Jay Chou (born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer and musician. Chou is considered as the “King of Mandopop” and has sold over 30 million records. He is well known for his work with writer Vincent Fang, with whom he has regularly collaborated on his music.
Chou’s debut studio album, Jay (2000), was released in 2000 by the record label Alfa Music. Chou gained to prominence following the release of his second studio album, Fantasy (2001), which fused Western and East Asian music traditions. Five Golden Melody Awards were given to the record, including Record of the Year.
How did Jay Chou Breakthrough Occur?
Jay Chou rose to prominence and had his breakthrough in 2001 with his second studio album, “Fantasy.” The album sold about two million copies in Taiwan alone, earning ten Golden Melody Award nominations and five wins, including Album of the Year. Chou swiftly rose to prominence for his own musical style, which merges old Chinese themes with R&B, hip-hop, and futuristic imagery.
Chou’s commercial success continued with his third studio album, 2002’s “The Eight Dimensions.” His following album, “Yeh Hui-Mei,” was named after his mother and earned him his third Golden Melody Award for Album of the Year in 2003. “Common Jasmin Orange,” Chou’s fifth studio album, debuted to critical acclaim in Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong in 2004.
The next year, he released “November’s Chopin,” which was inspired by his favorite classical performer. Other albums by Chou include “Still Fantasy,” “On the Run!,” “The Era,” “Wow!,” and “Greatest Works of Art.” The most recent of these was the best-selling album in the world in 2022.
Meanwhile, Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan. His parents both taught secondary school: his mother, Yeh Hui-Mei (; Yè Humi), was an art teacher who taught fine arts, while his father, Chou Yao-Chung (; Zhu Yàozhng), is a biomedical researcher. His mother spotted his musical sensitivity and enrolled him in piano lessons when he was four years old.
During his childhood, he was obsessed with recording sounds and tunes on his tape recorder, which he carried around with him everywhere. He became interested in music theory and began cello instruction in the third grade.
He was an only child who enjoyed playing the piano, impersonating TV actors, and doing magic tricks. Chopin was and continues to be his favorite composer. Jay attended Taipei Jinhua High School. When he was 14, his parents divorced, and he was bullied by his classmates, causing him to become reclusive and introverted.
He had no friends and liked to spend his time alone, listening to music, thinking, and fantasizing. He majored in piano and minored in cello at Tamkang Senior High School. He showed an aptitude for improvisation, developed an interest in pop music, and began to write songs.
Chou was drafted for military service after graduating from high school with insufficient grades to attend university. However, chronic back discomfort caused by athletics led to a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (HLA-B27), and he was discharged from the military. Meanwhile, he worked as a waitress.
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
Categories: News
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
