Original female singer of the famed Jacky Cheung duet 'You're The Most Precious', Taiwanese singer Francesca Kao, was in the audience when Cheung performed the number during his Taipei concert on April 19. Photos: Handout, Francesca Kao/Facebook
Ever sat next to the original singer of a song while it was being performed live in concert? Fans at “Heavenly King” Jacky Cheung’s concert got a taste of that on April 19 when the Hong Kong singer played the Taipei Arena.
The performance was part of his ongoing Jacky Cheung 60+ Concert Tour, which first kicked off in 2023.
The 64-year-old star was onstage singing the famed love ballad and duet You’re The Most Precious (1998) alone and had asked the audience to sing the female parts for him. Some concertgoers then realised that Francesca Kao, or Kao Hui-chun, the Taiwanese singer originally featured on the duet, was seated among them.
In a video uploaded to Kao’s Facebook account after the concert, audiences were shown cheering after they saw Kao. They got her to stand and sing along with the rest of the crowd.
In the clip, Kao, 52, looked visibly moved listening to the crowd’s rendition of the song.
She said in a post accompanying the video: “Didn’t think that I’d feel such a rush of nostalgia and gratitude listening to everyone sing You’re The Most Precious tonight.
“Although I was just asked to stand up by the crowd, my wish to the universe is that one day Jacky will remember me, recognise me and let me do a duet of You’re The Most Precious with him once more.”
She added in a hashtag that Cheung did not actually see her in the crowd. In replies to comments from netizens, she reassured them that Cheung does remember her.
Cheung has not invited any guest singers on his tour.
In a separate post on April 20, Kao said: “The principle of not inviting any guests to his concert was not broken, but the voices of so many ‘Francesca Kaos’ moved me to my core.”
Cheung’s Taipei concerts from April 18 to 20 were to make up for the three concerts in Taipei he cancelled in June 2024. He had caught the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which affected his vocal performance. He played only six out of his nine scheduled shows in Taipei in 2024, which ran from May 31 to June 16. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
