Jacky Cheung

Jacky Cheung arguably qualifies as the single most important pop star in Asia during the 1980s. Coming of age in Hong Kong, Cheung's listening taste drew him to romantic soft-pop balladeers from the West, such as Barry Manilow, and he modeled his vocal stylings after artists in this bracket as well. Cheung's breakthrough year arrived in 1984, when he impulsively decided to enter an amateur singing contest and won first prize, beating out thousands of other hopefuls. That, in turn, yielded an exclusive contract with Polygram, and made Cheung a regional superstar; from 1984-1987, he struck gold with a series of bestselling recordings, though by 1987 his popularity began to wane. He fully rebounded thanks to two accomplishments: a successful collaboration with megaproducer Michael Au (that yielded the colossal hit album Love You a Bit More Daily) and a series of appearances in Asian films that began in 1988, such as Eighth Happiness (1988), Will of Iron (1991), Wong Kar-Wai's Ashes of Time (1994), and Peter Ho-Sun Chan's Perhaps Love (2005).

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide