Meet Jay Chou: King of “Mandopop”

The Wall Street Journal has a short profile of Jay Chou, a name most in the West may not recognize, but who is the undisputed god of Mandopop (Mandarin popular music). Whether it’s in movies, TV commercials, karaoke bars, online videos or on subway ads, Jay Chou is an all too familiar celebrity face in Asia.

Jay is originally from Taiwan and is a talented musician that started his career as a contract songwriter before making it big as a solo artist. The WSJ introduces us to his newest album “On the Run”:

The songs on “On the Run” embrace a pastiche of musical styles, with one common characteristic: they’re all catchy. “Cowboy on the Run” is an homage to country music, while “Gossip” is a hip-hop dance number that has Mr. Chou rapping and singing in a boy-band falsetto. “Unrivaled” strikes chords of heavy-metal inflected rock, while “Sweetly” is an upbeat jingle that wouldn’t be out of place as the theme song for a sitcom. Meanwhile, the ballads on the album, such as “Rainbow,” deliver crowd-pleasing sentimentality in doses sufficient to ensure their selection as “our song” at countless future weddings in Asia.

In the syrupy sweet world of Mandopop, catchy is the name of the game and Jay Chou reigns king.

[via WSJ Buzzwatch]