The Secret That Cannot Be Told 不能说的秘密

 

That's my Secret collection on the pic: piano books, DVD, OST album and novelisation!

This post is about my most absolute favourite and loved movie of all viz Secret, Jay's self-acted-and-self-directed movie in 2007, at the age of 28.

Although The Green Hornet was where I first noticed Jay, that was a Hollywood movie in which he was speaking English (not his natural lingo). I Googled him after that, read about Secret and headed to the video store to get a copy of the DVD....yup, I'm old-school. Anyway, the DVD was not expensive and came with some nice extra features too. :)


Prior to Secret, Jay had already acted in Initial D (2005) and Curse Of The Golden Flower (Feb 2007) and had also done countless music videos and even directed some of them.
It is no secret (pun intended!) that Jay is something of a control freak when it comes to his music and work and that naturally translated into him wanting to be in charge as a director for his own movie. And not only did he conceptualise the story, he also wrote all the music (with a little contribution from Thai composer, Terdsak Janpan), including the Baroque-ish piano theme which plays a key part in the movie.


Anyway, as I popped the DVD into the player and settled down to watch, I did not really know what to expect as I had refrained from reading too much to avoid being spoiled and.....
WOW!
I was thoroughly swept away by the intriguing storyline, the wonderful cinematography and the brilliant piano-playing of Jay and Yuhao.
But most of all, it was the MUSIC of the score and soundtrack which permeated my senses and made this little movie an absolute gem! Classical, Baroque, pop, rock, soothing New Age, cutesy waltz, even a touch of bossa nova and of course, some orchestral backgrounds....Jay had everything covered!

Kudos to him for his very smart choice of subject matter for his directorial debut. After all, everyone can connect with a high-school romance (whether happily or not) and music is always a crowd-pleaser. Besides, the piano is his forte and the instrument rightly takes centrestage as a pivotal aspect of the story. Jay also pays tribute to his favourite composer, Chopin in the movie.

[http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2012/10/jay-loves-chopin.html]

Jay's acting here was suitably understated but definitely an improvement from Initial D and Curse of The Golden Flower. 
Special mention must be made of the rest of the cast, in particular Kwai Lun-mei and Anthony Wong.

I shall not go into details so as to avoid spoiling it for readers who have not watched it yet, but there are many little touches which put Secret notches above a mere campus love story.
Suffice to say, this is arguably THE favourite movie of most Jay Chou fans and is deserving of all the bouquets it gets.
For non-fans, this movie can be enjoyed on its own merits and should open your eyes to Mr Chou's creativity and talents.
Secret won Golden Horse Awards for Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects and Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the year in 2007....not bad for a newbie director, ya? ;)

Here is a link to a vid of the full movie on youtube, complete with English subs:

This is the MV for the theme song...defintely one of my favourites The simple piano intro is haunting and sets the mood so well before the soft rock chorus comes in. Absolutely deserved to win the Best Song award.

And for those who are interested to read more about the making of the movie and other details, here are some useful links:

The Wikipedia article is surprisingly good!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_%282007_film%29


From the Jay Chou Studio archives:

http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chou-looks-for-old-feeling-in-new-movie/673

http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/secret-father-chous-most-satisfying-fathers-day-present/677


Some of my fave images from the movie:

And some bloopers from the movie...Jay is utterly and adorably cute!

NB: Jay is now getting ready to direct and act in another movie, which he promises will have another intriguing storyline and lots of music!
Can't wait!!

Chou Style: MV EPIC-ness!

Hehe...that pic comes from one of the MVs which I'll be discussing for this post...doesn't he look so cute and shy, dancing with Zhou Xun?? Of course, that view of his adorable left-cheek dimple is the icing on the face...oops, I mean cake. ;)

But I'm getting carried away even before I begin....apologies!

The seven music videos I am covering tonight are what I refer to as Jay's more complicated MVs or maybe they should be renamed Movie Videos, as each one is like a compressed movie, with a plot, storyline, action and of course, Jay's awesome music.
To be fair, some of the previous MVs I have shared in my earlier posts are also quite amazing but these seven, I feel, have more EPIC-ness to them. Probably because Jay also spared no expense to use the best locations he could find for some, including European cities and the best special effects he could get for the others.
NB: I shall try not to 'spoil' the storyline of the MVs as I feel that they've been directed very well and pretty much tell the story when watched carefully.


I shall begin with an MV which is widely regarded as one of the best songs he has written, with a MV to match. This is In The Name Of The Father aka Yi Fu Zhi Ming, a Godfather-like story set in (where else?) Rome and yes, the MV was shot on location, complete with Italian actors. With a mixture of rap, R&B, organ and even an operatic voice, this is a most unusual song and I guarantee you....that "Ahhhh....." will stick in your memory...lol!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/in-the-name-of-the-father/45

From the same album that Yi Fu Shi Ming came from, here is another very cool MV for Third Year Second Class aka San Nian Er Ban, a story about table tennis rivalry in school. This is a popular sport amongst the Chinese and Jay used the sounds of ping-pong balls very creatively here. He also has some brilliant moves with the bat!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/third-year-class-two/48

Now for the song/MV from which the pic at the top comes from viz Attacked From Four Sides aka Si Mian Chu Ge which is Jay using his music to attack the papparazzi who love to hound him. This was shot on location in Venice with Chinese actress, Zhou Xun and I love Jay's total 'look' here!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/attacked-from-all-sides/83

I shall now present Twilight's Chapter Seven aka Ye De Di Qi Zhang, yet another very interesting mini-movie about detectives solving a murder case....with a twist at the end. This one comes with a ten-minute extended version as well....how epic is that??
Rap and operatic singing also feature here and the tune will linger in your mind.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/twilights-chapter-seven/96

First , the 'normal'-length version:

This is the ten-minute extended version:

Now for a MV using loads of CGI and Jay being all heroic on a motorbike and wielding guns to save a damsel in distress viz Dragon Rider aka Long Zhan Qi Shi. He looks a little weird with that hairdo here but as usual, his coolness wins the day.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/dragon-rider/125

From his tenth album The Era, comes the title track featuring Jay as a vampire. Personally, this is not one of my favourite songs but for completion's sake, I will share it here if not for anything else but that he plays the piano in the MV. ;)
However, Jay has mentioned in interviews that he hopes his music will remain timeless and last forever, like a vampire...and I'd say that's a sure bet, looking at the way things have been going.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/the-era/135

And finally, here is a MV totally unlike any of the previous ones in this post and yet like another one...trust Jay to do something like that....
This is Exclamation Point aka Jing Tan Hao, the title track from his latest album and it is a tongue-in-cheek dig at a certain tabloid in Taiwan. Once again, Jay is poking fun at the papparazzi but this MV is totally computer-generated! With a heavy rock feel, this song is great when played really loud!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/exclamation-mark/146

Gosh....all that EPICness is killing me!!

JVR: In a nutshell

In an earlier post about Yang Junrong aka JR, I mentioned that he left Alfa Music but that he would reunite with Jay and Vincent to form their own company.

As I only became a Jay fan last year, I can only glean information about those dealings from the Jay Chou Studio archives and shall post the links to the relevant translated news articles here.

http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/yang-jun-rong-leaves-variable-into-renewal-of-jay-chous-contract/647


http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chou-to-walk-out-old-company-emptied-ktv-facing-crisis/659


http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chous-jvr-music-kingdom-is-formed/664



So JVR was born...and is still going strong to this day.
Many of the staff have been with the company from the word go and many of Jay's good friends from his days in Alfa Music are also there and very involved in his various projects, something which Jay actively promotes as he feels comfortable working with familiar people who knew him before he became famous.
More on them in another post. :)

Chou Style: R&B

I must qualify that many of Jay's songs which I have covered thus far are also part R&B, but the following are some that are, to me, more distinctly so.


Love In BC aka Ai Zai Xi Yan Qian is an amazing R&B song, with very interesting lyrics by Vincent Fang about life in Mesopotamia. I find it quite impossible to sing, tho'....and Jay's signature mumbling style is just about perfect here. This is one song where just humming along will do. ;)
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/love-in-b.c/11

Cannot Speak aka Kai Bu Liao Kou is a slow number, with a bit of rap. The sound effects at the beginning of the song are great...it's about a man going out into space, after all. The lyrics by Vivian Hsu are very meaningful. Very popular song at his concerts.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/cannot-speak/15

I love this live performance from The Era concert....Jay conducts a gigantic karaoke session!

Secret Signal aka An Hao is another song with an amazing melody. Jay loves mobile phones (or rather maybe 'cos he endorses them!) and this is yet another MV starring this device.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/secret-signal/27

Live from The One...listen to the audience! And gosh....he was so cutely earnest then!

I wanted to put Nocturnes aka Ye Qu in the guitar ballads as it has an awesome guitar intro (and bridge) but I think it's more R&B, with a classic Jay rap in the chorus. It's a sad song mourning a dead lover; Vincent's lyrics are, as usual...rather interesting.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/nocturnes/79

This next one is one of my favourite KTV songs 'cos it's singable! White Windmill aka Bai Se Feng Che, with lyrics by Jay himself, has a nice melody and feel and I love the seamless modulations between the verses and the chorus.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/white-windmill/103

Now for a song which Jay wrote to express the difficulties celebs face in maintaining a relationship due to constant public scrutiny and pappz. I'm Not Worthy aka Wo Bu Pei is one of his most popular R&B songs and the MV brings the message across well.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/im-not-worthy/118

And yet another beautiful live performance from The Era concert for Wo Bu Pei....I love how he improvises words, music, everything!

Jay wrote the next song Mine Mine whilst improvising on Wo Bu Pei and if you read the lyrics closely, I feel it is definitely a sequel to the first song. Mine Mine is from his latest album and has a mix of Mandarin, English and Taiwanese dialect. I love it and am not put off by the autotune (unlike many fans) as I felt Jay used it very well to enhance his voice and add to the feel of the song.
The MV is amazing too....Jay's dancing is really sharp and my jaw just dropped when I saw the piano!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/mine-mine/148

When I first heard Give Me Time For One Song aka Gei Wo Yi Shou Ge De Shi Jian, I could not believe it was a Chinese song. It has such a smooth groove and the lyrics (by Jay) are incredibly romantic...more so in Chinese.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/give-me-the-time-for-one-song/126

And this live performance by Jay and Jolin at The Era concert thrilled the fans no end!

One thing's for certain...Jay is never boring!

More to come in subsequent posts. ;)

Grandeur de D Major: Translations

Jay wrote a book, Grandeur de D Major which was released on 24 November 2004. It covers his thoughts on his childhood, school years and music experiences.
I shall provide some links here to translations from this book, which are taken from Jay Chou Studio and Multistars Forums.
NB: Translations were done by Kelvin and myself.

Forewords:

http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/forewords-of-grandeur-de-d-major/496


Chapters:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14454.0

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14457.0

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14524.0

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14589.0

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14606.0

Chou Style: Guitar Ballads

Ahhh...that is one of my fave pics of Mr Chou, taken from his LOUD Festival concert here in 2011!

Today's post will cover some of what I like to call his guitar ballads; they all start off with a guitar intro and have a sing-along feel to them. :)


Clear Stars aka Xing Qing. Best expressed by Kelvin from Jay Chou Studio:
"This has got to be one of Jay's most memorable songs. The rhythm is slow and catchy. I think the best part of this song is the first couple of lines. Jay has really done well with the backing vocals. The song is very soothing to the ears. The words match perfectly with the song as it is about nature and Jay talks about imaginary things such as riding the wind. Highly recommended."
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/clear-stars/3

Live from his The One concert in Taipei:

Return To The Past aka Hui Dao Guo Qu, again best reviewed by Kelvin from Jay Chou Studio:
" Written by Jay's good friend. It draws out the time when people are quiet in the deep night. Grieve over the feeling of lonely love. This song was used in the One2free advert. I love the chorus to this song. This is a slow song and it has a sad feeling to it."
Translation:  http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/go-back-to-the-past/32

And live from his Incomparable concert where he looked and sounded really sweet, especially when he did his famed lyric improvs at the end to thank the fans....who gave him a resounding response!

Fine Day aka Qing Tian is a popular song, lyrics by Jay himself with a bit of slow rap thrown in. About lost love and the MV features Jay with his first on-screen kiss...he was quite shy. ;)
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/fine-day/47

And here is one of my absolute favourites, Rainbow aka Cai Hong, a song which is an extension of one the tracks from the Secret soundtrack. Jay wrote the lyrics as well; it has a very nice melody and he sings it beautifully!
I love this one!!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/rainbow/113

Romantic Mobile Phone aka Lang Man De Shou Ji is a song about a couple meeting through a (what else??) mobile phone. The MV is very nice. And Jay looks really sweet in it!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/romantic-handphone/85

Black Sweater aka Hei Se Mao Yi has a lovely accoustic guitar intro and a very flowing melody. It's very nice when played on the piano too.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/black-sweater/82

Love's Flight Diary aka Ai De Fei Xing Ri Ji is a duet with Gary Yang which I like very much. I first heard it whilst watching his The Era concert dvd and the melody immediately struck me with its  characteristic simplicity.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/loves-flight-diary/143

Long Time No See aka Hao Jiu Bu Jian is a more jazzy number and comes with a cute MV with Jay dancing!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/long-time-no-see/139

Time Machine aka Shi Guang Ji, a very singable number about childhood stuff...look out for the Doraemon guitar!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/time-machine/132

Live performance of this from The Era:

Le sigh....now to get back to the real world!

Gallery of DIAOness

It's been a day of ups and downs....and I'm feeling lazy.

Good time to just post some of my favourite pics of HRD!

Chou Style: Songs with a message

Jay doesn't just write sad songs and funny ones. I would like to present those which come with a message. :)


Snail aka Wo Niu with lyrics by Jay himself, is a very encouraging song about (what else?) a snail slowly moving up a tree to see the sun. It has a simple yet engaging melody, making it easy to sing along with.

It was also used in a commercial for a charitable cause, to support underprivileged kids:

A live performance of Snail (and Qi Li Xiang) from the 2005 MTV Asia Awards...beautiful piano playing from Jay.

Father I Have Come Home was written by Jay for a friend to tell the story of an abusive Dad and increase awareness of such domestic violence. With an enigmatic melody which is almost a lament, combined with rap and R&B style, it is one of his most well-known songs:
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/dad-i-have-come-back/12

Terraced Field aka Di Tian...review by Kelvin on Jay Chou Studio:
"The first time Jay composes with the joint sound of indigenous people, China vocal music, combining with the classic piano in music. Composing a new style adagio garrulous style of song, the lyrics are expressed in a funny and humorous way. Suggesting that the people's destruction of the environment is cruel, since the environment has been destroyed, the scenes from the past days are no longer. A very naughty start to the lyrics by Jay! The lyrics really describe in general how the countryside is being destroyed with the building of restaurants and other buildings. The voice of indigenous people adds to the effect, a very meaningful song."

And from his concert, combining both the above songs:

Final Battle aka Zui Hou De Zhan Yi, once again from Kelvin:
" By means of boundless strings narrating the friendship of buddies in the army who go through near death experiences. This is a present from Jay to his good friend. It is a symbol of their brotherly good friendship. I think this is one of the best songs on the album. The tune in it is great and the words are good too."
The sound of gunshots also inject a good dose of reality into the song. Beautiful melody and amazing chord progressions!
 Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/the-final-battle/34

Now for something less depressing...Listen To Mother's Words, one of my absolute favourite Jay songs, which exemplifies his filial piety. It's a classic Jay rap with amazing background harmony and the lyrics are really cute yet meaningful!
And I love the MV!

This next song is another favourite of mine viz Fragrance of Rice aka Dao Xiang, with lyrics by Jay himself. It is an encouraging song about love, family and facing challenges. Another classic Jay rap with a simple melodic line based on the same eight-chord progression on guitar for the whole song but still sounding very fresh. Won the Golden Melody Award for Best Song in 2009.

And from his latest album comes The World Is Not Over Yet aka Shi Jie Wei Mo Ri, a soft rock Jay number about appreciating what we have now and not wait till the world is about to end....and that love will keep us going strong. Very natural and heartfelt singing from Jay here. Listen out for the sound of falling rain...I love that little touch!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/the-worlds-not-over-yet/154

And finally, this is Superman Can't Fly aka Chao Ren Bu Hui Fei, another slow Jay rap. It's very much from Jay's heart, expressing his own feelings, as Kelvin for JCS says:
"After many years suffering at the hands of the paparazzi and having to play the good guy every time, Jay finally expresses his true feelings through his song. Jay talks about his endless frustration with always being misunderstood and having to keep up with appearances. The lyrics are genuine and gives you an insight into how hard it is being a star as popular as Jay Chou. The song itself is in deceptively happy tone considering the lyrics, a big plus for the song is the superb background music during the bridge and the end."
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/superman-cant-fly/145

There's still more music to share...keep watching this blog!

Nitey!

Simple Love: My Jay Song

Sigh...I was going to cover Jay's guitar ballads or rap songs tonight but the situation being what it was, I did not have enough time to put together my usual in-depth analysis...lol!

So...to keep things simple, I thought I'd just post something very personal about ONE song. 
Yup. You heard me....one song.


I believe every Jay fan has a song which struck him or her and made a long-lasting impression or triggered off the fandomania.
No different for yours truly and guess what mine is?? *clue is in the title of this post*

Anyway, I remember very clearly the circumstances when I first heard Simple Love aka Jian Dan Ai.
It was about a week after I had watched The Green Hornet and had acquired a few of Jay's albums, one of which was Fantasy.
I was getting ready for an organised run that particular afternoon....it was a Sunday.
I had already downloaded the album into my Walkman and it was my first time listening to it.
Love In BC was nice, followed by Father I Have Come Home.

Then came Track Three....and the opening notes hooked me straight away!
That guitar intro was just so cool!
And the song itself is so well-written in the sheer simplicity of its melody!
Jay's distinctive way of singing it and the chorus just prompts one to sing along....all these hit me as I listened and after the song ended, I simply HAD to replay it another....oh, about FOUR times before I could move on to Track Four....it was that powerful!
And that, I think, confirmed me as a certified Jay-maniac.

I cannot explain more than that the song was just plain COOL.
And till now, it remains THE song for me.

Here is the MV...but I'd suggest that first-timers listen without watching the MV. Just listen to the music...and feel the coolness! I love this song!!!

And when it's performed live in a concert, Simple Love is a sure winner!

From The One...note that in his early years, Jay had no qualms about wearing tank tops and showing off his well-proportioned arms. ;)

Incomparable concert...I think he wore a jacket 'cos it was cold and had been raining earlier on. I love how he moved around on stage and spoke to the fans during this performance. :)

And check out the frenzy at his Singapore concert in 2010...pardon the fan singing in the background. Her enthusiasm is very understandable! :))
Jay was such a sweetheart, shaking and slapping hands with the fans in the front rows! *envy*

Ok, I cannot say it enough.... I LOVE JIAN DAN AI!!!!!

Chou Style: More Than A Singer

Isn't that such a lovely collage from one of the fans on Facebook?? And it illustrates what a multi-talented musician Mr Chou is!

I figured that after four posts about his songs, it's about time for me to demonstrate Jay's abilities on instruments apart from the piano. As you can see from the photo above, he is quite at home on the cello, guitar, drums, guzheng and yes, that's an erhu he has in one pic but I'm not sure about that one. ;)
That collection, however, is missing a pic of him playing the Chinese flute (dizi) but no worries, I shall post a vid which shows him performing it very nicely. :)
I remember him in an interview saying that he could learn to play a musical instrument in two days but learning English for The Green Hornet took him a month! ^^


I shall still start with the piano as that, after all is his favourite instrument (and mine!) but I'll show him playing some piano duets, instead.

The first vid features him and good friend, Yuhao (from  Nan Quan Ma Ma) performing on two pianos at the Golden Melody awards....not sure of the year but I think it's circa 2005. Freaking awesome stuff, with a little treat for gamer fans. :))
 

The next clip is from 2007/08 , where he got acclaimed Chinese pianist Li Yundi to be a surprise guest at his concert. It's a nice vid, showing Yundi backstage and talking about this new experience for him. They perform Jay's Time Travel theme from Secret and at the end of the clip, Jay says he was very honoured to be able to play on the same stage as such a world-class pianist and that he also wanted to introduce classical music to his fans. :)

And here we have Jay and Yuhao again, in Japan, on the same piano this time, performing a medley of Chopin, Super Mario, Mozart, Flight of the Bumble Bee and a Chinese tune!

Jay and Yuhao's piano duel during his 2007 concert...from 1:30 to 2:45. Brilliant!!

Whilst in school, Jay minored in cello, which he plays fairly well but of course, not to the same standard as the piano.
This from his talkshow, Mr J Channel:

Jay also picked up guitar skills from his friends whilst in school and he likes to play this during concerts as well:

This is from his HK concert in 2008, singing Rainbow, a very lovely song which I'll feature again in another post:

Here's a really cute version of Nunchucks....very different feel from the usual! Trust Jay to inject some fun into his own song!

And yet another mashup, including another version of Time Machine amongst others...very nice!

Here's a nice vid of him playing guitar and singing Final Battle and a reworked Nunchucks at his LOUD Festival concert in Singapore in Oct 2011. Yes, I was there and he was just awesome!
In this segment, he bantered with the audience, asking them if they'd still support him if he were to get married...lol!

And Jay being Jay...he obviously cannot resist playing the guitar in some *other* way (which he uses in Free Instructional Video):

Jay also plays the guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument.
Here's a link to a JCS archive article about him learning to play the guzheng:

http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chou-learns-guzheng-finishes-in-20-minutes/625

And here is his rendition of Hair Like Snow at his concert in Beijing in 2008....just listen to the crowd singing with him!

And his rendition of Chrysanthemum Flower Bed on the guzheng as well. :)

And an epic performance of Ju Hua Tai on guzheng then voice at Song Zuying's concert in  the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing:

He also played the Chinese flute during his Incomparable concert circa 2004, for the song Terraced Field, which also features rap, aboriginal vocals and he weaves in part of another song, Father I Have Come Back....beautiful! His flute part starts from 3:50 and goes on to the end. I love this!!

Now for some drumming!!

First up, here's his rocking performance also from the 2007 concert, where he duels with his band's drummer, Q Mo! The drum set is at the beginning of the clip after which he sings Sunshine Homeboy, a fun upbeat number. He looks so self-satisfied here and omg...I love seeing his adorable left-cheek dimple at the end of the set when he smiles so cheekily!

And don't forget....he plays Chinese drums too!! This is a fantastic performance of Herbalist's Manual and he plays the drums from about 1:40 to 2:10...wow!!
Oh...and both Song Zuying and the kid are amazing too!!!

Here is yet another vid of him on the Chinese drums, starting from about 5:37 to 6:12. He also sings Rosemary at the start and ends with Herbalist's Manual (yes, again but who's counting?? Can never have too much of a good thing!).

From his concert in Japan comes these two songs, Faraway (where he does his briliiant piano improvs) and Fearless (Chinese drums):

So there you have it!
Isn't he just the most awesome ever???

Hope everyone enjoyed those vids....I know I had a wonderful time watching him showing off on all those instruments! ;)

Jay ROCKS!!!

Chou Style: Piano Ballads

Okay...after all that Chinese style rock, let's go on to another favourite style (and something a lot more soothing to listen to!) viz Jay's renowned piano ballads, of which there would be at least one in every album.
These are the love songs which start off with a typical Jay piano intro and build up into a soaring melody; always tuneful to the max and singable...but almost always sad.
After all, songs about love (gained or lost) are always popular with the public and any songwriter/singer worth his salt would be smart to build up this genre in his repertoire...and Jay is no exception.

I have chosen to recommend my favourites for this post but I'm sure some readers will disagree or insist that I have left out other deserving ones. Feel free to give your two cents' worth in Comments!

Warning: Be prepared to shed some tears as you listen to the ballads and watch the MVs. Tissue box at the ready!

From the first album, JAY, this is a beautiful and timeless song which made him famous viz Tornado aka Long Juan Feng 龍捲風 . With fantastic lyrics by Vivian Hsu and Jay's trademark voice, the opening piano intro is pure genius! The same motif of ten notes is repeated over a commonly-used chord progression and it sounds amazing!! I love the "Ooo ooo......" ending too and my only complaint is that it could be a little longer. :P
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/tornado/9

Love this live performance from The One concert:

Also from JAY album is Black Humour aka Hei Se You Mo 黑色幽默, a very classic piano ballad which Jay also wrote the lyrics for and renders wonderfully.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/black-humour/6

From the second album, Fantasy comes Silence aka An Jing  安靜, with lyrics by Jay himself and is also a favourite classic Jay ballad. The words are sad and heartrending...I can cry listening to this song.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/silence/20

Live from The One concert where he plays the piano...listen to the audience!

From the third album, The Eight Dimensions, we have Split aka Fen Lie 分裂 . Kelvin from Jay Chou Studio's take:
"The sound inside my heart strokes across. Cuts open the two kinds of Jay's consciousness. This is Jay's deepest monologue. I think this has a really good tune and I could listen to this for ages. The song is about a person with a split personality. In his reality he leads a boring and ordinary life and so he wants to escape this meaningless existance. He wants his other self to take him away. Because of the song's sensitive title it was renamed "Leave" for Mainland China audience."
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/split/30

From the fourth album, Ye Hui Mei, there are two songs which I love. The first is You Can Hear It aka Ni Ting De Dao 妳聽得到 , a very sweet and simple song about a couple seeing the good in each other. The MV is nicely done in a combination of Mandarin and spoken Cantonese....and Jay speaks a teeny bit of English at the end...really cute!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/you-can-hear-it/50

The second one is Cliff of Love aka Ai Qing Xuan Ya 愛情懸崖, with a MV showing Jay playing piano (which always pleases me!) and going all awesomely emo!
Here is Jay Chou Studio's Kelvin's review of this track:
"Vivian Hsu once again writes lyrics, explaining that love is just like a cliff, the deeper you love the deeper you fall, always cannot be controlled by people. I think this was probably one of the most anticipated songs in the album. I think Vivian has done quite well again, the words fit very well into the song and are simple like in the past. I especially like the last bit at the end talking about how he is buried by time. A very sad song indeed!"
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/cliff-of-love/53

The fifth album has two ballads but I like this one more...viz Run Aground aka Ge Qian 擱淺, with lyrics by Jay's good friend, Devon Soong. The MV is another tear-jerker.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/run-aground/63

The next song, Maple aka Feng 枫 is from his sixth album, November's Chopin. Also with lyrics by Devon Soong, I love this track for the melody and the seamless way it modulates up one semitone in the second half of the song. And omg...this is yet another very touching MV... *sniff*
How does Jay look and sound sooo darn emo??? It's practically an art with him!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/maple/84

From his seventh album, Still Fantasy, this is Step Back aka Tui Hou 退后, again with lyrics by Devon, and an interesting MV which features Hebe Tien from S.H.E.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/step-back/100

From his eighth album, On The Run, I like The Longest Movie aka Zui Chang De Dian Ying 最長的電影, a sad song about memories from childhood.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/the-longest-movie/121

Another lovely song from this album is Dandelion's Promise aka Pu Gong Ying De Yue Ding 蒲公英的約定, which is an extension of a track from his movie, Secret. Jay added in verses and voila!
I shall show a live performance of this song here as there is no official MV for it. Also, Jay plays the piano here....and I'm a sucker for watching him tickle those ivories!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/dandelions-promise/116

From Album #9, Capricorn, here is another classic piano ballad viz Where Is The Promised Happiness aka Shuo Hao De Xing Fu Ne  說好的幸福呢.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/wheres-the-promised-happiness/130

From The Era, his tenth album comes Said Goodbye aka Shuo Le Zai Jian 說了再見, which was also used for Jet Li's Ocean  Heaven, about a father and his autistic son. Very touching movie. *sniff* and very lyrical song.
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/said-goodbye/136

And finally, from his latest album, Exclamation Mark, this is How Are You aka Ni Hao Ma 你好吗， with lyrics by two of his staff members. It is mainly piano and orchestra, minus drums and is another very heartfelt song about lost love....*sniff*
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/how-are-you/150

So.....

Done crying yet?
Tissue box empty??
Don't worry, the next post should be less tear-jerking...hmm, maybe I should not have grouped all these sad songs together.
But they are all beautifully done, ya?
And if they moved the listener, that is a successful song already. :)

I want to end with a vid of Jay performing at his The One Singapore concert in 2003, where he plays piano and performs The End Of The World aka Shi Jie Mo Ri 世界末日 (which, incidentally is another beautiful piano ballad which he wrote for SBDW in 1998) and Black Humour. Awesomeness!!