原創雙語 原文刊於2016年5月26日信報英文版
Sounds good: Cantopop still riding a melodic tide
Eason Chan Yik-shun (陳奕迅) is now on a sold-out concert tour with gigs in some of the largest domes and stadiums across mainland China.
Tickets were snapped up almost instantly, and latecomers must turn to touts and pay a hefty markup, but as any fan of the Cantopop icon would say, his shows are worth every penny.
陳奕迅又在開騷吸錢了。
從Eason's Life到Another Eason's Life，從紅館到倫敦O2到曼哈頓中城到臺北小巨蛋再到國內三十城各自最大場館，每場都是黃牛載道歌迷搶飛人人自拍打卡，結尾了還不停encore大合唱賴著不走。
So, it’s somewhat baffling that while scrambling for tickets of the Hong Kong superstar, Chinese groupies say Hong Kong’s seminal Cantopop tunes have long been drowned out by K-pop or mainland productions.
Isn’t Eason’s cult following the proof of the ascendancy of Cantopop, the quintessential emblem of Hong Kong’s softpower?
但為何好多人一邊瘋搶陳醫生的門票，一邊嘆息粵語歌早死了這年頭誰還在聽？難道這又是國人「嘴上說不要，身體卻很誠實」的表現？越來越長膘的陳胖子，不正身體力行示範粵語歌活得好好的麼？
A video of Eason’s electrifying solo, with no back-up dancers or any stunts, at K-pop’s most prestigious awards ceremony, the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), went viral on social media as enraptured South Koreans, most of whom don’t speak Cantonese, all joined in the chorus.
He also sang a cappella a Cantopop song when receiving an honorary doctorate from Kingston University in London, his alma mater.
陳醫生在2014韓國流行樂MAMA頒獎禮獻唱《浮誇》，獨自佇立，沒有舞伴，不賣性感，一人KO一眾韓星，氣勢震懾全場，視頻在網上瘋傳許久。
他在美國加拿大澳洲開個唱繼續唱粵語歌，在母校英國Kingston大學領取博士學位時清唱《天下無雙》。
Hong Kong boasts a magnificent lineup of heartthrobs and pop idols whose popularity reaches far beyond the city’s borders and the Cantonese-speaking region.
Faye Wong (王菲), Sammi Cheng Sau-man (鄭秀文), Miriam Yeung Chin-wah (楊千嬅), Joey Yung Cho-yee (容祖兒), Kelly Chen Wai-lam (陳慧琳), Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (謝霆鋒), Karen Mok Man-wai (莫文蔚) and so on are still household names across Asia for their exalted stature in the pop music world. And even the late Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (張國榮) and Anita Mui Yim-fong (梅艷芳) are still beloved for their enduring charisma and dulcet tones.
你會說香港十幾年都只有陳奕迅。
沒錯，香港正處於一個很壞的年代，但它絕對沒有死。粵語歌也一樣，現在的旋律，不過是低音迴旋。
沒錯，現在還講王菲楊千嬅容祖兒鄭秀文莫文蔚，現在還聽哥哥Beyond，是多麼的out，都什麼年代了，大家可沒時間懷舊。
是不是粵語歌就像蓋茨比，如果他死了，沒人會去參加他的葬禮，因為所有賓客都很忙，他們還要去趕下一場派對呢。
但等等，新派對裡，不也有GEM方大同陳偉霆吳若希嗎？當然，你會說他們現在唱國語歌多過粵語歌。
Hong Kong singer-songwriter Gloria Tang Tsz-kei (鄧紫棋), better known as G.E.M. (an acronym for get everyone moving), is now leading the resurgence of Cantopop, garnering delirious followers, particularly in the mainland, after the 24-year-old topped pop reality shows and contests north of the border.
But you are considered out of sync with the latest wave of Cantopop if you think that, other than these big names, the industry is stuck in a succession gap.
The fact is that we have more singers who are ready to tread the boards.
They include Hins Cheung King-hin (張敬軒), now in the heyday of his career; Denise Ho Wan-see (何韻詩), a versatile pop diva who is vocal about democracy and LGBT rights; Juno Mak Chun-lung (麥浚龍), who set a record when nine of his tracks made their way onto Apple’s iTunes chart of top 10 downloads as his new album swept the city last year; and Kay Tse On-kei (謝安琪), whose fluid songs, nostalgic with a distinctive local consciousness, like her magnum opus Wedding Card Street (喜帖街), often top the local music charts, and whose latest single, Hillwood Road (山林道), became a sensation after it was sung in a band performance by sailors from the US Navy.
你可能已經與粵語歌脫節了，如果你覺得除了北上走穴綜藝秀搵快錢的，留守本地樂壇的歌手只剩寥寥可數的老一輩。
去了香港發展這麼多年的張敬軒，他水準精湛的粵語歌大碟，你聽過幾張？
記得何韻詩嗎？她的磁性中低音，獨特又熟悉，從《木紋》到《似是故人來》，從《露絲瑪麗》到《再見露絲瑪麗》，樂風別具一格，先前一直叫好不叫座，直到近年事業漸漸風生水起。Denise還是貨真價實「藝德雙馨」的歌手，gay and proud，勇敢出櫃為同志發聲，甚至參與民主抗爭。
你也肯定聽說過Juno麥浚龍。去年他的《耿耿於懷》《念念不忘》《羅生門》三部曲，講述一個連成一線的痴情漢故事，全城loop回放，Juno拿獎拿到手軟，甚至iTunes store港澳歌曲下載top 10中有9首都來自Juno。
還有數首歌唱到街知巷聞，愈加當紅的謝安琪。
應該沒人不熟悉《喜帖街》，「好景不會每日常在，天梯不可只往上爬」。灣仔那條販印喜帖的老街早就被清拆，但幸好還有她的歌。阿Kay的最新單曲《山林道》（就是尖沙咀那條有「小蘭桂坊」之稱的酒吧街），也是有關香港本地風物，卻紅到連美軍第七艦隊樂團都要翻唱，再次印證glocal的道理，在地的即是國際的。
而且別忘了，林夕黃偉文雷頌德林一峰，幾位妙筆生花的詞曲大腕還值創作盛年。
粵語有九種聲調，音韻複雜，填詞譜曲比只有四聲的國語更難。但粵語詞曲若譜得好，可以在其他語言群體裡都膾炙人口，中文幾大語系中，也只有粵語能做到。
There are promising stars in the younger generation, whose works are now widely available on Apple Music, Spotify, KKBOX and Moov.
近三年粵語歌壇有不少新人嶄露頭角，他們多為創作型歌手，粵語英語俱佳，在AppleMusic/Spotify/KKBOX/Moov幾大串流平臺都有他們的作品。
如果你對粵語歌還有些念想，你必須要聽下面三位。
Singer-songwriter Agatha Kong (江海迦), also known as AGA, has been creating quite a stir since her 2013 debut with her sultry voice, R&B sensibilities and catchy lyrics. Half-Hongkonger and half-European, she’s also produced several English songs.
2014年才發第一張EP小碟的AGA江海迦可能是下一位粵語歌天后，出道前後的經歷可以寫成一篇勵志雞湯文。
AGA曾在中環Peel St的酒吧駐唱，為李克勤連詩雅吳雨霏寫歌，陳奕迅開場旁白的成名曲《一加一》去年也在電臺熱播到起耳繭。
她作曲以節奏藍調（R&B）見長，聲線清澈，3月剛推出首張個人專輯《Ginadoll》，專輯名是她患癌去世的家姐的Instagram用戶名。其中收錄一首《若》，是獻給家姐的歌，林夕填詞，曲調悠揚低回，聽到眼溼。《One day at a time》《認》《哈囉》《問好》也會讓耳朵上癮。AGA是香港美國西班牙混血，不少歌都有粵英雙版本，英文歌好到Time Out雜誌都撰文推薦。
Acoustic duo Robynn & Kendy, who both started overseas as amateurs, have been gaining popularity following an initial hit on YouTube. Robynn was part of a university band, while Kendy did her fair share of busking on the streets of London. Their albums feature ukulele, crisp a cappella, brand-new takes on classic Cantopop and original ballads accented with gentle melodies and a touch of sensuality.
雙人組合Robynn & Kendy是粵語歌界的小清新，兩人學霸出身，畢業於西北大學和倫敦政經學院，課餘玩音樂，在youtube上傳翻唱作品，a cappella清唱大獲宅男好評，旋即便籤約環球唱片。
不久Robynn的顯赫家世被人起底，Kendy原來也來自banker世家。但屌絲們先別慣性標籤人家成功靠父蔭，這個世界就是有出身比你好還比你更拼的人，至少你得承認，她們的歌的確很動聽。
在參加好聲音之後，她們推出第四張專輯《Picturesque》，其中《月湖》《Not just another girl》《小說伴咖啡》幾首，ukulele吉他伴奏，音色輕柔，適合偽文青裝腔。
Indie band My Little Airport has also shot to fame. Critics say the twee-pop duo’s bittersweet pop musings have become one-of-a-kind anthems for a disenfranchised generation. Over the years, the two journalists-turned-singers have touched on the city’s social woes in their irony-laced and politically charged vignettes, both in English and Cantonese.
They now have fans from outside HongKong and have proven their knack for commercial success even with their dissident take on the society: five performances at KITEC in Kowloon Bay in October grossed huge revenues as fans crowded the venue and scalpers reportedly sold tickets at a 60 percent markup.
Indie獨立組合My little airport，是徹頭徹尾的異見分子，混跡非主流許多年，在國內及臺灣小眾圈都頗有名（或者聲名狼藉），音樂大多關於性、開房、政治醜聞、失業、代溝、跨代貧窮，廢青宅男們一聽就有共鳴。
如果你代入不了《介乎法國與旺角的詩意》《我想我的AV女星》《憂傷的嫖客》《I don't know how to download good AV like Iris does》《Leo, are you still jumping out of windows in expensive cloths》《Donald Tsang（前特首曾蔭權的洋名）please die》《The OK thing to do on Sunday afternoon is to toddle in the zoo》等等太魔幻的曲調和粵英法夾雜的夢囈唱法，也有《Ah Fan》《See you there》《Josephine's shop》《Dee, it may all end tomorrow》這些常規又好聽的短曲。
My little airport對主流音樂向來不齒，但當他們的演唱會都出現黃牛和南亞排隊黨時，他們在商業上已經成功了。在一模一樣的情歌外，不妨試下他們重口味但其實又很純真的鹹濕。
就像他們在《菊花的味道》裡唱道：每一分每一刻你我都步向衰老，還要堅守什麼純潔的信徒，如未真的試過這奇異的喜好，又如何確定它的不好？
Cantopop has never been merely about the local market of 7.3 million people.
Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces have a total Cantonese-speaking audience of no less than 100 million.
In addition to Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries have for long been another home base for Hong Kong singers.
There are also more than 10 million Hong Kong and Guangdong expats and their descendants in Canada, Australia and the United States who proudly share the same lingua franca.
The combined market for Cantopop far exceeds that for K-pop.
That should be the basis of the confidence of stakeholders and groupies in the future of Cantopop.
粵語歌從來都不止香港這個730萬人的袖珍市場。廣東廣西福建三省粵語人口近億，臺灣新加坡大馬也向來是第二主場，在英美澳加的華埠Chinatown，粵語依然盛行於省港移民和後代族裔。
這應該是香港粵語歌不會死的理由。
Contact me at frankchen@hkej.com
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