Pakho Chau Pak-ho (Chinese: 周柏豪; born 12 November 1984), is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, songwriter, and actor. He signed with Warner Music Group and officially entered the Hong Kong music industry in 2007. He left Warner Music in July 2017 and subsequently joined Voice Entertainment and TVB New Media. He is also the founder of two fashion brands, XPX and CATXMAN.
Early and personal life
Having once represented Hong Kong in basketball, Chau has also worked as a lifeguard, swimming teacher, and piano teacher. Chau also enjoyed a brief stint as a part-time model signed to Hong Kong modelling agency Starz People, becoming a model and spokesperson for many large companies and brands in Hong Kong.
After a while, Chau decided to pursue his long-time passion for music, and saved up money to go abroad and learn more about music and production techniques. However, he was encouraged by his modelling manager to stay in Hong Kong, and was soon introduced to a well-known record producer in Hong Kong, Chan Kwong-Wing (陳光榮). After an initial meeting, Chau worked in Chan's recording studio as an unpaid engineer for almost two years, recording and producing demos and commercial jingles.
His musical talent was noticed by Chan, and soon Chau was offered a recording contract and signed to Warner Music Group in 2007.
On 2 December 2019, 35-year-old Chau and his wife secretly gave birth to their daughter, Chau Sum-yuet (SONYA). Chau said that the most romantic thing he ever did was to write a four-part song for his wife.[1]
In March 2021, Chau expressed his support for cotton from Xinjiang, after several companies stopped purchasing the cotton due to concerns about human rights violations.[2]
Career
Having played the piano since the age of 5, and being able to play the guitar, Chau is also a songwriter. From his debut EPBeginning, Chau wrote one song, and penned the lyrics for four others.
Due to his work experience as a recording studio engineer, Chau has also produced many of his own songs.
Chau’s debut single, "Same Sky" (同天空), became a hit song in Hong Kong. His second single, "Six Days" (六天) also achieved popularity.
Chau's popularity was determined within three days of the release of his debut EP Beginning, which sold more than 6000 copies. This resulted in a strong demand for a second shipment of his debut EP.
In May 2008, a duet with Cantopop starlet Stephanie Cheng was released, called "Nothing Done" (一事無成). This song became massively popular, achieving commercial success and reached the top of many music charts in Hong Kong.
In July 2008, in time for the Hong Kong Book Fair, Chau released a photo album, containing a collection of his own words and photos. This photo album was called "Here's Where It All Began" (我的開始在這裡), and sold extremely well, with a second edition being released in the following month.
Chau’s second album, entitled Continue, was released on 21 August 2008.
After releasing several singles, Chau released Follow on 10 July 2009. This collection consisted of 4 new tracks, and several previously released tracks. Following on from the previous year, Chau released another photo album for the Hong Kong Book Fair, called "This Is My Time Machine" (假如我有時光機).
In 2016, Chau’s singing career was in a state of rest. There were no new albums released throughout the year. He only took over "Good Take" and "My Wife Is a Star" throughout the year. In the same year, he founded his own brand CATXMAN, and on 26 November, he married his girlfriend in Phuket, Thailand.[3]
In 2017, Chau returned to the music industry. In January, he released the new song "One Day" and the two champion song "Finally We". In February, he released the new song "How Do I Look" and the champion song "Near Thousand Miles" in collaboration with Wei Lan. Two new songs, "Angry Flower" and "Xiao", were released in March. Another new song, "Touchscreen", was released in April. In order to celebrate his tenth year in the industry, Chau held a three-time ONE STEP CLOSER concert celebration in Hong Kong Coliseum in April.
Chau and Charlene Choi’s first film, "Forgive Him 77 Times", was released on 15 June 2017, and the box office exceeded 10 million Hong Kong dollars within a week. The two released the chorus song "Please Love Me" on 25 April.
In 2019, Chau starred as the first male lead in the drama Wonder Women, starring opposite Miriam Yeung. With his role as Wing Ho-tin (Oppa), Chau won Most Popular Male Character at the 2019 TVB Anniversary Awards.
