Post by galvatron prime on Sept 14, 2020 9:06:54 GMT
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of popular music written in standard modern Chinese but 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 slight revival in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974.Cantopop reached its highest glory with a fanbase and concert reaching Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan especially with the influx of songs from Hong Kong movies.
Besides Western pop music, Cantopop is also influenced by other international genres, including jazz, rock and roll, R&B, disco, electronic and others. Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese. Boasting a multinational fanbase in Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as in East Asian regions of South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in southeastern mainland China, Hong Kong, and occasionally Macau, remain the most significant hubs of the genre.Examples of some of the most significant figures in the Cantopop industry include Paula Tsui, Samuel Hui, Roman Tam, Jenny Tseng, George Lam, Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Danny Chan, Anita Mui, Beyond, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Sandy Lam, Faye Wong, Leon Lai, Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng ,Jordan Chan,Sammi Cheng, Kelly Chen, Eason Chan, Joey Yung, etc.
History
1920s to 1950s: Shanghai origins Edit
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. Zhou was possibly the first Chinese pop star.
In 1949 when the People's Republic of China was established by the Communist Party of China, one of 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.
1960s: Cultural acceptance Edit
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 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,[9] and Elvis, Johnny Mathis and The Ladie birdss were popular.
Conversely, those who did not prefer Cantonese music were not considered fashioned or educated. Cheng Kum-cheung and Chan Chung-chug (陳齊頌) were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted 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.
1970s: Beginning of the Golden Age (Rise of television and the modern industry)
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 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 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 the first 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 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 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 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.
1980s: The Golden Age of Cantopop Edit
During the 1980s, Cantopop soared to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, George Lam, Alan Tam, Sally Yeh, Priscilla Chan, Sandy Lam, and Danny Chan 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 the idea of lucrative contracts and million-dollar signings. There are also Japanese songs with Cantonese lyrics.
The most successful Chinese female recording artist, "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 a notable addition from Macau.
In the 1980s, there came 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 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 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 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 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 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 the then new Laserdisc technology prompted yet another explosion in the market.
1990s: Four Heavenly Kings era Edit
In the early 1990s, the Cantopop stars Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Samuel Hui, Priscilla Chan, the songwriter Joseph Koo, and others either retired or lessened their activity. Chan left Hong Kong to pursue her studies at Syracuse University while the rest left Hong Kong amid the uncertainty surrounding the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the impending handover of Hong Kong from British back to Chinese rule in 1997.
During the 1990s, the "Four Heavenly Kings" (四大天王), namely Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai, dominated music, and coverage in magazines, TV, advertisements and cinema. New talents such as Beyond, Grasshopper, Hacken Lee, Sally Yeh, Vivian Chow, Cass Phang, Kelly Chen, Sammi Cheng and Faye Wong emerged as contenders. However, due to contractual disputes with PolyGram, Hacken Lee never became one of the members, and was replaced by Cheung and Lai, who were both with the same record company.
The sovereignty handover created a culturally challenging atmosphere for the industry. Establishment of Basic Law and language ordinances made the adoption of Mandarin inevitable
2000
At the turn of the century, Cantonese was still dominant in the domain of Chinese pop.[17] The deaths of stars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in 2003 rocked the industry. A transitional phase also took place with many overseas-raised artists such as Nicholas Tse and Coco Lee gaining recognition. As a result, Cantopop is no longer restricted to Hong Kong, but has become 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. Some of the most successful performers of the era include Juno Mak, Joey Yung, Twins, Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung, Leo Ku, Janice Vidal.
The new era saw an explosion of bands like at17, Soler, Sunboy'z, Hotcha, Mr and Rubberband. Many artists such as Stephy Tang, Kary Ng, Kenny Kwan and Renee Li [zh] later ended up going solo.
The decade was also dubbed a "People's singer" era (親民歌星), as most performers were frequently seen promoting publicly, contrasting the 1990s when previous era "big-name" singers (大牌歌星) seemed unapproachable.
A number of scandals struck some of the stars later in the decade. In 2008 the Edison Chen photo scandal involving Edison Chen and Twins singer Gillian Chung, among others, who were the subject of explicit photos uploaded online. The scandal occupied the front pages of the local press for a solid month, and also garnered 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 was released without charge after 32 days in jail, while Vidal later pleaded guilty in Tokyo court to heroin possession, and was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment, suspended for 3 years.
2010s
After the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, Mandarin became more important and 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 the authorities relented, this event reflects attempts at marginalising Cantonese and the ascendency of Mandopop.
The first major award of the decade 09 JSG award was a highly controversial one with the ongoing HKRIA tax case. The case was reportedly solved in early 2012 though. In January 2012, the 11 JSG award was again controversial since one of the biggest awards, Record of the Year, was handed to Raymond Lam with his unpopular song "Chok". Some of the successful performers of the era are Eason Chan, Joey Yung, Juno Mak, Gillian Chung, Kay Tse, Hins Cheung, Pakho Chau, Ivana Wong, Sugar Club, Mag Lam [zh], Alfred Hui, C AllStar, AGA, James Ng, Phil Lam [zh], Kary Ng, Fiona Sit, Khalil Fong and G.E.M.
Industry
Talent is unusually secondary to the success of a Cantopop singer in Hong Kong. Most times, image sells albums, as it is one of the characteristics of Mainstream music similarly mirrored in the United States and Japan. Publicity is vital to an idol's career, as one piece of news could make or break a future. Almost all modern Cantopop stars go into the movie business regardless of their ability to act; however, the reverse may also occur with actors releasing albums and embarking on concerts regardless of singing talent. They immediately expand to the Mandarin market once their fame is established, hence pure Cantopop stars are almost nonexistent. Outside of music sales, their success can also be gauged by their income. For example, according to some reports, Sammi Cheng earned HK$46M (around US$6M) from advertisement and merchandise endorsements in one month alone. Many artists, however, begin with financial hardships. For example, Yumiko Cheng owed her company thousands of dollars. Others include Elanne Kong crying in public with only HK$58 left.
Labels
PolyGram, EMI, Sony, Warner and BMG were established in Hong Kong since the 1970s. Local record companies such as Crown Records (娛樂唱片), Wing Hang Records (永恆), Manchi Records (文志) and Capital Artists (華星唱片) in the past have become successful local labels. As TV drama themes lost favour in the mid-1980s, market power soon drifted to the multi-national labels. Sales are tracked at the IFPI HK Annual Sales Chart.
Criticism
Unoriginality
Cantopop has been criticised as being bland and unoriginal, since most stars tend to sing songs with similar topics with emphasis on "maudlin love ballads". Cantopop features many songs which use foreign and traditional tunes to which new Cantonese lyrics have been written, including many of the songs of the 1980s golden era. However, this reflects the traditional practice and values of Chinese music in which only lyrics and lyricists are valued, and a lot of songs of the 1980s golden era adopting foreign tunes have become classics of Cantopop.
In the late 1990s, there was a shortage of creative talent due to the rising demand for Chinese songs; meanwhile, mainland China and Taiwan had nurtured their own local industries posing serious competition to Cantopop. Renowned legendary lyricist James Wong Jum-sum, known as Wong Jim, wrote his 2003 thesis on the subject.
However, there are still many indie musicians, with some such as Beyond (who emerged from the "band fever" of the 1980s) and Tat Ming Pair, whose songs reflect the darker, less-expressed side of society, achieving mainstream success.
Artists
Male
Wong Ka Kui
Aaron Siu
Albert Au
Kenny Bee
Danny Chan
Daniel Chan
Eason Chan
Jaycee Chan
Jordan Chan
Jason Chan
Sammul Chan
William Chan
Pak Ho Chau
Emil Chau Wah Kin
Edison Chen
Cheng Kam Cheung
Adam Cheng
Ekin Cheng
Fred Cheng
Kevin Cheng
Ronald Cheng
Dicky Cheung
Hins Cheung
Julian Cheung
Ryan Lau
Alfred Hui
Jacky Cheung
Leslie Cheung
Louis Koo
Louis Cheung
Steven Cheung
Benji Chiang
Endy Chow
Alex Fong
Khalil Fong
Jay Fung
Andy Hui
Alex Hung
Ken Hung
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Kelvin Kwan
Kenny Kwan
Michael Kwan
Leo Ku
Aaron Kwok
Roger Kwok
Leon Lai
Alex Lam
Bowie Lam
Chet Lam
Frankie Lam
George Lam
Raymond Lam
Jan Lamb
Andy Lau
Canti Lau
Wilfred Lau
Gene Lee
Hacken Lee
Edmond Leung
Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Don Li
Gallen Lo
Justin Lo
Lowell Lo
Douglas Low
Juno Mak
Dennis Mak
Pong Nan
Deep Ng
Ron Ng
Aarif Rahman
Edwin Siu
William So
Tam Bing Wan
Alan Tam
Roman Tam
Patrick Tang
Alex To
Nicholas Tse
Wong Cho Lam
Deric Wan
Dave Wang
Philip Wei Xiong
Chris Wong
Paul Wong
Bosco Wong
Anthony Wong
James Wong
Vincent Wong
Hubert Wu
Charles Ying
Kenneth Ma
Steven Ma
Shawn Yue
Samuel Hui
Yip Sai Wing
MC Jin
Fred Cheng
MastaMic
Female
Kelly Chen
Anita Mui
Ada Zhuang
Priscilla Chan
Sandy Lam
Teresa Carpio
Janice Vidal
Tang Tsz-kei
Jill Vidal
Deanie Ip
Cass Phang
Sammi Cheng
Shirley Kwan
Candy Lo
Cecilia Cheung
Gigi Leung
Vivian Chow
Teresa Teng
Sally Yeh
Coco Lee
Jenny Tseng
Paula Tsui
Miriam Yeung
Kay Tse
Joey Yung
Fiona Fung
Karen Morris
Kit Chan
Rosanne Lui
Bobo Chan
Connie Chan
Chelsia Chan
Flora Chan
Sita Chan
Vincy Chan
Joyce Cheng
Stephanie Cheng
Yumiko Cheng
Cecilia Cheung
Teresa Cheung
Lesley Chiang
Mandy Chiang
Maggie Fu
Charlene Choi
Gillian Chung
Rachelle Chung
Sherman Chung
Niki Chow
Renee Dai
Theresa Fu
Cherry Ho
Denise Ho
Paisley Hu
Stephanie Ho
Grace Ip
Elanne Kong
Ella Koon
Kellyjackie
Jade Kwan
Susanna Kwan
Gigi Lai
Vivian Lai
Mag Lam
Winnie Lau
Annabelle Louie
Eunix Lee
Gin Lee
Tiffany Lee
Isabella Leong
Cathy Leung
Toby Leung
Rain Li
Prudence Liew
Shiga Lin
Mimi Lo
J. Arie
Keeva Mak
Jinny Ng
Kary Ng
Yan Ng
Fiona Sit
June Tang
Stephy Tang
Vangie Tang
Lai Ying Tong
Karen Tong
Jessica Hsuan
Kate Tsui
Liza Wang
Emme Wong
Faye Wong
Ivana Wong
Kandy Wong
Linda Wong
Bianca Wu
Myolie Wu
Su Miaoling
Charlie Yeung
Frances Yip
Veronica Yip
Amy Chan
Angela Pang
Bondy Chiu
Chita Yu
AMA Huen Ning
AGA
Linda Chung
Credit
Wikipedia
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of popular music written in standard modern Chinese but 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 slight revival in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974.Cantopop reached its highest glory with a fanbase and concert reaching Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan especially with the influx of songs from Hong Kong movies.
Besides Western pop music, Cantopop is also influenced by other international genres, including jazz, rock and roll, R&B, disco, electronic and others. Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese. Boasting a multinational fanbase in Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as in East Asian regions of South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in southeastern mainland China, Hong Kong, and occasionally Macau, remain the most significant hubs of the genre.Examples of some of the most significant figures in the Cantopop industry include Paula Tsui, Samuel Hui, Roman Tam, Jenny Tseng, George Lam, Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Danny Chan, Anita Mui, Beyond, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Sandy Lam, Faye Wong, Leon Lai, Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng ,Jordan Chan,Sammi Cheng, Kelly Chen, Eason Chan, Joey Yung, etc.
History
1920s to 1950s: Shanghai origins Edit
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. Zhou was possibly the first Chinese pop star.
In 1949 when the People's Republic of China was established by the Communist Party of China, one of 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.
1960s: Cultural acceptance Edit
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 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,[9] and Elvis, Johnny Mathis and The Ladie birdss were popular.
Conversely, those who did not prefer Cantonese music were not considered fashioned or educated. Cheng Kum-cheung and Chan Chung-chug (陳齊頌) were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted 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.
1970s: Beginning of the Golden Age (Rise of television and the modern industry)
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 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 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 the first 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 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 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 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.
1980s: The Golden Age of Cantopop Edit
During the 1980s, Cantopop soared to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, George Lam, Alan Tam, Sally Yeh, Priscilla Chan, Sandy Lam, and Danny Chan 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 the idea of lucrative contracts and million-dollar signings. There are also Japanese songs with Cantonese lyrics.
The most successful Chinese female recording artist, "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 a notable addition from Macau.
In the 1980s, there came 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 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 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 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 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 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 the then new Laserdisc technology prompted yet another explosion in the market.
1990s: Four Heavenly Kings era Edit
In the early 1990s, the Cantopop stars Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Samuel Hui, Priscilla Chan, the songwriter Joseph Koo, and others either retired or lessened their activity. Chan left Hong Kong to pursue her studies at Syracuse University while the rest left Hong Kong amid the uncertainty surrounding the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the impending handover of Hong Kong from British back to Chinese rule in 1997.
During the 1990s, the "Four Heavenly Kings" (四大天王), namely Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai, dominated music, and coverage in magazines, TV, advertisements and cinema. New talents such as Beyond, Grasshopper, Hacken Lee, Sally Yeh, Vivian Chow, Cass Phang, Kelly Chen, Sammi Cheng and Faye Wong emerged as contenders. However, due to contractual disputes with PolyGram, Hacken Lee never became one of the members, and was replaced by Cheung and Lai, who were both with the same record company.
The sovereignty handover created a culturally challenging atmosphere for the industry. Establishment of Basic Law and language ordinances made the adoption of Mandarin inevitable
2000
At the turn of the century, Cantonese was still dominant in the domain of Chinese pop.[17] The deaths of stars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in 2003 rocked the industry. A transitional phase also took place with many overseas-raised artists such as Nicholas Tse and Coco Lee gaining recognition. As a result, Cantopop is no longer restricted to Hong Kong, but has become 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. Some of the most successful performers of the era include Juno Mak, Joey Yung, Twins, Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung, Leo Ku, Janice Vidal.
The new era saw an explosion of bands like at17, Soler, Sunboy'z, Hotcha, Mr and Rubberband. Many artists such as Stephy Tang, Kary Ng, Kenny Kwan and Renee Li [zh] later ended up going solo.
The decade was also dubbed a "People's singer" era (親民歌星), as most performers were frequently seen promoting publicly, contrasting the 1990s when previous era "big-name" singers (大牌歌星) seemed unapproachable.
A number of scandals struck some of the stars later in the decade. In 2008 the Edison Chen photo scandal involving Edison Chen and Twins singer Gillian Chung, among others, who were the subject of explicit photos uploaded online. The scandal occupied the front pages of the local press for a solid month, and also garnered 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 was released without charge after 32 days in jail, while Vidal later pleaded guilty in Tokyo court to heroin possession, and was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment, suspended for 3 years.
2010s
After the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, Mandarin became more important and 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 the authorities relented, this event reflects attempts at marginalising Cantonese and the ascendency of Mandopop.
The first major award of the decade 09 JSG award was a highly controversial one with the ongoing HKRIA tax case. The case was reportedly solved in early 2012 though. In January 2012, the 11 JSG award was again controversial since one of the biggest awards, Record of the Year, was handed to Raymond Lam with his unpopular song "Chok". Some of the successful performers of the era are Eason Chan, Joey Yung, Juno Mak, Gillian Chung, Kay Tse, Hins Cheung, Pakho Chau, Ivana Wong, Sugar Club, Mag Lam [zh], Alfred Hui, C AllStar, AGA, James Ng, Phil Lam [zh], Kary Ng, Fiona Sit, Khalil Fong and G.E.M.
Industry
Talent is unusually secondary to the success of a Cantopop singer in Hong Kong. Most times, image sells albums, as it is one of the characteristics of Mainstream music similarly mirrored in the United States and Japan. Publicity is vital to an idol's career, as one piece of news could make or break a future. Almost all modern Cantopop stars go into the movie business regardless of their ability to act; however, the reverse may also occur with actors releasing albums and embarking on concerts regardless of singing talent. They immediately expand to the Mandarin market once their fame is established, hence pure Cantopop stars are almost nonexistent. Outside of music sales, their success can also be gauged by their income. For example, according to some reports, Sammi Cheng earned HK$46M (around US$6M) from advertisement and merchandise endorsements in one month alone. Many artists, however, begin with financial hardships. For example, Yumiko Cheng owed her company thousands of dollars. Others include Elanne Kong crying in public with only HK$58 left.
Labels
PolyGram, EMI, Sony, Warner and BMG were established in Hong Kong since the 1970s. Local record companies such as Crown Records (娛樂唱片), Wing Hang Records (永恆), Manchi Records (文志) and Capital Artists (華星唱片) in the past have become successful local labels. As TV drama themes lost favour in the mid-1980s, market power soon drifted to the multi-national labels. Sales are tracked at the IFPI HK Annual Sales Chart.
Criticism
Unoriginality
Cantopop has been criticised as being bland and unoriginal, since most stars tend to sing songs with similar topics with emphasis on "maudlin love ballads". Cantopop features many songs which use foreign and traditional tunes to which new Cantonese lyrics have been written, including many of the songs of the 1980s golden era. However, this reflects the traditional practice and values of Chinese music in which only lyrics and lyricists are valued, and a lot of songs of the 1980s golden era adopting foreign tunes have become classics of Cantopop.
In the late 1990s, there was a shortage of creative talent due to the rising demand for Chinese songs; meanwhile, mainland China and Taiwan had nurtured their own local industries posing serious competition to Cantopop. Renowned legendary lyricist James Wong Jum-sum, known as Wong Jim, wrote his 2003 thesis on the subject.
However, there are still many indie musicians, with some such as Beyond (who emerged from the "band fever" of the 1980s) and Tat Ming Pair, whose songs reflect the darker, less-expressed side of society, achieving mainstream success.
Artists
Male
Wong Ka Kui
Aaron Siu
Albert Au
Kenny Bee
Danny Chan
Daniel Chan
Eason Chan
Jaycee Chan
Jordan Chan
Jason Chan
Sammul Chan
William Chan
Pak Ho Chau
Emil Chau Wah Kin
Edison Chen
Cheng Kam Cheung
Adam Cheng
Ekin Cheng
Fred Cheng
Kevin Cheng
Ronald Cheng
Dicky Cheung
Hins Cheung
Julian Cheung
Ryan Lau
Alfred Hui
Jacky Cheung
Leslie Cheung
Louis Koo
Louis Cheung
Steven Cheung
Benji Chiang
Endy Chow
Alex Fong
Khalil Fong
Jay Fung
Andy Hui
Alex Hung
Ken Hung
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Kelvin Kwan
Kenny Kwan
Michael Kwan
Leo Ku
Aaron Kwok
Roger Kwok
Leon Lai
Alex Lam
Bowie Lam
Chet Lam
Frankie Lam
George Lam
Raymond Lam
Jan Lamb
Andy Lau
Canti Lau
Wilfred Lau
Gene Lee
Hacken Lee
Edmond Leung
Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Don Li
Gallen Lo
Justin Lo
Lowell Lo
Douglas Low
Juno Mak
Dennis Mak
Pong Nan
Deep Ng
Ron Ng
Aarif Rahman
Edwin Siu
William So
Tam Bing Wan
Alan Tam
Roman Tam
Patrick Tang
Alex To
Nicholas Tse
Wong Cho Lam
Deric Wan
Dave Wang
Philip Wei Xiong
Chris Wong
Paul Wong
Bosco Wong
Anthony Wong
James Wong
Vincent Wong
Hubert Wu
Charles Ying
Kenneth Ma
Steven Ma
Shawn Yue
Samuel Hui
Yip Sai Wing
MC Jin
Fred Cheng
MastaMic
Female
Kelly Chen
Anita Mui
Ada Zhuang
Priscilla Chan
Sandy Lam
Teresa Carpio
Janice Vidal
Tang Tsz-kei
Jill Vidal
Deanie Ip
Cass Phang
Sammi Cheng
Shirley Kwan
Candy Lo
Cecilia Cheung
Gigi Leung
Vivian Chow
Teresa Teng
Sally Yeh
Coco Lee
Jenny Tseng
Paula Tsui
Miriam Yeung
Kay Tse
Joey Yung
Fiona Fung
Karen Morris
Kit Chan
Rosanne Lui
Bobo Chan
Connie Chan
Chelsia Chan
Flora Chan
Sita Chan
Vincy Chan
Joyce Cheng
Stephanie Cheng
Yumiko Cheng
Cecilia Cheung
Teresa Cheung
Lesley Chiang
Mandy Chiang
Maggie Fu
Charlene Choi
Gillian Chung
Rachelle Chung
Sherman Chung
Niki Chow
Renee Dai
Theresa Fu
Cherry Ho
Denise Ho
Paisley Hu
Stephanie Ho
Grace Ip
Elanne Kong
Ella Koon
Kellyjackie
Jade Kwan
Susanna Kwan
Gigi Lai
Vivian Lai
Mag Lam
Winnie Lau
Annabelle Louie
Eunix Lee
Gin Lee
Tiffany Lee
Isabella Leong
Cathy Leung
Toby Leung
Rain Li
Prudence Liew
Shiga Lin
Mimi Lo
J. Arie
Keeva Mak
Jinny Ng
Kary Ng
Yan Ng
Fiona Sit
June Tang
Stephy Tang
Vangie Tang
Lai Ying Tong
Karen Tong
Jessica Hsuan
Kate Tsui
Liza Wang
Emme Wong
Faye Wong
Ivana Wong
Kandy Wong
Linda Wong
Bianca Wu
Myolie Wu
Su Miaoling
Charlie Yeung
Frances Yip
Veronica Yip
Amy Chan
Angela Pang
Bondy Chiu
Chita Yu
AMA Huen Ning
AGA
Linda Chung
Credit
Wikipedia