Jacky Cheung

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Jacky Cheung
張學友

Background information
Born July 10, 1961
Genre(s) Pop
Occupation(s) Singer, Actor
Years active 1985-present
Label(s) Universal Music Group
Website JackyCheung.hk

Jacky Cheung Hok Yau (Traditional Chinese: 張學友; Simplified Chinese: 张学友; pinyin: Zhāng Xúeyǒu; born July 10, 1961 in Hong Kong with family roots in Tianjin) is a Hong Kong singer and film star from the mid-1980s to the present. The Chinese media refer to Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born on July 10, 1961 in Hong Kong, Cheung is regarded by many as one of the finest male singers to have come out of Hong Kong, known for his rich baritone voice, wide range and exceptional interpretative powers. Since the early 1990s, he is arguably the world's most respected Chinese pop singer.

Cheung is sometimes dubbed the God of Songs (歌神), a title which was once given to another Cantopop singer Sam Hui.

His successful music and acting career has led him to be recognised as one of Hong Kong's icons. Cheung was named the spokesperson for Hong Kong Disneyland in 2004. As the theme park's spokesperson, Cheung took part in a number of large-scale marketing events organized by The Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, beginning with the hosting of a TV program, Magical World of Disneyland. [1] He also recorded a multi-lingual song for Hong Kong Disneyland, entitled One. The music video for One was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland.

He is married to May Lo with whom he has two daughters.

[edit] Career

[edit] Singer

He was the national singing champion in Hong Kong 1984 with the song Fatherland, ousting more than ten thousand other contestants. He was signed by the then Polygram Records, now Universal Music Group. Although encouraged by a bright start, he was not yet able to achieve immediate supremacy in Cantopop, then dominated by Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Anita Mui and Danny Chan. Cheung suffered a nosedive in his career in 1988 after a best-selling first two albums. That year he did not have a single song awarded in the annual TVB JSG. His subsequent sales record dipped and one of his albums in the late 1980s managed just around ten thousand in sales. The reason for the fall in his CD sales was partially attributed to his alcohol problem - he could get drunk 5 times a week. After disrupting his friend's birthday party while being drunk, Cheung vowed he would not consume alcohol again till he was 40. He kept that promise.

His recording career subsequently returned to its track. Then, in 1991, with the song 每天愛你多一些 (Loving You More Everyday), a translated version of the Southern All Stars hit, Manatsu no Kajitsu, his career took a massive upturn. The album, 真情流露 True Love Expression in 1992, as well as the succeeding release, 愛火花 (Love Sparks) in 1992, became the two most successful CD albums in Hong Kong history, achieving audited sales of over 400,000 copies in Hong Kong alone and turned Cheung into a superstar, paving the way for himself and his contemporaries, Andy Lau, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok, to take Cantopop to even greater heights. Subsequent albums continue to be a hit like 我與你 Me and You 1993, 餓狼傳說 Wolf Tale 1994 etc. Since then his career has grown from strength to strength, and Cheung has managed to garner thousands of fans overseas as well as numerous music awards both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, including the best-selling Chinese singer in the World Music Awards for two consecutive years (1995 and 1996). Cheung has also been elected one of the world's Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 1999.

Among his most famous songs are Amour, 只想一生跟你走 (Only Thinking of Going Through Life With You) and the everlasting 吻别 (Goodbye Kiss) which confirms his status as one, and many consider the pre-eminent member, of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. Goodbye Kiss, a Mandarin number, was also one of the best-selling albums of all time, achieving more sales in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia such as not attained before, with an astounding 5 million copies sold in 1993 alone, a record that has remained yet unbroken. Goodbye Kiss was also instrumental in helping Cheung to break into the mando-pop market, and it also prompted other Hong Kong singers who wanted to gain a wider market to follow suit, even though, to this very day, very few indeed have been able to approach Cheung's level of success.

His work on the ground-breaking Cantonese musical, Snow, Wolf, Lake musical (1997), was also enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics. Cheung not only played the male lead, but was also the artistic director for this production. The female lead was played by Sandy Lam and they achieved 43 full-house performances at the gigantic Hong Kong Coliseum. In November 2004, Jacky 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 estimated budget for this revised production was HK$100 million and the show premiered on 24 December 2004 in Beijing. The production subsequently toured China and other Asian destinations to huge acclaim.

Cheung won, for the umpteenth time, the Best Selling Cantonese Album Award in the Hong Kong IFPI Awards of 2005 with his live album, Jacky Live Performance. In the fast-changing scene of canto-pop, Cheung is able to maintain his popularity and sales power for more than 20 years after his debut, which is unparalleled in the history of Hong Kong pop music.

In 1995 Jacky Cheung received the "Chinese Artiste of The World" in Monte Carlo at the World Music Awards, which acknowledged his being the biggest selling Chinese pop artiste in the world. He received the award for a 2nd time in 1996.

In December 2006, Cheung performed live the theme song "Together Now" at the Opening Ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

[edit] Actor

Cheung acted in many films, although singing has always been his priority. He received the Best Supporting Actor Hong Kong Films Award for his work in As Tears Go By (1988) as well as the Best Supporting Actor Golden Horse Award for his work in Swordsman (1990). He also received the Best Actor Award at the New Delhi Film Festival for his portrayal of the protagonist in July Rhapsody. His song Perhaps Love, which serves as the theme song for the multi-award-winning film Perhaps Love, also won the Best Song Award at the 2005 Hong Kong Film Awards and the CASH Best Song Award at the 2005/2006 CASH Gold Sail Music Awards. He also starred in Taiwanese mini-series called "Love Scar" with F4 member Jerry Yan and Karen Mok, where he acted as Jerry Yan's older brother.

[edit] Duets

Jacky Cheung had numerous duets, including non-Asian actresses Sarah Brightman (There for Me) and Reba McEntire (For My Broken Heart). His female duets in Hong Kong were Faye Wong (Love's Promise), Kelly Chen (Waiting for Your Love) and Anita Mui (Love is Hard). He also had a duet with Filipino singer-actress Regine Velasquez entitled "In Love With You".

[edit] Controversy

In November 2006 Jacky Cheung reported to the police acts of theft committed by one of his foreign domestic helpers, Preslyn-saga Catacutan, accusing her of stealing three photographs and a letter belonging to him as well as pursuing suspicious activities in Cheung's home, including attempts to unlock his secret telephone code. The Magistrate who heard the case, Winston Leung, described Cheung as being "courageous" for bringing the matter before the courts and consenting to appear as prosecution witness after the police had laid charges against her. Ms Catacutan was subsequently found guilty of theft, aggravated by a serious breach of faith, and was sentenced to six months in jail. An appeal against the conviction is pending.

Some people in Hong Kong felt that Jacky Cheung need not have alerted the police to the matter. The sentence imposed on the domestic helper was also seen by some as being disproportionate to the crime and an example of racism exhibited towards minorities in Hong Kong.[1] Yet, such sentiments were expressed only by some maids groups as well as a few letters written to just one English language newspaper in Hong Kong. Most of the local Chinese media are supportive of Cheung's action.

[edit] Partial Discography

Year Chinese Name English Name <Literal Chinese-English Translation> Language
2007 在你身邊 By Your Side Mandarin
2005 雪.狼.湖 Snow.Wolf.Lake Mandarin
2005 Jacky活出生命Live演唱會 Jacky Live Concert Performance Cantonese
2004 黑白畫映 Black & White Mandarin
2004 Life Is Like A Dream Life Is Like A Dream Cantonese
2002 他在那裡 Where He Is. Mandarin
2001 學友熱 Jacky Fever Mandarin
2001 天下第一流 The First <World's First Class> Cantonese
2000 Touch Of Love Touch Of Love English
1999 有個人 Someone <Having Someone> Cantonese
1999 走過1999 Running Through 1999 Mandarin
1998 不後悔 No Regret Mandarin
1998 釋放自己 Release Yourself Cantonese
1997 雪.狼.湖 Snow.Wolf.Lake Cantonese
1997 不老的傅説 The Undying Legend Cantonese
1997 想和你去吹吹風 Wana Go For a Walk With You Mandarin
1996 忘記你我做不到 How Could I Forget You? Mandarin
1996 愛與交響曲 Love and Symphony Cantonese
1995 過敏世界 Sensitive World <Oversensitive World> Cantonese
1995 擁友 Possession <Embrace Friend> Mandarin
1995 真愛新曲＋精選 True Love compilation Mandarin
1994 偸心 Steal Your Heart Mandarin
1994 這個冬天不太冷 A Warm Winter Cantonese
1994 餓狼傳説 Born to be Wild <Legend of a Hungry Wolf> Cantonese
1993 祝福 Blessing Mandarin
1993 吻別 The Goodbye Kiss Mandarin
1993 等你等到我心痛 Painfully Waiting For You. Cantonese
1993 我與你 Me and You Cantonese
1992 愛・火・花 Love・Fire・Flower Cantonese
1992 真情流露 True Love Expression Cantonese
1991 愛你多一些精選 Love You More- Selected Collection Cantonese
1991 一顆不變心 A Never Changing Heart Cantonese
1991 情不禁 Uncontrolled Passion Cantonese
1990 張學友的初戀故事・似曾相識 Somewhere In Time <Jacky Cheung's First Love Story・Seem to Have Met before> Mandarin
1990 夢中的你 Dreaming of You Cantonese
1989 祇願一生愛一人 You Will Always Be My Love <Wishing to Love One Person in a Lifetime> Cantonese
1989 絲絲記憶情歌精選 Memories-Selected Collection Cantonese
1989 給我親愛的 For My Dearest Cantonese
1988 意亂情迷 Crazy for You <Distraughtly Crazy In Love> Mandarin
1988 昨夜夢魂中 Dream In Grief <Last Night in the Dream State> Cantonese
1987 在我心深處 Deep In My Heart Mandarin
1987 張學友 JACKY Jacky Cheung JACKY Cantonese
1986 情無四歸 Homeless Love Mandarin
1986 相愛 In Love Cantonese
1985 Amour 遙遠的她 Amour She is Afar Cantonese
1985 Smile Smile Cantonese


TOTAL: 47 albums

[edit] Partial Filmography

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ International Herald Tribune Jacky Cheung's maid jailed

[edit] External links

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