Jay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer, producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. He is well-known for composing all his own songs and songs for other singers. Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan. Both of his parents were secondary school teachers. His mother taught fine arts while his father was a biology instructor.
His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of three. During his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he became interested in music theory and also started cello lessons. As an only child, he enjoyed being the family's center of attention. He loved to play piano, imitate TV actors, and perform magic tricks. His father left him when he was 14. As a result, he became reclusive and introverted. Although he had friends, he often preferred to be alone, listening to music, contemplating and daydreaming. At Dan Jiang Senior High School, he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music and began to write songs.
He graduated from high school with inadequate grades for university, so he prepared for military service, which was compulsory for all Taiwanese men at the age of 18. However, a sports injury triggered by an unexplainable and severe back pain eventually led to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, a hereditary spine inflammation disease. As a result, he was exempted from conscription. Meanwhile, he found himself a job as a waiter. Without his knowing, his friend had entered both their names in a talent show called Super New Talent King. Although they did not win, the show's host Jacky Wu glances at Jay's music score and was impressed with its complexity.
Jacky Wu hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang. Over the next two years he wrote songs for Mandarin pop artists, and also learned recording and sound mixing; his dedication was apparent as he even slept in the music studio. Jacky Wu's music studio was later sold to Alfa Music, and the new manager Yang Jun Rong asked him to release his own album. He already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but all had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his debut CD Jay that was released in 2000. The album established his reputation as a musically gifted singer-songwriter whose style is a fusion of R&B, rap, classical music, and yet distinctly Chinese. His fame spread quickly in Chinese-speaking regions including countries throughout Southeast Asia.
Since 2000, he has released one album per year, each selling several million copies, and has been recognized with hundreds of awards. In 2003, he was the cover story of Time magazine, acknowledging his influence on popular culture. He has held three world tours, "The One" (2002), "Incomparable" (2004) and "Jay Chou The World Tours" (2007-2008) performing in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver. Unlike most singers, he has an enormous amount of creative control over his music. He is not only the songwriter but also the producer in all of his albums. Besides that, he is also the music director and also directs his own music videos since 2005.
While continuing to release an album yearly, he also entered the movie business with his debut role as the lead actor in Initial D which he won Best Newcomer at the Golden Horse Awards in 2005. The following year, he was cast as a supporting character in the worldwide release of Curse of the Golden Flower, starring international Chinese stars Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li, giving Chou his brief but formal introduction to non-Chinese-speaking countries. In February 2007, he finally fulfilled his childhood dream of being a director in Secret, in which he also played the main character. In March 2007, his eight-year contract with Alfa Music ended. His manager Yang Jun Rong, and lyricist Vincent Fang co-founded a new record company, JVR Music through which he will continue his music career and fulfill his goal of fostering new singing talent.
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