OG boy group F4 reunite on stage during Mayday concert at Taipei Arena

Taipei, July 13 (CNA) Iconic Taiwanese idol boy group F4 reunited on stage Saturday night during the finale of Taiwanese pop-rock band Mayday's concert at Taipei Arena.

The performance marked the first time since 2016 the members of F4 shared a public appearance together.

While their reunion as guests at Mayday's final of eight Taipei Arena concerts on Saturday was revealed as early as June, the excitement in the voices of fans was audible throughout the performance.

Prior to the F4 reunion, members of Mayday invited concert attendees to board their time machine, an over arching theme of the band's "Back to that Day" tour launched in Taichung in 2023 to celebrate Mayday's 25th year making music and reminisce about the past.

The band's front man Ashin (阿信) went on to reference iconic Taiwanese idol drama "Meteor Garden" (流星花園), which created F4 and shot the group's members to superstardom, to mark the boy group's appearance.

"Today, Mayday's time machine is not only about to bring you back memories, but rather an entire generation," Ashin said. "That was a time when you'd see meteor showers when you lift your head and gardens when you make your steps; a most splendid generation."

The four group members then walked onstage to join Ashin in an interpretation of F4's debut ballad Meteor Rain (流星雨).

"For them to stand here together, it took a total of two years," Ashin said after the song. "Everyone overcame a lot of obstacles to make this picture a reality."

F4 member Vic Chou (周渝民) also thanked Taiwan's mega pop-rock band for making the reunion possible.

"Their (Mayday) assistance helped make everyone's scheduling possible," Chou said. "I am touched but I am also very honored to be able to attend a Mayday concert for the first time."

Meanwhile, Vanness Wu (吳建豪) agreed to be a guest for Mayday in the future so he can riff on guitars with the band.

"I am very grateful for everyone being here to share a beautiful evening with us," Wu said. "Thank you guys and god bless you guys," Wu went on to add in his native English.

"It's been a while since I have been to a concert, and the first one in a while being on stage. It doesn't feel too shabby," said Ken Chu (朱孝天).

"It is also a weight off my shoulders because I've been playing dumb lately. Whomever asked me (about the reunion) I had to say 'I don't know, I am not close with them (F4),'" he said.

"I feel like I am still dreaming right now. Never has it ever crossed my mind that I would have the chance to stand on a Mayday stage," Jerry Yan (言承旭) concluded on behalf of his bandmates.

"It is awesome to reunite all four of us on stage. This is something I couldn't even fathom might be possible in my lifetime."

Members of both the OG boy group and pop-rock band then concluded the concert by performing Mayday's "The Song of Laughter and Forgetting" (笑忘歌) together.

F4 was Taiwan's first idol boy group founded in 2001 following the success of their TV drama, itself an adaptation from Japanese manga series "Boys Over Flowers" written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio.

With the popularity of Taiwan's pioneering rendition, the manga went on to be remade in Japan, followed by the likes of South Korea, China and Thailand.

As the Taiwanese boy group initially took their band name from the Japanese manga, Taiwan's F4 at one point renamed themselves JVKV after the first letter in the English first names of each group member to avoid copyright issues and confusion with other versions.

The boy group officially disbanded in 2009 and its members went into different areas of the entertainment industry in Asia.