Taiwanese Mandopop star Jay Chou (周杰倫) is to release his first album in nearly four years this week, yesterday unveiling its lead single accompanied by a music video in which he battles a vampire.
Chou’s signature fusion of Western R&B and hip-hop with distinctly Taiwanese and Chinese influences has earned him a devoted, at times obsessive, following across Asia since his 2000 debut, Jay (杰倫).
His new album, Children of the Sun (太陽之子), is his 16th studio release and features 13 tracks. The digital version arrives today, with a physical edition to follow next month.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The video for the title track, almost seven minutes long and filmed in Taipei and Paris, shows him battling a vampire in a church, whom he ultimately kills by driving a giant cross through its heart.
Chou told fans and reporters in Taipei that he hoped to send “positive energy” with the lead single, recalling earlier occasions of stage fright before concerts.
“There is a dark side in everyone’s heart; how to control it, live in peace with it or to destroy it,” he said.
Taiwan has an outsized influence in the Chinese-speaking world, in part due to a creative environment unconstrained by censorship.
Raised in suburban Taipei by his mother, Chou failed his college entrance exam and once considered becoming a piano teacher.
He was discovered by a TV host at a singing competition, although he started his career by writing songs for other performers. Unusual in the Mandopop industry, he writes much of his own material.
Chou is also an actor, appearing in Chinese-language films as well as the 2010 Hollywood movie version of The Green Hornet, in which he played Kato, sidekick to the vigilante crime fighter played by comedian Seth Rogen.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS