Mirror, Hong Kong Music Legends, on “Rumours” English-Language Debut, K-Pop Comparisons, and Last Year’s Onstage Accident

Mirror’s twelve members realized a lifelong ambition in 2018 when they won a reality program, formed a boy band, and became Hong Kong’s Canto-pop singing success. After five years, the lads had loftier goals.

“Some of us really want to join Marvel,” Mirror member Edan Lui tells in an interview. The statement may appear to be a joke. But no, it is not, as fellow member Anson Lo, Lui’s co-star in 2021 hit ViuTV BL drama “Ossan’s Love Hong Kong,” echoes: “We want to get on some talk shows in the U.S. as well, or any Hollywood movies, TV, live performances. Yes, please invite us.”

There was no sudden emergence of the band’s Hollywood wishlist. This happened after they recorded their first English-language single, “Rumours,” a catchy EDM-influenced tune that was released globally on Friday (March 17), along with a narrative music video that follows the 12 members (Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Ian Chan, Jeremy Lee, Keung To, Tiger Yau, Lui, and Lo) on a mission to track down a mysterious girl.

Mirror’s international debut is the result of a joint venture between the band and Sony Music Entertainment. Chris Meyer and Alex Ludwig Lindell, two Swedish songwriters, and producers, are in charge of “Rumours.” They have previously worked with the K-pop groups Super Junior and SHINee. Edward Chan’s production team includes Andrew Choi (vocal producer) and Ken Lewis (mixing engineer, nominated for a Grammy) as A&R support staff.

Compared to Mirror’s prior chart-topping singles like “Ignited,” “Boss,” and “Warrior,” the resulting song has a more refined sound. Since the members of the band all grew up speaking Cantonese in Hong Kong, they said they had to work with a voice coach to prepare for their performance in English.

After last year’s shocking occurrence, in which a big video screen collapsed from the roof during their Hong Kong concert, the publication of “Rumours” also proved to be a significant step forward for Mirror. Two dancers were hurt, one of them seriously, and the band had to cancel their concert tour and their early plans to tour internationally. During that time, the band members took a month off to deal with the tragedy.

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“It was a very difficult time for us, for dancers, and for Hong Kong citizens. We really needed the time to digest what happened. We couldn’t understand why or how it could happen,” Lui says.

“We tried to deal with our emotions first,” adds Stanley Yau. We also made an effort to improve our abilities and acquire new ones throughout our downtime.

At this point, returning to the stage is crucial. The faith of our supporters depends on us. They waited for us to make a comeback,” Lo notes.

At the Ultimate Song Chart Awards Ceremony in early 2021, Keung To, a member of Mirror, set a record by becoming the youngest person to receive the coveted My Favorite Male Singer Award and My Favorite Song Award. Because of recent political upheaval and stringent COVID regulations, Hong Kong was already facing a difficult social and political climate at the time. The success of the band gave the people of Hong Kong a reason to be optimistic.

Moreover, Mirror is responsible for resurrecting the public’s interest in Cantonese-language pop music, which had been on the decline for nearly a decade as many singers migrated to the much larger mainland Chinese market to focus on Mando-pop (songs performed in Mandarin).

Mirror acknowledges that their first English-language release may not sound that different from the K-pop dance numbers that have swept the mainstream. Mirror, though, is sure that the band is fundamentally different from its K-pop contemporaries.

“Unlike typical K-pop idols, we are not confined to a particular perfect image or to look a certain way,” Lui says. “We can always make funny faces, make fun of others during our interviews, or even act a little crazy. We can just keep laughing.”

While the members of Mirror perform together as a pop group, they also pursue side gigs. Singers like Jeremy Lee, Jer Lau, and Ian Chan have all put out solo tracks in the previous month.

Some of them work in the film and tv industry as well. Lokman Yeung (“The Way We Dance”), frontman of the band, attended the Berlin premiere of “Crazy Fate,” a criminal thriller directed by Soi Cheang. Also, the film is one of two opening night features at the upcoming 30th March Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Mirror also made announcements about other film projects at the Hong Kong FilMart this past week, including the crime drama “The Moon Thieves,” starring Lo and Lui, which is presently in production in Japan. We 12, a science fiction hero fantasy film created by the MakerVille division of PCCW and starring all 12 members, will be the group’s first film appearance.