Media Conference - Joey leaks news, Hacken's expression darkens

Hacken arrived in Malaysia for his concert promotion and any questions regarding "wife Emily" weren't allowed. His face became expressionless at any mention.

Last week, ex-partner Joey Leung was in Malaysia for Minutes to Fame and at some point had leaked that Hacken was soon to become a father. Reporters asked Hacken about this and he only replied "This isn't the time to talk" and implied that Joey was doing well in Malaysia and shouldn't be spilling anything on Hacken to the press!

"I've heard that Joey has been doing very well in Malaysia, I'm happy for him. I've always told him that it's good to go to different places to do things and I've found that his Chinese is becoming better and better. I wish him luck in progressing further in Malaysia."

When asked if Emily will support him in his Genting concert on July 28, he replied "As for this question, umm... let's just finish the questions about the concert first!" The MC by his side kept helping him to fend off the reporters, saying that this question would need to be answer by the concert manager.

When talking about the concert, Hacken had a lot to say. He said that this would be the first time he's held a concert in Malaysia and to accommodate all the age differences and levels of fans, he has decided that the concert will concentrate on singing. Apart from his own old and new songs, there will be songs that he used to listen to as a student and other classics. There should be over 40 songs.

"The most special part is that I will not speak much. There will be a 20 minute medley. Of course I won't be able to play and sing, but there will be a part for the Concert Hall series songs. There won't be much spectacular dancing, but that you all already know. Normal dancing of course there will be, but nothing like Madonna. As for wearing less and less as I sing, unfortunately I don't have the assets. The most important thing is that I hope this concert will be like a fan gathering, the fans can pick the song and I can sing."

As well, this time he's invited Ivana Wong as a guest performer. He said that before he had performed with her in America/Canada singing Air Supply's songs. This time there will be plans for a new idea. After saying that, Hacken joked about Ivana's soft and light voice even when talking.

He revealed that in his new upcoming album, the songs have a more unplugged feel and that in Genting he would sing some of these new songs. As for movies, if time permits, then he might film but at the moment the most important things are the concert and the new album. Next year in February, he will be holding a solo concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

As for when Left Alan Right Hacken will reform? "First, I need to finish all the work I have on my hands, before I know if I can work with Alan. Maybe in 2009 or 2010, though of course this is just what I think for now. I'm sure that Alan would want to do another Left Alan Right Hacken concert as well."

After the press conference, Hacken appeared at the concert promotion and saw his employers (the fans that were present) and his smiled much more for them than he did for the reporters. He was half an hour late, and only spoke for 2 minutes before hurriely signing autographes for the 100 selected fans. Even with his own fan club yelling at him to sing "Never chaning in a lifetiem", Hacken told fans to wait another month, giving off a "big brother" feel.

http://www.chinapress.com.my/content_new.asp?dt=2007-06-29&sec=entertainment&art=0629en05.txt

Singing beyond the skies

Singing beyond the skies

In the music industry, those that are at the front of the line would be singers. Their songs - can they satisfy the fans and become a hit song for all the years to come? Their image - can new ideas interest the audience so it becomes embedded in their memories? These are the battles that singers face each day, especially now in this gradually withering music industry. Singers have less opportunity to produce albums, often fearing that bad sales will mean waiting another year for another chance or even the opportunity disappearing altogether. So whether or not they are receiving applause, pressure will always be present. George Lam who has reached star singer status and Hacken Lee who has received "Most Popular Male Singer" 3 times, how do they both see the singer's road ahead?


Hacken Lee: Continuously looking for new changes





"Now that consumers are willing to pay HK$5 for a downloadable ringtone, I have confidence that one day consumers are willing to pay HK$8-10 to legally download their favourite songs. At present, this music industry is going through a low and should be reaching its darkest point where there is hope for the birth of a new era. As long as the music industry still exists, everyone will be able to find a new chance." Hacken Lee entered the industry in the 80's during the golden era of music and after 20 years, he is still the supporting pillar of the music world. He has not given up on future of music or singers. Even though popular culture and technology can change the world, people are smart and will also think of ways to adapt.

Breaking the traditional way of selling albums

Hacken reckons that buying and selling songs online will break the traditional way of selling songs. But this method is still not widespread as consumers need to feel that it's convenient and they wont run the risk of being arrested for illegal downloading. Hacken recalls that he has gone through records and cassettes to reach the CD era. At that time, CDs were being sold for over HK$100 each and had dropped sales. No one looked well on CDs and felt that noone would spend over HK$100 for a cd. However, reality shows that as long as there are good songs and a good presentation, fans are willing to pay. Now in 2007, Hacken believes that CDs will soon become mementos. In the future, watching TV could be done using the internet and homes will soon have mini-cinemas for watching movies. Songs can also be bought instantly over the internet to listen at home.

Finding a way to get music fans to buy

He says "Technology makes life easier for people. That's why the existence of MP3s and I-Pods are for people that prefer convenience and for those that don't ask for acoustic quality when listening to music. H&M is a company that is popular worldwide and coming to HK to open branches is proof that HK consumers attitude is about getting the design they want for cheap. They don't ask for quality. The most important thing is that vermicilli resembles shark fin (Chinese saying). That's why H&M are so popular but still won't affect the sales of Gucci. It's the same reasoning with music. There are those that want convenience. At the same time, there are those that want high quality music. Recently I've made two albums "Hacken Lee Concert Hall" and their sales have been higher than my previous album by 100%. This can prove that there are fans out there that want high quality CDs. But this does not mean there isn't a second way, this cannot work forever and so that is why changes are needed. At the moment, we cannot successfully create a new music and film world so we must find ways to trigger fans to buy CDs."

Changes must be coordinated with advances in time

Hacken feels that at the moment singers don't know how to change. Even record companies are working hard to change to meet with advances. So some record companies are even becoming managing companies to help singers under them develop in other areas.

"To some singers, songs are becoming advertisements. The most important thing is that songs can make the singer a hit and then they can ride on this to film movies, make commercials and even hold concerts to make money. No matter how they do it, singers and record companies are all working hard to keep their existence so they do not perish. The music world has its rises and falls, and everyone needs to get through it. There will be a day when people can relax again. So people, don't worry!"


A small fan meets with Hacken



Hacken is not only a HK singer, he has plenty of fans from across the oceans. During the day of the interview, there was a little fan all the way from San Francisco. Tam Bao Bao was in HK for a holiday and under MingPao's arrangement, she got to get up close with her idol.

Once a small fan sees an idol, what goes through her head? No matter what age, to be able to see one's idol close up, everyone's reaction would be the same - smiling, staring, hands shaking, heart erratically beating, even forgetting to ask for an autograph, in other words happy beyond imagination.

When asked how Tam Bao Bao who lived in America would know Hacken:

She replies in her less than fluent Cantonese "I like watching Yut Ding (Minutes to Fame). Hacken is very funny. I like him singing Red Day. It's nice."

Because of one program or because of one song, people will becomes fans. And to have support from somewhere far far away, that would be the self-satisfaction of being an idol.

http://ol.mingpao.com/cfm/Archive1.cfm?File=20070309/saa01/mba1.txt
http://ol.mingpao.com/cfm/star5.cfm?File=20070309/saa01/mbb1.txt
http://ol.mingpao.com/cfm/star5.cfm?File=20070309/saa01/mbb2.txt