As if it wasn't enough for Jay Chou (
He's been able to break through thanks to some clever marketing by his European distributor BMG, which transformed Jay into a nun-chuck-swinging kung-fu master. Propelling this son-of-Bruce Lee (
The hip-hop song mixes in an erhu with electric guitar and aggressive beats. It's not an entirely original format, but Shuang Jie Gun pulls it off without losing a trace of pop appeal. The song was a hit in Taiwan last year, which is to be expected since everything Jay releases is practically guaranteed to become a hit. But Alfa Music, Jay's label in Taiwan, won't dare to guess why Jay could become so big in Europe.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BMG
"The bosses at BMG in Europe saw the video and were like, `whoa, what's this? This is amazing.' So, I think it's the curiosity factor for them and for the audience," said Ethan Ko (
The image makeover suggests BMG opted for the retro kung-fu B-movie angle popularized by Wu Tang Clan's 36 Chambers album. In Taiwan, the cover of the Fantasy album containing Shuang Jie Gun is simply a picture of Jay's shadowed face looking pensive. The European cover, however, features someone in a ninja outfit twirling nun-chucks, which is more in line with the Jay that Europeans know from the Shuang Jie Gun video. The name of the album was also changed to the title of the hit single. What fans will make of the more syrupy ballads that make up most of the rest of the album is anyone's guess.
Shuang Jie Gun has been moving thousands of copies across Europe, but solid sales figures are still not available.
Jay came onto the Taiwan pop scene two years ago with an eponymous album that launched him almost overnight to superstar status. He was then able to follow up with Fantasy, which did just as well as his first album, selling 400,000 copies in Taiwan alone and about 700,000 in Asia.
Fantasy earned Jay the best album award at the Golden Melody Awards on May 4 and while he was at it, Jay also picked up the best producer and best songwriter awards. Shuang Jie Gun, meanwhile, picked up the award for best arrangement.
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