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Pop Stop

Girl band F4 has been out of the limelight for a while now, so what better way to attract attention than simulate a "Janet Jackson" while doing a promotion for local consumer electronics companies earlier this week. Media attention usually focuses on the band members' mammalian protuberances rather than their vocal chords -- and for good reason. But this has drawn the ire of Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), who bemoans the nation's fixation on breasts, which she sees as a sign of moral degeneration.

At the event, F4's Fanny managed to slip into a one-strap top and retain a modicum of restraint while doing her promotional spot; but fair-haired Amy's breast popped out while she was engaged in a public arm wrestling match. She insisted, however, that the offending nipple plainly seen in photographs was in fact a "shadow," according to Chinese-language newspaper reports. Wardrobe malfunction or shadow? Either way, no doubt the companies paying for the advertising were pleased at the exposure.

And, as if to confirm Lu's worst fears, there was another storm in a bra-cup this week when poor Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) bust out of a Nicola Finetti dress valued at NT$28,850 which she had borrowed for a Channel V performance. She patched up the torn dress but not relations with the company, which has vowed to press for compensation.

We say poor Jolin Tsai because her failed romance with Jay Chou (周杰倫) continues to titillate local gossip hounds -- as if being dumped over a year ago for glamourous news reader Patty Hou (侯佩岑) was not bad enough. This week's installment of the sad saga took place in Japan, where "Chairman Chou" (周董) was performing. By all accounts he couldn't find the time to say hello to his ex, who had coincidentally flown to Japan from Italy on a clothes-buying trip. But this did not prevent Liberty Times reporters from speculating that something was still going on between the "Double J Love" (雙J戀) pair and debating whether Hou should make an emergency flight to preempt any kissing and making up. Loyal Pop Stop readers will also recall that the Chairman was wining and dining up-and-coming starlet Zhang Jingchu (張靜初) in Beijing a month ago, while discussing doing a movie together.

In further Chou related news, the classically-trained musician polled a respectable fourth in one of the biggest popularity contests ever held in Asia, which the masses of China are holding on the country's Yahoo Web site. As of press time: South Korea's Rain was way out in front with 28 percent of the tally, or 59,461 votes; China's Li Yuchun (李宇春) and Zhang Jingying (張靚穎) were in second and third place, respectively, with 48,687 and 37,186 votes. Chou's popularity count was 30,408 votes. Li and Zhang were both contestants on the American Idol-type contest Super Girl that gripped China last year and which posted viewing figures of 400 million for the final. The flop of the pops, as far as the Chinese are concerned, is Zhang Ziyi (章子怡), who failed to attract more than 2,777 votes in the Yahoo Web site contest. Rain, on the other hand, has recently stormed Taiwan, the rest of Asia and the US and is clearly a worldwide phenomenon now. Not bad for a Michael Jackson copycat.

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