A dazzling show of lights, video and his best songs, Jacky Cheung’s ½ Century Tour proves a treat for his fans, diehard and new.
Contributed By Dawn Seow
CN PHOTO: Daniel Poh
Three hours pass quickly when you are not just watching an electrifying act comprising all-time favorite songs, well-choreographed dances and a spectacular musical enactment but also feeling every emotion the character is experiencing on stage. Yes, at 50 years old, Hong Kong’s “Heavenly King” Jacky Cheung still has the ability to keep his audience mesmerized.
The show—held in Singapore from Aug. 26 to 29—proved to be less of a concert and more of a performance. Cheung brought the audience on a journey to his past, remembering not just his songs but the events in his life as well.
The show opened with a musical that segued into a short film starring him and Hong Kong actress Shu Qi. This demonstrated Cheung’s accomplishment both as a dramatist and movie star. The sequence presented the love story of a boy and a girl, how they met, fell in love, got married and fell out of love. But there was a twist: the couple did not go their separate ways, but found forgiveness and fell right back into each other’s arms.
“Not every relationship will succeed, but if it lacks love and tolerance, it’s destined to fail.” These were the words that concluded the musical, reflecting Cheung’s personal views on love and relationships.
His fans witnessed his loyalty in a segment dedicated to his late godmother, comedienne Lydia Sum. To commemorate her life spent bringing joy to others, Cheung gave an unconventional tribute by bringing in colorful mascots that sang and danced to the fast-paced Cantonese song “Fei Jie,” which lyrics described Sum’s life. He even performed her signature act—a split—at the end of the song.
Hailed the “God of songs” in the competitive entertainment world, there is more to Cheung than talent and passion. Indeed, his perseverance, hard work and open-mindedness to new things as an artist have served him well. He has performed a multitude of genres, from rock music to the epic musical Snow, Wolf, Lake. His passion for music led him to create a jazz album Private Corner last year.
½ Century Tour was yet another fresh expression of Cheung’s creativity: playing a stage manager, he took the audience through jazz, blue, rock, Broadway numbers before finally performing his classic pop ballad. The audience enjoyed many surprises, including watching him emerge from behind an LED screen-turned-light screen, and watching him sing from a platform “levitating” in mid-air, amidst a never ending laser light show.
But through it all, what tugged at the heartstrings of the audience was not all that excitement, but the journey of the emotions in Cheung’s voice when he sang the classic ballads many fans grew up with. For someone who could memorize his songs before understanding any of them, this concert was not only a night of entertainment, but a night of reminiscence about my growing up years, a journey to my past.
