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.

Western-influenced music first came to the Republic of China in the 1920s, specifically to Shanghai. 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. 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.

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003), nicknamed Gor Gor (哥哥), which means elder brother, 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".

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. 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.

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. 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."

Anita Mui Yim-fong (10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress. During her prime years she made major contributions to the cantopop music scene, while receiving numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout most of her career, and was generally regarded as a cantopop diva. Mui once held a sell-out concert at Hammersmith, London, England, where she was dubbed the "Madonna of Asia" and brought her to further international fame. That title has stayed with her throughout her career, and has been used as a comparison for both Eastern and Western media.

In the 1980s the gangtai style of music was revolutionised by Mui's wild dancing and on stage femininity. She was famed for her outrageous costumes and high-power performances in combination with contralto vocals, which are rare in female artists. Her fanbase reached far beyond Hong Kong into much of Asia, such as Taiwan, Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the overseas market. In the Hong Kong entertainment industry, where stars often rise to fall quickly, Mui remained in the spotlight for nearly 20 years. Her career was only halted in 2003 by the surprising diagnosis that Mui had cervical cancer. She died at the early age of 40. Mui left considerable music and film legacies and her involvement in charitable work and humanitarian causes whilst alive give continuing reason for her commemoration by the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Bobo Chan Man-Woon was a former Hong Kong singer and model. She was also an actress in several movies and TV-series.

Bobo's first movie role was in 1999's Tempting Heart. In 2001, she debut her first CD, titled Shine. Between 2003-2005, she joined TVB and was featured in four of their dramas before parting ways. In between 2005-2008, Bobo reduced her involvement with acting and focused on other projects until the infamous leak of Edison Chen's scandal photos affected her career.

In January and February 2008, explicit photos were found online involving Chan and Edison Chen. Photos of Chan performing fellatio Chen were leaked over the internet. The scandal also involved Gillian Chung, Cecilia Cheung, and others. The photos badly affected Bobo's career and personal life: strong public scrutiny, cancellation of media contracts, ending all product endorsements in her image, and the end of her engagement. Bobo went into seclusion along with those involved in the photos for over a year. Eventually, Gillian, Cecilia, and Edison had returned to the entertainment industry, however, Bobo never returned. She had quietly left the industry and used the remainder of her resources to create and maintain a private business in jewelry.

Kay Tse (born 13 March 1977) is a Hong Kong Cantopop songwriter, recording-artist, entertainer and one of the premier Cantonese singers. Raised In Hong Kong, China. Tse made her debut to the music industry and was signed with Ban Ban Music in 2005 and released her debut album. She became a prominent figure in the Cantopop culture. She is known for her versatile vocal range and expertise in various music genres, especially in jazz.

She first achieved mainstream success in 2008 with the song "Wedding Invitation Street", topping in the four major charts of Hong Kong. Due to the hugely successful and the critically acclaimed album Binary, Tse won many awards in January 2009 including "Media Award – Album" for Binary and "Media Award – Performer", which are considered to be the most prestigious awards in Hong Kong music industry. In early 2009, she released her sixth studio album, Yelling and features the hit single "Song of The Year". Tse embarked on her first headlining tour, Yelling LIVE 2009 and the album subsequently became the ninth best selling album of 2009. In November 2010, she released her debut Mandarin album, My Second Home that features the number one single "Weakness". Media praised her as "Grass-Root Queen", increasing her influence in the Hong Kong music industry. Along with Joey Yung, Miriam Yeung, Denise Ho, Tse is currently considered as the four premier female Cantopop performers. She is married to a fellow Hong Kong recording-artist Louis Cheung.