Juk Sing Tunes Into Glory Days of Cantonese Pop

Juk Sing stands out in the Boston music scene for their unique sound: The band’s specialty is Cantopop — a sub-genre of Chinese pop music originating from Hong Kong.

“The golden age of Canto-pop was from the ’80s to early ’90s,” said band leader, Justin “JK” Wong. “This is when Hong Kong music and pop culture took over all of Asia and spread internationally. This was a very powerful time for my culture.”

The band’s members are JK Wong on vocals and guitar, DongDong Yang on vocals, San San Wang on bass, Zihan Xu on guitar, and Greg Hum on drums. Yang is also a contributor to the Sampan.

Most of the members had been involved in music for years, before Wong recruited them into Juk Sing.

“Singing has always been my childhood dream, but I was never brave enough to pursue it," said Yang.

She added that, growing up in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, Cantonese pop songs had always held a special place in her heart, so she was grateful for Wong forming the band.

Juk Sing member Justin 'JK' Wong and DongDong Yang. Photos by Adam Smith.

“(I organize) the practices, set up performances, and conduct the overall vision,” Wong said.

The vision? Sharing Cantonese pop culture with more people. The band covers iconic songs from the golden era of Cantopop, such as Leslie Cheung’s “Monica” and Faye Wong’s “Dreams” — which many might know from the classic Hong Kong film Chungking Express.

At the same time, “we try to shape the songs to fit our own dream-pop sound,” said Wong.

The creative process is never the same. It’s “different with every endeavor, which is why it’s so exciting and fun every single time,” said Wong. For the band leader, the process could just as easily begin with a “random shower thought” or a “curious itch from a dream.”

Juk Sing is active in performing around Boston, especially in Asian American communities. “For the past 6 years, we played shows all around Boston and for most of the Chinatown organizations,” said Wong. In just the past few months, the band has performed at Experience Chinatown, Chinatown Main Street Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) Summer Picnic, and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center’s Quincy Family Fun Fair.

Juk Sing, the band. Courtesy photo.

“Entertaining a captivated audience is a very fulfilling feeling,” said Wong.

The band also has an online presence, with many of their performances available on their Instagram or YouTube pages. Notably, they have a musical video for “Monica” on their YouTube page, pairing the band’s rendition with footage of Boston’s Chinatown.

For Wong, Juk Sing and its work is personal. “Cantopop is very special to me because it’s the music my mom would listen to as I was growing up so it was pretty much my first exposure to music,” he said.

“After growing up in a predominantly white high school and university, (however) I found that I had almost completely lost touch with my Cantonese heritage. This prompted me to move to Shenzhen, China after college to reconnect with my roots, mother tongue, and pop culture.”

Wong spent several years in Shenzhen.

“I wanted to find and infiltrate the underground Chinese music scene,” Wong said. As a city in the province of Guangdong—historically referred to as Canton—Shenzhen also gave him “a chance to improve both my Cantonese and Mandarin. In the end, I managed to start a little indie rock scene there during my time.”

Now, back in Boston, “playing these nostalgic Cantopop songs for the Chinatown community is my way of respecting my Cantonese background and family history. It brings me pride,” said Wong. With Juk Sing, he and his fellow band members hope for “more opportunities to spread the joy of Canto-pop to audiences young and old.”