Jacky Cheung

Not to be confused with Jackie Chan.
Jacky Cheung

Jacky Cheung, January 2007
Chinese name 張學友 (Traditional)
Chinese name 张学友 (Simplified)
Pinyin Zhāng Xúeyǒu (Mandarin)
Jyutping Zoeng1 hok6 jau5 (Cantonese)
Ancestry Tianjin, China[1]
Origin Hong Kong
Born July 10, 1961 (1961-07-10) (age 49)[2]
Hong Kong
Other name(s) God of songs[3]
Occupation Singer
Songwriter
Actor
Genre(s) Cantopop
Mandopop
Instrument(s) Singing
Guitar
Voice type(s) Baritone
Tenor
occasional falsetto
Years active 1985–present
Spouse(s) May Lo Mei-mei (羅美薇)
Official Website www.jackycheung.hk
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Cheung.

Jacky Cheung Hok-yau is a singer, songwriter and actor from Hong Kong. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings (四大天王).[4] Cheung is also nicknamed "God of Songs" (歌神), but he is the second person to hold this title, after former Cantopop singer Sam Hui.[3][5] In an interview with Ray Cordeiro (Uncle Ray), Cheung stated that the title was more appropriate for Hui than him, since he actually wrote and popularized songs.[6]

Contents

Biography

Cheung is known for his rich baritone voice.[7] 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's ancestry includes Tianjin, China, and Cheung has stated that he was raised in a Mandarin-speaking family.[8]

Cheung married Hong Kong actress May Lo Mei-mei on February 15, 1996 in London, with whom he has two daughters.[9]

Career

Music

Jacky Cheung in concert, January 2008.

Cheung originally started working as a reservation officer for the Cathay Pacific airline.[10] His music career started when he won the Amateur 18-Hong Kong district singing contest in 1984 with the song Fatherland (大地恩情).[11] He ousted more than 10,000 other contestants.[10] After winning the contest, he was signed by the then Polygram Records, now Universal Music Group.[10] 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. In 1985 he won his first two major awards together with the 1985 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards and the 1985 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards.[12][13]

His recording career got back on track in 1991 when his career took a massive upturn with his song "Loving You More Every Day" (每天愛你多一些), a translated version of the Japanese Southern All Stars hit, Midsummer's Fruit (真夏の果実). The album True Love Expression (真情流露) in 1992, as well as the subsequent release, Love Sparks (愛火花) 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.[14]

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 the 1993 "Me and You" (我與你) and 1994 "Born to be wild" (餓狼傳說) were also big hits. Since then, his career only grew stronger. Cheung managed to garner thousands of fans in Hong Kong and overseas. In the 1994 Billboard Music Awards in the US, he was named the most popular singer in Asia.[15] 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 in 1995 and 1996 held at Monaco.[16] Cheung was also elected as one of the world's Top Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 1999.[15]

Amongst his hit songs, some of his most famous were Amour, "Just want to spend my life with you" (只想一生跟你走) and "Goodbye Kiss" (吻别). The album The Goodbye Kiss (吻别) 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 4 million copies sold in 1993 alone.[17] The 4 million sold worldwide allowed him to be the first Asian artist to get on PolyGram's annual Top 10 roster.[18] The album was also instrumental in helping Cheung break into the mandopop market. Due to these great songs and albums, Cheung is generally considered to be the pre-eminent member of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. He is regarded by some sources as the best singer of the four.[19]

In 1995, Cheung staged his record-breaking 100-show world tour titled "Yau Hok Yau" (友學友), literally a pun of "friendship Jacky Cheung" reusing the same Chinese characters found in his name.[20] The tour started with 34 shows from April 8 to June 9 at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Then the tour continued at Perth Brisbane Australia and returned back to Taipei and mainland China.[21] It then expanded to Madison Square Garden in the US, different parts of Europe, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Japan.[21] He was regarded as the new Michael Jackson by Business Week.

His successful music and acting career has made him one of Hong Kong's icons. Cheung was elected by Time Magazine as one of the "25 most influential people in the New Hong Kong" in 1996.[10][11]

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.[15] In 2000 he was awarded by RTHK, the Golden Needle Award.[22] This award, the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award, recognized outstanding contributions to the music industry.

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 2007, Cheung staged his "Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 2007". The tour started on 18 February 2007 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. When the tour ended in Hong Kong on 3 February 2008 after touring 58 cities around the world, a total of 105 shows had been given, attracting more than 2 million fans. 105 became the highest number of shows in a tour by a Chinese artist, breaking the previous record of 100, which was also set by Cheung previously.[23]

Duets

Cheung not only performs solo but often in duets. Hong Kong artists he has performed with in duet songs include:

A duet with Filipino singer-actress Regine Velasquez on the song "In Love with You" was included in her multi-platinum album "Listen Without Prejudice". In 2008 Cheung and A-Mei, the popular Taiwanese singer, performed Zhu Fu ("Blessing") as a duet in a benefit concert for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Other duet partners include:

On stage musical

In 1997 his work on the groundbreaking Cantonese broadway-style musical Snow.Wolf.Lake was enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics.[4] 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 and Nnadia Chan in Singapore. Kit Chan played the second female lead. They achieved 43 consecutive full-house performances at the gigantic Hung Hom Hong Kong Coliseum which remains the record today.[24] In November 2004, Cheung 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 and Nnadia Chan respectively. The market budget alone exceeded HK$15 million.[24] The estimated budget for this revised production was HK$100 million and the show premiered on 24 December 2004 in Beijing.[25]

Acting

Cheung's hand print an autograph at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.

While Cheung is known for his singing, he has also acted in many films. He received the Best Supporting Actor award in the 8th Hong Kong Film Awards 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).[26][27] That same year he also collaborated with John Woo and Tony Leung in the film Bullet in the Head. For his work in July Rhapsody, he also received the Best Actor Award at the New Delhi Film Festival for his portrayal of the protagonist role. 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 Award 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.[28]

In the 2004 released and Wong Ching-po directed triads drama film, Jiang Hu, Cheung 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.[29]

Ceremonies and spokesperson

Cheung was named the spokesperson for Hong Kong Disneyland in 2004. He 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.[30] He recorded a multi-lingual song for Hong Kong Disneyland, entitled One. The music video for One was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland. He also recorded for the Hong Kong Disneyland: The Grand Opening Celebration Album.

In December 2006, Cheung performed live the theme song "Together Now" at the Opening Ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.[31] He was introduced as "the most popular Asian performer in the world".

In 2010, Cheung, Jane Zhang, and K'naan sang a Mandarin version of "Wavin' Flag (The Celebration Mix)" for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Community

In March 2009 he became the first Cantopop / Mandopop artist to contribute items to the Hard Rock franchise memorabilia collection.[32] Items are to be exhibited at the Hard Rock hotel in Macau.[32] A joint donation is also made to donate HK$600,000 to the Children's Cancer Foundation and ORBIS Macau.[23] In Sept 2009, Cheung, as one of the super ambassadors of End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation (ECSAF) founded by Josephine Siao, attended the charity fund raising event for celebrating ECSAF’s 10th anniversary in Hong Kong.[33]

Foreign domestic helper incident

Cheung's maid was arrested for taking images of Cheung's children, in a case sparked controversy among some domestic servants in Hong Kong, arguing that Cheung overreacted and the sentence was disproportionate and regarded the case as racial discrimination.[34] The Philippines consulate soon announced that Cheung's family had employed 21 different maids in a three-year period and placed Jacky Cheung on a 'blacklist' that would prevent him from employing any Filipino maids in the future.[35]

IFPI Awards (partial list)

IFPI Gold Disc Award[36]

IFPI Platinum Disc Award

IFPI Top 10 Sales Album

IFPI Top 10 Sales Artist

IFPI Top Sales Album

See also

References

  1. ↑ Xinhuanet. "Xinhuanet." 张学友：我是天津人. Date: 2002-05-24. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
  2. ↑ Big5.cri.cn. "CRIonline." 五好男人張學友. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Libertytimes.com. "Libertytimes.com.tw." 許冠傑澳門開唱 票價尬輸王力宏. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Xinhuanet. "Xinhuanet." 四大天王 蓦然回首十五年. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  5. ↑ Sdnews.com. "Sdnews.com." 許冠傑豹紋裝逛街 買千元精品不手軟. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  6. ↑ Youtube.com. "Youtube.com." TVB interview with Jacky Cheung. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  7. ↑ Time.com. "Time.com." Cantopop kingdom. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  8. ↑ Jacky Cheung CNN TalkAsia Interview 2004-11-20. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  9. ↑ Thestar.com. "Thestar.com." How the stars do it. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Musicianguide. "Musicianguide.com." Jacky Cheung biography. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sina.com. "Sina.com." 资料：张学友--永恒的歌神 不朽的传奇. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  12. ↑ TVB. "TVB." JSG 1985 TVB. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
  13. ↑ RTHK. "RTHK." RTHK 1985 TVB. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
  14. ↑ Anhui news. "Anhui news." 歌神張學友明日42歲 希望自己唱到80歲. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Changsha digital online. "Csonline.com.cn." Jacky Cheung to visit Beijing fans. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  16. ↑ Universal music. "Umusic." Jacky Cheung extends long relationship with Universal Music. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  17. ↑ GG800.com. "GG800.com." 华语歌坛百名歌手销量统计（2006年版）. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  18. ↑ Businessweek.com. "Businessweek.com." The new music biz. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  19. ↑ People.com.cn. "People.com.cn." 《東邪西毒》一個時代 他們不再年輕卻風華絕代. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  20. ↑ Sina.com.tw. "Sina.com.tw." 專輯：張學友《學友光年世界巡回演唱會07》. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Hangzhou.com.cn. "China Hangzhou.com." 1991-1999张学友演唱会纪录. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  22. ↑ RTHK. "RTHK.org." 2000 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Hollywoodindustry.dig. "Hollywoodindustry.digitalmedianet.com." Hard Rock International World's First Chinese Memorabilia Displayed at City of Dreams. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Gofuntaiwan.net. "Gofuntaiwan.net." 華人最大型經典音樂劇－ (雪狼湖). Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  25. ↑ Xinhuanet. "Xinhuanet." 揭開《雪狼湖》票房收入之謎 Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  26. ↑ Hong Kong film awards. "HKFAA." 8th HK film award. Retrieved on 2009-05-03.
  27. ↑ Life of Guangzhou. "Life of Guangzhou." Jacky Cheung 2007 World Tour Closing Concert Guangzhou. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  28. ↑ Sina.com. "Sina.com." 莫文蔚言承旭张学友《烈爱伤痕》体验激情. Retrieved on 2009-05-01.
  29. ↑ Jacky cheung in Jiang Hu (2004) lovehkfilm.com Retrieved on 30-08-2007
  30. ↑ China economic net. "China economic net." HK Disneyland names Jacky Cheung as spokesperson. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  31. ↑ Enews.ma. "Enews.ma." Asian Games open in spectacular style. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 CBS. "CBSnews." Jacky Cheung Donates Memorabilia To Hard Rock. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
  33. ↑ "Charity fund raising event for celebrating the 10th anniversary of ECSAF". 2009-09-06. http://www.takungpao.com/news/09/09/06/UHK-1137793.htm. 
  34. ↑ International Herald Tribune Jacky Cheung's maid jailed
  35. ↑ "Popstar fired '21 maids in three years'". Ninemsn.com. 2007-09-27. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=300412. Retrieved 2007-09-28. 
  36. ↑ IFPI HK Awards ifpihk.org Retrieved on 20-09-2007

External links

The Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop
Jacky Cheung • Aaron Kwok • Leon Lai • Andy Lau
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Leslie Cheung		 Golden Needle Award of RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award
2000		 Succeeded by
Richard Lam