Why I Love Jay Chou

I'm feeling lazy tonight...just had a huge dinner with a visiting relative from overseas and post-prandial stupor is setting in.

Not too long ago, I posted something for a contest about Jay.
I'm going to share it here as it encapsulates most of what I find really awesome about him.
Incidentally, he's also like my HUGEST Chinese crush so far, apart from Chow Yuen Fatt in my teens. :) 

I walked into the screening of The Green Hornet on 30 January 2011, blissfully unaware of who Jay Chou was.

As I was English-educated and always only listening to Western pop music from young, his name at that time meant nothing to me.

Two hours later, I emerged from the theatre, determined to Google the cool, charismatic and confident actor who portrayed the hapless Hornet’s 兄弟。

And what followed has been a year of discovery about Jay Chou: the man, his music, his movies and the numerous other hats which he wears!

Over time, I gradually acquired his albums, movies, books, concert DVDs and piano books from various sources. I also joined an English Jay Chou website viz www.jaychoustudio.com and became an active participant there, as it was the only English Jay site around.

What has made me such a huge fan of Jay?

Most importantly, it is his music.

As I started listening to his albums, it became obvious to me why he was the one who had revolutionized the Mandopop industry.

Like I mentioned earlier, I had only listened to Western pop from young, as my opinion of Chinese pop has always been low.

But when I heard Jay’s songs, I didn’t feel like it was Chinese pop as I imagined till then.

Jay’s voice, melodies and sound were really different.

His unique fusion of rap, R&B, hip-hop and Chinese-style songs completely won me over!

Not to mention his interesting themes and clean lyrics (load of thanks to Vincent Fang as well!).

And his concerts (on DVDs) bowled me over too. Such an amazing performer!

Truth to tell, I was actually also getting quite disillusioned with Western pop at the same time, what with all the stuff relating to sex, drugs and vulgarities in the pop and rap songs.

So Jay’s music was a very welcome breath of fresh air!

Until now, his music is still mostly what I listen to, whilst keeping up a little with other artistes, both Western and Mando.

Another reason I love him so much is that he made me more aware of my Chinese heritage through his songs.

My Chinese has improved by leaps and bounds over the past year, as I had to read and listen to more Chinese articles, magazines, programmes in order to get to know him better.

Not to mention understanding his song lyrics.

In fact, my Chinese has improved so much that I can converse with other Chinese-speaking people and also type out Chinese on my laptop and phone much more effortlessly!

And I help translate videos and some simple articles for Jay Chou Studio too.

This would have been unthinkable more than a year ago!

I was also interested enough (thanks to Jay’s 中国风 songs) to attend my first ever Singapore Chinese Orchestra concert last year….and really enjoyed it!

And attend my first-ever Chinese play by The Theatre Practice. J

Besides his music, I also checked out his movies and the next movie I watched after The Green Hornet was Secret….which was an absolute gem!

And I was even more impressed when I discovered that he had written all the music and directed the movie himself!

Of course I’m not that impressed with ALL his movies but it was good to know that he was willing to be more than just a singer-songwriter.

I’ve also watched Mr J Channel, which I enjoyed thoroughly and admire him for having the gumption to do a talkshow with his choreographers and makeup artiste….which other singer has done something like that???

And it spoke volumes of his desire to challenge himself as he wanted to improve on his speaking and conversational skills.

Jay has been a wonderful inspiration and role model.

He’s very hardworking and does not smoke, drink nor do drugs.

I also love his filial piety, respect for elders and ability to keep his friends all these years, from when he was a struggling songwriter to the megastar he is today.

He has absolutely no airs and is always thinking of ways to help his friends in their ventures.

What also amazes me is how generous he is with letting them drive his many (fast) cars!

A few other endearing aspects of Jay are:

His love for PINK!

His utter nonchalance and cool attitude, even when wearing the most ridiculous-looking outfits.

His constant battles with the papparazzi.

And oh…I absolutely adore his dimples when he smiles!!!

I’ve watched The Viral Factor and have new respect for Jay as this movie has pushed him to yet another level.

Getting to see him at the gala premiere was unforgettable!

“I want to thank my fans. I will continue to be your Superman.”

Jay said this when he won the two most coveted awards at the Golden Melody Awards in March last year.

After ten years in the industry, he shows no signs of slowing down!

I look forward to more awesome work from him this year, as he has promised to do Secret 2 and come out with his 12th album by December!


For more on Jay, do check out my other blog:

http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2012/05/introduction.html


And here's my post on a Jay jigsaw:

http://fandomizfun.blogspot.sg/2012/05/my-1000-piece-jay-jigsaw.html