Singing in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, Jacky Cheung is one of Hong Kong's national singing treasures. Holding the title of "God of Songs", Cheung is also considered one of the "Four Heavenly Kings", notably for his 1990s pop domination. Born Jacky Cheung Hok-yau on July 10, 1961 in Quarry Bay, British Hong Kong, Cheung's career-starting win at the Amateur 18-Hong Kong district singing contest in 1984, where he performed the song "Fatherland" (大地恩情) by Michael Kwan, led to a record deal with Polygram Records (now Universal Music Group). During the next three years, Cheung ascended to popstar heights but turned his focus to film towards the end of the 1980s. He made a fruitful return to music in 1991 with the hit song "Loving You More Every Day" (每天愛你多一些), a translated version of the Japanese Southern All Stars hit "Midsummer's Fruit" (真夏の果実). Cheung's 1992 albums, True Love Expression and Sparks of Joy, were a commercial success and in 1993 he released his fifth Mandopop album, The Goodbye Kiss, which sold over five million copies that year throughout Asia. From 1993 to 1996, Cheung turned in a string of success stories, wracking up multi-million album sales and a record-breaking 100-show world tour that prompted Time magazine to list him as one of the "25 most influential people in the New Hong Kong" in 1996. In 2000, Cheung released his first English-language album, Touch of Love, and he continued to release albums throughout the 2000s, including 2009's Private Corner, his first jazz album for which he coined the phrase "Canto-jazz". In March 2009, Cheung became the first Cantopop/Mandopop artist to contribute items to the Hard Rock franchise memorabilia collection. In 2012, he sang "中国节拍·震动世界", the cheering song of China for the 2012 London Olympics and in 2014, Cheung released new Mandopop album Wake Up Dreaming.
