【www.jianqiaoenglish.com--英语阅读】
Jay Chou (traditional Chinese: 周杰伦, simplified Chinese: 周杰伦, pinyin: Zhōu Jiélún, Born on January 18, 1979) is a popular Taiwanese musician specializing in R&B and rap. He is known for his innovative usage of combining both Western and Chinese music styles to produce a fresh sound that is quite unlike what is produced in mainstream Taiwanese pop, and also unique lyrics which touch on various issues.
Jay Chou was born on the 18th of January, 1979 in Taiwan.He was raised by his mother and was shy and quiet during his childhood. Showing interest in music, he began learning to play the piano at the age of 3. By age 16, he was writing songs for popular artists of that time.
Jay first entered the music industry when he appeared in a talent show with his friend, where he accompanied as the pianist. They failed miserably in making a mark on television, but the producer saw the line notes written by Jay was good, so he decided to take a chance on him. Due to Jay’s looks not being good enough for the instant stardom that many of his colleagues could easily attain, he was initially hired to compose songs and write lyrics for others, including Vivian Hsu and Jolin Tsai. Many of his songs became instant hits, though most people were not aware that they were his creations.
In 2000, it was decided that Jay should be given his chance to produce an album of his own. He released his first album Jay, which much to everyone’s surprise became an instant hit. It gained great attention among the international Chinese-speaking community (including Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, etc). When his second album Fantasy was released he was already among one of the top pop stars in the Chinese-speaking community. His most critically and financially successful album as of yet is his third, Eight Dimensions.
In 2005, Jay played the leading role in the movie Initial D (Takumi Fujiwara), which was based on a popular Japanese manga of the same name. It was the most popular and talked about movie in Asia, premiering in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Western Countries as well. Other well known celebrities are playing too, such as Anne Suzuki, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Chapman To and Anthony Wong
