Chou Style: Not Just Mando; Not Just His Own

Over the course of youtube surfing and Facebooking, I've discovered more than a few vids of Mr Chou performing in, apart from his native Mandarin, Hokkien, Japanese and Cantonese; with a whiff of English.
And also songs by other artistes, some of which he wrote, some not.

I shall start with this children's song, My Grandfather's Clock, which he sang for his Japanese fans in Tokyo. He sounds and looks sooooo sweet here and I love the close-up of his face and that adorable left cheek dimple! *melts*
His grandma's look of satisfaction and pride is also priceless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcprZjquyZ0&feature=youtu.be


This next vid has his grandma speaking in Japanese to the fans about Jay's love for the song which he sings after that. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZljuK8hECHk

Another song in Japanese but which is unfortunately somewhat marred by the annoying conversation between the ladies...*GRRRR*
According to the comments on youtube, the song is Yuki no Hana by Mika Nakashima.

And in the next vid, you can listen to him bantering with the fans in Japanese, from about 4:50 to 5:32...really cute!

I've posted this next one before but I love it so much...and it belongs here too.
It's his rendition of Jordan Chan's Waste of Space, which was written by Jay himself, in Cantonese during his HK concert....which pleased his fans no end, even if his pronounciation was apparently not that accurate....but who cares?? He made the effort and that's what matters!

Another two vids of a theme song from a popular Cantonese TV serial, Heart of Greed...to uproarious approval from the fans!

Now for some clips of him singing other artistes' songs:

In The One concert, he rearranged David Tao's Zhao Zhi Ji into the minor key, which gave the song a completely different feel...which to me, was much better than the original. I may be a little biased, though. ;)
Jay also ad-libbed really cheekily during the song about fans attending his concert. :))

At the Incomparable concert, he sang an awesome cover of Zhang Zhen Yue's Ai Wo Bie Zhou, which I totally love!

One notable collaboration was with Cindy Yen, his fellow JVR labelmate on a song she wrote viz Sand Painting (hua sha). It's a swingy jazzy number but with some touch of Jay-ness in it....apparently, she had to rewrite it several times before His Royal DIAOness approved and performed with her. :P
Cindy has a nice voice and plays piano beautifully too; Jay plays cello in the MV.

From Jay Chou Studio archives, a related article:

http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chou-makes-an-exception-to-sing-duet-sand-painting-with-cindy-yen/1105

Live performance at the Beijing Pop Music Awards...love Jay's scats! And he sings Fireworks Cool Easily after that.

Now for some Jacky Cheung songs:

During The Era concert, Jacky went on stage to sing Wen Bie with Jay...remember this was the song which inspired Jay into pop music. :)

Singing Jay's Long Time No See, followed by Jacky's Everyday I Love You More, in Cantonese:

And a clip of a much younger Jay singing Jacky's Yi Lu Shang You Ni, one of my fave Jacky songs:

Singing Aaron Kwok's Dui Ni Ai Bu Wan....with the dance steps....very cute!!

Jody Chiang's Sound Of Raining, which he wrote and it's sung in Tai-yu, the Taiwanese dialect:

As a guest in A-mei's 2012 concert, singing her song Black Eats Black and playing drums!

He sang Nicholas Tse's Old Scar during The Era concert in Kaohsiung in December 2011, where Nick was his special guest:

Performing with Eason Chan for Eliminated, during a charitable event in Shanghai in 2012. Jay wrote this song. :)

Singing The Drifters song and Stefanie Sun's Yan Lei Cheng Si during The Era concert in Singapore:

With Chris Hung, singing A Ba (Father), which Jay wrote:

Tribute to Teresa Teng:

I shall end off with two clips of him singing a wee bit of English.

Gangsta's Paradise from The Green Hornet...he sounds so good!

And his Yankee Doodle in LA:

Now wasn't that all kinds of fun??

Jay and Love Life

No, I am not discussing His Royal DIAOness' girlfriends past and present; that will be a post for another time when he finally settles down as he is known to be notoriously tight-lipped about his 'love life' and I respect that.

The 'Love Life' in this post refers to a charitable initiative in Taiwan for kids with terminal illnesses, which was set up by Blackie Chen and his wife, Fan Fan. It is supported by many celebrities and Jay improvised on the theme song, quite effortlessly as usual in the studio and recorded it for the publicity video.

An explanatory vid:

Here's a link to a vid of Jay in the studio...I love watching him play and work his magic!
He just kept on with his improvisation and coolly edited and recorded it after that!!

For a bigger and clearer view, here's a Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1410144090549&ref=mf



Here's the complete version, audio only...beautiful!

I'm sure that touched many hearts!

Jay fanfic: Serendipity: Chapter 1

Fan fiction is one thing that I've never tried but a recent post on multistars forums intrigued me enough to venture into this genre.

I now present my very first fan fic, a short story, featuring...who else??
Feedback is welcome!


Chapter 1: Now you see him


What a day it had been!
Two lacerations requiring suturing (and taking up a whole load of time while a dozen patients waited...impatiently); a half-hour blackout which meant no computer use and a reversion to hand-writing out every instruction for every medication; one staff member calling in sick early in the morning...gosh, was I glad to finally leave the clinic but darn it!
I had forgotten to bring my iPod with me today. There would be no music to plug into and get lost in whilst I made my weary way home.

Everyday I walk through the same underpass, which almost always sees the presence of a series of buskers.
A lone guitarist singing John Denver's songs; a Filipino couple belting out Top 40's hits; a guy with a ukelele trying to sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a la Mr Schue in Glee (and failing miserably).

Everyday I wish some busker would astound me with a Jay Chou song and I in turn would reward him or her very generously....I kid you not.
But it had yet to happen and I did not hold out much hope this evening as I hurried along to the underpass, my stomach rumbling as lunch had been forgone due to the madhouse morning stretching into the afternoon.

But...as I approached the tunnel, my ears pricked up.
Was I hearing things?
Were those not the extremely familiar notes of Ju Hua Tai, floating towards me??
The unmistakeable melody put a smile on my face immediately and quickened my pace (and my heart rate!) to bring me nearer towards the source of this refreshing sound.

The man in a pale pink hoodie, torn denims and black-rimmed glasses sat hunched over, his fingers gliding effortlessly over the keys of the portable piano, playing a series of variations on this beautiful song.
It was all I could do to prevent myself from squealing out loud and giving him a hug for his music which was providing a much-needed balm for my harrassed soul.
However, I felt that would be a trifle rude and besides, I did not want to interrupt his seemingly endless improvisations.
Strangely enough, I seemed to be the only pedestrian willing to pay him any attention as the hordes of rush-hour workers pushed on past me, quite oblivious to the musical genius which was being played out in that underpass.
No matter, I was lost in my own world enjoying Mr Pink Hoodie's renditions of one of my absolute favourites and nothing was going to disturb my moment of bliss.
All too soon, he reached the end of the piece and I started digging in my bag for my wallet to do the inevitable.
How generous should I be?
After all, this WAS a Jay song...how I loved Mr Chou's music!
And this fellow had just improvised on it...unbelievably well, at that.

I fished out ten dollars (that's alot; usually all I see on buskers' guitar cases are coins and two dollar notes!) and went towards him, ready to give him a thumbs up.
It was then that I noticed he was smiling and on his left cheek was a most adorable dimple!
As he looked up at me, there on his left upper eyelid just above the rim of his glasses was a most distinctive mole....goodness me, this was a true doppelganger for Jay, if there ever was one!
I mean....how could His Royal DIAOness ever be playing piano in an underpass in Singapore alone, right??

But then again, did I dare to believe it... maybe it really WAS him...after all, Joshua Bell had once played violin incognito in a New York subway, as a social experiment, and hardly anyone had recognised him.
Why couldn't Jay be doing the same thing?
My heart thumping fast, my hopes and spirits lifted, I continued walking to him and....

"STOP THIEF!!"
And all I remembered after I heard those words was hitting the ground, a splitting pain in the back of my head and the world went black.



"Miss, are you alright?"
I opened my eyes warily and focused on a friendly face staring at me anxiously.
It was the Filipino busker.

I got up slowly, rubbing the back of my head gingerly and reassured him that I felt fine.
My bag was on the floor but the belongings appeared intact.
I stared at the spot where Mr Pink Hoodie had been in earlier and to my dismay, realised that it was now the Filipina lady who was sitting there, with her keyboard, also staring at me anxiously.

"What happened?" I asked cautiously.
"There was a pickpocket trying to run away and he knocked you down. Don't worry, he has been handed over to the police," he replied me comfortingly.
"By the way, I often see you walking past here, listening to your iPod. You like music too, ya?"


I nodded my head and asked him, "Did you see another guy in a pink hoodie playing a portable piano here just now?"
He looked at me in surprise and said, "No, today it is our turn. No other busker is licensed to play here. We were trying out a new song today, actually. Something by Jay Chou...do you like his music?"

                                          


Update on 12 Sept 2012:

This was originally intended to be a standalone tale but with some encouragement from another ardent fanfic writer, I let my imagination wander and have continued the story on a separate blog:

http://serendipityfanfic.blogspot.sg/

Cool Jay Chou Commercials!

His Royal DIAOness with blue hair???
Well...why ever not???
In the interest of filming an unforgettable commercial, Mr Chou has done a zillion things, whether in action or just for aesthetics' sake.
That pic above came from a Pepsi commercial, just one of, like...only a million which Jay has done over the past ten years and which are the subject of today's post.
NB: He has also been quite the fashion model for a number of clothes brands which I'll cover in a separate post. :)

Over the course of my youtube surfing, I came across numerous commercials with Jay in them and before long, I had created a playlist on my channel:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL46B60094C80B8AC1&feature=plcp


Naturally, there are some which are my favourites. :)

I'll try and classify them by brands, products or causes as chronology would be too difficult.

YOUNG VOICE:

I shall start with this one which I absolutely adore 'cos it just encapsulates what Jay is all about viz a self-acted and self-directed creation. The vid is so like him...ie a control freak...but a really awesome one...lol!

Pic and a screenshot:

MOBILE PHONES:

A hot, bodylicious young Jay and Panasonic...*faints*

Young Jay performing magic...very cutely sweet!

And a sweet birthday clip:

M-ZONE:

This one could not be found via the Vid search so I'll post the link to youtube...it features Jay, watermelons and basketball...very cute!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayWJj6DjYIs&list=PL46B60094C80B8AC1&index=89&feature=plpp_video


With S.H.E. and Wilbur Pan. Jay's part is from 0:30 to 0:48...funny dance!!

Jay being chased...this one is so LOL but his coolness still wins:

 Jay is a burglar?? ;)

Jay trying to find a spot...cute!

ONE2FREE:

Jay waiting to be accepted as a disciple:

MOTO:

Jay in a face-off with a kungfu master....diao!!

PEPSI:

Very cute one with Pepsi-swigging natives!

Epic ad with other stars like Aaron Kwok, Jolin Tsai and Edison Chen:

With Yao Ming and song is Jay's Same Kind Of Tune...love this one!

Animated Jay going to Ancient Egypt:

Kungfu and Dragon Fist:

And omg...this one with Blue Storm where he has the blue hair and rips off his barely-there top at one point...hawt!!

SPRITE:

Jay showing off his magic again...but upstaged by the grandma...lol!

With Kobe Bryant:

Jay with surfboard!

NO SMOKING:

A very touching call to help underprivileged kids, with his song Snail:

MILK TEA: YOU LE MEI

Just discovered this beautifully romantic extended vid for You Le Mei, with Jay's song, Where Is The Promised Happiness...le sigh....he looks soooo sweeeet here...Part One:

Part Two, with Dandelion's Promise:

Commercials  for a 3D TV:

I shall end off with one of my fave pics: :)

Diao or not???

Le sigh......

ASUS and Incredible J!

Guess who belongs to the aawesome ensemble of technology in that pic?? ;)

Yup, that's the ASUS Incredible J notebook which His Royal DIAOness co-designed early last year, putting his own stamp on every aspect including the beautiful cover design, the special J key on the keyboard, the start-up tune, the Secret Time Travel score line on the panel inside, yadayadayada....

I was very happy that Jay had done this ASUS project; such a welcome change from soft drinks, milk tea and mobile phone endorsements.
He had, once again, managed to try something new and reinvent himself whilst maturing well.
And what could be more DIAO than a notebook??

The notebook was beautifully conceptualised and realised, with so many personal touches that connect with who and what he is.
The clefs, music notes, nunchakus, playing card suites, Chinese-style shape and not least, the PINK and black combination....they are all SO JAY and were calling out to me...*buy buy buy*
And I was very pleasantly surprised at the retail price in Singapore, as I thought it would definitely be waay more 'cos of Jay's contributions and the B&O technology.

As it happened (serendipitiously!), I was in the market for a non-Mac notebook at that time so in the natural order of things, I am now happily writing my blogs whilst tapping on the keys of the Incredible J. :)
It's such a thing of beauty that even after one year, I still run my fingers lovingly over the smooth shiny cover, whilst revelling in the seven notes which herald its start-up. Seeing Jay's signature and the musical notes add to my pleasure. :)

There was an incredible (pun intended!) buzz leading up the the launch of this notebook, which the members of multistars forums followed with glee and I shall post some links to the pics and vids collected over the course of that period.


Jay was involved in the design of this notebook from the very beginning:

Here's a vid about the design process:

Translations for above vid:

"I feel special to be a designer here. It's the first time I'm designing for a notebook; previously I'd only designed clothes.
The ASUS designers are very good; they know what I want, like Chinese and baroque styles, like in my music, and they designed accordingly.
We discussed everything and brainstormed and they could grasp what concepts I wanted.
The design team also listened to Jay's music, watched his MVs and movies before working with him.

East meets West is very important to me as it's quite a distinct feature of my musci.
I don't have a particular style...more a fusion of Eastern and Western flavours, whic to me, is the best representation.

The round shape is typically Chinese like the base of the flower pot but I wanted something other than a flower pattern.
So within the semicircular form is a mixture of symbols synonymous with Jay like magic, nunchucks, piano keys.
This is a very distinctive East/West confluence.

We tried out calligraphy to write my name, which to me was a new thing as I had thought of using it for fashion previously.
My handwriting is not very good but with a brush, it's different as whether it looks pretty depends on the individual. Out of the hundred I try, there will be one that's nice.

When a song is done, it has to be mixed to get the right sound.
This notebook has the sound in it; so you don't need to play music on a separate CD player.

We were trying out the sound when I just came up with a tune for the bootup and shutdown tones.

This has been a great collaborative team effort.
I have high expectations of myself, like for my music.
If I don't like it, I would not release it.
If it fails to move me, how can I expect others to feel that way?"


Here's the link to the ASUS website for this Incredible J:

http://sonicmaster.asus.com/en/DesignStory.html


Here's a link to a news article from xinmsn about Jay's role and the press conference:

http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/celebrity/buzz/asia/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4989894&page=0


Another link to vrzone about the event:

http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-and-jay-chou-jointly-announce-special-edition-n-series-notebook-pc/12795.html#ixzz1QgRieq00

A few lines from the above article about the design:

No, it isn't exactly a celebrity endorsement; Chou was the chief designer who has worked with the ASUS design centre on the laptop. Shih said that the company's vision is to produce more of such distinct products which are incomparable and he is happy to have Chou as the designer for the special edition N-series. To conceptualize the design, it boils down to how the combination of the consumers sixth senses and ASUS' advanced technologies, and bring out the incomparable experience to the users. According to Chou, he had used "incomparable" as the theme for one of his concerts and that the design of the special edition N-series is very much like east meets west.



And here's a link to vrzone's (good) review of the Incredible J and the specs:

http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-n43sl-jay-chou-edition-review-not-perfect-but-almost-incredible-/13247-1.html


Links to a thread on multistars which has more vids of the press conference:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14502.msg287349#msg287349


I still remember very clearly the day I hotfooted it down to a local dealer which was one of the first to bring in this notebook.
And the joy I felt when I laid eyes on it in the shop....and now still loving the look and performance of Incredible J tremendously!

16 July is Jay Chou Day!

I have it on good authority that 16 July is Jay Chou Day!!

I think it commemorates the day Yi Fu Zhi Min was released; 50 radio stations across Asia decided to make this day Jay Chou Day. And 8million(?) listeners were tuned in!

Here's a lovely fan tribute to this day from youtube, which puts together his performances of Yi Fu Zhi Ming, the list of accolades taken from The Era concert and nice lines to the effect that after all these years, he's still going strong and that being his fan is definitely right!

I saw this mentioned on Facebook too.

So HAPPY JAY CHOU DAY EVERYONE!!!

Actually, for me, every day is Jay Chou Day!! :)

I'm gonna wear something with pink in it 'cos Jay loves pink, as evidenced by this cute collection of His Royal DIAOness in various shades of the colour:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14286.0

And listen to Ye Hui Mei!!!

Chou Style: Uniquely Jay!

Sigh...I accidentally deleted my Uniquely Jay post today from my iPhone!!!!
The perils of a touch screen! *jumps up and down*

So here I am, rewriting this topic which is an absolute must when talking about Jay's music, where he creates songs in certain distinct genres, either singularly or more often than not, combining a few in one whilst imparting his own unique musical stamp on the song. :)

The pic above is taken from the MV for Sailors Afraid Of Water, which Jay wrote for the kiddies. It's a fun song combining beat box and ragtime; Danni is dressed up as a shark and Jay dances very well with Erica. :))
 Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/sailors-afraid-of-water/153

From The Era, Jay gave us Free Instructional Video, which starts off as an Elvis Presley type song, very bluesy but then develops into a full-blown rock and roll number, with different parts coming in seamlessly, to make it sound completely one-of-a-kind....so much so that it won the Golden Melody Award for Best Arrangement in 2011 for Jay's music arrranger, A-Geng!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/free-instructional-video/138

From Capricorn, he wrote a circus-style song viz Mr Magic, with a very cute tune and an absolutely stunning set based on the magic theme!

Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/mr-magic/129

And now for the song which probably started him on this unique way of composing, this is Cowboy Very Busy, which you either love or hate. I love the chorus with the hand movements and the MV is really a lark!
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/cowboy-is-very-busy/112
 

I shall end with Rosemary, from his Still Fantasy album, where he composed a lovely bossa nova style song and he also danced divinely in the MV!
His beloved grandma is also in the MV. :)
Translation: http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-translations/rosemary/104

Diao or not, I ask you?? ;)

DIAOness Updates (1)

Hi all!!
I've not neglected this blog....just been busy with home stuff and keeping up with all the DIAO news these past few days, some of which I shall post here for my own reference and yours. :)

First up: Final MV release!!!

I just love that pic of Jay and Lara dancing!!!
It's from the final MV of Jay's latest album, Exclamation Mark.
The song is Piano Hurt aka Qing Shang, a somewhat haunting mashup of rap, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and R&B.
Jay's Mum taught him and Lara how to perform the waltz and he re-used some props and effects from earlier MVs eg the piano and the ship...which I think is quite good for promoting recycling!
Nonetheless, the MV was still quite expensive to produce because of the special effects.
I love it....although it's a sad story.
Watch the MV for yourself....it should be pretty easy to follow.

And the behind-the-scenes:

Next, we have news of the release of the DVD compilation of all his MVs from The Era and Exclamation Mark!!

This is another product which the fans have been waiting anxiously for and huge sighs of relief were heard when JVR made the announcement.
The compilation is named [J Moment] and with pre-orders come the gift of the perfume bottle (with perfume, I trust!)....omg, I so want to own that!!
I shall be doing the necessary soon enough. ;)

Updated photo of J Moment:

For international fans, here's the link to YesAsia for pre-ordering:

http://www.yesasia.com/us/j-moment-2dvd/1031158991-0-0-0-en/info.html

And here's a link to Sunsun Jay's album filled with pics from the MVs concerned:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.493490457334835.127848.100000216553089&type=1




Then came news of His Royal DIAOness being immortalised in wax at Madam Tussaud's in Bangkok!

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/entertainment/2012-07/10/c_131707084.htm

Here are some pics...courtesy of Sunsun Jay's album on Facebook:

I think the likeness is quite good!

Hair, eyes, lips, left cheek dimple and most importantly, that unmistakeable beauty mark over his left eye!

And he's wearing that cool outfit from his Mine Mine MV...yup, I really dig the jacket which has asymmetrical sleeves. :)


Haha,...now I have an additional reason to go to Bangkok for a holiday!  



And finally, the update from F1 Singapore GP about the timings for the concerts on their entertainment highlights:

http://www.singaporegp.sg/media/entertainment.php

http://www.singaporegp.sg/newsletter/2012-entertainment-highlights/index.html

Jay will supposedly perform at 23:15....it's a little late but what to do?
According to the race organisers, the concerts are to start only after the action on the track is over.
Whatever the case may be, I'm all ready to rock with him and the other fans waay into the night!

Bring it!!!!

Chou Style: Songs for other artistes

I heard two Jay songs on the radio this morning from two different stations! *smiles broadly*
One was Superman Can't Fly.
The other was Summer by Nicky Lee, written by Jay, and one of my fave songs which he wrote for other artistes.

As is well known, Jay started out as a songwriter and and to date, his list of compositions for other singers is comparable to the number of songs which he performed himself for his own studio albums.

I have painstakingly compiled as many of these as I could find on my youtube channel here:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5D4764D8A477D2C4&feature=plcp

Of course, I have some favourites and would very much like to share them here.
Some of them are performed by Jay himself at his concerts; most are by the artistes he wrote for.


First up, Rooftop. This is from 1999, originally performed by Jacky Wu and Landy Wen but I like this version from Landy's concert with Jay singing.

You Are Happier Than In The Past, also from 1999 and sung by Jacky Wu. I prefer Jay's voice here, though....yes, I'm so biased!

Another 1999 song was The Sound Of Rain for Jody Chiang which she sings in Taiyu (the Taiwanese vernacular).

 

The next one is one of my absolute faves, from 2000, this is Genie Of The Night Sky sung by Leo Ku. The melody is SO beautiful and Leo's voice really does it justice. :)

Jay wrote Tell Fortune for Jacky Cheung in 2001, a very cool rap song which the God Of Song performed admirably, in a change from his usual style. Kudos to him!

Love love LOVE this song which he wrote for Jordan Chan in 2003 viz Waste of Space! Jay sang it at his HK concert in Cantonese...beautifully! Never get tired of hearing this one!

A-du is a Singaporean singer whom Jay wrote this song, entitled Give In and delivered the demo to him by plane! Circa 2003:

I love this one for Nan Quan Ma Ma viz Disintegrate, from 2004. Very haunting.

Also from 2004, this is Rewind which he wrote for Jolin Tsai but I like his version better:

Jay wrote Self Hypnosis in 2005 for his good friend, Show Luo, who was having a stressful time and difficulty sleeping:

I love this next song which Jay wrote for Heavenly King, Aaron Kwok in 2006 viz Love:

Jay once wrote Nunchucks for A-mei, which she rejected. But not this next song, written for her in 2007 is just so her...If You Also Heard. Love her voice here!

From 2007 comes another very beautiful song in a zhong guo feng style, Xiao Xiao, for Joey Yung. I love this one very much too.

In 2010, Jay wrote and performed this very touching song with Chris Hung, entitled A-ba (Father) for a movie about Hung Senior. The Hung family were prominent in the Taiwanese entertainment industry.

The song I mentioned at the beginning of this post is from 2010, for Nicky Lee viz Summer. It's very Jay-style but eminently suited for Nicky's voice although I can imagine Jay singing this one very well too!

Jay composed a song for popular Korean group, Super Junior in 2011 viz Love Is Sweet, a very nice Jay-esque number. :)

Another lovely song for Aaron Kwok in 2011, Love is Never-Ending:

So there you have it...my personal fave list of songs which Jay wrote for other artistes.

Feel free to tell me yours!