C’est La “V”

Van Ness Wu

Best known for being a quarter of Taiwanese boyband F4 (now renamed JVKV), Van Ness Wu has always been eclipsed by the uber-popularity of bandmates Jerry Yan and Vic Chou.

But with a new album, a hit idol drama Autumn’s Concerto in 2009 and another, Material Queen, currently airing, Wu’s solo star may be shining the brightest at the moment.

Material Queen’s theme song Is This All has been getting attention and airplay as it features Ryan Tedder from the American rock band OneRepublic.

Its lyrics – “What am I chasing after/So it’s all just air/So is this all I’ve been waiting for?” – seem to reflect his spiritual state after the one-time playboy famously embraced Christianity.

The K-pop-cloning Love, Faith, Live and the dance-pop of Do It keep things promising with their thumping grooves.

They may be a tad predictable, but there is no denying that things move along like well-oiled machinery.

The album starts to lose momentum with When You’re Near.

This is supposed to be the show-stopping, heartfelt ballad of the disc, but his so-so voice doesn’t quite tug at the heartstrings.

Instead, the track wanders off into filler territory.

Things end with another high-profile collaboration. The English track Knockin’, written and produced by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, is a catchy slice of rhythmic pop with lyrics about being overlooked.

Well, Wu need not worry about that, the way his career is going right now.

(ST)