Mike Tsang

Mike Tsang Pei-tak (born 7 November 1993), better known simply as Mike, is a Hong Kong singer, who burst onto the music scene when his debut single "I Am Not Even" (我不如) topped the charts of three of Hong Kong's five broadcasters in early 2021, a feat that very few newcomers have accomplished. Debuting under the Universal Music Hong Kong label, Tsang went on to win several new artist awards for 2021/22, and in 2024, the Outstanding Singer Award in the RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards. Major song accolades also include "I Am Not Even" and "Magic Carpet" winning a Top 10 Gold Song Award each; "I'd Thought" and "Round and Round" bagging the Metro Radio Hits Music Awards Top 10 Hit Song and Best Song by a Duo awards respectively, and "Looking Back Again" being crowned Best Television Series OST of the Year in the 2024 China Film and Television Music Festival.

Early life
Born in Shanwei City, Guangdong, China on 7 November 1993, Tsang is the youngest of three. The family moved to Hong Kong when he was around 6 and settled down in the Lower Ngau Tau Kok public housing estate, a Government housing project for low income families. With the passing of his father when Tsang was only 10 years old, his mother was forced to take on various jobs while bringing up three young children on her own. Times were hard and Tsang has often expressed admiration for his mother's tenacity and strength, as she allowed her children to pursue their dreams despite limited means.

Tsang's growing love for music began in secondary school, when he was invited into the school choir by his music teacher. He is a self-taught pianist and guitarist, and as a student, was constantly working odd jobs to pay for his singing lessons. Upon graduation from the Hong Kong Design Institute’s Digital Music and Media programme, Tsang worked as a sound engineer as well as a part-time singing instructor, alongside singing gigs at events, restaurants, weddings and shopping malls.

Since high school, Tsang has been a regular winner in the amateur singing competition circuit, with accolades including Open Group Champion in the HKSAR 20th anniversary Galaxy Rising Star Singing Contest in 2017, as well as in the 2017 Hong Kong i-SiNG championship, whereupon he represented Hong Kong in the i-SiNG World Singing Competition (held in Yangon that year), ultimately placing fourth in the finals.

2019–2021: Initial Success
Tsang came into the public eye in the 2019 ViuTV Hong Kong reality competition show King Maker II. Despite finishing eighth, his singing and personality caught the attention of renowned music producer and composer Eric Kwok, who introduced him to sign up with Universal Music Hong Kong in 2020, and has since produced almost all of Tsang's music.

On 8 January 2021, Tsang released his debut single "I Am Not Even" (我不如 aka Wo Bu Ru), which shot to No.1 in three of Hong Kong's five broadcaster charts (Commercial Radio's Ultimate Song Chart; TVB's Jade Solid Gold Song Chart and ViuTV's Chill Club Music chart), while placing second in the fourth (RTHK Chinese Gold Song chart). One year later, when Billboard launched the Hits of the World charts for Hong Kong Songs in February 2022, "I Am Not Even" (Wo Bu Ru) was still charting at No.17.

In December 2021, Tsang was awarded Best Male Newcomer (Bronze) in Commercial Radio's Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation 2021, and subsequently in July 2022 (delayed due to pandemic), Best Male Newcomer (Gold) in the Hong Kong Gold Songs Award Presentation Ceremony 2021/2022 jointly organised by TVB and RTHK, with "I Am Not Even" earning him his first Top 10 Gold Song Award.

2022: Introduction to Chinese Audiences
2022 was a breakout year for Tsang. He was selected to participate in a major Mainland China reality singing competition Infinity and Beyond (Cantopop Season) jointly produced by Hong Kong TVB and China's Mango TV/Hunan Television, and created such an impression that Mango TV invited him to join a second programme back-to-back, their signature reality performance show Call Me by Fire (season 2). This success led to several new opportunities, including his first solo album; first solo concert and performances in China's prestigious CCTV gala shows.

Infinity and Beyond

Tsang's surprise win in Episode 1 (24 April) of Infinity and Beyond, where his cover of Samantha Lam's 1984 hit "First Love" (初戀) was voted top performance among all 16 participants who included veterans George Lam, Sally Yeh, Hacken Lee, Li Jian, Miriam Yeung and Coco Lee, coupled with his lively personality; iconic afro hairstyle, and most notably his singing prowess, made him into one of the most exciting breakout stars of the series. As a result, Tsang's popularity skyrocketed in China, especially in the Cantonese-speaking regions in the south. His Weibo follower count shot up from 3,500 fans before start of show to reach 1 million fans in July 2022, three months after the first episode. "First Love" recorded 1.4 million views on the official YouTube channels within 2 weeks of posting, making it one of Mango TV's most popular stage performances of the year.

Infinity and Beyond was aired over mainstream TV in both Hong Kong and Mainland China, and by the end of 13 episodes, recorded an accumulated viewership count of 160 million people, not including online release. As of June 2024, online viewership at the Mango TV platform has exceeded 210 million on average for each episode of the season.

Call Me by Fire 2

On the contrary, Call Me by Fire (season 2) would prove to be a greater challenge. Invited to join on the back of his previous success, Tsang had by far the least experience among all participants in the show's history, having debuted just less than 18 months when filming began in June 2022. Compared to the other seasoned musicians and performers who had been in the industry for at least 5 to 40 years, including superstars like Alex To, Richie Ren, Vanness Wu, Alec Su etc., Tsang was almost an unknown to non-Cantonese speaking audiences. In a contest where audience popularity voting was the determining factor, he was able to impress sufficiently with his few performances, and avoided elimination to reach the finals. Although he could not make the final selection, Tsang called this a highly rewarding experience, both in terms of personal growth and friendships with fellow contestants who were top tier performers and musical minds in their own right.

Call Me by Fire (season 2), broadcast online via the Mango TV platform, had an audience reach nationwide, with Episode 1 alone recording 171 million views on the first day of upload. As of June 2024, online viewership at the Mango TV platform has exceeded 310 million on average for each episode of the season.

First Solo Album, Solo Concert and National Performances

On 22 April 2022, "I'd Thought" (我以為)* was released ahead of the broadcast of Infinity and Beyond, and took the top spot in the RTHK Chinese Gold Song chart in Hong Kong, as well as Music FM Radio Guangdong Cantopop weekly chart and the Chinese Music chart in the Mainland. On 29 April, one week later, "Run On!" (奔跑吧！)* was re-released in Mandarin and reached No.1 on the nation-wide Music Pioneer chart in China.

Tsang released his first studio album MIKE on 18 May 2022. Accumulated sales topped the Hong Kong Record Merchants Association Best Selling Album chart for 3 consecutive weeks, making him the third best selling local artist of the year, sharing the spot jointly with G.E.M and the late Leslie Cheung.

On 19 and 27 August 2022 respectively, Tsang held his first ever solo concerts Mike 2022 MULTIFACETED (曾比特2022點亮多面精彩音樂會)* at live houses in Guangzhou and Foshan, opening to full houses each night.

On 10 September 2022, Tsang was invited to perform in 2 separate events on China Central Television (CCTV) to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, namely, the annual CMG Mid-Autumn Festival Gala (the Mid-Autumn equivalent to the Spring Festival Gala), as well as the China Movie Channel (CCTV-6) Mid-Autumn Online Gala show (「明月知我」閩江之心中秋電影雲歌會)*. Both events were televised nationwide. This was a huge honour for the young singer who had only started out in the Mainland less than five months before.

Return to Hong Kong

Tsang returned to Hong Kong in November 2022 and promptly released his new single, the slow swing "Hello Again" (重見)* on 2 December. This song became his second Hong Kong triple chart-topper after "I Am Not Even" (我不如), while reaching the No.1 spot in the Music FM Radio Guangdong's Cantopop weekly chart and the Chinese Music chart in the Mainland as well. Tsang has indicated that going forward he will focus equally on both Cantonese and Mandarin songs to cater to the needs of fans from different locations.

Despite a 9-month absence from the Hong Kong music scene in 2022, many TVB viewers who watched the Hong Kong broadcast of Infinity and Beyond came to know Tsang favourably for the first time. Viewership count for the TVB broadcast averaged 1.18 million per episode and Tsang was able to expand his listener base as a result. At year-end, he won the Buzz New Male Singer Award in the ''2022 Yahoo! Asia Multiverse Buzz Awards, as well as Best Breakthrough Singer in the Metro Radio Hits Music Awards 2022'', while "I'd Thought" (我以為)* bagged the Top 10 Hit Songs of the Year award.

2023 : Focus on Live Performances
For the nine months from November 2022 to July 2023 after his return to Hong Kong, Tsang was invited to perform in over 20 major concerts and galas in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China. The largest amongst these were the China Central Television 2023 Sail Away Greater Bay Area Gala (2023揚帆遠航大灣區音樂會)* on 17 March 2023, and the China Movie Channel (CCTV-6) Greater Bay Area Film Concert 2023 on 29 June 2023, which also marked his fifth participation in a CCTV music gala in a year.

As a tribute to honour the legacy of Hong Kong superstar Leslie Cheung on the 20th anniversary of his passing, Universal Music Hong Kong published the album Remembering Leslie in March 2023. The album featured some of Cheung's most-loved classics covered by young artists across different recording labels. Selected tracks were released in advance of the album, including Tsang's cover of "Awareness" (有誰共鳴). On 1 April, "Awareness" became the album's first broadcaster chart-topper when it took the No.1 spot in TVB's Jade Solid Gold Song Chart, and todate, is the only one to make it into two of the five broadcaster charts, after placing second on RTHK's Chinese Gold Song chart as well.

In June 2023, Tsang embarked on his first livehouse/hall tour in China. Running over seven months, Mike on shuttle Concert Tour (曾比特穿梭巡迴音樂會)* consisted of ten stops spanning nine cities from the Greater Bay Area to Shanghai and Chengdu. Tickets for the first stop in Guangzhou were sold out within hours and all but one stop had been fully sold out.

From September 2023 to December the same year, Tsang was invited to his third Mainland China major reality singing competition, Singing with Legends (aka Our Song 我們的歌), where young singers pair up with industry veterans to compete for the coveted title of "Golden Voice Duo of the Year" (年度金聲拍檔)*. In its fifth season, Singing with Legends is the annual flagship music production from SMG's Shanghai Dragon Television station. Tsang was the only young singer from Hong Kong this season and was able to collaborate several times with renowned singers and song-writers like Harlem Yu, Michael Wong, A-Lin and Alex To throughout the show.

On 27 September 2023, Universal Music Hong Kong released its SING OUTSIDE THE BOX project, a digital compilation album of collaborations between 13 UMGHK artists. Tsang took part with 2 new songs, namely "Round & Round" (旋轉拍賣) with Kira Chan and "Wicked Connection" (接觸不良) with Oscar Tao. On 30 December, "Round & Round" was crowned Best Song by a Duo or Group in the Metro Radio Hits Music Awards 2023.

On 8 December 2023, one year after his previous single, new song "Magic Carpet" (魔氈) was released, and went on to clinch the top spot in TVB's Jade Solid Gold Song Chart and Music FM Radio Guangdong's Cantopop weekly chart. For the first time, Tsang was also able to break into China National Radio's Mandopop dominant charts with the Cantonese language "Magic Carpet", reaching No.3 in both Radio The Greater Bay Station's China Original Golden Songs Chart (華夏原創金曲榜)* and the nationwide Music Radio Station's China Music Billboard (中國Top排行榜).

2024 to Present: Rise in Prominence
In late 2023, Tsang was handpicked by renowned director Wong Kar-wai to sing for Blossoms Shanghai, Wong's first directed television series. A total of 57 Chinese golden oldies were featured as inset songs, out of which four were specially re-recorded by selected young artistes. Tsang covered two of the four songs, namely Su Rui's "Looking Back Again" (再回首)* and Danny Chan's "Life Expectation" (一生何求)*. "Blossoms Shanghai" first aired nationwide in China on CCTV-8, CCTV-1, SMG Dragon TV, Tencent Video and Jiangsu Television between December 2023 and January 2024. On 18 January 2024, Tsang's version of "Looking Back Again" was digitally released across Greater China, Singapore and Malaysia, and one week later, topped the Hong Kong chart in QQ Music and KuGou, China's two largest music streaming sites. On 17 June 2024, Tsang's "Looking Back Again" was awarded Best Television Series OST of the Year (年度電視劇金曲)* in the first China Film and Television Music Festival, an offshoot of the 2024 Shanghai International Film and Television Festivals.

On 1 March 2024, Tsang's cover of Mavis Hee's "The Fallen City" (傾城) was published as theme song of the TVB hit drama "Happy Ever After?" and within a day upon release, shot up to the No.1 spot of the Hong Kong iTunes Store Top Song chart, thereafter remaining in the top 3 for over a week and in the top 10 even after a month For the first time, Tsang's "The Fallen City" took first place respectively in both KKBOX Singapore and KKBOX Malaysia's Top Cantonese New Singles Charts, KKBOX Singapore's Top Cantonese Weekly Singles Chart, as well as the No.2 spot in KKBOX Taiwan's Top Cantonese New Singles Charts.

On 23 June 2024, Tsang earned his first major personal award since debut, the Outstanding Singer Award in the 45th Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards ceremony in Hong Kong, with "Magic Carpet" winning him his second Top Ten Gold Song Award from RTHK.

Controversy
Tsang emerged on the Hong Kong music scene at a time of unprecedented social unrest and a polarised society where businesses, media, and even artistes were often discerned according to presumed rather than actual affiliations. Young locals generally associated ViuTV with social activism and a stance against establishment, which in turn, they deemed was historically represented by TVB. As a finalist of ViuTV's King Maker II, Tsang was attacked by netizens for appearing on both TV stations. Despite having been passed over by ViuTV before joining Universal Music Hong Kong and thereby not a ViuTV artist, he was accused of "double dipping" and "betrayal" by ViuTV supporters, and, as a newcomer, was the main target of criticism, amid the many singers who also appear on both stations and in the Mainland. When he was selected in the Infinity and Beyond auditions, young netizens further turned their wrath on him for performing in the Mainland and filled his social media with politically fuelled attacks.

When asked to respond to the criticism, the young artiste said, "As a singer, my goal is to touch people with my music, and to let them get to know what type of person (Mike Tsang is). The thing I can do now, is to make good use of whatever platform that becomes available, to tell people about my work. That's enough for me. (When asked about reappearing on ViuTV) I'd take any opportunity given to me as long as it's fun."

Both ViuTV and TVB are indirect Chinese state investments (ViuTV of China Unicom via PCCW, and TVB of China Media Capital ).

Collaborations

 * "-" denotes a recording that did not chart
 * "x" denotes a recording that was not released to the station
 * "*" denotes a recording that is still charting

Major Awards
(*) Transliteration used in the absence of a formal English name