Many local artists usually start their singing careers at a young age but it has taken 42-year-old Chinese-American actor Michael Wong Man-tak (above) until now to release his first album, Cool Rhythm, in Hong Kong.
The 11-track set is a tribute to the swing band era and includes classics such as Dean Martin's Sway and the Frank Sinatra tune I've Got You Under My Skin.
Growing up in the US, Wong heard a lot of jazz and R&B and as his mother enjoyed classical compositions he was able to reach out to all sorts of music at a young age.
Wong's first job, at 19, was as a singer in Las Vegas, but acting intrigued him and he came to Hong Kong to try his luck. In 1983, he made his first big-screen appearance in the John King-directed martial arts film Invincible Obsessed Fighters and has since starred in more than 60 films. His elder brother Russell Wong Sun-tak is also a successful actor.
The actor-singer invested more than HK$1 million on the production of his album.
'It is a big production, we had to secure a concert hall, technicians and the band - the Big Band. But it actually turns out to be good business too,' Wong says.
But how did his wife Janet Ma Sze-wai and his three young children feel about his 'expensive' project? 'My wife is very supportive, as she has been for 15 years. She knows what I like to do and she doesn't question me much as long as I'm taking care of my responsibilities.'