With the dominating growth of Mirror in Hong Kong, the face of Cantopop has taken a sharp turn for a more vibrant, modern image. The widespread adoption of these refreshing tunes can often make us forget about the once crooning, mellow tunes of the past.
Early Stages
Cantopop originated through western-influenced music from Shanghai. Following the denouncing of Western pop in China, a mass exodus of artists and composers took place, resulting in the birth of new music in Hong Kong. It was on these Western roots, along with traditional Cantonese opera, that Cantopop started to establish itself. Cantonese opera was characterized by glorious tales with flowing melodies, sung alongside loud, sharp instrumentals. Thus, Hongkongers would take pride in their new music, thinking of people who did not share such a liking as uneducated.
Golden Age
As local bands and artists started to emulate Western rock, it wasn’t until the emergence of Sam Hui that Cantopop started to blend contemporary music with culture. He sang about modern day issues which resonated with members of the working class. In 1978, the term ‘Cantopop’ was finally coined, and has been used ever since. The 1980s marked the start of a new era for Cantopop. Songs became theme songs in TV dramas and movies; easing the spread of Cantonese music. Again, this new trend had started with Sam Hui, with his title track for the film ‘The Private Eyes’ becoming a massive success. In conjunction with the rise of Cantopop, record companies became more prosperous and warmed to the concept of big-money deals. Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung were just a few of many household names established during this time period.
Influenced by the huge success of the Beatles, many Cantonese bands started to form. Sam Hui’s Lotus, as well as The Wynners and the Playboys, were all new bands established as part of a trend called ‘band fever’. At the time, their music was lacking in originality and individuality - heavily Westernized by the influence of British and American rock songs. Hence, new independent bands started to form, with new original ideas that were culturally tied to Hong Kong by singing in Chinese. This new wave of bands included Beyond, Raidas and Tat Ming Pair, all of which shaped the scope of band music in Hong Kong.
Four Heavenly Kings
In the 1990s, Cantopop was dominated by a group of artists called the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’, consisting of Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok. They took over the face of music, TV, cinema, and the entire entertainment circle within Hong Kong. Many contenders emerged as potential disruptors to the lineup, however, their strength remained intact for many years.
However, after the sovereignty handover in 1997 as well as the Asian financial turmoil in 1999, authentic Cantopop started to disintegrate, including the dominance of the Four Heavenly Kings. Hong Kong’s film industry was on a decline, and the opportunity for producing Cantonese title
tracks also plummeted. New laws regarding language use as well as initiatives to adopt Mandarin as the main language in Hong Kong completely shattered the previous glory of culturally ingrained Cantonese music.
Later stages
The face of Cantopop was never quite the same. The 2000s was known as the People’s Singer era, where singers would actively promote their songs in public, in contrast to the air of superiority surrounding the ‘big name’ singers from the 1990s. Mandarin-based songs started to become popular in Hong Kong, although there was still solace for original Cantopop lovers as the genre wasn’t completely submerged. Eason Chan, Joey Yung, Juno Mak and Hins Cheung were a few of the more popular artists during this period, however they would also dabble in Mandarin music.
The resurgence of Cantopop in the form of Mirror has been described as ‘reviving the music industry’. With a fresh start, let’s see what the future of Cantopop has to bring.
Refrences :
Written by : Isaac Chow
Edited by : Tisya Gupta
Graphics : Alicia Fok
Commentaires