Cantopop

Cantopop 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 Taiwanese 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.

Related Topics:
1960s - Tradition - Cantonese opera - Western - Mandarin

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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. Nevertheless, popular opinion at the time regarded this early Cantopop as an inferior musical style.

Related Topics:
Cheng Kum-cheung - Singer

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Around 1971, Sindokla (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 Gu Gaa-fai (顧嘉輝) 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.

Related Topics:
Theme song - Yuanfen - Gu Gaa-fai - Classical Chinese - Hit

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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.

Related Topics:
1970s - 1990s - Roman Tam

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