Pakho Chau

Cantopop darling Pakho Chau made his start in the music industry in 2007. He has released nine albums and boasts multiple accolades, including the prestigious Male Singer Gold Award at the Ultimate Song Chart Awards earlier this year. The singer-songwriter talks to Isabelle Hon about insisting on learning to play the piano, his former modeling career—and why people think he’s too sentimental.

Reading Time:3 minutes

Published: 4:00pm, 11 Jun 2015Updated: 4:43pm, 19 Oct 2016

My father is a retired businessman and my mother is a housewife. I have two brothers—and I’m in the middle.

I loved music and was surrounded by it while growing up. My father had a hi-fi sound system and my neighbor played the piano.

I was a happy kid, but I wasn’t simply handed what I wanted—my parents usually gave stuff out as a prize after I had achieved something.

They taught me this: If you want something, you have to try your best. They also punished me when I was wrong.

I studied at a local school in Sai Kung, where I played basketball competitively.

My parents gave me a lot of freedom. I could hang out with any friends and play as many sports as I wanted.

I was a part-time swimming coach and lifeguard every summer. I would earn around $16,000 per month, which was quite a lot for a student at the time.

My mom refused to let me play the piano because she thought I’d give it up easily. But after I kept begging her, she finally gave in.

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