17 October 2009	?????????	Kowloon , Hong Kong	Hong Kong Coliseum	align="left"
31 October 2009	?????????	Shanghai , China	Shanghai Stadium	align="left"
6 March 2010	???????????	Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia	National Stadium, Bukit Jalil	Yoga Lin
4 April 2010	?????????	Luoyang , China	Luoyang New District Stadium	align="left"
17 April 2010	??????????	Singapore	Singapore Indoor Stadium	align="left"
29 May 2010	?????????	Taipei , Taiwan	Taipei Arena	align="left"
26 June 2010	?????????	Beijing , China	Capital Indoor Stadium	align="left"
17 July 2010	?????????	Macau , Macau	The Venetian Macao	align="left"
1 August 2010	?????????????	Hohhot , China	Hohhot Stadium	align="left"
14 August 2010	?????????	Chengdu , China	Sichuan Stadium	align="left"
17 September 2010	???????????	Sydney , Australia	Sydney Entertainment Centre	align="left"

Bibliography

Title	Chinese	Author	Publishing Date	Publisher
So Young!	???!	Huang Zimingref_label	15 September 2002	Jie Bi Books
S.H.E Daybook	S.H.E?????	S.H.E	17 January 2003	Ping Zhuang Ben (???)
''S.H.E's Crazy Battle Vol. 1	S.H.E????? ?1?	Bill Chia	1 July 2004	Crown Publishing
Travel Along With Me	???????	S.H.E	26 July 2004	Taiwan Television Culture (????)
Selina Loves Beading	Selina?????	Selina Jen	25 September 2006	Ru He (??)
''S.H.E's Crazy Battle vol. 2	S.H.E????? ?2?	Bill Chia	12 September 2008	align="left"
The 3 Spas of Love	??3??	S.H.E,Jiaozi	31 July 2009	HIM International Music (??????)

* Photographer.

Notes

a. See S.H.E#Television and film career|Television and film career .

b. Searching "??????" with "S.H.E" on Chinese search engines yields only results written after the release of Encore .

c. Although the English translations of the song and album are different, the Chinese names are the same ().

d. The article states that Ella is an alto, but there have been instances when Ella sings slightly above the alto range ( i.e. into the mezzo soprano range) in songs such as "What to Do? " and "Don't Wanna Grow Up". Similarly Hebe and Selina are listed in the article as sopranos, but there have been songs, such as "Persian Cat", where they sang notes more fitting for a mezzo-soprano.

e. Yao wrote the lyrics for "Wisteria" (???), "A Vision Of Eternity" (????), "I Love You" (???) and "The Story of Romeo and Juliet" (???).

f. Fang's lyrics are found in five songs: "Riverside Park" (????), "Norse Mythology" (????), "Laurel Goddess" (????), "Tropical Rainforest" (????), and "Migratory Bird" (??). The last two songs, which Fang co-produced with Jay Chou, are both Annual Best Singles (2002 and 2004, respectively).

g. See List of awards and nominations received by S.H.E .

h. The Chinese name for Reaching for the Stars , Zhen Ming Tian Nü (????), is derived from the Chinese name for the group Destiny's Child , Tian Ming Zhen Nü (????). Coincidentally, the plot of the drama revolves around three girls who seemed destined to meet each other.

i. The magazine article refers to artists like Richie Ren (also mentioned in the article) as "talented types", while S.H.E qualified as an "idol type".

j. The usage of "Taiwan" in this article, unless otherwise specified, refers to the Taiwanese music industry (as opposed to the music industries of China and Hong Kong).

k. HIM announced the Xuite blog on April 20, 2007 initially as a countdown for the album Play . HIM International Music. April 20, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2007.

Copyright Citations

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S.H.E Photo by: www.chinatownconnection.com


1. Jolin Tsai 2. Jay Chou 3. A-mei

World Music Artists