One of the artist i admire, Leslie Cheung.
Anyone who exposed to cantonese pop culture in the 80's ( i did, even though i was still a kid) would know this name. I used to hate him when i was a kid because he was the greatest rival to my then idol - Alan Tam. I did it in such an extends that i tried to avoid listening to his songs or watch any movie stared by him, i remember spending much of my childhood time, listening to Alan Tam's cassette over and over again, until and i could memorized the lyrics and learn the cantonese word even when i was 4-5 years old. ( only if i knew how to utilize those time for more beneficial activities...)
Then came the 90's, when both of the singers slowly moved out of mainstream, as many had switched their attention to the famous 4 heavenly king era, Leslie Cheung made a come back and created an instant impact with his ‘94 blockbuster “ 金枝玉叶”，co-starred by Anita Yuen and Carina Lau. Though the real talking point of the movie was the eye catching performance of the then young actress Anita Yuen, the movie's theme song "追” sing by Leslie quickly became big hit and remains as one of the best cantonese love song of all time.
Then came the 90's, when both of the singers slowly moved out of mainstream, as many had switched their attention to the famous 4 heavenly king era, Leslie Cheung made a come back and created an instant impact with his ‘94 blockbuster “ 金枝玉叶”，co-starred by Anita Yuen and Carina Lau. Though the real talking point of the movie was the eye catching performance of the then young actress Anita Yuen, the movie's theme song "追” sing by Leslie quickly became big hit and remains as one of the best cantonese love song of all time.
This movie and song completely changed my impression of Leslie Cheung, from a from a good looking but useless singer to a talented actor with a very good voice. His vocal range was average for a singer, some may think his song lack dynamic but to me is just feels right and peaceful (And because of this, i like singing his songs in Karaoke cause my vocal range is low too).
To say he made a successful comeback with this movie in 94 is a bit untrue, cause i later found that he never really "went away" because he remained active in the movie industry. While he puts his singing career on hold, he participated in a string of good movies ( not necessarily a blockbuster hit) that received great reception from the movie critics, such as "阿飞正传” and “霸王别姬”.
Well, what eventually happened to this legendary star was rather sad. On April fool eight years ago, i was studying ( chit-chat-ing)in library with my classmate, my Nokia 8210 vibrated, it was a SMS stating Leslie Cheung committed suicide, he jumped down from a hotel room. I laughed it off with my friends because it is lame to believe in things like this especially during April fool. Well... the news that shock the chinese community on the next morning confirmed the sms was not a prank at all.
As a music and movie lover, i think his departure still remains as a hole in the both industry. He's the kind of actor or singer who could still pull it off even when age kicks in. God knows how many more of great movies and songs would be produced if he still alive and kicking till this day. But nevertheless... like many others legend, his early departure was no doubt a steroid to his legendary status...
To say he made a successful comeback with this movie in 94 is a bit untrue, cause i later found that he never really "went away" because he remained active in the movie industry. While he puts his singing career on hold, he participated in a string of good movies ( not necessarily a blockbuster hit) that received great reception from the movie critics, such as "阿飞正传” and “霸王别姬”.
Well, what eventually happened to this legendary star was rather sad. On April fool eight years ago, i was studying ( chit-chat-ing)in library with my classmate, my Nokia 8210 vibrated, it was a SMS stating Leslie Cheung committed suicide, he jumped down from a hotel room. I laughed it off with my friends because it is lame to believe in things like this especially during April fool. Well... the news that shock the chinese community on the next morning confirmed the sms was not a prank at all.
As a music and movie lover, i think his departure still remains as a hole in the both industry. He's the kind of actor or singer who could still pull it off even when age kicks in. God knows how many more of great movies and songs would be produced if he still alive and kicking till this day. But nevertheless... like many others legend, his early departure was no doubt a steroid to his legendary status...
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