S.H.E
Name: S.H.E - 女朋友 ("Girl Friends")
Origin: Taiwan
Members:
Selina 任家萱(Ren Jia Xuan): DOB: October 31, 1981; Taipei, Taiwan
Hebe 田馥甄(Tian Fu Zhen): DOB: March 30, 1983; Hsinchu, Taiwan
Ella 陳嘉樺(Chen Jia Hua): DOB: June 18, 1981; Pingtung, Taiwan
Occupation: Singers, actresses
Genre: Mandopop
Label:
HIM International Music
EMI Music (PRC, Singapore)
WOW Music (HK; 2007-present)
Avex Asia (HK; 2001-2007)
Years active: 2001-Present
Official site: him.com.tw
S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Ren, Hebe Tian, and Ella Chen. The name of the group is an alphabetism derived from the first letter of each member's name. S.H.E has recorded 10 albums, with sales of more than 4.5 million since releasing their first album Girls Dorm (2001), and set ticketing records in each of their two concert tours. The group has acted in seven drama series, hosted two variety shows, and contributed 10 songs to six drama soundtracks. S.H.E has endorsed more than 30 companies and products, including Coca-Cola and World of Warcraft. The trio frequently covers songs by other artists, and performs original compositions. Thanks largely to S.H.E's success, other Taiwanese record labels began forming their own girl groups.
Origin
On August 12, 2000, Taiwanese record label HIM International held open auditions, searching for new talent to complement Power Station. Tian Fu Zhen (Hebe) participated in the contest because her mother did not entertain the idea of getting a job at such a young age. Ren Jia xuan (Selina)'s younger sister wanted to participate to get the chance to meet her favourite television host, Jacky Wu. Unfortunately, she was too young, so Ren Jiaxuan signed up in her sister's place. Both Chen Jia hua (Ella) and her younger brother wanted to register, but the contest was only open to females so she was the only one to register. Ella made it to the 2nd to last round while Selina and Hebe made it to the final round. Initially Selina won the contract with HIM Records. However the company decided they would produce a stronger result if they made a girl band and asked Ella and Hebe to return for auditions which they passed with ease.
After recording the songs for their first album, Ren Jiaxuan, Tian Fuzhen and Chen Jiahua needed a group name. The company suggested several names, including H.B.O, Digi Girl, 3C Girls (3C 美少女), and S.H.E Girl Friends (S.H.E 女朋友). HIM finally decided on S.H.E; as a result, Ren Jiaxuan became Selina, Tian Fuzhen became Hebe, and Chen Jiahua became Ella. The name "Selina" initially had two possible spellings: Selina and Selena. Ren Jiaxuan eventually chose "Selina" simply because she would be able to dot the i. When Ella tested out her signature, HIM employees were concerned that the signature would be easily forged due to its simplicity; thus, during S.H.E's early days, Ella signed autographs using the last character of her name, "樺". However, as S.H.E's autograph sessions drew larger audiences, Ella reverted to her simpler, English signature.
The group's name, S.H.E, was selected for two reasons. Once the dots in S.H.E were removed, the resulting word would emphasize the fact that S.H.E was a girl group; the dots would have symbolized individual differences between the three members. Secondly, by having an English name, the group would be more accessible to an international audience. However, there were concerns about how audiences would react to such a name. Selina was certain that the name would never catch on. Moreover, S.H.E would have been perceived as plagiarists by having a name that was eerily similar to S.E.S., a girl group that was already making a name for themselves in South Korea so they were provided with an alternative name: 女朋友 (literally: "girl friends"). Although "Girl Friends" remains the official Chinese name, it is no longer used to publicize the group. Their first album was released on September 11, 2001, a misfortune however their album still managed to peak at 150,000 units sold. Their career have skyrocketed from there and they have become one of the biggest names in Asia and are well known all around the world.
Albums
S.H.E - Girl's Dormitory (9.11.2001)
- Not Yet Lovers (戀人未滿)
- Beauty Up My Life
- Fridge (冰箱)
- HBO
- Too Much
- Are You All Right(你還好不好)
- Someone Lo