Young talented singers joined the entertainment industry in Hong Kong expecting to accomplish and get a lot, but many came away empty-handed. Why?
Most of it is down to luck and timing. Do you get the right manager? Do you sing the right song? Do you present the right image? Can you keep up with trends? Are you constantly learning, using new tools and participating in new events to give yourself a wider option of things when career is difficult? Can you generate new idea? Ultimately and fundamentally, can you not give up? There are of course other factors besides luck and timing.
King Maker 全民造星 is a TV talent quest and survival show created by ViuTV in Hong Kong. The program is also a ‘reality show’ which exhibits how the contestants talk and behave behind the screen. It is now the season 5 of the popular series called King Maker V. All contestants are male this time. The auditions were held in Hong Kong, Canada and Malaysia. They have solo, solo in band or sing together. The fact that they could also dance, act or play music will be a plus. While the adjudication process ending up with 10 finalists fighting for a championship is clear, the assessment criteria are pretty obscure, if not perplexing. A judge said, “I look for his potentials.” Another said, “Charisma is more important.” Someone said, “Personality and behaviour are what I care!” One even said, “I only look for the quality of his show per se.” The most astonishing comment is this, “You have tried very hard in the past and in the light of your age, I want to give you a chance!” There was apparently no marking scheme for the contestants to be aligned. The show is created by jumbling together bits of amusing ideas. All are up into a heap—but this entertainment show is more than entertaining . It is in fact an impressive catalyst and rainmaker for the present show business depression in Hong Kong.
The most successful boy band MIRROR, incubated by the program King MakerⅠ,emerged at the perfect time in Hong Kong when our show business was extremely down. As pointed out by columnist Luisa Tam, “A recent Hong Kong phenomenon has gone from seemingly innocuous to downright scandalous. A significant portion of the local female population seems to have fallen under the spell of Canto-pop boy band MIRROR. The 12-member ensemble rose to fame through a reality television talent show…They have taken a bit of everything from other successful artists and bands to create a formulaic-albeit winning-combination. Their music bears a strong resemblance to K-pop and their fashion style is a mix of Korean and Western, with a touch of Hong Kong flair…MIRROR’s golden opportunity came at the right time, after Hong Kong experienced two years of political and pandemic chaos. The city has a burning hunger for something positive, energetic and, most importantly, apolitical.” The Group earned millions of dollars for the TV station and itself. Does fame bring success or success bring fame? It does not matter. Money and popularity are the end result. Every economic revival in the entertainment history of Hong Kong, is always the achievement of a few people becoming so successful that they drive up the whole industry and spread our city’s cultural influence to Asia.
Singing competitions are a modern-day version of gladiator fights. Usually, winners take it all. A young man can however improve a great deal by competing with other singers. The challenge will give him the motivation to give his best performance. Even if one does not win, he will get good exposure at a singing competition. Competitions can also result in lower self-esteem and unhappiness for some when they lose the game. In the program of King Maker V, People including contestants, tutors and judges all cried a lot—for victory or defeat. We used to think tears are a sign of weakness. Writer Carl Sandburg once said, “Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.” The more the boys know about life in future, the less they will cry. The contestants in King Maker V are not flawless but they generally do well. Their weaponized energy is out of our expectation.
King Marker produced some bright stars but quite a number of singers from there failed too. The champion in King Maker V is finally Lyman (香胤宅). Success as a musician is not down to talent and luck only. Mindset, hard work, perseverance, courage, personality…all of these are what will shape successful artists. It is naive of some artists to expect fame and success overnight. One will not succeed over and over again but failure knocks on the door non-stop.
We all have to invest in our career and the way to do it is to treat our job as a lifetime business and handle it professionally. For music business, you have to show people, always, that you have exceptional talent and will not put out below par products. The critical factor is whether you have on board in your music career a very strong team. Initially, you can handle everything yourself but if you want to take things to the next level, you will need to line up with good people especially the music and marketing professionals to help you out. They will do it either because you pay them well or you are great, worth their effort.
If you choose music as a career, you will have to take risk. The quickest way to get into the music industry is to appear in a singing contest. Or else, you are not going anywhere. Competition is always a good thing. It forces you to know your weakness and mistake. Competing is being against yourself—it is all about self-improvement and how you can be better than the day before.
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