On the weekend of May 20 and 21, millions tuned in to Tencent Music’s TME Live Concerts series to catch Taiwanese Mandopop legend Jay Chou in action. Those who didn’t tune in might be surprised to learn that the performances were not livestreamed, but replays from concerts staged in 2013 and 2019.
The re-screening was accessible via QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and WeSing, and the Chinese music platforms accumulated almost 100 million views, setting a new record for online performances.
Promotional poster for Tencent’s re-screened Jay Chou concerts
As fans of the Taiwanese pop star flooded the internet with an avalanche of heartfelt, nostalgic comments, the Weibo hashtag related to the concerts reached 1 billion views.
“The songs are the same, but I’ve changed,” reads one netizen’s deep reflection.
“His songs are magical,” enthused another fan. “They can make you even happier when you’re in a good mood and cheer you up when you’re down.”
Three weeks prior, Chou announced a ‘potential’ new album in June or July while (purposely?) omitting any mention of the year it’d be put out.
One of China’s best-selling artists, Chou kickstarted his career in 2000 by releasing his first studio album, Jay, and continued to rise to fame after recording his second album, Fantasy.
Jay Chou’s second album Fantasy (2001)
The artist was among the first to combine Chinese and Western (namely rock, pop, and R&B) music and has been credited for propagating cross-cultural genres like C-pop or T-pop.
Chou has sold more than 30 million records worldwide in the past two decades and is the second-richest person in the Chinese entertainment industry. (Actor Chi Zhongrui, who starred as Tang Sanzang in the TV series Journey to the West, holds the top spot.)
Not content to rest on his laurels, Chou has also starred in several TV shows and films and made his Hollywood debut in The Green Hornet alongside Seth Rogen in 2011.
Now a father of three, the 43-year-old still manages to reinvent himself time and again while remaining relevant. Mojito, his last single released in June 2020, was a surprising Cuba-inspired, Latin-pop tune that went viral worldwide.
Did the re-screening only whet your appetite for more? Know that Chou will be embarking on an international tour, his first since the start of Covid, this December. The tour will kick off in Singapore.
All images via Weibo
