Jay Chou
Jay Chou Chieh-lun is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Chinese-speaking world, he is referred to as the "King of Mandopop".
Chou signed to Alfa Music in 2000, and made his debut with the studio album Jay. He rose to prominence with his second album Fantasy, which became one of the best-selling albums in Taiwan in the 21st century. Chou incorporated diverse genres such as R&B and alternative rock in albums such as Yeh Hui-Mei and November's Chopin, as well as influences from traditional Chinese music in works such as Common Jasmine Orange. The latter featured the titular single and became the best-selling physical album in China in the 21st century, having sold over 2.6 million copies.
In 2007, Chou established his own label and management company JVR Music. His commercial success continued with albums such as On the Run!, Capricorn, and Jay Chou's Bedtime Stories, all of which featured hit songs including "Blue and White Porcelain", "Rice Field", and "Love Confession", and "Shouldn't Be". He became the first Mandopop artist to top the IFPI Global Album Sales Chart, with Greatest Works of Art being the world's best-selling record in pure sales in 2022. Venturing outside of music, Chou made his acting debut in the film Initial D, which was followed by roles in Curse of the Golden Flower, Kung Fu Dunk, The Treasure Hunter, and Hollywood films The Green Hornet and Now You See Me 2.
Chou is one of the best-selling recording artists in Taiwanese history, having sold over 30 million albums worldwide. He is the most-awarded singer at the Golden Melody Awards—with 15 accolades, and his music videos are among the most-viewed on YouTube—with six surpassing 100 million views, the most for any Chinese artist. Chou's Opus Jay World Tour generated over US$250 million in revenue while The Invincible World Tour drew an audience of over 3 million.
Early life
Jay Chou was born and raised in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan. He is of Hoklo descent. Both his parents were secondary school teachers: his mother, Yeh Hui-mei, who was an art teacher, while his father, Chou Yao-chung, is a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of four.During his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he became interested in music theory and also started cello lessons. He was an only child and loved to play piano, imitate TV actors, and perform magic tricks. His favorite composer was, and is still to this day, Frédéric Chopin.
Jay graduated from Taipei Jinhua High School. His parents divorced when he was 14 and he was teased by his classmates, which caused him to become reclusive and introverted. He had no friends and preferred to be alone, listening to music, contemplating and daydreaming. At, he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed a talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music, and began to write songs. Chou was conscripted for mandatory military service after graduating from high school with inadequate grades for university. However, severe back pain triggered by sports eventually led to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, and he was exempted from military service. Meanwhile, he found a job as a waiter.
Chou's mother initially inspired Chou to become a music teacher, while Chou remained relatively clueless on what to do with his life. Without his knowledge, a friend registered both their names in a talent show called Super New Talent King in 1998. Chou played the piano accompaniment for his friend, whose singing was described as "lousy". Although they did not win, the show's host, Jacky Wu, happened to glance at the music score and was impressed with its complexity. Wu then asked who wrote it, discovered Chou and hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang for his then record company, Alfa Music. Chou then spent most of his time in Wu's studio learning music producing, sound mixing, recording, and writing songs.
Career
2000–2002: Debut and commercial success
In 2000, under the recommendation of JR Yang, Jay Chou began to sing his own songs. Wu told Chou that he would help him release an album after he wrote 50 songs and he would pick 10 from there. Chou already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his first album. Chou released his debut album Jay under Alfa Music under Jacky Wu in November 2000. Chou arranged the compilation, harmony, and production of all the songs. The album combines R&B, hip-hop, and other musical styles. Among them, the hit song "Starry Mood" won the 24th China Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs. The album was promoted heavily by Jacky Wu in the entertainment shows he hosted. Chou himself also appeared on a few television programs to promote the album. Chou was marketed as a talented singer-composer with a unique tune. His collaboration with Vincent Fang and Vivian Hsu on the release brought about a few hits.In 2001, Chou held his first series of five solo concerts, titled the Fantasy Concert, with the first stop on 11 January 2001, at the Taoyuan Arena, Taiwan. Followed by two shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, one in Malaysia and ended in Singapore on 10 February 2002. On 9 July 2001, songwriters Jay and Yungai Hayung performed "The Roof", which was included in the album "A Little Wild" by Yungai Hayung. After promoting his debut album, Chou returned to the studio for the next twelve months to record and produce his next album, Fantasy, which helped him become an established star. This album was released in September 2001 and became a big hit, selling an estimated two million copies in Taiwan alone. However, in late 2001, Wu, due to mismanagement, decided to sell Alfa Music, including Chou's contract, to Holiday Co., Ltd., a KTV chain operator. The sale, finalized in 2002, soured Chou's relationship with Wu, leading to a prolonged feud. Fantasy went on receiving 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" "Love Before BC", which won Chou the Best Composer award, and "Can't Express Myself" are still some of Chou's most popular songs to this day.
Chou's third album, The Eight Dimensions, became another commercial success and is similar in style to his second. Another collaboration with Fang, The Eight Dimensions included songs that invoke imagery, Chou's "mumbling" style, and mainly R&B tunes. The singer has sold over 750,000 copies of Fantasy as of 2002, throughout the region. In the same year, Chou held his debut concert tour The One. There was also more crossover activity between Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as steadily increasing activity by Japanese acts in the region. Chou released the compilation album Partners in April 2002, featuring 12 songs consisting of Chou's musical and Vincent Fang's lyrical compositions. Fang has written the words to more than 40 of Chou's songs, was the chief editor of Chou's book Grandeur de D Major, and is now Chou's business partner for the record company JVR Music. His second concert tour, The One Concert, commenced on 28 September 2002, at Taipei Municipal Stadium, followed by 11 stops and ended at Shenzhen Stadium, China on 3 January 2004.
2003–2005: ''Yeh Hui-Mei'', ''Common Jasmine Orange'', and ''November's Chopin''
In 2003, Chou released his fourth album Yeh Hui-Mei named after his own mother. After the release of this album, he attended the Golden Melody Awards for his previous album's nomination. The album The Eight Dimensions was nominated for 5 categories but failed to win a single category. As a result, Chou didn't take his losses too lightly, as he wrote on his next album the song "Grandmother" that he actually took the Golden Melody Awards way too seriously. Ironically, his then-current album Yeh Hui-mei would later go on to win a Golden Melody as "Best Album of the year " award the following year in 2004.Yeh Hui-mei was both a commercial and musical success. The album features songs on Mafia and drug lords "In Father's Name" which at first hearing was very unorthodox but displays Jay's creative writing and producing ability. This album can be seen as Jay's second milestone because it gained an extremely positive reaction from both critics and supporters of his music. Jay also wanted to prove that he is a versatile artist and does not only write R&B songs, but he also ventured into more rock-flavored tunes such as "Sunny Day" which was one of the most played songs of the year. This song gained widespread popularity and high school students started learning guitar to play the drift of the song's intro. He has performed live duets with Landy Wen, Jolin Tsai, and former girlfriend and news anchor Patty Hou.
In 2004, his album Common Jasmin Orange, released by Sony Music, excelled in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China. Despite insurmountable piracy in Taiwan, which has reduced the recording industry to 5 to 10 percent from his heyday as a Taiwanese singer, Chou managed to produce a record that sold a record 300,000 copies in spite of the ordeal. In Hong Kong, his album surpassed local albums with sales of 50,000 units. In China, the official figure reached 2.6 million units, a figure that no other Mandopop artist has attained. The World Music Awards in September 2004 held in Las Vegas formally acknowledged him as the most popular Chinese singer based on commercial sales performance.
Chou started the band Nan Quan Mama in 2004, selecting band members and overseeing their album production. The group has been noted for sounding too similar to their mentor; as a result, Chou has reduced his involvement in the band, though he continues to increase their exposure by inviting them as guests performers for his concerts and music videos.
Chou formally entered the film industry in 2005 with the release of the movie Initial D. Some reviewers criticized his bland acting while others felt he performed naturally, but only because the character's personality closely mirrored his own. His performance in Initial D won him Best Newcomer Actor in Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards. In 2005, his album November's Chopin continued this record of success with sales of 2,500,000 copies sold in Asia including 280,000 copies sold in Taiwan. It became his first album to reach number one in Taiwan following the creation of the G-Music Combo album chart in July 2005. The track "Hair Like Snow" incorporated traditional Chinese instruments including the pipa and yangqin.