Passion (Cantonese: æ¿Âæ ) is the eleventh studio album and tenth Cantonese-language album by Hong Kong singer Sammi Cheng, released on 22 November 1996 by Warner Music Hong Kong, The album showcased a more mature and emotionally resonant sound, blending Cantopop with elements of pop rock and adult contemporary. In Hong Kong, the album achieved commercial success, receiving double platinum certification from the IFPI (Hong Kong Group) for two consecutive years, amounting to a total of Quadruple platinum, with sales surpassing 200,000 copies. In addition, the album's success led Singaporean media to refer to Cheng as a doyenne of the Hong Kong music scene. Beginning with this release, all of Cheng's Cantonese-language albumsâÂÂaside from her Mandarin releasesâÂÂalso began charting on Singapore's SPVA Top 10 Album Sales Chart.
The album incorporates a range of contemporary Cantopop styles, blending sentimental ballads, dance-pop, Latin pop with Pop Rock tracks, with lyrical themes of passion, vulnerability, and emotional growth. Cheng worked with several producers and songwriters, including Andrew Cheung, Vicky Fung,Terry Chan, Bryan Chen, Conrad Wong, Stanley Leung, Mahmood Rumjahn, Terry Chan and Sally Yeh.
Prior to the album's release, several tracks from Passion were performed live during Cheng's debut solo concert series, TCBY Sammi X Live 96, which consisted of eight shows held at the Hong Kong Coliseum from 10 to 17 November 1996. Although the album had not yet been officially released, songs such as âÂÂX Partyâ ï¼ÂXæ´¾å°Âï¼Âand âÂÂTacit Momentâ ï¼Âé»Âå¥Âï¼Âwere featured in the concert setlist, serving as early previews for the audience and generating anticipation for the upcoming release.
On the day of the album's release, Warner Music held a press conference titled âÂÂ1,000,000 Passionâ to promote Passion and highlighted Cheng's cumulative sales achievements under Warner Music.Her studio albums had collectively sold over 1,000,000 copies across Hong Kong and Taiwan. Among them, Can't Let You Go (æ¨ä¸Âå¾Âä½ ï¼ and Never Want to Give You Up (æ¾ä¸Âä½Âï¼ had sold a combined total of 350,000 copies in Hong Kong and 50,000 copies in Taiwan. As of November 1996, Worth It (å¼å¾Â) had sold more than 450,000 copies in Taiwan and over 30,000 copies in Hong Kong. Additionally, Passion received over 100,000 pre-orders upon release.
The track âÂÂTacit Momentâ was not only used as the theme song for the film Feel 100%... Once More, were performed by Cheng. in which Cheng herself starred, but was also featured in a commercial for Panasonic Discman, which helped it reach a wider audience.
In Hong Kong, Five singles were released from the album. The first four, "X Party", "Tacit Moment"(From "Feel 100% 2"), "Sister Theresa",and "Talk About Love", are commercial singles intended for radios, TVs, and karaoke bars. The last Two, "Passion" and "Hesitation" are promotional singles intended solely for karaoke bars.
"X Party" was chosen as the album's lead single, topping three major charts. "Tacit Moment" (From "Feel 100% 2") was released as the second single, peaking at number one on three major charts. "Sister Theresa" was released as the third single, "Talk About Love" was released as the fourth and final commercial single, reaching number one on Two major charts.
Passion debuted at number one on IFPI (Hong Kong Group). It stayed in the chart for 11 weeks.
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.