Taiwan Mandopop star Jay Chou returns with ambitious new album

TAIPEI: Taiwan Mandopop star Jay Chou will release his first album in nearly four years this week, unveiling on Tuesday its lead ​single accompanied by a music video in which he battles a ‌vampire.

Chou’s signature fusion of Western R&B and hip-hop with distinctly Taiwanese and Chinese influences has earned him a devoted, at times obsessive, following across Asia - particularly in China - since ​his 2000 debut, “Jay”.

His new album, “Children of the Sun,” is his 16th ​studio release and features 13 tracks. The digital version arrives ⁠on Wednesday, with a physical edition to follow in April.

The video for ​the title track, almost seven minutes long and filmed in both Taipei and ​Paris, shows him battling a vampire in a church, whom he ultimately kills by driving a giant cross through its heart.

Chou told fans and reporters in Taipei that he ​hoped to send “positive energy” with the lead single, recalling earlier occasions of ​stage fright before concerts.

“There is a dark side in everyone’s heart; how to control it, ‌live ⁠in peace with it or to destroy it,” he said.

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While Taiwan has only 23 million people, its music scene has an outsized influence in the Chinese-speaking world, in part due to a creative environment unconstrained by censorship.

Raised in ​suburban Taipei by his ​mother, Chou ⁠failed his college entrance exam and once considered becoming a piano teacher.

He was discovered by a TV host at ​a singing competition, though he started his career by writing ​songs for ⁠other performers. Unusually in the Mandopop industry, he writes much of his own material.

Chou is also an actor, appearing in Chinese language films as well as ⁠the ​2010 Hollywood movie version of “The Green Hornet” in ​which he played Kato, sidekick to the vigilante crime fighter played by comedian Seth Rogen.