All rapped up: Australia-born Canto-pop star Gregory Rivers lifts two Hong Kong music awards
Singer’s rap song about love for the city he has called home for three decades steals show at TV Most event
When Gregory Rivers bought a one-way ticket from Australia to Hong Kong 28 years ago, his burning ambition was to become a Canto-pop singer like his idols Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and Alan Tam Wing-lun.
Three decades later, not only did his dream finally come true, he is also a face of Hong Kong.
At Monday night’s TV Most 1st Guy Ten Big Ging Cook Gum Cook Awards Distribution, Rivers won the gold song award and most popular male singer, rapping in Cantonese about his love for Hong Kong.
“It wasn’t just an award from [TV Most]. It was the people of Hong Kong who gave me the award. It is very significant,” said 50-year-old Rivers.
The singer is among the best-known Western faces in Hong Kong. A former TVB actor of 20 years, Rivers, better known to the local Cantonese-speaking population as Ho Kwok-wing, played only supporting roles on screen.
But at the awards show, Rivers was the undoubted star. Not only did he perform ATV Forever, a parody poking fun at the beleaguered broadcaster that will finally lose its free-TV licence in April – he sang the finale Hong Kong Place, a Cantonese rap song about his love for the city.
