December 2007

After releasing a Cantopop album in 1997, as Jannelle Wong, Susan Wong 黃翠珊 quit the professional music scene to become an accountant. But after a chance encounter and a change of direction into the audiophile market, Susan is now Hong Kong's best-selling English-language singer. She talked to us about her careers as a Cantonese and English-language singer, how she earned the tag 'Queen of Audiophile', and how she came to record her 2007 album Someone Like You in Nashville.

Were you born in Hong Kong?

I was born in Hong Kong and I emigrated to Sydney at the age of seven. I was educated there through to university. When I graduated, I came back to Hong Kong.

What music did you listen to when you were in Australia?

Eighties pop. Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, Thriller. But at the same time I was also listening to Cantopop. It was the era of Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam. So I was brought up with a mix of Cantonese and English.

You could listen to Cantopop in Sydney?

When we were there, my dad was still an ‘astronaut’. He would visit us six times a year and he would bring records, VHS cassettes and tape the shows for us to watch. So we were pretty well connected to the Hong Kong entertainment scene. And there was Chinatown. They had magazines, records, cassettes. So once a week, we’d go to Chinatown, buy the Chinese newspapers, the latest gossip magazines, and records and tapes. Like Leslie Cheung, Danny Chan 陳百強 , George Lam 林子祥 , Jenny Tseng 甄妮 , Paula Tsui 徐小鳳 . Anita wasn’t out yet, that was later…

Did they ever come out there?

Yes. Back in the mid-eighties Alan Tam came twice. Leslie came too. I went to their concerts in Chinatown. There was the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, and in Chinatown and the Mandarin Club. The Entertainment Centre in Haymarket is bigger than the Hong Kong Coliseum, but they divided it in half. So I would say that Alan Tam had his second concert, the audience was about half to three-quarters of the Coliseum.

How did you get into singing?

It’s a long story. When I was 16 or 17. It was Sydney’s first karaoke competition hosted by TVB, Remy Martin and the biggest karaoke place in Chinatown. It was a big thing in Sydney. There were posters inviting people to audition. I entered, just because I wanted to. I was too young, less than 18, so I needed my parents’ consent. My mum was totally against it, but my dad said, what the hell, let her try. She’s going to flunk it anyway, just satisfy her. So my dad signed my guardian consent form. So I entered the competition and, unexpectedly, I won. I sang English songs, which a lot of people didn’t sing. I sang Whitney Houston’s The Greatest Love Of All – that was a hit then. And I did a Cantonese version and an English version. Because Danny Chan had the Cantonese version, I was afraid that people might not accept me singing in English. So for the first bit I did the Cantonese version and for the second bit I did the English version. I came up with that idea myself. I also sang Sally Yeh’s 葉倩文 , the theme to the movie 倩女幽魂 (A Chinese Ghost Story). I think I was quite daring. I think was the only contestant who sang in both English and Chinese.

What happened afterwards?

So I won the competition and one of the prizes was to come to TVB for the show Enjoy Yourself Tonight and meet Ng Yu 吳雨 . They introduced me to Dai Si Chung 戴思聰 , and I did singing lessons with him. And because of the opportunity to meet the TVB producers, I also had an interview with Polygram 寶麗金 , Cinepoly, which has all now disappeared. They were willing to sign me up, but the response was very hazy. I was just 16 and it seemed a bit dodgy. So I said, I’ll go back and finish my university exams and then we’ll see. I’ve always had the want inside me to be in the entertainment industry, but when I finished university entrance exams and was preparing for university, I kind of lost the desire.

Did you carry on singing?

I never really did any live gigs, except in Sydney once in a while. I did Chinese community gigs, but I didn’t have a strong sentiment to pursue a singing career. While I was university, with the boys and the social life, I just forgot about singing and TVB. But life has its fate. In my second year, I came back to Hong Kong in the summer break to work as a trainee accountant, and one of the other trainees had an uncle who owned a recording studio that was recording for BMG artists. Ekin Cheng 鄭伊健 and Leslie Cheung were recording there. My trainee friend said, do you want to go there for au audition, do a vocal test. So I said, why not. His uncle said, you have potential, why don’t I sign you as your manager and we’ll see if we can make a record deal. I said I had to finish my course first and he said, okay we’ll wait for you. So I went back and did a really quick finish-up degree, I was doing overtime, and then came back to Hong Kong and signed under him. The studio has disappeared now, but they were doing a lot of work for a lot of Cantopop artists at that time. His name was Baron Wong and the studio was called R&B. He invested in producing a few Canto-song, and put me in touch with Anthony Lun 倫永亮 , who was under Golden Pony, and that’s how I got my recording deal. Without Baron, or the trainee that I met in Coopers and Lybrand, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity.

Then you made a Cantonese CD?

Yes, Janelle Wong. Janelle Wong was the name that Baron gave me. I was a bit nervous. I didn’t want people to know, so I said give me an artist’s name and he came up with Janelle. And my Chinese name was given by a fortune teller, because you always want a good start, right? Like Wong Fei 王菲 wasn’t Wong Fei’s real name. Alan Tam’s Chinese name, Tam Wai Lam, wasn’t his real name. So everyone said you should get a name given by a fortune teller, it’ll do you good. But it didn’t do me any good… The album was released 1996 or 1997, but the record company was liquidated.

You went directly to recording the CD without performing live?

Well, once I did the CD, we had to promote it. So we had to do a lot of show, a lot of radio stations, singing at shopping centres or those open sports arenas, which I didn’t really like at all. I remember Tai Koo Shing shopping centre. I wasn’t famous. There was always a string of performers and I was always the last one. By the end, people would say, this is boring, who’s this? You could tell by their looks! And in some shopping centres, there weren’t many young people. They were mostly an older crowd and they don’t give you any reaction. So you have to crank up your gig, get on stage and sing to the background music. And I’d think, I’m not getting any response, what am I doing here? People would just look at you with their mouths’ open. Some of the record companies hire fans to shout and hold up signs. When a new act comes on, they just change the signs. But my company didn’t do that. It was just something I had to do. It was my job.

Did they give an image?

Yes, image was a big thing in the nineties. You had an image consultant to style you up, to put colour in your hair, do the styling and everything. I was well treated.

How did you get into singing English songs?

After the first album Golden Pony was liquidated during the stock market crash in 1997, so all my contracts with them were cancelled. One day I had a whole team of people working for me, doing my hair, bringing me lai cha (milk tea), and the next day it was all gone. All that was left was TVB. So I decided to continue with my CPA exams and continue singing on the side and hope that the best would come. But the best never did come, because you have socialize and rub shoulders with the record companies and I wasn’t that type of person. I couldn’t beg people for a record deal, so I said, forget it, I’ll continue with my accountancy career, which I did. Then, in 2001 or 2002, one of the secretaries from Golden Pony called me and told me about Keith Ip and Rock In. I asked if there were any artists who couldn’t sing, who needed a voiceover to make a demo. That’s very popular in Hong Kong. A lot of artists can’t grasp the melody, so they need a gunman 槍手 to sing for them, to show them how the song goes. She told me that they weren’t doing that kind of thing. They were doing oldies instrumentals for the audiophile market. I said, oldie instrumentals? Why don’t you let me sing the oldies. I like singing those songs. She spoke to Keith and he arranged a meeting in California Red Karaoke 加州紅 . I had to press all the English songs I knew well and perform in front of Keith. I did a few of my favourite oldies and he liked the idea.

It was an original idea at that time?

When my first album, Close To You, came out in 2002, there was no Hong Kong artist doing English golden oldies. I’m proud to say I was the first. Even in the late 1990s there was nobody. Nowadays you see people coming up, but in those days for me, it was a risk. I wasn’t worried because Keith was already doing oldies as instrumentals. I wasn’t well known and I changed my name back to my real name. And my contract was no direct publicity.

They didn’t promote the album?

Very minimal. I think they did do some promotion through radio stations – the audiophile sections.

How do you choose your songs?

Close To You was a signature album. Most of the songs came from karaoke and from listening to compilation albums when I was younger. They were from the Fei To 飛圖 (later bought by EEG) era. I was having fun with karaoke and that’s how I came to learn those songs. Because in karaoke, in those days, they had the underlying vocals. My dad was addicted to singing karaoke. When he visited, he brought all these laser discs from Hong Kong and that’s how I learned.

Can you tell something about the audiophile market?

That’s the chief business for Rock In, the prime target. I think audiophile has always existed. It’s for people who want to appreciate a high level of music through the speakers and the system. Usually, it’s instrumental. But suddenly, I’ve got this name ‘the audiophile queen’ and I’m selling a lot of records. A lot of the audiophile people are older people. And then they see this younger girl, they don’t know who she is, so it’s kind of shifted to a younger generation who are learning what audiophile is. When my first CD came out, a lot of people were debating who I was. Was she a Filipina, a lounge singer, a Taiwanese singer, who was she? And then people learned I was from Hong Kong and everything has been blown up. But I was the first Hong Kong artist in the audiophile market.

What makes audiophile music different?

The mixing is different. They like to hear the flaws in our singing. For example, the way we breathe, the way we end our words. They like to hear the scratching on the guitar strings. You hear that on nice speakers and you hear the presence and the intensity of the music.

Who is your audience?

Audiophile people. Mostly male. It’s mostly men who have an interest in the machinery. It’s like Porsche and Ferrari. You don’t see many females buying a Porsche or a Ferrari.

But your albums are also up there on the HMV charts…

I don’t know why, but I’m also listed as a jazz, easy listening singer.

How would you describe your music?

Easy listening.

Not Jazz?

No, jazz is more double bass and piano. I think mine is more easy listening. And a lot of OLs listen to my music, because it’s calming. When we go to those massage places, what do we listen to? Usually oldies, either instrumental or sung lightly. OLs

are a big part of my fans. The listen when they get home, to de-stress. It’s a kind of music that’s really easy to digest – golden oldies that everyone has heard and put in a soothing, consistently easy listening way. These golden oldies always strike a chord with the listeners. New songs are always difficult, because you have to familiarize yourself with them. But the oldies, you always have them.

In one of your interviews, you said you are introducing older songs to younger listeners?

Yes, the OL’s. They are mostly in their late twenties. I don’t think I’ll be able to crack the 16 to 18 market!

What is it about your versions, that makes them Susan Wong versions?

I never really thought of creating my own style purposely. That would be the worst thing. What comes naturally from within yourself is the best. You digest the song. You really have to understand the meaning of the song – the lyrics are very important. Then how to coordinate the pronunciation of the words with the music. Then how to express it in your own way. That’s my style. There’s no point thinking, Oh, there’s a pause, let’s do vibrato, or let’s continue this line. The best thing is just really to understand the underlying meaning of the lyrics.

Can you give us an example of song that you feel you’ve really interpreted in your own way?

On my latest album, I think I really did a good job. Or on A Night At The Movies, there’s Sometimes When We Touch, one of my favourites. I didn’t try to imitate any version, I just expressed it the way I wanted to.

How do you feel about the idea that Asian artists tend to copy western songs?

It’s a bit sad. In Asia, especially in the Philippines and China, there’s a mentality that says, Oh, there’s a big song, let’s cover it. But to a degree the artist and the arranger really have to have a feel for what they are doing to make it seem as though it’s not just another cover version. You really have to, I know this sounds cheesy, you have to put some heart and soul into it. To be honest, there are some songs that I don’t like. But for the songs where I really feel some connection with the lyrics, I can do it so it isn’t just a cover. Sometimes, in interviews I get asked if not just another Temple Street cover version, just a lounge singer doing covers. But I think there’s a distinction, because the way I sing is somehow different. Maybe it’s the way I know how to play with words and pronunciation and have a feel for the lyrics.

Do you think Asian listeners pay attention to lyrics?

No. Nowadays Cantonese lyrics are appalling. They can repeat two words just to fill up a line!

Do you think western songs have stronger lyrics?

Definitely. What is a song without lyrics? Why don’t I just go da di da da… It’s the lyrics that give the life, the emotions, the sentiment. Without lyrics a song is not a song. And at present Cantonese lyrics suck!

How about modern western songs?

It depends. In hip-hop, you don’t really go for the lyrics, it’s the rhythm. In R&B, there are always some lyrics. At least it’s understandable.

Do you try to project a particular image as a professional singer?

No. I don’t think I am a professional singer. I still have a lot to learn. Put me next to Diana Krall, I suck! I am supposed to be sophisticated, sexy, sultry, young. But I think in real life, I’m not!

Do you perform live?

I really do want to, but I don’t think Hong Kong appreciates it. If I do a gig at the Fringe Club for one and half hours, people start talking after three songs. It’s my music, it’s not lively music. So if I did a concert at City Hall, people would fall asleep! The Fringe Club is okay, but I need some other elements to keep the audience alive. But in the end, it’s a question of whether the Hong Kong audience really appreciates your performance.

There were reports of a Sandy Lam concert that said the audience were complaining because she just sang…

Yes, there was also an audiophile singer who came over from Japan. People just stood up in the middle of the concert and left! I don’t want to put myself in that position.

Do you think that people are more open nowadays to music using different languages? You are doing well singing in English now, but in the eighties it might not have worked.

I think that in the eighties there was always a crowd that favoured English music. We just weren’t aware of it because of the TV and media. But there’s always been a core ground of listeners. As for languages, I think that Cantonese lyrics can be much better. If they just rewind to the eighties and listen to some tracks. Lyrics should be like poetry. You can close your eyes and actually imagine the scene of the song – that’s how I sing. Nowadays there’s no sentiment, no personal touch. Songs by Jacky Cheung 張學友 , like Blue Rain 藍雨 or Leslie Cheung’s The Blowing Wind 風繼續吹 or songs by Alan Tam 譚詠麟 . That’s so descriptive. When you sing it, you can just imagine yourself standing near the Peak, the wind blowing, your lover is leaving… You can actually immerse yourself in the scene, like a movie.

How are you going to develop your music now you are with a new recording company?

The road is always hard and you never know what is going to happen. Keeping your name on top is the most difficult thing. The company is new, called Evolution, locally-based with an American running it. I think it suits my music. The first thing they did for me was to take my music to be recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. That was a once in a lifetime thing. The producers and the musicians were all Americans. And I was really hoping that it would spread my music more over Asia, which it has achieved. My album is actually selling better in Singapore and Indonesia than in Hong Kong. So I want to try to find a niche. I want to balance my music a bit more. I want to add some drive and beat, but it has to be music that people can relate to, that they know and are familiar with, because that’s the way my music sells. I might try some originals, but the Hong Kong market is so sensitive, if they don’t know something, they’ll reject it right away.

Is there really a Hong Kong market any more, now that so many Hong Kong singers are making CDs for overseas markets?

Hong Kong is a small market. If you can’t break even, what are you going to do? Break it in China and Taiwan. It’s a business in the end. From the artists’ point of view, they just want to get famous. But from a business point of view, they want to make money and music is not making money in Asia any more. It’s just a stepping stone for an artist to explore other sides of the entertainment industry like commercials, films, MCs. Music is not music any more, to be honest, its just a way to make money out of an artist.

How many records have you sold?

My record sales are quite consistent. The first album is still selling. I think it has already passed the 50,000 mark. I really want to ask my record company to put the sales figures into the IFPI, so I can get a gold record. The problem is that they need to submit books and records to the auditors, and for a small Chinese company to be audited by the IFPI, it’s sensitive. It’s not very fair on us, the artists. But I’m thinking about doing it.