85-639: Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture . He is often dubbed as the " God of Songs " for his vocal delivery and live performances. Cheung's accolades include the World Music Award (1996) for the World's Best-Selling Asian Artist, the Billboard Music Award (1994) for Most Popular Asian Singer, and
170-564: A Guinness World Record for the largest combined audience for a live act in 12 months (2,048,553 audience members). In 1999, Cheung was honored by Junior Chamber International as one of the Ten Outstanding Young People in the World. Cheung is the best-selling music artist of all time in Taiwan and Hong Kong, with album sales exceeding 25 to 60 million records worldwide. His A Classic Tour (2016–2019) ranks among
255-611: A cantopop song for big band or jazz combo arrangement. The Goodbye Kiss (album) The Goodbye Kiss ( Chinese : 吻別 ; pinyin : Wěnbié ) is the fifth Mandarin studio album by Hong Kong recording artist Jacky Cheung . It was released through PolyGram Records Hong Kong on 5 March 1993. The Mandopop album was a great success in the Greater China region . The album sold over 5 million copies in 1993 throughout Asia, including 1,360,000 copies in Taiwan alone, making it one of Cheung's three million-selling records in
340-488: A certain degree. By definition hybrids are still considered Cantonese songs due to the Cantonese lyrics, though the rights borrowed varies country to country. Songs like "Tomorrow sounds like today" ( 明日話今天 ) by Jenny Tseng , "Life to seek" ( 一生何求 ) by Danny Chan , "Snowing" ( 飄雪 ) by Priscilla Chan , and "Can't afford" ( 負擔不起 ) by Jade Kwan were originally composed outside of Hong Kong. Many critics disapprove of
425-416: A common practice among Hong Kong record companies. At that time, Hong Kong's constantly growing music industry acknowledges simply by using those hits, whose already gained popularity, will be the easiest way to reach success in the market. Cover versions were also widely used as a solution to address the shortage of the local hits due to the lack of local composers. Another reason for the use of cover versions
510-500: A culturally challenging atmosphere for the industry. Establishment of Basic Law and language ordinances made the adoption of Mandarin inevitable. In 2019, Andy Lau spoke of his desire for a reunion of the Four Heavenly Kings in an interview with the press. At the turn of the century, Cantonese was still dominant in the domain of Chinese pop . The deaths of superstars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in 2003 rocked
595-457: A dance troupe of 20 members with new choreography and dazzling production sets. The tour schedule includes arena-size shows in Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Ningbo and additional venues across China in to 2024. Cheung not only performs solo but often performs duets with female singers. Cheung recorded a duet with Filipino singer and Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez for
680-613: A descending bassline . Cantonese is a pitch sensitive tonal language . The word carries a different meaning when sung in a different relative pitch. Matching Cantonese lyrics to Western music was particularly difficult because the Western musical scale has 12 semitones . Through the work of pioneers like Samuel Hui , James Wong ( 黃霑 ) and Jimmy Lo Kwok Tsim ( 盧國沾 ), those that followed have more stock phrases for reference. Famous lyricists also include Albert Leung (林夕) and Wyman Wong (黃偉文). Tonal constraints have been blamed for
765-698: A reservation officer for the airline Cathay Pacific . His music career started when he won the Amateur 18-Hong Kong district singing contest in 1984 with the song "Fatherland" ( 大地恩情 ) by Michael Kwan . He outcompeted more than 10,000 other contestants. After winning the contest, he was signed by the then Polygram Records , now Universal Music Group . Although encouraged by a bright start, he did not achieve immediate supremacy in Cantopop , then dominated by Leslie Cheung , Alan Tam , Anita Mui and Danny Chan . In 1985, he won his first two major awards together with
850-573: A song by other artists for the first time. In the fast-changing scene of canto-pop, Cheung has maintained his popularity and sales power for more than 20 years after his debut, an incredible feat in Hong Kong pop music. In 2007, Cheung staged his Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 2007. The tour started on 18 February 2007 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas . When the tour ended in Hong Kong on 3 February 2008 after touring 58 cities around
935-726: A special glass-CD, also a first in Chinese pop history. " Double Trouble " from Private Corner was a featured produced number in the Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century World Tour. For the Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century World Tour , he set a Guinness World record for the largest combined audience for a live act in 12 months, with 2,048,553 audience members. During the first 12 months of the tour, which ran from 30 December 2010 to 29 December 2011, there were 105 live concerts in 61 cities across China, USA, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Cheung won
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#17327830202941020-468: Is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese . Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hong Kong popular music from the middle of the decade. Cantopop then reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s before slowly declining in the 2000s and shrinking in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself
1105-477: Is also influenced by other international genres, including jazz , rock and roll , R&B , disco , electronic , ballad and others. Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese . Boasting a multi-national fanbase, the genre has gained popularity in countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Additionally, it has found following in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and
1190-453: Is less formal. The lyrics written in colloquial Cantonese make up the majority with compositions done in modern written Chinese . TV shows filmed under modern contexts will use songs written with these lyrics. Most songs share an over-riding characteristic, in which every last word of a phrase is rhymed . The following is an example from the song "Impression" ( 印象 ) by Samuel Hui . The last word of every phrase ends with '–oeng'. Cantopop
1275-420: Is one of the best-selling Chinese music albums of all time, achieving more sales in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia than ever attained before, with more than 5 million copies sold in 1993, making him one of PolyGram's top 10 artists worldwide that year. It made him the first singer with non-Taiwanese citizenship to win Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards . The album was also instrumental in helping Cheung break into
1360-517: Is to minimise the production costs. The practice is also done for business reasons of filling up albums and re-capitalizing on songs with a proven record. The Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards, which is one of the major music awards in Hong Kong since 1979, can reflect the great reliance on Japanese melodies in Cantopop. During the 1980s, 139 out of 477 songs from weekly gold songs chart were cover versions, and 52% of
1445-548: The 1980s , Cantopop soared to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as Alan Tam , Leslie Cheung , Anita Mui , Sally Yeh , Priscilla Chan , Sandy Lam , Danny Chan , Jacky Cheung , Andy Lau quickly became household names. The industry used Cantopop songs in TV dramas and movies, with some of the biggest soundtracks coming from films such as A Better Tomorrow ( 英雄本色 ). Sponsors and record companies became comfortable with
1530-567: The 1985 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards and the 1985 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards . From 1985 to 1998, he won the Top 10 Songs award from Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards every year, except in 1988. In 1991, he released the song "Loving You More Every Day" ( 每天愛你多一些 ), a translated version of the Japanese Southern All Stars hit "Midsummer's Fruit" ( 真夏の果実 ). The album True Love Expression ( 真情流露 ) in 1992, as well as
1615-969: The Best Supporting Actor award at the 8th Hong Kong Film Awards for his work in As Tears Go By (1988) as well as the Best Supporting Actor Golden Horse Award for The Swordsman (1990). That same year, he also collaborated with John Woo and Tony Leung in the action film Bullet in the Head . He also received the Best Actor Award at the International Film Festival of India for his work in July Rhapsody (2002). His song Perhaps Love , which serves as
1700-577: The Hong Kong Coliseum . Then the tour continued in Perth and Brisbane , Australia and returned to Taipei and mainland China . It then expanded to Madison Square Garden in the US, different parts of Europe, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Japan. In 1997, Cheung was named best-selling Chinese singer in the world by Time , which reported record sales of more than 25 million worldwide. In 1999, he
1785-697: The most-attended concert tours of all time , drawing more than 4.5 million people. In addition, two of the singer's other concert tours have each attracted over 2 million people. Cheung was born and grew up in Quarry Bay in the eastern part of Hong Kong Island . His father is from Tianjin and his mother is from Shanghai . As a child, he lived with his parents and two siblings in a 100 square feet apartment which they simultaneously shared with at least fifteen other relatives. He attended North Point Government Primary School from 1967 to 1973, and graduated from Literary College in 1978. In 2007, Cheung revealed that
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#17327830202941870-449: The "Five Asian Albums Worth Buying". Besides holding the record for winning the "Ultimate Male Singer - Gold" award (10 times) and "My Favorite Male Singer" award (9 conservative years) at the "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation" in HK, Eason Chan also won numerous awards at major music award ceremonies locally and in other regions. He became one of the representative figures of Cantopop in
1955-422: The "band fever" cannot put for a long time. Along with the death of the legendary Wong Ka Kui , the leader and co-founder of Beyond , in 1993, and the disband-tide emerged in the early 90s ( Tat Ming Pair disbanded in 1990), the "band fever" gradually faded away and totally got down in the early 1990s. As Cantopop gained large followings in Chinese communities worldwide, Hong Kong entrepreneurs' ingenious use of
2040-461: The 1990s when that era's "big-name" singers ( 大牌歌星 ) seemed unapproachable. A number of scandals struck some of stars later in the decade. In 2008, the Edison Chen photo scandal , involving Edison Chen and Twins singer Gillian Chung among others, was the subject of explicit photos uploaded online. The scandal occupied the front pages of the local press for a solid month, and also garnered
2125-507: The 2000s. Cantopop was not restricted only to Hong Kong, but became part of a larger music movement. In 2005, Cantopop began a new upswing. Major companies that drove much of the HK segment included Gold Typhoon Music Entertainment ( EMI , Gold Label ), Universal Music Group , East Asia Entertainment ( 東亞娛樂 ) and Amusic and Emperor Entertainment Group . The decade was also dubbed a "People's singer" era ( 親民歌星 ), as most performers were frequently seen promoting publicly, in contrast with
2210-461: The 2010s. He was the first Chinese/HK singer who held solo concerts in London's O2 Arena and Beijing's National Stadium (Bird's Nest) . In the 2010s, there was revival for boy groups and bands in Cantopop with the rise of C AllStar , RubberBand , Supper Moment , Dear Jane , etc. JSG Best Ten Music Awards Presentation was highly controversial with the ongoing HKRIA royalties case . The case
2295-526: The 35th Anniversary Golden Song Award at the 2012 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards, as he has the greatest number of RTHK Golden Songs since the award has been started. In 2018, he earned a new nickname of "Fugitive Bait" or "Fugitives' Krytonite" in China as his concerts attracted wanted criminals in China to purchase tickets to watch his concerts in China. He helped to bring 4 wanted criminals to be captured between April and June 2018 during Cheung's Chinese leg of
2380-726: The album sold 200,000 copies and remains the second best-selling album in the region, after Michael Jackson 's Dangerous (1991). In Malaysia, the album recorded sales of around 500,000 copies, and remains the best-selling Mandarin album in the country. In 2003, Michael Learns to Rock covered the title track, "Goodbye Kiss" in English and released it as " Take Me to Your Heart ". The song has also been covered by many Asian musicians, such as Jay Chou , Anson Hu , Justin Lo , and others. A band in Myanmar Iron Cross has also made
2465-564: The attention of international media. The scandal tarnished the image of the previously "squeaky-clean" Twins, and resulted in their going into hiatus in late June 2008, four months after Gillian was caught up in the scandal. Other events include the street fight between Gary Chaw and Justin Lo . In 2009, Jill Vidal and her singer boyfriend Kelvin Kwan were arrested in Tokyo on 24 February 2009 over allegations of marijuana possession . Kwan
2550-560: The authorities relented, this event reflects attempts at marginalising Cantonese and the ascendency of Mandopop . In the 2010s, Cantopop industry still had outstanding singers and musicians who achieved success beyond the local market and made a mark in the Chinese music scene. Eason Chan is one of the most popular and influential Cantopop superstars. He captures wide audience across different regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, Southeast Asia, UK, North America, Australia etc. He successfully held world tours in these regions in
2635-468: The best friend and right-hand man of crime boss Hung Yan Chau ( Andy Lau ). The film includes several other actors from Infernal Affairs . As of 2021, he is one of a handful of Chinese singer-actors who have never starred in a television drama. Cheung was named the spokesperson for Hong Kong Disneyland in 2004. He took part in a number of large-scale marketing events organised by The Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts , beginning with
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2720-603: The country and remains the second best-selling album of all time in Taiwan. In early 1994, Hong Kong's popular music reached a historic high point in Mainland China , the album sold 2.2 million legitimate copies there, despite significant levels of piracy, and the influence of the album in China was higher than previous popular songs. The album was also highly successful in Southeast Asia; in Singapore,
2805-426: The cover versions were covers of Japanese songs. Numerous legendary songs of Cantopop superstars Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, for example "Craziness" (1983), "Monica" (1984), "Foggy Love" (1984), "For Your Love Only" (1985), "Evil Girl" (1985), "The Past Love" (1986), "The First Tear" (1986), and "Fired Tango", were cover versions of Japanese hits, showing that covers contributed to the success of superstars to
2890-562: The credibility of the Award has greatly declined. In 2018, Eason Chan released an album "L.O.V.E. " (mainly in Cantonese), which was successful in Taiwan's 30th Golden Melody Awards , winning nominations to three major awards: Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Producer of the Year, Album. Ultimately, the album's producer, Carl Wong, won the "Producer of the Year, Album" award. This was
2975-443: The decline of Cantopop in the late 1990s, for source of creativity being "mined out". Its ramification includes interpretive constraint, where singers have less room for ad-lib change of pitch without sacrificing intelligibility. As a result, pitch change often encountered in western pop music becomes foreign to most of Hong Kong's singers. The first type is the poetic lyrics written in literary or classical Wenyan Chinese ( 文言 ). In
3060-516: The doors for non-TVB artists to perform on the network. The move was described by local media as "reviving the Cantopop music industry." In 2023, Eason Chan released a new album titled "Chin Up!", which included a Cantonese song "Homo Sapiens"（人啊人） with lyrics written by Chow Yiu-fai [ zh ] . This song made Chow won Taiwan's 34th Golden Melody Awards - the Best Lyricist, marking
3145-497: The earliest artists releasing Cantonese records. The generation at the time preferred British and American exports. Western culture was at the time equated with education and sophistication, and Elvis Presley , Johnny Mathis and The Ladybirds were popular. Conversely, those who did not prefer Cantonese music were not considered fashioned or educated. Cheng Kum-cheung [ zh ] and Chan Chung-chug ( 陳齊頌 ) were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted
3230-692: The filming of Devoted to You in 1986. The couple have two daughters, Zoe, b. 2000, and Zia, b. 2005. He is a Buddhist and a vegetarian. In March 2009 he became the first Cantopop / Mandopop artist to contribute items to the Hard Rock franchise memorabilia collection. Items are to be exhibited at the Hard Rock hotel in Macau . A joint donation is also made to donate HK$ 600,000 to the Children's Cancer Foundation and ORBIS Macau . In September 2009, Cheung,
3315-545: The first actions taken by the government was to denounce pop music (specifically Western pop) as decadent music. Beginning in the 1950s , massive waves of immigrants fled Shanghai to destinations like North Point in Hong Kong. As a result, many first generation Cantopop artists and composers hail from Shanghai. By the 1960s, Cantonese music in Hong Kong was still limited largely to traditional Cantonese opera and comic renditions of western music. Tang Kee-chan , Cheng Kuan-min ( 鄭君綿 ), and Tam Ping-man ( 譚炳文 ) were among
3400-751: The first time in the history of the Golden Melody Awards that a Cantonese album won this award. Interest in Cantopop was renewed in the early 2020s in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong , which led to border closures and restriction of travel. In addition to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and the passing of the Hong Kong national security law in June 2020, the resurgence of Hong Kong pride had led many Cantonese natives to support local music artists. The Cantopop boy group Mirror , which
3485-421: The first time in the history of the Golden Melody Awards that a Cantonese song was nominated and won the award. This achievement created a historical record for Cantopop. In 2024, at the age of 79, the renowned Temple Street King, Wan Kwong (尹光）, was voted to the final five of the "My Favorite Male Singer" category at the " Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation ," marking a record in the Cantopop industry. This
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3570-558: The first wave in the 60s, the "band fever" in the 80s did not show an obvious relationship with the global culture at the time being, but much related with the marketing strategy of the local record companies and mass media. Many independent bands and music groups were signed by big record companies, and this made a positive impact to the Hong Kong pop music world, as their works were highly original, with strong individuality, and they were all devoted to writing songs in local language, i.e. Cantonese. The subjects of their works were different from
3655-434: The greatest impact to the Hong Kong music world. Some renowned bands and groups included: Beyond , Raidas , Tat Ming Pair , Tai Chi ( 太極樂隊 ), Grasshopper ( 草蜢 ), Little Tigers ( 小虎隊 ), Paradox ( 夢劇院 ), Blue Jeans ( 藍戰士 ), Echo , Wind & Cloud ( 風雲樂隊 ), Citybeat ( 城市節拍 ). The second wave of "band fever" also brought a group of new music lovers to the Hong Kong mainstream music world. Most of them were
3740-517: The highest number of shows in a one tour by Chinese artist. Previous record of 105 was also made by Jacky Cheung on his 2007–2008 World Tour. Both 2007 and 2010 World tour was led by Andrew Tuason as Cheung's Musical Director. At the beginning of that year, he also attempted new musical styles. His new album, Private Corner , became his first ever Jazz album in Cantopop history, it also featured other non-mainstream Cantopop styles such as strings quartet, Waltz and Hymn. The special edition also featured
3825-541: The hosting of a TV program, Magical World of Disneyland . He recorded a multi-lingual song for Hong Kong Disneyland, entitled One. The music video for One was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland. He also recorded for Hong Kong Disneyland: The Grand Opening Celebration Album . In December 2006, Cheung performed live the theme song "Together Now" at the Opening Ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha , Qatar. He
3910-463: The idea of lucrative contracts and million- dollar signings. There were also Japanese songs with Cantonese lyrics. The "Queen of Mandarin songs" Teresa Teng also crossed over to Cantopop. She achieved commercial success with her original Cantonese Hits under the Polygram Label in the early 1980s. Jenny Tseng was another notable singers, who was born in Macau . In the 1980s, there came
3995-551: The industry. In addition, with the Four Heavenly Kings fading out and the rise of Taiwan Mandopop singer-songwriter superstars like Leehom Wang , David Tao , Jay Chou and JJ Lin , influence of Cantopop started declining with fans turning to Taiwan Mandopop in the 2000s. During the period, a transitional phase also took place with many overseas-raised or overseas-educated artists such as Nicholas Tse and Eason Chan gaining popularity and recognition. In 2006, Time magazine praised Eason Chan 's Cantonese album U87 as one of
4080-707: The influence of Cantonese became vulnerable. Nevertheless, in addition to the 7 million people of Hong Kong and Macau, the genre continues to enjoy popularity among a Cantonese-speaking audience of in excess of 100 million in southern China, plus 10 million Cantonese-speaking diaspora in Canada, Australia and the United States. In 2010, a proposal that Guangzhou Television station should increase its broadcast in Mandarin led to protests in Guangzhou . While
4165-524: The just-grew-up generation, or the music lovers of the western Avant-garde music, also the Euro-American Rock-band lovers. This contributed to a great change in the population and age distribution of the music listeners from the 70s. Record companies were laying ever more stress on the buying power of these young new customers. The second wave of "band fever" emerged from the mid-1980s (around 1984) and reached its climax in 1986–87. However
4250-474: The mainstream (which was mostly love ballads ). Politics and social life were popular subjects for the bands in their creation. The "band fever" also brought variety in musical style to the Hong Kong mainstream music world (which was almost monopolised by Pop-ballad for a long time). Styles like Rock, Metal , Pop-Rock , Folk , Neo-Romantic , Pop and some experimental styles (e.g. Cantorock) were introduced. Among them, Beyond and Tat Ming Pair ( 達明一派 ) gave
4335-545: The mandopop market. Due to these great songs and albums, Cheung is generally considered to be the pre-eminent member of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop . He is regarded by some sources as the best singer of the four. In 1995, Cheung staged his record-breaking 100-show world tour titled "Yau Hok Yau" ( 友學友 ), literally a pun of "friendship Jacky Cheung" reusing the same Chinese characters found in his name. The tour started with 34 shows from 8 April to 9 June at
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#17327830202944420-578: The melody for all songs, and penned the lyrics for 3 of the songs. Cheung won the Best Selling Cantonese Album Award at the Hong Kong IFPI Awards in 2005 with his live album, Jacky Live Performance , which he accepted in person for the first time in years. This is despite poor ticket sales for the reason that the concert was meant to be a one-night-only charity concert in nature, and Jacky attempted to sing
4505-453: The more traditional lyrical styles. The other was more western style music largely from Polydor Hong Kong ( 寶麗多唱片 ). Notable singers from the era include Liza Wang and Paula Tsui . At the same time, television was fast becoming a household must-have that offered free entertainment to the public. For example, The Fatal Irony ( 啼笑因緣 ) and Games Gamblers Play ( 鬼馬雙星 ) took the local music scene by storm as soon as they were broadcast on
4590-545: The past, Cantopop maintained the Cantonese Opera tradition of matching the musical notes with tones of the language. Relatively few Cantopop songs use truly colloquial Cantonese terms, and fewer songs contain lyrics. Songs written in this style are usually reserved for TV shows about ancient China . Since the 1980s, increasing numbers of singers have departed from this tradition, though some big names like Roman Tam stayed true to traditional techniques. The second type
4675-432: The paternal side of his family are mostly seamen , including his father, paternal cousin, and older brother. His first language is Cantonese , but he also speaks Mandarin and English. He sings Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and modern English pop songs. Cheung is known for his rich baritone voice, but also his dramatic vibrato by rapidly moving his pronounced Adam's Apple . Cheung originally started working as
4760-552: The phrase "Canto-jazz". The album was produced by Andrew Tuason . " Everyday Is Christmas ", " Which Way, Robert Frost? ", " Let It Go ", " Lucky in Love " and " Double Trouble " were co-written by Roxanne Seeman in collaboration with Tuason, tailor-made for Cheung. " Lucky in Love " is the end-credit song of " Crossing Hennessy ", Hong Kong movie starring Jacky Cheung and Tang Wei, produced by Bill Kong. Nokia's music download service website (Ovi.com) announced that "Everyday Is Christmas"
4845-490: The poll. Early Cantopop was developed from Cantonese opera music hybridised with Western pop. The musicians soon gave up traditional Chinese musical instruments like zheng and Erhu fiddle in favour of western style arrangements. Cantopop songs are usually sung by one singer, sometimes with a band, accompanied by piano, synthesizer, drum set and guitars. They are composed under verse-chorus form and are generally monophonic . Practically all early Cantopop songs feature
4930-407: The practice of covering foreign music and consider it lacking in originality, and many albums promoted themselves as "cover-free". on January 29, 2010, Jacky Cheung released his Private Corner album coining the phrase "Canto-jazz", to describe the concept of the album and the musical style of the songs. In The South China Morning Post , Rachel Mok described "Canto-jazz" as a "unique fusion of
5015-530: The provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in southeastern mainland China. Hong Kong remains as the significant hub of the genre. Western-influenced music first came to China in the 1920s, specifically through Shanghai. Artists like Zhou Xuan ( 周璇 ) acted in films and recorded popular songs. When the People's Republic of China was established by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, one of
5100-406: The radio and television. Soap operas were needed to fill TV air time, and popular Cantonese songs became TV theme songs. Around 1971, Sandra Lang , a minor singer who had never sung Cantopop before, was invited to sing a Cantonese TV theme song "A marriage of Laughter and Tears" ( 啼笑因緣 ). This song was a collaboration between songwriters Yip Siu-dak ( 葉紹德 ) and the legendary Joseph Koo . It
5185-626: The record today. In November 2004, Cheung and his concert manager, Florence Chan Suk-fan, worked on a revised Mandarin version of Snow.Wolf.Lake so as to bring it to a wider audience. The female leads this time were Evonne Hsu and Nadia Chan respectively. The market budget alone exceeded HK$ 15 million. The estimated budget for this revised production was HK$ 100 million and the show premiered on 24 December 2004 in Beijing. Cheung made his film debut in 1986 starring in movies such as Devoted to You and Where's Officer Tuba? . He received
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#17327830202945270-640: The second wave of "band fever" (the first wave came in the 1960–70s, which was much influenced by the global Beatlemania at that time. Young people thought that forming bands was fashionable. Many new bands emerged at that time, such as Samuel Hui 's Lotus , The Wynners , and the Teddy Robin and the Playboys . However, the bands emerged in this first wave were just copying the western music style, mostly covering British and American rock songs, and prefer singing in English rather than Cantonese). Different from
5355-397: The song "In Love with You"; the song was included in her multi-platinum album Listen Without Prejudice . In 2008, Cheung and A-Mei , the popular Taiwanese singer, performed Zhu Fu ("Blessing") as a duet in a benefit concert for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake . Other duet partners include: In 1997, his work on the groundbreaking Cantonese Broadway-style musical Snow.Wolf.Lake
5440-788: The subsequent release, Love Sparks ( 愛火花 ) in 1992, achieved sales of over 400,000 copies in Hong Kong alone. His subsequent albums included 1993 Me and You ( 我與你 ) and 1994 Born to be Wild ( 餓狼傳說 ). In 1994, Billboard Music Awards named him the most popular singer in Asia. He received numerous music awards both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, including the best-selling Asian artist in the World Music Awards for two consecutive years in 1995 and 1996 held at Monaco. Amongst his hit songs, some of his most famous were "Amour", "Just want to spend my life with you" ( 只想一生跟你走 ) and "Goodbye Kiss" ( 吻别 ). The 1993 album The Goodbye Kiss ( 吻别 )
5525-636: The theme song for the 2005 award-winning film of the same name , also won the Best Song Award at the 2005 Hong Kong Film Award and the CASH Best Song Award at the 2006 CASH Gold Sail Music Awards. In 2002, he appeared in Taiwanese mini-series Love Scar (2002) with F4 member Jerry Yan and Karen Mok , where he played Jerry Yan's older brother. In the 2004 drama film Jiang Hu directed by Wong Ching-po , Cheung plays Lefty,
5610-545: The then new Laserdisc technology prompted yet another explosion in the market. In the 1990s in Hong Kong , the "Four Heavenly Kings" ( 四大天王 ) — Jacky Cheung , Andy Lau , Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok — dominated pop music, and coverage in magazines, TV, advertisements and cinema. They had wide audience across different regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, Southeast Asia, and even South Korea. The female counterparts in this era were Sammi Cheng , Faye Wong , and Kelly Chen . The sovereignty handover created
5695-480: The two music styles" of "light jazz" and canto-pop creating a fresh sound with a uniquely local flavour". She cited Jacky Cheung's Private Corner and Karen Mok's "Somewhere I Belong" among artists who have recorded Cantonese language albums in the new jazz genre coined "canto-jazz". An educational study traced the development of jazz in Greater China and explored the cross-cultural issues in rearranging
5780-489: The world tour. In June, two ticket scalpers were also captured. This was also part of his 233-show, " Jacky Cheung A Classic Tour " world tour, which eclipses the previous tour record. The entire tour, which lasted for 27 months with performances in 97 cities, ended on 29 January 2019 after a series of 15 concerts in Hong Kong. The Jacky Cheung 60+ Concert Tour opened at The Venetian Macau Cotai Arena in Macau, China on June 9, 2023. Cheung performs, singing and dancing with
5865-538: The world, a total of 105 shows had been given, attracting more than 2 million fans. 105 became the highest number of shows in a tour by a Chinese artist, breaking the previous record of 100, which was also set by Cheung previously. In that same year, he also released a Mandopop album, By Your Side , in which he was the sole executive producer of the album for the first time after Michael Au suddenly left to further his career in Beijing. In 2009, Cheung recorded Private Corner , his first jazz album for which he coined
5950-404: The younger generation. Connie Chan Po-chu is generally considered to be Hong Kong's 657th teen idol , mostly due to her career longevity. Josephine Siao is also another artist of the era. Local bands mimicked British and American bands. Two types of local Cantonese music appeared in the market nearly concurrently in 1973: one type cashed in on the popularity of TVB 's drama series based on
6035-495: Was Roman Tam . Three of the most famous TV soap opera singers were Jenny Tseng , Liza Wang and Adam Cheng . The Wynners and George Lam also amassed a big fan base with their new style. Samuel Hui continued to dominate the charts and won the Centennial Best Sales Award in the first and second IFPI Gold Disc Presentations twice in a row in 1977 and 1978. Polydor became PolyGram ( 寶麗金 ) in 1978. It
6120-504: Was also the first time in over fifty years after his debut that he transitioned from performing at Temple Street to appearing at a major music awards ceremony. The "Wan Kwong phenomenon" caused a stir online, with fans appraising his continuous efforts in releasing his latest song, "Dear Myself," which incorporated AI elements while others voting for him as a counterbalance to the idol genre because they had been sick of Mirror individual members’ live performances and Mirror fans' behavior in
6205-497: Was at this time that the term Cantopop was first coined. The Billboard correspondent Hans Ebert, who had earlier coined the term Cantorock in 1974, noted a change in its style to something similar to British-American soft rock , therefore started to use the term Cantopop instead in 1978. In 1974, as the theme song of The Fatal Irony ( 啼笑因緣 ) was very successful, TVB sold to the mainland and other countries and Cantopop reached overseas audiences through drama series. During
6290-455: Was born in the 1970s and became a cultural product with the popularity of two popular TVB drama's themes songs in the early 1970s: "Tower Ballad" ( 鐵塔凌雲 , 1972) and "A marriage of Laughter and Tears" ( 啼笑因緣 , 1974). The majority of "hit" Cantopop, however, is not entirely local produced but the cover versions of "hit" foreign melodies. Since the 1970s, covering "hit" external songs mainly from Japan, Korea, Taiwan or other Western countries became
6375-401: Was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974. In the 1980s, Cantopop reached its highest glory with fanbase and concerts all over the world, especially in Macau , Mainland China , Taiwan , Singapore , Malaysia , South Korea , and Japan . This was even more obvious with the influx of songs from Hong Kong movies during the time. Besides Western pop music, Cantopop
6460-404: Was enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics. Cheung not only played the male lead, he was also the artistic director for this production. The first female leads were played by Sandy Lam in Hong Kong and Nadia Chan in Singapore. Kit Chan played the second female lead. They achieved 42 consecutive full-house performances at the gigantic Hung Hom Hong Kong Coliseum which remains
6545-591: Was formed through the ViuTV singing competition in Good Night Show - King Maker in 2018, skyrocketed in popularity during this time due to their distinctively local image. Media had described them as a "Mirror phenomenon." Yet, their lacking in vocal skills has sparked controversy and disapproval among the public. In February 2021, Hong Kong's biggest television broadcaster, TVB , historically lifted its ban on four of Hong Kong's biggest record labels, opening
6630-492: Was ground-breaking and topped local charts. Other groups that profited from TV promotion included the Four Golden Flowers . Sam Hui is regarded by some to be the earliest Cantopop star. He was the lead singer of the band Lotus formed in the late 1960s, signed to Polydor in 1972. The song that made him famous was the theme song to Games Gamblers Play ( 鬼馬雙星 ), also starring Hui. The star of TV theme tunes
6715-596: Was introduced as "the most popular Asian performer in the world". In 2010, Cheung and Jane Zhang sang the Mandarin version of the Coca-Cola Celebration Mix of K'naan 's " Wavin' Flag ", which was the brand's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . In 2012, Cheung sang " 中国节拍·震动世界 ", the cheering song of China for the 2012 London Olympics. On 15 February 1996 in London , Cheung married Hong Kong former actress May Lo Mei-wei. They met during
6800-566: Was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World by JCI (Junior Chamber International) , a worldwide federation of young professionals and entrepreneurs. In 2000 he was awarded the Golden Needle Award by RTHK . This award, the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award, recognised outstanding contributions to the music industry. He expressed his astonishment upon receiving the award, as he
6885-597: Was one of the super ambassadors of End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation (ECSAF) founded by Josephine Siao ; he attended the charity fundraising event for ECSAF's 10th anniversary in Hong Kong. Cantonese studio albums Mandarin studio albums IFPI Gold Disc Award IFPI Platinum Disc Award Golden Melody Award for Best Male Mandarin Singer IFPI Top 10 Sales Album IFPI Top 10 Sales Artist IFPI Top Sales Album Four Heavenly Kings (Hong Kong) Cantopop (a contraction of " Cantonese pop music")
6970-405: Was released without charge after 32 days in jail, while Vidal later pleaded guilty in Tokyo court to heroin possession, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended for three years. In the 2010s, Cantopop market shrank with fans, particularly the youth, turning to K-pop and Mandopop . Mandarin became more important as a result of fast growing culturally and economically in China,
7055-577: Was reportedly solved in early 2012 though. In January 2012, the JSG Awards 2011 was again controversial since one of the biggest awards, Song of the Year, was handed to Raymond Lam with his unpopular song "Chok". In 2015 and 2018, the Commercial Radio Hong Kong's "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation " handed "My Favorite Male Singer" award to James Ng and Louis Koo respectively, which were also controversial. Since then,
7140-586: Was the 10th most downloaded Christmas song in the world in 2010, joining classic hits such as Wham's "Last Christmas" and Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You". Cheung is the only Chinese language singer to make it into the Top Ten. In 2010, Cheung started his Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century World Tour . This tour started on 30 December 2010 at Shanghai, and ended in Hong Kong on 30 May 2012. For 1 year and 5 months, his tour included 5 countries 77 cities, overall 146 shows, more than 2,800,000 audiences. 146 became
7225-476: Was the least experienced living recipient at only 16 years, and this award was awarded to singers, producers and lyricists that are late in their careers or are semi-retired, in which he was not, but to quash any negative publicity, he clarified that according to his research, there was no stipulation of this sort. In 2004, Cheung released Life Is Like A Dream , an album in which Jacky co-produced with long-time collaborative partner Michael Au , and Jacky composed
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