Twins are a Hong Kong

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Standard Cantonese, Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Standard Cantonese, Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to ...

duo that was created in the summer of 2001 by

Emperor Entertainment Group Emperor Group is a diversified group of companies founded by Albert Yeung in Hong Kong. Albert Yeung's father, Mr Yeung Shing, opened a watch shop named "Shing On Kee Watch Shop" in 1942, setting the business foundation.

(EEG). Twins are made up of two girls,

Charlene Choi Charlene Choi Tsoek-jin ( zh, t=蔡卓妍; born 22 November 1982) is a Hong Kong Canadian actress and singer. She is a member of Cantopop group Twins, along with Gillian Chung. Early life Choi was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ...

(蔡卓妍) and

Gillian Chung Gillian Chung Ka-lai (born Chung Tik-shan, 21 January 1981), known by her stage name Chung Yan-tung, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is a member of the Cantopop duo Twins, along with Charlene Choi. Early life Chung was born in Hong K ...

(鍾欣潼).Kar, Law. Bren, Frank. Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-Cultural View.

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda ...

(2004). Scarecrow Press.. pg 249. They are a popular group in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and a top band in

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...

. Their fanbase have included

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, Japan,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, Australia,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

and

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Their music was generally targeted at young teens, but in 2004 they began to attract a wider audience by venturing into different styles of music. In February 2008 the duo temporarily separated after the

Edison Chen photo scandal Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

involving Gillian Chung.. The group reunited two years later in 2010.Startribune.com.
Startribune.com
." ''Hong Kong actress in sex photos scandal reunites with Twins bandmate as her comeback continues.'' Retrieved on 2010-03-03. Since 2001, the group has released twelve

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

studio albums, four

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

studio albums, three extended plays, five compilation albums and four live albums. Most of their singles reached the top of many musical charts.

History

2001–2003: Debut and first albums

had also worked as a part-time model during one of her summer vacations in Hong Kong. Similar to her erstwhile partner,

was also a part-time model who had appeared in several

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

. She became famous after her participation in the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) television program ''Y2K''.EEGmusic.
EEGmusic
." ''Other information.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-09. Both caught the attention of EEG manager Mani Fok (霍汶希). They subsequently auditioned for and later formed the duo known as "Twins". Twins signed to

and were formed on 18 May 2001. According to Mani Fok, EEG's plan for Twins was to emulate the success of the Japanese duo

KinKi Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one ...

. In August 2001, they released their debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Twins'' (AVEP) with hit single "Open Love, Secret Love, Tutoring Institute". This EP contained 3 music videos and 6 songs. As part of album promotions, Twins collaborated with

MSN MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

to make personal pages and web games. In addition, EEG bundled gifts and coupons with the EP, so that teenage album owners got more value from their purchase by receiving things like hair care products and vouchers for dance courses. It went

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

in its first week of selling. In November, Twins released their second EP '' Twins' Love'', which contained 8 songs and 1 music video for the lead single, "Slam Drunking Love". In January 2002, Twins released their third EP ''Twins''. The EP contained one CD with five new songs, and a VCD, with 2 music videos. Since it was near

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...

, the single "Ma Bao 668" was a greeting song for Chinese New Year. In May 2002, Twins finally released their debut album '' Our Souvenir'' with two discs. Disc one, CD contained 10 tracks with single "Er Ren Shi Jie Bei". Disc two was a VCD, with two music videos. Their debut album (just like a debut EP) was a great success. In August 2002, Twins released second album '' Amazing Album'', consisted of two discs, CD with 11 songs, and a DVD with three videos. In 2002, Twins had their first concert ever, and three more in 2003 (which were held in Guangzhou). Between 2001 and 2003, the duo received a total of 72 total awards.EEGmusic.
EEGmusic
." ''Awards.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-09. By 2003, they have received a large number of awards from the four major Hong Kong media organizations of

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...

Commercial Radio Hong Kong Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK, , aka Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited is one of the two commercial radio broadcasting companies in Hong Kong along with Metro Radio Hong Kong. CRHK provides an array of entertainment, inclu ...

Metro Radio Metro Radio is an Independent Local Radio station based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to County Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. As of September 2022, th ...

and TVB. In April 2003, they released third album, '' Touch of Love''. It contained two discs, CD and DVD. Two months later, in June 2003, the second version of the album was released with a new single and its music video "Bian Bian Bian". The song was theme for their movie '' The Twins Effect'' and sung by Twins and

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

. With the brand new look, Twins released 1 disc 10 track fourth album named ''Evolution'' in September 2003.

2004–2005: Continued success with Cantonese releases, ''Singing in the Twins Wonderland'' albums and Mandarin debut

In 2004, Twins had released four volumes of their children albums ''Singing in the Twins Wonderland'', which were released for little children and it contained English nursery rhymes and stories. In January 2004, Twins released fifth studio album ''Magic'', consisted of eleven songs. It was called Magic to emphasise their new musical style and the theme of the album. The Twins' ''

Girl Power Girl power is a slogan that encourages and celebrates women's empowerment, independence, confidence and strength. The slogan's invention is credited to the US punk band Bikini Kill, who published a zine called ''Bikini Kill #2: Girl Power'' in 1 ...

'' was the Olympic-themed album released in June 2004. It came in a special edition package. Included are: Six mini posters measuring 15" x 20" Twins Effect 2 beverage coaster Lucky draw scratch-and-win card for the music VCD. Similar to their previous albums, this album was larger than usual, using a large cardboard book-like package to carry the AVCD and posters. There were six different colored fabric bands wrapped around the package. Included is the theme song for Twins Effect II, (Love Is Invincible, seventh track). In early 2005, Twins released their debut Mandarin album '' Trainee Cupid''. In June 2005, one year after the last Cantopop album, Twins released their sixth studio album ''Samba'' with the singles "Samba Queen" and "Pink Guitar". Their seventh studio album ''The Missing Piece'', was released in December 2005, after their album ''36 Stratagems''. They made a popular concert with the same name where they hugged each other and released a live/video album "Twins: The Missing Piece Concert". In December 2005, a rumour mentioned the splitting of the two singers. However, they attended the May 2006

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Asia Awards in

together. They were nominated for and won the ''Hong Kong Favorite Artist Award''.

2006–2009: Final albums, touring and disbandment

In June 2006, they released their second mandarin album ''

Around the World with 80 Dollars ''Around the World with 80 Dollars'' is the second Mandarin album by Hong Kong Cantopop girl group, Twins. It was released in June 2006 by EEG. The music video for "我很想爱他" (I Really Want to Love Him) features Taiwanese artist Danson T ...

'' which was a great success. Tracks "One Time Not Twice" and "I Really Want to Love Him" were nominated, and album ''Around the World with 80 Dollars'' won Top 10 Gold Songs at the Hong Kong TVB8 Awards, presented by television station TVB8, in 2006. The eighth album '' Ho Hoo Tan'' was released in September 2006. It consisted of a CD and a DVD with music videos. At the 2006 Hong Kong Entertainment Awards ceremony Choi tearfully acknowledged that there have been criticisms of the Twins' singing abilities and that she hoped that they could better improve in the coming year. In February 2007, they celebrated their sixth year together in the Hong Kong music industry. They released a special Sixth Anniversary New + Best Selection CD/DVD. In September of the same year, Twins embarked on a multi-city North American concert tour, with special guests Sun Boy'Z. International stops included

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, and Atlantic City.Yahoo.
Groups.yahoo.com
" ''Article.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-14. It was their first time performing on a major tour across several North American cities. In 2007, Twins released their ninth studio album '' Twins Party''. The album was a success. It was released in three versions: Twins version, Gillian solo version and Charlene solo version. Twins2007

In early January 2008, Twins won two major awards at the 2007 Jade Solid Gold Top 10. They earned the most popular group award as well as the most popular

Asia Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isl ...

region female artist award.Jade solid gold.
Jade solid gold
." ''2007 additional awards.'' Retrieved on 2008-02-18. That year, Twins released their third Mandarin and final album before their hiatus, titled '' Twins Language''. The group was dragged into the fray when Gillian was involved in the

. Her private images were among those which found their way onto the internet at the end of February 2008. With Gillian deciding to duck out of the public eye, Twins announced its "temporary dissolution" in July 2008. Charlene said she was highly optimistic that they would reunite some day in the future. On 16 January 2009, during a TVB interview on ''My 2008'' (我的2008), Choi talked about how she handled the media. During the 31st RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards hosted in January 2009, Choi said Twins would return.Sina.com.tw.
Sina.com.tw
." ''Twins要回來了！　阿Sa坦言沒有阿嬌不想唱.'' Retrieved on 2009-01-22.

2010–present: Reunion, ''3650'', ''2 Be Free'' and #LOL

Two years after the split, many wondered whether Twins had become a myth.Mingpao.com.
Mingpao.com
." ''Twins新蔡卓妍.'' Retrieved on 2010-03-04. In February 2010, Charlene Choi talked to the media about her experience in going solo. She summed up the experience by describing the name of her song ''"Two without one"'' (二缺一).Mingpao.com.
Mingpao.com
." ''Twins永不拆伙.'' Retrieved on 2010-03-04. She said that Twins was a symbol for their generation, and that they would never break up. On the night of 27 February 2010 the "EEG 10th anniversary concert" was held at

The Venetian Macao The Venetian Macao () is a hotel and casino resort in Macau owned by the American Las Vegas Sands company. The 39-story structure on Macau's Cotai Strip has of floor space, and is modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Vegas. It ...

luxury hotel. A number of singers were present including EEG and non-EEG representatives. Some notables include

Joey Yung Joey Yung (, ; born 16 June 1980) is a Hong Kong singer and Cantopop diva signed to Emperor Entertainment Group. Since her debut in 1996, Yung has won numerous awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer and Ultimate Best Female Si ...

Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he b ...

Leo Ku Leo Ku Kui-kei is a Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was named as one of the "Five Fresh Tigers of TVB". Caree ...

Vincy Chan Vincy Chan (born 16 October 1982) is a Hong Kong-Singaporean Cantopop singer. She began her singing career after winning 1st runner up at the 2005 New Talent Singing Awards and has since been signed with Emperor Entertainment Group. Her best known ...

William Chan William Chan Wai-ting (born 21 November 1985) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. In 2003, he participated in New Talent Singing Awards where he won several awards. He was then signed under Emperor Entertainment Group. He began his singin ...

Yumiko Cheng Yumiko Cheng (born 6 September 1981) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Cheng was given the Japanese nickname "Yumiko" by her friends in secondary school, and upon signing with EEG, adopted it as her official stagename.Tran, JennyYumik ...

, Anthony Wong and many more.Yahoo.com.
Yahoo.com
." ''英皇盛世10年騷紅白對決 Twins首度復合表演手心冒汗.'' Retrieved on 2010-03-03.

and

appeared on stage together for the first time in two years to do a small performance for the anniversary concert. They sang (風箏與風), (下一站天后), (女校男生), (飲歌), (戀愛大過天) and (人人彈起). A few days later on 3 March, Twins appeared in public at the Harbour plaza after parading around in a purple Porsche.Mop.com.
Mop.com
." ''Twins合体为下月个唱造势跑车接驾兴奋弹起.'' Retrieved on 2010-03-04. A public announcement was made that Twins would reunite to perform in a three-day "

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finlan ...

Twins 2010 concert" from 16 to 18 April at the

Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum, commonly known as the Hung Hom Coliseum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District. It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 2 ...

Hung Hom Hung Hom () is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hu ...

. The last time they performed at the same stage was four years previously.Mingpao.com.
Mingpao.com
." ''Twins 互擋緋聞有默契.'' Retrieved on 2010-03-04. In 2011, Twins released their comeback Mandarin album ''3650''. They released it as a celebration of 10th anniversary of their first project. The album had many covers, which were their photos (like "Our Souvenir" album cover) that were re-taken in 2011. In March 2012, Twins released their new, twelfth studio album titled ''2 Be Free''. Album contained one disc with ten new songs and a DVD with 3 new music videos. After their album ''2 Be Free'' was released, Chung and Choi focused on their solo careers again. Chung released two studio albums ''Vernicia Flower'' (2013) and ''Wholly Love'' (2014). Choi also released albums ''Montage'' (2012) and ''Blooming'' (2013). However, they reunited at 2015 Emperor Group Annual Celebration & Emperor Entertainment Group 15th Anniversary Ceremony on 1 February 2015 in Beijing, China. Twins performed in the Hong Kong Coliseum on the last day of 2015, as well as the first day of 2016 until 4 January. Their last performance was said to be filmed for their upcoming concert DVD and it lasted for 3.5 hours where their last encore was a full hour.

Apart from their singing careers, Twins have also been involved in a number of

. Companies covering all types of products have advertised with the pop duo with the first advertisement with Whisper (護舒寶) in 2000. Between 2001 and 2005 they advertised more than 10 products each year. Big name companies include

Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...

, Biore,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atla ...

, LG and many more.EEGmusic.
EEGmusic
." ''Advertisements.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-09. Twins have also been selected to promote several social campaigns in Hong Kong, such as summer activities for the "Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau" in July 2003.

Discography

;Cantonese studio albums * '' Our Souvenir'' (2002) * '' Amazing Album'' (2002) * '' Touch of Love'' (2003) * ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'' (2003) * '' Magic'' (2004) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

'' (2005) * ''36 Stratagems'' (2005) * '' The Missing Piece'' (2005) * '' Ho Hoo Tan'' (2006) * '' Twins Party'' (2007) * ''

2 Be Free Twins are a Hong Kong Cantopop duo that was created in the summer of 2001 by Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG). Twins are made up of two girls, Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍) and Gillian Chung (鍾欣潼).Kar, Law. Bren, Frank. Hong Kong Cinema: ...

'' (2012) * '' LOL'' Ep1/Ep2 (2015) ;Mandarin studio albums * '' Trainee Cupid'' (2005) * ''

'' (2006) * '' Twins Language'' (2008) * '' 3650'' (2011)

Filmography

Featuring both Charlene and Gillian:

Concerts

* 13–15 September 2002 ''Ichiban Amazing Show (Twins Ichiban 興奮演唱會)'' * 18–19 January 2003 ''Matsunichi Twins Guangzhou Amazing Show (松日Twins廣州興奮演唱會) '' * 25 June 2003 ''Tou Hao Ren Wu Chang Hao Music Concert (頭號人物唱好音樂會) '' * 2 August 2003 ''Netvigator NETCash Pop-up Concert ( 網上行叱吒樂壇Pop-Up音樂會) '' * 31 December 2003 – 4 January 2004 ''Matsunichi Twins 04 Concert (Twins 04 好玩演唱會)'' * 3 June 2005 ''Starlight Amusement Park Concert (Australia)'' * 4–7 January 2006 ''Twins Star Mobile Incomparable Concert (Twins 星Mobile 一時無兩演唱會)'' * 18–19 August 2006 ''Twins Concert in Genting'' Malaysia * 15 September 2007 ''Twins in Concert Cow Palace, San Francisco/Daly city'' * 18 September 2007 ''Twins Concert in Toronto at Casino Rama'' (我們相愛6年) * 22–23 September 2007 ''Twins Sixth Anniversary World Tour 2007 tlantic City(Twins 我們相愛6年環遊世界 ��西洋城��唱會)'' * 16–18 April 2010 ''Nokia Twins Everyone Bounce Concert'' (Nokia 舞樂作動 Twins 人人彈起演唱會) * 13 November 2010 ''Twins Everyone Bounce Concert Live in Macau'' (Twins 人人彈起 Concert Live in Macau) * 31 December 2015 – 4 January 2016 ''Twins #LOL #LiveinHK concert''

Photo albums

* August 2001 ''Twins Love the Colorful Travel'' 112 pages * November 2001 ''Twins 1+1 Photo Album'' 96 pages * August 2003 ''Twins Love Hong Kong'' 112 pages * December 2004 ''Twins Hold Hands Hong Kong'' 112 pages

References

External links

Twins EEG HK Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twins Hong Kong girl groups Cantonese-language singers Hong Kong Mandopop singers Cantopop musical groups Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Pop music duos Hong Kong idols Female musical duos