''Common Jasmine Orange'' () is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by Taiwanese recording artist

Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...

. It was released 3 August 2004, by Alfa Music. The album's lyrics were written by a team of songwriters including Chou, the singer's frequent collaborator Vincent Fang, Alang Huang,

Devon Song Nan Quan Mama () is a Taiwanese music group. The name is a phrase in Mandarin to explain having strength while being gentle as a mother. They are closely tied with the well-known artist Jay Chou, but it was revealed after Lara and Chase Chang went ...

, and

Will Liu Will Liu (; born 7 October 1972) is a Taiwanese singer, dancer and composer. Background He is well known for his album ''Caihong Tiantang'' (彩虹天堂; "Rainbow Heaven") and is known as good friends with Taiwanese artists Jay Chou and Show ...

, whilst composition was handled entirely by Chou himself. The album was recorded and mixed in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, while the string accompaniment parts were recorded in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Musically, the material of ''Common Jasmine Orange'' spans R&B,

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

, and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

genres with influences from

traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

music. Chou envisioned himself as a narrator in the record, offering his personal narratives through lyrics which incorporate themes such as romance and war. The artwork for the album's cover sleeve was shot in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

, Russia, and features Chou donning a military uniform in front of an abandoned structure with a young girl standing in front of him. Critics appreciated the musical styles of ''Common Jasmine Orange'' and its usage of traditional elements. It saw commercial success across Asia, peaking atop the album charts in Singapore and Malaysia upon release. In Taiwan, it sold more than 320,000 copies and was the highest-selling album of 2004. ''Common Jasmine Orange'' saw major commercial success in China; according to

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

, it is the best-selling physical album in China in the 21st century. According to the

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

, the album was the 43rd best-selling album of 2004 globally. The album produced singles such as the title track "

Common Jasmine Orange ''Common Jasmine Orange'' () is the fifth Album, studio album by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou. It was released 3 August 2004, by Alfa Music. The album's lyrics were written by a team of songwriters including Chou, the singer's frequent co ...

", which premiered on

radio stations Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...

in several Asian countries on 21 July 2004. Other singles include "Wounds of War", "Step Aside", and "Excuse", while

music videos A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

were produced for all ten tracks on the record. Chou promoted the album by embarking on the

Incomparable Tour The Incomparable Tour () was the third concert tour by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou, held in support of his fifth studio album ''Common Jasmine Orange'' (2004). The tour visited various countries including Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysi ...

after the release of the album, which began in Taipei on 2 October 2004, and concluded in Tokyo on 6 February 2006.

Background and development

Confident of the album's music and wanting the listener to focus on the music, Chou positioned the album as a return to the purity of music and titled the album with the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

"Common Jasmine Orange." Chou composed all of the songs in ''Common Jasmine Orange''. Half of the lyrics were penned by the singer's frequent collaborator Vincent Fang, while the remaining tracks were written by Chou, Alang Huang,

, and

. G-Power and sound engineer Gary Yang also worked on the record, both of whom were members of

Nan Quan Mama Nan Quan Mama () is a Taiwanese music group. The name is a phrase in Mandarin to explain having strength while being gentle as a mother. They are closely tied with the well-known artist Jay Chou, but it was revealed after Lara and Chase Chang went ...

. Chou positioned himself as a storyteller in the album, and presented his stories and imagined scenes to the audience through music. On 4 June 2004, it was revealed that Chou would release a new album on 28 July; Chou said frankly that he hopes to bring his music to the overseas music scene, saying: "I hope that people abroad, not just in Asia, can know my music. Why can't Chinese music perform on the world stage? I hope that one day Chinese music can become the world's mainstream music." On 8 June 2004, it was revealed that he postponed the release of the album to August 2004. On 24 June, the album was reported to be completed.

Title and artwork

The romanized name of the album "Qilixiang" comes from the work "Qilixiang" by the famous poet

Xi Murong Xi Murong or Hsi Muren (; born 1943) is a writer and painter. She is most famous for her poetry, especially the collections ''Seven Miles of Fragrance'' (; ''Qīlǐ Xiāng'') and ''Unregrettable Youth'' (; ''Wúyuàn de Qīngchūn''). Pers ...

. The album cover was envisioned to be shot in a location that exudes vitality. After a careful selection process,

, Russia was chosen as the location for the album cover shoot. Chou donned a military uniform while a young Russian girl holding a stuffed animal was positioned in front of him. The singer specifically chose Vladivostok as the location of the shoot due to the city's historical association with war and its slightly poignant aesthetic.

Composition

In ''Common Jasmine Orange'', Chou adopts the persona of a storyteller, using music as a medium to share his narratives and imaginative visuals with his listeners. "My Territory" is a song that blends

Chinese folk music The music of China consists of many distinct traditions, often specifically originating with one of the country's various Ethnic groups in China, ethnic groups. It is produced within and without the country, involving either people of Chinese or ...

instrumentation with

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

beats and mixed sound effects. "Common Jasmine Orange" is a Chinese-style poetic

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

that was inspired by the poem ''Seven Miles of Fragrance'' by

. Commentators have described the song as a romantic summer number that captures the feelings one gets from a love interest. "Excuse" is a usual "Chou-style" love song accompanied by

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

. "Grandma" was written by Chou and is a heartfelt tribute to the elderly; in the process of writing the song, Chou expressed discontent with certain award ceremonies. "General" contains long sections of

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

, a multi-part chorus, and a folk-flavored instrumental, all of which are essential elements of Chou's music. "Step Aside" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

accompanied by piano and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. The song "Chaotic Dance" draws creative inspiration from the historical events of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

in the late

Eastern Han Dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. "Struggle" features a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

orchestration, and the song is an attempt by Chou to break new ground, both in terms of the band's accompaniment and the style of the song. "Fun Fair" is an R&B style love song. "Wounds of War" is a melancholic piano based song written during the early stages of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Release and promotion

On 16 July 2004, it was announced that

pre-orders A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...

for ''Common Jasmine Orange'' would start the following week. On 18 July 2004, it was announced that the album would be released on 3 August. The album was made available for pre-order on 21 July 2004; the album's title track was also premiered simultaneously on 50 radio stations across Asia that day. At a

press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

on 5 August 2004, the record company announced that the sales orders in Asia exceeded 1,000,000 copies on the day of the album's release, and held a special "ice-breaking ceremony" to congratulate the album's good performance.

Singles and music videos

The song "My Territory" was specially created by Chou for the advertising song of

China Mobile China Mobile is the trade name of both China Mobile Limited and its ultimate controlling shareholder, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese State-owned enterprises of China, state-owned telecommunicationsStrait deals ''The Econ ...

's M-Zone. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "My Territory" was filmed at the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

attached to the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts; due to Chou's appearance, the filming site attracted many teachers and students from the school. Due to the large number of onlookers, the camera was not properly adjusted several times. The video was directed by Kuang Sheng and tells the story of Chou's deep friendship with his classmates who were also sent to opera schools when they were young. The music video for the album's title track was directed by Kuang Sheng, filmed in

Takasaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as th ...

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

, Japan, and stars

Chie Tanaka is a Japanese model and actress who is based in Taiwan. She is best known for her role as Tomoko in '' Cape No. 7'', the second highest-grossing film in Taiwanese cinematic history. Career Born as the daughter of the wealthy Japanese cosmetics ...

; the video depicts them falling in love, running hand in hand in the garden and swinging on the swing. The video for "Excuse" was directed by Kuang Sheng and filmed in the alleys of

's busiest shopping street; Chou acted as a street performer in the video, becoming the

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

of a band, and invited local Vladivostok bands to perform with him. The music video for "Grandma" was filmed at the bank of the

Tamsui River The Tamsui River (alternatively Danshui River, ) is the third longest river in Taiwan after Zhuoshui River and Gaoping River, with a total length of , flowing through Hsinchu County, Taoyuan, Taipei and New Taipei City. It is located in the ...

and an old restaurant, directed by Kuang Sheng and featured Chou's grandmother, mother Yeh Hui-Mei and cousin. In the music video for "General," which was directed by Xu Renfeng, a young man and an old man are playing

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

; the process is exciting, as if it is a real war, like a duel between a vigorous young general and an experienced old general. Kuang Sheng directed the music video for "Step Aside," which portrays Chou as a hospital

janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

who fell in love with a very beautiful patient. The background of the music video of "Chaotic Dance" is the

Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...

, so in the video, Chou wears ancient costumes and braids, dressing up as a man from the Central Plains; the video was directed by Kuang Sheng. In the Kuang Sheng-directed music video for "Struggle," Liu Genghong plays a big star and Chou plays his driver. The music video for "Fun Fair" was shot in a

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

, with scenes of Jay Chou being playful with his love interest. The music video for "Wounds of War" was directed by Kuang Sheng and filmed in Vladivostok, and 15 local soldiers and 40 children were invited to perform. On 6 January 2005, the tracks "

", "Excuse" and "Wounds of War", were listed at number 1, number 10, and number 88 respectively on the 2004

Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year () is a music industry record chart that ranks the most popular songs in Taiwan, published yearly by Hit FM since 1998. Chart rankings are based on online poll in Taiwan. The first number-one song on this chart ...

chart.''Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart''- 2004 (#1 to 50)
Retrieved 8 April 2011

Critical reception

Apin of MTVChinese.com awarded the album four stars out of five, saying that the whole album is far more pleasant to listen to than its predecessor, ''

Yeh Hui-Mei ''Yeh Hui-Mei'' () is the fourth studio album by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou. It was released by Alfa Music on 31 July 2003, and was distributed throughout Asia in physical and digital formats. Chou enlisted various collaborators to assis ...

''. About ''Common Jasmine Orange'' in its entirety, he stated: "It’s not good or bad, I just feel that every song in this album is relatively low-key and not deliberately eye-catching." Phoenix News's Zhang Yi commented: "''Common Jasmine Orange'' is Jay Chou's album with the most abundant musical levels so far. Almost every song has been arranged with great effort, and even the slow songs have many levels!" In 2020, to celebrate Chou's 20th anniversary in the industry,

NetEase NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company founded by Ding Lei in June 1997. It provides online services with content, community, communications, and commerce. The company develops and operates online PC and mobile games, adverti ...

conducted a ranking of Chou's best albums, with ''Common Jasmine Orange'' being placed fourth on the list.

Tencent Music Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME; ) is a company that develops music streaming services for the Chinese market. Tencent Music's apps include QQ Music, KuGou, Kuwo, and WeSing; which have more than 800 million active users and 120 million ...

's Wave Review Panel ranked ''Yeh Hui-Mei'' 3rd place in their list of the "200 Best Chinese Albums of 2001–2020", appreciating the record for showing the beauty of oriental music to the world with full imagination.

Commercial performance

''Common Jasmine Orange'' achieved commercial success throughout Asia. In Singapore, the album peaked at number one on the

Recording Industry Association Singapore Recording Industry Association Singapore (RIAS) is an organisation that represents the music industry in Singapore and national representative of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The organisation was founded in 1976 as th ...

(RIAS) album chart in the issue dated 21 August 2004, and remained atop the chart for multiple weeks. It was Chou's fourth consecutive album to reach number one in Singapore. In Malaysia, it peaked at number one on the

Recording Industry Association of Malaysia Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) (Malay: Persatuan Industri Rakaman Malaysia) is a Malaysian non-profit music organisation, founded on 12 December 1978, as the Malaysian Association of Phonograph Producers (MAPP). In the end of ...

(RIM) Chinese album chart in the issue dated 24 August 2004. In Taiwan, it was the best-selling album of the year according to domestic news publications with sales of 320,000 copies, making it the singer's fourth consecutive best-selling album of the year after ''

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

'' (2001), ''

The Eight Dimensions ''The Eight Dimensions'' () is the third studio album by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and bu ...

'' (2002) and ''

'' (2003). In China, ''Common Jasmine Orange'' saw major commercial success. According to

, it is the best-selling physical album released during the 21st century in China with sales of over 2,600,000 copies. The

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

(IFPI) ranked the album at number 43 on their list of the best-selling albums worldwide during 2004.IFP
Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2004
It went on to sell over 3,500,000 copies throughout Asia.

Accolades

''Common Jasmine Orange'' earned six nominations at the

16th Golden Melody Awards The 16th Golden Melody Awards were held on 28 May 2005 at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Summary Sales of popular music had dropped more than 60 percent since its 1998 peak, leading to a few appeals during the night for peop ...

. The album won an IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award for Best Selling Mandarin Album of the Year. IFPI Hong Kon
2004 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list
The lead single "My Love" reached number 5 on the Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year. Retrieved 19 April 2011 In 2004, the song "Common Jasmine Orange" won three awards at the Hong Kong

TVB8 TVB8 was a Mandarin language general entertainment television channel owned and operated by TVB International. History On December 7, 1998, TVB Satellite Broadcasting Limited was established. and is the only one to enter overseas Chinese satel ...

Top Ten Golden Songs Awards: Best Composition, Best Producer, and Best Arranger. In 2005, "Common Jasmine Orange" was placed on the leaderboard of the Top 10 song awards at the 2004 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards and won the Outstanding Chinese Pop Song Award, while Chou won the Silver Award for National Most Popular Male Singer. The song won the 11th

China Music Awards The China Music Awards () is an annual Chinese music award established by Channel V Channel '' ("V" as in the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hon ...

's Best Song of the Year and many other awards. In 2005, the song "General" won the Top Ten Outstanding Singles Award from the Chinese Musicians Exchange Association.

Track listing

, writer1 = , lyrics1 = Vincent Fang , music1 = , extra1 = , length1 = 4:00 , title2 =

, note2 = zh, labels=no, t=七里香, hp=Qī lǐ xiāng , writer2 = , lyrics2 = Vincent Fang , music2 = , extra2 = , length2 = 4:55 , title3 = Excuse , note3 = zh, labels=no, t=藉口, p=Jièkǒu , writer3 = , lyrics3 = Jay Chou , music3 = , extra3 = , length3 = 4:16 , title4 = Grandma , note4 = zh, labels=no, t=外婆, p=Wàipó , writer4 = , lyrics4 = Jay Chou , music4 = , extra4 = , length4 = 4:00 , title5 = General , note5 = zh, labels=no, t=將軍, p=Jiāngjūn , writer5 = , lyrics5 = Alang Huang , music5 = , extra5 = , length5 = 3:20 , title6 = Step Aside , note6 = zh, labels=no, t=擱淺, p=Gēqiǎn , writer6 = , lyrics6 =

, music6 = , extra6 = , length6 = 3:56 , title7 = Chaotic Dance , note7 = zh, labels=no, t=亂舞春秋, p=Luàn wǔ chūnqiū , writer7 = , lyrics7 = Vincent Fang , music7 = , extra7 = , length7 = 4:36 , title8 = Struggle , note8 = zh, labels=no, t=困獸之鬥, p=Kùn shòu zhī dòu , writer8 = , lyrics8 =

, music8 = , extra8 = , length8 = 4:25 , title9 = Fun Fair , note9 = zh, labels=no, t=園遊會, p=Yuán yóu huì , writer9 = , lyrics9 = Vincent Fang , music9 = , extra9 = , length9 = 4:11 , title10 = Wounds of War , note10 = zh, labels=no, t=止戰之殤, p=Zhǐ zhàn zhī shāng , writer10 = , lyrics10 = Vincent Fang , music10 = , extra10 = , length10 = 4:34

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

Notes

References

External links

*
Jay Chou discography@JVR Music
{{Authority control 2004 albums Jay Chou albums Sony Music Taiwan albums

Background and development

Title and artwork

Composition

Release and promotion

Singles and music videos

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

See also

Notes

References

External links