Despite a best-selling album, Ronald Cheng Chung-kei is still a name that needs introduction. As a new singer on the market, it will take time for the public to know him. But, he has had the best endorsement possible by performing a duet with Jacky Cheung Hok-yau, an honour not many new singers can boast of.
Canto-pop superstars are familiar figures to Cheng, who spent most of his school holidays hanging around recording studios, singing along - albeit under his breath - when these big names were recording.
'I used to get very excited when I saw people like Alan [Tam] and Jacky [Cheung] recording in the studios. I would listen to them and imitate them,' said Cheng, 26, whose debut album King in the Dark has sold more than 200,000 copies in Taiwan.
That advantage came naturally for Cheng because his father is Norman Cheng, regional president of PolyGram Records which distributes albums for Cheung, Leon Lai and Tam.
But Cheng does not think that his father's influence will be prevalent in his career.
'He doesn't really look after the day-to-day promotion work of the Hong Kong or the Taiwan office. I am treated like any other artist.' In fact, the business administration graduate won his recording contract without help from his father. He had been doing background vocals for Cheung's single Making Myself Ill in Los Angeles, when he mentioned to producer Michael Au Ting-yuk that he was interested in singing.