"The Great Artist" () is a song by Taiwanese singer

Jolin Tsai Jolin Tsai I-lin ( zh, c=蔡依林, p=Cài Yīlín; born September 15, 1980), also romanized as Jolin Cai, is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actress. Recognized as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of C-Pop ...

, featured on her twelfth studio album, ''

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

'' (2012). It was produced by Michael Lin, with lyrics penned by Matthew Yen, and a collaborative composition by Robin Jessen, Anne Judith Wik, Nermin Harambasic, Ronny Svendsen, Charite Viken Reinas, Eirik Johansen, and Alexander Puntervold. It was released on August 15, 2012, by

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as the lead single from ''Muse''. Both the song and its music video were nominated for

Song of the Year A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usually ...

and Best Music Video, respectively, at the

24th Golden Melody Awards The 24th Golden Melody Awards () ceremony for popular music category was held on July 6, 2013. The SET network broadcast the show live from the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists ...

, with the song ultimately winning the Song of the Year award.

Background

On February 22, 2012, Sam Chen of

Warner Music Taiwan Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...

revealed on

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that Tsai's new album was scheduled for release in the summer of that year and was currently in the song selection phase. On June 12, 2012, media reports indicated that Tsai had completed recording half of the album's tracks. By June 25, 2012, further reports confirmed the album's expected release in August. Tsai's manager, Tom Wang, stated that this album was the most time-intensive project she had undertaken, with some songs being re-recorded multiple times. Moreover, Tsai incorporated many of her personal ideas into the music, music videos, and overall production. On July 10, 2012, Tsai revealed that the album was planned to be released around September 15—her birthday. On July 23, 2012, the media announced that the recording process had been completed.

Composition and recording

The song encourages women to remain courageous and believe that they will ultimately find true love, with lyrics that portray a woman's perspective on an unfaithful male partner. Unlike Tsai's previous dance tracks, this song features multiple emotional shifts and includes a

rap 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 ...

section with challenging melodic variations. Tsai has explained that "The Great Artist" combines a strong rhythmic beat with

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

elements, incorporating chant-like melodies that convey a personal attitude. The lyrics, written by Matthew Yen, emphasize

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...

and strength. During her performance, Tsai fully immerses herself in the role of a strong, independent woman.

Music video

Dadong_Art_Center_Large_Performance_Hall

On August 22, 2012, Tsai released the music video for "The Great Artist", directed by Muh Chen. Set against the backdrop of a "futuristic salon", Chen explained that salons in the 17th and 18th centuries were social venues in France where the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

and

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

gathered to discuss literature and the arts, often hosted by culturally sophisticated women—resonating with the feminist themes of the song's lyrics. The music video was filmed in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

and

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

, Taiwan, over 38 hours. Three designers created five distinct outfits for the production, which had an estimated budget of approximately NT$8 million. The following day, on August 23, 2012, Tsai held a promotional event for the music video at the Taipei Circle. The video ranked ninth among Taiwan's most-viewed YouTube videos of 2012 and became the first female artist's video to receive a perfect score on

YinYueTai YinYueTai (), is a music video sharing website in China. Launched in 2009, the site became China's most visited music video website by 2015. As of December 2019, YinYueTai is rumored to have been closed down. The website first published charts r ...

. It was nominated for Best Music Video at the

and won Best Visual Effects at the 2014

Berlin Music Video Awards The Berlin Music Video Awards is an annual international festival held in Berlin, Germany to celebrate the art of music videos. The festival brings together music video enthusiasts, directors, producers, and musicians worldwide to showcase their ...

. Additionally, it received the Bronze Award for Visual Design at the 2013

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and the Visual Communication Design Award at the 2016 Golden Pin Design Awards.

Commercial performance

The song was ranked second in Taiwan's Hit FM Top 100 Singles of 2012.

Critical reception

Music critic Michael McCarthy praised "The Great Artist" as a rhythmically distinct mid-tempo opener that blends lush

synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

with

elements. He noted its bold and confident beat, highlighting Tsai's powerful vocal delivery and determined tone, all of which serve to inspire listeners and align perfectly with the overarching theme of the album ''

'' (2012). ''Freshmusic'' magazine described the track as strong and attitude-driven, emphasizing its distinctive lyrical personality and deeming it a flawless introduction to the album. ''PlayMusic''s music critic Wei Ting highlighted "The Great Artist" as an impactful lead single, noting that its combination with a compelling music video left a lasting impression on audiences even before the album's release. He praised its fusion of

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

sounds with chant-like verses, a strong pop sensibility, and lyrics focused on female empowerment, while commending Tsai's more assertive vocal style. Li Wenhao from Cool-Style website echoed this sentiment, remarking on the song's powerful momentum,

-heavy verses, and infectious chorus, while noting that Tsai's rap performance and rhythmic precision have notably improved compared to her past work.

Accolades

On April 9, 2013, the song was awarded one of the Top 20 Songs of the Year at the 3rd

Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards The Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards () is a music awards founded by China National Radio China National Radio (CNR; ) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing. CNR forms the national radio service of the state-owned ...

. On April 26, 2013, the song won Top Songs of the Year for the Hong Kong/Taiwan category at the 2012

Music Radio China Top Chart Awards The Music Radio China Top Chart Awards () is a music awards ceremony founded by China National Radio China National Radio (CNR; ) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing. CNR forms the national radio service of the s ...

. On May 10, 2013, the song ranked among the Top 20 Most Popular Songs of the Year at the 13th

Global Chinese Music Awards The Global Chinese Music Awards (abbreviated as GCMA)() is a music awards founded by seven Mandarin radio stations in 2001, including Hit FM, RTHK, East Radio Pop, Radio Guangdong, Beijing Yinyue Tai, Y.E.S. 93.3FM, and 988 FM 988 FM is a M ...

. On May 22, 2013, the nominations for the

were announced, with "The Great Artist" and its music video receiving nominations for

and Best Music Video, respectively. On June 2, 2013, the song was named one of the Top 10 Mandarin Songs of the Year at the

Hito Music Awards The Hito Music Awards ( zh, t=Hito流行音樂獎) is an annual Mandopop music awards show, presented by Hit FM in Taiwan. Unlike the Golden Melody Awards, which are awarded on the basis of votes by members of the jury, the Hito Music Awards are ...

. On July 6, 2013, the song won Song of the Year at the 24th Golden Melody Awards.

Live performances

On September 30, 2012, Tsai performed the song at the 2012 CCTV Mid-Autumn Festival Gala. On September 13, 2012, she appeared on the

Hunan Television Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a state-owned provincial satellite TV station launched on September 29, 1970. It is currently China's second-most-watched television channel, second to China Central Television's CCTV-1, although Hunan TV has oc ...

's variety show '' Happy Camp'', where she also performed the song. On December 31, 2012, Tsai participated in the 2013 New Year's Eve Concert, organized by Hunan Television, and performed "The Great Artist". On January 19, 2013, she performed the song at the 8th KKBox Music Awards. On January 30, 2013, she sang the song at Taiwan Music Night held in Paris. On April 18, 2013, Tsai performed the song at the 17th

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 ...

. On May 17, 2013, she took part in the 3rd Global Chinese Golden Chart North America Celebration Concert in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, where she performed "The Great Artist". On June 2, 2013, Tsai performed the song at the 2013

. On July 6, 2013, she performed "The Great Artist" at the

Credits and personnel

Recording and mixing studios

* Platinum Studio – recording studio * VIP Studio – recording studio * Pro Tool Mixing Studio – mixing studio

Personnel

* Fang Po-chieh – production assistance, recording engineering * Michael Lin – harmony arrangement, electric guitar, recording engineering * Jolin Tsai – backing vocals * Yeh Yu-hsuan – recording engineering * Ken Lewis – mixing engineering

Release history

References

External links

* * {{Jolin Tsai 2012 singles 2012 songs Jolin Tsai songs Warner Music Group singles