We are cheesy, but we are popular!

It's a familiar picture at weddings, funerals, or a ground-breaking ceremony in Taiwan, where you see girls dancing on a decorated truck with flashing neon lights and loud music. They usually wear tiny tops, short pants and high platform boots, and sing and dance in an arousing way -- all the better to excite the male guests at the party.

"Let us welcome the hottest Taiwanese girl group -- Shining 3 Girl!" the MC yelled, at a year-end bash earlier this year for a cable TV company. Hsiao-yun (小云), the eldest of the three, came out first and gyrated all the way to the main stage. Then, Hsiao-chen (小珍), the middle sister, carried a huge white snake into the spotlight and encouraged the reptile to wrap itself around her lithe body. After which, the youngest sister Hsiao-ying (小瑩) joined in, jumping and singing, accompanied by loud and cheesy techno music, more lights and dry ice.

"Yo-ah! Yo-ah! Yo-ah! Yo!!" the audience shouted out, in time to the beat of the music. Others in the audience blew their whistles and when the atmosphere had reached a fever pitch, Hsiao-ying did her party trick of bending backward to the floor and forming an arch to show off her belly and briefs.

"I really can't recall how many shows we have done in the past three months. One day, from noon time to late evening, we performed at 10 different year-end parties," Hsiao-yun said.

"We have been singing for one man who has had four weddings with four different wives. We have even sung at a divorce party, because both sides were celebrating getting rid of each other," Hsiao-chen said.

Chiang Pei-yun 江珮云, aka Hsiao-yun, 22 years old. Specialty: Hair styling, she has had her own hair studio since 18. Favorite artists: Andy Lau and Britney Spears

Shining 3 Girl is part of the family-business entertainment group called Shining Variety Group (閃亮綜藝團), led by the three girls' father Chiang Wan-yuan (江萬源). The family is based in Chungli, Taoyuan County, and since elementary school Chiang has been taking the girls out to perform in towns and cities throughout Taiwan. The girls estimate they have helped the family earn NT$20 million over the past 10 years, charging around NT$15,000 for 30 minutes of entertainment.

Chiang Pei-chen 江珮珍, aka Hsiao-chen, 21 years old. Specialty: Dancing. She has done much of the choreography for the group's dances. Favorite artists: Britney Spears and Kim Jae-won (Korean actor)

The singing and dancing style of the Shining 3 Girl may be corny, but it is working for them. Last year, they were invited on celebrity Jacky Wu's (吳宗憲) TV show and since then invitations have been non-stop. Now, they have signed with local record label Water Music to release their first album Shining 3 Girl, subtitled, "The first Tai-mei (台妹) group." Tai-mei, literally means Taiwanese sisters, but the implication is more sexy chick. It is Shining 3 Girl's unique selling point.

Chiang Pei-ying 江珮瑩, aka Hsiao-ying, 18 years old and still studying at Chungli High School. Specialty: Choosing cosmetics and make-up. Favorite artists: Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Huang Wei-te (Taiwanese actor)

"It is our intention to label them as the Tai-mei group. I know that this may be seen by many as low culture or low class. But at the end of the day, it's simply a kind of performance style. And we all know that such performances have been popular in Taiwan for a long time," said Water Ko (柯英高), CEO of Water Music, which is a record label mostly publishing Taiwanese-language music and artists.

Like many Taiwanese, Ko said he saw the girls' performance at a wedding party. And he was so impressed by the show, he bought it. "The most valuable quality of the three girls is that they are always sincere, naive and jolly," Ko said. "From a record company's point of view, these kinds of qualities are marketable and make them good artists."

So for the first record album, Ko did not water down the rawness of the girls' act and the result is a Taiwanese-style techno, with the girls singing mainly in unison. All 10 songs are fast paced and there is even one Taiwanese-language techno song called, "Let's Show it Off" (來去帕一下). The girls say the song is being widely played in night markets in Southern Taiwan.

Late last week, the Taipei Times managed to find a small window in the girls' schedule and sat down with them for a nice chat, firstly about the album.

"The first 40 hours were a pain. We spent so much time correcting our pronunciation," said Hsiao-chen, who, like her sisters, has trouble differentiating the sounds "ang" and "an." Also, they often confuse the sounds of "ne" (nasal sound) and "le." Despite their their efforts, there is still mispronunciation on the record. "It's ok, we are the new generation. Maybe it's just our personal style," said Hsiao-chen, referring to the mistakes.

During choreography for their music video's dance routines, the girls found that they had to change their style. The choreographer asked them not to open their legs so much and curb their wild dancing style. "He almost wanted to tie up our legs with ropes when practicing," the girls said, in unison.

This led to a small problem when it came to shooting the music video, however, as the director of the shoot took one look at the prepared performance and said they were too inhibited. When the girls were encouraged to do their own thing it was a different matter. "We danced so happily that the whole crew was dancing with us. Even the crew from the studio next door came to see us out of curiosity," Hsiao-ying said.

During their current tour, Shining 3 Girl is driving around in style, as the girls' father and manager Chiang has splashed out on a stretch limo, worth NT$6 million. Even so, the girls do not have a lavish lifesyle.

"During the past 10 years we have been given only NT$100 a day for our daily allowance," said Hsiao-chen. "All the money we earn is managed and kept by our parents. And all the daily expenses are taken care of by them, too."

One of the biggest costs is the girls' outfits and cosmetics. These, the girls said, can all be purchased in night markets. For example, a black bra, they said, costs only NT$100. As does the

sports brief (or "safety" pants they wear under their mini skirts). Platform boots, they said, cost around NT$1,080, but Chiang gets them for NT$700 a pair at the night market. The elder sister, Hsiao-yun takes care of hair styling as she runs her own hair salon.

The three young girls' personal lives are, like their daily allowances, frugal, under Chiang's strict rules. They seldom go out because they must come home before 10pm. And no boyfriends before the age of 20. And unlike most teenagers, none of them has a credit card or a cellphone with them. "The show biz circle is very complicated and its very easy to fall. It's better for the girls to have a simple life," Chiang said during an appearance at one of the group's TV shows.

Busy promoting their album and attending autograph signing shows, the three girls are getting offers for all kinds of projects. Filmmaker Chu Yen-ping (朱延平), famous for his slapstick comedies has signed them up for his latest ghost comedy movie.

Will celebrity go to their heads? "No, because we should not forget about our past and our fans who supported us when we were not famous," Hsiao-chen said.

Naturally, if anyone wants to hire the three girls to perform for a wedding or funeral party, they should prepare to pay double the cash that was being asked a year ago. The group's parents now say two songs cost around NT$30,000.