Mirror (group)
Mirror | |
|---|---|
 Mirror in an interview for am730 in 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Hong Kong |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Labels | ViuTV |
| Associated acts | |
| Members |
|
Mirror (commonly stylized as MIRROR) is a Hong Kong Cantopop boy band formed through ViuTV's reality talent show in 2018. The group consists of twelve members: Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Ian Chan, Anson Lo, Jeremy Lee, Edan Lui, Keung To, and Tiger Yau.[1] They debuted on 3 November 2018 with the single "In a Second" (一秒間).
The group has won numerous accolades since their debut, including a Metro Radio Hit Music Award for Best Group, an Ultimate Song Chart Award for Group of the Year (Bronze), and Group of the Year (Gold) at the inaugural Chill Club Music Awards held by ViuTV. Mirror is considered as one of the driving forces in the renewed interest of the Cantopop genre.[2][3][4] Their 2020 single "Ignited" won Top Ten Song of the Year at the Ultimate Song Chart Awards and the Chill Club Music Awards. Their 2021 single "Warrior" topped the Ultimate 903 Chart for two weeks, the first song from a group to do so in 15 years.[5]
Members of Mirror have also debuted individually, most notably Keung To, who won the Ultimate Song Chart Award for My Favourite Male Singer, and Jer Lau, who won the Best Newcomer Gold Prize. The members have also participated in various drama series, reality shows, and films.
Career[]
2018: King Maker and formation[]
In July 2018, ViuTV's reality talent competition Good Night Show - King Maker started scouting for potential artistes. 99 male contestants successfully auditioned for the show. Participants performed individually and in groups, with a panel of judges deciding who would advance to the next round.[6][7] The finale aired live on 14 October 2018, with results decided by a public vote and a judging panel. Keung To won the competition,[8] with Ian in second place, and Lokman in third. Anson Kong, Edan, Jeremy, and Stanley all made it to the top 10.[9] ViuTV intended to form a boy group with the top 10 finalists and proceeded with contract talks.[10]
2018–present: Debut and rising popularity[]
Mirror officially debuted on 3 November 2018 with twelve members,[11][12] with Ahfa Wong as the group's manager.[13] According to the group's leader, Lokman, the name Mirror was chosen because "members look in the mirror every morning and see their real selves; when there are multiple mirrors, they can reflect infinite images; similarly, with infinite potential, the combination of these unique members would allow for unlimited possibilities."[11] During the debut press conference, they performed their debut single "In a Second" (Chinese: 一秒間).[14]
On 21 December 2018, they held their first live concert 2018 THE FIRST MIRROR LIVE CONCERT at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre Star Hall. The tickets were sold from 15 November 2018[11][15] and all tickets were sold out.[16] During the concert, apart from performing some original songs, they also performed Korean pop songs including "Love Song" and "Trouble Maker", although they expressed their preference of creating their unique renditions instead of going for a "K-pop feel".[17]
Between January 2019 and November 2020, the group released five more singles, including "ASAP" (2019), "Broken Mirror" (破鏡) (2019), first-year anniversary single "Reflection" (2019), "Ignited" (2020) and "One and All" (2020).[18] "Ignited" won two awards at Hong Kong's major year-end music awards shows, including the Ultimate Song Chart Awards and the inaugural Chill Club Awards.
Besides group songs, six Mirror members have also released solo songs, the first two being Ian's "Phase II Building" (二期大樓) and Keung To's "No. 1 Seed" (一號種籽), which were both released in June 2019.[19] On 29 February 2020, Jer, Anson Kong, and Anson Lo released their first solo songs.[20] On 20 January 2021, the group released their debut studio album One and All, comprising six group singles and fifteen solo songs released by the members in 2020.[21] Edan released his first solo single "Mr. E's Series of Unfortunate Events" (E先生 連環不幸事件) in January 2021 which received critical acclaim.[22] In March 2021, Mirror released their group single "Warrior",[23] with the lyrics "vastly usher in another new century" (浩浩蕩蕩迎來另一新世紀) which has become a symbol of the group since then. In June 2021, another group song "Boss" was released.[24]
Originally, Mirror planned to hold a concert in 2020 to mark the second anniversary of their debut, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The postponed concert was eventually announced to be held from 6 to 8 May 2021, titled MIRROR One and All Live 2021, at Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre - Star Hall. It was originally planned to be held at 50% capacity due to the social distancing policy at the time[25] but increased to 75% capacity after two weeks following government guidelines. Due to tickets being sold out within minutes on 25 March 2021 for 6 to 8 May, three more dates, 9 to 11 May, were added.[26]
Other ventures[]
Participation in TV programmes[]
The first television reality show based on Mirror is Mirror Go, which aired from December 2018. In the show, members of the group played games in different parts of Hong Kong, including Ocean Park and Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village, while other episodes were filmed in Macau, Thailand and South Korea.[27][28][29] Lokman said that the show was intended to resemble the South Korean programme Running Man, to provide members with opportunities to overcome challenges, live under the same roof and bond with each other as a group.[27] The second season of the show, Mirror Go 2 released in May 2019. In every episode, a group of two members embarked on different missions, while others had to answer questions based on the footage of these missions. For the last 10 minutes of each episode, two members would partner with a fan and compete against each other in a series of Q&A.[30] In 2021, all members of Mirror participated in ViuTV's game show Battle Feel (考有Feel) against ViuTV’s other boy group Error, hosted by Kitty Yuen, Dixon Wong and Edan.[31] In early April 2021, the group took part in a variety show titled Be A Better Mirror (調教你MIRROR) with actor-director [32] and the show aired from early June 2021 on ViuTV.[33]
Members of the group have also participated in various television drama series aired on ViuTV. The first television drama with a member of Mirror as part of the main cast was Retire to Queen. Starring Keung To, the television drama aired between June and July 2019. He collaborated with in the drama.[34][35] In 2020, a volleyball drama titled We are the Littles (男排女將) aired on ViuTV. It is the first television drama that starred all members of Mirror, with seven of them composing the main cast, including Ian, Anson Lo, Edan, Jer, Tiger, Alton and Jeremy. The other main casts include Stephy Tang and members of boy group Error, while other members of Mirror appeared in guest roles.[36][37] In Audience at the Folk TV Awards 2020 (觀眾在民間電視大奬2020), which was open to public voting, the drama was nominated for various categories and won Best Drama, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Anson Lo won Best Supporting Actor as Bobby in the drama.[38][39] In June 2021, Edan, Anson Lo, and Stanley starred in the Hong Kong adaptation of the Japanese series Ossan's Love with actor Kenny Wong.[40] Ossan's Love became ViuTV's highest-rated original television series.[41]
Endorsements[]
Mirror, both individually and as a group, have acquired numerous endorsement deals in various industries throughout their career. They have collaborated with Gucci, Burberry, and Giorgio Armani,[42] and endorsed cosmetics brands such as Shiseido,[43] NARS Cosmetics, Charlotte Tilbury, Laura Mercier, and Estée.[44] They are popular figures in the food industry, endorsing brands such as Häagen-Dazs, Vita, Nestlé, Deliveroo, and Coca Cola.[45] In 2021, three members of Mirror collaborated with McDonald's to release the Hong Kong-exclusive "Keung B Meal", headlined by Keung To.[46] Anson Lo and Ian collaborated with the Hong Kong Tourism Board to promote local attractions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong.[47] In August 2021, Samsung Hong Kong announced Mirror as its ambassador for the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Z Flip3 5G smartphones.[48][49]
Members[]
| Name | Birthday | Rank in
King Maker |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| (Chinese: 陳瑞輝) | 29 July 1988 | Top 30 | One of the group's lead dancers. He was a backup dancer[50] prior to competing in the first season of King Maker. |
| (Chinese: 王智德) | 21 September 1989 | One of the group's main rappers, co-writing rap lyrics with Lokman. | |
| (Chinese: 楊樂文) | 26 September 1989 | 3 | The group's leader and main rapper. He is known for his rapping and locking skills. Prior to joining Mirror, he worked as a dance tutor[51] and starred as one of the main leads in the dance film The Way We Dance in 2013.[51] He also starred in its sequel, The Way We Keep Dancing, released in 2021.[52] |
| Stanley Yau (Chinese: 邱士縉) | 20 August 1990 | 10 | One of the group's lead dancers, and was a member of the Chestnuts Dance Crew prior to joining Mirror. He is also an actor who has appeared in various drama series. |
| Anson Kong (Chinese: 江
|