He was the national singing champion in Hong Kong 1984 with the song Fatherland, ousting more than ten thousand other contestants. He was signed by the then Polygram Records, now Universal Music Group. Although encouraged by a bright start, he was not yet able to achieve immediate supremacy in Cantopop, then dominated by 譚詠麟, 梅艷芳, Leslie Cheung and 陳百強. Cheung suffered a nosedive in his career in 1988 after a best-selling first two albums. That year he did not have a single song awarded in the annual TVB JSG. His subsequent sales record dipped and one of his albums in the late 1980s managed just around ten thousand in sales. The reason for the fall in his CD sales was partially attributed to his alcohol problem - he could get drunk 5 times a week. After disrupting his friend's birthday party while being drunk, Cheung vowed in public that he would not consume alcohol again till he was 40. He kept that promise.
His recording career subsequently returned to its track. Then, in 1991, with the song 每天愛你多一些 (Loving You More Everyday), his career took a massive upturn. The album, 真情流露True Love Expression in 1992, as well as the succeeding release, 愛火花Love Sparks in 1992, became the two most successful albums in Hong Kong history, achieving audited sales of over 400,000 copies in Hong Kong alone and turned Cheung into a superstar, paving the way for himself and his contemporaries, Andy Lau, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok, to take Cantopop to even greater heights. Subsequent albums continue to be a hit like 我與你True Love Expression 1993, 餓狼傳說 Wolf Tale 1994 etc. Since then his career has grown from strength to strength, and Cheung has managed to garner thousands of fans overseas as well as numerous music awards both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, including the best-selling Chinese singer in the Worlds Music Awards. Cheung has also been elected one of the world's Ten Outstanding Young Persons.
Among his most famous songs are Amour, 只想一生跟你走 (Only Thinking of Going Through Life With You) and the everlasting 吻别 (Goodbye Kiss) which confirms his status as one, and many consider the pre-eminent member, of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. Goodbye Kiss, a Mandarin number, was also one of the best-selling albums of all time, achieving more sales in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia such as not attained before, with an astounding 5 million copies sold in 1993 alone, a record that has remained yet unbroken. Goodbye Kiss was also instrumental in helping Cheung to break into the mando-pop market, and it also prompted other Hong Kong singers who wanted to gain a wider market to follow suit, even though, to this very day, very few indeed have been able to approach Cheung's level of success.
His work on the ground-breaking cantonese musical, Snow, Wolf, Lake musical (1997), was also enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics. Cheung not only played the male lead, but was also the artistic director for this production. The female lead was played by Sandy Lam and they achieved 43 full-house performances at the gigantic Hong Kong Coliseum. In November 2004, Jacky and his concert manager, Florence Chan Suk-Fan, worked on a revised Mandarin version of Snow, Wolf, Lake so as to bring it to a wider audience. The estimated budget for this revised production was HK$100 million and the show premiered on 24 December 2004 in Beijing. The production subsequently toured China and other Asian destinations to huge acclaim.
Cheung won, for the umpteenth time, the Best Selling Cantonese Album Award in the Hong Kong IFPI Awards of 2005 with his live album, Jacky Live Performance. In the fast-changing scene of canto-pop, Cheung is able to maintain his popularity and sales power for more than 20 years after his debut, which is unparalleled in the history of Hong Kong pop music.
Cheung acted in many films, although singing has always been his priority. His versatility and acting skills have enabled him to play a lot of diverse parts. He received the Best Supporting Actor Golden Horse Award for his work in Swordsman (1990). He also received the Best Actor Award at the New Dehli Film Festival for his portrayal of the protagonist in July Rhapsody. His song Perhaps Love, which serves as the theme song for the multi-award-winning film Perhaps Love, also won the Best Song Award at the 2005 Hong Kong Film Awards.
He is married to May Lo with two daughters.
Cheung was named spokesperson for Hong Kong Disneyland in 2004. As the theme park's spokesperson, Cheung took part in a number of large-scale marketing events organized by The Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, beginning by hosting a TV program, Magical World of Disneyland. [1] He also recorded a song for Hong Kong Disneyland, a multi-lingual song entitled One. The music video for One was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland.
逃亡
張學友 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
声称金卡虽有一张 心窝却聚满了坏账
并没有下雨却想上 我家中避雨
我看见她的纤瘦身影 和无数惆怅
依稀想到她 和前年校舍那夏季
她多开心动人美丽
她的信心光照毕业礼
现在泪眼半肿半胀 全无半点乐畅
说要远走高飞
实受不了绝不须要的伤
今知道婚姻 不像说恋爱
永远赖账 怎可理想
说要远走高飞
实在婚约望真不过纸张
不必作鸳鸯 假如太牵强
我决定我 自己路向
说要远走高飞
实受不了绝不须要的伤
今知道婚姻 不像说恋爱
永远赖账 怎可理想
说要远走高飞
实在婚约望真不过纸张
不必作鸳鸯 假如太牵强
我决定我 自己路向
她呜咽的说她只盼
在世岁月里
简单的开心女人只需 一个家 一好伴侣
闸外路里她那 男人出粗暴句
这个我应该要报警
埋藏或送客回去
The lyrics to 張學友's song "逃亡" ("Escape") describe a woman who calls the singer late at night, claiming that although she has a gold credit card, her heart is filled with debts. She wants to come over to his house to avoid the rain, and he sees her thin figure and sadness. The singer remembers how happy and beautiful she was two years ago during their graduation ceremony, but now she is swollen-eyed and miserable. She talks about leaving and escaping this unhappy marriage, but the singer realizes that marriage is not like love and can't rely on ideals. Ultimately, he decides to take his own path and send her away.
The song speaks to the theme of escape, longing for freedom and happiness, but also acknowledging that it is not easy to break free from obligations and responsibilities. It highlights the struggles of marriages that become more like partnerships for convenience, where love and happiness are lost along the way. The singer is caught between sympathy for the woman's pain and his own desire to lead his own life.
Line by Line Meaning
她深宵约两点 离奇来电说动向
She called me mysteriously at around 2 am to inform me of her whereabouts
声称金卡虽有一张 心窝却聚满了坏账
She claimed to have a credit card but her heart was weighed down with debts
并没有下雨却想上 我家中避雨
It wasn't raining, but she wanted to come to my house to take cover
我看见她的纤瘦身影 和无数惆怅
I saw her slim figure and numerous sorrows
依稀想到她 和前年校舍那夏季
I vaguely remembered her and the summer at the school building from two years ago
她多开心动人美丽
She used to be happy, charming, and beautiful
她的信心光照毕业礼
Her confidence shone during the graduation ceremony
现在泪眼半肿半胀 全无半点乐畅
Her eyes were puffy with tears, and she was totally devoid of happiness
我察觉她的脸隐隐有瘀伤 谁纹上
I noticed bruises on her face which I couldn't tell where they came from
说要远走高飞 实受不了绝不须要的伤
She said she wanted to leave and escape from the unnecessary pain she couldn't bear
今知道婚姻 不像说恋爱 永远赖账 怎可理想
Now she knows that marriage is not like love, it's unrealistic to always blame and hold each other responsible
实在婚约望真不过纸张 不必作鸳鸯 假如太牵强
In reality, marriage is just a piece of paper, there's no need to pretend to be in love if it's too far-fetched
我决定我 自己路向
She decided to pave her own path
她呜咽的说她只盼 在世岁月里 简单的开心女人只需 一个家 一好伴侣
She sobbed and said she only wishes to have a simple and happy life with a home and a good partner
闸外路里她那 男人出粗暴句
Her man outside was hurling abusive words
这个我应该要报警 埋藏或送客回去
I should call the police or send him away
Writer(s): Zhen Qiang Lin, Wei Ren Yuan
Contributed by Jackson A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
穎川泰
她深宵約兩點 離奇來電說動向
聲稱金卡雖有一張 心窩卻聚滿了壞賬
並沒有下雨卻想上 我家中避雨
我看見她的纖瘦身影 和無數惆悵
依稀想到她 和前年校舍那夏季
她多開心動人美麗 她的信心光照畢業禮
現在淚眼半腫半脹 全無半點樂暢
我察覺她的臉隱隱有瘀傷 誰紋上
說要遠走高飛
實受不了絕不須要的傷
今知道婚姻 不像說戀愛
永遠賴賬 怎可理想
說要遠走高飛
實在婚約望真不過紙張
不必作鴛鴦 假如太牽強
我決定我 自己路向
說要遠走高飛
實受不了絕不須要的傷
今知道婚姻 不像說戀愛
永遠賴賬 怎可理想
說要遠走高飛
實在婚約望真不過紙張
不必作鴛鴦 假如太牽強
我決定我 自己路向
她嗚咽的說她只盼 在世歲月裡
簡單的開心 女人只需 一個家 一好伴侶
閘外路裡她那 男人出粗暴句
這個我應該要報警
埋藏或送客回去