Wikipedia

Fantasy (Jay Chou album)

Fantasy (Chinese: 范特西; pinyin: Fàn tè xī) is the second studio album by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou. It was released on 14 September 2001, by BMG Taiwan.[1] Akin to his debut record, Fantasy was entirely composed and produced by Chou himself, while the lyrics were penned by him along with Vincent Fang and Vivian Hsu. Fantasy not only breaks new ground in Chou's production standards, but also matures in its creation.[1] The album not only includes lyrical R&B songs, but also broadens his horizons to include other styles such as hip-hop, rock, rap and traditional Japanese music.[1][2]

Fantasy
Studio album by
Jay Chou
Released14 September 2001 (2001-09-14)
Recorded2001
GenreMandopop
Length39:30
LanguageMandarin
LabelBMG, Alfa
ProducerJay Chou
Jay Chou chronology
Jay
(2000) 		Fantasy
(2001) 		Fantasy Plus
(2001)
Singles from Fantasy
  1. "Simple Love"
    Released: 14 September 2001
  2. "Silence"
    Released: 14 September 2001
  3. "I Find it Hard to Say"
    Released: 14 September 2001

Fantasy received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the album's production and praised the mixture of musical genres.[3] Commercially, the album attained huge success in Greater China. The album sold over 460,000 copies in Taiwan,[4] making it the country's best-selling album of 2001,[5] as well as the fourth best-selling album in Taiwan of the 21st century.[6] Fantasy is also credited for helping Chou buoy his popularity across the Chinese mainland.[7] The album has since sold over 1.7 million copies throughout Asia overall.[8] Chou promoted the album by embarking on the Fantasy Tour, which ran from November 2001 to February 2002.[9]

Background

edit

On 7 November 2000, Chou released his debut album, Jay,[10] which sold more than 250,000 copies in Taiwan.[11] The album was a groundbreaking release, combining R&B, hip-hop, classical and Chinese style;[12] which established Chou's image as a "Chou-esque" singer.[12] In addition to producing and editing music albums for himself, Chou had also started composing music for other well-known singers such as S.H.E, Jordan Chan, Landy Wen, Jolin Tsai, Andy Lau, etc.[13] In 2000, Vivian Hsu's studio album Jiaban de Tianshi was a commercial failure, and she fell into a deep depression as a result.[14] At this time, Chou, who was just starting out, listened carefully to Hsu's album and decided to invite her to compose songs for him.[14] Therefore, Hsu wrote the lyrics for three songs for him, including "Simple Love."[14]

Writing and recording

edit
 
The song "Ninja" was originally written for A-Mei (pictured), but she rejected it

The album Fantasy is produced by Chou, with all the 10 songs composed by him. For lyrics, Chou is responsible for 2 of the songs, while the rest of the lyrics are written by Vincent Fang and Vivian Hsu respectively.[15] During the production of the album, Chou changed the title of the song "I Find It Hard To Say" without telling Hsu in advance.[16] When Chou was working on the demo of "William Castle," he had already thought of using vampires as the theme of the song.[17] Chou then told the story to Fang, who then searched for information and discussed it with Chou, eventually forming the lyrics of the song.[17] In terms of composition, Chou came up with the idea of using MIDI to make a pipe organ when he was working on the demo of "William Castle," and added sound effects such as the sound of horses' hooves to the intro.[17] During the creative process of Fantasy, Chou put various creative ideas such as nostalgia, love, domestic violence, and martial arts into the songs.[18]

"Love Before BC" is an R&B-esque song written by Chou after a trip to a museum, and was based on the story of Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon, and his wife Amytis.[19] "Dad, I'm Home" is a song about domestic violence penned solely by Chou after hearing about his friend's experience.[20] "Simple Love" is a representation of rhythmic love songs, with a simple arrangement featuring Spanish guitar plucking and percussion that creates a relaxing and pleasant picture of puppy love.[21] "Ninja" is sung in Chou's typical style—not emphasizing on the words, but focusing on the music, and the mysterious oriental music, portraying the image of a ninja.[22] This is another one of Chou's songs that incorporates oriental music after the song "Wife" on his debut album.[22] When Chou first debuted, he wrote "Ninja" for A-Mei, but she rejected it because of his "rapid" rap.[23] Some of the simple Japanese words in the song were learned by Chou after watching Japanese television dramas without asking a teacher to teach him.[24]

"I Find it Hard to Say" adds a heavier rhythm into its R&B framework, combined with a smooth rap and a classical prelude.[21] The song "Shanghai 1943" is based on the story of a Taiwanese veteran who misses his parents.[25] The song "Sorry" describes Chou's saudades, his deep feelings for the past, and his apologies, which indicates his cherishing of his previous relationships, and therefore wants to say "sorry."[21] The song "William Castle" is a British style song that adds classical baroque string accompaniment and a band into the creation.[25] The rap at the end of the song comes from the lyrics of the song "Basketball Match," which was added live by Chou during his final recording.[17][26] The style of the track "Nunchucks" is a mix of rock and roll with a rapid-fire rap.[27] Chou created the power ballad "Silence" based on his own experiences growing up; he learned to play the piano at a young age, playing quietly in a secluded corner surrounded by silence with only the piano to keep him company, so he skillfully blended his growing up experience with his first love experience to create the song.[28]

Title and artwork

edit

The title of the album comes from the transliteration of the English word "Fantasy."[29] The reason why the album is titled "Fantasy" is because Chou wanted to use music to bring people a whimsical imagination, and the name "Fantasy" also reflected Chou's consistent music philosophy—music is fantasy, fantasy is happy.[30] The album cover is a close up of Chou's face while he's wearing a red hoodie.[31]

Release and promotion

edit

To promote Fantasy, Chou embarked on his first every concert tour titled Fantasy Tour, which had five stops in total.[9] The first stop was at Taoyuan where he performed at the Taoyuan Arena on 3 November 2001.[32] At the Taoyuan Arena show, Coco Lee performed as his special guest as they performed "Dow Ma Dan" together.[33] The second and third shows were played at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hong Kong on 5 November 2001, and 6 November 2001.[34] The fourth show was played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Axiata Arena on 8 February 2002. The final stop of the show was played in Singapore at Suntec City on 10 February 2002.[35]

Singles and music videos

edit
 
The music video for "Ninja" was filmed in a Japanese garden

The music video for "Love Before BC," which was directed by Kuang Sheng, depicts scenes of ancient ruins in sepia filter.[36] The music video for "Dad, I'm Home" was directed by Jeff and was shot in an abandoned house, with the opening scene showing Chou playing the cello.[37] Shockley Huang directed the music video for "Simple Love," which tells a pure and shy love story.[38] The heroine in the music video of "Simple Love" is Miyu Furukawa, a model for Japan's Non-no magazine, who was only 13 or 14 years old at the time.[39] The music video for "Ninja" was directed by Huang and features Chou in his iconic red hoodie rapping in a traditional Japanese garden with scenes of ninjas acrobatically jumping around.[40] Kuang Sheng directed the music video for "I Find It Hard To Say", which is inspired by the movie Ghost; it features Chou crashing from a spacecraft, reincarnating as another person while pondering upon his love interest who didn't seem to recognize him.[41]

Kuang Sheng directed the music video for "Shanghai 1943"; it portrays scenes of Chou singing against the backdrop of the bustling Shanghai streets during the 1940s.[42] The video for "Sorry" used edited concert footage instead of actually having a storyline.[43] The music video for "William Castle" also contains footage of Chou's concert as well as him singing casually.[44] The music video of the song "Nunchucks" was directed by Kuang Sheng; it tells the story of a man who is strong in martial arts, who fights for justice and teaches people not to use force, and that force is not the only way to solve things.[45] The music video for "Silence" was directed by Shockley Huang.[46] When filming the video, Chou quietly played the piano, sometimes pacing quietly, from early morning to sunset.[46] The piano accompanied him through the night.[46] At times, he closed his eyes with deep emotion and walked with bare feet, his past love just like the scenery outside his window.[46] At the end of the "Silence" video, Chou puts on his suit and runs out of the door, drenched in the rain, seemingly telling himself to get out of the love that is hard to part with.[46] In January 2002, the tracks "Simple Love" and "I Find It Hard to Say" were listed at number 2 and number 17 respectively on the 2001 Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year chart.[47]

Reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
MTVChinese.com     [48]

Leo Liu of MTVChinese.com awarded the album three and a half stars out of five. He stated that even though the melodies were good and the talent was inevitable, there was something lacking. He stated at the end: "Overall, it is a pity that the quality is not as neat and smooth as the previous one. In addition, the 'recording technology' problem was pointed out by the golden song judges in the previous album, but the feeling remains the same in this album. Too much computer midi makes people feel unrealistic. I hope the next album can be improved."[48] Eric of GQ Taiwan stated in a retrospective review: "Even after 15 years, when I listen to "Fantasy" again and again, I will still be moved by the avant-garde melody. Both the lyrics and music are quite trendy. Who would have thought that the boy in the red hat T-shirt on the album cover still dominates the entire Chinese pop music circle."[3] In 2020, to celebrate Chou's 20th anniversary in the industry, NetEase conducted a ranking of Chou's best albums; Fantasy won first place on the list.[49]

Accolades

edit

The album received ten nominations at the 13th Golden Melody Awards and won five awards, including Album of the Year, Best Album Producer, and Best Composer.[50][51] The album also won for an IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award for Top 10 Best Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year.[52] In 2008, "Love Before BC" was selected by Southern Weekly as one of the Top Ten Classic Songs in the Thirty Years of Reform and Opening Up.[53] In 2002, "Simple Love" made it onto the leaderboard of the "Top Ten Outstanding Golden Songs of the Year" at the TOP Chinese Music ceremony.[54] "I Find it Hard to Say" won the Gold Award for the Most Popular Mandarin Song at the Top Ten Golden Songs Awards and the Top Ten Chinese Songs at the Second Chinese Pop Music Media Awards.[55][56] "Silence" won the Best Golden Song Award at the 2nd Global Chinese Music Awards Ceremony.[57]

Track listing

edit

All music is composed by Jay Chou

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Love Before the Century" (愛在西元前)Vincent Fang3:54
2."Dad, I'm Back" (爸，我回來了)Jay Chou3:55
3."Simple Love" (簡單愛)Vivian Hsu4:31
4."Ninja" (忍者)Vincent Fang2:38
5."I Find it Hard to Say" (開不了口)Vivian Hsu4:44
6."Shanghai 1943" (上海一九四三)Vincent Fang3:15
7."Sorry" (對不起)Vincent Fang3:45
8."William Castle" (威廉古堡)Vincent Fang3:56
9."Nunchucks" (雙截棍)Vincent Fang3:21
10."Silence" (安靜)Jay Chou5:34
Total length:39:30

Charts

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Best-selling albums of the year in Taiwan as reported by media outlets

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c (in Chinese) JVR Music Fantasy album info Archived 10 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine 14 September 2001. Retrieved 26 March 2011
  2. ^ "周杰伦《范特西》被誉为神专辑，千字解析到底有多牛？". yule.sohu.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b "《范特西》一張周杰倫也無法超越自己的專輯". GQ. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  4. ^ "周杰倫遭 假扣押5千萬 | 蘋果日報". Apple Daily (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b "2001唱片銷售統計". mypaper.pchome.com (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 3 October 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  6. ^ "21世紀最賣專輯前5名". mypaper.pchome.com (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 8 April 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  7. ^ "为他人做嫁为自己操刀 周杰伦样样都绝伦(附图)". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ^ "周杰伦最出色的5张专辑：每张都是神专，每首歌都是主打！". k.sina.cn (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 17 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b "世界巡回演唱会" (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  10. ^ "《杰倫》专辑介绍" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 杰威尔音乐. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  11. ^ "周杰倫遭 假扣押5千萬" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  12. ^ a b Kate Drake (3 March 2003). "Cool Jay". TIME Asia. Archived from the original on 1 April 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  13. ^ "周杰倫為別人寫的這些歌，每首都紅了十年" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 30 July 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b c "徐若瑄：我想如邓丽君那样无可取代". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  15. ^ "蔡琴陈慧琳周杰伦同上阵--三代歌星实力大对比(图)". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  16. ^ ""小天王"周杰伦的13个小秘密：竟是数学白痴". yule.sohu.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d "你所不知道的杰伦的秘密－－音乐篇". music.yule.sohu.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  18. ^ "蔡琴陈慧琳周杰伦同上阵--三代歌星实力大对比(图)". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  19. ^ "穿越千年的爱情证明！《爱在西元前》描述的传说". yule.sohu.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  20. ^ "歌坛天才周杰伦推出第二张专辑《范特西》". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  21. ^ a b c "出道即巅峰, 盘点周杰伦巅峰专辑《七里香》, 你喜欢哪首". NetEase. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  22. ^ a b "歌坛天才周杰伦推出第二张专辑《范特西》". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  23. ^ "张惠妹曾拒绝《忍者》 周杰伦唱完:我这写的什么". ent.sina.com.cn. October 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  24. ^ "你所不知道的杰伦的秘密－－音乐篇". music.yule.sohu.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  25. ^ a b "周杰伦新专辑《范特西》". ent.163.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2001. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  26. ^ "方文山透露与周杰伦合作往往"先曲后词"". chinanews.com.cn. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  27. ^ "《范特西》定型周杰伦唱片风格 成功打开东南亚市场". yue.ifeng.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  28. ^ "《范特西》定型周杰伦唱片风格 成功打开东南亚市场". yue.ifeng.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  29. ^ "《范特西》專輯介紹" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 杰威尔音乐. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  30. ^ "歌坛天才周杰伦推出第二张专辑《范特西》". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  31. ^ "周杰伦的专辑封面设计得怎么样？这篇分析太涨知识了！". uisdc.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  32. ^ "周杰伦闭关练唱功 28日台北首度开唱(附图)". ent.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 3 September 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  33. ^ "《珍贵视频》李玟 担任周杰伦 演唱会嘉宾，共同演唱《刀马旦》💕" (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  34. ^ "周杰伦王力宏任贤齐张信哲--台湾四龙飞跃2001(多图)". ent.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 21 January 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  35. ^ "Hooray For Jay". The New Paper. 11 February 2002. p. 3.
  36. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【愛在西元前 Love before BC】Official MV, 16 October 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  37. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【爸 我回來了 Dad, I'm home】Official MV, 5 November 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  38. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【簡單愛 Simple Love】Official MV, 4 October 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  39. ^ "原创 周杰伦MV女主个个美到爆炸，她们都是谁，现在怎么样？". sohu.com. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  40. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【忍者 Ninja】Official MV, 5 November 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  41. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【開不了口 I Find It Hard To Say】Official MV, October 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  42. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【上海 一九四三 Shanghai 1943】Official MV, 23 October 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  43. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【對不起 Sorry】Official MV, 6 November 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  44. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【威廉古堡 William Castle】Official MV, 26 October 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  45. ^ 周杰倫 Jay Chou【雙截棍 Nunchucks】Official MV, 10 October 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  46. ^ a b c d e 周杰倫 Jay Chou【安靜 Silence】Official MV, 28 September 2012, retrieved 24 November 2023
  47. ^ "Hitoradio‧Hit Fm --華人音樂入口指標". www.hitoradio.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  48. ^ a b "周杰倫 范特西". MTV. Archived from the original on 26 March 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  49. ^ "周杰伦最出色的5张专辑：每张都是神专，每首歌都是主打！". www.163.com. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  50. ^ (in Chinese) GIO, Taiwan 13th Golden Melody Awards nomination list Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine 28 April 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2011
  51. ^ (in Chinese) GIO, Taiwan 13th Golden Melody Awards winners list Archived 29 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine 28 April 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2011
  52. ^ IFPI Hong Kong 2001 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Archived 2 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 19 April 2011
  53. ^ "《南方周末》：中国流行音乐30年十大金曲". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  54. ^ "第二届音乐风云榜颁奖盛典举行 各奖项揭晓(多图)". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  55. ^ "香港十大劲歌金曲颁奖 许志安郑秀文称王封后". China News. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  56. ^ "华语流行乐传媒大奖第二届年选全面揭晓". 11 March 2002. Archived from the original on 20 March 2002. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  57. ^ "第二届全球华语歌曲排行榜颁奖典礼". 24 October 2006. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  58. ^ "Hits of the World Charts". Billboard. 8 December 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2024 – via Google Books.
  59. ^ "RIAS Top 10 Album Chart". RIAS. 25 January 2002. Archived from the original on 4 February 2002. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fantasy_(Jay_Chou_album)&oldid=1257585762"