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Jacky Cheung

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Jacky Cheung Hok-yau is a legendary singer and actor from Hong Kong. He is a major figure in the Greater China region. Many people call him a "Heavenly King" of Cantopop music. Others call him the "God of Songs" because of his vocal skill.

JackyCheung2007
JackyCheung2007

He is famous for his rich baritone voice. He also uses a dramatic vibrato. This is a musical effect made by rapidly moving his Adam's Apple. He can sing in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and English.

Cheung's path to stardom began with a massive competition. In 1984, he entered the Amateur 18-Hong Kong district singing contest. He competed against more than 10,000 other people. He won the contest with the song "Fatherland." Before his music career took off, he worked for an airline. He served as a reservation officer for Cathay Pacific. After his victory, he signed with Polygram Records, which is now Universal Music Group.

His early albums showed immediate success in Hong Kong. His first studio album, "Smile," was released in 1985. It sold over 300,000 copies in the territory. His second album, "Amour," was released in 1986. It sold over 400,000 copies and earned a multi-platinum certification.

Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung

Even after a brief period of lower sales in the late 1980s, he reached new heights. His 1993 album, "The Goodbye Kiss," sold over 4,000,000 copies. This success helped him enter the Mandopop market as well.

By the mid-1990s, Cheung was a global phenomenon. In 1995, his total album sales exceeded 5,000,000 copies. This achievement made him the second highest-selling artist in the world that year. Only Michael Jackson sold more music than him in 1995.

Jacky Cheung at KKBOX Music Awards 20150208 (cropped)
Jacky Cheung at KKBOX Music Awards 20150208 (cropped)

He has sold over 60 million albums worldwide. He is the best-selling music artist of all time in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Taiwan, three of his albums have sold over 1 million copies each.

Cheung is also a highly accomplished actor and stage performer. He has appeared in more than 70 films. Some of his notable movies include "Devoted to You" and "The Swordsman." He also acted as the artistic director for a major musical. This production was called "Snow.Wolf.Lake." It was a groundbreaking Cantonese Broadway-style musical. In 2004, he worked on a revised Mandarin version. The budget for this new production was estimated at HK$100 million.

His live performances have set many records. In 2007, his "Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour" included 105 shows. This was the highest number of shows ever given by a Chinese artist.

Jacky Cheung, Avenue of Stars
Jacky Cheung, Avenue of Stars

Later, his "1/2 Century World Tour" set a Guinness World Record. In 2012, it reached a combined audience of 2,048,553 people. His "A Classic Tour" from 2016 to 2019 was even larger. It drew over 4.5 million people to his concerts.

Cheung has received many prestigious international honors. In 1994, he won the Billboard Music Award for Most Popular Asian Singer. In 1996, he won the World Music Award in Monaco. He was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young People in the World in 1999. In 2000, he received the Golden Needle Award from RTHK. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the music industry. He was also inducted into the Superstars Hall of Fame of the 1990s by Universal Music.

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Jacky Cheung at KKBOX Music Awards...
File:Jacky Cheung, Avenue of Stars.JPG
Jacky Cheung, Avenue of Stars.JPG
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