Pakho Chau Leaves TVB Music Group

Many changes have happened in the Hong Kong music industry since the start of 2023. Gin Lee (李幸倪) joined Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG) and TVB Music Group’s top male singer, Pakho Chau (周柏豪), announced he will be leaving the company after six years.

Speculations swirled when Pakho promoted his two new songs by tagging his management company, but left out TVB Music Group on social media. Confirming the news yesterday, Pakho stressed there are no hard feelings and he still has a good relationship with TVB. Despite his contract ending, there will be future opportunities to work together, and his new drama with Venus Wong (王敏奕) is about to air. “I feel a bit sad leaving. We’ve worked well together for the past six years, and I’ve gotten to know a lot of TVB seniors and younger artistes such as Priscilla Wong (黃翠如).”

The 38-year-old said he hopes for more freedom to step outside of his comfort zone and try new things. During the three years of the pandemic, Pakho’s success in the Chinese market may have cemented his decision to leave. Within nine months, he had taken part in five popular variety shows including Infinity and Beyond <聲生不息>, Call Me By Fire <披荊斬棘>, and Night in the Greater Bay 2 <大灣仔的夜2>. He also had the opportunity to film many commercials and appear in public events, leading to a large increase in income.

“I don’t want to compare, but other places don’t have the kind of atmosphere that China does. When I filmed Call Me By Fire, they were able to get 30 different artistes from around the world to join the show. I learned a lot from this. I was also really happy to meet many new friends… it was always just Shiga Lin (連詩雅),” he said.

Working in China comes with challenges, as Pakho works 16 hours per day. He believes that you will reap what you sow. “Ten years ago, I already held a fan signing event in Guangdong, but people from other provinces did not know about me. While filming Call Me by Fire, I travelled to many different cities as far as Heilongjiang, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Hangzhou.”

Although work is fulfilling, Pakho gave up 12 months of family time in exchange. Coming back home to his 17-month-old son, Pakho was “surprised” by how much his son has grown and he regretted missing his son’s first walking steps. ”When I left, he couldn’t even stand yet.” To see his family more often, Pakho will pretend to go to the bathroom while filming or will video call his daughter while eating. “People have been saying I look happier, maybe it’s because I’ve been singing a lot of children’s songs.”

Now that pandemic travel restrictions have lifted, Pakho is able to go to China anytime to work.  He will celebrate Lunar New Year with his family in Hong Kong. He stressed that he will not be giving up the Hong Kong market, and will continue to produce Cantonese songs.

Shuffling of Top Positions

With Pakho’s departure, Hubert Wu (胡鴻鈞) would have been next in line to take his place but there are also rumors that he will be leaving the company as his name was removed from the company website. He has yet to confirm the rumors. Remaining singers include: JW (王灝兒), Shiga Lin (連詩雅), Jinny Ng (吳若希), Hana Kuk (菊梓喬), Fred Cheng (鄭俊弘), Brian Tse (謝東閔), Alvin Ng (伍富橋), and James Ng (吳業坤).

With Pakho and Hubert out of the picture, James is next in line to take the top spot at TVB Music Group since joining last year. However, James has been filming a music video, recording new songs, and been in meetings nonstop since his return to Hong Kong. James replied, “I haven’t paid much attention to others. I only know that the company has invested a lot of resources, and I will be doing promotions continuously in March. I don’t place too much emphasis on the ‘Number One Brother’ spot. Although I am the eldest in age, I am also the latest to join the company so I am everyone’s junior.”

Source: [1]

This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.