While Korean boy band BTS members are enlisting for the military one by one, a new star from Hong Kong has risen in the welkin of the global music industry, Mirror. The local boy band consists of 12 artists in their 20s to early 30s: Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Anson Lo, Jeremy Lee, Edan Lui, Keung To, Tiger Yau, and Ian Chan. All artists are recognised for their outstanding talents in singing, dancing and even acting.
Hong Kong’s most popular boy band has made fans from all over the world eagerly click the YouTube button on their devices by releasing their first-ever English song, “Rumours”. Uploaded on the group’s official YouTube channel on March 17, 2023, the music video has garnered more than 560,000 views in the first three days of launch.
With their new song, the famous Cantopop boy band whose 12 members started as competitors on the first season of ViuTV’s talent show, Good Night Show – King Maker, aired in 2018, spread their influence on the global music market. International fans who have already been following the group’s musical career are happy to listen to their new release in the language they can freely understand, and some of them are even willing to share their suggestions on the lyrics.
According to the members themselves, the new release is not only different from their previous music in terms of the language of the lyrics, but also in terms of the concept. Mirror has switched from their earlier singles image of the “energetic kids” to the contrasting “sexy” and “sensual” image of young men chasing a pretty girl in red and causing rumours. The lyrics of the song present the darker, but not less attractive side of Mirror to their fans.
Make me wanna get in troubleFind the bottom of a bottleGo somewhere where you and IBlurring out the lines
In contrast with the already mentioned popular Korean boy band, BTS, whose loyal fan group, ARMY, showed mixed responses to their international debut, the Mirror fandom expressed active support for them entering the global music arena. For many fans, who are mostly students, middle-aged women, and young families, Mirror became a light of hope and a piece of comfort in the pandemic times and during the political tensions in the past few years.
Local fans find the new stars more connected to them and their roots, unlike their predecessors, who were frequently perceived as pre-packaged and, in some instances, overly dependent on mainland China.
Members of the Mirror fan group associate the rise of the new stars with the strong comeback of Cantopop which fell behind Mandopop and K-pop in gaining global recognition. The rise of Cantopop speaks to an overall desire to communicate the Hong Kong cultural identity to a broader audience.
Featured Image: Mirror YouTube Channel