In the winter of 1993, Emil first came to Hong Kong to promote his album. It was already dark when Emil and his crew arrived at a hill near "Running Horse." Standing on the hill and viewing the night scene, Emil pointed toward some houses and asked his crew: "What kind of music does Hong Kong really want? When will I be accepted by every Hong Kong family?"
Now after two years, it's safe to say that Emil has conquered Hong Kong, and wherever there is light, there is Emil. Instead of giving Emil the title "Fifth Heavenly King," or "Heir of the Heavenly Kings," they gave him an even more powerful title: "Heavenly King Killer."
Emil first came to Taiwan when he was 19 and after a while he'd basically considered himself a Taiwanese. Emil once said that Hong Kong was simply a place for him to travel and work. But everything has changed. Emil is now a superstar in Hong Kong. How he thinks of Hong Kong will likely change in time.
Emil Worth HK$20 MillionLast year, Emil conquered Hong Kong with the hit TV show "Single Pure Music Concert." Starting with that, Emil's Cantonese albums have been selling like crazy, and many movie producers are looking for him. Hong Kong media are calling him the "new rich man." They figure that Emil will earn about HK$20 million for the year, and there is even news that Emil will buy a house costing over HK$100 million in Taipei. One can see how well Emil is doing in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong: What Kind of Music Market?Will all that cash change Emil? "Before, when I saw how much money one could earn in Hong Kong, I did feel jealous." Emil, calling himself a "music guy," didn't like Hong Kong's music society: short-sighted about music, appearance is everything, no encouragement of new styles, a weak culture. These factors have nothing to do with Taiwan, yet it was such performers who had been taking over Taiwan's entertainment circle. And many Taiwan entertainers like Emil had begun to argue that "Hong Kong has no music," hoping to get an upper hand over the emerging Hong Kongers.
Then, Emil suddenly witnessed a miracle. Overnight, he himself became one of those top Hong Kong entertainers. After that, the sour grapes feeling lost its significance.
The transition gave Emil a new understanding. "In Hong Kong, the music market is very small," he says. Although Emil's albums sell extremely well in Hong Kong, the volume is not even a third compared to the sales in Taiwan. "But Hong Kong is the core of the entertainment market," Emil told us. In Taiwan, a singer can only earn income from the music copyright tax. On the other hand, there is money everywhere in Hong Kong: opening ceremonies, commercials, movies, and most of all -- concerts. "The Taiwan market is big," says Emil, "but in Hong Kong, I can earn double in a short time."
Heavenly Conqueror: Emil's ResponsibilityIs it only about earning money? Emil has set this goal for himself: by 1997, he wants to organize a Chinese market here. Emil's plan is to have every Chinese in the world use this resource to become a huge market. Emil proudly says, "This work is perfect for me!" For one thing, the language is no problem; for another, Taiwan and Hong Kong are very familiar to him, and people treat him like family.
"Hong Kong is a place for huge 'exports'." Emil has a special definition and usage for the word. "Take the Tiananmen Square incident: its occurrence, the media coverage, the outcry of support -- they were all started by Hong Kong. Isn't it scary?" Emil has the responsibility to build ties between Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. The thought of that task brings peals of laughter. Hong Kong calls that laugh "Emil Chau's building-buster laugh."
No Substitution for ChildhoodEmil once said that from birth to 20 years old he was Cantonese, and from 21 to 34 he has been Taiwanese. Hong Kong is strange to him, but now he returns again. Everything is different from the past. Emil says that Taiwan has given him memories of growing up, but Hong Kong has preserved his childhood memories.
"Those relatives, those neighbors cannot be found anywhere else." One can see that for Emil "returning" to Hong Kong is really a wonderful thing. Coming to the place where Emil grew up, one senses that Emil feels very close to his neighbors while at the same time not quite knowing how to express his feelings. In the car Emil often points happily to his old home and neighbors, but when he gets out of the car he tries to convince us not to venture too close to his old house. When the car drives by his old house, Emil gazes back at it for a long time. Emil seems a bit uncomfortable hiding his feelings in the presence of strangers. To lighten things up, he changes the topic. "It's funny, you know. After I got famous, I haven't had to visit all of my old friends and tell them how I'm doing," he says. "The media have taken over the job. Pretty funny, huh?"
Old Friends: To See or Not to See?The Emil we know is someone who can't hold back his thoughts. And this time is no exception. "When I came back to this place last time, I saw a classmate from elementary school," Emil whispers. "I hid behind a pole thinking that he must have seen me. I thought for a while, then I decided to come out and greet him. Wrong move -- he called everyone in the village to come and see the 'superstar singer'. Everyone rushed out chattering, bothering my family, giving us a hard time. Non-stop questions -- ah, it was bad!"
Emil is a very caring person. He says that when he sees his old classmates having their families and staying their whole lives in that small village...... and then he looks at himself.... and he looks at others..... Emil feels that not visiting would probably be the best thing.
A Guitar Brings Back the PastWhen Emil was 14 years old, his brother gave him a guitar he'd brought back from Taiwan. Typically a child who sings will jump and dance around. But little Emil rather blandly held the guitar to play and sing, in the style of Taiwan folk songs. Twenty years later, it's no child who plays and sings. Showing up at a TV show last week, Emil was asked to take his guitar and sing. Simply that, and the audience loved it, convinced that he's a rare and talented singer. Emil says he suddenly felt he was back in his past, a touching moment.
Emil thinks that "Hong Kong is too dull, too vacant, no choice. No matter what you do, there's no defining feature to separate an idol and a talented singer -- they are simply 'products'."
Emil will have a concert at the end of July in Taiwan, and then next year in Hong Kong. Emil went to check out the sports arena where his concert would be held. Thinking how he'd be able to perform at the most famous sports arena in Asia, Emil was ecstatic. "Am I dreaming? I'm going to have a concert here!"
Hong Kong is where Emil grew up, and it's the place Emil dreams of while he lives in Taiwan. It is also the place that Emil never dreamed of working. Yet suddenly, Emil became the oldest idol. The first married "dream lover," the fresh, pure song writer. Hong Kong has finally become Emil's "truest dream."
Thanks to Andy Liao for the fine translation
 |
