Friday, December 09, 2005
2005-12-09
He wiggles his fingers, they scream. He touches one fan’s shoulder, they scream even louder. And when he speaks Thai, they go absolutely insane.
Having passed through the eye of the storm, we were back in the frenzy of the hurricane called F4, although this time it was a quarter of the force: Only Jerry from the now-disbanded Taiwanese pop foursome was in town – promoting Oral-B dental-hygiene products.
Several hundred of fans – girl fans, of course – packed into Bangkok’s Central Plaza Lat Phrao last Saturday to get a glimpse of the object of their infatuation. Not all of them had a ticket, a mere 1,090 of which were dispersed to winners of an Oral-B lucky draw.
“I sent more than 20 entries, but no luck,” said high-schooler Aor, begging anyone and everyone for a chance to get into the heavy-security “Smile Party”.
Inside, Jerry Yan met the press wearing a black velvet jacket over a white shirt and black pants, his hair shorter than it was the last time he graced the city a year ago, on Pepsi’s behalf.
Jerry was chosen as Oral-B’s presenter because he takes good care of his teeth, explained Chalermpong Mahawanichwong, Gillette Thailand’s manager for the products.
“I brush my teeth correctly twice a day and change my toothbrush every three months,” the singer confirmed when asked for details. Amateur dentists within the press scrum leaned in for a dubious closer look.
Jerry arrived fresh from a one-off classroom visit. Hor Wang School – conveniently right next door – had been selected to host him for a seminar on “Oral Health Problems among Youth”.
Finally, after showing the media his smile, Jerry changed into a black turtleneck and brown leather jacket to sit down before a swarm of devotees chanting “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry”, as Tin Chokkamolkij started firing questions at him in Mandarin.
A group of fans came forward to play a jigsaw game, with the winners getting a pillow bearing Jerry’s autograph and portrait.
More games followed and the screaming became truly unbottled, especially when Jerry sang his two hits. His voice was ragged from his promotional tour, but the fans helped him out, even in Chinese, right to the end.
At one point Tin almost shocked the Oral-B braces out of one young fan’s mouth when he called her name and invited her to the stage. The candlelit cake Jerry presented her for her 20th birthday came as a complete surprise.
But the biggest thrill of the day was reserved for Siriporn “Auntie Pam” Sudto, at age 57 probably Jerry’s eldest fan. She’s the author of a biography on the singer that’s been translated into several languages, and she gave all the proceeds – some Bt200,000 – to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn for her charity projects.
“I’ve never been infatuated with any stars before, but I like Jerry,” Auntie Pam declared from the stage with the singer at her side. “You’re my puppy love!”
Cue the screams.
“All of your fans here want you to have the same beautiful muscles and good health,” she told the ailing pop idol.
More screams ... and exeunt.
Kreangsak Suwanpantakul
The Nation
Source:http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aro...ail.php?id=4975
thanks to http://onlyf4.proboards48.com/
1:13 PM
