Saturday, November 27, 2010

Jacky Cheung ½ Century Concert

Jacky Cheung held a press conference today to officially announce the dates for the Shanghai and Hong Kong legs of his concert tour. He will kick off his World Tour in Shanghai at the end of December and the Hong Kong leg will take place April 15 to 18 and 21 to 25 at the Hong Kong Coliseum. The is meant to commemorate Jacky’s 25 years in the industry.

At the same time, Jacky also spoke out regarding the ‘deposit scandal’ related to his concert – he emphasized that he absolutely trusts his manager Florence Chan and even if she doesn’t arrange his concerts for him in the future, he still will not collaborate with the woman allegedly involved in the scandal (Shum Si Yi).

Earlier in the year, Jacky’s concert was involved in a scandal in which Miss Shum claimed that she was directed by Florence Chan to accept deposits from business sponsors for the concert, however Mrs. Chan denied giving any such authorization. A few months ago, Miss Shum came to Hong Kong to hold a press conference and tearfully begged Jacky to step in to take care of the situation.

Yesterday, Jacky spoke out in response to the situation. He expressed that Florence Chan has been his concert manager since 1993 and throughout their long collaboration, there has never been any problems. Therefore, no matter what other actions Miss Shum tries to take, he absolutely won’t collaborate with her. As for Florence Chan, she explained that the matter has already been turned over to the courts to handle, as she is planning to counter-sue Miss Shum.

Asked if he is afraid that some people will try to cause trouble during his mainland China concerts, Jacky replied: “I never really pay attention to that kind of stuff. Actually, the situation affects Mrs. Chan the most – in contrast, my emotions weren’t affected much.” (Mrs. Chan indicated that the matter has been turned over to the courts and she will counter-sue?) “Yes, the matter is already going through legal proceedings, so I can’t really discuss it. From my position, I’m not really the third party, as it directly affects Mrs. Chan the most; however Miss Shum did mention me by name and even told me to be careful when choosing managers. I know who Miss Shum is, as Mrs. Chan and her husband introduced her to me – at the time, she [Miss Shum] was very inexperienced and didn’t know anything, so both Mr. and Mrs. Chan took the time to teach her. I guess you could say that she is their apprentice, yet she does not know to be grateful to her teachers. Perhaps I’m more traditional; I’ve collaborated with Mrs. Chan since 1993 and even if she quits, I still won’t choose Miss Shum to manage my concert matters for me because I cannot bring myself to trust that person. I don’t want to be ‘used’ to further someone else’s hidden agenda.”

For his upcoming concert, Jacky will serve as production supervisor. Asked what his ‘secret weapon’ will be, Jacky wanted to remain secretive, saying only: “There will be some dance numbers plus some other special stuff – even I’m very much looking forward to it – however still practicing, so can’t reveal it yet. Actually, it’s not always necessary to do so many things at a concert and sometimes just coming out and saying ‘thank you’ is enough, but unfortunately, I’m like a ‘cow’ and sometimes make my life more difficult!” Jacky expressed that the most expensive ticket price for his concert is $680 HKD, which is sort of mid-range and is acceptable for most people; he does not want the focus of the concert to be on the ticket prices. (Did you get a chance to see Faye Wong in concert?) “My niece did. I wish I could just say ‘bye’ and not talk much at my concert, however I know that’s wishful thinking for me – I can only envy Faye…plus, I enjoy performing and since I still have the energy and strength to do so, I want to put all the effort I can in it.”

With regard to the “Four Station Media Award” being canceled, Jacky expressed: “It’s a shame when artists aren’t allowed to get awards they deserve, so cancelling the Four Station Media Award is a step in the right direction. I guess you could say it’s taking a stance – not letting an awards ceremony put their own benefit and interpersonal relationships in front of fairness and transparency of the results. I am definitely in favor of cancelling the Four Station Media Award!”

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