Mayday's "Back to That Day" concert at the Taipei Dome on July 12 not only broke the venue's record with eight sold-out shows but also secretly orchestrated a two-year plan to bring together the legendary group F4 for their first reunion in 12 years. Their performance of "Meteor Rain" with Mayday left tens of thousands in tears. Faced with this emotional "nostalgia bomb," netizens exclaimed, "It seems like my youth has returned!"
Mayday shouted to the audience, "Look up, and you'll see meteors. Witness the miracle right now." As the opening notes of "Meteor Rain" played, time seemed to rewind to 2001 instantly—the summer when TV series Meteor Garden swept across Asia. The sealed door of the past 24 years slowly opened, and F4's Vic Chou, Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, and Ken Zhu stood shoulder-to-shoulder in tailored suits, singing this melody etched into the DNA of a generation alongside Mayday.
This reunion, 12 years in the making, was a reunion across time that Mayday had spent two years overcoming countless obstacles to achieve.
Eyes glimmered with tears
Yan's eyes reddened, Chou lowered his head to hide his trembling lips, Wu's knuckles turned white as he gripped the microphone, and Zhu tilted his head back, letting the stage lights blur his tear stains. In this moment, Meteor Garden's Dao Ming Si, Hua Ze Lei, Xi Men, and Mei Zuo were no longer just silhouettes in memory but stood real and alive beside each other, singing that year's "Meteor Rain."
Before the song even ended, the entire venue was already drowning in tears.
"It took us two whole years to get them standing together. Tonight's group photo will be the brightest one ever," Mayday's vocalist Ashin said.
It's reported that F4 members have pursued separate paths in recent years—Chou focused on film and television, Yan thrived in variety shows, Wu ventured into fashion, and Ken transitioned into being a food influencer. Coordinating their schedules was a "cosmic-level challenge." The team at Believe Music even adopted a "fully confidential planning" approach, with rehearsals conducted secretly late at night after the venue had cleared.
Heartwarming interactions dispel rumors of discord
News of F4's reunion quickly dominated social media, with "F4 Reunion" and "Meteor Rain" trending. Countless netizens posted emotionally: "My youth!" "I can't believe my childhood idols are on stage together—I'm sobbing!"
Chou thanked Ashin for making the reunion happen and, in a rare display of humor, said, "I'm a Mayday fan, but I'm shy and don't often hang out with everyone. Standing on stage today, the air even feels fresher."
Yan shared, "It feels like a dream. I never imagined standing on Mayday's stage. Thank you, Mayday and Julia Hsieh, for pulling off something so incredible—getting all four of us together on stage. I never dared to dream of this. Thank you, Ashin, for giving us so much strength and reminding us of our youth."
Ashin praised Wu for his energy and invited him to jam on guitar together next time. Vanness opened up about his comeback feelings: "I'm so grateful. Thank you to everyone here for sharing this beautiful night. Mayday gave us this opportunity—it wasn't easy, and it took a lot of effort. Mostly, I'm just so thankful."
Zhu joked self-deprecatingly, "Finally, I don't have to pretend and say, 'I'm not close with them' anymore!" Behind this playful remark lay the bond the four have maintained despite their separate careers over the years.
"You're crying, huh?" Chou teased Yan, whose eyes were glistening, while Wu quietly reached over to adjust his earpiece. This natural interaction instantly shattered long-standing rumors of "F4's discord."
Ashin, watching the four banter, laughed, "Is this kind of moment free to see?" Then he added earnestly, "There's been a lot of turmoil in the past, but now, in 2025, none of that matters anymore. Time helps us see what's truly precious."
With the sudden passing of "Shancai" (Barbie Hsu) earlier this year, her absence made F4's reunion all the more poignant. Netizens wept: "Barbie must be watching from above!" It seemed "Shancai" had unwittingly become the catalyst for F4's reunion. Perhaps her absence made the members reflect more deeply on life's fragility and the meaning of friendship and youth.
In the audience, countless '80s and '90s kids experienced a similar epiphany—the teenagers who once waited eagerly for Meteor Garden were now weighed down by the mundanity of daily life, yet in the instant the melody played, they touched that innocent era when "looking up meant seeing meteors" once again.
As the performance concluded, F4 and Mayday sang "The Song of Laughter and Forgetting" together.
Ashin softly said, "As long as you believe, youth will never fade." Rumors suggest F4 is preparing for a 25th-anniversary Asia tour in 2026, making this historic reunion possibly just the prologue to a legendary revival. As the final note faded, the screen froze on an image of the seven embracing—a moment spanning a quarter-century of waiting, a mutual admiration between two generations of iconic bands, and an entire generation's definition of "youth."
Perhaps this is the power of idols—they're not just stars but the guardians of a generation's youthful memories.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: An Xia; English Editor: Darius)
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