Hong Kong English pop
Encyclopedia
Hong Kong English pop are English language songs that are made, performed and popularized in Hong Kong
. Known as simply English pop by Hong Kong people
. The height of the English pop era in Hong Kong was from the 1950s
to mid 1970s
.
from 1843 to 1974 in Hong Kong
, it was spoken widely, especially in formal context, by Hongkongers in the 20th century. As a result, pop songs performed in English language were very popular among both ethnic Chinese
and British Hong Kong citizens.
s. Lobing Samson, who led the house band at Ciro’s for many years, later made his way to Hong Kong as did Fred Carpio, Vic Cristobal and many others.
recorded "Rose, Rose, I Love You
" in Hong Kong, which is an English version of the popular Chinese song Mei gui mei gui wo ai ni composed by Chen Gexin
(陳歌辛). Mei gui mei gui wo ai ni first recorded by Yao Lee
in Shanghai
1940s. In 1959 Tsai Chin
recorded an English version of Yao Min
’s "The Second Spring", which featured in the London stage musical The World of Suzie Wong
.
, Elvis Presley
and Johnny Mathis
enjoyed much popularity in the city. Inspired by many imported pop music from the West, Hong Kong artists started to produce Hong Kong’s own pop music in English in the 1960s. The Kontinentals, a schoolboy band originating at King George V School, is often credited with being the first Hong Kong band to record original compositions in the style of British pop of the early 1960s. Lead singer and bassist Anders Nelsson
and lead guitarist Roy Davenport, composed I Still Love You and I Think Of Her, respectively, and the songs were chart-topping hits on the indie Orbit Records label owned by British jazz singer Gery Scott. Prior to this most English-language recordings in the British Colony had been so-called cover versions and with a few exceptions this trend continued in the 60s. Anders Nelsson continued as a singer song-writer with subsequent bands on the Diamond Music label and hits included Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind, Missing You and How Do You Do. Nelsson later resurfaced in the early 70s with a band called Ming which recorded mostly his own compositions, including Reasons Why, Never Coming Home and U 'n I. After the band broke up in 1976 Nelsson joined the label as a producer, eventually working his way up to A&R Manager. He left three years later to start his own company which managed and produced artists such as Louie Castro and Rowena Cortes, recording both in English and Cantonese. Teddy Robin
and his band Teddy Robin and the Playboys
(biggest hits Lies and You Can't Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree), Joe Junior
with his band The Side-Effects (biggest hits Here's A Heart, Letter To Susan) and Irene Ryder
were some of the successful artistes. They mostly came to fame in the latter half of the 60s. DJ 'Uncle' Ray Cordeiro of local government station RTHK's Radio 3 English-language service is credited with heavily promoting and nurturing Hong Kong's English-language pop scene, and the same station's Chinese channels also featured a programme called 'Listen to song, learn English', which also enhanced the popularity of the genre.
Such programmes have been credited with being one of the reasons for a high standard of spoken English in the 60s and 70s in Hong Kong.
Other Hong Kong English Pop artistes include Judi Jim (詹小屏), The Mystics, Danny Diaz & The Checkmates
, Michael Remedios and D'Topnotes. Based in hotels and ballrooms, HK nightclubs featured both Filipino and Chinese dance bands often fronted by local female singers. At the upper end of the market, Rebecca Pan
, Mona Fong
(方逸華) and Kiang Ling (江玲) became well known for their mixed Mandarin and English repertoires. Diamond Records
also became an independent HK label established in 1960, issuing albums in Mandarin and English originals. Pathé Records (Hong Kong)
followed suit with a series of albums on the Columbia and Pathé labels by Chang Loo (張露), Betty Chung (鐘玲玲), Billie Tam (蓓蕾), Judy Jim (詹小屏) and Irene Ryder
. And in 1968, Paul Leung (梁寶耳) produced one of the more remarkable bilingual albums of the 1960s.
Other bands include Giancarlo and his Italian Combo, The Corsairs, The Reynettes and The Fabulous Echoes, Mystics, the Zoundcrackers, the Downbeats, and the Side Effects, Mod East, Sons of Han, The Menace, Anders Nelsson
, the Inspirations, The Menace and Joe Chen, The Black Jacks, The Quests (Mr. Rainbow) as well as folk songs by artists including Buddy Wong, the Willows, the Nautics, the Swinging Monstrels, the Gabriels. and The Thunderbirds.
, Rowena Cortes, Teresa Carpio
, Frances Yip
, Albert Au
, Chelsia Chan
, Agnes Chan
, Chopstick Sisters
with Sandra Lang
and Lotus featuring Samuel Hui
and Ming, a band formed by Anders Nelsson and recording his compositions, were some of the notable examples. Other artistes who performed in English include Maria Cordero
, Gracie Rivera, etc.
A Midsummer Night Festival concert at City Hall
featured a mixed line-up of English and Mandarin acts, with tickets ranging from HK$10–20 featuring Mike Remedios, The Ripples, Chin Wai (秦淮), Joe Chen (陳任), William Chan (陳威廉), Peter Chan (陳浩德), Ko Siu-Hung (高小紅), Paula Tsui
, Elaine Sun (孫泳恩), Stella Chee (奚秀蘭), Fung Wai-tong (馮偉棠), Shu Ya Chung (舒雅頌), Derek Cheng (張皓暉), Pau Lap (鮑立), Annie Chung (鍾安妮), Jennie Chung (鍾珍妮), all accompanied by Celso Cristobal and His Jacks.
attracted some of the aforementioned artistes or band members moved to/went solo in Cantopop in 1980s, such as Rowena Cortes, Kenny Bee
and Alan Tam
of The Wynners, Roman Tam
of Roman and the Four Steps. Beyond
, formed in 1983 and later achieved decades long unparalleled success in Hong Kong, released some of their early works in English, such as their "Longway without a Friend" and "Myth". The Citybeat
was formed in the 80s and achieved brief moderate success before moving to Cantopop.
. While most Hong Kong artists now sing primarily in Cantonese, it is still very common for Hong Kong artists to include English tracks in their albums. Some artists produces more English works than others, artists who produced substantial works in English include Wakin Chau
, Chet Lam
, Janice Vidal
, The Pancakes
, Ghost Style
, etc.
Faye Wong
released the English language single Eyes on Me
in Japan
and later North America
as the theme song of Final Fantasy VIII
which received globe exposure and critical acclaim. Jacky Cheung
released English album Touch of Love in 2000. Teresa Carpio
collaborated with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
in 2003 and performed series of concerts and released a double disk English album.
Other artists who are fluent in English include Janice Vidal
, Jill Vidal
, Karen Joy Morris, Fiona Sit
, Edison Chen
, Justin Lo
, Kary Ng
, Stephanie Cheng
, Bernice Liu
, Julio Acconci and Dino Acconci of Soler
.
On the other hand, there has been a revival of the use of the language among indie bands and alternative musicians, English has once again become the language of choice among bands such as Innisfallen, Hard Candy, 22 Cats, My Little Airport
, Audiotraffic
, etc.
There is a surge in popularity with Hong Kong singers releasing audiophile CDs in English. The popular audiophile singers include Susan Wong
, Michael Wong, Anders Nelsson and Mimi Lo. These audiophile CDs are mostly cover version of Jazz numbers or easy listening.
Concerts and club gigs featuring Anders Nelsson, Teresa Carpio, Joe Junior and other singers from the 60s and 70s performing in English have been well attended. Some of these performances have been nostalgia concerts featuring hits from those decades but the trend is towards adding jazz and swing standards and rearranged versions of old hits to reflect the international popularity of light jazz.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Known as simply English pop by Hong Kong people
Hong Kong people
Hong Kong people refer to people who originate from Hong Kong. The term has no legal definition in Hong Kong. Rather, terms such as Hong Kong permanent resident and Hong Kong resident are used...
. The height of the English pop era in Hong Kong was from the 1950s
1950s in Hong Kong
1950s in Hong Kong began after the Japanese rule ended in 1945 with sovereignty returning to the British. However, the Nationalist-Communist Civil War was renewed in mainland China. It prompted a large influx of refugees from the mainland, causing a huge population surge. The government struggled...
to mid 1970s
1970s in Hong Kong
1970s in Hong Kong underwent many changes that shaped its future. Economically, it reinvented itself from a manufacturing base into a financial centre. The market also began leaning toward corporations and franchises.-Background:...
.
History
As English was the only official languageOfficial language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
from 1843 to 1974 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, it was spoken widely, especially in formal context, by Hongkongers in the 20th century. As a result, pop songs performed in English language were very popular among both ethnic Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
and British Hong Kong citizens.
Pre-WWII
Many of the bandleaders and musicians were FilipinoFilipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
s. Lobing Samson, who led the house band at Ciro’s for many years, later made his way to Hong Kong as did Fred Carpio, Vic Cristobal and many others.
1950s
In 1951, Frankie LaineFrankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
recorded "Rose, Rose, I Love You
Rose, Rose, I Love You
"Rose, Rose, I Love You" is the standard English title of the 1940 Chinese popular song "Méigui méigui wǒ ài nǐ" , first recorded by Yao Lee . An English-language version whose lyrics have little in common with the original Mandarin was first recorded by Frankie Laine in 1951...
" in Hong Kong, which is an English version of the popular Chinese song Mei gui mei gui wo ai ni composed by Chen Gexin
Chen Gexin
-Biography:Chen was born into an elite family and had a grandfather from India. He was jailed during the occupation of Shanghai by Japanese forces during Second Sino-Japanese War for his patriotic songs....
(陳歌辛). Mei gui mei gui wo ai ni first recorded by Yao Lee
Yao Lee
Yao Lee, also credited as Yiu Lei and Miss Hue Lee, was a Chinese singer from the 1930s to the 1970s and sister of Yao Min. By the 1940s, she became one of the Seven great singing stars.-Biography:...
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
1940s. In 1959 Tsai Chin
Tsai Chin (actress)
Tsai Chin , also known as Irene Chow, is a Chinese-born actress living in England.-Early life, family & education:Chin was born to Peking Opera actor Zhou Xinfang in 1936. She spent her early life in Shanghai. She had two short marriages which both ended in divorce. Her brother is Michael...
recorded an English version of Yao Min
Yao Min
Yao Ming was a Chinese popular music songwriter and singer and brother of Yao Lee. He was arguably one of the most prolific songwriters of the shidaiqu era in 1930s and 1940s Shanghai through the 1950s and 1960s in Hong Kong....
’s "The Second Spring", which featured in the London stage musical The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong is a 1957 novel written by Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute...
.
1960s
Imported pop music in English language from the West such as The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
enjoyed much popularity in the city. Inspired by many imported pop music from the West, Hong Kong artists started to produce Hong Kong’s own pop music in English in the 1960s. The Kontinentals, a schoolboy band originating at King George V School, is often credited with being the first Hong Kong band to record original compositions in the style of British pop of the early 1960s. Lead singer and bassist Anders Nelsson
Anders Nelsson
- Biography :Anders Nelsson has been a part of Hong Kong's entertainment scene for over 50 years, starting in school bands in his alma mater, King George Vth School, and going on to practically all aspects of the industry....
and lead guitarist Roy Davenport, composed I Still Love You and I Think Of Her, respectively, and the songs were chart-topping hits on the indie Orbit Records label owned by British jazz singer Gery Scott. Prior to this most English-language recordings in the British Colony had been so-called cover versions and with a few exceptions this trend continued in the 60s. Anders Nelsson continued as a singer song-writer with subsequent bands on the Diamond Music label and hits included Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind, Missing You and How Do You Do. Nelsson later resurfaced in the early 70s with a band called Ming which recorded mostly his own compositions, including Reasons Why, Never Coming Home and U 'n I. After the band broke up in 1976 Nelsson joined the label as a producer, eventually working his way up to A&R Manager. He left three years later to start his own company which managed and produced artists such as Louie Castro and Rowena Cortes, recording both in English and Cantonese. Teddy Robin
Teddy Robin Kwan
Kwan Wai-pang , better known as Teddy Robin , is a Hong Kong English pop singer-songwriter, actor, and director. He began his music career in 1960s when Hong Kong English pop were in its peak in terms of popularity in Hong Kong. He led a band named Teddy Robin and the Playboys. He later became an...
and his band Teddy Robin and the Playboys
Teddy Robin and the Playboys
Teddy Robin and the Playboys was a 1960s HK English pop band. The most notable members were Teddy Robin , who has a successful career as a singer/songwriter and as actor/filmmaker; and Norman Cheng , who later in the 1970s went on to become a top executive in charge of the Southeast Asian...
(biggest hits Lies and You Can't Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree), Joe Junior
Joe Junior
Joe Junior is a popular Hong Kong English pop singer from Hong Kong during the 1960s. He has since been in a number of TVB drama series in the 1990s and 2000s playing older character roles. Joe Junior is his stage name. Regularly appeared on TV music programs as host and as performer...
with his band The Side-Effects (biggest hits Here's A Heart, Letter To Susan) and Irene Ryder
Irene Ryder
Irene Ryder was a popular Eurasian Hong Kong English pop singer in Hong Kong during the 1960s. In 1966, she attained the unofficial title of Go Go Queen after winning a talent quest.Her first single was "To Sir With Love"...
were some of the successful artistes. They mostly came to fame in the latter half of the 60s. DJ 'Uncle' Ray Cordeiro of local government station RTHK's Radio 3 English-language service is credited with heavily promoting and nurturing Hong Kong's English-language pop scene, and the same station's Chinese channels also featured a programme called 'Listen to song, learn English', which also enhanced the popularity of the genre.
Such programmes have been credited with being one of the reasons for a high standard of spoken English in the 60s and 70s in Hong Kong.
Other Hong Kong English Pop artistes include Judi Jim (詹小屏), The Mystics, Danny Diaz & The Checkmates
Danny Diaz & The Checkmates
Danny Diaz & The Checkmates were a Filipino rock band, based in Hong Kong in the 1960s.They were part of the Hong Kong beat group scene between 1964 and 1969, that included other Hong Kong groups, such as Anders Nelson & The Inspiration, D'Topnotes, Fabulous Echoes, Joe Jr. & The Side Effects,...
, Michael Remedios and D'Topnotes. Based in hotels and ballrooms, HK nightclubs featured both Filipino and Chinese dance bands often fronted by local female singers. At the upper end of the market, Rebecca Pan
Rebecca Pan
Rebecca Pan Di-hua is a Chinese actress and singer.She was born in Shanghai on 29 December 1931. She moved to Hong Kong in 1949. Her singing career began in 1957...
, Mona Fong
Mona Fong
Mona Fong Yat Wah, Lady Shaw is a Hong Kong film and television producer and production manager. A Cantonese born in Shanghai, Mona achieved fame as one of the most popular nightclub singers and recording artists in Singapore and Hong Kong in the 1950s. She often sang English covers of top hits of...
(方逸華) and Kiang Ling (江玲) became well known for their mixed Mandarin and English repertoires. Diamond Records
Diamond Records
Diamond Records was a record label, based in New York City, which was founded in 1961 by former Roulette Records executive Joe Kolsky. Another Roulette exec Phil Kahl joined Kolsky in the venture the following year....
also became an independent HK label established in 1960, issuing albums in Mandarin and English originals. Pathé Records (Hong Kong)
Pathé Records (Hong Kong)
Pathé Records is the first major record company in Shanghai, China and later Hong Kong. The company was a subsidiary of the original Pathé Records conglomerate.-History:...
followed suit with a series of albums on the Columbia and Pathé labels by Chang Loo (張露), Betty Chung (鐘玲玲), Billie Tam (蓓蕾), Judy Jim (詹小屏) and Irene Ryder
Irene Ryder
Irene Ryder was a popular Eurasian Hong Kong English pop singer in Hong Kong during the 1960s. In 1966, she attained the unofficial title of Go Go Queen after winning a talent quest.Her first single was "To Sir With Love"...
. And in 1968, Paul Leung (梁寶耳) produced one of the more remarkable bilingual albums of the 1960s.
Other bands include Giancarlo and his Italian Combo, The Corsairs, The Reynettes and The Fabulous Echoes, Mystics, the Zoundcrackers, the Downbeats, and the Side Effects, Mod East, Sons of Han, The Menace, Anders Nelsson
Anders Nelsson
- Biography :Anders Nelsson has been a part of Hong Kong's entertainment scene for over 50 years, starting in school bands in his alma mater, King George Vth School, and going on to practically all aspects of the industry....
, the Inspirations, The Menace and Joe Chen, The Black Jacks, The Quests (Mr. Rainbow) as well as folk songs by artists including Buddy Wong, the Willows, the Nautics, the Swinging Monstrels, the Gabriels. and The Thunderbirds.
1970s
Imported pop music in English language from the West remained very popular in the territory. Locally, Wynners, Roman and the Four StepsRoman and the Four Steps
Roman and the Four Steps was a popular band in Hong Kong in the 1960s.-Career:The band was noteworthy for singing in English and often singing British and American songs. Roman Tam would eventually leave the band and enter the cantopop genre solo where he would eventually be labeled the "Godfather...
, Rowena Cortes, Teresa Carpio
Teresa Carpio
Teresa Carpio is a Hong Kong English pop and Cantopop singer, actor and singing teacher, born in Hong Kong. She is the mother of singer T. V. Carpio.-Family background:Carpio's father is Filipino and her mother Chinese. Born into a musical family...
, Frances Yip
Frances Yip
Frances Yip Lai-yee is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer. She is best known for performing many of the theme songs for television series produced by TVB in the 1980s and early 1990s....
, Albert Au
Albert Au
Albert Au Shui Keung is a Hong Kong English pop and Cantopop singer-songwriter and DJ of RTHK. A graduate of Hong Kong Baptist University, he debuted in 1979 and achieved considerable fame in the 80's with his folk music. He also appeared in movies and on TV...
, Chelsia Chan
Chelsia Chan
Chelsia Chan, also known as Chan Chau Ha is Hong Kong based actress and singer-songwriter. Chan joined the music industry after winning the first prize at an amateur creative singing contest in 1975 in Hong Kong with the English song "Dark Side of Your Mind", which she composed with lyrics...
, Agnes Chan
Agnes Chan
Agnes Chan or Agnes Miling Kaneko Chan is a pop singer, a television personality , a Doctor of Education, a professor at Japanese universities, an essayist, a novelist...
, Chopstick Sisters
Chopstick Sisters
The Chopsticks was a short-lived female duo in Hong Kong. They were the first all-female modern music singing group to be marketed and launched from Hong Kong....
with Sandra Lang
Sandra Lang
Sandra Lang is a former Taishan Cantopop singer, active in the 1970s. - Career :During the late 1960s Sandra Lang's career began under the HK English pop group named The Chopsticks. The group did not last long, as Lang soon went solo for TVB....
and Lotus featuring Samuel Hui
Samuel Hui
Samuel Hui Koon-kit , usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, lyricist and film actor. He is credited with popularizing Cantopop both with the infusion of Western-style music and using popular, street Cantonese jargon in his lyrics writing...
and Ming, a band formed by Anders Nelsson and recording his compositions, were some of the notable examples. Other artistes who performed in English include Maria Cordero
Maria Cordero
Maria Cordero, MH is a singer, actress and chef from Macau. She also has her own cooking show, Maria's Kitchen on Cable TV. Her fans nicknamed her "Fat Mama" .- Biography :...
, Gracie Rivera, etc.
A Midsummer Night Festival concert at City Hall
City Hall, Hong Kong
The Hong Kong City Hall is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.Since Hong Kong does not designate itself or any part of itself as a city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the City Hall does not hold the offices of a city government, unlike most...
featured a mixed line-up of English and Mandarin acts, with tickets ranging from HK$10–20 featuring Mike Remedios, The Ripples, Chin Wai (秦淮), Joe Chen (陳任), William Chan (陳威廉), Peter Chan (陳浩德), Ko Siu-Hung (高小紅), Paula Tsui
Paula Tsui
Paula Tsui Siu-fung is a famous Cantopop singer in Hong Kong. She has been affiliated with the TVB television station until the mid-1990s but has performed for Asia Television Ltd...
, Elaine Sun (孫泳恩), Stella Chee (奚秀蘭), Fung Wai-tong (馮偉棠), Shu Ya Chung (舒雅頌), Derek Cheng (張皓暉), Pau Lap (鮑立), Annie Chung (鍾安妮), Jennie Chung (鍾珍妮), all accompanied by Celso Cristobal and His Jacks.
1980s
The rise of CantopopCantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
attracted some of the aforementioned artistes or band members moved to/went solo in Cantopop in 1980s, such as Rowena Cortes, Kenny Bee
Kenny Bee
Chung Chun-to , better known as Kenny Bee, is a Hong Kong singer, musician and actor. He is well-known as a member of the Hong Kong English pop and cantopop band the Wynners, and as a solo artist who has been active in the Hong Kong entertainment industry for nearly three decades.-Career:Bee made...
and Alan Tam
Alan Tam
Wing Lun Alan Tam, MH is an award-winning Hong Kong Cantopop and English pop singer and actor. During the early 1980s he played a major role in developing the cantopop scene as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. As of 2008, he is still active in the music...
of The Wynners, Roman Tam
Roman Tam
Roman Tam, known by the stage name Lo Man , nickname Law Kee , was a renowned Hong Kong Cantopop singer. He is regarded as the "Godfather of Cantopop".-Career:...
of Roman and the Four Steps. Beyond
Beyond (band)
Beyond was a rock band formed in Hong Kong in 1983. The band became prominent in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia. They were also very popular in mainland China. The band was, and still is, widely considered as the most successful and influential Cantonese band from Hong Kong...
, formed in 1983 and later achieved decades long unparalleled success in Hong Kong, released some of their early works in English, such as their "Longway without a Friend" and "Myth". The Citybeat
Citybeat (band)
Citybeat was a pop music group that was active in Hong Kong during the 1980s. There are four members in the group, namely:* John Laudon * Daryl Ching* Jerry Marshall* Jym Kay...
was formed in the 80s and achieved brief moderate success before moving to Cantopop.
2000s
Today, pop music in English language remains popular among Hongkongers, second only to C-popC-pop
C-pop is an abbreviation for Chinese popular music , a loosely defined musical genre by artists originating from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Others come from countries where the Chinese language is used by a large number of the population, such as Singapore and Malaysia...
. While most Hong Kong artists now sing primarily in Cantonese, it is still very common for Hong Kong artists to include English tracks in their albums. Some artists produces more English works than others, artists who produced substantial works in English include Wakin Chau
Wakin Chau
Wakin Chau is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Chau's popularity has spread throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and parts of Southeast Asia. He was known as Emil Chau through the 1980s and 1990s, and by 2000 he reverted to his given name Wakin...
, Chet Lam
Chet Lam
Chet Lam is a Hong Kong based independent singer-songwriter whose style has been described by many as "city-folk". He is the elder brother of singer Eman Lam.-Biography:...
, Janice Vidal
Janice Vidal
Janice M. Vidal, often credited mononymously as "Janice", is an award-winning female Cantopop, Hong Kong English pop, Jazz and R&B singer based in Hong Kong. She is the twin sister of singer Jill Vidal....
, The Pancakes
The Pancakes
The Pancakes is a Hong Kong based, award-winning one-girl band consisting of independent singer-songwriter Dejay Choi. The music of the Pancakes is characterised by Dejay's very innocent, almost child-like voice with bright and catchy melodies...
, Ghost Style
Ghost Style
Ghost Style is a rapper/producer based in Hong Kong. He is credited with releasing the first English language rap album in Hong Kong...
, etc.
Faye Wong
Faye Wong
Faye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing...
released the English language single Eyes on Me
Eyes on Me (Faye Wong song)
"Eyes on Me" is a pop ballad performed by Chinese diva Faye Wong as a love theme for the video game Final Fantasy VIII. The song's lyrics, written in somewhat imperfect English by Kako Someya, unveil the hopes of a night club singer for romance with a member of her audience.-Single:The song was...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and later North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as the theme song of Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII
is a role-playing video game released for the PlayStation in 1999 and for Windows-based personal computers in 2000. It was developed and published by Square as the Final Fantasy series' eighth title, removing magic point-based spell-casting and the first title to consistently use realistically...
which received globe exposure and critical acclaim. Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
released English album Touch of Love in 2000. Teresa Carpio
Teresa Carpio
Teresa Carpio is a Hong Kong English pop and Cantopop singer, actor and singing teacher, born in Hong Kong. She is the mother of singer T. V. Carpio.-Family background:Carpio's father is Filipino and her mother Chinese. Born into a musical family...
collaborated with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra , is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1895 as an amateur orchestra, under the name Sino-British Orchestra, it was renamed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957, and became a professional orchestra in 1974 under the funding...
in 2003 and performed series of concerts and released a double disk English album.
Other artists who are fluent in English include Janice Vidal
Janice Vidal
Janice M. Vidal, often credited mononymously as "Janice", is an award-winning female Cantopop, Hong Kong English pop, Jazz and R&B singer based in Hong Kong. She is the twin sister of singer Jill Vidal....
, Jill Vidal
Jill Vidal
Jill Vidal, often referred to as Wei Si or simply as Jill, was a Hong Kong-based female urban pop singer. Vidal is of Chinese, Korean, and Filipino ethnicity with British nationality...
, Karen Joy Morris, Fiona Sit
Fiona Sit
Fiona Sit Hoi-Kei is a female singer and actress from Hong Kong.-Biography:Fiona Sit attended Island School and studied Creative Media in City University of Hong Kong until 2004...
, Edison Chen
Edison Chen
Edison Koon-Hei Chen is a Hong Kong film actor, Cantopop singer, Hong Kong hip hop rapper, model, record producer, fashion designer, and a pop icon. Chen is also the founder of CLOT Inc., and the CEO of Clot Media Division Limited...
, Justin Lo
Justin Lo
Justin Lo is a singer-songwriter, actor and record producer working in Hong Kong and China.-Biography:Lo was born in Syracuse, New York, and moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was two years old. He studied at St Paul's Co-educational Primary School and St. Paul's Co-educational College....
, Kary Ng
Kary Ng
Kary Ng is a pop rock singer in Hong Kong. She studied at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong. She had made references to her nickname "Lady K" in the album titles "Lady K Live" and "Lady K: Transformation"....
, Stephanie Cheng
Stephanie Cheng
Stephanie Cheng is a female cantopop singer in Hong Kong introduced by Go East Music . She was born in Hong Kong and studied at Heep Yunn College and the Australian International School...
, Bernice Liu
Bernice Liu
Bernice Jan Liu is a Chinese Canadian actress, singer, and commercial model based in Hong Kong. She has previously held the title Miss Chinese Vancouver 2000 as well as Miss Chinese International 2001, the latter position bringing her fame in Hong Kong.Liu is best known for her role as Princess...
, Julio Acconci and Dino Acconci of Soler
Soler (band)
Soler is a Hong Kong-based rock duo originally from Macau formed by twin brothers Julio Acconci and Dino Acconci , Soler made their Hong Kong debut in early 2005...
.
On the other hand, there has been a revival of the use of the language among indie bands and alternative musicians, English has once again become the language of choice among bands such as Innisfallen, Hard Candy, 22 Cats, My Little Airport
My Little Airport
my little airport is a Hong Kong-based indie pop band. Their lyrics are marked by spelling, grammar, and rhythm inflected by Hong Kong English. Ah P writes the lyrics and the music, which he also plays, while Nicole sings...
, Audiotraffic
Audiotraffic
Audiotraffic were an indie rock band from Hong Kong, China. Formed in 1996, their music is reminiscent of British indie bands.-History:After playing in a short lived grunge cover band together in their teens, Adrian Da Silva and Don Cruz regrouped in the summer of 1996 to write Brit/indie-rock...
, etc.
There is a surge in popularity with Hong Kong singers releasing audiophile CDs in English. The popular audiophile singers include Susan Wong
Susan Wong
Susan Wong is a Hong Kong English language singer.-Biography:She was born in Hong Kong, and immigrated to Sydney, Australia with her family at the age of seven....
, Michael Wong, Anders Nelsson and Mimi Lo. These audiophile CDs are mostly cover version of Jazz numbers or easy listening.
Concerts and club gigs featuring Anders Nelsson, Teresa Carpio, Joe Junior and other singers from the 60s and 70s performing in English have been well attended. Some of these performances have been nostalgia concerts featuring hits from those decades but the trend is towards adding jazz and swing standards and rearranged versions of old hits to reflect the international popularity of light jazz.