History
2002–2005: Boy'z
Boy'z was formerly a Hong Kong Cantopop duo that consisted of members Kenny Kwan (關智斌) (born 30 December 1980) and Steven Cheung (張致恆) (born 10 November 1984). The duo was formed around June 2002 by the Emperor Entertainment Group as the male version a year after the female Cantopop duo Twins was formed. Boy'z has released 3 EPs and two albums. Their debut EP, La La 世界 (La La World), was released in 2003.
They were based on another Hong Kong popular prefabricated duo, Twins, who was also formed by Emperor Entertainment Group. Boy'z received main roles in films such as The Death Curse (2003) and PaPa Loves You (2004). They were cameos as robbers in Jackie Chan's film New Police Story (2004). As their popularity grew, Boy'z gained their starring roles in the film, 6:00 AM (2004).
On 13 January 2005, it was announced that Boy'z would be splitting and disband as early plans and Kenny Kwan would continue his career as a solo artist. In February 2005, Dennis Mak (麥子豪, born 7 May 1987), top 5 finalist of the EEG Singing Contest 2004, who was originally planned to have a solo career, will continue Boy'z with Steven Cheung. The duo's popularity went down after Kenny left, mainly because they have not released any recorded material since then. Dennis and Steven were arranged to train in dancing and gymnastics. Then, they were spotted by a management company in Japan and wanted to sign them but their manager did not release them.
2006–2009: Sun Boy'z
On 26 June 2006, winner of 2003 International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship – Hong Kong Regional Finals, William Chan (陳偉霆, born 21 November 1985) joined the group and Boy'z was eventually renamed as Sun Boy'z. They released their first single called "Tic Tac Toe" shortly before June 2006, from their self-titled debut EP. This EP included the song "拜金小姐" which was sung and performed by only Dennis and Steven because the song was recorded prior to William joining the group. Therefore, the Mandarin version of this song, "好時代", had William on lead vocals completely. The group made a sudden street performance on 3 September 2006.
In early 2007, Sun Boy'z recorded the cover version of the song "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas called "由夢開始" for the Hong Kong version of "Meet The Robinsons". On 2 January 2007, the group released a new music video and song "3+1=1". The song features former member Kenny Kwan and the title's meaning is referring to the four of them always being together as one, even though Kenny is no longer a member of the group. This song is on their greatest hits album All For 1, released on 22 March 2007. The album includes the best of Boy'z and Sun Boy'z songs along with 3 new songs. After having success in the cantopop music scene, their record company EEG decided to have them turn to mandopop and a new Mandarin album titled 初次約會 (First Date) was released on 17 December 2007. They have been promoting the new album in the Guangzhou and other parts of China since the release of the new album.
Their duet song "大不了 (No Big Deal)" along with a music video they recorded alongside labelmate Yumiko Cheng, was released on 1 February 2008 in Yumiko's album titled 超模 (Super Model). As Boy'z with Steven and Dennis, they had recorded about 3 unreleased songs, one of the songs is "拜金小姐" which they had performed live on several occasions. And as Sun Boy'z, they have released one self-titled EP and two albums up to date since 2006 with the newest album being a Mandarin album focusing on their Mandarin speaking fans.
They had done 3 advertisements, had a cameo in the film McDull, The Alumni (2006) and main roles in The Haunted School (2007). On 14 August 2006, a 45-minute-long music video titled Say Goodbye...Luisa from Isabella Leong's album Say Goodbye...Luisa (雪 再見) was released starring Isabella Leong and Steven Cheung while William Chan only had a guest appearance.
In April 2008, there have been rumours spread that William Chan would be separated from Sun Boy'z and go solo. It has been confirmed that William will begin to pursue a solo career and only appear publicly with Sun Boy'z once in a while. After William Chan left the group, Sun Boy'z became a cantopop duo with only Steven Cheung and Dennis Mak. It was officially confirmed in December 2008 that Sun Boy'z will disband with Dennis Mak leaving the entertainment industry. The reason to this decision is because he has decided to study Hotel Management in Switzerland. In the meantime, Steven Cheung, William Chan and Kenny Kwan would continue to pursue their careers as solo artists.
2010–present: Boy'z reunion
In 2010, Boy'z (Kenny Kwan and Steven Cheung) appeared on stage together in EEG 10th Anniversary Concert. In 2011, they released a new single together titled "Ready to Go".
Twins are a Hong Kong Cantopop duo that was created in the summer of 2001 by Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG). Twins are made up of two girls, Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍) and Gillian Chung (鍾欣潼). They are a popular group in Hong Kong and a top band in mainland China. Their fanbase have included Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, United States, Vietnam and Philippines. Their music was generally targeted at young teens, but in 2004 they began to attract a wider audience by venturing into different styles of music. In February 2008 the duo temporarily separated after the Edison Chen photo scandal involving Gillian Chung. The group reunited two years later in 2010.
Cantopop is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hong Kong popular music from the middle of the decade. Cantopop then reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s before slowly declining in the 2000s and shrinking in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974. In the 1980s, Cantopop reached its highest glory with fanbase and concerts all over the world, especially in Macau, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan. This was even more obvious with the influx of songs from Hong Kong movies during the time.
Jacky Cheung Hok-yau is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the "God of Songs", his accolades include the World Music Award (1996) for “World’s Best-selling Asian artist”, the Billboard Music Award (1994) for “Most Popular Asian Singer”, and a Guinness World Record for the largest combined audience for a live act in 12 months. In 1999, Cheung was honored by Junior Chamber International as one of the Ten Outstanding Young People in the World. He is the best-selling music artist of all time in Taiwan and Hong Kong with album sales exceeding 25 to 60 million records worldwide. Known for his vocal delivery, Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music, and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture.
Priscilla Chan Wai-han is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer. She is renowned for her contralto singing voice and her maturely clear, technically skilled, and emotion-rich vocals.
Joey Yung is a Hong Kong singer and Cantopop diva signed to Emperor Entertainment Group.
Beyond was a Hong Kong rock band formed in 1983. The band became prominent in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Mainland China, and Overseas Chinese communities. The band is widely considered as the most successful and influential Cantopop band from Hong Kong. In 1993, leader Wong Ka Kui, died at the age of 31 after an accident during the filming of a show at Fuji Television in Tokyo. Beyond continued to perform and record after Wong Ka Kui's death. In 2005, the remaining members Paul Wong, Wong Ka Keung and Yip Sai Wing decided to pursue their own solo careers, and Beyond officially disbanded.
Gillian Chung Ka-lai, known by her stage name Chung Yan-tung, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is a member of the Cantopop duo Twins, along with Charlene Choi.
Eason Chan Yick Shun is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He is one of the most popular and influential singers in both Cantopop and Mandopop. Besides holding the record for winning the "Ultimate Male Singer – Gold" award and "My Favorite Male Singer" award at the "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation" in HK, he is also holding the record for being nominated for and winning prestigious Golden Melody Awards "Best Male Mandarin Singer" in Taiwan. Chan was ranked sixth in the 2013 Forbes China Celebrity Top 100 List. Chan was the most-streamed artist in Hong Kong on the Spotify music streaming platform from 2016 to 2021. Since joining UMG, Chan has amassed over 75 billion streams across various platforms by 2023. He is No.3 on the list of Spotify Global Top Mandopop Artists of the Year, 2023.
Shirley Kwan or Kwan Suk Yee is an influential Cantopop singer from Hong Kong. Kwan first shot to fame in 1989 with the hit, "Happy Are Those in Love" (難得有情人) and was widely popular throughout the early to mid-1990s. She is noted for her distinct, whispery vocal style and known equally for singing mainstream ballads and more alternative songs. She announced her retirement from music industry in April 2020.
Steven Cheung Chi-hang is a Hong Kong singer. Steven Cheung was a member of the Cantopop duo, Sun Boy'z from 2002 to 2006, where William Chan joined in and the group was renamed Sun Boy'z. It was officially disbanded in December 2008.
Kenny Kwan Chi-Bun is a Philippine-born Hong Kong singer under the music label Emperor Entertainment Group. He was born in the Philippines but grew up in Hong Kong.
The Twins Effect II is a 2004 Hong Kong action fantasy film directed by Corey Yuen and Patrick Leung. The film is a sequel to The Twins Effect (2003), but has a completely different story from the first film. It starred Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung of Cantopop duo Twins in the leading roles. Co-stars include Donnie Yen, Daniel Wu, Edison Chen, Wilson Chen, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Qu Ying, Fan Bingbing and Jim Chim. Jackie Chan also makes a cameo appearance, along with his son Jaycee Chan in his acting debut. The film's original English working title was The Huadu Chronicles: Blade of the Rose and its US DVD release title is Blade of Kings.
Krusty is a Cantopop music group formed by Jan Cheung and Chucky. The group was created by the Hong Kong music production company Silly Thing in 2005, and is characterised by its outstanding dancing skill, bright and upbeat melodies and cute appearance. Probably because of that, the group received a considerable number of commercial and advertising contracts in its first year. Clients in 2005 alone included Panasonic, Esprit, Coca-Cola, Levi's, Sunday, Beauty Square, California Red Karaoke, Puma and 2% ODF.
All About Boy'z is a Hong Kong television series released in the year of 2003.
Where the Legend Begins is a 2002 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB. The series is based on the life story of Zhen Fu, a noble lady who lived during the Three Kingdoms period. It contains embellishments from folktales about Yan's romance with Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. The series was first aired in Hong Kong on TVB Jade from 24 June to 26 July in 2002.
Chor Lau-heung is a Hong Kong wuxia television series adapted from the first three novels in the Chu Liuxiang novel series by Taiwanese writer Gu Long. Adam Cheng starred as the titular protagonist, Chor Lau-heung. The series was first broadcast on TVB on September 3, 1979. The 65 episodes long series was divided into four parts: The Legend of Mo-fa (無花傳奇), The Great Desert (大沙漠), Legend of the Divine Palace (神宮傳奇) and The Final Battle (最後一戰).
Swing is a Hong Kong musical duo that was founded in 1999. The members are Eric Kwok and Jerald Chan. The group was formerly known as "Snowman". Their best known work is "1984" and "A ticket in half" (半張飛).
New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre is a Hong Kong television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. The series was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in 1986.
Crimson Sabre is a Hong Kong television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel Sword Stained with Royal Blood. The series was first broadcast on TVB in Hong Kong in 2000.
A Moment of Romance II is a 1993 Hong Kong action romance film directed by Benny Chan and starring Aaron Kwok and Jacklyn Wu. It is the second installment of the A Moment of Romance trilogy, featuring a new storyline. The film is followed by a final installment, A Moment of Romance III (1996), with producer Johnnie To taking the helm as director and features the return of Andy Lau, the star of the first installment.
