Mirror, Hong Kong Music Sensation, to Make English-Language Debut With ‘Rumours’
Hong Kong’s Canto-pop sensation Mirror will make its global debut with a first English-language single “Rumours.” The track is a mature EDM tune that aims at a wider global audience than the boy band’s previous Cantonese-language hits.
The single, to be released on March 17, will be streamed across all digital platforms. It will be accompanied by a newly-shot music video that captures the beauty of the band’s Hong Kong hometown, the 12-piece act told Variety.
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“It’s been like a dream come true for us to release a song in English,” Mirror member Anson Lo (“Ossan’s Love Hong Kong”) told Variety in an exclusive English-language interview with the group.
“We have been preparing for this for a long time, not only to perfect our dance practices, but also the recording in the English language,” they said.
Members of the group—Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Ian Chan, Jeremy Lee, Edan Lui, Keung To, Tiger Yau, and Lo—were mostly brought up in Hong Kong with Cantonese as their mother tongue. And admitted that performing in English and navigating a different culture in a different language were significant challenges. But they received help from a language coach throughout the song’s recording session.
“It is our job to get ourselves ready, no matter whether our audience is in the west or in the east,” said Yau, crediting the song’s producer Edward Chan’s help with the song’s production.
Language aside, “Rumours” is “significantly different” from the band’s previous hits in Cantonese, such as “Boss,” “Warrior,” and “Ignited,” said Lo. “We tended to perform music in a funky, retro disco style. But ‘Rumours’ is an EDM song and I think by far it is the sexiest song I’ve done.”
“We hope that we can represent Hong Kong culture, and our video captures the beauty of ‘our Hong Kong’ as well. We also want to showcase our dance energy, and tell the world that Hong Kong boy bands can dance as well,” Lo said.
The release of the new single also marks an important milestone for the group. Formed in 2018 following the conclusion of local station ViuTV’s talent contest-reality show “King Maker,” Mirror achieved superstardom in 2020. Support for the group became a cultural phenomenon during Hong Kong’s prolonged COVID restrictions.
The band initially planned to make its global debut last year with a debut in Japan’s Summer Sonic festival, but those plans were shelved after last July’s concert horror in which a giant video screen fell from the ceiling during a performance at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Two dancers were injured, one severely.
While the father of the injured Mo Li reports that his son is beginning to show signs of recovery, Hong Kong authorities have begun a series of prosecutions against concert contractors.
Variety will publish a full interview with Mirror on March 17.
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