During the heyday of the "4 Heavenly Kings," charts were dominated by Jacky, Leon, Aaron and Andy. Although most would argue that Leon was just 'at the right place at the right time,' or merely had good looks, I believe it was more than that. Most of his rivals have faded, but Leon's staying power lies in his denial that his prime has passed. Still, even the brightest stars lack luminance amid cloudy skies. Leon is one of them, still dotting our horizon.

A decade and a half ago, Leon was the butt of all jokes. Since then, he's climbed music charts, achieved A-list superstardom, and won the rights to perform at Beijing's 2008 Olympics.

For someone who started out as a nobody, with a quivering voice and a bashful composure, it's quite an achievement for Leon to build himself an enclave of power and clout, and sustain this kind of long-term success in a loyalty-free world like Hong Kong.

It's either Leon is really that good, or Leon's peers aren't much of a competition. Or perhaps, it's both.

If it's unclear, Hong Kong's music industry has been taken over by incompetents. Since the departure of Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, and Anita Mui, music executives have found it difficult to replace them, and even harder to recreate the music excellence that hustled records off store shelves.

If we can attribute industry mediocrity as the key reason for why our best and brightest depart from Hong Kong, why aren't efforts focused on artist development and retention?

The sad truth is, industry executives aren't smart and don't care, and it shows. Rather, the Hong Kong audience isn't smart and don't care, and it shows.

Most people find it too soon to impart respect for Leon. It could be his age, or it could be the comical idiosyncrasy that comes with being pigeonholed into a clique named "Heavenly Kings." Leon has been around the industry since 1986 - 16 hard working years and still going at it. His predecessors, like Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung, have ran only half that distance. Yet, in this relatively short time, they have attained larger-than-life stature that make grandmothers whet with joy.

Can we find the respect in our hearts for Leon now, or will we wait till he's gone? Leon hasn't made a significant departure from Asia yet, and if the industry doesn't want to shape up, then perhaps he should consider.

Will we continue to celebrate unskilled amateurs like Nicholas Tse, Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung and Gigi Leung? They don't seem to have a clue. Worst yet, they're half-bent on jadedness without having experienced true magnificence. It's unfortunate that current artists lack discipline and ability. They even lack entrepreneurial vision to recognize the good they can do. If we can keep Leon alive in this business, we should. He's probably its last savior.

Cantopop needs a damn good, mean revival. It'll be interesting to see how Leon fits into that picture. More importantly, Leon should direct this future. If it were up to me, Leon should retire a legend.