Taiwanese singer Jay Chou is set to release his 16th studio album, Children Of The Sun, on March 25.
The project marks the Mandopop star’s first full-length album in over three years after Greatest Works Of Art, which was released in July 2022.
The announcement follows the surprise release of the album’s first teaser at the stroke of midnight on March 18, with the visuals inspired by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece The Kiss.
There will be 13 tracks in Children Of The Sun: 12 new songs and a special bonus track called Christmas Star (2023).
The title number will be accompanied by a nearly seven-minute music video, which will have its global premiere at a press conference in Taipei on March 24.
The date is significant for Chou as it was also the day his wife, Taiwanese-Australian model-actress Hannah Quinlivan, made her debut in entertainment in 2008 on Taiwanese variety show Blackie’s Teenage Club.
The phrase “Children of the Sun” was originally coined by Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung, who gave Chou the nickname during the latter’s Carnival World Tour concerts in Hong Kong in May 2023.
Despite persistent rain in the days leading up to the shows, the weather would clear just before each performance. Cheung then sent Chou a handwritten note along with mangoes labelled “Children of the Sun”, playfully recognising his lucky streak.
Chou later said the gesture brought sunshine to his heart, and jokingly added that he would claim the title.
In the lead-up to the release, a series of daily teasers will be unveiled until March 23. Each track has been conceived as a distinct artistic expression, with Chou said to explore new vocal textures and styles to capture the changeability of sunlight.
The album artwork and Children Of The Sun music video used Chapelle Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc in Paris as a backdrop.
Chou has been sharing updates with fans on social media in recent months, reflecting on the creative process behind the album.
“Just because my last album came out in 2022 doesn’t mean I spent three or four years writing this one,” he wrote in Chinese on Instagram on March 11.
“Over the years, I’ve slowed down the pace of life and gradually poured that energy into my music. I write when inspiration strikes, sing when I have the time and shoot music videos when I can. The most productive time has actually been these past few months since the concert tour ended.”
Greatest Works Of Art was released six years after his previous album, Jay Chou’s Bedtime Stories (2016).
He quipped: “If I didn’t tour, play basketball or wait for (frequent collaborator) Vincent Fang to write the lyrics, maybe I could finish an album in a month.”
Children Of The Sun will be released across all digital platforms on March 25, with a worldwide physical release to follow on April 10. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
