Jay Chou

Did You Know?

• He was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis after severe back pain triggered by sports, which exempted him from mandatory military service.
• Chou's album Common Jasmine Orange (2004) sold 2.6 million units in China, a figure no other Mandopop artist has attained.

Career

In 2000, following a recommendation from JR Yang, Jay Chou began performing his own songs. Jacky Wu told Chou he would help release an album after Chou wrote 50 songs, from which Wu would select 10. Chou already had a collection of songs he had written for others that had been rejected, so he chose 10 for his first album. Released in November 2000 under Alfa Music, the debut album Jay featured Chou handling arrangement, harmony, and production. The album blended R&B, hip-hop, and other styles, and its hit 'Starry Mood' won the 24th China Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs. Jacky Wu promoted the album heavily on his television shows, and Chou appeared on a few programs to support it. Chou was marketed as a talented singer-composer with a distinctive sound, and his collaboration with Vincent Fang and Vivian Hsu produced several hits. In 2001, Chou held his first solo concert series, the Fantasy Concert, starting on 11 January at Taoyuan Arena, Taiwan, with additional shows in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. In July 2001, he performed 'The Roof' with Yungai Hayung. After promoting his debut, Chou spent the next year recording his second album, Fantasy, released in September 2001. It sold an estimated two million copies in Taiwan alone. In late 2001, Jacky Wu sold Alfa Music, including Chou's contract, to Holiday Co., Ltd., a KTV chain operator; the sale was finalized in 2002. This soured Chou's relationship with Wu, leading to a prolonged feud that ended in 2018. Fantasy received ten nominations and won five awards at the 13th Golden Melody Awards in 2002, where Chou notably did not thank Wu. The album's R&B hits, such as 'Simple Love' and 'Love Before BC', remain among his most popular songs.

Artistry

Chou draws inspiration from a wide range of musical styles, blending Western hip-hop, rap, and R&B with classical and operatic elements rooted in Romanticism. He has cited Romantic composer Frédéric Chopin as his biggest influence and favorite musician from childhood, stating that his music is heavily influenced by Chopin and that much of his hip-hop music has classical background influences, which he says makes his music different from other hip-hop songs. This admiration directly inspired his sixth studio album November's Chopin (2005) and its lead single 'Nocturne', described as almost a concept album with an autumnal theme and contemplative mood. Chou's music has been widely discussed across Chinese and other Sinophone regions because it stood out from mainstream Chinese popular music at the time. His pieces combine ancient themes with futuristic ones, such as spaceships, and employ graphic storytelling to evoke vivid imagery. Another distinguishing feature is his enunciation, or lack thereof, whether rapping or singing; listeners often could not decipher the words until they looked up the lyrics, and critics referred to his singing as 'mumbling'. Chou defended this as his signature style, saying he infuses vocals with the music to make them blend well, and he wants listeners to look at the lyrics, which he says are very deep. His compositions are loosely categorized as pop, but many fall into contemporary Western R&B, rap, and rock genres. The term 'Chou Style' has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and slurred enunciation, blending pop, rap, blues, and aesthetic elements of world music.

Other ventures

Jay Chou first stepped into directing in 2004, working on a music video for the group Nan Quan Mama's song "Home." He handled everything from research to editing. The experience taught him how tough directing could be, and he initially turned down further requests from his record label. But his interest came back, and in 2005 he directed videos for four of the twelve tracks on his album November's Chopin, followed by TV ads. By 2006, he was fully in charge of storyboarding, directing, and editing all his own music videos. Public opinion on his work is hard to gauge since music videos rarely get critical reviews, but filmmaker Zhang Yimou said after watching some of Chou's videos that Chou might one day surpass him as a director.

In February 2007, Chou started work on his first film, Secret. He wrote the script, drawing from a high school relationship, and built the story around music, love, and family. He starred as the lead, with Gwei Lun-mei as the female lead and Anthony Wong playing his father. Chou admitted that making a movie was harder than music videos because of the storyline and time limits. Secret came out in July 2007. His second film, the musical drama The Rooftop, followed in 2013. It got a quieter reception than his debut, though its box office in mainland China was more encouraging.

Public image

Despite continual media scrutiny, Chou's public image has changed little over the years, as he emphasizes individuality as his personal philosophy. In his music, this is evident as he fuses Chinese and Western styles and explores unconventional topics for a pop singer, described as authentic and revolutionary. The media portrays him as a hard-working perfectionist with clear self-direction, occasionally regarded as competitive and a control freak. His nickname 'President Chou' is used by both press and fans to underscore his domineering personality and impact on East Asian popular music, as well as his musical talent. It also points to his role as CEO, spokesperson, and chairperson of his business ventures, including clothing lines and his talent agency JVR Music. The nickname's origin comes from his interest in collecting antiques, as the word for 'antique' in Chinese is part of the nickname. According to JJ Lin, both he and Chou like to collect and drive antique cars. Outside of music, Chou is reported as shy, quiet, and modest, viewing filial piety as the most important thing. He is a non-smoker and non-drinker and does not go to nightclubs. Government officials and educators in East Asia have awarded him for exemplary behavior, designating him a spokesperson for the youth-empowerment project 'Young Voice' in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007. His lyrics for two songs have been incorporated into school syllabi. In November 2007, Chou was criticized for attending the funeral of Taiwanese gang leader Chen Chi-li to console Chen's son Baron Chen, whom Chou met while filming Kung Fu Dunk.