November's Chopin
| November's Chopin | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Jaychou novemberschopin.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 November 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004–2005 | |||
| Studio | Alfa Studio (Taipei) Yang Dawei Studio (Taipei) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 51:58 | |||
| Language | Mandarin | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Jay Chou | |||
| Jay Chou chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from November's Chopin | ||||
| ||||
November's Chopin (traditional Chinese: 十一月的蕭邦; simplified Chinese: 十一月的肖邦; pinyin: Shíyī yuè de xiāobāng) is the sixth studio album by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou. It was released on 1 November 2005, by Alfa Music and Sony BMG.[1] The album's production was handled entirely by Chou himself, while the lyrical content was handled by frequent collaborator Vincent Fang along with songwriters Devon Song, Alang Huang, and Michael Lin. November's Chopin, like its predecessors, is primary a R&B and pop record that also utilizes soft rock. The title of the album pays homage to Polish composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin, whom Chou was inspired by since his childhood.
The album was met with positive reviews from music critics upon its release. In Taiwan, it peaked at number one on the G-Music album chart for multiple weeks and was best-selling album of the year, with sales of over 280,000 copies. It became the singer's fifth consecutive yearly number-one album in Taiwan since his second studio album, Fantasy, in 2001. November's Chopin was later certified platinum in Singapore in 2019.
Multiple singles were promoted for November's Chopin—"Nocturne", "Hair Like Snow", "Maple Leaf", "Coral Sea", and "All the Way North". The album received several accolades and regional award ceremonies, including Best Original Album at the Metro Radio Music Awards as well as Song of the Year and Best Music Video for "Nocturne" at the China Music Awards. The Chinese Musicians Exchange Association named the record one of the top 10 albums of 2005.
Composition and songs
[edit | edit source]"Nocturne" is an R&B track with a light classical-themed background music played by piano and acoustic guitar, and was the first piece to be completed for the record in November 2004. The lyrics describe the death of a lover, using metaphors involving black crows and wells to express emotion. The production of "Blue Storm" utilizes distorted electric guitar and turntable scratching, while its lyrics deal with religious themes. The track "Hair Like Snow" incorporates traditional Chinese instruments including the pipa and yangqin, while the vocals are sung softly. Towards the end, a false voice is used.[2][3][4][5]
"Black Sweater" is an R&B piece with a slow tempo, and incorporates acoustic guitar on top of soft vocals. The lyrics expresses one's longing for their beloved. "Surrounded" utilizes violin, cello and synthesizers, while its lyrics express his resentment towards the paparazzi. Chou openly calls them "dogs" who "bite an apple in their mouths and hold a camera in their hands". Toward the end of the track, Chou raps a few lines in Korean.[2][3]
"Maple Leaf" incorporates piano, violin and cello over a soft R&B beat. The lyrics describe the sorrow behind a lost love. "Romantic Cellphone" is a R&B piece that features an electric guitar, whereas "Reverse Scale" is a hip-hop number. "Malt Candy" uses violin and electric guitar with lyrics focusing on romance themes. "Coral Sea" is a duet between Jay Chou and Lara Veronin and utilizes instrumentations from piano, violin, acoustic and electric guitars.[2][3]
Title and artwork
[edit | edit source]
Chou, who had learned classical piano since childhood, admitted that Frédéric Chopin had always been his idol, with him also accustomed to designing his images after the name of the composer. He felt very excited that he and the record company agreed to use November's Chopin as the album title.[5]
Release and promotion
[edit | edit source]The pre-sale for the album began in various regions on 19 October 2005. The lead single "Nocturne" premiered on radio Hit FM on 17 October 2005, which was the anniversary of Chopin's death. The music video for "Nocturne" premiered in Asia on 21 October 2005.[6]
Music videos
[edit | edit source]Chou's music has been visual in this album, and made that every song in the new album is full of poetry and romantic, creating a poetic picture. In order to match the theme of the new album, he personally designed the look this time, expressing the romantic temperament of a "music poet" with a retro image, and even went to Venice's Piazza San Marco to shoot the video for "Black Sweater" and the album cover.[5] The "Nocturne" music video was shot in December 2004, in the middle of his Incomparable Tour in Montville, Connecticut. He travelled to New York City to film the video, and included locations such as the Brooklyn Bridge and a cemetery in the suburbs. There was a snowstorm in New York the day before the shooting of the video, which Chou felt made the cemetery scene even more sentimental, but also inconvenient according to the singer.[7][8][9]
Reception
[edit | edit source]The album was nominated for two Golden Melody Awards. The album won for an IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award for Top 10 Best Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year.[10] The track, "Drifting", was nominated a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song and a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Song.[11]
Awards
[edit | edit source]| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Metro Radio Music Awards | Best Original Album | November's Chopin | Won | [12] |
| Hot Song Award | "Nocturne" | Won | |||
| 2006 | China Music Awards | Best Music Video Award | Won | [13] | |
| Song of the Year | Won | ||||
| Chinese Music Media Awards | Best Lyricist | Vincent Fang for "Hair Like Snow" | Won | [14] | |
| Chinese Musicians Exchange Association | Top 10 Albums of the Year | November's Chopin | Won | [15] | |
| Golden Melody Awards | Best Lyricist | Vincent Fang for "Hair Like Snow" | Nominated | ||
| Best Musical Arranger | Eric Hong for "Blue Storm" | Nominated |
Track listing
[edit | edit source]All music is composed by Jay Chou.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nocturne" (夜曲; Yèqǔ) | Vincent Fang | 3:48 |
| 2. | "Blue Storm" (藍色風暴; Lán sè fēngbào) | Vincent Fang | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Hair Like Snow" (髮如雪; Fà rú xuě) | Vincent Fang | 5:01 |
| 4. | "Black Sweater" (黑色毛衣; Hēisè máoyī) | Jay Chou | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Surrounded" (四面楚歌; Sì miàn chǔ gē) | Jay Chou, Michael Lin (Rap) | 4:07 |
| 6. | "Maple Leaf" (楓; Fēng) | Devon Song | 4:37 |
| 7. | "Romantic Cellphone" (浪漫手機; Làngmàn shǒujī) | Vincent Fang | 3:59 |
| 8. | "Reverse Scale" (逆鱗; Nìlín) | Alang Huang | 3:54 |
| 9. | "Malt Candy" (麥芽糖; Mài yá táng) | Vincent Fang | 4:20 |
| 10. | "Coral Sea" (珊瑚海; Shān hú hǎi; featuring Lara Liang) | Vincent Fang | 4:16 |
| 11. | "Drifting" (飄移; Piāoyí; From Initial D (film) Theme Songs) | Vincent Fang | 4:04 |
| 12. | "All the Way North" (一路向北; Yī lù xiàng běi; From Initial D (film) Theme Songs) | Vincent Fang | 4:54 |
| Total length: | 51:58 | ||
Charts
[edit | edit source]
Weekly charts[edit | edit source]
|
Year-end charts[edit | edit source]
|
Certifications
[edit | edit source]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore (RIAS)[19] | Platinum | 10,000* |
| Taiwan | — | 280,000[20] |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ Best-selling albums of the year in Taiwan as reported by media outlets
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ (in Chinese) "November's Chopin album info"Archived 5 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine JVR Music. 1 November 2005. Retrieved 15 April 2011
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ (in Chinese) "2005 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list" Archived 2 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 19 April 2011
- ^ (in Chinese) "25th Hong Kong Film Awards winner/nomination list" Hong Kong Film Awards. Retrieved 25 February 2011
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- (in Chinese) Jay Chou discography@JVR Music
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).