20-08-22

Writer Pawan Mishra pointed out a kind of special celebrities, “He was one of those who are not born handsome, but develop charming features with age by continuously engaging their brains with intelligent thoughts.” It was said that there are 2 kinds of talent: man-made talent and God-given talent. With God-given talent, you just touch it up once in a while. With man-made talent, you have to work very hard to react. Hong Kong’s top singer Hins Cheung(張敬軒) was underrated when he came to Hong Kong about 20 years ago. His slow process—two steps forward, one step back—gave his both talents a solid foundation that now supports his powerful stardom.

Performing stars are not trained by the traditional route of university. Taking part in concerts, playing in bands, working with other artists and creating noise on social media are the tough apprenticeship that a singer must go through. While they do all these, they need a great mentor who can smell the talent within them, than what they see in themselves, and give the opportunities to bring it out of them. Hins Cheung(張敬軒) is the natural born mentor in the entertainment industry who is actively helping other younger stars. All the young artists in Hong Kong regard him as their big brother and ‘social worker’. He is a natural leader who has truthful relationships with colleagues, fellow singers, co-workers and even fans. He offers sincere smiles. He enjoys working with other artists, visual or performing, young or old and pop or classical. He communicates amiably on social media with the adolescents. He shares his life experience and candid beliefs on equality issues. Hins is authentically himself, despite harsh criticisms against him, and never masquerades as someone else. In Hong Kong, Hins is the rare singer who is also a spiritual KOL who provides example, viewpoint and direction for the young singers and people in Hong Kong

Born in Guangzhou of China in 1981, Hins’ dream since his childhood had always been to put on music to liven things up. He gave up studying and became a pop singer. In 2002, he came to Hong Kong to look for the new road to success. Life under the new conditions was not easy. His pocket was once empty and he had to work as an assistant in a radio station. He was initially a gigantic loser but quitting was the last option for him. Finally, he overcame hardships and in less than 2 decades, he became a great opinion leader of benevolent value, that may be more amazing than his singing success.

Before, superstars tackle or endure life alone. In the internet age dominated by social media, they have to learn how to provide on a daily basis the attractive marriage of ideas and personal life, and such talking points must also be considered by fans to have a relation to their own lives. I remember watching an online video made by Hins himself telling the story of how a nosy neighbour intruded into his house to check out his private life. The drama embraces the funny experience that we collectively share. Singers can no longer relay messages through their managers. They have to stand out publicly and monitor the best ways of interacting through social media to engage their fans, enhance their career and ultimately build up their personal stardom.

His recent 26 concert shows in Hong Kong Coliseum came as a delightful surprise: as songs continued, Hins mingled cleverly with his band and audience around the stage. He uttered a lot of quotable quotes on the stage. He said, “The most unbearable thing for a kid is the accusation that he is not honest.” He also said wittily, “Fans should not put up banners and placards disturbing other audience. I have already got ready a big joss-paper burner for making them disappear!” “Think about it,” Hins said, “when we look back and learn, life usefully finds its own way out.” People laughed, screamed and sang because of the excitement over the charisma of this superstar. The stage design, without a hitch, was very fascinating. Creative props changed and tied into each song but were consistent with the overall theme.

Hins Cheung and my great concert producer friend Alex Fung(馮貽柏) are the best team for making unforgettable concerts. Alex said, “In Hong Kong, due to budget constraints, we could not make the very expensive concerts. We do try to put art elements into a concert to make it respectful, tasteful and trendsetting!” Hins levelled with us, “If stage machines are not occasionally out of order, our concert will be unbeatable!” Alex produces innovative concerts one after another.

The recent acts of pertinence of Hins are to make an unexpected backstage visit to a young rapper Tyson Yoshi and attend an ordinary school concert to give the students encouragement. For Hins, his good daily activities are surely more powerful than any front-page ad.

No audience nowadays will be impressed with how good a singer is if he cannot express his personality and use it to capture the audience.

There is a theory known as ‘situational leadership’. There are some successful leaders who are good at knowing how to apply quick ideas to lead according to the situation especially on handling topical issues. The stars who try to sing very hard without following the good engagement skills of Hins Cheung is building with one hand, but pulling down with the other. There is no free lunch on earth. There is however an inexpensive way, because of social media, to grab a sandwich by creating viral contents! Nothing is worse than passivity in the modern days.

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