Anita Mui’s 10 best songs: Canto-pop legend’s greatest hits ranked ahead of the release of biopic of the Hong Kong singer in November
- The Hong Kong-born singer’s distinctive voice and charismatic stage presence set her apart, and her songs challenged the conservatism of Chinese culture
- She sang about sex in Bad Girl, flaunted an androgynous look in the music video for Split the Iceberg and plumbed the depths of melancholy in Homecoming
With a melancholic contralto voice and charismatic stage presence, Anita Mui Yim-fong, who died from cervical cancer in 2003, was the biggest female Canto-pop singer in Hong Kong.
Unconstrained by the conservative social mores of the 1980s, she embraced liberal Western values and sang about a girl’s first sexual encounter in Bad Girl (1985).
In the music video for Split the Iceberg (1986), she wore a broad-shouldered blazer and loose-fitting trousers to pull off an androgynous look that had never been adopted by female Hong Kong entertainers before.
In his 2019 book about the singer, Dream and the City: Anita Mui and Hong Kong Popular Culture, Lei Chin-pang, assistant professor in communication at the University of Macau, points out that Mui’s image was without precedent in the Chinese community then.
Anita is the biopic of Canto-pop icon Anita Mui we’ve been waiting for
“Her ever-changing image represented the endless possibilities of Hong Kong women and the drastic changes of Hong Kong society and culture then,” he wrote in the book.
10. Debt of Heart (1982)
Composer: Joseph Koo Ka-fai
Mui’s debut song, Debt of Heart is also the title song of Soldier of Fortune, a 1982 television series aired by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB. The cover of the eponymous album features Mui with frizzy long hair; it is the only album in her singing career which shows her as a traditional, elegant woman. Once released, the song shot to the top of the RTHK Top Ten Chinese Golden Songs Ranking.
9. Split the Iceberg (1986)
Composers: M Creiu, H Kemmler
Lyricist: Peter Lai
8. Rouge (1987)
Composer: Michael Lai Siu-tin
Lyricist: Tang King-sang
The theme song of Stanley Kwan Kam-pang’s multiple-award-winning 1987 movie of the same name, Rouge portrays the desperation and broken heart of a prostitute, played by Mui, who commits suicide after her lover’s family objects to their relationship. Mui won best actress awards for her role at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards and the Asia Pacific Film Festival.
7. Holding Your Beloved (1997)
Lyricist: Calvin Poon Yuen-leung
The theme song of hit TVB drama Time Before Time (1997), Holding Your Beloved portrays the fleeting nature of love and exhorts people in love to treasure the time together with their romantic partners.
6. Manjusaka (1985)
Composer: Ryudo Uzaki
Lyricist: Pun Wai-yun
The song is a remake of Momoe Yamaguchi’s 1978 song of the same name. When designing Mui’s image for the eponymous 1985 album, fashion designer Eddie Lau Pui-kei took reference from Marlene Dietrich, the first androgynous female icon in Hollywood.
Sporting a sharp men’s suit, short-cropped hair and black sunglasses, Mui’s look on the album cover cemented her protean image.
5. Bad Girl (1985)
Composers: C Dore, J Littman
Lyricist: Richard Lam Chun-keung
The Bad Girl album featuring this song broke the record for Hong Kong album sales when it was released in 1985. Over 700,000 copies were sold. Bad Girl portrays the first sexual encounter of a girl, and has explicit lyrics.
Because of their sexual nature, the song was banned by RTHK and in mainland China. Undeterred, Mui continued challenging social norms with her rebellious image and songs.
4. The Burning Iceberg (1985)
Composer: Ryudo Uzaki
Lyricist: Richard Lam Chun-keung
A remake of Momoe Yamaguchi’s hit song Roll’n Roll Widow (1980), the song portrays the sizzling passion and sultry sexual frisson a woman feels when she sees her romantic partner. Mui’s wild dance moves and sexy leather skirt in the music video further strengthened her naughty girl image.
3. Dream Partner (1986)
Composer: Kisabuko Suzuki
Lyricist: Andrew Lam Man-chung
The song portrays the setbacks women experience in their romantic pursuits. Its lively tempo exhorts listeners not to worry and keep forging ahead in spite of romantic mishaps.
2. Homecoming (1984)
Composer: Masanori Takahashi (Kitaro)
Lyricist: Cheng Kwok-kong
The theme song for the classic 1984 movie of the same name, Homecoming’s beautiful melody and plaintive lyrics portray the fleeting nature of time, and fit perfectly alongside the story of a Hong Kong divorcee’s quest to find her roots in mainland China. Music critics said Mui’s melancholic rendition of the song is inimitable.
1. Like an Old Friend’s Visit (1992)
Composer: Lo Ta-yu
Lyricist: Albert Leung, also known as Lam Zik
This was the theme song for the 1991 movie The Twin Bracelets, which is about a bond between two women that borders on romantic love. Filled with poetic lyrics, the song shows the unpredictability and impermanence of life. It won for best original song at the 1992 Hong Kong Film Awards.
