Jay at F1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix: The Stage!

The earlier posts building up to this:

http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2012/06/jay-loves-wheels.html

http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2012/08/jay-at-f1-tickets.html



Just about three weeks more to Jay's concert at the Singapore Grand Prix and the organisers have given us more info to whet our appetites!


Check out this pic of the stage!!!

From the update on Singapore GP's website:

http://singaporegp.sg/media/news.php?id=101

"Come September, Singapore GP will be celebrating the fifth year of the night race. To commemorate the milestone, the race promoter is going full throttle with the biggest outdoor entertainment event yet. With only one ticket, fans can enjoy hours of track action complemented with full-scale mega concerts at the Padang stage helmed by global superstars.
Headliners Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Jay Chou, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Bananarama will each be holding their own full-scale concert, complete with massive customised stage sets, elaborate costumes and extensive lighting and sound effects. Here is a preview of what you can expect at Singapore's biggest outdoor production from 21 to 23 September at the Padang main stage."

About Jay:

FRIDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER

"Jay Chou, Asia's reigning R&B prince, will kick off the weekend and stage a one-night mega-concert in Singapore and his only one for the year. The multi-instrumentalist and award-winning singer-songwriter has a specially commissioned choreography and stage set-up for his 75-minute show that involves spectacular pyrotechnics and laser effects, cranes, plus a surprise element to thrill race fans. Tickets to catch Jay Chou's concert starts from just S$58 (Friday Zone 4 Walkabout)."



And about the stage and special effects:

STAGE WORKS
"Last year, a whopping 50,000 spectators thronged the Padang to catch concerts at the main stage in Zone 4. To top off last year’s successful outing, Singapore GP will be putting together the largest stage for a concert ever seen in Singapore to ensure fans have a memorable weekend.

Staging a blockbuster production for these music powerhouses is no easy feat – the stage’s roof structure is specially imported from Australia and is capable of hanging up to 100 tonnes of lights, LED screens, audio equipment and more. 
Hoisted by a unique hydraulic system never before used in Singapore, the same structure has been used by Korean pop star Rain for his first outdoor world tour, Robbie Williams in Dubai as well as other outdoor concert productions in Australia and Asia.

To allow for more interaction between the stars and their fans, the runway-thrust – the ‘catwalk’ aisle –  has been extended from 5 metres last year, to a strut-worthy length of 30 metres. The 24 metre by 15 metre stage is flanked by two giant LED screens broadcasting live footage of the concert which allows fans to see the stars up-close in their full revelry.

To further pump up the crowd, Singapore GP has specially flown in a crane from Korea previously used by Super Junior, which can hoist the performer up and rotate 180 degrees around the end of the runway.
In addition to these superstar concerts, there will also be a myriad of theatrical productions, visual installations, regional talents and roving artistes throughout the Circuit Park.

FANZONE ACCESS
Limited Fan Zone wristbands, which provides spectators access to the Fan Zone just in front of the Padang stage, will be given out when the Circuit Park opens at 2.30pm from behind the sound console at the Padang. Wristbands are only valid for the day’s performances.

DON'T MISS ASIA'S BIGGEST EXTRAVAGANZA
Whether you are addicted to the roar of Formula One engines or an ardent supporter of a chart-topping artiste, the 2012 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX has all the ingredients for a fun-filled weekend."





My thoughts:

I'm really hyped-up for this concert!!!
From what I've seen of Jay's world tour concerts over the past 10 years, he has always gone to a different level in every performance to delight and thrill, with the clever use of technology and special effects, to enhance his already-awesome music!

As this is his only solo concert for this year and considering how international an event the F1 is, I'm absolutely certain that he and his team will go the distance to ensure an eyeball-popping and mindblowing entertainment experience for the general audience and his devoted fans.

The concert is slated to start at 2315 hours on 21 September and is expected to last 75 minutes, but I hope he'll extend it with a few well-chosen encores!

Of course I'm also wondering which songs he'll perform...possibly all the car-related numbers like:

Super Sports Goddess
Drifting
All The Way North
Self-Directed and Acted

What would be his opening song?
Possibly Exclamation Mark...which is a really explosive number when sung live! "WA KAO!!!"

And what Jay Chou concert is complete without a Chinese-style zhong guo feng song or two?
Maybe one slow and one hard rock/rap?
He simply has to do these to introduce his unique fusion of East-West sounds to the international audience!
I'll bet he sings Nunchuks at the end too...or maybe not....
Can't wait to hear his rearrangements and improvisations too!

Instruments he'll play:
Definitely piano and guitar....hopefully drums...and maybe he'll surprise us with something totally new!
And he's very proud of his beatboxing....sure to include that somewhere. ;)

One more thing which will be worth looking out for....his costumes!!
It's gonna be really hot on the open-air stage but as it's late at night, should not be unbearable.
Nonetheless, am I the only one wishing that His Royal DIAOness might condescend to wear less and show more of his newly-developed biceps, pecs and *gasp* ABS???
"C'MON JAY!!! If you've got 'em, FLAUNT 'EM!!!"


And haha...here's a greeting from Jay which was posted a while back on the Official Singapore GP Page on Facebook...his English is cute. ;)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151090499134954&set=vb.102227592190&type=2&theater

Now to replace the batteries in my lightsticks....


OMG....I can't wait!!!!

Jay Chou and Kobe Bryant 2012

Jay and Kobe Bryant worked together on a charity project for Sprite in 2011, where Jay composed a song for a commercial featuring him and Kobe. There was also a celebrity basketball match held in Shanghai to raise funds for underprivileged youth in China.
I posted the vids in my link on Jay Loves: BASKETBALL! (see below)
The commercial is cheekily cute, with Jay slam-dunking with the aid of a skateboard!

http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2012/06/jay-loves-basketball.html


However, that was not the end of things as the two of them once again got together earlier this year in LA as a follow-up to that successful collaboration, with both 'issuing challenges' to each other, to compete in the fields of music and basketball!

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15101.0

The vid below is too cute for words!
It's the run-up to the Jay-Kobe showdown on stage.

In it, Jay starts by reminding Kobe about their match last year when he(Jay) slam-dunked in the winning shot by using his skateboard...and that everybody witnessed it!
Kobe claims he had an off-day and wants a rematch. :))

Then the host tells Jay Kobe is going to surprise him. :)))

Next vid is an interview where Jay mentions about Kobe playing b'ball with them in Shanghai, like he was playing with kids...lol!
And Jay hopes the NBA will use the song he wrote and sang with Kobe last year. :))

LOVE this angle of Jay....can see his adorable left-cheek DIMPLE clearly!!! *swoon*

 Here's the commercial:

The BTS of the commercial:

Nice pics of this commercial:

The grand finale to all this was the celebrity basketball match held in Shanghai just last week:

News article from Jay Chou Studio:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15263.0

Another link about this event from China Daily:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-08/20/content_15687239.htm?bsh_bid=121457401


Jay sang Exclamation Mark at the event....loved his ball-handling!

The vid of the whole match:

And a message from Kobe himself!

"The Sprite China 2nd Annual Charity Basketball game was a ton of fun. We played two 15 min halves with a running clock. I watched from the bench for the first half. We were trailing by 9 when I was notified that fans via text can choose a t...eam to add 20 additional points to their tally!!! We were now down 29!! I wanted to play it cool but what the heck, the place was packed with fans who’d sang an early happy birthday to me and really wanted to watch me go to work. My teammates were down. They are all singers/actors and do not play ball much AT ALL, but they are very successful at what they do hence they are VERY competitive. They asked if I could bring them back in the second half..

I didn't want to disappoint them or the fans that had paid their hard earned money for a show so I took the challenge of really using the second half as a training session for my stamina. I ran and ran and ran. I wound up scoring 68 in the 2nd and we won. Like I said, they are not basketball players by any stretch of the imagination. I was just having fun with all of them and loved hearing the crowd enjoy the show we put on.

They performed some of their number 1 hits. We took pics and signed autographs. I believe we raised 2.6MM RMB for underprivileged youth here in China! That is the MOST important number of the night. Sprite, one of my sponsors, hosted the game. They carry a great message of self-expression: Don't be afraid to be who you are -- by doing, so that you will find your own path and your own greatness as you define it.

Here’s my pic with Jay Chou. For those who might not know he is a HUGE star in China and we have done several China based commercials and events together. He is THE beast of his field.

Tomorrow is my last day in China then it's back home for some much needed rest :-)

Much love. Mamba"

Some nice pics from the event:

 Jay vs Kobe on court:

Whose are bigger??? Jay can't help showing off his newly-developed biceps...lol!!

AH HA!! Fnally we get a close-up of Mr Chou's ABs!!! WOW!!! @@

Lookee who's shooting a penalty...wonder if he got the three points??

Group shot:

Awww...one is King of the Court, the other is King of Mandopop...love these two fellas lots!!!

Chou Style: iweekly interview: January 2012

Translated interview by yours truly:

Q: Heard you don’t want to do another action movie after The Viral Factor?
J: Yes. I had to memorise many moves for the fight scenes; it was very hard work and I did not get enough sleep. But no matter what, I had to ensure that I looked like a real hero and not appear tired. It was very difficult.

Q: Crying or jumping off a building…which is harder?
J: Jumping..ha..I had to leap off a 7-storey building; I was very anxious and scared. Had I been in my twenties, I would have been more daring as I would have been stronger too. But now, after a few action scenes, I already feel tired.

Q: How do you feel about your acting?
J: I think it’s best to act natural so that the audience will believe in the character and not that I’m Jay Chou, the musician. Nicholas Tse can do that. When people watch his movies, they don’t think of him as Nicholas Tse, the musician but as a good actor.

Q: Do you think you’ve achieved that?
J: Jay, the musician likes to be cool, goodlooking but for this movie, the director would not allow me to look cool whilst holding the guns. Yes, ha…couldn’t do this, couldn’t do that.. You would not be able to make out Jay Chou, the musician and I think that’s a breakthrough for me.

Q: Jackie Chan never wanted his hero characters to die in a movie. What’s your take on that?
J: Ha..I hope so too, but I was not the one who wrote the screenplay. Previously, I felt that heroes should not be sad, or be beaten up. They should only beat up the bad guys.. Even though my character died in Curse of the Golden Flower, it was a suicide and not a murder. But in TVF, I was beaten up really badly. If I was the one writing the story, I would have made it less sad, like my MVs…even if it’s about the end of the world, I still want to hold out hope.

Q: What compliments do you most like to receive?
J: Those pertaining to my acting, hosting and directing, apart from my music. Because those are not my strong areas, there is an even greater sense of achievement. I should get good reviews for my music as that is my domain from young.

Q: How about compliments from ‘girlfriends’?
J: Not bad, regarding me as their idol is great!

Q: Where do you get all your ideas from?
J: From all aspects of life. I think of myself as a sponge, absorbing all that is good and bad from around me, which eventually becomes inspiration.

Q: In TVF, you play a cop and have to help your brother. What are your feelings on such a kinship?
J: Growing up as an only child has made me treasure my friends. It can be seen from many news reports that I frequently help my friends in their ventures, get them to act in my MVs and movies, concerts, etc. I allow them to drive my cars. Yes, I like to share the fruits of my success with my friends.

Q: They are very fortunate to be your friends!
J: Being my friend is also not an easy matter. They have to be trustworthy; if they’re not sincere, I can sense it easily.

Q: In TVF, your girlfriend fell for your colleague and friend. In real life, how would you handle something like that?
J: To be honest, friendship is more important than a romantic relationship. Friends can last forever; but not a romance. I would not sacrifice my friends for my brothers.

Q: Your girlfriend must get along with your other friends?
J: But of course! I would bring her to all our gatherings to socialize and have fun. Some guys bring their girlfriends who then sit in one corner and do not join in. That’s disappointing!

Q: Your friends’opinions matter?
J: I value my friends and mother’s opinions about my girlfriends. If they do not approve, I would not carry on with the relationship for too long.

Q: Eh? You would still go out with her?
J: Ha…yes, but just as dates and nothing serious.

Q: It would be quite difficult being your girlfriend!
J: Ha..she should be quite happy yo be able to be in my life and get to know my friends. I would also treat her well. Ha.

Q: Jay Chou is very self-confident….true?
J: Hmm…only where music is concerned. Not so in other areas.

Q: But you appear to be full of confidence in everything that you do.
J: Ha…that’s the impression I want to convey. I would not have it otherwise. Frankly, I actually like to feel less confident about things. Yes, when you don’t know if you’ll win or lose, that’s a challenge. I really hope to be acknowledged for my efforts in TVF. As I do not have that much confidence in my acting, I need that sort of affirmation.

Q: Winning matters to you.
J: Yes, I’m a person who always wants to win and will not consider losing. It’s my nature. Like during my student days, I was ridiculed by another top student. I just had to challenge him and I succeeded in beating him in a test. Thereafter, I felt I had nothing left to prove.

Q: That must make it very hard for you to accept failure.
J: Very difficult. But I do not admit defeat easily nor let failure get to me first. Eg, when I feel that people are not keen on my music, I will choose to stop singing first and not be forced out of it only when I have no fans.

Q: What failures have you encountered thus far?
J: None. I prefer to call them setbacks. When I began collaborating with Vincent Fang, many singers found our songs very strange and could not understand our style. We then revised and changed according to the feedback and eventually found a formula which worked. Yes, at that time, composing was my means of livelihood and only if my songs were used then would I earn any money. That’s why I worked hard relentlessly at composing. I was not afraid of rejection. Out of 100 songs, there would definitely be a few which would be used.

Q: How do you view these setbacks?
J: Man must face setbacks inorder to move forward. If it had been smooth sailing for me then, I don’t know where Jay Chou would be now.

Q: Between you and Nick Tse, who is more diao?
J: Nick is a very good actor. I am still unable to let go and go all out like him eg for a crying scene, I still can’t produce real tears. They’re all eyedrops. I can’t reach deep into my emotions to ‘act’.

Q: Why is that so?
J: It’sbecause I feel a need to maintain my image as a singer. Acting is only a past time. Singing is my fulltime career and I will not forgo it.

Q: Do you think that will change in future?
J: Unlikely.

Q: What is Jay Chou’s image?
J: Very cool and diao. My songs must be hopeful . That is my mission and now my style. I want to leave a legacy.

Q: Is that different from you as a person?
J: Not much. But I’m also very lively and can be badtempered.

Q: I remember interviewing you ten years ago…
J: That was such a long time ago…

Q: Yes, you were very easy to handle. Only had to give you a guitar and hamburger….any different now?
J: Not really. When I see myself on talkshows from back then, I still see myself speaking the same way, I’m still diao. I have less freedom but am more influential. But I speak more to the reporters now.

Q: You also have more money now…
J: Yes, not too bad…

Q: How do you keep yourself this way?
J: It’s important to preserve one’s sense of self and character. Although I like to win , I’m not arrogant., that much I know. I’ve faced setbacks and appreciate how hard it was to achieve certain things. So I’m very careful with managing my work.

Q: Many Heavenly Kings are not as self-deprecating as you.
J: Being honest is important; that is me. It has nothing to do with one's position. One must not only see the good things about oneself. Being self-deprecating is a good check on oneself and it makes other people laugh.

Q: Singing, acting, hosting, directing, opening a KTV club…have you thought of setting up an entertainment empire?
J: I have not tried DJ-ing…ha..I have a music empire. In future, I want to be a movie mogul. Yes, like Andy Lau…not bad eh? I can shoot many movies, nurture new talents; I have many ideas for movies, even if I don’t act in them.

Q: Do you feel that you have no competition amongst your peers now?
J: The present generation of new talents have many ideas. Given the chance, they will go far. I don’t want to compare myself with the newcomers. Instead, I want to sign them up. They should compete amongst themselves.

Q: You once said: “God and man cannot be compared.”
J: The God I’m referring to is not myself; it is Jacky Cheung. Yes, he has reached the level of a god. It doesn’t matter if his albums do well or not or if the newcomers do better than him. He is already regarded as the God of Song,, no matter what. I want to be like him.

Q: Do you think anyone else can surpass your achievements?
J: I’m still in the process of improving myself so other have to catch up with and overtake me. It’s easy…all they have to do is work a little harder, sacrifice their rest time and be like me when I was practicing piano diligently.

Q: I don’t think that’s easy.
J: It’s not difficult. You must have confidence.

Q: You are referring to the..?(I couldn’t make out this word)
J: Movies and music are like two big trees which I want to grow.

Q: You feel confident about this?
J: Of course. Yes, I want to be a winner. Breaking through is not difficult; maintaining one’s position is the challenge. I hope to be like Andy Lau in this respect.

Q: Would Jay Chou vanish from the entertainment scene one day?
J: No. What else would I do? Haha…I would work behind the scenes, compose ; let other people sing my songs. But I do hope to continue singing until I’m in my 50s…


 

Chou Style: King of MVs/Music Footage Book

I first posted the translations for this book on multistars forums in 2011.

"Is it harder creating music to go along with footage, or creating footage to go along with music?
It is not important, because I can do BOTH!"--- Jay Chou


This is essentially a book with 30 chapters, with insights from Jay and his crew/friends about the making of his music videos. Each chapter has photos from a particular MV, although the explanations do not necessarily relate to the MV depicted.
I've translated as best as I can.

Chapter One: tells of his first experience in directing Nan Quan Ma Ma's MV for 'Home' and he wanted to make it memorable.

Chapter Two: He's most happy with the MV for Twilight's Chapter Seven. Although he had limited resources, he still flew the crew to England to film. It's a MV with beautiful imagery and he thought it was much better than that for Red Imitation. The latter was nominated for GMA Best Music Video but Jay felt Twilight deserved the honour much more.

Chapter Three: His photographer wrote this chapter. Jay has progressed from a songwriter to a director but is always keen to learn more and he's meticulous about the finest details. Yet, he has the big picture in mind and is also able to give the other members of his team leeway to express and execute their ideas. He also likes to use 35mm film.

Chapter Four: Written by Jay, he makes no apologies for spending as much as is necessary to produce a good MV.

Chapter Five: Here, Jay tells of the difference between shooting a MV and a movie, with the former of course taking a shorter time to get results and a sense of satisfaction.

Chapter Six: Here, Jay says he felt somewhat embarrassed about winning the Golden Horse Award for Best Newcomer (Initial D) as he had had plenty of experience in acting, thanks to his music videos!

Chapter Seven: Here, his assistant director Jennifer spills on his love of eating whilst doing post-production work. According to her, he loves telling stories and is able to conceptualise and visualise his MVs smoothly. He always wants to be different too. However, Qing Hua Ci was a sequel to Hair Like Snow, which was also what he wanted. (there were criticisms that the two MVs were too similar).

Chapter Eight: Jay's curious about his fate with his friends. He feels that a regretful memory leaves a deeper impression and that a regretful love is even more beautiful.

I believe Kelvin from JCS actually posted something about this on 28/02/11 on the Jay News section..you guys can refer there too. His translation's good.

Chapter Nine:Jay emphasises again that he likes to be challenged and try new ideas for his MVs. Likes to compete with himself.

Chapter Ten: This chapter shows pics from the MV for Directed and Acted by Yourself, which featured the Citroen GT from the Shanghai Car Show. Here, he says as his dancing is not as good as other R&B singers, his car has then to be more outstanding.

Chapter Eleven: He rewatches every MV he makes many times. To reach this level of narcissism is not easy. But if he doesn't enjoy his own MVs, how then can he expect others to do so??

Chapter Twelve: This one's written by Emily, his hairstylist-turned-fashion-stylist. Jay asked her out of the blue, one day to be his fashion stylist. Emily didn't take him seriously, thinking he was lacking sleep and not of clear mind(!) She also thought it was unnecessary for her to be his stylist as he usually had very strong opinions about what he wanted. So she didn't give it another thought until the studio execs talked to her about this.
Cowboy Very Busy was the first MV she helped on. Jay would do his research and references, discuss with her the concepts and how to present them but yet giving her room to have her own ideas.
They were both keen to try something fresh and different.
Jay is willing to try any style, usually carrying them of with panache, even the more unusual ones (don't we know that??). He's not that self-conscious(!)

 Chapter Thirteen: Jay finds that filming in Hollywood and Taiwan is similar in many ways but there's always more to learn. He thinks he should have a director from overseas (Michel Gondry??) for the MVs for his next album.

Chapter Fourteen: He still prefers to use traditional film for his MVs, rather than HD.

Chapter Fifteen: Emphasises (again) that dancing is not his forte but music is and he thus relies on listening to the rhythm of fast songs to help him. And he'll check with the choreographer when he's editing.

Chapter Sixteen: Short snippet about how fierce he apparently was whilst shooting a MV for NQMM but he felt bad about it and the day after, specially looked for Lara and the other actor (?) to check on them and make sure they were okay.

Chapter Seventeen:Here, his assistant Danni mentions how she's always being roped in by Jay to act in his MVs and as she says: "Can I say No to my boss??"
She says he's a very hardworking director; she can't fathom where all his creativity comes from. Once he has an idea, he'll start calling all his crew to get to work. He does the post-production editing, using all his spare time, sacrificing even sleep and recreation. And her most important task is to make sure he is well-supplied with tidbits!

Chapter Eighteen: This one is in reference to Where Is The Promised Happiness. Jay says this is a very sad song and so he kept the MV simple.

Chapter Nineteen: He fancies himself like Michael Jackson, wanting always to give his fans the best MVs he can, so as not to disappoint them.

Chapter Twenty: Jay has always wanted to directed his own MVs. He feels the MV adds to the enjoyment of the song. When he writes a song, he often already has feel of the MV in place so he finds it pretty easy to shoot said MV. Another important role he finds in his MV-filming is that he gets to preserve images of the scenery, especially in Taipei, for posterity.

Chapter Twenty-One: Written by Du Ge (Jay's good friend and makeup artist), he tells of how often he gets roped in to act in Jay's MVs and he's grateful for the opportunity to realise that he, Du Ge, can act!
He also understands how complicated it can be to shoot an MV.
Jay could have been satisfied being just a singer but he just likes directing and is always trying to learn whatever he can.
He may seem childlike at heart, but once he's in the director's chair, he's totally focused on the task at hand.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Here, Jay talks about 'I'm Not Worthy' and how he wanted to use it to strike a sympathetic chord with his friends in the showbiz industry and their issues with maintaining their privacy. Difficulties with having a love life ensue...so Jay says he's glad he's single now.
Jay says: Chinese pop singers hardly ever shoot an mv about their own lives, I wanted to do one to resonate with other artistes in the industry. Which is why I did 'I'm Not Worthy' and added in real-life examples like having to sit apart in the cinema and wearing a mask when out.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Jay enjoyed helping to direct Alan Kuo's MV for Do Not Worry which garnered him many compliments from his friends in the industry. Altho' oftentimes he may appear playful, he takes his shooting/directing of MVs very seriously.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Here, Jay talks about how Zhong Guo Feng (Chinese style) MVs are his trademark, which were helped very much with Vincent Fang's expressive lyrics. He was also very inspired by Zhang Yimou's movies, especially Hero and feels other fellow directors can use his (Jay's) MVs as a basis of comparison.

Chapter Twenty-Five: This is written by one of his assistants (I think) and talks about Jay's simplicity and lack of special requests, unlike many big-name directors. Also talks about the making of Dragon Rider, which was a complicated shoot. But Jay was immensely dedicated and committed to doing everything in the smoothest, quickest way. He thinks out of the box and has a very strong work ethic.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Here, Jay esssentially emphasises that he enjoys telling stories but the plot and storyline must be simple and easy to follow yet evoke the right emotions. He has also enjoyed acting in his MVs as he could portray so many different characters.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Here he talks again about how it's easier to shoot an MV than a movie, simply because of the time factor and although people may miss out on some parts of the story in the MV ('cos it only lasts a few minutes), he'll still shoot it like he was doing a movie.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: In this chapter, he says he likes to shoot the MV as quickly and as smoothly as possible. And when inspiration strikes, he'll rustle up his friends and crew and get to work ASAP! He's grateful to them for always being so accomodating of his requests to work within a limited time frame. He believes, however, that they should be happy with the end-product and feel it has been worth their while.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: This is written by one of his crew but I'm not sure who..yet. It tells of Jay's specific instructions and how the crew also work closely with him. Jay also gets ideas for his next album from doing a present MV sometimes.
He's like a magician, putting everything together.

Chapter Thirty: This one's by his stylist, about the various costumes and get-ups in eight of his mvs, viz...Cowboy Very Busy, Sunshine Homeboy, Hip-Hop Air Stewardwess, The Era, Dragon Rider, Rosemary, Mr Magic/Uncle Joker.

And here is a link to a feature about Jay as Mandopop's King of Music Videos from LOUD in The New Paper recently, which identifies four main reasons why he reigns supreme viz:

His passion and commitment
He's a creative whiz
He turns criticisms into challenges
Eye candy!

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Showbiz/Story/A1Story20120717-359633/2.html

Gotta say I agree with the article!

Chou Biz: Restaurants!

I've mentioned in an earlier post about Jay's multi-faceted roles, apart from being a singer-songwriter, actor and director.

http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2012/05/man-with-many-hats.html

Jay has shown remarkable business acumen over the years, but not without some failures along the way.
Recall that he opened an antiques shop very early on in his career....which failed. But he took it in his stride, admitting that he only did so because he wanted a place to store the antique masterpieces.

His Royal DIAOness has always maintained that he goes into these businesses out of interest and passion and to help his friends, rather than for profiteering...and I believe him.


 Jay loves food...that much is obvious from the many talkshows which have him trying out different cuisines and his ventures into the F&B industry, with good results!




I fully intend to make a trip to Taiwan one day to visit his restaurants and top of my list would be Mr J French-Italian Restaurant, with its Secret theme, on the premises of the Taipei Medical University.
I'm fairly certain I would just die of ecstasy in there and not want to leave as Secret is my most favourite movie ever and the amount of memorabilia in the restaurant is really quite amazing!
Most of all, I want to play on the Secret piano!!!

Here is a link with very nice, clear pics and a comprehensive review:

http://reviews.noobcook.com/mr-j-ii/


The next stop for me would be Deja Vu, Jay's magic-themed restaurant which he opened together with Will Liu and the famed illusionist, Liu Quan.
This is where he has housed his Batmobile and other props from Pandamen.

Here's a link from the Jay Chou Studio archives:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=14568.msg291062#msg291062

And one from a Chinese website, with nice pics:

http://www.nownews.com/2011/11/05/37-2746797.htm



And last but not least, I would definitely head for his latest food joint, Peng Yan Dou Fu (Fujiwara Tofu Shop), inspired by his Initial D experience.
This one has the Toyota AE86, naturally. :)

From Jay Chou Studio archives with good pics:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15064.0

I'll end with some pics of Mr J merchandise:

A kind friend bought this keychain for me when she went to Taiwan: 

Jay modelling the Fujiwara Tofu teeshirt:

And...ahem...that's me modelling the back of the teeshirt...lol!

More on his other business ventures in future posts!

Self-Directed and Acted again: Rooftop 天台

That's His Royal DIAOness at the press conference for Rooftop which was held on 9 August.

Doesn't he look soooo dapper???
I love his suit here....thank goodness there was no weird feathers or fur!
The frills on the shirt are at least, subtle....and black.
And much as I love pink, I'm glad there's no sign of that colour here for this event!
His hair is looking nicely natural too.
But I think his face is a wee bit too gaunt for my liking...Jay, please don't overdo the weight loss/fitness thing!

Okay, enough of my whining!

I want to put all the news articles to date concerning Rooftop (Tian Tai) here.
The links are to the Jay Chou Studio archives.

Plans to open film company and start filming in June:
http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15198.0


About locations, staff and cast:
http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15205.0


Budget:
http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15210.0


About his friends' involvement:
http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15230.0



Controversy over extras' salary:
http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15243.0




Press con on 9 August, introducing the crew and Wang Xueqi, a famous Mainland Chinese actor:


Teaser poster for the new movie:

Jay and Wang Xueqi:

Jay, Will Liu and the crew they have assembled:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15255.0


My youtube playlist of the press con, with nine videos is below.
Listen out for Wang singing Jay's Listen To Mother's Words in Vid #6!
I would love to be able to provide subtitles or a thorough translation of everything said but nine vids is quite beyond me.
Needless to say, the main points are in the JCS article.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB43C7A2A21644277&feature=plcp


For more pics, here is a link to Sunsun Jay's Facebook album about this movie:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.483791194971428.125903.100000216553089&type=1


Some of my thoughts thus far:

Jay mentioned during the press con that he had thought out different storylines for this movie as far back as four years ago.
His fertile imagination always confounds me!
There's going to be music, martial arts, in the 70s time period and it's essentially about people living on the rooftop or terrace, who are different from the inhabitants of the buildings.

It's all looking and sounding more and more intriguing to me and I'm certain Jay's music will be spot-on again as in Secret.
The actors and crew he has gotten so far are all very experienced which will be a good combination with him and his friends, like Darren and who knows who else he'll rope in.
However, one important cast member NOT mentioned during the press con (and the one which EVERYONE is curious as hell about!) was the FEMALE lead!!
Jay was really keeping mum on that so we'll just have to be patient....no doubt, all will be revealed in good time by His Royal DIAOness. ;)


The movie is slated for release in Spring 2013, probably for the Lunar New Year or earlier, methinks.
As such, his 12th album looks likely to be delayed....again.

But it would be good for him to concentrate on making a good film again; one which will be even better than Secret already was.
Knowing Jay, I have full confidence in his ability to do so and delight his fans again.


Super looking forward to this movie!
Or as is said in Chinese:

超期待！(chao qi dai)


[Update on 16 August 2012]:

Jay talks about Rooftop, new album and upcoming re-match with Kobe!

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15261.msg294276#new

Jay at F1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix: Tickets!

Look whose face is on the pillar at Orchard MRT station!!!
Yup, His Royal DIAOness was staring right at me after I had collected my F1 tickets from Sing Post at ION Orchard....it was surreal!
Of course Katy Perry, Maroon 5 and the other entertainers were on the other pillars but Jay's just HAD to be the one I saw first...I tell you, there's a message from the universe in there somewhere. ;)

My first reaction was a gasp of delight , followed by the immediate impulse to take a photo.
Alas, there was an old gentleman standing right in front of Jay, just under his left hand, busily texting away.
I hesitated...would he walk away soon? Should I ask him to move so that I could have a clear shot of Mr Chou?
I paced back and forth a little before deciding to be brave and politely made my request of him.
He looked at me, probably thinking I was mad but without saying anything, he did walk away from the pillar!
I was chuffed!
And wasted no time taking a few shots from various distances to choose the best later.
I couldn't care less who was staring at me, and when I was satisfied with my photography, went off happily to have my lunch, oogle my just collected tickets and take more pics!

Anyway, lunch today was a simple affair of sandwiches and coffee, seated on one of the stone seats which the Ngee Ann City shopping centre management thoughtfully provides.

And here are the two pics which I artfully arranged and shot:

The snazzy silver ziplock bags contain the ticket cards with attached lanyards. And not forgetting the all-important FAN ZONE WRISTBANDS for Jay's concert on Friday!!!! (see below)

Less than two months to go before I get to see Jay again!!!

CAN'T WAIT!!!!!