This past week saw floods of tears shed — some heartbroken, others heartfelt, and all on the account of show business.
Canto-pop star Eason Chan (陳奕迅) blubbered his way through a concert in Guangzhou last weekend, in the midst of swirling rumors of personal troubles.
While singing the song Shall We Talk, a tune about family relationships, Chan lost his composure and burst into tears, and never quite snapped out it for the rest of the gig. At one point, he quipped, “I’m turning 35 in a few days, there will always be regrets in life, I need to learn how to relax.”
The Oriental Sunday offered a rumor to explain the Chan’s onstage breakdown: the singer may be under financial strain because of his ill father’s high medical bills. Meanwhile, Chan’s wife, actress Hilary Tsui (徐濠縈) has reportedly moved out of the marital home over his alleged romance with fellow singer Kay Tse (謝安琪).
Meanwhile, comeback comedian Chu Ko Liang (豬哥亮) cried buckets through a recent episode of his new, highly anticipated variety show on FTV (民視), Chu Ko Hui She (豬哥會社). Perhaps it dawned on the 62-year-old comedian that with the NT$300,000 per episode he’s earning, he just might be getting close to paying off those gambling debts that had him hiding for over a decade.
The show began with a performance by A-mei (阿妹), or A-mit (阿密特) as she’s calling herself these days, which had Chu “sobbing backstage,” according to the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
Then it was comedian-turned-legislator Yu Tian’s (余天) turn to pull the heartstrings. Yu, who helped engineer his old friend’s return to the entertainment business, sang Judy Chiang’s (江蕙) classic song Wife (家後) as a tribute to Chu Ko Liang’s wife. A visibly moved Chu Ko Liang managed to joke afterwards, “you did that just to make me cry.”
Towards the end of the episode, the comedian famous for his “toilet-lid” (馬桶蓋)aircut, declared to his wife that he would swear off gambling.
A-mei often leaves her audiences misty-eyed, but the tables turned last week when she shared some heartbreak on Pauline Lan’s (藍心湄) talk show. The pop diva spoke of her regret of missing the chance to be at her father’s side when he passed away.
She described rushing to Taipei’s Songshan Airport upon hearing that her father was in critical condition, only to find that all flights had been delayed because of thunderstorms. She tearfully pleaded airport personnel to let a flight go to her hometown of Taitung, but to no avail.
At this point in recounting the tale, A-mei broke down in tears and the room went dead silent for 30 seconds, according to a Liberty Times report.
In less tear-jerking news, pop heartthrob Jay Chou (周杰倫) and actress Guey Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) won a poll for the top couple in Chinese-language movies, reports the Apple Daily. According to the poll, taken by Yahoo Taiwan, 9,965 people voted for Chou and Guey as the “best match on the silver screen.” The two co-starred in Chou’s directorial debut, Secret (不能說的祕密). Coming in second were Cape No. 7 (海角七號) co-stars Van Fan (范逸臣) and Tanaka Chie, who netted 7,092 votes.
Looking for a break into showbiz? Janet Hsieh (謝怡芬) is searching for a co-host for the next season of her hit show Fun Taiwan, reports the Liberty Times. Both men and women are welcome to apply, and candidates should be aged between 18 and 35. More details can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SFwE3D1gO0
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