Behind the Banner: History

So you may have been wondering for some time now - who are the pretty women and dashingly handsome men that make up your banner?

Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out. Nah, I'm just kidding.

I'd be happy to tell you - these were all snapshots that I took from videos featuring these artists so let's get the cat out of the bag and on with the show!

No. 1 - Anita Mui
If you haven't already realized (or perhaps you're just new) I've mentioned the woman dubbed as the "Madonna of the East" many quite a few times, already. But this part of the welcoming banner was taken from her amazing performance of Paula Tsui's "The Windy Season" during the first ever New Talent Singing Awards in 1982. Okay, okay, I've actually posted the whole video for the 1982 NTSA contest but if you didn't see that, then at least choose to see this. It's pretty much the take-home message of the whole contest.


No. 2 - Elvina Kong
Okay, another lady like Anita Mui. I'm talking about Elvina's uncanny talent for being able to imitate Anita's voice and mannerisms perfectly. Well, this isn't of that but it is another NTSA clip - 1985. Yes! She was a contestant. She didn't win that year (Alex Delfino did) but I think just about everybody knows her as Diana from TVB's Best Selling Secrets and maybe you know of her Anita Mui impersonation skills from watching Fun with Liza and Gods or from those 2 old TVB series' (From Act to Act and Show Time Blues) starring Wayne Lai imitating Roman Tam and Cutie Mui singing like Sammi Cheng.

P.S. Hehe. I like how Tony Leung jokes about wanting Elvina to meet up with him when she's older before she takes the stage. Anyway, I present to you an 18-year-old Elvina Kong singing Danny Chan's duet with Sandy Lamb "Goodbye Puppy Love" (they were watching too!). I like how her contestant number matches her age.

No. 3 - Deric Wan
Yes, it's Gallen Lo's younger brother from Golden Faith! I actually really liked him in that role - he played the part perfectly. All the right dashes of humor here and there - all so convincing. Ah, I really wished that they made more TVB series like those back in the days. But actually this next clip is a trailer for the drama Conscience that aired during the 1994 TVB Sales Presentation. This drama also starred Maggie Siu and Amy Kwok as female leads.


No. 4 - Aaron Kwok
I must say though I'm not really a fan of Aaron, I must say that he looks quite cool in this shot. Why? This was probably because they used to put much more effort into their performances instead of just wearing a shower cap and flailing around on stage. Yep, he was actually competing not only for the title of Dancing King but for the judges and audience's approval at the 1994 TVB Anniversary for best performance act that night. Obviously he didn't take that prize, not because his performance was bad (it was actually very nostalgic of the late Michael Jackson) but Liza Wang's "Enchanting Pink Lady x Hot Coffee" performance was what topped the charts that night.


Note: You used to be able to find this video here but not anymore since…you'll find out if you go there. Issues with TVB. If people are watching your old things more than your new stuff, you've seriously gotta change your strategy. Oh and as a side note, please give credit to taqfiles.blogspot.com if you choose to repost the videos that are uploaded onto here (not the ones from Youtube, Youku or Tudou) since I do spend a reasonable amount of time editing the videos.  

So there you have it, the Big 4. Hope you enjoyed that roll of videos - more to come onto your plate.
Video credits: lovemui (youtube.com), 菊残犹有傲霜枝 (youku.com), taqfiles.blogspot.com

It was acceptable in the 80's...and it still is!

Okay, okay. You're probably still wondering why I've been so crab-appley when it comes to Cantopop (well, basically the whole HK entertainment industry). Well, I think the saying "A picture is worth 1000 words" fits the bill perfectly. Well, actually that would mean that videos would be worth like a million words. But enough of that nonsense.

Let's take a look back into NTSA. The year? 1982. So, kick back, relax and watch some of HK's finest TV history. Thanks to the uploader of this video, although it took me awhile to work out that the embed tags do actually work fine without the Iframe codes. Okay, I lied. It needs the Iframe codes .

If you haven't seen this, I do really encourage you to because not only did Hong Kong gain find a superstar to shine through the 80's but you'll totally understand why I've said that contestants who didn't even win were much better than those who did win in the more, uh, recent competitions. It was all about song choice, presentation and more importantly, talent.

The judging panel was also much stronger. The fact that there was a good mix of singers, composers, songwriters and singer-songwriters really shows balance. They even had Shinji Tanimura, famous for doing enka music (particularly well-known for his piece "Subaru" (星/Star), which was also covered by songbird Teresa Teng), perform and act as judge.

Well, anyway, enjoy!
The 1st New Talent Singing AwardsVideo credits: ～舞影～ (youku.com)