ブラビ　と　ビビアン　スー

In late '97 a flash of J-Pop goodness appeared on Japan's horizon in the form of a most unlikely group of members...in a time when "idol" groups were just about to break free from their brief hiatus of unpopularity there came a group comprised of 2 comedians and a very very cute Taiwanese model (note: fourth member Keddy who's second from the left in the photo above didn't join the group until the release of their 4th single and full length album in the Summer of '99). "Black Biscuits" debuted with their single "Stamina" in December of '97 and the formula of odd couple meets model proved to be a successful match winning them instant popularity and with one of them named "Amazon" one can only imagine the treat we were in for! Their name itself..."Black Biscuits" was an amusing play on words adopted from the other....um biscuit group. :P The Black Biscuits are Vivian Hsu, Nanami Kyoya, Amazon, and Keddy.  Black Biscuits released 4 singles, 1 album, & a video clip compilation which offered a fun look inside of what makes them tick plus production footage with lots of wacky moments! The videos chapters include 1. Promotion Video 2. How To Dance and 3. Promotion Video Making. Yes! 'How To Dance'! :O One may wonder if a comedic duo can really hold up their end of vocal demands and they're actually really good...(a song such as "Choice" is just one example of vocal prowess within the group and also offers a more serious side to the group) of course you have to keep in mind that this whole project was based on the idea of having fun in a "new" element. All members were also active in lyric writing with Kyoya acting also as producer. The special blend of sometimes offbeat vocals provided by the male duo being coupled with the silky smoothness of Vivian Hsu's voice creates such an unusual and powerful dynamic and their music truly strives on this aspect as they venture from the sounds of mid temple r&b to boogie wonderland to at last disco inferno! Vivian Hsu was literally learning to speak Japanese at the time of these releases and on her solo pv collection "Tenshi Xiang" there's some great footage of her preparing in her dressing room with lyric notes as she tries over and over to memorize the sound of the words just moments before going on stage for a fan event! What this presents is Vivian Hsu having such a cute way of articulating some lyrics and it truly becomes a very significant charm point of their releases. Their album "Life" includes a few bonus tracks which showcases Vivian Hsu singing her parts in her native language instead of Japanese in exclusive alternate album versions which adds a really nice touch. And I must add it's so cute to hear her rap!!....as she shines on a few tracks! ^-^ Her little rap in "Relax" reminds me a bit of Amurochan's rap in "Chase the Chance"...just add a little bit of Red Bull and shake well into cute overdrive!

Don't fear the disco inferno!!! (^o^)
Click here to listen to the Black biscuit's "Timing."
This is one of my favorite songs by them and if you enjoyed this song others that I recommend would be "Bye-Bye", "Relax", and "Romantic." "Bye-Bye" is really catchy and the pv's linked at the end of this post along with "Timing." Vivian Hsu had been quite active in the music industry in Taiwan prior to Black Biscuits and during her tenure in Black Biscuits she also released solo works including her Japanese debut album "1st Album" (toct-10587) which was released on November 26th, 1998. This album is a real joy to listen to as it matches catchy songwriting with Vivian Hsu's uniquely cute vocals. A second Japanese album release would follow in March of 2000 before collaborated works with Kazuma. "Tenshi Xiang" includes 7 pvs however I must warn that 3 of them are edited versions which run only a little over 2 minutes each. This collection has a running time of approximately 32 minutes and I'm not aware of it having been re-released onto DVD but I'd definitely purchase it again if it were to be made available. I first became aware of Vivian Hsu when I received a promo single of "8月のバレンタイン" ("Hachigatsu no valentine"/ "August Valentine") and this song represents truly pure J-pop untouched by Western influences in its cutest form. I just adore this song so much!!  Infectious melody...just perfect!!
Click here to listen to Vivian Hsu's "Hachigatsu no valentine."