HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Leon Lai Ming SBS BBS MH ( zh, 黎明; born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, singer, film director, and businessman. He is one of the " Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. He uses his Chinese name "Lai Ming" or "Li Ming", which literally means "
dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
".


Early life

Lai was born in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. He is of
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
ancestry,ent5.cn.yahoo.com.
ent5.cn.yahoo.com
." ''黎明简介 .'' Retrieved 31 May 2010.
his family was originally from Meixian. He migrated with his parents to Hong Kong at the age of four. At the age of 15, he attended Christ College in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, but returned to Hong Kong at 18 in 1984.Profile
, chinareviewnews.com; retrieved 31 May 2010.


Career


Early years

Lai initially worked as a salesperson for a mobile phone company. After being awarded second-runner-up in the 1986 New Talent Singing Awards, Lai received vocal coaching from Dai Si Zong (). In the same year he signed with Capital Artists.Will Capital Artist stage a comeback
Xinhua News Agency; retrieved 26 August 2007.
He did not release any albums for four years. As a result, his teacher, Dai, arranged to have him signed a contract with Polygram, later known as
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...
.Leon and Li Chin
, xinhuanet.com; retrieved 26 August 2007.


Music

In Polygram, he released his first album "Leon" and subsequent album "Meet in the Rain". His debut album went gold.
ent.sina.com.cn Retrieved 26 August 2007
In the early stages of his career, he mainly sang
Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hon ...
and Mandarin, but due to the influence of producer
Mark Lui Mark Lui (, born 9 July 1969) is from Hong Kong. He is a composer and producer of Cantopop music with the "On Your Mark" creative team, and part of the Artists and Repertoire Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a reco ...
, he expanded his repertoire to include popular electronic songs with compelling music videos. In 1990 he won his first 1990 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards and 1990 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. He followed up to win the "Most Popular Male Singer" award in 1993 and 1995 for
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
Jade Solid Gold. In 1996, he collaborated with composer-producer Steve Barakatt on his album "Feel". Two years later in 1998, he became the first Hong Kong singer to reach the Top 10
K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...
chart with the song "After Loving You." In 2002 he was selected to sing "Charged Up", the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
theme song for the
Greater China In ethnogeography, "Greater China" is a loosely-defined term that refers to the region sharing cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people, often used by international enterprises or organisations in unofficial usage. The notion contains ...
region. In 2004, he became the first Hong Kong singer to represent the territory at the first
Asia Song Festival Asia Song Festival, A-Song-Fe or ASF, is an annual Asian pop music festival held in South Korea, since 2004. It is hosted by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) and features artists from Asian countries. Participating a ...
held in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
.Profile
, Sina.com; retrieved 21 October 2009.
Lai was selected to be the ambassador of the 6th Winter Asian Games to be held
Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...
in 2007. He sang the Games' theme song and took part in the torch relay. He then joined Michael Wong and Janice Vidal and held a three-day "Magic Live" charity concert at Star Hall, Hong Kong from 9 to 11 November 2008. Lai holds his concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum, titled "Leon Lai Talk & Sing 2021 Concert", from 10 July 2021, for 9 shows.


Duets

Apart from being a solo artist, Lai has collaborated with other artists. Some of his better known collaborations are "Love Until the End" and "A Happy Family" with Vivian Chow, "Really Wish to Be Like This Forever" and "It's Still You" with Priscilla Chan, "Song of the Star" with Alan Tam, "Never Give Up" with Jacky Cheung, "Why did I let you go?" with Janice Vidal.


Company founder and singer

In 2004, Lai formed a new record production company, " A Music", East Asia Record Production Company Limited, with Peter Lam. The first album produced by the company, "Dawn" was released in September of that year. The album, "Dawn", was released with minimum promotion as Lai went to
Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
for a movie shoot on the day of the album's release. In 2005, Lai invited Taiwanese music producer Jonathan Lee to produce his new Mandarin album "A Story". However, by doing so he had to give up the opportunity for a lead role in a big budget
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
movie "Gui Si" due to conflicts in his schedules. He returned to the
Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum (), commonly and informally 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 ...
on 13 April 2007 to perform in his one night only ''Leon 4 in Love Concert,'' where he performed not only his own hits but also hits from the other three heavenly kings. He performed a total of 18 songs, all of which are newly arranged by
Mark Lui Mark Lui (, born 9 July 1969) is from Hong Kong. He is a composer and producer of Cantopop music with the "On Your Mark" creative team, and part of the Artists and Repertoire Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a reco ...
. He subsequently released an album titled "4 in Love" on 3 May 2007, comprising 16 of the 18 songs he had performed at the concert. In 2004, Paciwood co-invested with Esun Group to develop a music record company, East Asia Record Production Limited, with the music label Amusic.


Acting career

After the New Talent Singing Awards, he had some opportunities to star in a few TV series. On one occasion, he went for the filming of a romantic serials titled, ''Fengyun Era'', in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. There was a stark contrast in height between Lai and the popular lead actress who is only 160 cm tall. The actress then demanded that Lai squat while filming so as to make up for the height differences. Lai had to act through all the scenes with the actress while squatting, but he had to endure it as he was not popular at the time. Not long afterwards his new TVB series, '' The Breaking Point'', turned out to be a resounding success and propelled him to widespread fame in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 1996, Lai was nominated for the ''Best Actor'' award at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards for the film '' Comrades: Almost a Love Story''. The following year in 1997, he won the award of ''Best Original Song'' for the film '' Eighteen Springs'' both at the Golden Horse Film Festival and Hong Kong Film Awards. He was again nominated for the ''Best Actor'' and ''Best Original Film Song'' award for the film '' City of Glass'' (玻璃之城) in 1999, but he only won the award for the latter, which he shared with
Albert Leung Albert Leung Wai Man (, born 7 December 1961), better known by his pen name Lin Xi (), is a Hong Kong lyricist and writer. A prominent figure in Cantopop and Mandopop, he has written lyrics for nearly all major Hong Kong singers, with notable ...
and Dick Lee. Lai was considered by Lee Ang to act as ''Li Mu Bai'' in the film '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', but he had to turn down the offer as he had an advertising contract and live concert about to start, which would not match his shaven head look as was required for the role. He collaborated with Cecilia Cheung 張柏芝 in 2001 for the first time in the Wong Jing directed romantic comedy film, '' Everyday Is Valentine''. In the film, Lai played a serial liar. In 2002, Lai took the spotlight at the Golden Horse Awards, the Chinese-language version of the
Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...
in Taiwan. He won ''Best Actor'' for '' Three: Going Home''. Lai played a minor role as ''Superintendent Yeung Kam Wing'' in '' Infernal Affairs III'' in 2003. In 2004, he starred with
Faye Wong Faye Wong ( zh, 王菲; pinyin: ''Wáng Fēi''; born 8 August 1969) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and actress. Early in her career, she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong (). Born in Beijing, she moved to British Hong Kong at the age o ...
王菲 in the romantic film '' Leaving Me, Loving You'', the story of which he co-wrote with Wilson Yip and he was also the creative/production controller of the film. However, the movie was a flop as it raked in HK$ 10,529,501 at the box office.HK Film Archive
filmarchive.gov.hk Retrieved 20 September 2007
Still in that same year he was ranked 8th on the China Celebrity 100 list released by the Chinese edition of
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
.China star rankings hint at struggles of showbiz
, ChinaDaily.com.cn; retrieved 23 August 2007.
In 2005 Lai acted as one of the seven warriors in the
Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, , born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong (), is a Hong Kong filmmaker. A major director in the Golden Age of Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cinema, Tsui gained critical and commercial success with films such as ''Zu Warriors from ...
directed
wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...
film, '' Seven Swords''. In the same year in the film '' Moonlight in Tokyo'', he played a developmentally challenged Chinese man who pretends to be a Korean
gigolo A gigolo ( ) is a male escort, call boy or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship. The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially rat ...
in Japan. In 2006 Lai starred alongside Fan Bingbing and Rene Liu in a love and horror, thriller film titled '' The Matrimony'' where he played a cinematographer ''Shen Junchu'', the love interest of ''Manli'' and ''Sansan''. ''JunChu'' was pressurised into marrying ''Sansan'' after the untimely demise of his true love ''Manli'' in an accident. The film was released on 8 February 2007. In 2007, Lai starred alongside Kelly Chen,
Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan ( zh, c=甄子丹, p=Zhēn Zǐdān, j=, first=j; born 27 July 1963) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and action director. He is the recipient of various accolades, including three Golden Horse Fi ...
and Guo Xiaodong in the
Ching Siu-tung Ching Siu-tung (Chinese: 程小東, born October 31, 1953), also known as Tony Ching, is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer, who has directed over 20 films, including the critically acclaimed supernatural fantasy ...
film An Empress and the Warriors. He acted as a woodland medicine man who has a romantic relationship with a princess. Lai and Kelly Chen sang the theme song, "''Fly With Your Dreams''" written by
Albert Leung Albert Leung Wai Man (, born 7 December 1961), better known by his pen name Lin Xi (), is a Hong Kong lyricist and writer. A prominent figure in Cantopop and Mandopop, he has written lyrics for nearly all major Hong Kong singers, with notable ...
and composed by
Mark Lui Mark Lui (, born 9 July 1969) is from Hong Kong. He is a composer and producer of Cantopop music with the "On Your Mark" creative team, and part of the Artists and Repertoire Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a reco ...
. He underwent training in
Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...
for playing the lead role as ''Méi Lánfāng'' in the biographical film '' Forever Enthralled'' which was directed by Chen Kaige. He directed the music video for the film where he and Zhang Ziyi sang the theme song, "You Understand My Love". For the first time in his career, Lai played the role of a beggar in the
Peter Chan Peter Ho-sun Chan (born 28 November 1962), also known as Peter Chan, is a Hong Kong-born filmmaker best known for directing films that span a wide range of genres, including romantic comedies, musical dramas, and historical epics. He is r ...
directed film '' Bodyguards and Assassins''. For his success a wax figure of Lai was revealed at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.


Community

Apart from being an actor and singer, Lai is actively involved in the Community Chest. In the 1990s, he began serious charity work when his father was diagnosed with rectal cancer. The doctors said it was incurable. After the surgical operation, his father survived. When the Cancer Research Foundation and the UN organization approached him for help, he started getting actively involved in charity work. His first work with
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
was a China
polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
eradication project in 1993. He raised substantial funds accruing from his supporters, fans, and concert ticket sales. In July 1994, he was appointed the International
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status, and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and activists, advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The UNICEF, ...
, thus becoming the first Hong Kong citizen to be given this position. Since 1994, he has been involved in various fundraising activities of The Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF (HKCU). These activities include seven charity concerts, three charity chocolate sales, and charity walkathons. Lai, along with HKCU representatives, visited
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
, Gansu of China, and
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
to study the work of UNICEF and to help promote public awareness to help children.UNICEF HKCU
unicef.org.hk Retrieved 8 September 2008
In December 1995, he was appointed as "UNICEF Special Representative to Youth" at the New York headquarters recognizing his contributions for the welfare of the children. Lai has also been elected as one of The Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) in 1997, giving him a formal recognition of his professional endeavors and commitment to the community.
music.ent.tom.com; retrieved 10 October 2007.
He bought the first donation ticket, numbered 000001, at a "Children's Education Fund Raising Campaign" launch event at
Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a New towns of Hong Kong, town built on a bay in the New Territories West (constituency), western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite Tsing Yi, Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market ...
PARKnSHOP's Skyline Superstore in 2001 to encourage people to contribute to a meaningful social cause. The funds raised were donated to the Community Chest. He was awarded the Medal of Honour (M.H.) on 12 October 2003 by
Tung Chee-Hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born May 29, 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and retired politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He served as a vice chairman of th ...
, the
Chief Executive of Hong Kong The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...
. Since his decision not to receive any music award in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, he has not appeared on the
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
Jade Gold Solid Awards ceremony even as a guest, but to secure more funds for charity, he agreed to perform in the ceremony as a guest performer on 8 January 2005. On 13 May the same year, Lai collaborated with
Mark Lui Mark Lui (, born 9 July 1969) is from Hong Kong. He is a composer and producer of Cantopop music with the "On Your Mark" creative team, and part of the Artists and Repertoire Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a reco ...
to compose the song "8858". The song was used as the promotional song for the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF). The title of song means "Help Me (which sounds like 'bang bang wo ba' in Putonghua)" and the number "8858" represents the SMS number people can use to donate the money. In December 2005, Lai appeared in a
Hong Kong government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...
television advertisement in support of a gradual political reform package tabled by the ruling government rather than rapid political reform. This was the first time he got himself involved in a politically motivated advertisement.


Personal life

In 2008, Lai secretly married model Gaile Lok in Las Vegas at the Wynn Hotel, with his manager and assistant acting as witnesses. On 3 October 2012, the couple announced the end of their four-year marriage. Their joint statement stated that there were "different philosophies in life" which caused the divorce. In 2017, Lai formed a relationship with his label assistant and later sales manager Chan Wing-yee (), who is 19 years his junior and also a divorcee. On 22 April 2018, Chan gave birth to their daughter.


Commercial anthem incident

In 2000, Lai's song "All Day Love" () got him into trouble with the Chinese authorities for drawing passages from the Chinese National Anthem, "
March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers", originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", is the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike historical Chinese anthems, previous Chinese stat ...
". The starting tune was accused of plagiarism from the anthem. Lai was warned against using the song for commercial purposes.


Discography

(# Literal translation)


Filmography


Film


Television series


Concerts

At
Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum (), commonly and informally 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 ...
: (Note: # indicate literal translation) Source: At Central Harbourfront Event Space,
Central Harbourfront The Central Harbourfront is a waterfront site in Central, Hong Kong. It is the result of the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation, and it sits to the east of the International Finance Centre skyscraper. The harbourfront event space is the site o ...
:


Awards and nominations

Lai was rewarded for his loyalty to the Hong Kong Government in July 2019 by the award of its second highest honour, the Silver Bauhinia Star. The award highlighted particular mention of "his participation in the promotional footage for the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Annuity Plan in 2018". Lai's industry awards and nominations are listed in the tables below. Source:IFPI HK awards
ifpihk.org Retrieved 20 September 2007


References


Sources

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lai, Leon 1966 births Living people 20th-century Hong Kong male actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors Cantopop singers Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong Electronic dance music musicians Hakka musicians Hong Kong businesspeople Hong Kong idols Hong Kong male film actors Hong Kong male singers Hong Kong male television actors Hong Kong Mandopop singers Hong Kong people of Hakka descent Korean-language singers of Hong Kong Male actors from Beijing New Talent Singing Awards contestants Participants in Chinese reality television series People from Meixian District Singers from Beijing