- While Keung To is the most popular in the group, Lo and Edan Lui are seeing their star power rise thanks to roles in ViuTV drama ‘Ossan’s Love’
- The band’s popularity sparks competition for K-pop groups like Blackpink and BTS and nostalgia for the Four Heavenly Kings of the 90s
When Mirror member Anson Lo Hon-ting turned 26, his fans crowdfunded money for an advertisement to appear on billboards in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: SCMP/ Winson WongFor five hours, Chu Wan-ting stood in a long line at a shopping mall, hoping to get her hands on the treasure hidden inside a claw machine – a Polaroid of the man of her dreams, Anson Lo Hon-ting from the boy band Mirror.
The 24-year-old social worker arrived at the pop-up store at K11 Musea at 9am, two hours before it was set to open, confident she would snag the coveted memorabilia.
To her surprise, 10 people were already ahead of her in the queue, and they were also eager to have their turn on the claw machines.
Mirror sets hearts aflame with their concert series
As the store opened, the line grew longer. Each time Chu wanted to have another go at the machine, which offered a variety of Mirror products, she had to pay HK$50. She ended up making 20 attempts, blowing HK$1,000, yet did not get her prized Polaroid.
“I was out of my mind,” she said, recalling the experience from several months ago. The Polaroid did not have Lo’s autograph on it, but Chu felt it was unique.
On July 7, she pierced her ears – despite having always feared the pain – to wear “AL” earrings shaped after her idol’s initials, as the star celebrated his 26th birthday.
A bus advertisement for Anson Lo on his birthday.
Even though Chu has hated pink all her life, she also recently bought a pair of sneakers in that colour “out of irresistible urge”, because it is Lo’s favourite shade.
The outburst of enthusiasm for Lo was on full display in Hong Kong earlier this month, with his fans crowdfunding more than HK$1 million to splash their birthday blessings to him on a gigantic billboard at the Tsim Sha Tsui pier, on public buses, and even on a cruise. Some rented a van that played Lo’s latest music video on two 100-inch screens mounted on the vehicle, as it toured the city for six days.
Lo is only one of Mirror’s 12 members, who were selected fromViuTV’s popular talent competition series Good Night Show – King Maker.
The public needs to take care of Keung To
Keung To, 22, is arguably the most popular in the group. But Lo and Edan Lui Cheuk-on have also seen their star power rise, thanks to their roles in drama Ossan’s Love, which premiered on ViuTV last month. It is Hong Kong’s first “boys’ love” series, a term for media showing romance between gay men.
“[Lo’s birthday] should be a public holiday, definitely not a day to go to work,” Chu said. “Just like the Buddha’s birthday.”
She loves Lo because, according to her, he is always looking out for other members of the band. A hardcore fan of Canto-pop, one of Chu’s laments is that Hongkongers are always head over heels in love with Kpop.
But the tide might be changing.
Angie Ng, 13, used to be a fan of Korean girl band Blackpink. Now she is madly in love with Lo.
The student from St Stephen Girls’ College manages a Mirror fan page on Instagram where she posts latest news from the band, and also to give away free souvenirs to other fans. The page has more than 1,000 followers.
To celebrate Lo’s birthday, she designed a fake credit card that has Lo’s face and the numbers “1995 0707” – his birth date – on it. She printed 500 copies and distributed them at the pier in Tsim Sha Tsui with other fans who gathered there to celebrate Lo’s birthday.
Regina Ip thinks Mirror should perform on the mainland
“It’s been a while since Hong Kong people last felt so excited about a local boy group,” she said. “Mirror is the rise of a new stardom.”
Even Ng’s father, in his mid-50s, has jumped on the Mirror train. For his daughter, he queued for three hours at the claw machine at K11 Musea for Lo’s Polaroid, spending HK$200 but failing to bag the item.
“Hong Kong people need Mirror,” the senior Ng said. The last time he felt so excited for a Hong Kong singer was back in the 1990s, in the heyday of Canto-pop.
Anson Lo Hon-ting and Edan Lui Cheuk-on meet their fans before modelling in a closed-door styling photo shoot to promote new Gucci Basket sneakers at the Gucci store in Harbour City. Photo: SCMP/ Felix Wong
A 45-year-old hypnotherapist, also a Mirror fan, said she knew of women who turned to the band in pursuit of romance because their husbands had lost interest in them. The woman, who did not want to be identified, was a hardcore fan of Leon Lai, one of Hong Kong’s “four heavenly kings” who ruled the music scene in the 1990s.
She went to Lai’s concert earlier this month, only to discover that her feelings for Lai had faded.
“I didn’t feel as strongly as I did at Mirror’s concert. Maybe it’s because there are 12 of them, and all of them seem to be talented in everything,” she said.
Canto-pop star AGA shares how Hong Kong has influenced her sound
Sharing the latest news of the boy band in a Whatsapp group of about 10 other mothers has now become part of her daily routine, as well as talking to family members about the Ossan’s Love drama.
“It’s the first time ever that our family looks forward to a TV drama every day when we come home. We laugh together and pay attention to everything about the show.”
One of her daughters, also a fan of Lo, has even applied to take part in the latest Good Night Show – King Maker 4, hoping to become another star.