The development of Cantonese pop songs has a history of 50 years, which is also the 50 years of changes in Hong Kong’s popular culture. Combing this history can reveal the cultural and social connotations behind many songs. Recently, in his new book "Liu Sheng", the famous music and culture figure Huang Zhicong presented the historical background, music origin, industrial status, technical conditions, and experience and ideas of Hong Kong pop music in an orderly manner one by one.

The mainstream of "Xiaoqu"

From the 1950s to the 1960s, Cantonese songs were mainly "Xiaoqu", that is, popular songs were sung in the Cantonese style. Most Cantonese songs Almost all of them are movie interludes, such as the theme song of the same name of the movie "One Water Separates the World" sung by Wei Xiulan, Xiao Fangfang's "I Will Listen to the Fight with My Own Hands", etc.

Hui Guanjie improves his image

There are no famous people in Cantonese songs. This phenomenon began to change until Xu Guanjie appeared. In the late 1960s, Xu Guanjie became popular because of hosting. In 1974, Xu Guanjie launched "Double Star Love Song" has improved the image of Cantonese songs. In addition to Xu Guanjie, another breakthrough was Gu Jiahui's "The Cause of Laughter". Their efforts have enabled some singers who were only willing to sing English songs to switch to singing Cantonese songs, such as Lin Zixiang, Luo Wen, Jenny Yen, Chen Jialing, Alan Tam and so on.

In 1979, Radio Television Hong Kong held the first top ten Chinese hits election, which was an affirmation of Cantonese pop songs.

The heyday of the Hong Kong music scene

After the image of Cantonese songs improved, many lyricists and composers began to write some serious and artistic Cantonese songs. Several of the representative figures include Huang Zhan , Zheng Guojiang, Lu Guozhan, Deng Weixiong, Li Xiaotian and Gu Jiahui, etc. Cantonese songs have gradually become the mainstream of the Hong Kong music scene, and singers have also begun to demand packaging. As a result, many idol singers have emerged. Several representative figures include Xu Guanjie, Tsui Siu-fung, Luo Wen, Jenny Yen, Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, and Anita Mui. They all use the same image and packaging to break through and become popular. To the explosion of lights. That period was also the heyday of Hong Kong's music scene. People in mainland China and Taiwan also listened to Cantonese songs and even tried to sing them. Other singers such as Lin Zixiang, Chen Baiqiang, and Zhong Zhentao have fans in almost all Chinese-speaking regions.

Hong Kong band craze

Hong Kong had a band craze from 1986 to 1989. Record companies signed many bands to release albums. Representatives of the bands include Beyond and Tai Chi Band. In addition, there are many singers such as Michelle Yeh, Peng Ling, Lin Yilian, Guan Shuyi, Priscilla Chan, etc. At that time, there were many new talents in Cantonese pop music, such as Lin Zhenqiang, Lin Xi, Chen Shaoqi, Xiao Mei, etc.

The "Four Heavenly Kings" period

In the 1990s, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Liming and Aaron Kwok were dubbed the "Four Heavenly Kings" by the media. They dominate the Hong Kong music scene and monopolize the awards at the four major electronic media music awards ceremonies. Although Jacky Cheung dominated the entire music scene with his outstanding singing skills and became a music superstar in the 1990s, the phenomenon of praising idols rather than focusing on strength has begun to appear in the music scene. In addition, although Faye Wong and Sammi Cheng became music queens in the mid-1990s, they were not as powerful as the "Four Kings". The Hong Kong music scene began to be dominated by male singers until after 2000.

"K-Song" Culture

"K-Sing" is one of the Hong Kong music cultures in the mid-to-late 1990s. Since Hong Kong's pirated music flooded the market, Hong Kong's music scene has been in a downturn, causing record companies' income to plummet. Therefore, the record company cooperated with the karaoke group to release exclusive trial songs. In order to cater to the tastes of ordinary people, record companies will require musicians to use simpler music and repeat easy-to-remember lyrics when composing, making it easier for music fans to master the song. Most of the songs are mainly love songs and have become formulaic. Due to the need to cater to the needs of the market, the Hong Kong music scene has continued to be in a downturn, creating a vicious cycle.