November Chopin

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	R&B
Artist:	Jay Chou

I'm going to be really honest. I didn't like Jay Chou at first, simply because he had too many fans. I thought Chinese fans had developed a weird taste for a brooding, unsmiling guy who mumbles when he raps. I couldn't see what the fuss was about, well look at him and he is certainly not an F4-quality cutie.

Then, I watched Initial D and fell in love with the ballad at the end of the movie. I searched and found it was Jay's song. I may not have understood any of the Chinese lyrics, but the sadness of the song just came through.

And so... last week, I (and Yam) discovered Jay's musical talent.

November Chopin is already Jay's nth album. The title is a sort of homage to his classical idol Chopin.

Jay's appeal is his ability to create music which combines Chinese with Western style. Looking at Jay, you can't quite believe he can come up with poetic lyrics. Where does he get the insipiration to create music that sounds like that, I wonder.

Hair Like Snow (Fa Rue Xue) is so romantic, with Jay's voice sounding so heart-felt. The same is true for Maple (Feng) and Always Head Towards the North (Yi Lu Xiang Bei), the theme from Initial D.

Somehow, I keep listening to Always Head Towards the North everyday.

Aside from his beautiful ballads, Jay also has these cool, R&B, rap songs like Drifting (Piao Yi) and Blue Hurricane (Lan Se Feng Bao) which was played at the start of Initial D. Its got great solid beats that make your head bounce.

I've found new respect and admiration for Jay. He's got real musical talent. He plays the piano, composes music and write lyrics.

Besides, I've watched Initial D and I admit (yes, Yam you can use this against me in the future) he's kinda appealing in a bad boy, shy-type, cool sort of way.

Yeah, he grows on you... You look at him, listen to his songs and you go-- "Wow, I love Jay!"

The cool thing with Jay is he knows he doesn't have to act cute to sell albums. Its his music that draws everyone in.

"Even when my female fans approach me, they don't tell me that I'm handsome," Chou explains to Time Magazine. "They tell me they like my music. It's my music that has charmed them."

And utterly charmed is what I am.