Leo Ku
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| Leo Ku | ||||||
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| Chinese name | 古巨基 (Traditional) | |||||
| Pinyin | Gǔ Jùjī (Mandarin) | |||||
| Jyutping | gu2 geoi6 gei1 (Cantonese) | |||||
| Birth name | Leo Ku Kui-Kei | |||||
| Origin | Maoming, Guangdong, China | |||||
| Born | 18 August 1972 Hong Kong |
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| Occupation | Singer, record producer and actor | |||||
| Genre(s) | Cantopop, Mandopop | |||||
| Instrument(s) | Singing | |||||
| Label(s) | Music Plus (EEG) (2009–present) Gold Typhoon (EMI) (2003–2009) EEI (Warner Music) |
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| Years active | 1994—present (singer) 1991—present (actor) |
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| Official site | Leo Ku | |||||
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Leo Ku Kui-Kei is a Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer and actor. He was an entertainment news programme (娛樂新聞眼) presenter at TVB as well as host of the music show Jade Solid Gold in 1992 before releasing his first album (愛的解釋) in 1994 to become a Cantopop singer. He is one of the few Cantopop artists who makes use of falsetto (假音) - Because of this, many people, including David Tao, have praised this unique talent. He is the first singer to have won all four newcomer gold awards from Hong Kong's radio/television stations. Early in his career he was nicknamed 古怪基 by the media, a pun on his name's pronunciation, literally meaning Strange Kei due to his strange appearance on stage.
He ended a six year relationship with his former label Gold Typhoon, and joined Emperor Entertainment Group in May 2009.
Leo Ku's most well known songs include "See You Next Time" (下次再見), "Love Coming Home" (愛回家), "Never too late" (愛得太遲), "Shower" (花灑), "The Genius and the Idiot" (天才與白痴), "Monica", "Love and Honesty" (愛與誠), "Sorrow Hits Man" (傷追人), "Nobita" (大雄), "Killing Move" (必殺技), "Let Heaven Shed Its Tears" (任天堂流淚), "Holiday in Rome" (羅馬假期), "Enjoy Yourself Tonight" (歡樂今宵), "Friendship" (友共情), "Second Most Loved" (第二最愛) and "Blue Skies and White Clouds" (藍天與白雲) - A cover of Keisuke Kuwata's song 悲しい気持ち (JUST A MAN IN LOVE).
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[edit] Musical career
One of his songs "Enjoy Yourself Tonight" (歡樂今宵) released on 1997 earned him various musical awards most notably the Silver Male pop singer by Commercial Radio. However, his singing career was stalled in the next few years but he regained popularity in 2003, because of efforts of his current manager Paco Wong (黃柏高), with the release of new albums "Games" (遊戲—基) and "Nobita" (大雄) - A reference to the Doraemon character of the same name. He has been referred to as one of the 'New Four Big Heavenly Kings'(新四大天王) by veteran singer Alan Tam along with Hacken Lee, Andy Hui and Edmond Leung.
Leo Ku's recent albums have revolved around a specific theme. The album "Games" was based on video games, Nobita was based on the comic books, while "Jade Solid Gold" is named after a popular music show of the same name. Nobita is one of Leo Ku's most successful albums ever, with 64,152 copies sold in 2004. It was the eighth best selling Cantopop album of 2004 in Hong Kong. In 2003 and 2004 has also achieved his dream of releasing his own comic book. "The Story of Kubi" is a set of two comic books hand drawn by Leo. With the continuous amount of work he has today, he is unable to release another book of the series yet.
In 9 April 2005, his greatest hits album, Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲), reached double Platinum (100,000 copies). In March, 2005, he held his first major concert (勁歌金曲演唱會). Further tours were held across Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Canada and China, following the success of the Hong Kong concerts, featuring guest performances by Kary Ng and Justin Lo. A total of seventeen concerts were held. Leo Ku's Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲) was one of Hong Kong's top ten albums sold from 30 December, 2004 to 21 December, 2005.[1]
In October, 2005, Leo was declared one of "Ten Outstanding Young Persons " (十大傑出青年) where his hard work on his music and film career, and his excellence in commitment to the community was recognised. He contributed tremendously to the society, and even founded a Leo Ku Children Medical Fund (古巨基兒童醫療基金). A month later, in November, he released his first Mandarin album under Gold Label, known as "Final Fantasy" (最終幻想), it featured Mandarin versions of his well known Cantonese songs as well as original songs, targeting the Mandarin speaking community. Its main song was "Sleeping Beauty" (睡美人).
In 23 December 2005, Leo Ku, and his management company Gold Label announced that he has sold 300,000 copies (six times Platinum) of the four albums which came out this year, with eight hit songs, including "The Genius and the Idiot" (天才與白痴) which stayed in first place at the karaoke charts for a total of nine weeks in a row.
Leo Ku's 2006 album Human (我生) received mostly positive reviews, as over 25,000 copies of the album were sold within the first three days of release. The concept of the CD was innovative as its theme deviates from romantic love and relationships, a practice most Cantopop albums adhere to. Included in the album is a 60 minute music video directed by Leo Ku himself. This would be his directing debut. The album "Human" (我生) is the champion of the play back in Hong Kong at 2006. Expect that, the song "Never too late" (愛得太遲) is also the Golden song in 903 at 2006. This album had won many prizes.
In 31 July 2007, it was confirmed he filmed a music video called "Love Coming Home" (愛回家) featuring Katie Leung as the main actress, who is best known for playing as Cho Chang in the Harry Potter films.
In 24 August 2007, he released his album "Moments", all the lyrics were written by Lin Xi (林夕), with music composed by Mark Lui, Ivana Wong, Justin Lo and others. Also included with the album was a 60 minute DVD featuring footage shot from Fukuoka, London, Paris, Venice, Vienna and Beijing. Weeks after the album's release, he held his second major concert in Hong Kong Coliseum, known as "The Magic Moments 2007" concert, from 9 September to 12 September 2007. Guests which performed in the concert include Alex Fong, Justin Lo, Terence Siufay (小肥), Vivian Chow and Ekin Cheng. The Magic Moments X'mas Concert was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 23 December 2007.
In May 2, 2008, Leo Ku was the eighth runner of the Olympic Torch Relay in Hong Kong. In June 2008 he released his Mandarin album entitled "I'm Still Yours" (我還是你的 情歌王), which contained a medley sung in the same vein as the Cantonese one on his Jade Solid Gold album from 2005.
In November 2008, he released 'Guitar Fever', named after the game. This album is a major departure from his traditional albums as it only contains 5 vocal tracks and 5 instrumentals. All the tracks uses guitars as its main instrument.
In February 2009, his current contract with Gold Label expired, but due to preparing for his concert and much media speculations and controversies, he delayed making his decisions on re-signing or switching record companies. In mid-May, 2009, he had signed a deal of HK$10 million for 3 years to make the switch to EEG, half a million lower than originally offered [2]
In April 2009 he released "Strings Fever", similar to the previous album with 5 vocal and 5 instrumentals, but this time focusing on violins and other stringed instruments.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Creations
- April 2003: Comic son Kubi (古比) was born
- August 2003: The Story of Kubi Comics Vol.1（單行本）、The Story of Kubi Comics Vol.1 Limited Version（完全限定版）
- August 2004: The Story of Kubi Comics Vol.2（單行本）、A Series of Kubi Stuff
- July 2008: Kubi Children Series 1 - Kubi's Cup（Kubi好孩子系列(1)-勝利的水杯）、A Series of Kubi Stuff
- November 2008: Kubi illuminations on the wall of buildings for Christmas and New Year（商廈外牆設計之Kubi燈飾-聖誕及新年）
- November 2008: Own Label for clothes HOTDOG（個人服裝品牌"HOTDOG"）
[edit] Films
- October 1993: Love on Delivery (破壞之王)
- June 1995: Romantic Dream (追女仔95--綺夢)
- July 1997: Cause We Are So Young (求戀期)
- November 1997: Task Force (熱血最強)
- March 1998: Anna Magdalena (安娜馬德蓮娜)
- December 1998: When I Look Upon The Stars (天旋地戀)
- September 2002: So Close (夕陽天使)
- July 2005: Love Message (愛情短訊)
- February 2006: My Kung-Fu Sweetheart (野蠻秘笈)
- August 2006: Love At First Note (戀愛初歌)
- April 2007: Super Fans (甜心粉絲王)
- November 2008: Fit Lover (愛情左右)
[edit] Voice-overs
- June 1997: Hercules (大力士)
- June 2000: Stuart Little (一家之鼠超力仔)
- November 2002: Stuart Little 2 (一家之鼠超力仔2)
- July 2005: Robots (露寶治的世界)
[edit] Television drama
- November 1994: Instinct (笑看風雲)
- January 1995: The Trail of Love (前世冤家)
- August 1995: Stepping Stone (總有出頭天)
- April 1997: Weapons of Power (英雄貴姓)
- January 1996: Justice Bao (包青天之雪魄梅魂)
- January 1997: Corner the Con Man (皇家反千組)
- 3 May 2002: Romance in the Rain (情深深雨濛濛)
- September, 2003: Princess Pearl III (還珠格格III - 天上人間)
- 2006: Twist Love(讓愛自由 / 不該讓女人流淚)
[edit] Television presenter
- 1991: Entertainment News Program (娛樂新聞眼)
- 1992: Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲-嘉賓主持)／Entertainment News Program (娛樂新聞眼)
- 1993: Entertainment News Program (娛樂新聞眼)
- July 1996: The Games Of The Olympic Atlanta 1996 (1996年亞特蘭大奧林匹克運動會)
- 1999: Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲-嘉賓主持)
- November 2004: TVB Programme Preview 2005 (2005年無線節目巡禮)
- 2005: Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲-嘉賓主持)
- August 2008: The Games Of The Olympic Beijing 2008 (2008年北京奧林匹克運動會)
- October 2008: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? - TVB Cantonese Version (係咪小兒科)
[edit] Radio presenter
- 1993: Eccentric Radio (古怪收音機)
[edit] Awards
[edit] Notes
- Leo Ku's Birthday Party. Retrieved 22 August 2005.
- Orison. Retrieved 24 December 2005.
[edit] External links
- Leo Ku's Official Blog (Chinese)
- Leo Ku's Official Forum (Chinese)
- Leo Ku The Magic Moments 2008 Toronto Canada Concert (English)
