Cantopop

Cantopop (粵語流行曲) is a colloquial abbreviation for Cantonese pop music, a form of popular music that is a subgenre of C-pop. It is also known as HK-pop, short for Hong Kong pop. Cantopop draws 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. By definition, Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese. Although Cantopop boasts a multinational fanbase, Hong Kong is the most significant hub of the genre. In Hong Kong and around the world, the Cantopop music industry is dominated largely by record labels owned by record industry giants such as Sony, EMI, Polydor, Emperor Entertainment Group, and Philips.

Early development

Before the 1960s, the Cantonese music available in Hong Kong was 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 early artists releasing Cantonese records in Hong Kong during this period. The younger generation of the time preferred British and American exports, as well as Mandarin music. Some considered fondness for Western music to be a mark of education or sophistication; conversely, those who preferred Cantonese music were considered old or uneducated.

In the 1960s, Cheng Kum-cheung (鄭錦昌) and Chan Chai-chung (陳齊頌) were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted the younger generation. Teen idols Connie Chan Po-chu and Josephine Siao sang songs in many of their films, the soundtracks of which were subsequently released as EPs.

Around 1971, Sandra Lang (仙度拉), 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" or "Tai Siu Jan Jyuan" (啼笑姻緣). This song was a collaboration between the legendary songwriter Joseph Koo (顧嘉煇) and the songwriter Yip Siu-dak (葉紹德). The beautiful music, the Classical Chinese lyrics, the increasing popularity of television and Hong Kong's growing sense of its own identity were the reasons that "The Yuanfen of a Wedding that Cries and Laughs" became a big hit. The popularity of this song completely changed many people's perception of Cantopop.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, many popular Cantonese songs were TV theme songs. Usually the theme songs are written in classical Chinese for programs with an ancient historical setting, and in colloquial Cantonese for programs based on modern life. One of the most well-known theme song stars was Roman Tam (羅文), whose singing earned much praise. TV theme songs are still an important part of Hong Kong music.

The Golden age of Cantopop

During the mid-80s to the mid-90s, the Cantopop genre has scaled great heights with both artistes and producers teaming up to produce songs and films of outstanding quality such as not heard of in Hong Kong previously. Cantopop stars such as Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Priscilla Chan and Danny Chan quickly became household names in the then British colony in the late 1980s with exciting talents such as Beyond, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau soon to emerge as firm contenders in the early 1990s. The reason for the blooming of this creative era is the result of a healthy Hong Kong economical development where sponsors and record companies were able to sign composers as well as the artistes with lucrative contracts worth millions of Hong Kong dollars in addition to employing professional musicians to accompany the singers.

Further, the emergence of Hong Kong as a Westernised country meant that the territory had to possess a tangible and positive image of its own to reflect its status as a prosperous city. There would be no better alternative than to project this into the entertainment industry where glitz and glamor complement each other well. The peak of this golden age could be said to have been the era when the "Four Heavenly Kings" (Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai) were first introduced to the adoring Hong Kong and overseas Chinese communities. The ultimate effect was immediate as the quality of the songs from this interesting period of development could be said to be more memorable than those of the current crop. However, this golden age was not to last. Suddenly, severe piracy issues in Southeast Asia and lacks of budding talents to take the helm of the Cantopop would result in an appalling drop in sales of music.

Recent developments in Cantopop

In recent years the popularity of Cantopop has declined because of the poor sales of music and lack of newcomers who know how to sing. The popularity of Karaoke Culture also destroyed the quality of the Cantonese songs and the way to draft songs. The late multi-talented lyricist/songwriter/musician/scholar James Wong pointed out that the Cantopop will become less popular in the future, similar with classic music. Instead, the Mandarin pop has gained in popularity because of the huge new market opening on the mainland. Artists such as Jay Chou have become huge stars across Asia including Hong Kong. It is noticeable that Mandarin songs now appear in the HK charts with more regularity than before.

Cantopop lyrics

Cantopop songs are usually written in modern written Chinese; relatively few Cantopop songs use truly colloquial Cantonese terms, and fewer songs contain Classical Chinese (Wenyan) lyrics. In the past, Cantopop maintained the Cantonese Opera tradition of matching the musical notes with tones in the Cantonese language. Since the 1980s, increasing numbers of singers have departed from this traditional Cantonese Opera vocalisation in favor of Western techniques (though some big names like Roman stayed true to traditional techniques).

Samuel Hui (許冠傑) started out as a Western musician. Several of his box office hits (starting in 1974) brought the Cantonese movie and Cantopop to the next level of popularity. His songs, written in colloquial Cantonese, mirrored the life of common Hongkongers. Although he was not the first to do this, he was the first to gain widespread appeal throughout Hong Kong.

Wan-gwong (尹光), aka "Prince of Temple Street" (廟街王子), is representative of yet another class of Cantopop music. The lyrics of his songs are unusually coarse and vulgar; his target is mainly the poorly educated and his songs seldom appear on TV or radio. Although few would class him as a Cantopop star, he surely has a place in the history of Cantopop music.

Although the population of Hong Kong is large, the tastes of much of Hong Kong's youths are quite similar. As a result, most stars tend to sing songs with similar topics and hence most popular songs are bland, "maudlin love ballads" similar to those of Vanessa Carlton in United States. But there are still many sideline musicians like Beyond and Tat Ming Pair (達明一派) whose songs reflect the darker side of society. In recent years, the presences of The Pancakes, LMF, At 17 etc, added freshness to the Cantopop industry. Their songs express youth attitudes and beliefs. This kind of music is similar to that of cutie pop or hip hop cultures.

Characteristics of Cantopop

Early Cantopop was developed from Cantonese Opera music hybridized with Western pop music. The musicians gave up using traditional Chinese musical instruments, like the Zheng and the Erhu fiddle, and switched to Western musical setups. Cantopop songs were usually sung by one singer, sometimes with a band, accompanied by piano, synthesizer, drum set, guitar, and bass guitar. They are composed under the 'chorus and verse' form and are generally monophonic. Practically all Cantopop songs feature a descending bassline.

The lyrics of Cantopop are at least as important as the music. There are two types of lyrics written by songwriters. The first type is the poetic lyrics written in literary or classical Chinese. The formation of lyrics of this type was influenced by the classical Chinese lyrics in traditional Cantonese opera. Songs with literary Chinese were usually used as the theme songs for TV shows about ancient China. The second type is less formal and the lyrics written in colloquial Cantonese, usually for the TV shows filmed under modern contexts.

Starting from the 70s, the industry began to introduce Western music and J-pop to the Hong Kong market by rewriting the lyrics in Chinese. Later on shortly, the Mandarin pop genre was also touched with re-written Cantonese lyrics. In recent years, the same phenomenon has been witnessed for Korean pop music. However, these hybrids are still considered Cantonese songs because the lyrics are in Cantonese. 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 in Japan, Taiwan, the West, Korea, or elsewhere; but they enjoyed huge success in Hong Kong after their adaptation. It is unclear of what else they would do next.

Regardless of which type of lyrics is used, most Cantopop songs share an overriding common characteristic, an 'end rhyme'. Almost every last word of a phrase is rhymed. The first few phrases of the song "Impression" by Samuel Hui exemplify this feature: the last word of every phrase ended with the sound '–eong' (see the extract below).

"Impression" (印象; in Cantonese Jyutping), by Samuel Hui

誰令我當晚舉止失常
Seoi Ling Ngo Dong Maan Geoi Zi Sat Seong

難自禁望君你能見諒
Naan Zi Gam Mong Gwan Nei Nang Gin Leong

但覺萬分緊張　皆因跟你遇上
Daan Kok Maan Fan Gan Zeong Gaai Jan Gan Nei Jyu Seong

誰令我突然充滿幻想
Seoi Ling Ngo Dak Jin Zong Mun Waan Seong

Cantopop market

Cantopop is not restricted to Hong Kong. Since the late 80s the entertainment industry in the Guangdong Province of Mainland also raised a sizable production team and market for "made-in-China" Cantopop, also known as Cpop. Rivalry and the involvement of the underground in the entertainment industries on both sides prevented the Hong Kong and Guangdong Cantopop industries to merge, although a few Mainland singers made it on Hong Kong hitlists. From the early 90s and especially since the mid-90s Cantopop music has largely overwhelmed the small Mainland Chinese Rock movement centered in northern China. A number of Mainland-born entertainers, such as Faye Wong (Wang Fei) and Hins Cheung, have shot to success either by mimicking the Cantopop style or directly appealing to the Hong Kong audience. It is notable also that the Cantopop industry in Hong Kong attracted many stars raised in Overseas Chinese communities, such as Canadians Sally Yeh and Nicholas Tse; and Coco Lee from the United States. As a result Cantopop is no longer restricted to Hong Kong but has become part of a larger Pan-Chinese music movement.

Cantopop stars

Usually talent is secondary to the success of a Cantopop singer in Hong Kong. Most of the time, it is the image that sells the music, especially with the emergence of many new groups. Publicity is central 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. Their successes can 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 the month of January 2003 alone.

Some Cantopop superstars from the 1980s and early 2000s:

Male artistes

Female artistes

Groups

External links

Official Sites

Other Sites

Cantopop | 粵語流行歌曲 | 香港ポップス

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