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March 21 Chinese Music Part 4: The 4 KingsIn order to salvage the Cantonese pop scene from certain doom, the market ploy was adopted of appointing "Four Heavenly Kings" of Cantopop. In 1991, the four most renowned male singers in Hong Kong were identified and given the title. Although the actual vocal abilities of a couple of them can be called into question, the marketing scheme worked, and many fans began to choose their personal favourite and remain loyal to his camp. The Four Kings were:
The Singing Pop Star: Jacky Cheung
The Acting Pop Star: Andy Lau
The Dancing Pop Star: Aaron Kwok
The Teen Idol Pop Star: Leon Lai
It was Jacky Cheung, already an established singer by this time, who eventually came to be regarded as the second biggest Chinese singer of all time (after Teresa Deng).
Jacky Cheung
Chinese Name: 张学友
Cantonese Name: Cheung Hok Yau
Mandarin Name: Zhang Xue You
(b. 1961 in Hong Kong)
Jacky Cheung started his career after winning a singing contest in the mid-1980s. His two biggest hits are "Goodbye Kiss" and "Love You a Little More Each Day". The former was later covered in an English version by Danish pop band Michael Learns to Rock. Other hits include "Blessing" and "Feels Like a Knife Piercing the Heart". Cheung has released 62 albums over the years. His Mandarin album Goodbye Kiss sold a record-breaking 5 million units in 1993 alone, a record that remains unbroken to this day. The success of the album prompted many Hong Kong singers to begin releasing Mandarin albums, realizing that, in doing so, they could reach a much larger market.
Listen to "Goodbye Kiss" (吻别)
"Love You a Little More Each Day" (每天爱你多一些)
"Blessing" (祝福)
Andy Lau
Chinese Name: 刘德华
Cantonese Name: Lau Tak Wah
Mandarin Name: Liu De Hua
(b. 1961 in Hong Kong)
Lau began his career as an actor, becoming a singer later on. He has starred in over a hundred movies, including House of Flying Daggers, Running Out of Time, and Infernal Affairs, which Hollywood ripped-off as The Departed. His best-known songs include "May I?", certified 3XPlatinum and "Chinese People". He is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as recipient of the most Canto-pop awards, which is understandable having put out over 100 albums and movies.
Listen to "Chinese People" (中国人)
Leon Lai
Chinese Name: 黎明
Cantonese Name: Lai Ming
Mandarin Name: Li Ming
(b. 1966 in Beijing, China)
Leon Lai, whose name literally means "dawn", was one of the first pop stars originally from Mainland China. He was born in Beijing and his parents divorced when he was four. With his Malaysian father, he migrated to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution. When he was fifteen, he studied in England for two years. When he returned to Hong Kong, he became a salesman for a cell phone company. After doing well in a singing contest, Capitol Records offered him a contract, but they delayed releasing an album from him for four years. As a result, he jumped ship to Polygram (now known as Universal Music). He released his first album Leon, but did not attain superstardom until his second release, Meeting in the Rain. After several years with Universal, he called it quits and signed on with Sony Music in 1998.
Listen to Leon Lai's "Meeting in the Rain" (相逢在雨中)
Aaron Kwok
Chinese Name: 郭富城
Cantonese Name: Kwok Fu Shing
Mandarin Name: Guo Fu Cheng
(b. 1965. in Hong Kong)
After graduating from high school, Kwok worked for a jewellery company in the tradition of his family; however, in 1984, he took up dancing and was immediately recognized. He performed in a number of music videos and variety shows. He was then invited to play parts in various TV dramas. It was inevitable that he be invited to sing and landed his first hit "Loving You Forever". Kwok has been the recipient of over a hundred music awards and has held over 200 concerts around the world. With his massive earnings, he has collected a number of sports cars.
Listen to Aaron Kwok's "Should I Go Away Quietly?" (我是不是该安静的走开) TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://peltonator.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!184A2363AD187F54!2836.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
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