Our little twins stars: Conglomerate-catalyzed cross-media stardom in the New Millennium

This chapter focuses on Twins’ stardom from 2001 to 2004, with the rapid formation and growth of the “Twins effect” in Hong Kong, before their focus shifted to the mainland Chinese market. It explores the creation and reception of Twins’ cross-media stardom by conducting in-depth interviews with 18 Twins fans and examining industry reports, entertainment magazines, and newspaper coverage. “Stars” are the result of contemporary cultural commodification. They are consumable and, more importantly, they generate profit. The practice of cross-media stardom in Hong Kong dates back to the pre-World War II era when Cantonese opera performance was a dominant mass entertainment, and filmmaking, a then innovative technology, used Cantonese opera as one of its prevalent genres. Twins represents a positive idea able to energize Hong Kong after the 1998 Asian financial crisis. For adolescent fans, the significance of Twins goes beyond their singing and acting skills to the point where Twins become part of their everyday lives.