As the 1990s saw the pop industry grow and boom in Chinese mainland, the Canto-pop scene managed to rally from the late 80s' downturn. And so came the era of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Canto-pop. While Canto-pop was struggling to keep afloat despite growing waves of commercialism, Mandarin pop began to take off. More and more Canto-pop singers began to release Mandarin language albums, and open themselves up to a much larger market. Another exciting turn was that overseas-raised Chinese pop singers began to emerge. Asian-based stars began to perform songs in English, breaking into the western market. As Chinese pop music became more industrialized and international exchanges become more frequent, music styles became more diverse. With today's China Beat, we will look back at the development of Chinese popular music over the past thirty years, so don't go away.

In the early 90s, a number of Canto-pop stars decided to semi- or fully retire, which included Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Priscilla Chan and Joseph Koo. The Canto-pop industry needed new talent to fill the gaps left behind. So it came to the era of the "Four Heavenly Kings". In 1991, the four most renowned male singers in Hong Kong were identified and given the title. The Four Heavenly Kings, namely Jacky Cheung, 张学友,Andy Lau, 刘德华, Aaron Kwok, 郭富城, and Leon Lai,黎明, dominated all areas of media from magazines, TV, cinema and music in the early 1990s. The marketing scheme worked, and many fans choose their personal favorite.

(Goodbye Kiss)

Among the Four Heavenly Kings was Jacky Cheung, who eventually came to be regarded as the 'God of Songs' on the Chinese pop scene. Cheung has released more than 60 albums over the years. His Mandarin album "Goodbye Kiss," sold 5 million copies in 1993 alone, a record that remains unbroken to this day. The success of the album prompted many Hong Kong singers to begin releasing Mandarin albums, hoping to reach a larger market. The title track of the album, 'Goodbye Kiss' was later covered in an English version by Danish pop band 'Michael Learns to Rock'.

(Goodbye Kiss)

As an established actor, Andy Lau began his music career in the late 1980s, reaching stellar status in 1990 with the release of the album entitled '可不可以' or 'Would It Be Possible?'. His subsequent releases solidified his status as a marketable singer. And with over 100 albums and movies over the years, Andy Lau has become the biggest recipient of Canto-pop awards. His best-known songs include'一起走过的日子' , The Days We Spent Together, '爱不完' Everlasting Love, '忘情水' Forget Love Potion, and many more. The song we hear now is his smash hit 'Forget Love Potion'.

(Forget Love Potion)

Leon Lai was one of the first Canto-pop stars originally from the mainland. He attained superstardom in 1990 with his second release, 'Meeting in the Rain', or '相逢在雨中'. Leon Lai won the 'Most Popular Male Singer' award in 1993 and 1995 from TVB Jade Solid Gold. He has also won 'Song of the Year' four times. We are now listening to the title track of his smash hit, 'Meeting in the Rain.'

(Meeting in the Rain')

Dubbed as 'Hong Kong's Michael Jackson', Aaron Kwok is famous for his onstage dancing. In the early 1990s, a Taiwan motorcycle TV commercial gained him instant popularity and he burst onto the music scene with his now famous song 'Loving You Forever', or '对你爱不完'. The next few years saw his popularity reach fever-pitch, and he was soon ranked alongside the most popular artists of the time. Now let's get jazzed up again with Aaron Kwok's signature hit, 'Loving You Forever.'

(You Forever)

At the same time and also important to the era were Faye Wong, Sammi Cheng and Karen Mok, who successfully blended different musical elements.

(Fragile Woman)

Gifted with a beautiful voice, Faye Wong is an icon in the whole of Asia. She is regarded as of the most distinguished female vocalists in recent history. The media in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland often place the title '天后', or the 'Heavenly Queen' before her name. In 1992, Faye Wong became a household name overnight with her Cantonese version of the Japanese hit 'Fragile Woman', or '容易受伤的女人'. With a record 9.7 million copies of her albums sold as of March 2000, Faye Wong earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling Canto-pop female.

(Fragile Woman)

Sammi Cheng, (郑秀文) has enjoyed huge success in the Hong Kong music industry. After being famous in the 1990's, she was dubbed "new Canto-pop queen". In 1993, Cheng capitalized on the attention with a duet with artist Andy Hui called 'Do you really have me in your heart?', winning the 1993 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards. She then went through a complete 180-degree transformation, dying her hair orange and changing her style. Her new image suited her new style, and her following hits like 'Big Revenge', or '大报复', became her signature songs.

(Big Revenge)

The exotic Karen Mok has Chinese, Welsh, Persian, and German ancestries. She moved to Hong Kong and launched her singing career in 1993 with the hits 'I Say' and 'Love Yourself'. She has also starred in a number of films. Karen Mok's most famous song is a duet she sings with Zhang Hong Liang called 'Hiroshima, My Love', or '广岛之恋'. Her solo hits include 'He Doesn't Love Me', 'Radio Ballad', and 'Midsummer Fruitage'.

(Hiroshima, My Love)

The 1990s also saw the growth of Mando-pop in Taiwan. Talented singers and musicians like Jonathan Lee (李宗盛), Wakin Chau, (周华健) and A-Mei (张惠妹) helped to extend the Taiwan music scene to new heights. Teaming with Sandy Lam, Jonathan Lee wrote and produced many great hits of the 1990s, like the classic '伤痕' or 'Scars', which became one of the all time best-selling Chinese language albums.

As for Wakin Chau, he released more than 40 records in Mandarin, Cantonese and English and became a prominent name in Taiwan music. He has fans of all ages not only around Asia, but also in North America and Europe. His platinum albums such as 'You Make Me Happy and Sad' (让我欢喜让我忧), 'The Flowery Heart' (花心), 'Music Brings Us Together' (有弦相聚), and 'Emil & Friends' (朋友) have won awards in Taiwan, the mainland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

A-Mei was one of the most successful pop artists brought up with native culture in Taiwan. She released her first album, 'Sisters,' or '姐妹' at the end of 1996. Only two weeks after its release, it hit the radio airwaves and topped the charts where it remained for nine weeks. It became one of the few albums ever to exceed sales of a million copies in Taiwan. This feat made A-Mei one of the most significant overnight sensations in the history of Chinese pop music. And her second album, 'Bad Boy' did even better. With sales of over one million copies in Taiwan, it became the islands second biggest-selling album ever.

(You Make Me Happy and Sad) (Sister)

If the late 1980s can be considered the golden age of Cantonese Pop, then it was the late 1990s that was the golden age of Mandarin Pop. Artists that emerged in the mid-90s hit their stride a few years later, scores of new artists arose, and the release of Mandarin language albums became the standard for Hong Kong singers. At the same time, many overseas-raised Chinese pop singers began to emerge and Asian-based stars started performing songs in English. A Pan-Chinese pop music trend was taking its shape as the world moved into the 21 century. With next week's China Beat, we will continue to recall the evolution of Chinese popular music over the past 30 years. This is Zhong Qiu. Bye for now.