Jacky Cheung
| Jacky Cheung | ||||||||||
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 Jacky Cheung in concert, January 2008 |
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| Chinese name | 張學友 (Traditional) | |||||||||
| Chinese name | 张学友 (Simplified) | |||||||||
| Pinyin | Zhāng xúe yǒu (Mandarin) | |||||||||
| Jyutping | Zoeng1 hok6 jau5 (Cantonese) | |||||||||
| Ancestry | Tianjin, China | |||||||||
| Origin | Hong Kong | |||||||||
| Born | July 10, 1961 Hong Kong |
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| Other name(s) | God of songs | |||||||||
| Occupation | Singer | |||||||||
| Genre(s) | Cantopop, Mandopop | |||||||||
| Instrument(s) | Singing | |||||||||
| Label(s) | Universal Music Group | |||||||||
| Years active | 1985–present | |||||||||
| Official site | www.jackycheung.hk | |||||||||
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Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau is a Hong Kong singer and actor from the mid-1980s to the present. The Chinese-language media refer to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings.
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Biography
Born on July 10, 1961 in Hong Kong, Cheung, known for his rich baritone/tenor voice, wide range and exceptional interpretative powers, is regarded by many as one of the finest male singers to have come out of Hong Kong. He is also one of the first Hong Kong singers to add a rock and roll quality to his voice, citing singers such as Elton John, Barry Manilow and Billy Joel as key influences. He has also experimented with different genres of rock, such as alternative rock, light grunge and art rock.
Cheung is sometimes dubbed the God of Songs (歌神), a title which was once owned by another Cantopop singer Sam Hui. In an interview with Uncle Ray, Jacky stated that this title was more appropriate for Sam Hui since he actually wrote and popularised songs[1]. Jacky should more appropriately be titled God of Singers.
His successful music and acting career has made him one of Hong Kong's icons. Cheung was elected by the Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in the new Hong Kong in 1997. In 1999, he was named one of the 10 Outstanding Young Persons of the World by the Junior Chamber International, a worldwide federation of young professionals and entrepreneurs. In 2000, he was awarded, by RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong), the Golden Needle Award. This award, the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award, recognized outstanding contributions to the music industry. He 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.[2] He recorded a multi-lingual song for Hong Kong Disneyland, entitled One. The music video for One was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland.
He married May Lo in 1996 and has two daughters.
Career
Singer
Jacky Cheung's career started when he made it as the national singing champion in Hong Kong 1984 with the song Fatherland. He ousted more than ten thousand other contestants. He was signed by the then Polygram Records, now Universal Music Group. He was previously working at the airliner Cathay Pacific. Although encouraged by a bright start, he was not 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 his two, first, best-selling, albums. He did not have a single song awarded in the annual TVB JSG that year. His subsequent sales record dropped, in which one of his releases in the late 1980s only managed to sell around twenty thousand albums. The fall in CD sales was partially attributed to his alcoholic problem. It was at such a point where he could regularly get drunk 5 times a week. After disrupting his friend's baby shower while drunk, Cheung vowed he would not consume anymore alcohol until he was 40, in which he kept his promise.
- See also: Jacky Cheung discography
His recording career got back on track in 1991 when his career took a massive upturn with his song 每天愛你多一些 (Loving You More Every Day), a translated version of the Japanese Southern All Stars hit, 真夏の果実 (Midsummer's Fruit). The album, 真情流露 True Love Expression in 1992, as well as the subsequent 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. Cheung became an instant superstar, paving the way for himself and his contemporaries, Andy Lau, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok, to take Cantopop to even greater heights. His subsequent albums such as 我與你 Me and You 1993, 餓狼傳說 Born to be wild 1994 etc. were also big hits. Since then, his career only grew stronger. Cheung managed to garner thousands of fans in Hong Kong and overseas. He received 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 was also elected as one of the world's Top Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 1999.
Amongst his hit songs, some of his most famous were Amour, 祗想一生跟你走 (Just want to spend my life with you) and, the everlasting 吻别 (Goodbye Kiss). Due to these great songs, he is considered one of the (also considered by many as the pre-eminent member) Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. Goodbye Kiss, a Mandarin number, was one of the best-selling albums of all time, achieving more sales in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia than ever attained before, with an astounding 3 million copies sold in 1993 alone. This record has yet to be broken. Goodbye Kiss was also instrumental in helping Cheung break into the mando-pop market. This album helped make him the first Asian artist to get on PolyGram's annual Top 10 roster. Cheung's success prompted other Hong Kong singers, whom wanted to access a wider market, to follow suit. To this day though, very few have actually been able to obtain a level of success equal to that achieved by Cheung.
In 1995, Jacky staged his record-breaking 100-show world tour. The tour started in Hong Kong. He stunned the audiences with his beautiful voice, flawless singing and awesome dances. His tour went through Asia, Australia, North America, South America and Europe and won accolades for his performances. He has performed in some of the most renowned stage such as the Madison Square Garden in New York. He was regarded by the Business Week as the new Michael Jackson.
His work on the ground-breaking Cantonese musical, Snow.Wolf.Lake musical (1997), was enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics. Cheung not only played the male lead, but was also the artistic director for this production. The first female lead was played by Sandy Lam (in Hong Kong; in Singapore, Nnadia Chan) and Kit Chan, the second female lead. 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 female leads this time were Evonne Hsu (Taiwanese singer) and Nnadia Chan respectively. The estimated budget for this revised production was HK$100 million and the show premiered on December 24, 2004 in Beijing. The production subsequently toured China and other Asian destinations to huge acclaim.
In 1996 Jacky Cheung received the "Chinese Artiste of The World" 1995 in Monte Carlo at the World Music Awards. This acknowledged him as the biggest selling Chinese pop artiste in the world. He received the award for a 2nd time in 1997.
Cheung won 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 has been 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 December 2006, Cheung performed live the theme song "Together Now" at the Opening Ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. He was introduced as "the most popular Asian performer in the world".
In 2007, Jacky staged his "Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 2007". The tour started on February 18, 2007 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. When the tour ended in Hong Kong on February 3, 2008, a total of 105 shows (almost all of them being full-houses) had been given. This tour broke the 100-show record from his 1995 world tour.
Actor
- See also: Jacky Cheung filmography
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.
In the 2004 released and Wong Ching Po directed triads drama film, Jiang Hu, Jacky played the role of Lefty, the best friend and right hand man of a crime boss, Hung Yan Chau, who is played by Andy Lau. The film includes several actors from the cast of Infernal Affairs.[3]
Duets
Jacky Cheung has performed 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 Priscilla Chan (A Pair of Lonely Hearts), Faye Wong (Love's Promise), Kelly Chen (Waiting for Your Love) and Anita Mui (Love is Hard). He also performed a duet with Filipino singer-actress Regine Velasquez (In Love with You).
Foreign domestic helper incident
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.
According to local Chinese newspapers reports, friends and co-works have complained to Cheung many times about the maid's habit of stealing other's personal effects, despite the fact that she has only worked there for a few months. Cheung cautiously felt he was better off terminating the maid's employment contract with compensation in respect of Hong Kong employment law.[4]
On the day of the dismissal, Catacutan Preslyn-saga routinely let her employer check the content of her purse and bags. Cheung was shocked to find one of his personal letters, with his name and address in the bag. Fearing the maid might have stolen even more items, Cheung promptly called the police. The Police escorted both Cheung and the maid to the police station, and subsequently found 3 photos of Cheung in the other bags belonging to the maid.
Cheung claimed he did not want to alert the police, as he felt the process of going to law court is troublesome. However, out of concern for the safety of his daughter with the potential of his address being leaked to unknown persons, he had no choice but to call the police.[5]
Hearing Magistrate, Winston Leung, described Cheung as "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.
Foreign maid organizers in Hong Kong felt that 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.[6] Yet, such sentiments were expressed only by some maids groups as well as a few letters written to one English language newspaper in Hong Kong. Most of the local Chinese media are supportive of Cheung's action.
However, Cheung has been banned from hiring any more Filipino maids as he and his wife, May Lo, were placed on a "blacklist of sub-standard employers" maintained by the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong after "changing" 21 maids in three years, but the actual number of dismissed maids was not publicly announced. The blacklisting, which was, itself, a controversial action on the part of the consulate, comes after a former Filipino helper working under Cheung, Preslyn-saga Catacutan, was jailed last year for stealing photographs and a letter from the star.[7]
IFPI Awards (partial list)
IFPI Gold Disc Award
- 1989 87'演唱會 Polygram
- 1990 絲絲記憶精選 Polygram
IFPI Platinum Disc Award
- 1988 Smile Polygram
- 1988 遙遠的她 Polygram
- 1988 相愛 Polygram
- 1988 Jacky Polygram
- 1989 昨夜夢魂中 Polygram
- 1990 給我親愛的 Polygram
- 1990 祇願一生愛一人 Polygram
IFPI Top 10 Sales Album
- 2003 Where is he 他在那裡 What's Music
- 2004 Black & White What's Music
- 2005 活出生命 Live 演唱會 What's Music
IFPI Top 10 Sales Artist
- 2005
IFPI Top Sales Album
- 2005 活出生命 Live 演唱會 What's Music
Source: IFPI HK[8]
See also
- Cinema of Hong Kong
- music of Hong Kong
References
- ↑ http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=OVpbABuy0YU
- ↑ en.ce.cn
- ↑ Jacky cheung in Jiang Hu (2004) lovehkfilm.com Retrieved on 30-08-2007
- ↑ The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department
- ↑ 张学友,Jacky Cheung,学友在线,友友社区
- ↑ International Herald Tribune Jacky Cheung's maid jailed
- ↑ "Popstar fired '21 maids in three years'". Ninemsn.com (2007-09-27). Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ↑ IFPI HK Awards ifpihk.org Retrieved on 20-09-2007
External links
- Jacky Cheung - Official website
- Official 2007 Concert Tour website
- Lyrics and pictures
- IMDb entry
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| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by Leslie Cheung |
Golden Needle Award of RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award 2000 |
Succeeded by Richard Lam |