Mirror- The Wanna One of Hong Kong

Mirror is a 12 member Hong Hong idol group formed by participants of the Goodnight Show, Hong Kong's version of Produce 101. They are the latest craze in Hong Kong reigniting the fan culture for Hong Kong idols after its downfall in the 90s and early 2000s.

They debuted in 2018 and as mentioned above, the group is comprised of members that participated in the Goodnight Show; however, contrary to other audition programs such as Produce 101, the members of Mirror are not comprised of the top 12 winners of the show. Most of them only made it into the top 30; such as Tiger, Anson Lo, Alton, Frankie, and Jer; and some of the top 10 winners did not end up in Mirror. Their management and the company that produced the show, ViuTV, and their music management label Music Nation Group, picked members from the top 30 that best fit with what they wanted in a boy group. 

First, let me introduce you to the 12 members.

A lot of this information is from Kpop Profiles. 

Lokman aka 楊樂文 (Yeung Lok Man)

Birth Year: 1989

Position: Leader, Main Dancer, Main Rapper

Fun Facts:

- was a member of 香港男子鎖舞隊 aka Hong Kong Men Locking Crew along with Mirror members and his close friends Alton and Lokman

- prior to appearing on the Goodnight Show, he was an actor who starred in dancing movies such as "The Way We Dance" and "The Way We Keep Dancing"

Anson Kong aka 江熚生 (Kong Ip Sang)

Birth Year: 1992

Position: Sub-Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer

Fun Facts:

- prior to appearing on the Goodnight Show, he was a backup dancer

- there are two Anson's in Mirror so they often call him by his full name Anson Kong or AK

- has multiple solo songs with my favorite being (蝸牛) Snail

- his new solo 黑之呼吸 is also a new favorite of mine

Frankie aka 陳瑞輝 (Chan Sui Fai)

Birth Year: 1988

Position: Main Dancer, Sub-Rapper

Fun Facts:

- prior to appearing on the Goodnight Show, he was a backup dancer

- oldest member of the group

- has a girlfriend who he has been dating for over 11 years

Alton aka 王智德 (Wong Chi Tak)

Birth Year: 1989

Position: Body of the Group, Lead Dancer, Main Rapper

Fun Facts:

- prior to appearing on the Goodnight Show, he was a fitness trainer and bodybuilder

– He has a gym called Power 78.

- was a member of 香港男子鎖舞隊 aka Hong Kong Men Locking Crew along with Mirror members and his close friends Alton and Lokman

- very expressive and also cries easily

- Two of his popular quotes are “肌肉就是力量” (Muscle is power) and “尋求無悔真生活，路漫長也靜候” (Strive to live true and without regret, though the road is long, keep silently awaiting). They are lyrics from a song by Hong Kong singer Aaron Kwok. One of his famous moments was when he cried while saying this quote on the Goodnight Show. The members often make fun of him for this.

Stanley aka 邱士縉 (Yau Sze Chun)

Birth Year: 1990

Position: Lead Dancer, Sub-Vocalist, Sub-Rapper

Fun Facts:

- prior to appearing on the Goodnight Show, he was a backup dancer

- famous for looking like Hong Kong actor Chapman To

- has a girlfriend Alina who appeared on Goodnight Show 3

Jer aka 柳應廷 (Lau Ying Ting)

Birth Year: 1992

Position: Main Vocalist

Fun Facts:

- various solo songs such as 水刑物語, 迴光物語, 風靈物語, and 狂人日記 (in my opinion, his music gives me a bit of Eason Chan vibes)

砂之器

Ian aka 陳卓賢 (Chan Cheuk Yin)

Birth Year: 1993

Position: Main Vocalist, Sub-Rapper

Fun Facts:

- He was part of the Hong Kong Men’s Volleyball Team.

- currently dating a Hong Kong actress Amy Lo

- has many solo songs such as 另一個諾貝爾, 正式開始, 鯨落, and DWBF

- he writes and composes a lot of music such as Anson Kong's Snail

另一個諾貝爾

Anson Lo aka 盧瀚霆 (Lo Hon Ting)

Birth Year: 1995

Position: Main Lead Dancer, Sub-Vocalist, Sub-Rapper

Fun Facts:

- second Anson in the group and is usually referred to by his full name to make the distinction between the two Anson's

- Prior to appearing on the Goodnight Show, he was a dance instructor. You can see his videos on Youtube.

Anson Lo's class where he covered AoA's Miniskirt (Japanese version)

- Also has solo songs such as 角落生物 and EGO

EGO

- recently is starring in the popular BL drama, 大叔的愛 Ossan’s Love, with groupmate Edan

- starred in the viral Hong Kong McDonald's ad with groupmate Edan and Keung To

Jeremy aka 李駿傑 (Lee Chun Kit)

Birth Year: 1995

Position: Lead Dancer, Lead Vocalist

Fun Facts:

- always wanted to be a Kpop trainee and had a strong "Kpop flavor" to him when he first participated in the Goodnight Show

- is known to be husband material and is great at taking care of others

- often dyes his hair such as blue or pink (easy to spot in music videos)

Edan aka 呂爵安 (Lui Cheuk On)

Birth Year: 1997

Position: Lead Vocalist

Fun Facts:

- as stated above, starred in BL drama 大叔的愛 and the viral McDonald's ad

- known to have very exaggerated facial expressions when acting and singing

- he can play the violin and piano

- he loves his younger sister

- has a solo song: E先生連環不幸事件 (Mr. E’s Series of Unfortunate Events)

Tiger aka 邱傲然 (Yau Ngo Yin)

Birth Year: 1999

Position: Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer, Youngest Member

Fun Facts:

- youngest member in the group

- trained in Latin Dance

- directed the music video for MIRROR’s 破鏡

- known to be very quiet and is often encouraged by the other members to talk more and be more lively

- his idol is Leslie Chueng (it's the taste for me)

Keung To (姜濤)

Birth Year: 1999

Position: Center, Face of the Group, Lead Vocalist, Visual

Fun Facts:

- winner of season 1 of Goodnight Show

- probably THE most famous member of Mirror

- loved by fans for his innocence and cute looks

- he used to be very chubby and still lacks confidence in his looks even after losing weight due to his past

– In 2017, Keung To participated in the Chinese talent show ‘Super Boy’ and ranked within the top 30.

- loves to eat

- as stated above, starred in the viral McDonald's ad

– Solo songs such as 亞特蘭提斯, 蒙著嘴說愛你, 愛情簽證申請, and Master Class

Master Class

Songs

They debuted on November 3, 2018, with 一秒間 (In A Second). This is my favorite Mirror title track. Error, another group comprised of 4 participants of the Goodnight Show also debuted with a parody/cover of this song.

As a group, they also came back with ASAP, Ignited, Reflection, Warrior, and more.

Reflection (dance practice version)

Warrior

Their latest comeback is Boss.

Members Keung To and Anson Lo also formed a sub-unit and released BMG.

What Makes Them Different From Other Idols

Unlike Other Countries' Boy Groups

They are very different from South Korean, Japanese, or Mainland Chinese idols. I feel they are most similar to Taiwanese idols.

Rather than being managed by an entertainment label, they are managed by ViuTV, a tv broadcasting station. Thus, all the members are involved in acting, hosting, variety shows, and much more. You will often see them in various content released by ViuTV such as the volleyball drama We Are The Littles (男排女将) in which all the members of Mirror and Error starred in. This enables them to be all-rounded artists that are active in many fields. Many of them also have their own YouTube Channel.

Solos

They are also often active as solo artists. All the members have their own fandom with unique fandom names and fandom colors. Most of the members have multiple solos and their label has stated more members will have their own solos soon. The company gives them a lot of freedom to write and compose their own music. WE LOVE THAT! Can Kpop companies learn to do the same please, thank you?!

A huge selling point of Mirror are their solos. Currently, half of the members have personalized solos that suit their personalities and music style. For example, Jer has many rock songs. Anson Lo's solos are more dance pop. Ian and Anson Kong have more ballads and R&B songs. The various genres can help to attract new fans that like different types of music. It also shows off their variety of skills.

Age

I included their birth year to make this point. As of 2021, the oldest member is 33 years old while the youngest is 22, and mind you they haven't debuted for long. Most idols except in Jpop tend to be young (yes I know there are older groups such as Shinhwa that are still active but I am saying MAJORITY). There is a huge age gap between the members and a majority of the members are in their late twenties and it still works. They are still very popular with people of all ages in Hong Kong. This goes to show age really should not matter when it comes to music.

Dating

Hong Kong has a lot less filter compared to other Asian regions. They are often making sex jokes, cursing, and just saying whatever. They also date freely. Many of the members are in open relationships. I LOVE THIS! I think idols are just human beings and should be able to date freely. Mirror goes to show that idols can still have fans even while being in an open relationship. Your idol being in a relationship does not prevent you from loving them.

Not Perfect/Realistic

Kpop really set the bar sky-high with their rigorous trainee process. Most Kpop idols that debut are very well-trained through the highly developed trainee system. Even in many Korean audition programs, they are already well-trained despite still being a trainee. On the contrary, and I do not mean this in a condescending way at all, but compared to South Korean idols, Mirror did not debut perfectly trained. Most of them participated in Goodnight Show being good at only one thing and had little to no training in other aspects. Even after debuting in Mirror, the members are not perfect. HOWEVER, they are growing. With every comeback or solo, we still see growth in the members. In Chinese, there is a saying 养成系 which roughly means cultivating system where we see these idols slowly grow and progress. Mirror is a great example of this. They are super realistic because they are not perfect and that is completely fine. It even gives more hope to normal people who might not be confident in pursuing entertainment since we always only see these "perfect" people as artists rather than some more normal, relatable people. A lot of people might drag them because they are not as well trained as Kpop idols but I feel they do not have to be. Do I hope that they have better, more in sync choreographies sometimes? Yes. However, Mirror has their own charm. They are not just singers or dancers but are hilarious hosts, variety show guests, and actors. They might not be the "best" idol group technically, but they have their own charm so please give them a chance. I highly recommend listening to their solo songs to better understand their talents. 

Here are some live performances that I really love.

Anson Kong x Ian- 蝸牛

Ian- 鯨落

Jer, Anson Lo, Edan, and Keung To- 富士山下

Variety Shows/YouTube Videos

Here are some videos I really enjoy of the members. Hope this helps you get to know them a little bit more.

Episode 1 of 考有Feel

Mirror's 100 Questions Part 1

Hope you enjoyed this post. If you already know Mirror, who is your favorite member? If you don't, maybe give them a chance.

All pictures and videos do not belong to me and all rights belong to their owners.