Ruco Chan and Vincent Wong to Make Full Comebacks in the Music Industry
Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) has already secretly signed with a record label, and Vincent Wong (王浩信) will reportedly follow suit. Both actors have made singing debuts prior to achieving success in acting.
The source that broke the news reported that Ruco had specifically requested for TVB to allow him the freedom to sign with any record label of his choice while he was in talks to renew his management contract last year. Ruco had reportedly already partnered up with a new record label, but his reps are delaying the announcement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Ruco’s introduction to the entertainment industry was through TVB, he chose to sacrifice his acting career for a singing debut after being introduced to musician So Tak-wah (蘇德華) in 1996. 20-year-old Ruco then signed an exclusive deal with PolyGram in 1997. Promoted to be “the second Daniel Chan (陳曉東)”, Ruco recorded four singles with PolyGram before the label was rapidly shut down and bought out by Universal. Hit hard by the 1997 financial crisis, PolyGram canceled its contract with Ruco.
“To become a singer, I had to sacrifice a lot of opportunities that TVB gave me,” said Ruco in an interview. “I even used my own savings to invest in my singing career. I bought clothes and hired an image consultant. I really wanted to be a singer. After hearing that they wanted to cancel my contract, I felt I had lost everything at that moment.”
After going through a few years in limbo, Ruco signed with ATV in 2001, and finally back with TVB in 2008. In 2016, he won Best Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards for his performance in the popular series A Fist Within Four Walls <城寨英雄>, cementing his lead status in the industry. The drama’s ending theme “Never Know You Are the Best” <從未知道你最好>, which he performed with costar Nancy Wu (胡定欣), was one of the year’s most popular songs, winning popularity awards at various music awards.
Vincent, on the other hand, debuted in 2005 as a singer under Neway Star, with the single “Signal” <訊號>. He released one album, but the debut failed to gain traction in the industry. In 2007, he signed with TVB to pursue acting. After nine years of playing supporting roles, he shot to fame following his starring performance in 2016’s Over Run Over <EU超時任務>. In 2018, he won Best Actor for his performance in Legal Mavericks <踩過界>. He had his early reintroduction back into the music industry after his single “Unaffordable” <愛不起> — the ending theme song for his 2019 drama The Man Who Kills Trouble <解決師> — won several awards at the JSG Awards, including Best Original Song.
According to the source, Vincent is currently in talks with several record labels for a music industry comeback. He has expressed interest in releasing a new album and having his own concert next year.
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Oooh! Interesting, I do hope it’s true; Ruco is definitely a great singer.
@jcc10 I’m not a fan of Ruco, but I really do admire him. He really climbed his way up to tvb king status. I never knew how long he was around until I rewatched this old 90s sitcom and he was in it as an extra! I was really surprised.
@abcd I know, Ruco has been around since forever. Became a fan after Brother’s Keeper!
To make a “comeback”, either of them would had to be actually successful singing careers, not just singing TVB’s tv series theme songs.
@seriously HANA & Jinny are quite successful, but only sing TVB drama theme songs
@luye you answered your own comment/question, if they’re only singing tv theme songs, they’re not that all successful.
Both are weak singers. They can handle a TVB theme but are nothing compared to those who devote their careers to music who have years of experience.
Not bad, they are both good singers. Looking forward to hear more from them in the future. If they do TVB theme songs at least it won’t just be Fred, Hubert or Pakho.
@oligodendrocytes I’m sick of Fred’s voice…
both started as singers but not much recognition as singers. Interesting that they even plan to make a come back as singer, I thought HK singing industry is dying. Wish them good luck. I would prefer Vincent than Ruco in both acting and singing.
@bennyjr It’s precisely because the HK music industry is dead that the likes of Ruco and Vincent (neither of whom are “good” singers in my book) can “make a comeback”….there’s no competition and for music fans who aren’t picky, having something to listen to (even if that something is not good) is better than not having anything at all…
@bennyjr, not dying but already death is the hk music industry for a decade now. same shall happen with the movie industry. there are just no new proper replacement for the old stars who are retiring or already retired or died. who can replace chow yun fat? who can replace alan tam? who can replace jacky chan? no one. the whole hk cantonese music movie culture will fade away like candlelight.
I actually like Ruco’s voice especially his duet with Amy Chan from Love in Miracle – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEoo_iqJwCY
It was Love in Miracle where I started to noticed Ruco Chan. At that time I thought what a waste, he can act, can sing and quite handsome in Love in Miracle but not many people watch his drama because its not Tvb. And then some years later I heard he was asking his fans whether he should move to TVB or not. I was delighted when he really jumped station from Atv to Tvb.
@snoopy
People just don’t understand what a good singer is these days. Just have a good sounding one tone voice like Ruco does not mean he is a competent singer..
@jimmyszeto I don’t think he’s a competent singer. In fact I think he should focus on acting and just sing as many themesong as possible, for Ruco has a nice voice unlike Bosco & Ron (They are the ones with one tone voice when singing). Same with Vincent Wong. I think both of them can push their acting skills even further.
@snoopy
Agree. Vincent and Ruco’s acting have since far surpassed their singing but it’s an ego thing. They can’t accept failing previously as a singer and keep thinking ‘what it might have been?’. This is a weakness in many people. Remember Louis Koo signing a big music contract a more than a decade. This actors don’t understand that even if they return to singing and their songs become popular it’s because they are TV idols rather than proving that they are good singers anyway…
@jimmyszeto Also, both Ruco & Vincent have already gotten best actor award. So now they want to achieve something else. I think they are both great singers from the songs I’ve heard & they both have potential
@jimmyszeto Yes, true…though in a sense, it’s also “the HK way”….as a HK entertainer, it’s not enough to be only one thing – you have to be jack of all trades and get involved in everything (acting, singing, hosting, etc.)…it’s a requirement almost – it’s like you are not truly a HK artist unless you dabble in all mediums (TV, music, movies, radio, etc.). It has absolutely nothing to do with whether the artist is good at it or not – in fact, their singing can suck like no tomorrow, yet they can still become a “successful” singer as long as they have the right connections. It’s pathetic to be honest but unfortunately, that’s the way it works…
@llwy12 that doesnt only happen in HK though. Even in US & China, there are celebrities who are singers & actors
@luye at least the actors, who also sing in the US can actually sing and act.
@llwy12 not many of these actors can either sing or act. In the asian way, once a guy or girl has a cute face, a decent looking body and a dash of charisma, the fans lap up their mediocre talent , or lack thereof. Ruco is not a strong singer, but he is not as bad as some netizens make him out to be. I think his acting is his stronger talent though. Some can hardly act and can’t sing, some can hardly sing and can’t act, while 99.9% suck at both. Very few can do one or the other fairly well. That is why I admire Jacky Chueng, and Tony Leung. They excel at both acting and singing , but unfortunately, chose to focus on one talent. Sammi Chen is a female actress and singer who stands apart as well . Carina Lau is pretty decent at singing and acting too.
They are both okay for themesongs but they are past the age of being pop idols. They probably want to diversify to have another income source. With TVB and HK film industry on the decline, it is probably best not to put all your eggs in one basket.
this is one reason why the hk music industry is dead. both are mediocre singers at best yet some company is willing to invest in them. why not divert the invest to some real singers instead?
The reason music seems dead in HK is because of The Voice and their formulaic theme song/sad love song. Every song sounds the same because they have the same person composing and the same person writing the lyrics. I suspect they just buy views on YouTube. Hubert is the only one that can sing at TVB but he’s stuck singing the same thing.
Universal HK has Aga, Gin Lee, real musicians but don’t have the same exposure as TVB so see lais won’t know about them. Indie labels are creative but lack the resources to promote. Everyone tvb is promoting is alrdy 30 years or older. The only ones I can see being real pop idols are the people Viu TV are promoting now like Keung To.
@bubbles23 Is The Voice the representation of HK music? Gin Lee, JW, HANA, Stephanie Ho, Jinny, Pakho, Hubert, Jason Chan are all good singers imo
@luye LOL yes. I should say instead The Voice is dragging down the quality of cantopop. They are definitely not representative of HK music, although it seems to be like that due to their music shows and whatnot. If you compare vocal ability/musicality, Gin Lee is years ahead of Jinny, hana, and Steph Ho (she’s okay).
I absolutely adore Jason Chan, his voice is so good.
@bubbles23 yes Gin Lee is the best!