Hong Kong Cantopop Female/Male Duets Playlist: Love Songs

The days of the duets, where have they gone? I'm talking about good duets, of course - not you say something, then I say something then we all try to say something at once. Remember when Cantopop used to be filled with with a whole lot of duets - female/male, male/male, female/female, you name it. They even had a bunch of singers doing songs together, though this strictly wouldn't count as a duet. So I've been searching for female-male duets mainly and decided to come up with a playlist. I thought I should keep it to a magical number of 10, though I must stress that this isn't an exhaustive list of the Top 10 female-male Cantopop duets in history. It's just a playlist of 10 Cantopop male-female duets that I thought were worth listening to, so the order of songs don't necessarily mean I like this song better than that or whatever. It's more like a tracklist, rather than a singles chart but after all I've said I would have to say if I were to choose a female-male Cantopop duet as an all time No.1, then No.1 of the playlist would have to be it. Anyway, regardless of what I think, hope you enjoy!


Note: Playlist watchable on Youtube here and individual links for each featured video below. 
1. "You're the Best in the World" - Roman Tam & Jenny Tseng
One of the reasons why I like this number from Roman and Jenny is because this song is such an unconventional love song. Who would've known that combine an up-beat tempo and mix the "Hoo! Ha!" sounds from martial arts to make such a unique, one-of-a-kind love song? Well, I guess only Joseph Koo and James Wong could manage to pull this kind of thing off. And Jenny and Roman are simply two of the best singers that you could possibly put together. I just absolutely love how the male and female vocals go over each other so nicely, without any loss in meaning.

2. "Missing Each Other in the Wind and Rain" - Jacky Cheung & Karen Tong
This song was set to be one of those duets that were requested to be played over and over again in karaoke bars. It also won the award for "Best Duet" in the 1992 JSG awards, enshrining it's ever-popular status. This song about the longing between a couple who wish to see each other while being separated by a huge distance always leaves me with a sense of longing too - a particular empty feeling yearning for female and male duets like this one. Actually, I miss Karen Tong too.

3. "See You Again, My Friend" - Sam Tsang & Elaine Ho
1991 Miss HK contestant, Elaine Ho's pairing with singer Sam Tsang was actually quite a good combination, actually. A break-up song that lost to the above-mentioned Jacky Cheung & Karen Tong's "Missing Each Other in the Wind and Rain" in the 1992 JSG awards for "Best Duet", that actually makes use of layering the female and male vocals over each other, is what makes it very nice to listen to. The realization of not being able to save a relationship is what this whole song is all about. Kind of heartbreaking actually, but still quite prettiful as a song all the same - bittersweet, would be the word to describe it.

4. "Chance Meeting, Why Be Formerly Acquainted?" - Ram Tseung & Rita Carpio
I always find it really strange that Ji-Gwong was and is a man of many (overlooked) talents. He not only sung this song, but composed the track and wrote the lyrics for it too - and all this time, he's just been playing somewhat extra roles on TVB serials. He teamed up with Rita Carpio, who is probably most remembered for this song but was also runner-up to Anita Mui in the 1982 New Talent Singing Awards. Oh, this song took out one of the awards during the 1990 JSG Awards too - no disagreements with that.

5. "Modern Love Story" - Julian Cheung & Maple Hui
Perhaps the more memorable of Chilam's duets because I really don't remember much about the duets he did with Myolie Wu. This was the very song that propelled Chilam to stardom, was it not? Well, there you go. Looking at a recap (courtesy of llwy12) of Chilam's recent comeback concert, I would have to say that both Chilam and Maple have aged very well indeed. Maybe it's because they're very baby-faced. But that's not a bad thing.

6. "Believe in Yourself" - Alex To & Sally Yeh
A catchy pop song heavily inspired by the whole Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation movement. And by inspired, well I mean the actual composers of the song were American producers who were writing the song originally for an American artist. But you know, with these lyrics and undeniable catchiness, how can you say no to "Go Sally, go, go Sally go!" (or "Go Al!")? I for one actually enjoy how Cantopop would be influenced by the American pop and rock sounds, as well as music from other counterparts - namely Japan.

7. "The Heart is Cold" - Anthony Lun & Anita Mui
Anthony has sworn never to perform this duet again ever since Anita died - he did however, perform the song again at the 2010 JSG Awards last year singing to the 1991 JSG Awards video clip. I think Anthony must feel that no matter how many good singers come by, there will only ever be one Anita Mui. And I think he's right. Where do you find people like these two these days?  

8. "Goodbye Puppy Love" - Danny Chan & Sandy Lamb
Not to be confused with diva Sandy Lam - this little number was something that was quite popular during the day and age of Danny, I mean Elvina Kong chose it as her song to sing at the New Talent Singing Awards. Danny was one of those super-talented idols, a wonderful voice, great looks, talent to back it up (musician, singer and composer) so it was just too early to say goodbye to Danny when he never woke up from his coma.    

9. "Only Everlasting Love" - Jacky Cheung & Cally Kwong
This is just one of those great chemical reactions that suddenly explode to make something nice. Jacky's low, rich baritone voice along with Cally's ever-so-feminine singing voice makes for a classic love song. I mean, Jacky's already appeared once in this list but the thing is he's got quite a few great duets with other female artists (as pointed out by retrotvb) - like Priscilla Chan and Vivian Lai (who sadly don't really make many appearances anymore) and that would mean having to extend this list. And this would be just for Cantopop duets. Imagine if I put in his Mandarin duets too. Pretty long playlist. But yes, Jacky's a versatile performer when it comes to singing duets - especially with the ladies.  

10. "Fall in Love" - Leslie Cheung & Elisa Chan
Like I already said, many famous songs in HK pop music in the past were the   products of great Japanese compositions. However, this cover of Akiko Kobayashi's "Koi ni Ochite - Fall in Love" works really great as a duet. Elisa's solo parts are very charming indeed. Leslie was also one of those real superstars who's untimely death left a hole in the heart of many of his fans. He was definitely an all-rounder, one of those people with the whole package - a great actor, singer, an undeniably handsome performer.

Highlight: 1994 Anniversary Song Time!

This medley celebrating the last 28 years (it was '94) of TVB theme songs and TV shows is definitely one of my favorites from the whole anniversary show. I'm so glad I have this on tape and have been able to preserve it, using the power of technology. It was the last performance for the show so I think they were wrapping things up (like a summary or timeline) - saving the best for last. The performance consisted of Hacken Lee, Vivian Lai, Ekin Cheng, Linda Wong, Dicky Cheung, Gigi Lai, Leo Ku, Nnadia Chan, along with former lovebirds Andy Hui and Sammi Cheng. There were also 'guest appearances' from: Adam Cheng, Felix Wong, Paul Chu, Liza Wang, Bryan Leung with Roman Tam singing at the end too. I've chucked a tracklist of the songs covered just below the clip - enjoy!

Note: There are some audio skipping issues with the video - seems to be a problem with WMV (Windows Media Video files). Will see if I can upload using a different format and hopefully that'll fix the problems. 

Solos:

1. "Shanghai Bund"/上海灘 (Theme from "The Bund"/上海灘) 

2. "Wild River"/狂潮 (Theme from "Wild River"/狂潮) 

3. "The Giants"/強人 (Theme from "The Giants"/強人) 

4. "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly"/網中人 (Theme from "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly"/網中人)

5. "A House Is Not A Home"/家變（Theme from "A House Is Not A Home"/家變)

6. "Thousands of Knots in My Heart"/心有千千結 (Theme from "Thousands of Knots in My Heart"/心有千千結)

7. "Hard to Divide the Good and Evil"/難為正邪定分界 (Theme from "You Only Live Twice"/飛越十八層) 

8. "Using Love to Steal a Heart"/用愛將心會偷 (Theme from "The Shell Game"/千王之王) 

9. "Swearing to Never Back Down"/誓不低頭 (Theme from "The Final Verdict"/誓不低頭) - 

10. "Meaning of Life"/一生何求 (Theme from "Looking Back in Anger"/義不容情)

Duets:

1. "Love is Warm Inside the Heart"/爱在心内暖 (Theme from "The Misadventure of Zoo"/流氓皇帶)  

2. "You're the Best in the World"/世間始終你好 (Theme from "Legend of the Condor Heroes"/射鵰英雄傳之華山論劍) 

3. "The Romantic Swordsman"/小李飛刀 (Theme from "The Romantic Swordsman"/小李飛刀) 

4. "Purple Hairpin"/紫玉釵 （Theme from "The Legend of the Purple Hairpin"/紫釵記)

5. "Forget About Us in the Smoky Waters"/兩忘煙水裡 (Theme from "The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"/天龍八部之六脈神劍) 

Last but not least:

"A Promising Future"/前程錦繡 (Theme from "A Promising Future"/前程錦繡) 

My 2¢ & Extra Notes: 

- I particularly like this segment from the whole anniversary because all the singers featured show us how it's done, with excellent song choice and arrangements done all for the purpose of this medley.  

- Nnadia's rendition of "Using Love to Steal a Heart" is really quite impressive indeed, even though she already proved to us that she really could sing when she entered that Sally Yeh impersonation contest when she was just 14.  

- Then they do the whole duets thing and that just kills me (in a good way, of course!). 

- That, and Linda actually sings the duet better than the original (compared to  Louise Lee who sung with Adam Cheng in the series).

- Totally just proves that Vivian is definitely more than just another pretty girl singer with her take on Roman Tam and Jenny Tseng's "You're the Best in the World" with Ekin. That song is all about good timing, power vocals and having a trusting partnership with your singing partner. That, and Felix looks  really smart and handsome in his suit :)

- Actually No. 3 for the duets would be better literally translated as "The Small Flying Dagger of Justice". As a side-thought, I can see why Gigi earned the title "Goddess of Beauty" during her career and I always wonder how Dicky still had a full head of hair at the time. 

- I also prefer Leo and Nadia's version of "Purple Hairpin" over the original version by Liza Wang and Adam Cheng, actually. 

- I'm pretty sure that's Miss HK 1994 Halina Tam sitting next to Run Run Shaw in that chair.

- LOL. Just watch Sammi's expression when Bryan comes out. Bet she didn't expect that. :D

- And Ekin's mentor Roman Tam appears at the end too, singing another one of his well-known theme songs.

Video credits: taqfiles.blogspot.com

Snippets: "Love In Singapore"

I was looking through my old collection of VHS tapes that I had converted into digital format and I found this one "Love In Singapore" (戀戀獅城), a travel/love-story program that featured Jacky Cheung, Kevin Cheng, Grasshopper (yes, all 3! - brothers Remus and Calvin Choy along with friend Edmond So), Lawrence Cheng, Halina Tam, Shirley Kwan, Linda Wong and Vivian Lai. Thought I'd share this opening snippet and blooper reel just for old times sake. There's a rough translation (underneath each clip) of the dialogue and what goes on during the clips - enjoy!

-Video quality is something I am working on but it has a lot to do with Blogger compressing the videos; will see what I can do- 

Jacky Cheung: [getting manhandled by security and too busy trying to put his jacket on to say anything]

Vivian Lai: [ Some guy in background: "I thought you all would…"]

Linda Wong: [fan asking for autograph: "Can you please, Linda?"]

Calvin Choy (Grasshopper): "Aiyah!" 

Lawrence Cheng: [dancing around Karen] "Let's play." [Singing]: "Scared that we'll have to be face-to-face…"]

Karen Tong: [laughs]

Halina Tam: "Am I pretty?"

Kevin Cheng: [points at the camera]

Film Crew Member to Karen Tong: "Let's do another take, how about it?" 

Remus Choy (Grasshopper): "…I go to the gym-

Shirley Kwan: "I'm Shirley Kwan, this year I'm 15 years old!"

Edmond So (Grasshopper): [sitting on a ladder]

Vivian Lai: "Stop filming me, okay?!"

My 2¢ & Extra Notes: 

- LOLOLOL. Shirley is so cute! :D I think she said she was 15…though it could have been 12 (Note to self: go check my hearing). Well, whatever. Shirley's still so adorable :D

- And Vivian, ever so pretty and funny trying to be angry at the camera.

- Linda is very tall (and pretty). I actually saw her recently on TV as a special guest audience member /supporter at Vivian Chow's concert and she still looks just as pretty. On a side-note, William Chan butchered Vivian Chow's "A Fabricated Love in Your Head" (自作多情) as a duet. Why couldn't he just leave the song (and Vivian) alone?! I'd be much happier to see Linda sing solo or with Vivian.  

- And I think that lady standing in the dark was Karen…or was it?

- And even after all these years, Kevin is still an actor with TVB, being cast in B-grade dramas, with virtually no real standout roles and no improvement in his singing. He basically has no color to his voice - I can see (well more like hear) why he failed as a singer.

Lawrence: [Slurred] Whatever you do, don't give that back to me.

Jacky: He knew that our financial circumstances at home weren't really that good but still paid for us.
Karen: Oh...so he's actually your savior. Have you repaid him for his help yet?
Jacky: I haven't even finished talking yet...
Karen: [Pause]...You haven't finished yet?!

Jacky: ...couldn't do anything - Let's start over.

Karen [to Lawrence]: Hey bro, this isn't a tea-house, if you want to go drink tea you need to go to a proper tea house and do a police search...tea [cracks up]

Linda: Singapore has one hotel that's 73* storeys high. Talking about hotels, it's the tallest one in the world.
Lawrence: [making fun of Linda] Yes, it's 73 storeys high.

Vivian: I'm going to go outside and arrange the flowers first...[all the girls burst into laughter] Just looking at her...

Vivian: Really?
Linda: Always crying like a ???..and scared of [Vivian starts laughing then all the girls do]

Crew member: Can't do it...[laughs]

My 2¢ & Extra Notes:
- It's funny because everyone just laughs and leaves poor Lawrence by himself.
- Haha, I like how Karen pauses for sometime before asking Jacky that question even though she didn't wait for him to finish his lines.
- Jacky's little dance at the end.
- Karen's so cute. She took her lines too fast and ended up saying the wrong thing. Tea-house for a police search? LOL.
- * Linda messed up when she said '73', saying the '10' part really quite strangely. And Lawrence mocks Linda by mimicking her exxagerating her mistake to the '3' as well. LOL. Linda resorts to chopstick hitting Lawrence. 
- I like Vivian's look, nudge, nudge, look again at Linda and run-away before everyone just gives into the laughter.
- Actually, I have no idea what Linda was trying to say here. Crying like a perverted devil? (Guys, I need some help here. I tried finding this scene in the actual show but I couldn't find it - maybe a cut scene? Who knows. So I really don't know whether it's just Linda saying something strange or my translation skills going downhill, or both). But I like how Linda always just starts laughing and starts hitting things when she has an NG take.
- Remus trying to carry Shirley? And he said he goes to the gym. 
Video credits: taqfiles.blogspot.com

Hong Kong's Classic TV Theme Song Playlist: Based on a Tracklist

Okay, so I made a playlist and typed out all the song titles and artist names in English (or English romanization at least) until BAM! I accidentally hit the delete key, which ripped off half my document. Damn, I knew I should've kept that back-up. Oh well, mental note for next time. Anyway, this really isn't so much a playlist but a tracklist from a covers CD of HK TV theme songs. I mean just look above. Pretty much all the shots are from "The Bund", which is slightly misleading, I guess. And if you told me that Kent Tong was gonna be bald 20 years ago, I would've just laughed myself silly.

Note: No. 12 from this list of  clips won't be in the video playlist above since the uploader has disabled embed tags, but you can still watch the others. To watch the whole thing on YouTube click here, otherwise you can just watch the playlist above and/or click on the individual links below for each video. 
1. "Shanghai Bund" - Frances Yip (Theme from "The Bund") Okay, every good artist has a signature song and for Frances Yip, this was it. Being created by partners-in-crime composer Joseph Koo and lyricist James Wong, coupled with the power chords of Frances Yip and being tagged onto a historical TV drama was a recipe for instant success. The songwriting duo once mentioned that no one could ever sing this song like Frances Yip, and that no other voice could be more suitable. I do not beg to differ. 
2. "All Kinds of Sentiments" - Frances Yip (Theme from "The Bund") Apparently, this was another award-winning hit from Joseph Koo and James Wong from "The Bund". This song is just another example of an epic masterpiece which makes use of a dramatic beginning that captures the attention of the audience. Frances Yip places all the right type of emotions in all the right places. She really is a powerhouse when it comes to belting, yet she has a lot of control over her voice when nothing more but a gentle whisper is needed. 
3. "The Brothers" - Roman Tam (Theme from "The Brothers") This rather doting song about familial love (which is closer to the literal meaning of the song title) is really something different to the standard romantic love songs offered to us on a silver platter. Roman always stressed the need for clear pronunciation when singing and stood strong with his beliefs; sending us a message as clear as a bell. 
4. "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" - Teresa Cheung (Theme from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly") This song definitely brings flashbacks of Chow Yun Fat and Carol "Dodo" Cheng's characters from the series. There's no wordy-yet-meaningless lyrics here, just good old-fashioned simple lyrics that really hit straight to the heart, with a slow, haunting but beautiful melody that builds up and winds down to give you something more than a lot of songs produced today ever could. Sometimes less is more.    
5. "Sandwich Man" - Adam Cheng (Theme from "Sandwich Man") Although another composition from the legendary music heavyweight Joseph Koo, this song doesn't really stand out as one of his more memorable classics. Sure, the song may be up-beat and sung by Adam Cheng but I seem to remember more about the short series (it was only 20 episodes long) and the untimely death of Barbara Yung (who starred in the series) and had such a short career in the limelight.
6. "You're the One Who Decides to Love " - Jenny Tseng (Theme from "The Radio Tycoon")

This was one of those catchy, up-beat theme songs which happened to work. Well, worked for me anyway. It's easily recognizable with its opening "Sha-la-la-la" chorus-like sounds at the beginning of the song.

7. "Heart Debt" - Anita Mui (Theme from "Soldier of Fortune")
Another classic from a gone-but-not-forgotten singer, Anita Mui. When Anita went into the studio to record this song, James Wong and Joseph Koo were worried that she might not be able to get the song right, being a newcomer that had just passed 18. However, being the super-talented singer she was, she only did one take for the recording and got it right the first time.

8. "Wilderness Entraps Heroes" - Johnny Yip (Theme from "Dynasty")
This was actually featured in ATV's series starring Michelle Yim and David Chiang quite some time ago. Meaning about 20+ years ago. But it's really catchy.

9. "People in the Shadows" - Michael Kwan (Theme from "People In The Shadows")
Actually, I wouldn't note this in my personal favorites or anything but it's just on the tracklist and for completeness, I thought I should include it. It actually sounds like it would be an exciting song with the dramatic entry which slows down. It's not a bad song but I just don't find it that interesting either. And the fact that it's supposed to be a song linked to a drama that's got to do with triads and underground societies, it should really be more exciting.

10."Reincarnated" - Michael Kwan (Theme from "Reincarnated")
Yes! That's what I'm talking about. Those catchy theme songs that are used for Wuxia/Mohap series'. You know the type. The type that Michael Kwan was particularly good at singing.

11. "Gone With The Wind" - Johnny Yip (Theme from "Gone With The Wind")
This song really isn't my cup of tea, as you could probably tell. It's just too leisurely for me (pace-wise and lyric-wise). Like a stroll in the park.
Or like leaves floating in the wind. I guess that's what the song title and the song sounds like.

12. "Walk With Me Through Wind and Frost" - Teresa Teng (Theme from "The Family")
I actually like this one theme song featuring the late but great Teresa Teng who was known for her sweet but melancholy voice. Her voice in my opinion fits really well with the song, like a match made in heaven. I suppose the song title would be closer to the figurative meaning of wind and rain equalling hardship than frost, but the emotion's all there, in the song.

13. "Hard to Endure Parting Tears" - Adam Cheng (Theme from "In Search Of")
Yes, I'll admit I think that Patrick Tse (father of bad boy Nicholas Tse) was one of those actors who had a lot of stage presence. And this song by Adam Cheng, who has sung many, many theme songs really added to the whole show.

14. "Aiming High" - Willie Fung (Theme from "The Emissary") 
A police-themed series using electric guitar riffs and whatnot. Oh this series had Andy Lau in it too.

15. "Turning Into All Kinds of Hate"- Ying-Hung Lau (Theme from "Reincarnation")
I very much like the original of this song and I highly doubt that many of the singers in TVB today could even sing a verse of this song without screwing up.

16. "Tear Drops on the Journey" - Annabelle Lui & Michael Kwan (Insert Song from "People in the Shadows")
Oh a duet, a duet! Yes, I get excited over duets mainly because they just really don't make duets like they used to do. And no, Annabelle and Michael aren't married…haha, but the way I typed their names made it look that way.  Ah, Annabelle Lui. She was a pretty good singer but somehow she didn't really get as famous as she ought to have. And I don't see how the theme song was chosen over this insert song because this one is clearly better.