Fahrenheit Made Nearly $200 Million in 2008
[2008.12.24]

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Fahrenheit who will be releasing their new album, was a force that could not be stopped. The four of them together became the year’s spokespersons for Taiwan Tourism. When adding in the 10 concerts they held this year, inclusive of the ones they collaborated with S.H.E, plus advertisements for beverages, hair products, clothing and instant noodle, and if their individual advertisements, endorsements, drama and movie performances were included, Fahrenheit earned close to NTW $200 million in 2008 and became this year’s top earning male group in Taiwan. When they were interviewed by Azio Entertainment, they also showed their charitable side and promoted the Christmas menu of the CAUF Bakery & Restaurant. Fahrenheit indicated that they had worked together with the Children Are Us Foundation since their first album. This year with its economic slump, they hoped to use their appeal as artists to help this charitable organization.

At the end of the year, each of them scored their own performance in 2008. Wu Chun gave himself a score of 80, Jiro Wang 71, Arron Yan 77 and Calvin Chan 70. With regards to their careers, all four of them felt that there was still room for improvement but in terms of relationship, they all said the same thing: [I am still single.] Wu Chun expressed that in coming to Taiwan from Brunei to develop his career, he sacrificed a lot of time with his family so he put all his time and energy on his work and did not think too much about relationships. Otherwise, if he sacrificed everything he had in Brunei to come to Taiwan but did not achieve anything, then he would feel that his sacrifice was naught. He further emphasized that all his previous romantic rumors were not real because he was so tired from not having anytime to rest every day that he simply did not the time to think about romance.

Together the appeal of Fahrenheit was incredible but individually, each member’s earning power was pretty amazing too. Wu Chun by himself this year, other than dramas and movie performances, he also appeared in a number of commercials for beverages, eyeglasses, skin care products and online games. All these made him the top earner within the group. He also admitted frankly that he was very satisfied. However because he was so busy with the work in hand, although the profit from his fitness business did not do as well as expected, it was still acceptable. This year, after acting in two idol dramas and with advertisements for sports goods and make-up, Jiro Wang paid off his family’s debt. He laughingly said that although he did not have much cash on him but the feeling of being debt-free was so good. He who had learned designing hoped to publish a book about the subject next year. Calvin Chan expressed that his earning for this year was OK but because the economic slump, he lost quite a bit in his investments. Lucky he was able to earn some spending money each month through a brand he created himself. The youngest Arron Yan helped to pay the down payment and the first mortgage payment for his family’s new house.

During the interview, Fahrenheit also revealed an incident. Earlier when they were participating in a function, they encountered Hong Kong Superstar Sammi Cheng. It never occurred to them that Sammi would ask for their autographs. They felt so honored and surprised. It turned out that Sammi’s niece liked Fahrenheit very much but because she was sick and required an operation, therefore Sammi hoped to encourage her niece with Fahrenheit’s autographs. To be able to see his childhood idol, Jiro said excitingly: [I was so happy and she really was very beautiful and so nice.]

Because the day of the interview happened to be Christmas Eve, the four of them also mentioned their most special Christmas experience: For Wu Chun, it was going on a Singaporean trip with his friends when he was 13, 14 years old. Because Christmas in Brunei was not very festive, so the festive Christmas atmosphere in Singapore made Wu Chun felt like a wild horse on the loose. He partied until 3 or 4 in the morning before returning to the hotel. Calvin Chan found it unforgettable when he was overseas because foreigners would decorate their houses to look very Christmas-y: [They would even place a donation box at the door, hoping that people would give them some money if they enjoyed the decoration because they had to put up a lot of lights and electricity was really expensive.] Jiro Wang recalled when he was in high school there was one Christmas when his relatives’ children all came to his house: [That time, I even went to buy the turkey with my mother. After we got home, it was such a feeling when we cut open the turkey and saw that the inside was filled with stuffing.] Arron Yan still remembered his surprise the first time he saw a real tree decorated as a Christmas tree at Rockerfeller Plaza in the States.

Other than helping to promote the Christmas Meal from the CAUF Bakery and Restaurant, the four also split into two teams under the instructions of the CAUF baker and engaged in a Salad PK contest. In the end, the team of Jiro and Calvin defeated the team of Chun and Arron. With regards to be able to help community organizations, the four all expressed that they were very happy. Actually they also normally would do their best to help community organizations. Wu Chun indicated that when his mother was alive, she had sponsored three children. After his mother passed away, the task of sponsoring children was taken over by Wu Chun’s older brother and sister. Other than that, Wu Chun himself also sponsored two children in Zimbabwe. Arron Yan said that during 921 when he was still in high school and took the LRT to and fro school, at the LRT station, he often encountered people asking for donation and each time, he would donate NTW $100. Just as when everyone felt Arron was very generous, he self-revealed: [Actually, in high school, I have a thousand dollar as my spending money every day.] Jiro Wang had a practice of leaving some old clothes at the trunk of his car and would give them to the homeless people he saw on the road. Calvin Chan would try his best to fill up his car at Sunshine Gas Stations.