Cantopop
is a colloquial abbreviation for "Cantonese popular music".
It is also referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop. Cantopop draws its influence not only from other forms of Chinese music, but from a variety of international styles including jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronic music, western pop music and others. By in large, cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese. Boasting a multinational fanbase, Hong Kong is the most significant hub of the genre.History
Origin
Western-influenced music first came to the Republic of China in the 1920s, specifically to Shanghai. Artists like Zhou Xuan acted in films and recorded popular songs, and was possibly the first Chinese popstar. The split would come 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 as pornography. Beginning in the 1950s massive waves of immigrants fled Shanghai to destinations like North Point. Because many of the first generations of artists and composers were originally from the city, Hong Kong cantopop owes its origin to Shanghai.
1960s: Cultural acceptance
By the 1960s, Cantonese music available 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 baby boom generation at the time preferred British and American exports, as well as Mandarin music. Western culture at the time was a mark of education and sophistication[4], and Elvis, Johnny Mathis, Beatles were the main attraction. Conversely, those who preferred Cantonese music were considered old 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 is generally considered to be Hong Kong"s first teen idol, mostly due to her career longevity. Josephine Siao is also another artist of the era.
Roman Tam, the godfather of cantopop
1970s: Rise of the industry
Beginning with the 1970s, TV was a technological marvel mostly available to the rich, and broadcasted contents were highly valued and respected. Soap operas were needed to fill air time. Many popular Cantonese songs became TV theme songs[2]. 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 "The Yuanfen of a Wedding that Cries and Laughs" or "Tai Siu Jan Jyuan" (啼笑姻緣). This song was a collaboration between the legendary songwriter Joseph Koo (顧嘉煇) and the songwriter Yip Siu-dak (葉紹德). The song was ground breaking and topped local charts[2]. The boom of cantopop is credited to both the respect for rich entertainment like television and timely TV theme songs.
Usually the theme songs are written in classical Chinese for programs with an ancient historical setting, and in colloquial Cantonese for programs based on modern life. One of the most well-known theme song stars was Roman Tam (羅文), whose singing earned much praise. Samuel Hui (許冠傑) also started out as a western musician. Several of his box office hits began in 1974. His songs, written in colloquial Cantonese, mirrored the life of common everyday citizens. Although he was not the first to do this, he was the first to gain widespread appeal locally. Two of the most famous TV soap opera singers were Liza Wang (汪明荃) and Adam Cheng (鄭少秋)
The Four Heavenly Kings
1980s: Beginning of the Golden age
During the 1980s, cantopop scaled to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Priscilla Chan and Danny Chan quickly became household names. The industry effectively used cantopop songs in TV dramas and movies. Some of the biggest soundtracks came from timeless film such as A Better Tomorrow. In part, the success came from progressive economical developments. Sponsors and record companies became comfortable with the idea of lucrative contracts and million dollar signings.
1990s: Four Heavenly Kings era
In the early 90s, a number of Cantopop star decided to semi or fully retire. Those Cantopop star includes Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Samuel Hui, Priscilla Chan and Joseph Koo. Those retirement came as they decided to emigrate from Hong Kong after Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Cantopop needed new talents to fill those gaps left opened, this leds to the emergence of the "Four Heavenly Kings" (四大天王) of Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai. They dominated all levels of media from magazines, TV, cinema to music. Hacken Lee also developed a relatively large fanbase. New talents such as Beyond would also emerge as contenders. Successful crossing over alternative music elements by Sandy Lam, Shirley Kwan and Faye Wong were also important to the era.
The tension and economic instability from the 1997 handover also created a culturally challenging atmosphere for the industry. Establishment of Basic Law and language ordinances made the adoption of Mandarin official.
Current
Faye Wong an artist known in all of Greater China and overseas Chinese-speaking communities.
2000s
In recent years the popularity of Cantopop has declined due to the continuation of poor sales and the lack of newcomers. The popularity of karaoke culture also out-competed the quality of mainstream products. New song compositions and originality have also been questioned. The late multi-talented lyricist/songwriter/musician/scholar James Wong pointed out that cantopop may share the same fate as classical music.
The death of star Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in 2003 rocked the industry. The Four Heavenly Kings performed a tribute at the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards.
It is noticeable that Mandarin songs now appear in HK charts more regularly than before. A number of Mainland-born entertainers, such as Faye Wong and Hins Cheung have shot to success by mimicking cantopop style or directly appealing to Hong Kong audiences. Overseas-raised Chinese artists such as Sally Yeh, Nicholas Tse and Coco Lee have also been recognized. As a result cantopop is no longer restricted to Hong Kong, but has become part of a larger Pan-Chinese music movement.
Alternatively people of all ages continue to enjoy songs from the Golden Age, especially with such such artists as Liza Wang, Adam Cheng and Leslie Cheung. In the 2000s record labels companies began promoting substance over hype by featuring raw talent instead of image. Typical example is how Janice Vidal and Justin Lo started their career as backing vocalists, and later on converted into a singer. Janice and Justin both nominated by Commercial Radio 2 for the 2005 Hong Kong Music Awards Best female and male Singer within a year they begin their public performance.
Characteristics
Instruments and setups
Early cantopop was developed from cantonese opera music hybridized with western pop. The musicians gave up traditional Chinese musical instruments like zheng and erhu fiddle in favor of western style arrangments. Cantopop songs were usually sung by one singer, sometimes with a band, accompanied by piano, synthesizer, drum set, guitar, and bass guitar. They are composed under the "chorus and verse" form and are generally monophonic. Practically all cantopop songs feature a descending bassline.
Lyric
Classical Chinese lyric
The first type is the poetic lyrics written in literary or classical Wenyan Chinese. 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 traditional, though some big names like Roman Tam stayed true to traditional techniques.
Modern Chinese lyric
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 utilize songs written with these lyrics. Most songs share an overriding 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 end with "–eung".
| Chinese Original lyrics | English Transliterated lyrics |
|---|---|
|
|
Since the 1970s, many western and J-pop compositions have been translated to Chinese. Historically the practice is done for business reasons of filling up albums and re-capitalizing on songs with a proven record. In recent years, the same phenomenon has been witnessed for Korean pop music. 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 compsed outside of Hong Kong.
Industry
Twins a popular group
Cantopop stars
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 US and Japan. Publicity is vital to an idol"s career, as one piece of news could make or break one"s future. Almost all modern cantopop stars go into the movie business regardless of their ability to act. 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 from various sources. For example, according to some reports, Sammi Cheng earned HK$46M (around US$6M) from advertisement and merchandise endorsements in the month of January 2003 alone.
Labels
Around the world, the cantopop music industry is dominated largely by record labels owned by record industry giants such as Sony, EMI, Polydor, and Philips. Since 2000, a number of local record labels have emerged such as Emperor Entertainment Group, East Asia Record & amusic and Gold Label Records. Sales are tracked at the IFPI HK Annual Sales Chart[7].
Variety
The taste of much of Hong Kong"s youths are quite similar. As a result, most stars tend to sing songs with similar topics with emphasis on "maudlin love ballads". But there are still many sideline musicians like Beyond and Tat Ming Pair (達明一派) whose songs reflect the darker side of society. In recent years, the presences of The Pancakes, LMF, At 17 etc added freshness to the industry. Their songs express youth attitudes and beliefs with similarities to cutie pop or hip hop cultures.
Artists
Audio samples of Cantopop
* "Romance Trap (愛情陷阱)" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
o A fast tempo song with modernized arrangements in the 1980s by Alan Tam
* "Wait (等)" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
o A slow to medium tempo soundtrack by Danny Chan for the 1984 HK film "Merry Christmas" (聖誕快樂)
* Problems playing the files? See media help.
Male
* Kenny Bee
* Danny Chan
* Daniel Chan
* Eason Chan
* Jaycee Chan
* Jordan Chan
* Wakin (Emil) Chau
* Edison Chen
* Adam Cheng
* Ekin Cheng
* Kevin Cheng
* Ronald Cheng
* Hins Cheung
* Julian Cheung
* Jacky Cheung
* Leslie Cheung
* Louis Cheung
* Endy Chow
* Greg Chung
* Alex Fong
* Andy Hui
* Sam Hui
* Bai Guang
* Daniel Horace
* Kenny Kwan
* Leo Ku
* Aaron Kwok
* Eric Kwok
* Leon Lai
* George Lam
* Chet Lam
* Jan Lamb
* Andy Lau
* Wilfred Lau
* Hacken Lee
* Edmond Leung
* Tony Leung
* Don Li
* Justin Lo
* Juno Mak
* Pong Nan
* Deep Ng
* Ron Ng
* Edwin Siu
* William So
* Alec Su
* Alan Tam
* Roman Tam
* Patrick Tang
* Nicholas Tse
* Deric Wan
* Dave Wang
* Anthony Wong
* Chris Wong
* James Wong
* Charles Ying
* Eugene Yip
* Shawn Yue
Female
* Bobo Chan
* Connie Chan Po-chu
* Flora Chan
* Priscilla Chan
* Vincy Chan
* Mandy Chiang
* Kelly Chen
* Kellyjackie
* Sammi Cheng
* Stephanie Cheng
* Yumiko Cheng
* Cecilia Cheung
* Niki Chow
* Vivian Chow
* Rachelle Chung
* Renee Dai
* Theresa Fu
* Denise Ho
* Deanie Ip
* Grace Ip
* Ella Koon
* Jade Kwan
* Shirley Kwan
* Cally Kwong
* Vivian Lai
* Sandy Lam
* Coco Lee
* Tiffany Lee
* Gigi Leung
* Helia Leung
* Isabella Leong
* Rain Li
* Candy Lo
* Karen Mok
* Anita Mui
* Kary Ng
* Yan Ng
* Fiona Sit
* Stephy Tang
* Vangie Tang
* Teresa Teng
* Kay Tse
* Jenny Tseng
* Paula Tsui
* Janice Vidal
* Jill Vidal
* Liza Wang
* Emme Wong
* Faye Wong
* Ivana Wong
* Lisa Wong
* Bianca Wu
* Sally Yeh
* Charlie Yeung
* Miriam Yeung
* Frances Yip
* Joey Yung
Groups
* 2R
* AMK
* At17
* Beyond
* Bliss
* Boy"z
* Cookies
* Cream
* Dear Jane
* Double R
* E-Kids
* EO2
* Krusty
* Fama
* Grasshopper
* Hotcha
* I Love You Boyz
* LMF
* The Pancakes
* Ping Pung
* PixelToy
* Shine
* Sky
* Softhard (軟硬天師)
* SohBim
* Soler
* Sun Boy"z
* Swing
* Tat Ming Pair
* Twins
* The Wynners
* YLK Organization
* Zarahn
Cantopop radio stations
Station Location Frequencies and Platform
HKVP Radio Hong Kong Live 365
CRHK Radio 2 Hong Kong 90.3 FM
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
WNWR Philadelphia when it is not doing the news and talkshows
KMRB Los Angeles
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