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Danny Tse · 01-20-2005, 11:42 PM

Nooooooo......first, a little background info.

Both Andy Lau and Tony Leung, as well as Maggie Cheung (1983 Miss Hong Kong runner-up), Stephen Chow (host of a children's program, taking over for Tony Leung), and Chow Yun-fat, were products of Hong Kong's TVB. And TVB was founded and owned by Sir Run-run Shaw, of Shaw Brothers Studios fame. TVB is the most dominant TV broadcaster in Hong Kong, so much so that, until recent years, it also has its own record label, Capital Artists. TVB created its own "New Singing Talent Contest" back in 1983, with Anita Mui being the eventual winner, to jump start Capital Artists. You can say that this particular contest was the forerunner of "American Idol". Amongst Capital Artists' roster was a "has been", Leslie Cheung, who made his solo debut on a English language album on Hong Kong Polygram Records. Both Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung (John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow" series and the Cannes Film Festival award-winning "Happy Together") became huge singing stars while at Capital Artists, which by the late 80s, also debuted Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Jackie Chan, and Sammi Cheng as singers. Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung have both recorded a couple of albums, but they never made serious efforts at pop stardom; they are always considered actors.

As to why these HK entertainers crossover back and forth between film to music, the main reason is $$$. The market for Cantonese pop is relatively small because Cantonese is only considered a regional dialect of Chinese. After all, the population of HK is about 7 million people. Back in the late 80s, the number of HK pop singers singing in Mandarin can be counted on the fingers of one hand. So to supplement income, everyone crosses over. Another reason is that the HK audience is very fickled; an entertainer's name is not in the newspapers for a couple of weeks, he/she is forgotten. And thus, these entertainers have to be constantly be seen in the mass media....even in TV commercials and printed ads. And of course, when an actor/singer becomes successful, the management, most likely TVB, will want to "milk" the cash cow for all its worth.

There are exceptions, of course. As far as I can remember, the late Teresa Teng, without a doubt the most popular Chinese pop star ever (Time magazine quoted her sales at over 100 million records when she died about 10 years ago at age 42), never made a movie.

Now that William Hung's movie bombed BIG TIME in HK, I am so glad he will not follow in the footsteps of Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, etc....

01-20-2005, 11:42 PM	#8 of 10
Danny Tse Member Location: Castro Valley, California, USA Join Date: Nov 2000 Local Time: 07:53 PM Local Date: 11-21-2008 Posts: 3,171	Nooooooo......first, a little background info. Both Andy Lau and Tony Leung, as well as Maggie Cheung (1983 Miss Hong Kong runner-up), Stephen Chow (host of a children's program, taking over for Tony Leung), and Chow Yun-fat, were products of Hong Kong's TVB. And TVB was founded and owned by Sir Run-run Shaw, of Shaw Brothers Studios fame. TVB is the most dominant TV broadcaster in Hong Kong, so much so that, until recent years, it also has its own record label, Capital Artists. TVB created its own "New Singing Talent Contest" back in 1983, with Anita Mui being the eventual winner, to jump start Capital Artists. You can say that this particular contest was the forerunner of "American Idol". Amongst Capital Artists' roster was a "has been", Leslie Cheung, who made his solo debut on a English language album on Hong Kong Polygram Records. Both Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung (John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow" series and the Cannes Film Festival award-winning "Happy Together") became huge singing stars while at Capital Artists, which by the late 80s, also debuted Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Jackie Chan, and Sammi Cheng as singers. Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung have both recorded a couple of albums, but they never made serious efforts at pop stardom; they are always considered actors. As to why these HK entertainers crossover back and forth between film to music, the main reason is $$$. The market for Cantonese pop is relatively small because Cantonese is only considered a regional dialect of Chinese. After all, the population of HK is about 7 million people. Back in the late 80s, the number of HK pop singers singing in Mandarin can be counted on the fingers of one hand. So to supplement income, everyone crosses over. Another reason is that the HK audience is very fickled; an entertainer's name is not in the newspapers for a couple of weeks, he/she is forgotten. And thus, these entertainers have to be constantly be seen in the mass media....even in TV commercials and printed ads. And of course, when an actor/singer becomes successful, the management, most likely TVB, will want to "milk" the cash cow for all its worth. There are exceptions, of course. As far as I can remember, the late Teresa Teng, without a doubt the most popular Chinese pop star ever (Time magazine quoted her sales at over 100 million records when she died about 10 years ago at age 42), never made a movie. Now that William Hung's movie bombed BIG TIME in HK, I am so glad he will not follow in the footsteps of Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, etc....