By2 | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | 23 March 1992 |
Origin | Singapore |
Genres | |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels |
|
Members | Miko Bai (孫 涵) Yumi Bai (孫 雨) |
Website | Official Blog |
By2 is a Singaporean duo based in China. The duo is composed of twin sisters Miko Bai and Yumi Bai.
By2 gained attention at the start of their career with their first two studio albums ( NC 16 and Twins ), but it was not until 2010 when they released their third studio album, Grown Up , for which gained them significant popularity, with the album topping Taiwan's music chart, "G-Music" and several music charts in China. The album was responsible for 33 percent sales of albums in the Chinese market and 18 percent sales of albums in Taiwan during the week of 9 to 15 April 2010. [1]
Their duo band was named "BY2" after their surname Bai and that they are twin sisters.
From a young age, both sisters were exposed to performing arts and learned the violin, piano, ballet and many other styles of dancing. As they reached adolescence, their passion for performing grew and they picked up more performing skills. They joined the Chinese Folk Dance in their secondary school, Yio Chu Kang Secondary School, as part of their co-curricular activity. These sisters have been given different hairstyles for easy identification due to their uncanny resemblance. However, they claimed to be different in terms of personality. Miko, Bai Wei-Fen has been described as more introverted and quiet while her sister, Yumi, Bai Wei-Ling, has been described as a more extroverted and outgoing person. They moved to Taiwan in 2007 to further their career. [2]
At the age of 13, both of them joined the Ocean Butterflies' Music Forest's V Singer ("非常歌手") training course. The course aims to teach aspiring singers how to perform on stage and techniques in singing and dancing. [3] Their father died of cancer in 2007 when Miko and Yumi were 15 years old. [4] Their father had hoped that Miko and Yumi will not give up on their dreams under any circumstances, thus encouraging them to actively pursue their aspiration of becoming singers. They graduated from the course clinching a "Best Costume Design" award. Billy Koh of Ocean Butterflies Music noticed their talent and gave them a 10-year record deal. [5] They were sent to other regions such as Japan, China and Taiwan to gain exposure to different forms of dance styles, as well as to enhance vocal training and stage presence. [3]
By2 released their debut studio album, NC 16 , on 25 July 2008. consisting of 11 songs in total, with composers under their label composing the songs for the album. On 10 April 2009, the duo released their second studio album, Twins , with a total of 11 songs. This is the first album featuring a track written by the duo, titled "Don't Go Away", which was used as the opening theme for the Taiwanese airing of the Korean television series East of Eden . The song was also released in an English version. By2 released their third studio album, Grown Up , on 9 April 2010. The album was a commercial success, topping several album charts in mainland China and taking first place on Taiwan's G Music Chart. During the week of 9 to 15 April, the album was responsible for 33 percent of sales in the Mandarin language album market. The duo also went into writing, publishing their first book "Love Always" in 2011 with an Asia-wide release. [6] [7] [8] The first edition was sold out in Taiwan within a week after the release date. The duo released their fourth studio album, 90' Now , on 19 October 2011. After completing these activities, the duo went on a musical hiatus that spanned for a year.
By2 released their first extended play, 2020 Love You Love You , on 3 August 2012. It had a total of 4 tracks including the 2 promotional tracks, "2020 Love You Love You" and "You Don't Know Me". "When Love Walked In" from the extended play was featured as the opening theme of Chinese-Taiwanese drama of the same name which stars Victoria Song, Calvin Chen and Zhou Mi. [4] In September 2012, the duo represented Singapore in the Chinese reality singing talent show, Asian Wave . [9] The duo released their fifth studio album, Paradise , on 18 September 2013. It peaked at number 6 on Taiwan's G-Music chart during the week of release from 14 to 20 September. [10] They held various meet and greet sessions around Taiwan and China and also performed on various Taiwanese variety shows to promote the album and its two promotional singles, "No Reason" and "No More Tears". [11]
By2 released their sixth studio album, Cat and Mouse , on 28 July 2015. The duo appeared on various TV shows in China to promote the album. The twins also made numerous stops all around China to perform songs from their album. On 26 November 2015, not too long after an album release, By2 released a new single for the Chinese-drama Miss Unlucky, on the Ocean Butterflies Music's official YouTube Channel, titled "Big Mouth". This single became the opening credits song for the drama. In January 2019, By2 revealed that they and Ocean Butterflies had parted ways. [12]
English name | Chinese name | Date of birth [13] | |
---|---|---|---|
Romanized | Hanzi | ||
Miko Peh Wei-fen (白偉芬) | Sun Han | 孫涵 | 23 March 1992 (Older sister) |
Yumi Peh Wei-ling (白偉玲) | Sun Yu | 孫雨 | 23 March 1992 (Younger sister) |
Wilber Pan, also known as Will Pan, is a Taiwanese-American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and entrepreneur. He started his career as a host of Channel V programs. In 2011, Pan was awarded Best Actor for Endless Love at the 46th Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan's equivalent to the Emmy Awards.
Stefanie is the seventh studio album by Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun. It was released on 29 October 2004, by Warner Music Taiwan. Produced by Paul Lee, Peter Lee and Sun herself, it incorporates a wide variety of musical genres such as pop, African music, tango, soft rock and lounge music. In terms of musical structure, each song has an instrument as the main axis in terms of its respective musical structure. The album is named after Sun's English name "Stefanie."
Dancing Diva is the eighth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on May 12, 2006, by EMI and Mars. Produced by Adia, Paul Lee, Peter Lee, Paula Ma, Yuri Chan, and Stanley Huang, Dancing Diva is primarly a pop and electronic record. It was well received by music critics, who praised it's diversity and musical production. The album has been regarded by several media publications for establishing Tsai's reputation as a representative dance-pop artist in the Chinese music scene.
Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai has released 15 studio albums, five live albums, and 11 compilation albums. After emerged champion at an MTV Mandarin-produced television singing competition show in 1998, she released her debut studio album, 1019 (1999), and it sold more than 450,000 copies in Taiwan. In the following year, she released her second studio album, Don't Stop, it sold more than 500,000 copies in Taiwan, and it became the year's sixth highest-selling album in the country. Her third studio album, Show Your Love, was released by the end of the same year, it sold more than 280,000 copies in Taiwan, and it became the eleventh highest-selling album of 2001 in the country. Her fourth studio album, Lucky Number (2001), sold more than 150,000 copies in Taiwan, and it became the year's nineteenth highest-selling album in the country.
Butterfly is the tenth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on March 27, 2009, by Warner and Mars. Tsai worked on the album with various producers, including Adia, Paul Lee, Peter Lee, and Paula Ma. It was poorly received by music critics, who commented that the tracks were popular but lacked surprise, sincerity, and breakthrough.
Shin is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter and actor. He is known as the former lead singer of the rock band Shin and a Golden Melody Awards nominee for Best Mandarin Male Singer.
Grown Up, is the third studio album by Singaporean duo, By2. It was released on April 9, 2010 and contains 11 songs.
Don't Stop is the second studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on April 26, 2000, by Universal and D Sound. Produced by David Wu, Peter Lee, Paul Lee, and Chen Wei, it incorporated genres of pop, R&B, hip-hop, rock, and reggae. Her singing skills on the album were better than before, and her ballad performance became more emotional and delicate, while her dance song performance became more free and easy.
Magic is the fifth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on March 7, 2003, by Sony. Produced by Bing Wang, Peter Lee, Jamie Hsueh, Jay Chou, and Huang Yi, it incorporated genres of pop, disco, funk, hip-hop, and Britpop. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it was the key piece of her first musical reinvention and established her dance-oriented musical direction.
Wei Li-an, known professionally as WeiBird, is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, one live album and two extended plays. Wei won the Golden Melody Award for Best New Singer in 2011 and Best Composer in 2015.
G-Music Limited is a company built in 2002 by Rose Records and Tachung Records, both are the largest local music retails and wholesale chains in Taiwan. The physical retail arms have been kept separate, for different customer bases and brand identity, but the e-retailing, wholesale and distributor business is unified as Rose Tachung Records.
Muse is the twelfth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on September 14, 2012, by Warner and Mars. Produced by Michael Lin, Peggy Hsu, JJ Lin, and Tanya Chua, Muse is a pop record spanning both mainstream and indie music styles. Music videos were produced for nearly all the tracks on the record, including for the single "The Great Artist".
Break Down is the second studio album by Mandopop boy group Super Junior-M. It was released online on January 7, 2013 by S.M. Entertainment and distributed by KMP Holdings. It is their first release in nearly 2 years, since the release of their 2011 EP, Perfection, and their first studio album in nearly 5 years, since the release of their first 2008 studio album, Me.
Paradise, is the fifth studio album by Singaporean duo, By2. It was released on September 18, 2013, with a total of 10 tracks with 4 promotional singles. The album achieved immediate success shortly after its release.
2020 Love You Love You, is the first EP by Singaporean duo, By2. It was released on August 3, 2012 consisting of 4 new songs with two promotional singles.
NC 16, is the first studio album by Singaporean duo By2. It was released on July 25, 2008, with a total of 11 tracks with 6 promotional singles.
Love & Live is a live video album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on October 9, 2009, by Warner and Mars. It chronicled the Butterfly Concert at Taichung Citizen Square in Taichung, Taiwan on May 9, 2009, and the Slow Life Concert at Riverside Live House in Taipei, Taiwan on May 24, 2009. It reached number six on the 2009 video album chart of Five Music in Taiwan.
Cat and Mouse is the sixth studio album by Singaporean duo, By2. The album was released on July 28, 2015, with a total of 9 tracks and 5 singles. The album achieved immediate success upon its release.
Love and Love, is the eight studio by Singaporean duo By2. It was released on March 3, 2017 with a total of 13 tracks consisting of three singles and ten remixes. The album's first single "桃花旗袍" received a lot of attention throughout Greater China with many fans performing dance covers and uploading them on YouTube, Instagram, and Weibo.
The Time is the second album and first full-length studio album of Chinese singer-songwriter Xu Weizhou. It is divided into four parts.