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[POP STOP]

Lin Pei-yao has found some difficult shoes to fill. PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

For basketball star Sam Ho (何守正), A-Mei’s (張惠妹) absence while she is in Tokyo rehearsing for a part in a Japanese production of Turandot hasn’t made his heart grow fonder. The Taiwan Beer basketball team player has, reportedly, found consolation elsewhere. The new woman in his life, air hostess and wannabe singer Lin Pei-yao (林佩瑤), is hardly a match for the nation’s premier diva, but as Next magazine points out, she’s 10 years younger and is the proud owner of 32D cup breasts, compared to A-Mei’s 32B mammalian protuberances.

Lin managed to squeeze into the top 10 contestants in season two of CTV’s One Million Star (超級星光大道) pop idol “reality” show, but her talent was rather for looking good in hot pants and mini skirts than for her singing. Having snagged A-Mei, Ho seems content to return to romance’s Little League.

In Taiwan, breasts are not to be trifled with. Model and actress Kelly Lin (林熙蕾), who has for some time been trying to put her sex kitten image behind her, has parleyed her 33C melons for NT$6 million to act as spokesperson for Ladies brand bras, beating a strong field of well-endowed contenders. Next reports she suggested that exercising with dumbbells was the best way of keeping her assets “up, up.”

Sam Ho isn't letting the grass grow under his feet. PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

Aska Yang (楊宗緯), another One Million Star graduate who is looking to parley his reality show recognition into real celebrity status, has received a drubbing from local media for his “attitude.” Yang, best-known for turning on the water works on stage, has long been portrayed as a sensitive soul. Recent revelations suggest that he isn’t as soft and cuddly as previously thought, and Next speculates that relations with other One Million Star alumni have become strained, as rumors emerge of hysterical outbursts towards music industry support staff such as makeup artists and personal assistants. Formerly a key player in various One Million Star get-togethers, Yang was dropped from the lineup for the first One Million Star overseas concert in Malaysia this month. Yang’s album Dove (鴿子) has already dropped to No. 4 in the charts. His 15 minutes may have run its course.

Dreams of fame and fortune have fallen apart for model Kelly Po (柏妍安), who had been in line to marry Winston Wang Junior (王泉仁), son of Winston Wang (王文洋), once tipped as the most likely successor to the Formosa Plastics empire, after their relationship was brought to public attention in July last year.

On March 21, Wang Junior held an engagement party, but Po didn’t attend. A report on ETTV suggested that the breakup was due to parental pressure, as Wang Senior did not think the model worthy to become a member of his illustrious family because of her lack of educational qualifications. Both father and son have impressive academic credentials, while Po’s main claim to fame is that of being the “other woman” in the love-triangle that led to the suicide of model Hsu Tzu-ting (徐子婷) in 2004. Clearly this was not the sort of connection that the Wangs, undisputed members of Taiwan’s financial aristocracy, wanted to form.

Jolin Tsai’s (蔡依林) fans launched an Internet protest on Wednesday because of delays over the release of the pop diva’s new English-language album Love Exercise (愛的練習語). A report in the Liberty Times (The Taipei Times’ sister paper) suggests that these delays may be a result of a shake-up at EMI; there are even rumors that the company will close down its Asian operations. Fans are demanding that the album, which was scheduled for release this month, be put on the shelves at once, proposing a “three noes” boycott if the company does not do so. The three noes are “no to Jolin re-signing from EMI, no to purchasing EMI albums, no to attending activities for EMI artists.” According to the report, other artists signed to EMI, including A-Mei and Stephanie Sun (孫燕姿), are reassessing their future with the company.
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