Influencer’s ‘truly amazing’ Leslie Cheung transformation acclaimed in China 20 years after Cantopop legend’s tragic death
- Yu Junhan has amassed 627,000 Douyin followers with his realistic video impersonations of pop star Leslie Cheung 20 years after his death
- The transformations with unique make-up and convincing imitations of Cheung’s expressions and singing style have been widely praised
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A Chinese influencer’s impersonation of Hong Kong singer and actor Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing 20 years after the superstar’s death has become a major trending story in mainland China.
Influencer Yu Junhan has amassed 627,000 followers on Douyin with his video impersonations of Cheung. His popularity exploded in China thanks to his close physical resemblance to the singer and similar vocal style, hk01.com reported.
Yu’s Douyin profile states matter-of-factly: “I like Leslie Cheung, and I am Yu Junhan, who enjoys Hong Kong music.”
Cheung was a Cantopop pioneer and film star who released more than 40 albums and acted in 56 films over a 26-year career from 1977 and remains popular in Asia. The openly bisexual singer, who was in a long-term relationship with a man at the time of his death, remains a major LGBTQ icon.
Yu’s first Cheung video in September 2021 saw him dress up as the singer and perform the song “The Wind Continues to Blow”, writing in the post that Cheung made him realise the pleasure of being a fan.
Since then, he has posted a total of 38 Cheung videos. The majority feature Yu transformed into Cheung using unique make-up and imitating Cheung’s facial expressions, singing style and even his body language.
On the 20th anniversary of Cheung’s death on April 1 this year, a winding queue of people formed outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong to lay bouquets and take pictures at the spot where Cheung jumped to his death in 2003. He had previously admitted to struggling with depression.
To pay tribute to the star for the anniversary, Yu created a video about participating in a digital recreation of Cheung’s final concert in the metaverse earlier this year.
Mainland social media has been captivated by Yu, with many users saying he had brought Cheung to life.
One said: “Truly amazing. Yu and Cheung look very much alike.”
Another person commented: “Although no one can replace Cheung, Yu impersonates well.”
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The most frequent question Yu is asked by his followers is how he uses make-up to achieve his realistic impersonations. Last month, he finally revealed how he transforms into Cheung with a video showing a stylist applying cosmetics that received 260,000 likes and almost 3,500 comments.
