Joey Yung (L) and Eason Chan. [File Photo: Tungstar]

Hello and welcome to another edition of  China Beat here on China Radio International. This is Zhong Qiu.

As the economy booms on the Chinese mainland and the pop industry develops, the gap between Canto-pop and Mando-pop has been narrowing in the new millennium. Established pop stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan are kept busy traveling to promote new releases and concerts in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. The market potential has also attracted some foreign giants to consider China as a worthy stop on their world tour, such as the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Linkin Park amongst others. At the same time, the pop industry has enjoyed a renaissance with many of the newer artists gaining in popularity. Veteran singers like Eason Chan, and David Tao along with newer artists like Jay Chou and Khalil Fong, have played a major role in the renaissance. With today's China Beat, we will continue our review of Chinese popular music over the past thirty years. So don't go away.

(Medley)

At the turn of the century, 'Four New Heavenly Kings' emerged in the Hong Kong pop industry. Following the gradual retirement of former Kings, Leo Koo, 古巨基 Hacken Lee, 李克勤 Andy Hui, 许志安 and Edmond Leung 梁汉文 were bestowed the title by veteran artist, Alan Tam. Almost at the same time, a new generation including Miriam Yeung, 杨千嬅,Joey Yung, 容祖儿, Eason Chan, 陈奕迅 and Kelly Chen,陈慧琳 began their stardom and continued it into the new century.

(Medley)
(爱不释手)
(为什么你背着我爱别人)
(七友)

As the entertainment industry grows on the mainland, Mandarin pop music can look forward to a more promising market future. Since the new millennium, Cantonese is not the domain of Hong Kong pop singers. Rather, they frequently cross over into the Mando-pop industry in order to increase their fan base. As a result Canto-pop is no longer restricted to Hong Kong, but has become part of a larger Pan-Chinese music movement.

Along with the wave of Mandarin releases to pitch up were some of today's big stars like Eason Chan and Joey Yung.

(Ten Years)

Eason Chan is considered one of the most dominant male singers in today's Hong Kong music industry. His distinctive mature timbre has become a trademark and his richly textured voice ensures an extensive range of expression. The emotional intensity Eason Chan can bring out of each song is remarkable. He can not only sing but can also play guitar, piano, and the violin. Eason Chan is praised by the media as 'God of Songs' after Jacky Cheung. Now let's enjoy one of Eason Chan biggest hits, 'Ten Years', 十年.

(Ten Years)
(Angel Girl)

Among the hottest female artists in Hong Kong, Joey Yung has become the reigning pop queen. In 2003, her smash hit 'My Pride', which was released in Mandarin as 'Angel Girl', catapulted her to superstardom across Asia. She was named 'Canto-Pop Queen' of Hong Kong and was the second youngest performer to receive the title after Anita Mui. Joey Yung was also invited to perform several songs for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The song we are hearing now is her signature hit, 'Angel Girl', 挥着翅膀的女孩.

(Angel Girl)

While the Canto-pop scene was afloat, Mando-pop in Taiwan burst with significant, new talents. Among them was Jay Chou, who is dubbed as the King of Chinese pop.

(可爱女人)

Since his debut in the year of 2000, Jay Chou has been the biggest pop star in China. His blending of R&B, rap, and rock genres led to a new composing style named after him as Chou Style. He regularly fuses traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B or rock and thus formed a new genre called 'Zhongguo feng'.

From the launch of his music career in 2000, Chou has won the World Music Award four times and more than 350 singer, singer-songwriter, and producer awards in Asia. Jay Chou is one of the few artists who maintain creative control over his productions. He writes and produces most of his own albums. He also directs most of his own music videos. He is now enjoying a burgeoning career in movies as well. Now let's take a listen to one of Jay's latest hits, 'Orchid Pavilion', 兰亭序.

(Orchid Pavilion)
(你怎么连话都说不清楚)

Jolin Tsai (L) and Jay Chow

Among the female artists who shot to top of the Mando-pop scene, Jolin Tsai, 蔡依林 is considered the most popular amongst China's pop lovers. Though she started out doing R&B, she has shifted to dance music and is currently one of the few big Chinese pop stars doing this genre of music. As such, she is being called the Kylie Minogue of Asia. In recent years Jolin has won a host of 'Best Female Singer' awards. Her most successful album to date was 2006's 'Dancing Diva', 舞娘 with sales of over 2 million copies in Asia.

(Dancing Diva)

The promising Mando-pop industry has also attracted overseas-raised Chinese artists to release Chinese albums; and their popularity back home in return helped them to break into the western market. Among them are Coco Lee and Leehom Wong.

(A Love Before Time)

Gaining her initial recognition in the early 1990s, Coco Lee received worldwide attention when she sang 'A Love Before Time', the theme to the movie 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' in 2000. She performed this song live at the 73rd Academy Awards ceremony and critics commented that she hit the high notes right on, and delivered solid vocals.

(A Love Before Time)

Coco Lee's male counterpart would be Leehom Wong. Since his debut in 1995, Wong has contributed in over 25 albums. Raised in New York, Wang always felt deep roots in his Chinese heritage. He is well known for incorporating Chinese sounds into his music. His eighth album, 'The One and Only', 唯一, marked the height of his star career. And the title track which helped Wong win seven different prestigious awards, became his signature song.

(The One and Only)

Leehom Wang

At the same time, there are more and more Asian-based pop artists emerging on the Mando-pop scene, like Stefanie Sun from Singapore, Michael Wong from Malaysia, and the American born Korean singer, Nicky Lee. Some of the young pop singers from Korea and Japan also rose onto the Mando-pop scene for better opportunities.

(Forever)

In today's fast-changing C-pop scene, it is much harder for newcomers to rise and the veterans to hold onto their status of popularity. Gifted vocals are no longer enough to be successful; and originality and creativity are the key words to be a competent rival in the pop industry. The growing pop industry and increasing international exchanges, offer Chinese pop music a wider space to develop. With Nick Lee' s 'Forever', we come to the end of this edition of 'China Beat'. This is Zhong Qiu. Bye for now.