Jay Chou (周杰倫) etched his name in Taipei Dome history on Thursday as the first singer to hold a solo concert at the indoor baseball stadium.
Chou began the Taipei stop of his four-day “Carnival” world tour with a performance of the song Golden Armor (黃金甲), sending the audience of 38,000 into a frenzy as he exclaimed: “Feels so good to sing at home, doesn’t it?”
The concert marked the long-awaited return of Taiwan’s most popular singer to the stage in his home country.
Photo: CNA
His most recent performance in Taiwan had been at the Taipei Arena — then considered the premier concert venue in the nation — during the “Invincible” world tour in 2017.
The 45-year-old had originally planned to meet fans in Taipei during the second half of 2020 as part of his “Carnival” world tour, which began in 2019 to celebrate his 20-year music career.
However, his request to perform at the Taipei Arena was denied by the venue’s review committee, because he wanted access to it for an extended period, despite there being no rules limiting hiring duration.
Frustrated by the decision, Chou wrote on Instagram: “Do I need the Taipei Arena’s nod to sing at home? How can you pack all my die-hard fans?”
He decided not to hold concerts at the Taipei Arena and started the search for an alternative venue.
During a promotional event in Taiwan in late June, Chou was asked if he had plans to perform at the Taipei Dome.
He replied candidly: “I have left my schedule open for August. I am waiting for the response.”
Chou reflected on the milestone during Thursday’s concert, saying he often wondered when he might perform at the Taipei Dome.
That dream became reality when his management company, JVR Music, informed him of the opportunity to perform at the dome, which was backed by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安).
Four Taipei Dome concert tickets went on sale late in October and were sold out in five minutes.
Despite the success, Chou did not miss the chance to reference Taipei Arena.
“There is a smaller dome that did not let me sing. I am a stubborn guy. If that tiny dome says no, then I just would not do it,” he said during the concert.
According to data from the concert organizer, the four-day performances cost more than NT$250 million (US$7.71 million).
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS