Happy Birthday, Jacky Cheung: as Hong Kong singer and actor turns 62, his career highs, from an acting award on his movie debut to a Guinness World Record

At the age of 62, the ‘God of Songs’, as Hong Kong singer and actor Jacky Cheung Hok-yau is known, is about to embark on the next leg of his ‘60+ Concert Tour’
Highlights of his career include an acting prize for his debut film role, a record-breaking world tour, and being named ‘bestselling Asian artist in the world’

Cantopop

Nicole Tan

Published: 4:15am, 10 Jul 2023

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Named the world’s bestselling Chinese artist for two consecutive years and with numerous other accolades to his name, Jacky Cheung Hok-yau has earned his place as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Cantopop.

The “God of Songs”, who has also starred in several movies, celebrates his 62nd birthday today, July 10. As he embarks on the next leg of his “Jacky Cheung 60+ Concert Tour”, we look at some of the highlights of the Hong Kong singer and actor’s Cheung’s career – one that has spanned close to four decades.

‘The Goodbye Kiss’

The baritone singer dominated the Cantopop and Mandopop music scenes in the 1990s, shooting to international fame with his 1993 album The Goodbye Kiss. Featuring 10 songs in Mandarin Chinese, the album made Cheung the first non-Taiwanese singer to win Taiwan’s Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year.

Cheung at Hong Kong Commercial Radio’s Ultimate Song Chart awards presentation in 1996 at the Hong Kong Stadium. Photo: SCMP

Four million copies of The Goodbye Kiss were sold in 1993. At the time, Sony Music Asia’s then-president, Richard Denekamp, said Cheung probably sells “more albums in China than any other artist signed outside the country”, according to Billboard.

The album’s title track has since been covered by musicians such as Taiwanese singer Jay Chou and China’s Hu Yanbin – formerly known as Anson Hu.

Cheung performing at a “30-hour charity famine”, a fundraising campaign in Hong Kong in the 1990s. Photo: SCMP

International recognition

Cheung was recognised in 1996 and 1997 as the bestselling Asian artist in the world by the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The Billboard Music Awards similarly named him the most popular singer in Asia in 1994.

A Guinness World Record

Cheung’s fame was immortalised with a Guinness World Record in 2012, awarded to him for having the largest combined audience for a live act in 12 months.

Cheung celebrates his 62nd birthday on July 10, 2023. Photo: Instagram/@fridayomusic

The “Jacky Cheung ½ Century World Tour” in 2010 saw him perform for over 2 million people in more than 100 live concerts in 61 cities.

Cheung breaks into the film industry

In 1988, Cheung starred in Wong Kar-wai’s directorial debut, As Tears Go By. The then-27-year-old portrayed triad member Fly, a role which won him the best supporting actor prize at the 8th Hong Kong Film Awards in 1989.

Alex Man Chi-leung (left) and Cheung in a still from “As Tears Go By”. Photo: SCMP

John Woo Yu-sum’s ‘Bullet in the Head’

Two years later, Cheung played the role of Frank in the critically acclaimed Hong Kong action film Bullet in the Head.

The movie revolves around Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Waise Lee Chi-hung’s characters as they flee to wartime Vietnam to pursue a life in crime.

Cheung, Waise Lee Chi-hung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from “Bullet in the Head”. Photo: SCMP

Cheung and Karena Lam Ka-yan in a scene from “July Rhapsody”. Photo: SCMP

Ann Hui On-wah’s ‘July Rhapsody’

In 2002, Cheung starred as the main character, Lam Yiu-Kwok, in Ann Hui On-wah’s July Rhapsody. He was nominated for several awards in Hong Kong and Taiwan, including best actor at the 2002 Chinese Film Media Awards, the 2002 Asian Film Critics Association Awards, and the 2003 Golden Bauhinia Awards.

That same year, the singer released his 14th album in Mandarin Chinese and also appeared in Taiwanese miniseries Love Scar.

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