The Music of Hong Kong is an eclectic mixture of traditional and popular genres.
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
is one of the more prominent genres of music produced in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. The
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Cantonese: 香港管弦樂團), commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil (Cantonese: 港樂), is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Si ...
and the
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta (Chinese: ) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Hong Kong. It was established in 1990 by a group of local music graduates. It has always aimed at promoting classical music to the public. The orchestra was reorga ...
regularly perform western
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
in the city. There is also a long tradition of
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 ...
within Hong Kong.
History
In
colonial Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...
,
pipa
The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rang ...
was one of the instruments played by the Chinese,
[Bard, Solomon. ]002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to:
Fiction
*002, fictional British 00 Agent
*''002 Operazione Luna'',
*1965 Italian film
*Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character
Airports
*0O2, Baker Airport
*O02, Nervino Airport
Astronomy
*1996 ...
Voices from the Past: Hong Kong 1842–1918. Hong Kong University Press. and was mainly used for ceremonial purposes.
Western classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
was, on the other hand, the principal focus amongst British Hong Kongers with the
Sino-British Orchestra being established in 1895. In the beginning of the 20th century, Western pop music became popular. Mandarin pop songs in the 1920s were called
Si Doi Kuk (時代曲). They are considered the prototype of Chinese pop songs.
[Shoesmith, Brian. Rossiter, Ned. ]004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to:
* 004, fictional British 00 Agent
* 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California)
* O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
* Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004
* Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine
* Lauda ...
(2004). Refashioning Pop Music in Asia: Cosmopolitan flows, political tempos and aesthetic Industries. Routeledge Publishing.
In 1949 the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
was established by the
communist party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
. 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 is a ...
was to denounce popular music as
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, .
[Broughton, Simon. Ellingham, Mark. Trillo, Richard. ]000
Triple zero, Triple Zero, Zero Zero Zero, Triple 0, Triple-0, 000, or 0-0-0 may refer to:
* 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number
* "Triple Zero", a song by AFI (band), AFI from ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your ...
(2000) World Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides Publishing Company. Beginning in the 1950s massive waves of immigrants fled from Shanghai to Hong Kong.
Along with it was the
Pathé Records (Hong Kong)
Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s.
Early years
The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Path ...
record company, which ended up becoming one of the most significant popular record companies in Hong Kong.
The Western music was popular since 1950s as the official language was English at that time. Also, listening to Western music showed a person's good taste. Cantopop was not popular in 1950s to 1960s since the production of Cantopop was shoddy.
[黃霑︰〈受歧視數十年〉,《東周刊(專欄「多餘事」》,2004年11月24日,頁174。] During the late 1960s and 1970s, Mandarin pop songs were getting more and more popular and became the mainstream of Hong Kong pop. In the 1970s, Hong Kong audiences wanted popular music in their own dialect, Cantonese. Also, a Cantonese song Tai siu yan yun (啼笑姻緣) became the first theme song of a TV drama. Cantopop was getting popular after that.
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
's popularity increased sharply due to the improved status of the language and the large Cantonese Chinese population in the city.
Traditional Chinese
Huangmei opera
Huangmei or Huangmei tone ( or , pinyin: or ) originated as a form of rural folk song and dance that has been in existence for the last 200 years and possibly longer. Huangmei opera is one of the most famous and mainstream opera in China (others ...
, on the other hand, had peaked in the 1960s amongst the general Chinese population.
Market
As an "open economy", a vast variety of music is commercially available in Hong Kong. Most retail music stores in Hong Kong carry
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
,
Mandopop
Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Standard Chinese, 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, Ta ...
, imported
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
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 describe ...
,
Japanese pop music
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 1 ...
and
Korean pop music
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, gos ...
. Larger music stores, such as
HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
in Hong Kong, stock a more extensive range which includes
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
,
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 ...
in addition to the aforementioned
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s. Like Japan, audio cassettes have never been big sellers in Hong Kong.
Music
Cantonese opera
The art form is one of the first organised forms of entertainment in Hong Kong. The art form still exists today in its traditional format despite the changing trends in other industries. There is a debate about the origin(s) of
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 ...
, but it is universally accepted that the predecessors of Cantonese opera originated from the northern part of China and slowly migrated to the southern province 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) ...
in late 13th century, during the late Southern
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
. Beginning in the 1950s, massive waves of immigrants fled
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
to destinations like
North Point
North Point is a mixed-use urban area in the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District of Hong Kong. Located in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island, the area is named after a cape between Tin Hau, Hong Kong, Causeway Bay and Tsat Ts ...
,
boosting its fanbase.
Naamyam
Cantonese Naamyam () is a unique narrative singing tradition in Cantonese dialect/language, different from Fujian Nan Yin. A singer would be engaged for a single performance or for regular performances over an extended period of time. Before the first half of the 20th century, naamyam sung by blind singers was a popular form of entertainment in Hong Kong and Canton. Common venues for performance included public places such as restaurants, teahouses, brothels, and opium dens, semi-public clubs and gathering places that catered to a particular trade or craft, such as butchers or rice merchants, and private households.
Cantopop
Prior to the development of
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
in the 1960s, Hong Kong's musical output was dominated by
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
English pop. Prominent singers included
Tang Kee-chan
Tang Kee Chan (, 17 February 1912 – 2 July 1991) was a Hong Kong actor, singer and radio personality. He is often referred to as the "King of Comedy (諧劇大王)" which is a moniker given to him by the Hong Kong entertainment industry as ev ...
(鄧寄塵), Cheng Kuan-min (鄭君綿). The godfather of Cantopop
Roman Tam
Roman Tam Pak-sin (; 12 February 1945– 18 October 2002), known professionally by his stage name Law Man (), was a Hong Kong singer. He is regarded as the "Grand Godfather of Cantopop".
Career
Born in Baise, Guangxi, China, with family root ...
(羅文) made significant strides in the industry. The youth began to gravitate towards Cantonese pop in the 70s.
Around 1971,
Sandra Lang
Sandra Lang (, born ) is a former Chinese Cantopop singer who was active in the 1970s and actress in Hong Kong. Lang is credited with over 25 films.
Early life
In 1953, Lang was born in the United States.
Career
During the late 1960s, Lang ...
(仙杜拉) 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 so ...
, "The
Yuanfen
''Yuán'' () or ''Yuanfen'' (), "fateful coincidence," is a concept in Chinese society describing good and bad chances and potential relationships. It can also be translated as "destiny, luck as conditioned by one's past", or "natural affinity am ...
of a Wedding that Cries and Laughs" (啼笑姻緣). This song was the creation of the legendary songwriter
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 has ...
(顧嘉輝) and the songwriter Yip Siu-dak (葉紹德). The genre was launched to unprecedented levels with virtually every TV drama using localised cantopop songs. Other notable pioneers for cantopop were
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 Cantone ...
,
Jenny Tseng
Jenny Tseng (, Yan Nei; born Yan Suk Si (); 20 February 1953) is a singer, actress, and producer from Macau. She is best known in Cantonese-speaking regions, and she has been based in Hong Kong for much of her career.
Personal life
In 1987, 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.Xinhu ...
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 ...
.
In 1980s, the surge of Hong Kong pop wave expanded rapidly. The music scene was dominated by pop icons
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 ...
,
Anita Mui
Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...
,
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 ...
, and
Danny Chan
Danny Chan Pak-Keung (; 7 September 1958 – 25 October 1993) was a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, records producer and actor. He is widely recognised as the first modern day pop idol in Hong Kong, gaining fame alongside performers Alan Tam, ...
. The industry used Cantopop songs in TV dramas and movies, with some of the biggest soundtracks coming from films such as ''
A Better Tomorrow
''A Better Tomorrow'' () is a 1986 Hong Kong crime action film directed and co-written by John Woo, and starring Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat. The film had a profound influence on Hong Kong action cinema, and has been recognised a ...
''. There were also many Cantopop songs that were adapted from Japanese music.
While TV theme songs are still an important part of Hong Kong music, the arrival of the
Four Heavenly Kings
The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...
took Cantopop a stage higher. Today, Cantopop is the dominant form of music with strong associations to pop culture. Record companies have had a majority stake in the segment, and Hong Kong is considered the central hub of Cantopop in the world.
[China Briefing Media. ]004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to:
* 004, fictional British 00 Agent
* 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California)
* O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
* Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004
* Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine
* Lauda ...
(2004) Business Guide to the Greater Pearl River Delta. China Briefing Media Ltd.
Mandarin pop
After the Communist takeover in mainland China in 1949, the Mandarin pop music and entertainment industry shifted to Hong Kong. Mandarin also dominated the language of cinematography until the emergence of Cantonese counterparts in the mid-1970s. Many singers from
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 nort ...
came to Hong Kong creating a spectrum of Mandarin pop. The period ended in its height with
Teresa Teng
Teng Li-Chun (; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician and philanthropist. Referred to by some as " Asia's eternal queen of pop," Teng became a cultural icon for her contributio ...
. Her songs were popular even in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. Mandarin pop will likely continue to gain in popularity, especially after the 1997
handover
In cellular telecommunications, handover, or handoff, is the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel. In satellite communications it is the process of transfe ...
which made Mandarin one of the standard languages under
Basic Law. One of the TV series that emulate the 60s/70s mandopop club scene in Hong Kong is the
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
series
Glittering Days ''Glittering Days'' may refer to:
* ''Glittering Days'' (TV series) (東方之珠), 2006 Hong Kong TV series
* ''Glittering Days'' (film) (万家灯火), 2009 Chinese film
*'' The Glittering Days'' (星光灿烂), 2010 Malaysian-Singaporean TV ...
.
English pop
The term ''English pop'' in Hong Kong does not mean ''pop music from England'', but western style pop songs sung in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
. In the
1950s
The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959.
Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...
, popular music of Hong Kong was largely dominated by pop songs in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
until the
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
's emergence in the
mid-1970s. Many well-known Cantopop singers of today, like
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 Cantone ...
and
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 ...
, began their early careers singing in English. Western culture at the time was specifically a mark of education and sophistication. Inspired and influenced by imported popular music from the West such as
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
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 Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Hong Kong artistes started to produce English language pop music in the
1960s
File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...
.
Today, imported pop music in English language remains popular in Hong Kong, second only to
C-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 (the Greater China region). This also includes countries where Chinese languages are used by ...
. Most Hong Kong artists now sing primarily 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 are ...
and
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and occasionally perform in English. Artists who produced substantial works in English include
Chet Lam
Chet Lam Yat Fung is a Hong Kong-based independent "city-folk" singer-songwriter. He is the elder brother of singer Eman Lam.
Biography
Lam was born at Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, He was live in public estate, He was studying in ...
,
The Pancakes
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
,
Ghost Style
Ghost Style (born Brandon Ho 1973 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian rapper, producer and actor based in Hong Kong. He is credited with releasing the first English language rap album in Hong Kong (''Ghost Style's Alias'', 2002). He follow ...
, etc.
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 m ...
released an English album in 2000. Other artistes who have native fluency in English include
Jackson Wang
Jackson Wang (; ko, 왕잭슨; born 28 March 1994) is a Hong Kong rapper, singer, dancer, record producer, fashion designer, and music video director. He is the founder of record label Team Wang and is the creative director and lead designer ...
,
Teresa Carpio
Teresa Carpio (born 30 September 1956) is a Hong Kong English- and Cantonese-language pop singer, actress, and singing teacher. Carpio was popular in Hong Kong during the 1970s and 1980s. She is the paternal cousin of actress and singer Rita Ca ...
,
Janice Vidal
Janice M. Vidal (born 13 April 1982) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer of mixed Filipino and Korean descent. Vidal was first discovered by music producer Mark Lui and initially began her career as a back-up singer for Leon Lai. She debuted as a s ...
,
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
British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a ...
,
Karen Joy Morris
Karen Mok (born Karen Joy Morris (), 2 June 1970) is a Hong Kong pop diva who is one of the leading Asian pop singers and actresses with a career spanning three decades. She is the first female Hong Kong singer to win the Golden Melody Award and h ...
,
Fiona Sit
Fiona Sit (; born 11 August 1981) is a Hong Kong singer and actress.
Early life
In an interview with Hong Kong Newspaper Apply Daily in 2006, Fiona Sit revealed that she has always been interested in singing in front of an audience since a ver ...
,
Edison Chen
Edison Chen Koon-hei (, born Chen Hing-wah on 7 October 1980) is a Canadian-born Hong Kong actor, singer, rapper, fashion designer and entrepreneur. Chen is the co-founder of CLOT, a Hong Kong-based streetwear and fashion label. Debuting in 19 ...
, etc.
Classical music
Western
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
has a strong presence in Hong Kong. Organisations such as The
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Cantonese: 香港管弦樂團), commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil (Cantonese: 港樂), is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Si ...
,
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta (Chinese: ) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Hong Kong. It was established in 1990 by a group of local music graduates. It has always aimed at promoting classical music to the public. The orchestra was reorga ...
and the
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (; abbreviated HKCO) was founded in 1977. The orchestra has won the accolades as “a leader in Chinese ethnic music” and “a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong”. It is often invited to perform at famous venues ...
receives substantial annual funding from the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
and other major sponsors such as the
Swire Group
Swire Group () is a Hong Kong- and London-based British conglomerate. Many of its core businesses can be found within the Asia Pacific region, where traditionally Swire's operations have centred on Hong Kong and mainland China. Within Asia ...
. The budget of
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Cantonese: 香港管弦樂團), commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil (Cantonese: 港樂), is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Si ...
in 2002/2003 financial year was HK$86 million, of which 70% comes from
The Hong Kong Government. Their production adds dynamics to the music culture. All primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong are required to take music class as part of their
school curriculum
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
.
Electronic music
Being a burgeoning genre in the music scene, Hong Kong’s history with
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
is deep and complex. During the 70s and 80s, artists like
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
Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...
have experimented with fusion between
disco music
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 piano ...
and
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
. In present day, underground electronic scenes and electronic music festivals such as Shi Fu Miz Festival and
Creamfields
Creamfields is an electronic dance music festival series founded and organised by British club promoter Cream, with its UK edition taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a number of international editions held across various territ ...
Hong Kong plays an important role spreading electronic music culture in the city. Meanwhile, local electronic music musicians such as
Zight and XTIE seek to collaborate with foreign artists, connecting and bridging Hong Kong's electronic music industry to the outside world. DJ King of
C AllStar
C AllStar is a Hong Kong Cantopop boy band formed through a singing contest ''Star Hunt'' () held by Kingdom C in 2009. The group consists of four members: King Wu, Kenny Chan, Andy Leung, and Jase Ho. They debuted with the album ''Make It Happe ...
solo works are electronic music. EDM composers in 2020s:
JNYBeatz, VAL and CK of
STRAYZ
Strayz (commonly stylised as STRAYZ) is a self-financed Hong Kong Cantopop girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in t ...
,
Claudia Koh.
Festivals
*
Rockit Hong Kong Music Festival
Rockit Hong Kong Music Festival was held each autumn from 2003 to 2006 in Hong Kong's Victoria Park. The event was created by Nimal Jayawardena (AKNJ Fujii and Didier Li of Matrix Entertainment Group.
2003
The first Rockit festival, 25–26 Oc ...
Music recording certification
IFPI Hong Kong certifies music recordings in Hong Kong. Like some other Asian countries, the sales requirements of domestic products are higher than foreign products and certifications are usually based on sales. The sales requirements are 25,000 and 50,000 copies for gold and platinum, respectively, before 2006. It was lowered in 2006 and 2008, due to declining sales. The sales requirements are 20,000 and 40,000 copies for releases between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007. Currently, the requirements are 15,000 copies for Gold and 30,000 copies for Platinum. International repertoire requires only half of the Gold and Platinum awards from the domestic ones, same as classical music albums. (Before 2006, 15,000 and 25,000 copies for gold and platinum for foreign repertoire, respectively).
Platforms in 2020s
Music Streaming Services
KKBOX
KKBox, stylized as KKBOX is a music streaming service developed in 2005 by KKBox Inc., a software company in Taipei, Taiwan. It is a part of Japanese Telecom Group, KDDI. The service mainly targets the music markets of East and Southeast Asia, fo ...
,
MOOV,
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
,
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
,
JOOX
Joox (stylised as JOOX) is a Comparison of on-demand streaming music services, music streaming service owned by Tencent, launched in January 2015. Joox is the biggest music streaming app in Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Mala ...
and
YouTube Music
YouTube Music is a music streaming service developed by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. It provides a tailored interface for the service, oriented towards music streaming, allowing users to browse through songs and music videos on YouTube based ...
. KKBOX holds music award every year.
Radios
Commercial Radio Hong Kong
Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK, , aka Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited is one of the two commercial radio broadcasting companies in Hong Kong along with Metro Radio Hong Kong. CRHK provides an array of entertainment, includ ...
,
Metro Broadcast Corporation
Metro Broadcast Corporation Ltd. () is one of Hong Kong's three radio broadcasting corporations. It was founded on 1 July 1991, and is owned by the Hong Kong-listed CK Hutchison Holdings.
Services
Metro Broadcast operates three radio chan ...
and
RTHK
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
. They reveal music charts every week and hold music awards every year.
TV
ViuTV
ViuTV is a Cantonese language general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV and the media streaming service Viu. The chann ...
has music show "Chill Club" and reveal music chart every Sunday. It holds "Chlll Club Awards" every year.
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
has music show "JSG" and reveal music chart every week. It holds "Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation" every year.
Music Videos
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
ViuTV
ViuTV is a Cantonese language general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV and the media streaming service Viu. The chann ...
's "Chill Club 推介" (Chill Club Song Promotion): 30 minutes from Monday to Friday,
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
's "無間音樂".
Buying Music
* Retail Stores: "CD Warehouse" has 12 shops in shopping malls.
* Online Store (CD):
YesAsia
YesAsia (formerly ''AsiaCD'') is an online retail company founded in 1998 that sells Asian entertainment products worldwide. After initially focusing on CD and video retailing, it has expanded into other entertainment and hobby products such as ma ...
, CD Warehouse
* Online (Audio):
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
Paid Concert Online Streaming
Mifashow, MakeALive
Concert Venues
* Indoor:
Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum, commonly known as the Hung Hom Coliseum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District.
It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 ...
;
AsiaWorld-Expo;
Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre
The Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC, formerly known as the Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre or HITEC), is an exhibition centre, shopping mall and performance venue situated at 1 Trademart Drive, Kow ...
,
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld–Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbou ...
and
Macpherson Stadium, Hong Kong
MacPherson Stadium () was an indoor stadium that played an important role to the development of youth recreation in Hong Kong. Located at Yim Po Fong Street, on the edge of Mong Kok, a high population density area, it had a capacity of 1,850.
...
* Outdoor:
Central Harbourfront
The Central Harbourfront is a waterfront site in Central, Hong Kong. It is the result of Central and Wan Chai Reclamation, and it sits to the east of ifc skyscraper.
The harbourfront is now the site of the Hong Kong Observation Wheel, AIA Vital ...
and
West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is a large arts development in Hong Kong. Based on a Foster and Partners master plan and comprising , the district will eventually include 17 venues. The Xiqu Centre for Chinese opera, the Freespace c ...
Social Media Sites
Singers post their updates on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
,
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
See also
*
Hong Kong Music venues
*
MTV Networks Asia
Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of Paramount Global. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount's brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Net ...
*
Gangtai Gangtai () are the C-pop artists and musical style from Hong Kong or Taiwan. The term is synonymous with post-1960 Cantopop or post-1970 Mandopop, a sweet, love type melody found distinctly in C-pop and not any other genre of Chinese folk, rock or t ...
culture
*
Music of United Kingdom
*
Music of China
Music of China refers to the music of the Chinese people, which may be the music of the Han Chinese in the course of Chinese history as well as ethnic minorities in today's China. It also includes music produced by people of Chinese origin in som ...
*
Music of Japan
In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese language, Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comfort). ...
*
Music sampling in Hong Kong
*
Music of United States
References
External links
Guide to Classical Music in Hong Kong– about the classical music scene in Hong Kong
Youtube: The plight of rock and roll in Hong Kong part 1.Youtube: The plight of rock and roll in Hong Kong part 2.
{{Hong Kong topics