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Cantopop (a contraction of "
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
written in
standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...
and sung in
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hong Kong popular music from the middle of the decade. Cantopop then reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s before slowly declining in the 2000s and experiencing a slight revival in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974. In the eighties Cantopop has reached its highest glory with fanbase and concerts from allover the world, especially from
Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
. This is even more obvious with the influx of songs from
Hong Kong movies The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of p ...
during the time. Besides Western pop music, Cantopop is also influenced by other international genres, including
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...
, R&B,
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
, electronic and others. Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
. Boasting a multi-national fanbase in Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as in East Asian regions of South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the provinces of
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
and
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
in southeastern
mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
, Hong Kong, and occasionally
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, remain the most significant hubs of the genre.China Briefing Media (2004). ''Business Guide to the Greater Pearl River Delta''. China Briefing Media Ltd. .


History


1920s to 1950s: Shanghai origins

Western-influenced music first came to China in the 1920s, specifically through Shanghai.Broughton, Simon. Ellingham, Mark. Trillo, Richard. 000(2000) World Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides Publishing Company. Artists like
Zhou Xuan Zhou Xuan (; born Su Pu (); August 1, 1920 – September 22, 1957), also romanized as Chow Hsuan, was an iconic Chinese singer and film actress. By the 1940s, she had become one of China's Seven Great Singing Stars. She was the best known o ...
() acted in films and recorded popular songs. In 1949 when the People's Republic of China was established by the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
, one of the first actions taken by the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
was to denounce pop music (specifically Western pop) as decadent music. Beginning in the 1950s, massive waves of immigrants fled Shanghai to destinations like North Point in Hong Kong. As a result, many first generation Cantopop artists and composers hail from Shanghai.


1960s: Cultural acceptance

By the 1960s, Cantonese music in Hong Kong was still limited largely to traditional
Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of Ch ...
and comic renditions of western music. Tang Kee-chan, Cheng Kuan-min (), and Tam Ping-man () were among the earliest artists releasing Cantonese records. The generation at the time preferred British and American exports.
Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
was at the time equated with education and sophistication, and
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
,
Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
and The Ladybirds were popular. Conversely, those who did not prefer Cantonese music were not considered fashioned or educated. and Chan Chung-chug () were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted the younger generation. Connie Chan Po-chu is generally considered to be Hong Kong's 657th teen idol, mostly due to her career longevity.
Josephine Siao Josephine Siao Fong-fong () is a Hong Kong film star who became popular as a child actress and continued her success as a mature actress, winning numerous awards including Best Actress at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival (for '' Sum ...
is also another artist of the era.


1970s: Beginning of the Golden Age (Rise of television and the modern industry)

Local bands mimicked British and American bands. Two types of local Cantonese music appeared in the market nearly concurrently in 1973: one type cashed in on the popularity of TVB's drama series based on the more traditional lyrical styles. The other was more western style music largely from Polydor Hong Kong (). Notable singers from the era include
Liza Wang Elizabeth "Liza" Wang Ming-chun SBS (born 28 August 1947), is a Hong Kong diva, actress and MC. She is a personality in Chinese-speaking communities. She has been nicknamed "The Big Sister" in the Hong Kong entertainment circle.Xinhuanet.Xinh ...
and
Paula Tsui Paula Tsui Siu Fung is a Cantopop singer in Hong Kong, with a career spanning over 50 years. She was affiliated with the TVB television station until the mid-1990s and has performed for Asia Television on several occasions since 1995. Persona ...
. At the same time, television was fast becoming a household must-have that offered free entertainment to the public. For example, ''The Fatal Irony'' () and ''
Games Gamblers Play ''Games Gamblers Play'' () is a 1974 Hong Kong comedy film directed by and starring Michael Hui, with action direction by Sammo Hung. The film also co-stars Sam Hui, who also served as one of the film's music composers. Although very successful ...
'' () took the local music scene by storm as soon as they were broadcast on the radio and television. Soap operas were needed to fill TV air time, and popular Cantonese songs became TV theme songs. Around 1971, Sandra Lang, a minor singer who had never sung Cantopop before, was invited to sing the first Cantonese TV
theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
"A marriage of Laughter and Tears" (). This song was a collaboration between songwriters Yip Siu-dak () and the legendary
Joseph Koo Joseph Koo Kar-Fai, MBE, GBS (born 3 February 1933), is a Hong Kong composer, who is considered one of the most respected composers in Hong Kong. He used the pen name Moran (莫然) for Mandarin songs early in his career. Early life Koo h ...
. It was ground-breaking and topped local charts. Other groups that profited from TV promotion included the Four Golden Flowers.
Sam Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Canto ...
is regarded by some to be the earliest Cantopop star. He was the lead singer of the band Lotus formed in the late 1960s, signed to Polydor in 1972. The song that made him famous was the theme song to ''Games Gamblers Play'' (), also starring Hui. The star of TV theme tunes was Roman Tam. Three of the most famous TV soap opera singers were Jenny Tseng,
Liza Wang Elizabeth "Liza" Wang Ming-chun SBS (born 28 August 1947), is a Hong Kong diva, actress and MC. She is a personality in Chinese-speaking communities. She has been nicknamed "The Big Sister" in the Hong Kong entertainment circle.Xinhuanet.Xinh ...
and
Adam Cheng Adam Cheng Siu-chow (born 24 February 1947) is a Hong Kong TVB actor and Cantopop singer. Career Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reputation for playing the lead roles in TVB ''Wuxia'' drama series based on the works ...
.
The Wynners The Wynners are a Hong Kong pop band formed in the 1970s. The group consists of Alan Tam (lead vocals), Kenny Bee (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Bennett Pang (lead guitar), Danny Yip (bass), and Anthony Chan (drums). History Beginnin ...
and
George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...
also amassed a big fan base with their new style. Samuel Hui continued to dominate the charts and won the Centennial Best Sales Award in the first and second IFPI Gold Disc Presentations twice in a row in 1977 and 1978. Polydor became
PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
() in 1978. It was at this time that the term ''Cantopop'' was first coined. The ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
'' correspondent Hans Ebert, who had earlier coined the term ''Cantorock'' in 1974, noted a change in its style to something similar to British-American
soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
, therefore started to use the term Cantopop instead in 1978. In 1974, as the theme song of ''The Fatal Irony'' () was very successful, TVB sold to the mainland and other countries and Cantopop reached overseas audiences through drama series.


1980s: The Golden Age of Cantopop

During the
1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...
, Cantopop soared to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as
Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the " God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and ...
,
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...
, Anita Mui,
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
,
George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...
,
Alan Tam Alan Tam Wing-lun MH (; born 23 August 1950) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. From 1983 to 1987, Alan Tam ...
, Sally Yeh, Priscilla Chan, Sandy Lam, and Danny Chan quickly became household names. The industry used Cantopop songs in TV dramas and movies, with some of the biggest soundtracks coming from films such as '' A Better Tomorrow'' (). Sponsors and record companies became comfortable with the idea of lucrative contracts and million- dollar signings. There are also Japanese songs with Cantonese lyrics. The most successful Chinese recording artist, "Queen of Mandarin songs" Teresa Teng also crossed over to Cantopop. She achieved commercial success with her original Cantonese Hits under the Polygram Label in the early 1980s. Jenny Tseng was a notable addition from
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
. In the 1980s, there came the second wave of "band fever" (the first wave came in the 1960–70s, which was much influenced by the global Beatlemania at that time. Young people thought that forming bands was fashionable. Many new bands emerged at that time, such as
Samuel Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Canton ...
's Lotus,
The Wynners The Wynners are a Hong Kong pop band formed in the 1970s. The group consists of Alan Tam (lead vocals), Kenny Bee (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Bennett Pang (lead guitar), Danny Yip (bass), and Anthony Chan (drums). History Beginnin ...
, and the
Teddy Robin and the Playboys Teddy Robin and the Playboys was a 1960s Hong Kong English pop band. The most notable members were Teddy Robin (vocals/guitar), who has a successful career as a singer/songwriter, actor, and filmmaker; and Norman Cheng (lead guitar), who later b ...
. However, the bands emerged in this first wave were just copying the western music style, mostly covering British and American rock songs, and prefer singing in English rather than Cantonese). Different from the first wave in the 60s, the "band fever" in the 80s did not show an obvious relationship with the global culture at the time being, but much related with the marketing strategy of the local record companies and mass media. Many independent bands and music groups were signed by big record companies, and this made a positive impact to the Hong Kong pop music world, as their works were highly original, with strong individuality, and they were all devoted to writing songs in local language, i.e. Cantonese. The subjects of their works were different from the mainstream (which was mostly love ballads). Politics and social life were popular subjects for the bands in their creation. The "band fever" also brought variety in musical style to the Hong Kong mainstream music world (which was almost monopolised by Pop-ballad for a long time). Styles like Rock,
Metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
,
Pop-Rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...
, Folk, Neo-Romantic, Pop and some experimental styles (e.g. Cantorock) were introduced. Among them,
Beyond Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film * ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' * ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed ...
and Tat Ming Pair () gave the greatest impact to the Hong Kong music world. Some renowned bands and groups included:
Beyond Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film * ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' * ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed ...
,
Raidas Ravidas or Raidas, was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE. Venerated as a ''guru'' (teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punj ...
, Tat Ming Pair,
Tai Chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...
(),
Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...
(), Little Tigers (), Paradox (), Blue Jeans (), Echo, Wind & Cloud (), Citybeat (). The second wave of "band fever" also brought a group of new music lovers to the Hong Kong mainstream music world. Most of them were the just-grew-up generation, or the music lovers of the western
Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
music, also the Euro-American Rock-band lovers. This contributed to a great change in the population and age distribution of the music listeners from the 70s. Record companies were laying ever more stress on the buying power of these young new customers. The second wave of "band fever" emerged from the mid 1980s (around 1984) and reached its climax in 1986–87. However the "band fever" cannot put for a long time. Along with the death of the legendary Wong Ka Kui, the leader and co-founder of
Beyond Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film * ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' * ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed ...
, in 1993, and the disband-tide emerged in the early 90s ( Tat Ming Pair disbanded in 1990), the "band fever" gradually faded away and totally got down in the early 1990s. As Cantopop gained large followings in Chinese communities worldwide, Hong Kong entrepreneurs' ingenious use of the then new
Laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...
technology prompted yet another explosion in the market.


1990s: Four Heavenly Kings era

In the
1990s in Hong Kong The 1990s in Hong Kong marked a transitional period and the last decade of colonial rule in Hong Kong. Background The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration paved the way for a series of changes that would facilitate the transfer of sovereignty f ...
, the "Four Heavenly Kings" ()—
Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the " God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and ...
,
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...
, Aaron Kwok and
Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming SBS BBS MH (born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, film director, businessman and Cantopop singer. He is one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. He uses his Chinese name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming", whi ...
—dominated music, and coverage in magazines, TV, advertisements and cinema. The sovereignty handover created a culturally challenging atmosphere for the industry. Establishment of Basic Law and language ordinances made the adoption of Mandarin inevitable. In 2019, Andy Lau spoke of his desire for a reunion of the Four Heavenly Kings in an interview with the press.


2000s: New era

At the turn of the century, Cantonese was still dominant in the domain of Chinese pop.Donald, Stephanie. Keane, Michael. Hong, Yin. 002(2002). Media in China: Consumption, Content and Crisis. Routledge Mass media policy. . pg 113 The deaths of stars
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
and Anita Mui in 2003 rocked the industry. A transitional phase also took place with many overseas-raised artists such as
Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he became a TV c ...
and Coco Lee gaining recognition. As a result, Cantopop is no longer restricted to Hong Kong, but has become part of a larger music movement. In 2005 Cantopop began a new upswing. Major companies that drove much of the HK segment included Gold Typhoon Music Entertainment ( EMI,
Gold Label Gold Typhoon Group is a Chinese entertainment company. Gold Label was founded in 2004 in Hong Kong, launched with the support of EMI, and acquired EMI Music Taiwan / EMI Music China (Typhoon Records) in 2008, reforming to Gold Typhoon. On 1 Jan ...
),
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
, East Asia Entertainment () and
Amusic Amusic is the record label of East Asia Record Production Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Paciwood Music & Entertainment Ltd. It was founded by businessman Peter Lam and singer Leon Lai on 28 July 2004. Its purpose is developing artists with pote ...
and Emperor Entertainment Group. The decade was also dubbed a "People's singer" era (), as most performers were frequently seen promoting publicly, contrasting the 1990s when previous era "big-name" singers () seemed unapproachable. A number of scandals struck some of the stars later in the decade. In 2008 the Edison Chen photo scandal involving Edison Chen and Twins singer
Gillian Chung Gillian Chung Ka-lai (born Chung Tik-shan, 21 January 1981), known by her stage name Chung Yan-tung, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is a member of the Cantopop duo Twins, along with Charlene Choi. Early life Chung was born in Hong K ...
, among others, who were the subject of explicit photos uploaded online. The scandal occupied the front pages of the local press for a solid month, and also garnered the attention of international media. The scandal tarnished the image of the previously "squeaky-clean" Twins, and resulted in their going into hiatus in late June 2008, four months after Gillian was caught up in the scandal. Other events include the street fight between
Gary Chaw Gary Chaw (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Tshâu Kak; born 9 July 1979 in Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia), also known as Gary Cao or Cao Ge or by his alter ego Cao Xiaoge, is a Malaysian Chinese singer-songwriter based in Taiwan, who has had achieved success i ...
and
Justin Lo Justin Lo (, stage name ; born 1 July 1976) is a Hong Kong American singer-songwriter, actor and record producer working in Hong Kong. Biography Lo was born in Syracuse, New York, and moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was two years ...
. In 2009,
Jill Vidal Jill Vidal () often referred to as Wei Si or simply as Jill, is a Hong Kong-based female urban pop singer. Vidal is of Korean and Filipino ethnicity with British nationality. Her twin sister, Janice Vidal, is also a singer in Hong Kong. Caree ...
and her singer boyfriend Kelvin Kwan were arrested in Tokyo on 24 February 2009 over allegations of
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...
possession. Kwan was released without charge after 32 days in jail, while Vidal later pleaded guilty in Tokyo court to heroin possession, and was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment, suspended for 3 years.


2010s: Decline

Mandarin became more important as a result of fast growing culturally and economically in China, the influence of Cantonese became vulnerable. Nevertheless, in addition to the 7 million people of Hong Kong and Macau, the genre continues to enjoy popularity among a Cantonese-speaking audience of in excess of 100 million in southern China, plus 10 million Cantonese-speaking diaspora in Canada, Australia and the United States. In 2010, a proposal that Guangzhou Television station should increase its broadcast in Mandarin led to protests in Guangzhou. While the authorities relented, this event reflects attempts at marginalising Cantonese and the ascendency of
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
. The first major award of the decade 09 JSG award was a highly controversial one with the ongoing HKRIA tax case. The case was reportedly solved in early 2012 though. In January 2012, the 11 JSG award was again controversial since one of the biggest awards, Record of the Year, was handed to Raymond Lam with his unpopular song "Chok".


2020s: Resurgence

Interest in Cantopop was renewed in the early 2020s in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, which led to border closures and restriction of travel. In addition to the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
and the passing of the
Hong Kong national security law The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...
in June 2020, the resurgence of Hong Kong pride had led many Cantonese natives to support local music artistes. The Cantopop boy group
Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...
, which was formed through the ViuTV singing competition in ''Good Night Show - King Maker'' in 2018, skyrocketed in popularity during this time due to their distinctively local image. Media had described them as "the new kings of Cantopop" and a "Cantopop phenomenon." In February 2021, Hong Kong's biggest television broadcaster, TVB, historically lifted its ban on four of Hong Kong's biggest record labels, opening the doors for non-TVB artistes to perform on the network. The move was described by local media as "reviving the Cantopop music industry."


Characteristics


Instruments and setups

Early Cantopop was developed from
Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of Ch ...
music hybridised with Western pop. The musicians soon gave up traditional Chinese musical instruments like zheng and Erhu fiddle in favour of western style arrangements. Cantopop songs are usually sung by one singer, sometimes with a band, accompanied by piano, synthesizer, drum set and guitars. They are composed under verse-chorus form and are generally
monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...
. Practically all early Cantopop songs feature a descending
bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...
.


Lyrics

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
is a pitch sensitive
tonal language Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning – that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information and to convey emph ...
. The word carries a different meaning when sung in a different relative pitch. Matching Cantonese lyrics to Western music was particularly difficult because the Western musical scale has 12
semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
s. Through the work of pioneers like
Samuel Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Canton ...
, James Wong () and Jimmy Lo Kwok Jim (), those that followed have more stock phrases for reference. Tonal constraints have been blamed for the decline of Cantopop in the late 1990s, for source of creativity being "mined out". Its ramification includes interpretive constraint, where singers have less room for ad-lib change of pitch without sacrificing intelligibility. As a result, pitch change often encountered in western pop music becomes foreign to most of Hong Kong's singers.


Classical Chinese lyrics

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 The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...
. Since the 1980s, increasing numbers of singers have departed from this tradition, though some big names like Roman Tam stayed true to traditional techniques.


Modern Chinese lyrics

The second type is less formal. The lyrics written in colloquial Cantonese make up the majority with compositions done in modern
written Chinese Written Chinese () comprises Chinese characters used to represent the Chinese language. Chinese characters do not constitute an alphabet or a compact syllabary. Rather, the writing system is roughly logosyllabic; that is, a character generally r ...
. TV shows filmed under modern contexts will use songs written with these lyrics. Most songs share an over-riding characteristic, in which every last word of a phrase is rhymed. The following is an example from the song ''"Impression"'' () by
Samuel Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Canton ...
. The last word of every phrase ends with '–oeng'.


Covers of foreign compositions

Cantopop was born in the 1970s and became a cultural product with the popularity of two popular TVB drama's themes songs in the early 1970s: "Tower Ballad" ( 鐵塔凌雲, 1972) and "A marriage of Laughter and Tears" ( 啼笑因緣, 1974). The majority of "hit" Cantopop, however, is not entirely local produced but the
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
s of "hit" foreign melodies. Since the 1970s, covering "hit" external songs mainly from Japan, Korea, Taiwan or other Western countries became a common practice among Hong Kong record companies. At that time, Hong Kong's constantly growing music industry acknowledges simply by using those hits, whose already gained popularity, will be the easiest way to reach success in the market. Cover versions were also widely used as a solution to address the shortage of the local hits due to the lack of local composers. Another reason for the use of cover versions is to minimise the production costs. The practice is also done for business reasons of filling up albums and re-capitalizing on songs with a proven record. The Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards, which is one of the major music awards in Hong Kong since 1979, can reflect the great reliance on Japanese melodies in Cantopop. During the 1980s, 139 out of 477 songs from weekly gold songs chart were cover versions, and 52% of the cover versions were covers of Japanese songs. Numerous legendary songs of Cantopop superstars Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, for example "Craziness" (1983), "Monica" (1984), "Foggy Love" (1984), "For Your Love Only" (1985), "Evil Girl" (1985), "The Past Love" (1986), "The First Tear" (1986), and "Fired Tango", were cover versions of Japanese hits, showing that covers contributed to the success of superstars to a certain degree. By definition hybrids are still considered Cantonese songs due to the Cantonese lyrics, though the rights borrowed varies country to country. Songs like "Tomorrow sounds like today" () by Jenny Tseng, "Life to seek" () by Danny Chan, "Snowing" () by Priscilla Chan, and "Can't afford" () by Jade Kwan were originally composed outside of Hong Kong. Many critics disapprove of the practice of covering foreign music and consider it lacking in originality, and many albums promoted themselves as "cover-free".


Canto-jazz

January 29, 2010, Jacky Cheung released his Private Corner album coining the phrase "Canto-jazz", to describe the concept of the album and the musical style of the songs. In The
South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
, Rachel Mok described "Canto-jazz" as a "unique fusion of the two music styles" of "light jazz" and canto-pop creating a fresh sound with a uniquely local flavour".  She cited Jacky Cheung's Private Corner and Karen Mok's "Somewhere I Belong" among artists who have recorded Cantonese language albums in the new jazz genre coined "canto-jazz". An educational study traced the development of jazz in Greater China and explored the cross-cultural issues in rearranging a cantopop song for big band or jazz combo arrangement.


Industry


Cantopop stars

Talent is unusually secondary to the success of a Cantopop singer in Hong Kong. Most times, image sells albums, as it is one of the characteristics of mainstream music similarly mirrored in the United States and Japan. Publicity is vital to an idol's career, as one piece of news could make or break a future. Almost all modern Cantopop stars go into the movie business regardless of their ability to act; however, the reverse may also occur with actors releasing albums and embarking on concerts regardless of singing talent. They immediately expand to the Mandarin market once their fame is established, hence pure Cantopop stars are almost nonexistent. Outside of music sales, their success can also be gauged by their income. For example, according to some reports, Sammi Cheng earned HK$46M (around US$6M) from advertisement and merchandise endorsements in one month alone. Many artists, however, begin with financial hardships. For example,
Yumiko Cheng Yumiko Cheng (born 6 September 1981) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Cheng was given the Japanese nickname "Yumiko" by her friends in secondary school, and upon signing with EEG, adopted it as her official stagename.Tran, JennyYumi ...
owed her company thousands of dollars. Others include
Elanne Kong Elanne Kong (, born 30 September 1987) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. On 15 May 2020, she announced that she was changing her stage name from Elanne Kwong Yeuk-lam () to Elanne Kwong Yee-ching (). On 11 September 2021, she announced that she c ...
crying in public with only HK$58 left.


Labels

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
, EMI,
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, Warner and BMG were established in Hong Kong since the 1970s. Local record companies such as Crown Records (), Wing Hang Records (), Manchi Records () and Capital Artists () in the past have become successful local labels. As TV drama themes lost favour in the mid-1980s, market power soon drifted to the multi-national labels. Sales are tracked at the IFPI HK Annual Sales Chart.IFPI HK Annual Sales Chart.
IFPIHK
." ''International Federation of Phonographic Industry.'' Retrieved on 7 April 2007.


Major awards

A
record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include ...
which includes all genres of C-pop is the
Global Chinese Pop Chart The Global Chinese Pop Chart (全球华语歌曲排行榜, ''quánqiú huáyŭ gēqŭ páihángbàng'') is a Chinese language pop music chart compiled by 7 Chinese language radio stations across Asia. It was founded in 2001 by Beijing Music Radio ...
.


Cantopop radio stations


See also

* Music of Hong Kong * Hong Kong musical tongue twister * Hong Kong English pop *
Hong Kong television drama Hong Kong television drama () refers to televised dramatic programming produced mainly by the territory's two free-to-air TV networks of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and Asia Television (ATV) until its license expired. Locally produced t ...
* C-pop * Hokkien pop *
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
* Chinese hip hop * Taiwanese hip hop *
J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the ...
*
K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, go ...
* V-pop


References


External links


C-Pop Fantasie
– Online resource for c-pop, providing lyrics, downloads, video shows, and more.


Hong Kong Vintage Pop Radio

www.hkmusic.cn: Cantopop song listings (in Chinese)

www.mysongspage.com, lyrics and chords for Cantonese, English & Mandarin songs.


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{{Hong Kong topics Cantonese Cantonese-language songs Pop music genres Fusion music genres Hong Kong music C-pop Chinese music