Sandara Park and Barbie Hsu | Photos from @daraxxi and @hsushiyuan
The entertainment industry is mourning the untimely passing of Barbie Hsu, and tributes for the Taiwanese actress have been pouring in. Her Meteor Garden co-stars Jerry Yan and Ken Chu honored her memory on social media. And, among those deeply saddened by this tragic loss is South Korean star and 2NE1 member Sandara Park.
In the wake of Barbie’s sudden passing, an X (formerly Twitter) user, @pauloMDtweets, posted a video of Sandara performing the song “Ni Yao De Ai” (“The Love You Want”) by Penny Tai from Meteor Garden’s OST during Taiwan’s Kaohsiung New Year’s Eve Party. On the said post, Sandara replied, “Rest in peace Barbie Hsu. I got influenced by you since when I started my career. We will always remember you.” The song and Sandara’s performance hit differently now after Barbie’s death.
Sandara Park @krungy21 covers Penny Tai's Ni Yao De Ai at the Kaohsiung New Year's Eve Party.#SandaraPark #PennyTai #BarbieHsu #MeteorGarden pic.twitter.com/uLiflwOA01
— @pauloinmanila and 99 others (@pauloMDtweets) February 5, 2025
Here’s a video of Sandara rehearsing the song for the Kaohsiung New Year’s Eve party.
DARA during rehearsals — Ni Yao De Ai (你要的爱）
— 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐚 (@allinfordara) December 31, 2024
—
Sandara Park at Kaohsiung New Year’s Eve Party#SandaraPark #산다라박 #DARA pic.twitter.com/0wELKk3QaM
That was not the first time Sandara sang “Ni Yao De Ai” at an event. She also sang it alongside singer David Yong at the launch party of Netflix’s Super Rich in Korea last year.
Another Sandara Park singing "Ni Yao De Ai" at the launch party of Netflix Super Rich in Korea pic.twitter.com/yyrXyscWD0
— 산DARA 박 (@darunxxi) May 5, 2024
In 2019, Sandara did a cover of the Penny Tai original song, with an accompanying music video-like post on her Dara TV YouTube channel; the video was filmed in Bohol, Philippines.
Barbie and Sandara are both well-loved in the Philippines. Barbie’s iconic 2001 Taiwanese series Meteor Garden achieved phenomenal success as Filipino viewers embraced it and its cast members when its Tagalog-dubbed version aired on ABS-CBN in 2003. Sandara, on the other hand, lived in the Philippines and joined the talent search TV program Star Circle Quest in 2004, just about a year after the so-called “Meteor Garden fever” took over the country.
News of Barbie’s death made headlines last February 3. Her sister, Dee Hsu, confirmed the news through her agency and shared that Barbie died due to influenza-induced pneumonia while their family was vacationing in Japan for the Lunar New Year holiday. Barbie is survived by her South Korean husband, Koo Jun Yup (DJ Koo), and her two kids (a 10-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son) whom she shared with her ex-husband, Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei. She married Koo in 2022, a few months after she and Wang divorced.
