By2
| By2 | |
|---|---|
By2 at the Taipei Samsung Running Festival in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Yio Chu Kang, Singapore |
| Genres | Dance-pop, Mandopop |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Ocean Butterflies Music |
| Website | Official Blog |
| Members | Miko Bai (白緯芬) Yumi Bai (白緯玲) |
By2 is a Singaporean duo based in Taiwan and signed under a 10-year contract with Ocean Butterflies International. The duo is composed of twin sisters, Miko Bai and Yumi Bai, they debuted with their first studio album, NC 16.
The duo 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" they gained 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 April, to 15 April 2010.[1]
Contents
Personal life
Their duo band was named "BY2" after their surname "Bai" and that they are twin sisters. Their father died of cancer in 2007 when Miko and Yumi were 15 years old.[2] 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.
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.[3]
Yumi was in a relationship with Mario Ho (何猷君） in November 2014. However, they broke up later in February.
Career
Pre-debut
From a young age, both sisters have been exposed to performing arts and have 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.
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.[4] 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 countries 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.[4]
2008 to 2009: Debut with NC16 and Twins
On 25 July 2008, By2 released their debut studio album, NC16, 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 TV series, East of Eden. The song was also released in an English version.
2010 to 2011: Grown Up, Love Always and 90' Now
On 9 April 2010, By2 released their third studio album, Grown Up. The album, was a commercial success, topping several album charts in mainland China and taking first place on Taiwan's G-Music. 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.
On 19 October 2011, the duo released their fourth studio album, 90' Now.
2012 to present: 2020 Love You Love You and Paradise
On 3 August 2012, By2 released their first EP, 2020 Love You Love You, with 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 (爱情闯进门) from the EP was featured as the opening theme of Chinese-Taiwanese drama of the same name, When Love Walked In, which stars Victoria Song, Calvin Chen and Zhou Mi.[2]
In September 2012, the duo represented Singapore in Chinese reality singing talent show, Asian Wave (声动亚洲).[9]
On 18 September 2013, the duo released their fifth studio album, Paradise. 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" (沒理由) and "No More Tears" (不哭了).[11]
Members
| Stage name | English name | Chinese name | Date of birth[12] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Hanzi | |||
| Miko | Peh Wei-fen | Bai Wei-fen | 白緯芬 | 23 March 1992 (Older sister) |
| Yumi | Peh Wei-ling | Bai Wei-ling | 白緯玲 | 23 March 1992 (Younger sister) |
Discography
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- Studio albums
- Extended plays
- 2020 Love You Love You (2012)
- Compilation albums
- By2 Twins Collection
References
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- ↑ Lee, Jocelyn (27 July 2009). http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_408558.html BY2 lonely in Taiwan, The Straits Times. Retrieved on 18 August 2009.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Chang May Choon (12 March 2008). "Pursuing our dreams was late dad's wish", AsiaOne. Retrieved on 18 August 2009.
- ↑ 一樣愛著你 By2的愛心日記
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