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Taiwan singer Jay Chou looks East to crack the West
2005-06-27
Taiwanese male popsinger Jay Chow |
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TAIPEI - Taiwan pop star Jay Chou looks to the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, who made it big in the West with martial arts from the East, for inspiration.What they did with Chinese kung fu he reckons he can do with his Chinese blend of rap music. Unlike some Taiwan pop stars, who have borrowed heavily from the West, Chou's music interwines Western R&B and hip-hop with a distinctive Chinese flavour. "In order to be noticed in the West, the Chinese culture is the starting point," he told Reuters in a recent interview. "I feel I must take my own, different path, not to follow the paths already taken by other people," he said in his studio. Chou has yet to make it in the West, but his style has drawn a huge following since his debut with the album "Jay" in 2000. He has received awards in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia and all his albums have made their way to the best-selling lists. He is also huge in Japan. "People notice me because they think my music is unique. I am always full of confidence in my music," said Chou, 26, who composes his own songs and also plays piano, cello, guitar and the drums. In his "Dragon Fist", Chou combined Chinese instruments with rock and roll. He brought Chinese poetry to "East Wind Breaks" and the Bruce Lee fan even wrote a song called "Nunchuks" after his favourite martial arts weapon. The power of his songs did not go unnoticed in Beijing. Some were among this year's list of 100 approved songs for music lessons in Chinese middle schools. "Except for the music, I am an idiot in all aspects of life. I can't live without music," Chou said, who is still single, admitting that he did not even know how to chat to his friends on the Internet. Brought up in suburban Taipei by his mother, Chou flunked his college entrance exam and had thought about becoming a piano teacher. PRETTIER AND PRETTIER "If I wasn't a singer, I would have been a piano teacher," said Chou, whose mother made him learn piano at three. "I think a man teaching piano is cool because most piano teachers are women." There was a time when Chou wanted to give up piano because he couldn't stand the endless practising. "But my piano teachers got prettier and prettier, so I carried on," he said, offering one of his trademark boyish grins. Chou was discovered by a TV host at a singing competition. But he started his career by writing songs for other singers and said he was not surprised by his success because he had found a formula that works. "Building on the foundation of classical music, my pop songs combine the Chinese musical elements and Chinese martial arts. "I see myself as a musician with a unique character. I am not a puppet. I don't do what the record company tells me to do," said Chou, who intends to incorporate Bach into his songs and dislikes being referred to as a pop idol. "An idol should be good-looking. I am not handsome so I don't expect people to notice me because of my looks," said Chou. The important thing, Chou said, was to stay cool. "I hope I will always be number one. Maintaining the level I am at right now will be my biggest challenge," Chou said. "Even when I go downhill, I will go down gracefully," he added. "I won't go stumbling." For now, Chou is tapping growing popularity of rap music in Asia. In China, a new generation has embraced hip-hop as an emblem of free-spirited expression while the sound has been a dominating influence in Tokyo sub-culture since the late 1980s. Reuters
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