Tony Sun Says Career Hit A Low When “Jobs Stopped Coming” After 5566 Disbanded

More tea will be spilled over delectable home cooked dishes as celebs join Ah Ge Christopher Lee in the new season of talk show Dishing With Chris Lee.

If the show’s accolades at Star Awards 2023 are any indication — it bagged both Best Entertainment Programme and Best Programme Host awards — it looks like Chris and his team have found the recipe to success.

The first guests on the second season of the show are Kym Ng, and Taiwanese star Tony Sun of Taiwanese boyband 5566 fame.

For those who don’t know, Kym played Tony’s mum in the 2003 Taiwan drama Westside Story, and have met twice on the Star Awards stage, in 2006 and 2019.

Though Tony and Chris have not worked together, Kym makes the perfect ‘middleman’ between host and guest, much like the time she appeared on the first season of the show alongside MP Chan Chun Sing.

Besides whipping up a feast alongside Chris on a kelong, Tony, 46, was also grilled on the ups and downs he faced as the leader of 5566.

In the early noughties, way before the Hallyu craze, 5566 was the Mandopop boyband on everyone’s lips.

Don’t believe us? Just take it from Chris.

“5566 was so famous, we were all so jealous! You guys attended every charity event we held!” he exclaimed.

A shy Tony then said: “Yes, it seems like we appeared at every important event at that time. We once held a fan meet at the Merlion, and to date, I believe we are the only ones who have done something like that. We performed at the area in front of the Merlion, and the fans queued way past the [Esplanade] bridge to get our autograph.”

“It was really wild,” agreed Chris, who then asked: “How long was the group together before you guys decided to go solo?”

Tony explained: “We always had an arrangement where we would fly solo, but never disband. We would get together when there were jobs for us as 5566.”

Chris mentioned rumours of discord within the quartet, with reports claiming that the members didn’t get along.

Tony elaborated: "Back then, we were only in our early 20s, and our boss planned everything for us. We were young, and worked towards a common goal. However, when you reach a certain age, there are things you want to do, and you start to realise the meaning of life. It really came down to our choices."

He then brought up former band mate, Sam Wang, who has sat out from the group’s activities since 2016. “I feel like that can also be attributed to choice. He felt like the things he wanted to do [were different] and he did not want to be with the rest of us anymore,” explained Tony.

Chris concurred: “You’ve all grown up, and it’s impossible that you guys still share the same dream. The things you want to do will change, and there’s no right or wrong to it.”

When asked about the “low moments” in his career, Tony revealed: “It was when 5566 just ended (in 2008). During that time, all the jobs strangely stopped coming as well. I was left with a few ad hoc jobs."

Tony once said in an interview that he had used up all his savings in the three years after the group disbanded. His life hit another low following his much-publicised divorce with actress Angel Han in 2015.

While he did not mention said difficulties during his conversation with Chris and Kym, Tony shared that it was only after he began hosting more shows that things started to get back on track.

In a behind-the-scenes interview, Tony revealed: “Many years ago, when we released our last album (in 2008), although we didn’t say we were disbanding, we had completely stopped our activities as a group.”

Three of the group’s members —Tony, Zax Wang, and Jason Hsu — reunited in 2016 at the 51st Golden Bell Awards. They have since appeared as a trio on other programmes and held concerts in both Taipei and Singapore in 2019.

Tony continued: “It’s all thanks to our fans that we’ve been able to get together again, hold our concert, and record a new song. Plenty of time has passed but it feels like nothing much has changed.”

Photos: mewatch

Watch the full episode of Dishing With Chris Lee on mewatch, or catch it below.