Common Jasmine Orange

By 2004, Jay Chou had firmly established himself as one of Asia’s biggest pop stars, and his blend of Western R&B and hip-hop with Chinese pop influences—and his own brand of romanticism—had filled arenas and stadiums all over the continent. His fifth album, 七里香 (Common Jasmine Orange), catapulted him into the highest echelons of Asian pop, a feat he achieved by staying the course artistically; on it, Chou digs even deeper into Zhongguo feng, the cross-cultural style he pioneered, while singing about romance—and hinting at the trials of fame. The title track is a stretched-out soul ballad that recalls the ’90s R&B that, along with his classical training, was crucial to the Linkou-born singer’s musical aesthetic; its plush harmonies and surging strings imbue its imagistic, lovelorn lyrics with extra fervency, which is added to by the bittersweet vocal performance. Chou particularly shines as a balladeer, with songs like the breakup chronicle “藉口 (Excuse)” giving him the opportunity to show off his upper register and the frustration-riddled “擱淺 (Stranded)” showing how his voice can narrow into a near-growl when he’s passionate enough. That growl serves Chou well on “困獸之鬥 (Struggle),” a grime-covered rock cut that recalls a Southern-fried strain of American post-grunge; its subject matter, the world’s unfairness, is appropriately aggrieved, cementing Chou’s surprising—if brief—transformation into a hard-rock yowler. That isn’t the only place where Chou tackles his non-romantic frustrations; on “外婆(Grandma),” he ruminates on his feelings about his elder relative and his sense of being disrespected by the systems that hand out awards. With its varied material, 七里香 (Common Jasmine Orange) became a game-changing release for Chou, breaking sales records and affirming his place at the top of Asia’s pops.