After Class (group)

After Class
After Class in an event in 2023
Starting from left: Gigi Yim, Chantel Yiu, Windy Zhan, Yumi Chung
Background information
Also known as"Four Little Flowers of Stars Academy" (聲夢四小花)
OriginHong Kong
Genres
Occupation
  • Singers
Years active2021 (2021)–present
Labels
Members

After Class is a Hong Kong Cantopop girl group formed from Hong Kong broadcaster TVB's reality talent show Stars Academy in 2021. The group consists of four members: Gigi Yim, Windy Zhan, Chantel Yiu and Yumi Chung. They debuted on 27 November 2021, with the first single Present for Future [zh] (要為今日回憶).

History

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2021-22: Formation

[edit]

In 2021, TVB started to create its own reality talent competition Stars Academy.[1] In the competition, which is also the first season of its competition series, Gigi Yim, Windy Zhan, Chantel Yiu, and Yumi Chung are the youngest contestants among all.[2]

The Quartet have been called the "Four Little Flowers of Stars Academy" (聲夢四小花) since the end of the competition.[3] On 25 November 2021, all four members hinted that they would form a group called "After Class" through their Instagram accounts.[4] Two days later, the music video of the group's debut "Present For Future" was released via YouTube.[5] On 28 November, After Class made their live debut performance of "Present For Future" in the annual charity fundraising show Gala Spectacular [zh], co-organised by the Po Leung Kuk and TVB, at the Hong Kong Coliseum.[6] Later, the TVB drama Forever Young at Heart (青春本我), which stars all four members, aired on the TVB Jade starting from 5 December 2021 till 13 February 2022, and their performances have attracted media attention.[7][8][9]

On 23 January 2022, the group gained their first peak chart position in TVB with their debut "Present For Future".[10] The group hosted their first virtual concert in "Yahoo Metaverse" organised by Yahoo Hong Kong on 17 June 2022.[11]

On 16 November 2022, All About Music released a teaser of After Class's dance-pop single "Not Givin' Up",[12] and the song was sent to local radio stations the next day.[13] On 18 November, the lyrics video of "Not Givin' Up" was released via YouTube.[14] On 4 December, After Class's live performance of the song at the TVB City was premiered in the annual charity fundraising show Tung Wah Charity Show, co-organised by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and TVB.[15][16]

On 23 December 2022, After Class received a Cantopop rookie award at the Yahoo Asia Multiverse Buzz Awards 2022 [zh] which was organised by Yahoo Hong Kong and took place at the KITEC, and it was the first award the group received.[17] On 29 December, After Class received another rookie award at the 2022 Metro Radio Music Awards [zh] which was hosted by the Metro Broadcast Corporation and held at the HKCEC, and the group performed the song "Not Givin' Up" live at the award presentation ceremony.[18]

Name

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According to member Chantel Yiu, their manager named the group "After Class" as the members could only work and meet after class.[19]

Members

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English Name Traditional Chinese Name Birthday Rank in Stars Academy
Gigi Yim 炎明熹 (2005-04-09) 9 April 2005 (age 19) 1
Windy Zhan 詹天文 (2006-03-02) 2 March 2006 (age 18) 10
Chantel Yiu [zh] 姚焯菲 (2006-09-22) 22 September 2006 (age 18) 2
Yumi Chung 鍾柔美 (2006-12-21) 21 December 2006 (age 17) 3

Discography

[edit]

Singles

[edit]
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
HK
"Present For Future [zh]"
(要為今日回憶)[5]
2021 Non-album singles
"Not Givin' Up"[20] 2022
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Awards and nominations

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Award ceremony Year Category Result
Yahoo Asia Multiverse Buzz Awards 2022 [zh] Popular Groups by Votes Final 3[21]
Music Rookies (Groups) Won[17]
Metro Radio Music Awards 2022 [zh] Best Rookies Won[18]

References

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  1. ^ "14歲巨肺少女、《全民造星》落選人、王菲接班人?TVB《聲夢傳奇》5個參賽者成焦點" (in Traditional Chinese). ELLE Hong Kong. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. ^ "曾志偉上場即煞停《聲夢傳奇》 清剿余詠珊何哲圖勢力". 新假期 (Weekend Weekly) (in Traditional Chinese). 19 February 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  3. ^ "聲夢小花獲粉絲重本搞巴士應援". Singtao Daily (in Traditional Chinese). 5 August 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  4. ^ "【青春本我X聲夢傳奇】炎明熹率先組女團出歌 Chantel+Yumi+Windy力撼《造星IV》". Hong Kong Economic Times. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "聲夢四小花組女團After Class 為樂壇注入少女青春氣息". 巴士的報 (Bastille Post) (in Traditional Chinese). 28 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  6. ^ "撼《造星IV》?聲夢4小花組女團After Class". am730 (in Traditional Chinese). 29 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  7. ^ "青春本我|炎明熹喊戲獲正評 姚焯菲民初Look獲讚靚爆鏡 - 20211220 - SHOWBIZ". Mingpao OL (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  8. ^ "鍾柔美主唱《青春本我》插曲首曝光唱出被欺凌者心酸". Bastille Post (in Traditional Chinese). 30 November 2021.
  9. ^ "《青春本我》詹天文曬高音 網民讚超勁 - 20220109 - SHOWBIZ". Mingpao OL (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  10. ^ "勁歌金曲J2版". 勁歌金曲J2版 (in Traditional Chinese). 22 January 2022. TVB. TVB J2. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  11. ^ "【虛擬經濟】Yahoo Metaverse夥拍女團After Class Decentraland推元宇宙音樂節目 聯乘本地新晉藝術家舉辦NFT畫展". Hong Kong Economic Times. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  12. ^ "After Class 全新歌曲 《Not Givin' Up》丨請密切留意各大電台丨#shorts". YouTube (in Traditional Chinese). 愛爆音樂 (All About Music). 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  13. ^ "新城知訊台 勁爆派台歌:Not Givin' Up / After Class" (in Traditional Chinese). 新城知訊台 (Metro Info). 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  14. ^ "After Class《Not Givin' Up》Official Lyrics Video". YouTube (in Traditional Chinese). 愛爆音樂. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  15. ^ "歡樂滿東華2022 丨 After Class 四小花 好歌連唱撐東華丨 炎明熹 丨 姚焯菲 丨 鍾柔美 丨 詹天文". YouTube (in Traditional Chinese). TVB. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  16. ^ "《歡樂滿東華2022》舉行 百位明星接力表演籌募善款". Wen Wei Po (in Traditional Chinese). 3 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  17. ^ a b "After Class與COLLAR同獲組合獎 「人氣票后」炎明熹:是良性競爭". Mingpao (in Traditional Chinese). 25 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  18. ^ a b "新城頒獎禮2022|After Class共奪5獎 炎明熹以女歌手獎為目標:要有明確方向". Headline Daily (in Traditional Chinese). 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  19. ^ "TVB「After Class」成團2個月 公布隊長身分以及門面擔當". HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). 2 March 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  20. ^ "新城知訊台 勁爆派台歌:Not Givin' Up / After Class" (in Traditional Chinese). 新城知訊台 (Metro Info). 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Buzz Awards 2022". Yahoo Hong Kong. Retrieved 7 January 2023.