On 26 July 2020, Jay Chou went live for the first time on the Chinese app Kuaishou. It ran 31 minutes. Official figures put the audience at 68 million views, and when it ended he gave away every yuan it had raised: NT$140 million, or RM20.3 million.
The reason for the stream was a promise. Chou had joined Kuaishou, a rival of Douyin, only the month before, and in his first post he said that if he reached 10 million followers he would perform magic tricks on a live broadcast. The modest target was blown past. His following exceeded 23.1 million, so the 41-year-old kept his word. Other stars added money to the pot. Wong Cho-lam of Hong Kong gave 200,000 yuan, the pianist Lang Lang 400,000 yuan and the host Haman Hu 350,000 yuan. The top contributor gave 7 million yuan.
A habit of quiet giving
It was not a one-off. Earlier that year, in February, Chou and his wife, the actress-model Hannah Quinlivan, donated 3 million Chinese yuan (RM1.75 million) to the fight against the new coronavirus, an amount announced by the Hubei Charity Federation. The China Times noted that internet users praised the couple for “radiating positive energy” and for doing good work quietly.
The same newspaper listed earlier gifts. After the Hualien earthquake he gave NT$2 million to the Hualien County Social Assistance Account. Around Chinese New Year the couple gave another NT$2 million to the Huashan Foundation, for wishes for the elderly, and they have also supported the China Trust Charity Foundation, which helps disadvantaged children in rural areas.
The music behind the name
Chou’s fame rests on his songs. TIME called him the “New King of Asian Pop” back in 2003. He has written every one of his own songs since his debut in 2000, and he is known for what IFPI calls his J-style ballads.
In March 2023 the industry body IFPI announced that his 15th studio album, Greatest Works of Art, was the winner of its 2022 Global Album Sales Chart. No Mandopop artist had done it before. The album finished ahead of BTS’s Proof in second place and Taylor Swift’s Midnights in third. The award goes to the album with the most unit sales across physical and digital download formats. Earlier winners include Adele, BTS and Ed Sheeran. He had also become the first Mandopop act to appear on IFPI’s Global Recording Artist of the Year list for 2022, at No. 9.
IFPI gave him a custom trophy. In his reply Chou listed the screen roles that have made him known in different countries: Kato in The Green Hornet in Hollywood, the director of Secret in Korea, a part in Initial D in Japan. “But in fact, I am a songwriter and music composer,” he said. “I hope my music can stay timeless and be appreciated worldwide.”
Sources
- JAY CHOU WINS IFPI 2022 GLOBAL ALBUM SALES CHART (IFPI announcement via PR Newswire)
- Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou and wife praised for donations given to fight novel coronavirus (Malay Mail via Yahoo News Malaysia)
- King of Mandopop Jay Chou donates RM20m from inaugural live stream on Chinese app to charity (Malay Mail via Yahoo News Malaysia)
