If looks, personality and catchy tunes are what they need to be hit singers, the vocal group Venus Flytrap are bound for stardom. There is one thing, though: this business of dressing up like girls.

Thailand's first ladyboy musical outfit have attracted lots of fans and in December issued everyone a "Visa for Love" - their first album.

The Flytrap consist of Dhanade "Taya" Ruangroongroj (known Spice-Girls-style as Cool Venus), who was first-runner up in the 2005 Miss Tiffany Universe pageant, Topmonthawan "Gina" Boonchalee (Naughty Venus), Krerkkong "Nok" Suanyot (Posh Venus), Ploipaitoon "Bobo" Moukprakaaiphed (Hot Venus) and Rachakorn "Amy" Jaroensuk (Sweet Venus).

One of their first gigs was at a Virgin Hitz Radio party, a bit of a surprise debut.

"At first the audience was quiet, then they started talking, and when they realised we were katoey, they started screaming!" says Nok.

There was enough of a buzz around this exotic blossom, in fact, that Venus Flytrap were the surprise guests at the recent Tata Young concert. There, though, the crowd seemed stunned motionless. The naughty one decided to break the ice.

"You're shocked," Gina told Tata's fans. "We're shocked, too!"

In an interview with The Nation, Flytrap tend toward the "we're no different from anyone else" approach. They want to be a part of representing the katoey community, but be themselves, not "a ladyboy band".

"We're not telling people we're boys, girls or katoey - we're just ourselves," says Nok.

Besides, Amy adds, "acting like katoey would just make us the same as everyone else."

Nok, who won the personality prize at the 2005 Miss Apsa Awards, explains that when guys decide to become gals, most of them act politely, the exception being the fad of a few years ago that involved a lot of drama-queen screaming. Then there are the "aeb katoey", who never tell anyone they're katoey.

But the members of Venus Flytrap are doing what they want without compromise to stereotypes or boundaries.

They do so by focusing on experiences everyone has had, like love and heartbreak. The first single, "Cause I'm Your Lady", is about a relationship that chills when the lovers becomes distant.

"We're faced with all the emotions that everyone has - happiness, loneliness and sadness," says Nok, adding that there are so many performers who focus on their gay attributes, if Venus Flytrap did the same it would be redundant.

"Others have already paved the way for us. Now it's up to us to open up that road and put in some plants and flowers."

The new album has been lovingly planted at Siam Square and 7-Eleven outlets, and in several provinces upcountry, including Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai.

It's got a fun factor to it they've dubbed "nuable" - Asian-style pop music with a European touch. The lyrics in Thai perch on a mix of electronic, house and new wave music.

Their voices can sound feminine, the result of long training, not surgery, though they can also switch back and forth to baritone, an ability that Bobo in particular has mastered. It makes for great harmonising, says Gina, who can sing the highest notes.

The ladyboy factor is a drawback in the sense that it can be difficult being taken seriously. Other such bands have tried and failed, notably a South Korean band called Lady whose members resorted to posing nude for a magazine and still got nowhere.

Would Venus Flytrap try that? Not for the sake of success, says Amy.

"If we were to pose nude it would all depend on if there was a well-planned concept. It wouldn't be about selling ourselves."

Venus Flytrap may or not find their way to the top of the charts, but they've got the ability and confidence - and bravery - to earn plenty of fans. They could well live up to their name as a lure of love.

Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra

The Nation