Jay Chou Diaoness: May 2014

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

DIAOness Updates: OPUS 2 Beijing and GMA forum

OPUS 2 JAY came to Beijing on 24 May 2014, exactly one year after OPUS JAY in 2013!
How cool was that??

The fans, all 70,000 of them were ready to rock with Mr Chou, as he came back with an encore performance and what was meant to be a two-hour plus concert eventually stretched to more than three hours.
Gosh, I hope that will happen in Singapore too!

Here are some pics of the rehearsals:

And some of my faves from the concert:

More pics here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.516982768406398.1073741976.399217090182967&type=3

Playlist of vids:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbHLPahX3mJ5t27R-dU7RFPz_QNbxtKDw

One particular segment was very special, when Jay picked up on a couple in the audience and let them request a song. The guy asked for Clear Day but Jay said he would be singing that anyway. As such, it was left to the lady who then requested for Love in BC!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-VZgC1ezW0&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ5t27R-dU7RFPz_QNbxtKDw&index=40

Another fave part was Jay looking all handsome and cool in the Fight Dance/Rooftop/Secret segment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDF_nz16xcA&index=13&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ5t27R-dU7RFPz_QNbxtKDw

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And this evening, fans were treated to the announcement of Jay's involvement in the run-up to the Golden Melody Awards on 24 June 2014, at a forum where he will speak about creativity and composing.

OMG!

*swoon swoon swoon*

He is such a shining example of all that has been amazing about Mandopop and it is indeed fitting that the GMA organisers have chosen him to be an ambassador and to speak on this topic at this 25th anniversary.
I'm sure Jay feels very honoured as well and it should be a most illuminating and insightful session.
I really hope there will be a video of this event to share with all of us who cannot be there.

Here's another swoonworthy photo of Jay to end off....just look at those arms!!! @@

Cheerio!

Hop on over to my Facebook Page for more updates real-time!

Friday, 23 May 2014

Diaoness Updates: Opus Jay Hefei, Zhong guo feng and a fugitive.

Hi all!

This will be a rather compressed post as I have been busy and not been able to blog as much as I wanted since the last entry.
Also, I am preparing myself to cover the next big thing, which is OPUS 2 JAY in Beijing, happening tomorrow night.
However, those of you who follow me on Facebook would know what Jay has been up to so I hope more will Like the Jay Chou Diaoness Page and keep up better with stuff there.

In a nutshell, Jay has had two concerts since Opus 2 Shanghai.

One was Opus Jay in Hefei, where there was an interesting story about a diehard fugitive fan who risked all to attend Jay's concert, including undergoing plastic surgery and getting caught.
He, however, had no regrets about what he did and went to prison a happy man, where I think the memories of Jay's concert will linger in his mind and give him strength to carry on.
Such is the power of Jay's music!

http://shanghaiist.com/2014/05/20/watch_fugitive_went_to_jay_chous_co.php

http://english.anhuinews.com/system/2014/05/21/006438884.shtml

This brought to mind another Jay Chou-obsessed tourist, who, sadly did not even get to see Jay and ended up on the wrong side of the law and got barred from entering Taiwan for five years:

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/01/21/2003581798

Playlist of vids from Hefei:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6Zxm-FPkUVjjb8SBF5_i3k

Photo album:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.516058505165491.1073741974.399217090182967&type=3

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The Zhong Guo Feng concert with Vincent Chou and other singers was next, on 19 May and Jay performed five songs there, not all Chinese style but his outfit was lovely and he of course, gave it his all.

More photos:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.516982315073110.1073741975.399217090182967&type=1

Playlist of vids:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbHLPahX3mJ4RBfAbhgBjf982eIGiHl6X

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I shall end off with an interesting thought.

This past week has been all about the new X-Men movie, Days Of Future Past and everyone is going mutant-mad.

I wonder......our Jay is such a wickedly ultra-talented man, super creative and just the coolest ever, right?
Perhaps he is a mutant????

Here's to OPUS 2 BEIJING!!!

Friday, 16 May 2014

Jay Chou / 周杰伦: What's in a name?

The answer to the above question?

Plenty!

I was asked an interesting question today by my fellow fan friend and it made me wonder why I had never thought of this all these years....viz....

What is the meaning of Jay's Chinese name?

After all, it's a well-known fact that Chinese parents take great care in choosing 'good' names for their offspring, in the hopes that doing so will auger well for them in their lifetime.
I guess Jay's parents were no different as my research into 周杰伦 revealed and which I shall share with all of you here.

First off, let's start with his family name, 周,which is not really a name one gets to choose...lol!

But it ranks as the tenth most common surname in Mainland China and has been since the Yuan dynasty.

Check out Wikipedia.....yes, Jay is mentioned. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%91%A8

There are various meanings attached to it eg all-round, attentive, thoughtful, whole.

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Next we come to 杰 (jie) for which the meanings essentially are prominent, distinguished and an outstanding person!

https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?define=%E5%82%91

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And lastly, 伦,(lun) which has connotations related to human relationship, order, coherence, ethics....all very good things to have indeed.

http://www.chinesetools.eu/chinese-dictionary/index.php?q=%26%2320262%3B

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So in a nutshell, the name 周杰伦 (zhou jie lun) can be roughly translated into:

An all-round prominent and outstanding person who is ethical and values human relationships.

Wow!

Don't you think that sums up all that is great about our Jay Chou???

We all know he is awesome in every aspect, has a strong sense of values, an unbelievable work ethic and treasures his family, friends and fans.

Thank you, Mama and Papa Chou!

You guys certainly knew what you were doing when you chose his name!

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I shall end off with some simply stunning and fabulous photos of Jay, taken from his recent shoot with Jody Chiang and A-mei for the Golden Melody Awards.

I swear, this man is just getting handsomer and handsomer and that all-black outfit and boots is, in one word, DIAO.

Swoon on!

Sunday, 11 May 2014

OPUS JAY: Changsha 10052014 & Mother's Day!

Take a good look at that photo.
(No, I'm not asking you to tell me about that cheeky smile and handsome face, which can be quite distracting but that's not the point...lol!)
Yup, those are raindrops in the background.
Reports of inclement weather had already come out in the afternoon yesterday when Jay was rehearsing and it brought to mind one of his concerts last year when his trusty bodyguard sheltered him with a huge umbrella when he was singing, of all songs, Clear Day.

There's Xia Banzhang taking care of our Jay as he rehearses.

The rain did not let up but the fans were clearly not going to let something like that stop them from attending a Jay Chou concert and making the best of it.

If anything, I'm certain they were more determined than ever to show Jay that their love and support for him would prevail in spite of the cold and wet weather.

After all, what are umbrellas and ponchos for??

Jay in return did not disappoint, as he gave them his all (as always!), singing some seldom-heard songs like Not The End Of The World and the charming devil gave a heartwarming rendition of Adorable Lady, which he dedicated to all the ladies in Changsha. *swoon*

Lang Zi Gao was back in action!

Brollies and ponchos out in full force!

Vids:

Adorable Lady and Clear Day, where he quipped that he hoped the latter song would make the rain stop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnXVR6paRJE

Not The End Of The World:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF4LoWv-pbk

Listen To Mother's Words and Silence, the former song being all the more meaningful because today is Mother's Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5qlv_Kcq8Q

Some notable quotes from the concert:

"As long as you have me and my music, the world will not end."

"Please don't fall ill. Go home and take a hot bath."

"I hope that by singing this song (Clear Day), the rain will stop."

I heard there was no after-party and I'm not too surprised.

I'm pretty sure he has been quite tired out as he was in Beijing on Friday, shooting a commercial (or magazine story) and only got into Changsha on Saturday itself.

Here's a sneak peek at what he was involved in, which came with a quote about musicians having to be drifters:

Guitar + sunglasses + shirt tucked out + nonchalant stance = COOLNESS

*swoon again*

Anyway, he has left Changsha and is headed home.

Take care, Jay!

I hope you had a nice hot bath after the concert too!

And Happy Mother's Day to Grandma and Mama Chou, the original J-Girls!

No one else can compare to their awesomeness!

And of course, on Mother's Day, one must listen to this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ1-ITdNqKg

I shall end off with one of my most favourite shots of Jay and his Mum, which shows just how cool and sporting she is and how her only son turned out so awesome too. :)

Remember to show your love to your Mums all the time too!

Update:

Jay managed to get back to Taipei in time to celebrate Mother's Day!

(Heard that some of his crew were delayed.)

Sunday, 4 May 2014

OPUS 2 JAY: Shanghai 2 May 2014

Hi guys and gals!

I hope all of you have been following my Facebook Page for OPUS 2 in Shanghai over the past few days, there has been LOAD of updates, pics and vids, which I shall now summarise in this post.

Here is a link to a translated article about the concert from Jay Chou Studio:

http://jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chou-descends-down-to-shanghai-launches-opus-2-tour-at-80000-seater-stadium/1642

Now for my round up of the concert.

First up, a pic of His Royal Diaoness descending from the sky (or so it seemed!), filling all the fans with wonder but it seemed he himself was somewhat filled with dread no thanks to the height.

But, as reported on his Page, he was very heartened when he looked down and saw his 80,000 fans in the stadium, the sight of which renewed his confidence. :)

NB: As usual, for more pics, please go to my Facebook Page album, as I shall only post some of my more favoured photos here.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.509428442495164.1073741965.399217090182967&type=3

Hmm....that long coat looks a little strange but overall, the outfit is quite impressive.

And anything is better than those balloony pants he wore in OPUS JAY.

I'm glad to report that he ditched them for OPUS 2.

Vid of the opening:

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

After which he reappeared for Long Quan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRmV_6O7W-U

Final Battle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grNbrpwqgF0

As expected, there was no Rooftop segment but Jay had cleverly created another musical-style compilation of songs, based on Secret, with new costumes and a new story.

I love this tremendously as he looked superbly suave and handsome in his white jacket and black pants combo, complete with short tie and performing Free Instructional Video, Romantic Mobile Phone (with Cindy) and Mr Magic.

He definitely appeared to be having a lot of fun too!

The dance with Cindy was really sweet, involving hand movements a la the dance with Ms Tsai in 2010 and Sign Language style in 2013.

That's what I love about Jay.....his dance routines are never raunchy.

Watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1lna3URKzE

Looking a little serious here.....probably thinking of his steps or hoping he won't drop her!

Then Darren appeared and the story continued, and Fight Dance was next!

I think it involved a Jay-Darren-Cindy love triangle. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW6HZjEj1lE

He then sang Secret:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOX6fSvf_ts

Next came the soft rock segment:

All The Way North:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56rhwUxtC-A

And then came the photo-taking with the fans and.....my fave song for the night, Jay's rendition of Rhythm Of The Rain, which he wrote for Vincent Fang's movie of the same name.

With all due respect to the original singer, I just find that Jay sings it so much better, or maybe I'm just biased, like all the other fans who said the same thing. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_gCNUvCb8A

Another link of him bantering with the fans and taking the photo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP-yx4kXfKk

Isn't that such an awesome shot???

I hope he'll do the same in Singapore!