Jumpin' Jacky flash

Jacky Cheung has launched his world tour, performing in 8 countries and 14 major cities including Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Toronto, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Photos by Wu Jun

GUANGZHOU: In the fickle and fast-moving world of the Hong Kong's Cantopop industry, staying alive and relevant to the city's demanding music audience is no easy task. And within the current sea of artists, dominated by corporate-manufactured, teen idols who seem to have a shorter and shorter shelf life, Jacky Cheung Hok-yau stands apart as one of the few established music acts who have managed to survive and still be successful after so many years in the business.

Cheung is now on his Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 2007, taking in 8 countries and 14 major cities including Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Toronto, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Cheung, who has a 70-member support team, is probably one of the few artists in the Chinese music industry that could sustain an undertaking of this size.

And the facts speak for themselves. Despite his fresh-faced looks, Cheung is an industry veteran, with more than 20 years in the business that includes over 60 Cantonese and 20 Mandarin albums and umpteen DVD, karaoke and other video releases that have sold millions of copies in China and around Asia.