Demographics and culture of Hong Kong |
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Demographics |
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Cantopop (traditional Chinese: 粵語流行音樂; simplified Chinese: 粤语流行音乐, a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of Cantonese music made primarily in Hong Kong, and also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption.[1] Originating in the 1970s, Cantopop reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s before its slow decline 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.[2] During its height, Cantopop had spread to mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Cantopop is influenced by international styles, including jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronic music, Western pop music and others. Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese. Boasting a multinational fanbase in Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in mainland China, Hong Kong remains the most significant hub of the genre.[3] The most significant figures in the Cantopop industry include Paula Tsui, Teresa Teng, Samuel Hui, George Lam, Alan Tam, Sally Yeh, Roman Tam, Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Beyond, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai, Sammi Cheng, Faye Wong, Kelly Chen, Eason Chan, Hacken Lee and Joey Yung.
Western-influenced music first came to China in the 1920s, specifically through Shanghai.[4] 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, one of the first actions taken by the government was to denounce pop music (specifically Western pop) as decadent music.[4] Beginning in the 1950s, massive waves of immigrants fled Shanghai to destinations like North Point in Hong Kong.[5] As a result, many first generation Cantopop artists and composers hail from Shanghai.[4]
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 (鄧寄塵), 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,[6] and Elvis, Johnny Mathis and The Beatles were popular.[4]
Conversely, those who preferred Cantonese music were considered old-fashioned or uneducated. Cheng Kum-cheung (鄭錦昌) and Chan Chai-chung (陳齊頌) were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted the younger generation. Connie Chan Po-chu(陳寶珠) is generally considered to be Hong Kong's first teen idol, mostly due to her career longevity. Josephine Siao(蕭芳芳) 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 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 (汪明荃) and Paula Tsui(徐小鳳).
Soap operas were needed to fill TV air time, and popular Cantonese songs became TV theme songs.[4] Around 1971, Sandra Lang(仙杜拉), 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 (顧嘉煇). It was ground-breaking and topped local charts.[4] Other groups that profited from TV promotion included the Four Golden Flowers(四朵金花).
Samuel Hui(許冠傑) is regarded by some to be the earliest singing star of Cantopop. He was the lead singer of the band Lotus(蓮花樂隊) 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.[7]
The star of TV theme tunes was Roman Tam(羅文). Three of the most famous TV soap opera singers were Jenny Tseng(甄妮), Liza Wang and Adam Cheng(鄭少秋).[4] The Wynners (溫拿樂隊)and George Lam (林子祥)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.[2]
During the 1980s, Cantopop soared to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as Anita Mui(梅艷芳), Leslie Cheung(張國榮), George Lam(林子祥), Alan Tam(譚詠麟), Sally Yeh(葉倩文), Priscilla Chan(陳慧嫻), Sandy Lam(林憶蓮), and Danny Chan(陳百強) 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 (鄧麗君)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 (草蜢樂隊), 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 (黃家駒), 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.[8]
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.
Further information: Four Heavenly Kings (Hong Kong) |
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.
During the 1990s, the "Four Heavenly Kings" (四大天王), namely Jacky Cheung(張學友), Andy Lau(劉德華), Aaron Kwok(郭富城) and Leon Lai(黎明) dominated music, and coverage in magazines, TV, advertisements and cinema.[9][10]
New talents such as Beyond, Grasshoppers, Hacken Lee(李克勤), Sally Yeh, Vivian Chow(周慧敏), Cass Phang(彭羚), Kelly Chen(陳慧琳), Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文)and Faye Wong(王菲) emerged as contenders. However, due to contractual disputes with PolyGram, Hacken Lee never became one of the member, 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.[11]
At the turn of the century, Cantonese was still dominant in the domain of Chinese pop.[12] 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(謝霆鋒) and Coco Lee(李玟) 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金牌大風), Universal Music Group(環球唱片), East Asia Entertainment(東亞娛樂) and Amusic and Emperor Entertainment Group(英皇娛樂). Some of the most successful performers of the era include Joey Yung(容祖兒), Twins, Eason Chan(陳奕迅), Miriam Yeung, Leo Ku, Janice Vidal. The new era also saw an explosion of bands such as at17, Soler, Sunboy'z, Hotcha, Mr and Rubberband. Many artists such as Stephy Tang(鄧麗欣), Kary Ng(吳雨霏), Kenny Kwan(關智斌) and Renee Li(李蘊) later ended up going solo. The decade has also been dubbed a "People's singer" era (親民歌星), as most performers were frequently seen promoting in public. This is contrasted with the 1990s when previous era "big-name" singers (大牌歌星) unapproachable.[13]
A number of scandals struck some of the stars later in the decade. In 2008 the Edison Chen photo scandal involving Edison Chen(陳冠希) and Twins singer Gillian Chung(鐘欣桐), 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.[14][15][16] 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.[17] Other events include the street fight between Gary Chaw(曹格) and Justin Lo(側田).[18] In 2009, Jill Vidal(衛詩) and her singer boyfriend Kelvin Kwan(關楚耀) were arrested in Tokyo on 24 February 2009 over allegations of marijuana possession.[19] Kwan was released without charge after 32 days in jail,[20] while Vidal later pleaded guilty in Tokyo court to heroin possession, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended for three years.[21][22][23]
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.[24] In 2010, a proposal that Guangzhou Television station should increase its broadcast in Mandarin led to protests in Guangzhou.[25] While the authorities relented, this event reflects attempts at marginalising Cantonese and the ascendency of Mandopop.[26]
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(林峯) with his unpopular song "Chok". Some of the successful performers of the era are Eason Chan, Joey Yung, Juno Mak(麥浚龍), Gillian Chung, Kay Tse(謝安琪), Hins Cheung(張敬軒), Pakho Chau(周柏豪), Ivana Wong(王菀之), Sugar Club, Mag Lam(林欣彤), Alfred Hui(許廷鏗), C AllStar, AGA(江海迦), James Ng(吳業坤), Phil Lam(林奕匡), Kary Ng, Fiona Sit(薛凱琪) and Khalil Fong(方大同).[24]
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 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 semi-tones. Through the work of pioneers like Samuel Hui, James Wong (黃霑) and Jimmy Lo Kwok Jim (盧國沾), those that followed have more stock phrases for reference.
The first type is the poetic lyrics written in literary or classical Wenyan Chinese (文言). In 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 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'.
Chinese original lyrics | Lyrics Romanized in Jyutping |
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Cantopop was born in the 1970s and became a cultural product with the popularity of two songs 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).[27] 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 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 important reason of using cover versions 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.[28]
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 1980s, 139 out of 477 songs from weekly gold songs chart are cover versions, and 52% of the cover versions were covers of Japanese songs. Numerous of 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 indeed were cover versions of Japanese hits [verification needed], and shown the use of covers contribute to the success of superstars in certain degree.[29]
By definition hybrids are still considered Cantonese songs due to 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 this practice of covering foreign music as lack of originality, and many albums promoted themselves as "cover-free".
Usually talent is secondary to the success of a Cantopop singer in Hong Kong. Most of the time, the image sells the albums, as it is one of the characteristic 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 the 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.[30] 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.[31]
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.[32]
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 practise and values of Chinese music in which only lyrics and lyricists are valued.
In the late 1990s, there was a shortage of creative talent due to the rising demand for Chinese songs; meanwhile, China and Taiwan had nurtured their own local industries posing serious competition to Cantopop. Renowned legendary lyricist James Wong Jum-sum (黃湛森), known as Wong Jim (黃霑), wrote his 2003 thesis on the subject.[33]
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.
Award | Year started | Origin |
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IFPI Gold Disc Presentation | 1977 | Hong Kong |
RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards | 1978 | Hong Kong |
Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards | 1983 | Hong Kong |
CASH Golden Sail Awards | 1987 | Hong Kong |
Ultimate Songs Awards | 1988 | Hong Kong |
Metro Hit Music Awards | 1994 | Hong Kong |
A record chart which includes all genres of C-pop is the Global Chinese Pop Chart.
Station | Location | Frequencies and Platform |
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CRHK Radio 2 | Hong Kong | 90.3 FM Available on My903.com and their other channel 88.1 during non talk shows happen. |
RTHK Radio 2 | Hong Kong | 94.8 FM, 95.3 FM, 95.6 FM, 96.0 FM, 96.3 FM, 96.4 FM, 96.9 FM, and Internet live streaming (channel 2) |
Chinese Radio New York | New York | 1480AM |
WNWR | Philadelphia | when it is not doing the news and talkshows |
KEST | San Francisco | 1450 AM |
KMRB | Los Angeles | 1430 AM |
KVTO | San Francisco | 1400 AM |
CHMB | Vancouver | 1320 AM |
Fairchild Radio | Vancouver | 1470 AM, 96.1 FM |
Fairchild Radio | Toronto | 1430 AM, 88.9 FM |
Fairchild Radio | Calgary | 94.7 FM |
Music FM Radio Guangdong | Guangdong | 93.9 FM, 99.3 FM and internet stream media |
SYN FM | Melbourne | 90.7 FM – Cantopop show as part of Asian Pop Night. |
2AC 澳洲華人電台 | Sydney | (proprietary receivers) |
2CR | Sydney Melbourne | (proprietary receivers) |