This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Cantopop (Chinese: 粵語流行音樂) 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.^{[citation needed]} Cantopop draws its influence not only from other forms of Chinese music, but from a variety of international styles, including jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronic music, Western pop music and others. Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese. Boasting a multinational fanbase especially in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and in the Guangdong province of mainland China, Hong Kong remains the most significant hub of the genre.^[1]

History[link]

1920s: Shanghai origins[link]

Western-influenced music first came to the Republic of China in the 1920s, specifically to Shanghai.^[2] Artists like Zhou Xuan (周璇) acted in films and recorded popular songs, and was possibly the first Chinese pop star.

In 1949 when the People's Republic of China was established by the Communist Party, one of the first actions taken by the government was to denounce pop music as pornography.^[2] Beginning in the 1950s, massive waves of immigrants fled Shanghai to destinations like North Point in Hong Kong.^[3] As a result, many first generation Cantopop artists and composers hail from Shanghai.^[2]

1960s: Cultural acceptance[link]

By the 1960s, Cantonese music in Hong Kong was still limited largely to traditional Cantonese opera and comic renditions of western music. Tang Kee-chan (鄧寄塵), Cheng Kuan-min (鄭君綿), and Tam Ping-man (譚炳文) were among the earliest artists releasing Cantonese records.

The baby boomer generation at the time preferred British and American exports, as well as Mandarin music. Western culture was at the time equated with education and sophistication,^[4] and Elvis, Johnny Mathis and The Beatles were popular.^[2]

Conversely, those who preferred Cantonese music were considered old-fashioned or uneducated. Cheng Kum-cheung and Chan Chai-chung (陳齊頌) were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted the younger generation. Connie Chan Po-chu is generally considered to be Hong Kong's first teen idol, mostly due to her career longevity. Josephine Siao is also another artist of the era.

1970s: Rise of television and the modern industry[link]

The previous decade laid the ground for the creation of Hong Kong's new pop music. Many 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 and Paula Tsui.

Television was a new technological marvel, available mostly to the rich, and on-air content was highly valued and respected. Soap operas were needed to fill air time, and many popular Cantonese songs became TV theme songs.^[2] Around 1971, Sandra Lang, a minor singer who had never sung Cantopop before, was invited to sing the first Cantonese TV theme song "The Yuanfen of a Wedding that Cries and Laughs" (啼笑姻緣). This song was a collaboration between songwriters Yip Siu-dak (葉紹德) and the legendary Joseph Koo. It was ground-breaking and topped local charts.^[2] Other groups that profited from TV promotion included the Four Golden Flowers.

Samuel Hui, the lead singer of the band Lotus formed in the late 1960s, signed onto Polydor in 1972. The song that made him famous was the theme song to the movie Games Gamblers Play, also starring Hui.

The star of TV theme tunes was Roman Tam, whose singing earned much praise. Three of the most famous TV soap opera singers were Jenny Tseng, Liza Wang and Adam Cheng.^[2] The Wynners and George 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 in 1978.

1980s: Beginning of the Golden age[link]

During the 1980s, Cantopop soared to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Sally Yeh, Priscilla Chan, Sandy Lam, and Danny Chan quickly became household names. The industry effectively used Cantopop songs in TV dramas and movies, with some of the biggest soundtracks coming from timeless film such as A Better Tomorrow. In part, the success came from progressive economical development. 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 female recording artist, "Queen of Mandarin songs" Teresa Teng also crossed over to Cantopop. She achieved in both artistic strides and great commercial success by her original Cantonese Hits under the Polygram Label in the early '80s. Jenny Tseng was also a notable addition from Macau.

As Cantopop gained large followings in Chinese communities worldwide, Hong Kong entrepreneurs' ingenious use of the then new Laserdisc technology prompted yet another explosion in the market.

1990s: Four Heavenly Kings era[link]

In the early 90s, the Cantopop stars Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Samuel Hui, Priscilla Chan, the songwriter Joseph Koo, and others either retired or lessened their activity. Chan left Hong Kong to pursue her studies at Syracuse University while the rest left Hong Kong amid the uncertainty surrounding the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

The "Four Heavenly Kings" (四大天王), namely Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai dominated music, and coverage in magazines, TV, advertisements and cinema.^[6][7]

New talents such as Beyond also emerged as contenders. Divas that should be mentioned are Sandy Lam, Sally Yeh and Faye Wong, whose popularity are, arguably comparable to the Four Heavenly Kings. Shirley Kwan also made her mark with 難得有情人

The tension and economic instability from the 1997 sovereignty handover also created a culturally challenging atmosphere for the industry. Establishment of Basic Law and language ordinances made the adoption of Mandarin official.^[8]

Twins at the height of the group's popularity

2000s[link]

At the turn of the century, Cantonese was still dominant in the domain of C-pop.^[9] The deaths of stars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in 2003 rocked the industry. A transitional phase also took place with many overseas-raised Chinese artists such as Nicholas Tse and Coco Lee gaining recognition. As a result Cantopop is no longer restricted to Hong Kong, but has become part of a larger Pan-Chinese 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), Universal Music Group, East Asia Entertainment & Amusic and Emperor Entertainment Group. Some of the most successful performers of the era include Joey Yung, Twins, Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung, Leo Ku, Janice Vidal. The new era also saw an explosion of bands such as at17, Soler, Sunboy'z, Hotcha, Mr. and Rubberband. In a new trend in promoting bands, many artists later end up going solo such as Stephy Tang, Kary Ng, Kenny Kwan and Renee Li. The decade have also been dubbed a People's singer era (親民歌星), as most performers promote frequently in public and are highly approachable. This is as opposed to the 90s and previous era Big-card singers (大牌歌星), who were impossible to approach.^[10]

A number of media-buzz incidents also took place. The largest was the Edison Chen photo scandal involving Edison Chen and a number of high-profile female celebrities like Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan and Cecilia Cheung caught in sexual acts with explicit photos uploaded online. The scandal garnered the attention of international media including CNN^[11] and MSNBC.^[12] and The Guardian.^[13] The scandal raised a number of questions regarding legal issues and netizen's online rights that went far beyond the usual music discussion. Other events include the street fight between Gary Chaw and Justin Lo.^[14] As well as Jill Vidal and Kelvin Kwan drug-trafficking to Japan.^[15]

2010s[link]

The first major award of the decade 09 JSG award was a highly controversial one with the on-going 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”. Some of the successful performers of the era are G.E.M., Ivana Wong, Sugar Club, Mag Lam, Alfred Hui, C AllStar and Khalil Fong.

Characteristics[link]

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since May 2010. It may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines. Tagged since May 2010. It may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since May 2010. It may contain original research. Tagged since May 2010.

Instruments and setups[link]

Early Cantopop was developed from cantonese opera music hybridized with western pop. The musicians soon gave up traditional Chinese musical instruments like zheng and erhu fiddle in favor of western style arrangements. Cantopop songs are usually sung by one singer, sometimes with a band, accompanied by piano, synthesizer, drum set, guitar, and bass guitar. They are composed under verse-chorus form and are generally monophonic. Practically all early Cantopop songs feature a descending bassline.

Lyrics[link]

	"Wait (等)" noicon A slow to medium tempo soundtrack by Danny Chan for the 1984 HK film "Merry Christmas" (聖誕快樂) "Half moon (月半彎)" noicon A transitional song from the golden age to the Four Heavenly kings era by Jacky Cheung "Sugar in the Marmalade" noicon A hybrid cantopop techno song by Leon Lai
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Cantonese is a pitch sensitive tonal language. 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 semi-tones. Through the work of pioneers like Sam Hui, James Wong and Lo Kwok Jim, those that followed have more stock phrases for reference. Cantonese lyricists play a great part in advancing Canto Pop.

Such a tonal constraint has been particularly 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[link]

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. 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[link]

The second type is less formal. The lyrics written in colloquial Cantonese make up the majority with compositions done in modern written Chinese. TV shows filmed under modern contexts will utilize songs written with these lyrics. Most songs share an overriding characteristic, in which every last word of a phrase is rhymed.

The following is an example from the song "Impression" (印象) by Samuel Hui. The last word of every phrase ends with '–oeng'.

Covers of foreign compositions[link]

Since the 1970s, Chinese cover versions of many Western music and Japanese traditional and pop compositions have been made. Historically the practice is done for business reasons of filling up albums and re-capitalizing on songs with a proven record. By definition hybrids are still considered Cantonese songs due to Cantonese lyrics, though the rights borrowed varies country to country. Songs like "Tomorrow sounds like today" (明日話今天) by Jenny Tseng, "Life to seek" (一生何求) by Danny Chan, "Snowing" (飄雪) by Priscilla Chan, and "Can't afford" (負擔不起) by Jade Kwan were originally composed outside of Hong Kong. Many critics disapprove this practice of covering foreign music as lack of originality, and many albums glory themselves as "cover-free".

Industry[link]

Cantopop stars[link]

From the inception of Cantopop to the late '80s, Hong Kong had seen many original talents develop into super stars, each with a unique singing style and an easily recognisable voice. Usually talent is secondary to the success of a Cantopop singer in Hong Kong. Most of the time, the image sells the albums, as it is one of the characteristic 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 one's future. Almost all modern Cantopop stars go into the movie business regardless of their ability to act. They immediately expand to the Mandarin market once their fame is established, hence pure Cantopop stars are almost nonexistent. Outside of the music sales, their success can also be gauged by their income from various sources. For example, according to some reports, Sammi Cheng earned HK$46M (around US$6M) from advertisement and merchandise endorsements in one month alone.^[16] Many artists however begin with financial hardships. For example Yumiko Cheng owed her company thousands of dollars. Others include Elanne Kong crying in public with only HK$58 left.^[17]

Labels[link]

PolyGram, EMI, Sony, Warner and BMG were established in Hong Kong since the 1970s. Local record companies such as Crown Records (娛樂唱片), Wing Hang Records (永恆), Manchi Records (文志) and Capital Artists in the past have each invested heavily and became successful local labels that competed well in the market. As TV drama themes lost favor in the mid-80s, market power soon drifted to the multi-national labels. Sales are tracked at the IFPI HK Annual Sales Chart.^[18]

Criticism[link]

Unoriginality[link]

Cantopop has been criticised as being bland and unoriginal, since most stars tend to sing songs with similar topics with emphasis on "maudlin love ballads". Even in its early form, Cantopop featured many songs edited or inspired by English or Cantonese opera songs, which persisted during the 1980s golden era.

In the late 1990s, there was a shortage of creative talent due to the rising demand for Chinese songs; meanwhile, China and Taiwan had nurtured their own local industries posing serious competition to Cantopop. Renowned legendary lyricist Wong Jim wrote his 2003 thesis on the subject.^[19]

One critic portrays the Cantopop industry in this period as "favoring smiling saccharine pap over actual substance" while Chinese academic Stephen Cheung described Cantopop as 'the worst thing to have come out of China since the plague'.^[20]

However, there are still many sideline musicians like Beyond (who emerged from the "band fever" of the 1960s) and Tat Ming Pair whose songs reflect the darker, less-expressed side of society.

Artists[link]

Male[link]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Female[link]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Bands[link]

• 24 Herbs

Major awards[link]

Cantopop radio stations[link]

See also[link]

• Music of Hong Kong
• Hong Kong musical tongue twister
• Hong Kong English pop
• Chinese hip hop
• J-pop

References[link]

External links[link]

• C-Pop Fantasie - Online resource for c-pop, providing lyrics, downloads, video shows, and more.
• Pop Saves Hong Kong, in Tofu Magazine #2
• Hong Kong Vintage Pop Radio^{[dead link]}
• www.hkmusic.cn: Cantopop song listings (in chinese)
• www.mysongspage.com, lyrics and chords for Cantonese, English & Mandarin songs.
• 香港50-80年代粵語流行曲唱片目錄 Disc index
• Come back to love blog
• Lee HC's 黑膠樂園 Disc index
• 香港樂壇25年的發展 article
• [音乐评论][粤语流行四十年]

Sherman Chung
Chinese name	鍾舒漫 (Traditional)
Chinese name	钟舒漫 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Zhōng Shūmàn (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Zung1 Su1 Maan6 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Shu-man Chung, 鍾舒曼
Born	(1984-06-20) June 20, 1984 (age 28) Hong Kong
Occupation	singer, actress
Genre(s)	Cantopop
Label(s)	Emperor Entertainment Group
Years active	2007 - present
Official Website	EEG Official Website

Sherman Chung Shu-man, (Chinese: 鍾舒漫; born 鍾舒曼 on June 20, 1984) is a Hong Kong cantopop singer. She started her career after winning the 2005 EEG Singing Contest (aka 24th annual New Talent Singing Awards Hong Kong Regional Finals). During 2006, she underwent a series of intensive training and released her first single "The Throes of Master" (高手過招) in 2007.

Discography[link]

• Good Girl? (乖女仔) (2007-07-26)
• Castle (2008-03-20)
• Thunder Party (2008-11-26)
• A Letter to Myself (給自己的信) (2009-10-02)
• One Mission (2010-07-29)
• It's A Beautiful Day (2011-04-11)
• I Can (2012-03-02) (Debut Mandarin Album)

Movies[link]

• 2008 - Love Is Elsewhere (愛情萬歲)^[1][2]
• 2008 - Beast Stalker (証人)^[1][2]
• 2010 - 72 Tenants of Prosperity^[1][2]
• 2010 - The Stool Pigeon^[1][2]
• 2011 - Summer Love Love
• 2011 - Lan Kwai Fong
• 2011 - Life without Principle
• 2012 - Hold My Love

Awards[link]

• 2005 - EEG Singing Contest (Winner) - Golden Mic Award

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sherman english interview
• Sherman Blog
• Shersher Forum
• EEG Official Website- Sherman Chung

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing
Cheung performing at a Concert
Chinese name	張國榮 (Traditional)
Chinese name	张国荣 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Zhāng Guóróng (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Zoeng1 Gwok3wing4 (Cantonese)
Ancestry	Meizhou, Guangdong
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	(1956-09-12)12 September 1956 Hong Kong
Died	1 April 2003(2003-04-01) (aged 46) (Suicide) Hong Kong
Other name(s)	哥哥 (Ge4ge1; lit. Big Brother)[1][2]
Occupation	Singer, actor, director, songwriter
Genre(s)	Cantopop
Instrument(s)	Vocals, piano
Label(s)	Polydor, Capital Artists, Cinepoly, Rock, Apex Music, Universal
Years active	1977–2003
Parents	Cheung Wut Hoi
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor 1991 Days of Being Wild Best Original Film Song 1995 He's a Woman, She's a Man The Most Favorite Actor in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema 2005 Silver Jubilee Best Actor 2006 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor 1994 Ashes of Time Golden Horse Awards Best Original Song 1993 The Bride with White Hair RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards Sales Award (Best-Selling Artist of the Year) 1987 Summer Romance IFPI Award 1988 Leslie Golden Needle Award 1999 Other awards Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Most Popular Male Artist 1988, 1989 Honours Award 1999, 2000 Golden Phoenix Awards Special Contribution Award 1993 Farewell My Concubine Japan Film Critics Society Best Actor 1993 Farewell My Concubine CCTV-MTV Music Awards Biggest Asian Artist 2000 Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Best Male Singer 2001

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003), nicknamed Gor Gor (哥哥), which means elder brother,^[3][4][4][5] was a Hong Kong film actor and musician. Cheung was considered as "one of the founding fathers of Cantopop", and "combining a hugely successful film and music career".^[6]

In 2000, Cheung was named Asian Biggest Superstar by China Central Television, and voted/ranked the 1st as The Most Favorite Actor in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema in 2005.^[7][8] Recently, he was voted the third of the CNN's "top five most iconic musician of all time" placing behind Michael Jackson and The Beatles.^[9]

Childhood and education[link]

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Cheung was the youngest of ten children in a middle-class Hakka family. Cheung Wut Hoi, his father, was a fairly well known tailor, whose customers included American actors William Holden, Marlon Brando, and Cary Grant.^[10][11][12] His parents divorced when he was quite young. While in Hong Kong, Cheung attended Rosaryhill School (Stubbs Road, Hong Kong).

At the age of 13, he was sent to England as a boarder at Eccles Hall School. After six month study, he transferred himself to a school in Chelmsford, and obtained a scholarship. He worked as a bartender at his relatives' restaurant and sang during the weekends. It was around this period that he chose his name, "Leslie". According to Cheung, he chose this name because "I love the film Gone with the Wind. And I like Leslie Howard. The name can be a man's or woman's, it's very unisex, so I like it."^[13]

In several of his interviews, Cheung stated that he had had a fairly unhappy childhood. "I didn't have a happy childhood. Arguments, fights and we didn't live together; I was brought up by my granny."^[13] "What I would say most affected me as a child, was that my parents were not at home with me. As a young kid, one could not always understand why his parents weren't at home. This made me depressed sometimes."^[14]

Cheung attended the University of Leeds in northern England, where he studied textile management. He dropped out of university at the end of his first year, when his father fell ill. After his father's recovery, Cheung did not return to England to complete his studies.^[11][15]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

In 1977, Cheung won first runner-up by singing Don McLean's "American Pie" at the Asian Music Contest held by Rediffusion Television (RTV). He signed a contract with RTV, which subsequently became Asia Television Limited (ATV) and began his career in the entertainment industry. He also signed a music contract with Polydor Records, releasing Day Dreaming (1977) and Lover's Arrow (1979).

The early days of his career were not easy. He was once booed off the stage during a public performance, and his first two albums were not welcomed by the public. He left Polydor Records at the end of his contract. Cheung's first film, The Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓春上春) in 1978 was a soft porn film. Cheung later stated that he was unaware of the sexual nature of the film when he signed the contract.^[14]

During the 1970s and 1980s, he appeared in a number of TV dramas such as The Young Concubine (我家的女人), Agency 24 (甜甜廿四味), Pairing (對對糊), and The Spirit Of The Sword (浣花洗劍錄). These TV dramas helped turn him into a household name in South East Asia.

Ascent to fame[link]

In 1982, Cheung joined Capital Artists upon the end of his contract with RTV. It was at Capital Artists that Florence Chan became his music agent and remained as such through his entire career. While at Capital Artists, he also met Anita Mui, another Hong Kong Cantopop idol, starting a long lasting friendship. In 1983, Cheung released his first hit song, "The Wind Blows On" (風繼續吹). In 1984, he released his first top ten hit song "Monica", which became the first so-called "fast" song that won the RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award. "Monica" became representative of a new genre of Hong Kong music in the mid 1980s. Fans began to demand fast and energetic Cantopop songs that would be suitable for both dancing and listening. Other Top Ten Gold Songs released by Cheung through Capital Artists included "Wild Wind" (不羈的風) (album, For Your Love Only, 1985); "Who Can Be With Me" (有誰共鳴) (album, Leslie Cheung: Allure Me, 1986) and "Love in Those Years" (當年情) (theme song for A Better Tomorrow, album Leslie Cheung: Allure Me, 1986). "Who Can Be With Me" became the Gold of the Gold Songs (Best Song) of the Year for 1986. In the same year, Cheung released his first Mandarin album in Taiwan, also titled "Love in Those Years," and became an instant hit.

Cheung's movie career was a little slower to take off. He appeared in supporting roles in his second and third movies Encore (1980) and On Trial (1981). However, his acting talent was soon recognized with his nomination for the Hong Kong Film Awards' Best Supporting Actor for his role in On Trial. Subsequent to this nomination, he played the leading role in Teenage Dreamers (1982) and held the lead role in almost every movie he was in from then on. From the early 1980s through 1986, most of the movies in which he had starred were teenage movies. Among them, Nomad (1982, directed by Patrick Tam Kar-ming) is widely considered by film critics as representative of Hong Kong "New Wave" films. Cheung's role as Louis in Nomad won him his first Best Actor nomination of the Hong Kong Film Awards. Later, Cheung stated that he considers Nomad as his first "real" movie. During this period, Cheung continued to act in a number of Television Broadcasts (TVB) dramas, such as Once Upon an Ordinary Girl (儂本多情) and The Fallen Family (武林世家), opposite Maggie Cheung.

Stardom and retirement[link]

In 1986, he joined Cinepoly Records Hong Kong and released the album Summer Romance in 1987. Summer Romance became the Best Selling CD of the Year and IFPI Best Selling Album in Hong Kong. The success of Summer Romance made him one of the top two Cantopop idols at the time (the other was Alan Tam). In 1988, he composed one of his most famous songs "Silence is Golden" (沉默是金), which was later adapted to both Mandarin and Taiwanese versions. Other popular albums published by Cheung through Cinepoly Records included Hot Summer (1988), Virgin Snow (1988), Leslie '89 (Side face, IFPI Best Album of the Year, 1989), Final Encounter (1989), and Salute (1990). In the meantime, Cheung also released several Mandarin albums in Taiwan, such as Refuse to Play (拒絕再玩) and Car Ride. Salute was the first non-profit album released by a superstar in Hong Kong music history that would only compile songs originally performed by other singers. According to Cheung, Salute is his homage to music. He donated all the proceeds from the sales of Salute to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (香港演藝學院), which was named the Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship after his death.^[16]

With the popularity of Cheung and Tam, fans of these two stars became increasingly hostile to each other, starting a long-standing conflict that soon put heavy pressure on both singers. In 1988, Alan Tam publicly quit all pop music award ceremonies. In 1989, Cheung announced his intention to retire from his music career as a singer. Cheung then set a record by being the first singer ever in Cantopop history to hold a retirement concert series (Final Encounter of the Legend), which ran for 33 consecutive nights (he was 33 at the time) at Hong Kong Coliseum. In 1990, he left Hong Kong at the peak of his music career and emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where he reportedly "found peace and tranquility."^[17] Cheung gained Canadian citizenship in 1992 and returned to Asia full-time in 1995 for his re-emergence in Chinese-language popular music.

From 1986 to 1989, Cheung acted in a number of movies that are considered as Hong Kong classics by film critics and Asian movie fans.^[18][19] In 1986, Cheung co-starred with Chow Yun-fat in A Better Tomorrow (directed by John Woo), which was widely considered as a trend starter for Hong Kong triad movies in the 1980s. Cheung played Kit, a righteous and idealistic young cop. Cheung's role in the movie was widely considered his debut as a serious actor. He also starred in the sequel, A Better Tomorrow II (1987). Also in 1987, Cheung starred in Stanley Kwan's Rouge where he played Chen-Pang Chan, an infatuated, opium-smoking playboy and doomed lover of a beautiful prostitute, Fleur (played by Anita Mui). Further, in the same year (1987), he appeared in Tsui Hark's A Chinese Ghost Story (directed by Ching Siu-tung). Cheung played Ling Choi Sin, a well-meaning but cowardly debt collector who had fallen in love with a beautiful ghost (played by Joey Wong). His performance in these movies won him two Best Actor nominations from Hong Kong Film Awards. The success of A Better Tomorrow and A Chinese Ghost Story made his name known in the Japanese and South Korea film markets.

Golden age in film[link]

The mid-80s to mid-90s was a golden age in Hong Kong's film industry, which coincided with Cheung's film career. In 1990, Cheung acted as Yuddy, a handsome, ruthless bad boy, philanderer and narcissist in Wong Kar-wai's movie Days of Being Wild. His performance in Days of Being Wild won him the Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1991 and his first nomination of Best Actor at the Golden Horse Film Festival (Taiwan). He also acted in two other Wong Kar-wai movies. In the 1994 martial arts film, Ashes of Time, he starred as Ouyang Feng, a swordsman and assassin who spent his days in a desert. His role as Ouyang won him the Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. In 1997's movie Happy Together which centrally depicts a complex relationship between two gay lovers (although Wong insists that it isn't essentially a "gay" film^[20]), he played the capricious Ho Po-wing, who goes to Argentina with his lover Lai Yiu-fai (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai).

In 1992's historical masterpiece Farewell My Concubine (directed by Chen Kaige), Cheung acted as the Peking opera star Dieyi Cheng, a Beijing opera artist who reaches fame with his exquisite performances of female roles. Farewell My Concubine is the first Chinese film to have won the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won more than twenty other film awards including a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography. Cheung's performance in the film won him international fame as a film star and set his steps in the mainland China film industry. In 1996, he worked again with Chen Kaige, playing the role of a misty gigolo, Zhongliang Yu, in Temptress Moon. In 1998's A Time to Remember (directed by Yip Ying), he acted as Jin, an underground Chinese Communist leader. His Hong Kong background caused a heated debate at the time, but the film still achieved box office success in mainland China and in 2004 won a "Most Popular Foreign Film" Award at the Pyongyang Film Festival.

Other important movies Cheung starred in during this period include The Bride with White Hair (with Brigitte Lin, 1993), He's a Woman, She's a Man (with Anita Yuen, 1994), The Phantom Lover (1995), and Viva Erotica (with Shu Qi, 1996). His performance in these movies won him three Best Actor Award nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards and three Best Actor Award nominations at the Golden Horse Film Festival from 1990 to 1998.

As a versatile actor, Cheung also acted in many comedies. In 1991, teamed again with Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung, Cheung played a skillful and charming thief in John Woo's Once A Thief. In 1992's All's Well, Ends Well, he acted as an effeminate brother who would later realize the meaning of true love. Other well-known comedies included The Eagle Shooting Heroes, It's a Wonderful Life, and The Chinese Feast, where he starred opposite Anita Yuen. Cheung was also a box office attraction in Hong Kong; from 1990 to 1998, 13 out of 39 movies in which he starred were listed as yearly top ten box office movies.^[21]

Although Cheung quit his career as a pop singer from 1989 to 1995, he continued his music career as a composer. He composed more than ten songs during that time. In 1993, he won Best Original Movie Song Award from Golden Horse Film Festival for the theme song Red Cheek, White Hair to the movie The Bride with White Hair (as a composer). In 1995, he composed all three theme songs for the film The Phantom Lover. As a composer, Cheung won four nominations for Best Original Movie Song Award at the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards and two nominations for Best Original Film Song at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 1998, he was a member of the jury at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.^[22]

Return to music[link]

In 1995 Cheung signed a contract with Rock Records, returning to music as a singer. At the same year, he released his first post-"retirement" album, Beloved. Beloved achieved large market success with the award of IFPI Best Selling Album,^[23][24] but it did not receive much acclaim from music critics as it is a collection of Cheung's movie theme songs from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, Cheung released possibly his most highly acclaimed album, Red. Red was a fusion album, mixing smooth jazz, R&B, trip hop, etc., into Cantopop, forming a consistent unique style. Cheung worked since then on cutting-edge music as well as Cantopop, his new music style being markedly different from before his earlier retirement. In this album, Cheung also composed another important song in his music career, Red. In April 1998, Cheung released Printemps, a Mandarin album in collaboration with renowned Taiwanese song writers and music producers, Liu Chi Hong (劉志宏) and Liu Si Ming (劉思銘). Another version of Printemps was released in Japan titled Gift. Both versions include Cheung's first song sung in Japanese, "Marshmallow."

In 1997 Cheung held his first post-retirement concert series: World Tour 97, which lasted from 12 December 1996 to 17 June 1997. As with the refinements to his musical style, Cheung introduced a new image to his audience. The most daring part possibly was the closing dance "Red" where Cheung did a tango duet in a pair of red high-heels with a macho dancer. World Tour 97 included 55 concerts: 24 concerts were held in Hong Kong Coliseum and 31 concerts were held in the cities around the world. Among them, six concerts were held in Japan and mainland China respectively. World Tour 97 was the first concert series that Cheung held in these two areas.

In 1999 Cheung started a music company, Apex Music, signing a distribution contract with Universal Music Group(UMG). Important albums released via UMG includes Count Down With You (1999), Big Heat (2000), and Untitled (2000). The hit songs released by him during this period include "Passing-by Dragonfly", the top one hit song, "Big Heat", and "Left Right Hands", Top Ten Gold Song of the Year (1999). He also composed the song I (first released in album Big Heat), which was considered by him as a song of self-statement. In 1999 Cheung was awarded the Golden Needle award (lifetime achievement award in Cantopop music). In 2000, Cheung had been assigned as the "Music Ambassador" of Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong (CASH) until his death. Cheung also composed the theme song "Noah's Ark" for the CASH Golden Sail Award.

The later years[link]

In 2000, Cheung held his last concert series, Passion Tour. Passion Tour included 43 concerts, lasting from 31 July 2000 to 16 April 2001. Cheung worked at the first time as the art director as well as the singer for the concert. He invited Jean-Paul Gaultier to design all eight costumes for the concert. However, the costumes, together with his long wig and beard, were criticized bitterly by Hong Kong media at the early stage of the concerts. Cheung later disclosed that Gaultier was very angry about the criticism and claimed in an email (sent to Cheung) that he would never design costumes again for any Asian performer. Despite the early criticisms from the media, Passion Tour achieved huge success. Passion Tour was highly welcomed in Japan and made Cheung hold 10 concerts there. Together with World Tour 97 concerts, Cheung set a record of foreign artists of holding 16 concerts in Japan. In China, Cheung set a record yet to be broken by holding two consecutive night concerts in Shanghai Stadium (capacity of 80,000). He was also awarded the "Grand Salute Award" (2000) by Mingpao Weekly (Hong Kong) and "Music Salute Award" (2000) from Chinese Pop Music Media Association (mainland China) for his work in Passion Tour.

By the end of the 1990s, Cheung had begun to focus on acting in non-romance roles. In The Kid (1999, directed by Jacob Cheung Chi-Leung), he starred as a poor single father who fostered an abandoned baby boy. In the action thriller Double Tap (2000, directed by Lo Chi Leung), he played a psycho killer, Rick. In the 2002 psycho thriller Inner Senses (directed by Lo Chi Leung), he played psychologist Dr. Law, who discovered his own emotional issues when he tried to treat his patient Yan (Kar Yan Lam). His performance in these films earned him another Best Actor nomination from the Hong Kong Film Awards. He also garnered another two Best Actor Award nominations from Taiwan Film Festival. During this period, Cheung began to try his hand at film direction. In 2000, he directed his first movie, the 45 minutes From Ashes to Ashes. In 2002, he began to film his first regular length movie Stealing Heart. The film was not completed due to the deterioration of his health.

Death[link]

Cheung committed suicide on 1 April 2003 at 6:41 pm (HKT). He leapt from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island.^[25] He left a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from depression. He was 46 years old.^{[26][27][28][29][30][31]}

As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death shocked the Asian entertainment industry and Chinese community worldwide.^{[26][32][33][34][35][36]} The day after Leslie's death, his family confirmed that Cheung suffered from (clinical) depression and had been seeing psychiatrists for treatment for almost a year. They also revealed that Cheung had attempted suicide in 2002. Later at his funeral, Cheung's niece disclosed that her uncle had severe clinical depression and suffered much over the past year (2003).

Despite the risk of infection from SARS and the WHO's warning on travels to Hong Kong, tens of thousands attended Cheung's memorial service, which was held for the public, on 7 April 2003, including celebrities and other fans, many from other parts of the world such as mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, the United States and Canada. Cheung's funeral was on 8 April 2003. For almost one month, Cheung's death dominated newspaper headlines in Hong Kong and his songs were constantly on the air.

Cheung's last album Everything Follows the Wind (一切隨風) was released three months after his death.

• Cheung's suicide note (translation): "Depression! Many thanks to all my friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh-Mak (Cheung's last psychiatrist, 麥列菲菲). This year has been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Fei-Fei (Lydia Shum Din-ha). In my life I did nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?"
• Cheung's suicide note (Chinese): "Depression! 多謝各位朋友，多謝麥列菲菲教授，這一年很辛苦，不能再忍受， 多謝唐先生，多謝家人，多謝肥姐. 我一生沒做壞事 為何這樣?"

Achievement lists[link]

Selected awards[link]

• RTV Asian Song Contest Runners-up with the song "American Pie" 1977
• Overseas Chinese Daily News The Best Newcomer Award 1977
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with the song "Monica" 1984
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song "Monica" 1984
• Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1984
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Wild Wind 1985
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Wild Wind 1985
• Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1987
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Who Can Be With Me 1986
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with songs Who Can Be With Me and, Love in Those Years 1986
• Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1986
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Sleepless Night, Summer Romance is also the Best Selling CD of the year and IFPI Best Selling Album in 1987
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Sleepless Night
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with songs Silence is Golden and Up Close 1988
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award Most Popular Male Singer 1988
• CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards Best Male Singer 1988
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Start From Zero, and also winner of the Most Popular Male Singer 1989
• Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Male Gold Award 1989 winner LESLIE, album is also the IFPI Best Album of the Year
• IFPI Best Selling Album winner with Fondness 1999
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award Millennium Gold Song Award for "Monica" 1999
• RTHK Golden Needle Award (lifetime achievement award in Cantopop) 1999
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Left Right Hand 1999
• CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards Top Ten Albums for Countdown With You 1999
• CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards Best Song Award for Left Right Hand 1999
• Metro Radio Hit Music Awards Best Song Award for Left Right Hand 1999
• Metro Radio Hit Music Awards Top Ten Best Hits for Left Right Hand 1999
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Awards Music Salute Award 2000
• Mingpao Weekly Outstanding Male Singer Award 2000
• Ming Pao Weekly Grand Salute Award for Passion Tour 2000
• Joint Award by RTHK, CR, TVB & Metro Radio for the Best Album of the Year winner with album Untitled 2001
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Best Male Singer Award 2001
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Best Concert Award for Passion Tour 2001
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Top Ten Chinese Songs for Passing Dragonfly 2001
• "Sprite My Choice" China Original Music Pop Chart Awards Golden Song Award for Fever 2001
• "Sprite My Choice" China Original Music Pop Chart Awards Millennium Outstanding Achievement Award 2001
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards Silver Jubilee Award of Excellence 2002
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Lifetime Achievement Award 2003
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Top Ten Chinese Songs for So Far So Close 2003
• CASH My All-time Favorite Song for I 2003
• CASH Golden Sail Music Awards Best Alternative Composition for So Far So Close 2003
• Hong Kong Film Awards winner Best Actor for Days of Being Wild 1991
• Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival winner Best Original Movie Song for White-haired Beauty 1993
• Chinese Performance Art Association Special Achievement Award for Farewell My Concubine 1993
• Japanese Critic Society Best Actor Award (Foreign Movie) for Farewell My Concubine 1994
• Hong Kong Film Awards Best Original Film Song Award for Chase 1995
• Winner of HK Film Critics Society Best Actor Award for Ashes of Time 1994
• Taiwan Golden Horse Awards, Udn, Phoenix TV, and World Journal Global Top Ten Chinese Movie Stars Award 1996
• Ming Pao Weekly Performing Arts Awards Most Outstanding Actor for Inner Senses 2002
• Nikkei Entertainment Japan Top Ten Best Actors in Asia 2004
• NHK Japan Top Ten Favorite Movie Stars 2006
• Hong Kong Film Awards Eternal Glory Performing Arts Award 2004
• Hong Kong Film Awards Most Favorite Actor Award in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema 2005
• Hong Kong Film Awards Silver Jubilee Best Actor Award 2006
• Standard Chartered Hong Kong Platinum Multi-Talented Award 2000
• CCTV-MTV Music Awards Biggest Asian Artist Award 2000
• Sina China Top 10 Cultural Idols of the 20th century 2003
• Sina China Most Missed Artist 2007
• Sohu China "Remembering My 1997" Most Memorable Celebrity 2007
• CNNGO Asia's 25 greatest actors of all time 2010
• CNNGO Top 5 Global Music Icon No.3 2010
• CNNGO 19 most beautiful men from Hong Kong cinema No. 1 2010