Remember him? Former Energy boyband member Chang Shu-wei doesn't miss being an idol

To anyone growing up in the 2000s with even a remote exposure to Mandopop, the word 'Energy' meant more than just how late you managed to stay up.

They were one of the biggest boybands — possessing a lethal combination of athletic good looks as well as slick break-dancing moves and vocals — with legions of adoring (mostly female) fans around the region.

Those wild days of being chased after and surrounded by screaming fans are now bygones for one of the idols, Chang Shu-wei. Almost.

More than 10 die-hard Singapore fans welcomed him at the airport on Tuesday (Dec 3), after contacting Energy's former music label for his arrival details. One even brought her two young daughters along for the sweet reunion.

The 39-year-old told AsiaOne in Mandarin during a one-to-one interview that while he is extremely touched by the warm reception, he doesn't miss being a hot idol.

"I felt very lucky during that period, because I got to enjoy it when I was young. I don't especially miss it. I just feel luckier than others that I had the opportunity to be liked by so many people. The experience is nourishing for my performances now, as it's something not everyone can go through," Shu-wei said.

The guys still keep in contact, and meet up every year on July 12, the day the band was launched.

Shu-wei, Hsieh Kun-da, 'A-Di' Hsiao Ching-hung are now actors, 'Milk' Yeh Nai-wen an artiste manager, and 'Toro' Kuo Wei-yun the president of a media company.

'Xiao Gang' Tang Chen Kang, who joined Energy later on, is also an actor now.

HUNGER

This trip was Shu-wei's first to Singapore in 10 years since Energy disbanded in 2009. At Energy's peak between 2002 to 2006, the group came here practically every month for performances and promotions.

He was here to promote one of this latest shows, 76 Horror Bookstore First Series - Tin of Fear, at the Asia TV Forum & Market. The horror fantasy show features four different stories, each 20 to 30 minutes long.

Shu-wei plays the lead character in the story titled Hunger, portraying a heartless and greedy robber who murders his pregnant girlfriend in cold blood for money.

For that, he was sent to Hell and tortured.

Cue the almost sadistic scenes he had to film.

He described: "I ate almost an entire tube of toothpaste, force-drank around two litres of water, and was slapped 30 to 40 times by the actress who played my girlfriend. I like it to be realistic, but my cheeks were swollen by the end of the shoot."

That's not the worst.

"She also stuck her fist into my mouth, and it went down so deep to my tonsils that I threw up as a gag reflex," he continued. Thankfully, he only had to do one take for the scene.

"It was very tiring during those five days of filming and there were a lot of sadistic scenes, but there's a lot of chemistry and trust between myself, the director David Chuang and my co-star Cheng Jen-shuo. The show allowed a lot of room for creativity."

HE STILL HAS IT

Shu-wei is currently filming a 40-episode comedy in Taiwan, translated as Why Is My Mother-In-Law So Cute. In a recent episode, his character joins a singing competition and break-dances to win the judges' favour.

It went well, but…

"My thighs ached a bit afterwards," he smiled. "I didn't do my warm-ups and I haven't danced in 10 years."

Yup, he still has his killer moves.

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com