Wednesday, 27 November 2013

DIAOness Updates: Jay-sighting and Jay-phone

IActually, the news about the Jay phone should come first but I'm still all cheery about a Facebook message which I got from my friend this afternoon just as I went back to work after lunch.
(Incidentally, I had been wondering where he was currently after Shenzhen as there had not been any updates on Facebook so far).



"Hi! Guess who I saw in Taoyuan airport terminal one waiting for his bags?"

When I saw the first part of that message flash on my mobile screen on the incoming notification, my first thought was of Jay and needless to say, I was not to be disappointed:

"Jay Chou!"


AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Here are the screenshots of the thread that ensued....note my excitement:


In my excitement, I mis-typed after the word Photo and also misspelt 'hyperventilating' but WTH, it sounds cool as 'hypventilating' anyway. :)



We all know Jay likes to mask-up at airports but thankfully, he has never felt the need to do so in Singapore and Malaysia.
Ooh! She admitted that he is 'quite handsome'....!!!
We all knew that already but it's always nice to hear a non-fan say so. :)





Aww! He looked tired?? Poor fella! His entourage is fantastic at looking after him, but Jay was sweet to give her a smile through his mask. :)
We also already know he has the best skin ever but once again, it's nice to hear a non-fan say so. :)





Yup! Typical fangirl obsessiveness there and sounds like typical Jay Chou attire for a flight. She did not mention his pants. I'll bet they were those baggy sweat pants or harem horrors which he loves. :P
I'm guessing one of the protective ladies was Danni (Dang! I want her job!).
Yes, we love him for his cuteness too! 

He probably looked something like this:



All I can say is that it certainly pays to be open about your obsessions as she would not have otherwise thought to message me about seeing him. 
This was so meant to be. 
It was just awesome that even though I had no other news from my usual sources, I got this most unexpected update! 

It was really nice to know that he was back home safely in Taiwan and I hope he gets in a good rest after a most gruelling year, especially the second half and recent months. 




Well, the other event which he had attended on 25 November was the Ucan phone event.

Here is the link to the album on Jay Chou Diaoness Facebook Page and when there is a proper English article on this, I shall insert it here and on the Page. so do check back later. 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.445092875595388.1073741908.399217090182967&type=1&l=e3700fbebf




Okay, I got tonnes of paperwork to do again.
And Lang Lang's concert with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra tomorrow night! 

Till my next post....cheerio! 




Posted by at No comments:

Monday, 25 November 2013

OPUS JAY: Shenzhen 24112013

OPUS JAY kicked off with a bang in Shanghai on 17 May 2013, made its merry way through Beijing, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and numerous other cities in Mainland China to finally end up in Shenzhen on 24 November, bringing the tour for 2013 to a grand and spectacular close.

(And guess what??
This is also my 200th post for this blog!
How befitting that it should coincide with a most significant event.
But rest assured, it is not the final post for Jay Chou Diaoness....hopefully my readers are glad about that??)

Back to Shenzhen.
It was raining on the afternoon of the 24th and everyone (ie fans online) were all keeping fingers and toes crossed that the weather would clear up so that Jay would not have to sing in the rain again as he had not fully recovered from his recent flu.

Thankfully, the rain did stop before the concert started and we all heaved a collective sigh of relief! 










For more pics of the stadium and the concert, please go to my Facebook album on Jay Chou Diaoness:



Jay's 8-pack was nowhere in sight and it was understandable as he had not been well lately and could not work out properly.
But no matter, he still gave of his best and more (not unexpectedly, knowing him) and the fans in Shenzhen were treated to more than 30 songs as well as being able to request and sing with Jay during the encore, where he was in fine form, bantering and teasing them cheekily. 

This my playlist of the vids from the concert, compiled from various sources:


I shall  only post a couple of the more noteworthy vids here:

Here is the link to the encore here, as it was really fun to watch. Jay got three fans to request and sing along.
The songs were:

Love's Flight Diary
Back To The Past
Black Sweater


This was also a good vid....Clock That Goes Backwards:



After the concert, Xiao Mai and Devon also posted photos:





And a very cute photo with the ever-faithful Danni (Dang! I want her job!):






And Wang Ren Qian shared another vid to bid farewell to 2013:



To end off, here is a lovely vid showing a bird's eye view of Shenzhen Stadium and OPUS JAY, with Jay's Qing Hua Ci as the background music. :)



And a nice collage thanking our Superman for all his hard work:



Cheers all! 

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, 24 November 2013

OPUS JAY: Dancers and Crew!

What would OPUS JAY be without Mr Chou's faithful and amazing crew and dancers??


Remember what Jay said on the China Youth Forum to Sisy about his instructions to his dancers who sometimes may feel that their role is not that important as all the audience cares about is watching Jay?


This vid of the interview from my playlist highlights several very significant aspects of Jay.

In the beginning, he was asked about the time he helped out a supporting dancer who was in some financial difficulties for a family member's surgery and Jay said he did not think twice about it as it was about saving a life and helping his staff.

This vid also contains his quote:

"If I had wallowed in self-pity back then, I would not now be sitting here with you."

He also explains about the importance he places on rehearsals with regards to the sound balance to ensure that it is correct for the audience to fully enjoy the experience.

From about 8:31, he calls out Xiao Mai to demonstrate how he 'scolds' them...lol!
But he then explains his point of view:

"You cannot think of it like that. Each of you must regard yourself as being the star on stage."
Sisy paraphrased it to say that Jay means that each one of them must consider themselves the best OPUS JAY dancer ever for the sake of the audience's enjoyment. :)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvLqPXcoCBc&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6Mx35id2Lgjb0JMQTBPBdj&index=5


It is a well-known fact that Jay is a good boss.
Erica said as much in an interview:

http://www.divaasia.com/article/17966




Chou is also a generous and caring boss.
Jones says: "He doesn't stinge. And most importantly, even as we're working, he'd make sure that we have been fed on time.
"When we tour, he also sees to it every member of the entourage are taken care of in every aspect."


Here are some pics of Jay with his dancers and crew.










And some fan pics taken at the airport when they were leaving Singapore when the members of Jay Chou Singapore and Malaysia gathered to send them off on their way after an awesome three nights in Singapore.

It was like a huge family get-together as they were all really sweet and friendly and posed willingly with us for photographs and even signed autographs!











The OPUS JAY family ROCKS!


The concert in Shenzhen on 24 November will be the last OPUS JAY for 2013.

Jay's mime artiste, Wang Ren Qian uploaded a beautiful vid of the crew and dancers rehearsing in Shenzhen.
It is very well-done and I love the music!
They obviously love their job and I think we can understand why.
We love them too!


Jay and Wang Ren Qian:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGbRzsZAqeI





Here's to OPUS JAY Shenzhen!


Posted by at No comments:

Golden Horse Awards 2013

Well, much as I wanted to boycott watching said awards show because of their snubbing of The Rooftop, I really could not.

This was because our very own Singapore film, Ilo Ilo, helmed by Anthony Chen had been nominated for six awards and even though I am mad as hell with Lee Ang and Co about Jay's non-nominations, I am also very happy with them about their recognition of Ilo Ilo.
All things happen for a reason and I'm sure Jay will go on to do even more DIAO stuff in spite of this 'setback'.
I also decided that it was better to concentrate on the positives of our Singapore movie's nominations instead of wallowing in indignation.

Haha....it was noteworthy that even though Jay was not at the awards, his music still made its presence felt when Lang Lang played the piano duet from Secret.
This was a most commendable performance because that piece is actually for four hands and Lang Lang was playing with two!
He mentioned as much when he presented an award after that, saying that he had to practise quite hard for it.

A screenshot from my TV.
Note the Chinese words which tell us it's from Secret and look at the background screen showing Jay's and Lunmei's hands in the movie.
The camera also panned to Lunmei (who was in the audience) several times.
She looked very happy. :)





Vid of Lang Lang's performance:

http://m.56.com/view/id-MTAxMjU3Njc1.html/1030_zhrdy001.html


Another instance when I heard Jay's music was during the breaks in the show when there were trailers being boradcast.
One was for a singing competition, Super M where the contestant had chosen to sing Jay's An Jing.
So of course I could hear the familiar strains of Silence even though Jay himself was nowhere near the GHAs.

Such is the power of his music!


Anyway, Ilo Ilo came away with three awards viz Best Supporting Actress (Yeo Yann Yann), Best New Director (Anthony Chen), Best Original Screenplay (Anthony Chen) and the icing on the cake, Best Feature Film!
A very good showing indeed and I hope it will boost our local movie industry even more.








I'm now looking forward to OPUS JAY in Shenzhen tomorrow night!



Posted by at No comments:

Friday, 22 November 2013

Jay Chou on China Youth Forum with Sisy:

Jay was a guest on Sisy's show on 19 November and spent over one and a half hours chatting about his life and dreams.
I was fortunate to be able to catch the live broadcast on youtube (so DIAO, right??) and it was just fantastic watching and listening to him in union with the fans in the auditorium and many other Jay fans on Facebook who were posting quotes and pics as the show went on.

Mr Chou was candid, charming, cool and very cute as he described his early days in Alfa Music, meeting and collaborating with Vincent, and shared his thoughts and feelings about his music, his friends, his family and what he liked to cook, amongst many other things.
There was also a short segment where he took questions from the audience and amongst other things, promised autographs, accepted an invitation to an event and sang Happy Birthday to a mother whose son had brought her there. :)
His voice was a little lower than usual as he was still not fully recovered from his recent bout of flu but he was sporting as ever and even sang a little.

I shall post the link to my playlist of the vids from this show, which also includes the snippets where he sang and a complete vid of the show.
There are notes on the playlist but for easier reference here, these are the vids where he sang:

Vid 4 at 7:21
Vid 7 at 1:05
Vid 8 at 9:02

Vids 9 and 10 on the playlist are the snippets where he sang.
Vid 11 is the complete show.

I would love to translate what he said verbatim and in whole but time does not permit me to do so as yet.
Nonetheless, I'll post some noteworthy quotes below the link for you to savour.
I'll see what I can do about a full translation.
Those of you who want one, please give me a shout-out.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6Mx35id2Lgjb0JMQTBPBdj


"I'm not a heavenly king; just a musician who likes to compose in all kinds of genres who wants more people to get to know my music."

"When I was writing songs in the studio, it was to earn money. I feel that before you chase your dreams, you must first have the means."

"During rehearsals, it is very important to make sure the sound balance is correct, for the sake of the audience."

To his backup dancers who may feel that the audience will not notice them and as such, it was not important that they danced correctly:
"You must regard yourself as the star on stage and that the spotlight is on you."

About helping out a dancer who was not one of his 'regulars' when his family member needed money for surgery:
"It's about saving a life. As a boss, I must take care of my staff. It does not matter if I don't know him well, he is still someone who has helped me."

"When I hear the phrase, 'you accompanied me when I was growing up, I'll accompany you as you get older.' I feel very touched."

"It depends on the circumstances. I may be conceited amongst my friends But it's more about confidence in oneself. And I want to do things which are worthy of my fans' support for me."

"Do not worry. I will never forget that music is my main focus."

"I'll name my son, Jay Chou. That way, nobody will ever forget me."

THE Quote of the night:

"If I had wallowed in self-pity back then, I would not be sitting here with you now."

"I will continue singing until I am unable to do so."

"I learnt from Jacky Wu how to be bighearted and share."

"My mum has a good life. I bring her along for my concerts and whilst I'm working (rehearsals), she is sightseeing, At nights, she can get to attend her son's concert."

"I can cook. I call it creative cuisine. Eg salted egg and chicken. And when I was in my fitness regime, I would fry egg whites with fruits."


Here are some of my favourite shots of him from the show....HANDSOME TO THE MAX!!!!












For more photos, this is the link to my album on Jay Chou Diaoness:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.442322102539132.1073741904.399217090182967&type=1&l=1271bbbe11

And a link to a translated article on Jay Chou Studio:
http://jaychoustudio.com/archives/courageously-living-through-the-low-point-of-having-only-one-parent-jay-chou-and-sisy-chen-talk/1627


To end, post-show, from Sisy's weibo:

"After the show, Jay ensured he fulfilled the fans' requests for autographs and also asked for the details of the fan who had issued him an invitation to an event next year. He is a man of his word. 
Jacky Wu had told me that Jay is well-brought up and has been much maligned by the paparrazzi. 
I've seen for myself that he is indeed a King and a rare gem."

 For the zillionth time, I have to shout this out:

"I LOVE YOU, JAY CHOU AND I AM PROUD TO BE YOUR FAN!"

He is indeed, INCOMPARABLE.













Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, 17 November 2013

OPUS JAY: Hangzhou 16112013








Poor Jay was still not fully recovered from his recent bout of flu which he most likely caught from singing in the rain in Chongqing.
I heard from some news feeds on Facebook that he had again had to resort to more medication and an injection prior to his concert in Hangzhou on 16 November. 
He had also been busy filming the Audi Q3 commercial in Shanghai before heading to Hangzhou.

I am getting really worried about his health as this is so soon after his bad run of illnesses in August. :(
I wish he could slow down a little and get some proper rest but he has another interview/talkshow coming up and more OPUS JAYs, so it seems rather unlikely. 

Super trouper that he is and ever the professional, fans in Hangzhou were not shortchanged at all as he not only performed as scheduled but also gave them more surprises in the form of songs which he had previously not sung in earlier OPUS JAYs, viz 
Nocturne
Clock That Goes Backwards
Moonlight
In The Name Of The Father
Simple Love
Herbalist's Manual

Once again, fans got to request and sing with him on songs like Adorable Lady and Cannot Speak. 
Gary and Devon were also on hand to help him with some songs but all in, it was still pretty much the Jay Chou Show. 









Here are the links for the vids...and you can hear that his voice is still a little hoarse as he banters with the fans.
I'm just overwhelmed with emotion watching and listening to him perform!


One of my absolute faves, Simple Love:



Adorable Lady and Cannot Speak with fans...the piano could not be elevated on the stage and he had to use the electric keyboard to accompany the fans when they sang. 



Herbalist's Manual (Ben Cao Gang Mu):



Nocturne and Clock That Goes Backwards:



Clock That Goes Backwards and Fine Day (incomplete):



Dao Xiang:



Moonlight with Gary and Qi Li Xiang with Devon (incomplete):


In The Name Of The Father:



Is he not simply the BEST and the MOST DIAO man ever????



He has left Hangzhou:



Dearest Jay,

Please get more rest and recover well soon as your fans' hearts ache for you when we hear about  how bad you're feeling and yet giving of your best to us. 

Yours sincerely, 

fangirl (loves Jay) forever






Posted by at 1 comment:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)