Instead of the usual anime and Japanese music pick, this month I am putting up my personal top favorite TVB themes. TVB is a big part of most Cantonese speaking people's lives. Hong Kong dramas have been sold and watched throughout most of Asia. Overseas Chinese and Asian audiences have also enjoyed these very same shows in their time. Though I cannot say that TVB dramas are terrible now, but they have definitely changed to something not to my liking. If you follow this blog, you can clearly see how much Japanese music I listen to. C-pop occupies only a small portion of my personal playlist, but it still has a spot.
While there are so many great songs out there, here are my top favorites.
1995
Return of the Condor Heroes // 神鵰俠侶
神話情話 by Wakin (Emil) Chau and Chyi Yu
One of oldest C-pop songs that I have on my playlist. Return of the Condor Heroes is one of my favorite old time wuxia dramas that I enjoy a lot. The song describes a lot of the romance between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu as well as the trials the both had to overcome in the story.
2005
Revolving Doors of Vengeance // 酒店風雲
心計 by Hakken Lee
It's one of those songs that's written specifically for the drama. Slow, but a little sorrowful and a little hopeful maybe. The drama was the first drama to introduce me to Ron Ng.
2006
Face to Fate // 布衣神相
披荊斬刺 by Raymond Lam
The song is a mix of Chinese tradition and Hong Kong pop. It was a catchy one for me.
靠近 by Frankie Lam and Tavia Yeung
The opening reminded me a bit of the Chinese folk song, Mo Li Hua. I wonder if it was intentional since the song is a love song after all.
Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion // 覆雨翻雲
出鞘 by Raymond Lam
Another slow jam kind of song, but it picks up the pace towards the end.
Under the Canopy of Love // 天幕下的戀人
請講 by Kevin Cheng and Niki Chow
I love the duet between Kevin Cheng and Niki Chow. It's like the words roll off their tongues so easily when they sing. I became a fan of Kevin Cheng in this drama and subsequently it was also the era where he rose to popularity.
Forensic Heroes // 法證先鋒
天網 by Frankie Lam
Easy to listen. I didn't realize that Frankie Lam could also sing as good as he could act. Themes of looking for answers and ambiguity are sung in the lyrics.
2007
Heart of Greed // 溏心風暴
講不出聲 by Susanna Kwan
Starts off dramatic like Heart of Greed. Heart of Greed was so popular that it got a sequel. I think was even better than its predecessor. The lyrics I think highlight the struggles within the family in the story.
The Slicing of the Demon // 凶城計中計
還用在意嗎 by Bernice Liu
This drama probably is forgotten by a few people, but I liked how there was a mystery within a mystery. Despite the English title, it's actual just a costume drama, not some supernatural thing. The theme song was sung in the perspective of the female protagonists unsure whether to trust their respective lovers.
2008
Moonlight Resonance // 溏心風暴之家好月圓
無心害你 by Susanna Kwan
The title translates to something like "unintentionally hurting you" which happened a lot in the drama. People were hurt due to rivalries, betrayals, and misunderstanding. Boy were there a lot of misunderstandings.
The Four // 少年四大名捕
風暴 by Raymond Lam, Kenneth Ma, Sammul Chan, Ron Ng,
Starring the four characters in the drama, they were chosen to sing the opening as well. Though the drama was kinda "meh" in my opinion, it had its ups and downs.
2009
Beyond the Realm of Conscience // 宮心計
攻心計 by Susanna Kwan
A clever title I would say. It's a pun on the royal harem versus the secret battles concubines wage against each other. This song is practically the anthem for the royal harem talking about the rivalry and the things people do to each other to protect themselves.
DIE Again // 古靈精探 II
追根究柢 by Roger Kwok
Like drama, the song is upbeat. There's nothing dark to expect, but happy endings.
2011
Curse of the Royal Harem // 萬凰之王
各安天命 by Susanna Kwan
Another song by Susanna Kwan relating to the royal harem in some way. This one however is a more tragic song about the fate characters were given.
The Other Truth // 真相
潛伏 by Ryan Lau
This rock song talks about looking for the truth among the obscure mirroring the story of the legal drama.
2015
Wudang Rules // 潮拜武當
無懼 by C All Star
This is the most recent drama that I got into. It's funny and the theme song is upbeat. This pop rock song talks about being fearless (as the title translates to) which was the point of the drama really, learning to be fearless through martial arts.
Bonus
2015
The Empress of China // 武則天
女皇 by Joey Yung
This one is kind of a stretch since it's not a TVB drama, but a mainland Chinese drama. However TVB bought it over, dubbed it, and put it on prime time broadcast. I found the drama extremely superficial, but the theme song became my favorite. In the Cantonese dub, they chose Joey Yung to sing the newly written theme which is mainly about Wu Zetian's struggle as an empress in the drama.
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