Play (Jolin Tsai album)


Play is the thirteenth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on November 15, 2014, by Warner Music Taiwan. Tiger Chung, Starr Chen, Andrew Chen, and JJ Lin handled its production with a variety of collaborators including Cheer Chen, Alex Ni, Wyman Wong, and William Wei. It melds dancehall with bubblegum pop, breathtaking love songs with hilariously catty weirdness and euphorically catchy melodies with propulsive rhythms.
The album generally received favorable reviews from music critics. Bloomberg Businessweek, which called Tsai the "Great Dance-Pop Artist", declared the album thrust her into the international spotlight and made the globe know the world-level quality of Chinese dance-pop music. Commercially, the album has sold more than 85,000 copies in Taiwan, and it became the third best-selling album and the best-selling album by a female artist of 2014 in Taiwan.
The album received ten Golden Melody Award nominations, and eventually it won for Best Mandarin Album and Best Vocal Recording Album. It also earned Tsai an Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Asian Artist. To promote the album further, the Play World Tour began on May 22, 2015, in Taipei, Taiwan and continued throughout Asia and North America before concluding on July 16, 2016, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Background and development

On September 14, 2012, Tsai released her twelfth studio album Muse, and it houses many tracks influenced by the elements of art, poetry, and dance. The album has sold more than 100,000 copies in Taiwan alone, and it became the third best-selling album and the best-selling album by a female artist of 2012 in the region. The album received four Golden Melody Award nominations, including Best Mandarin Album, Best Mandarin Female Singer, Best Music Video and Song of the Year for the track "The Great Artist", and Tsai finally won an award for Song of the Year. To further promote the album, Tsai continued with her third concert tour Myself World Tour, and it concluded on April 13, 2013, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Since then, Tsai indicated that she would begin working on her thirteenth studio album. In March 2013, Tsai went to take a one-month instruction in music, dance, and other performing arts in London, United Kingdom. On October 19, 2013, Tsai released her sixth live album Myself World Tour, and it documented the performances at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan during December 22–23, 2012.
In November 2013, Tsai said: "The album was still in the stage of listening demos, it moves forward slowly." In January 2014, some media indicated that Tsai would solely dominate the album, and with a total budget of more than NT$50 million, it said the album opened up the possibility of international collaboration. In April 2014, Tsai continued to record the album which was scheduled to be released in summer, and she said it would probably include her own songwriting work. In June 2014, Tsai released an English song titled "Now Is the Time" to support the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and it was included on the compilation album Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game. In the same month, Tsai recorded the theme song titled "Kaleidoscope" for the 2014 Chinese romantic drama film Tiny Times 3. At the same time, Tsai confirmed that three songs have been recorded for the album, but she decided to re-record because she had figured out a better way to interpret the songs. In September 2014, Tsai indicated the album was "almost finished", and it was scheduled to be released in mid-November. In October 2014, Tsai became one of the judges for the 2014 Chinese reality television singing competition Rising Star, which concluded in December 2014.

Writing and production

The single "Phony Queen" was released on September 29, 2014 as the theme song of the video game We Dancing Online DX. Written by Dominik Rothert, Jason Worthy, Jessica Jean Pfeiffer, Alexander Krause, and Wyman Wong, the song depicted in an ironic way that modern people's exaggerated dependence on smart phones. Wyman Wong further described: "What closest to modern people are not necessarily lovers but smart phones. They rely on smart phones to ask way, do job, and pick restaurant." The song was produced by Andrew Chen, and it is an upbeat dance-pop song with house influence. The lead single "Play" was released on October 27, 2014. It was written by Alex Ni and Golden Melody Award winner for Best Lyrics Hsia Yu, and it described a witty conception how modern people enjoy the absurd and realistic life and how pop culture influences on society. Produced by Starr Chen, who has collaborated with Tsai on the performance at the 25th Golden Melody Awards, it is full a rap song rich with trap beat and dubstep breakdown.
Tsai released the third single "The Third Person and I" on November 10, 2014. It was written by Golden Melody Award winner for Best Mandarin Male Singer JJ Lin and Tsai's manager Tom Wang, and the two have written the song "Mosaic" on Tsai's 2012 album Muse. With its gentle rhythm and guitar-based melody, the song depicted how modern people adopt the escapist attitude when facing the dilemma of life or love. The track "Gentlewomen" was written by Cheer Chan and produced by Tiger Chung. It was inspired by Simone de Beauvoir's 1949 book The Second Sex, which talks about the existentialism and feminism. The song merges the genres of noise rock and alternative dance, and it combines with distorted guitar riffs as it progresses. "Medusa" was written by Golden Horse Award winner for Best Original Film Song Matthew Yen, Emile Ghantous, Erik Nelson, Nasri Atweh, and Lakesha Hinton, and it was produced by Andrew Chen. The song contains pop sounds and trap influence, and it was the track on the album that took the longest time to produce. The track "Lip Reading" was written by Ooi Teng Fong and Neoh Kim Hin and produced by Andrew Chen. Inspired by Marilyn Monroe, it is a sultry ballad with trip hop influence and pounding percussion that adds to a sort of dramatic and sensual atmosphere.
"I'm Not Yours" is a duet with Namie Amuro, who made her Chinese song debut on the track. The song was written by Hayley Michelle Aitken, Olof Lindskog, Sten Iggy Strange Dahl, Wyman Wong, and Tsai herself. It was producer by Starr Chen, and it merges the genres of EDM and dubstep. The track "I Love, I Embrace" was written by William Wei and Derek Shih and was produced by Tiger Chung. It is a soft rock song that advocated a fearless attitude and courage of accepting yourself. The track "Miss Trouble" was written by Hayley Michelle Aitken, Olof Lindskog, Sten Iggy Strange Dahl, David Ke, and Tsai herself. Produced by Starr Chen, it is a rap song with a trap influenced verses and slightly operatic choruses. The last track "We're All Different, Yet the Same" was written by Albert Leung, Hayley Michelle Aitken, Christoffer Thomas Viktor Vikberg, Sten Iggy Strange Dahl, and Johan Moraeus. It is a soulful R&B song inspired by a true story and spoke strongly for same-sex marriage. Albert Leung further described: "Love is not just an abstract belief. It is a right that requires no forgiveness or consideration. None of those who oppose same-sex marriage ever imagined that some people would love their spouses longer than they could legally, they have no right to save their loved ones' lives in the name of their family."

Artwork and packaging

The word "play" has multiple meanings including "script", "acting", and "performance", and Tsai described the album title reflected her understanding of life in recent years, adding that: "Life is like a stage, you may not be able to choose your natural role, but you can make efforts, and then rewrite your own story script." In October 2014, the cover art of the album's pre-order "Actress" version and a series of related promotional artworks were released, and they were photographed by Marko Krunic and the cover art featured Tsai with blond curly hair in a blood-stained raincoat designed by American fashion line The Blonds. In the same month, the cover art of the pre-order "Medusa" version and a series of related promotional artworks were released, they featured the singer wearing the Medusa-inspired costume exclusively designed by Versace, and it was the first time that the brand exclusively designed costume for Asian artist. The artworks were photographed by CK Chan and Wing Shya, who has collaborated with Wong Kar-wai on the promotional posters of Happy Together and 2046. In November 2014, the cover art of the album's standard edition and a series of related promotional artworks were released, and they were photographed by Chen Man and directed by Wyman Wong. The cover art featured Tsai wearing Lanvin's black drape faux leather bustier dress. Other artworks featured the singer wearing Comme des Garçons's grey oversized blazer with cardigan and Valentino's embroidered tulle gown. The album's package was designed by Aaron Nieh, Nieh used his skilled simple style with stylized fonts and pure black background, and the package was made up of six double-sided color printed posters in the size of 56 x 42 cm. The album design was nominated for a Golden Melody Award for Best Album Design. In February 2014, the cover art of the album's deluxe edition was released, and it was photographed by Chen Man and directed by Wyman Wong.

Release and promotion

In October 2014, Tsai announced the album would be available for pre-order on October 29 and officially released on November 15. Since October 27, 2014, Warner Music Taiwan posted one teaser in each following four days. On October 28, 2014, Tsai held a pre-order promotional event in Taipei, Taiwan, and she announced that she would release a reality show titled Play Project. On November 10, 2014, Tsai held a new songs sharing session at Neo Studio in Taipei, Taiwan, and she played the tracks "Gentlewomen", "Medusa", "Lip Reading", "Miss Trouble", "The Third Person and I", and "We're All Different, Yet the Same" on the event. On November 15, 2014, the album was officially released, and she held a press conference for the album on November 20 in Beijing, China. Tsai announced she would hold signing sessions on November 23, November 30, and December 13, 2014 in Taipei, Taichung, and Hong Kong respectively and two another on December 14 in Kaohsiung and Tainan. On November 27, 2014, Tsai broadcast her reality show Play Project, and it concluded on January 21, 2015 with a total of five episodes. The digital album peaked at number one in Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. The physical format of the album reached number one on the charts of Taiwanese record stores and online marketplaces including Chia Chia, Eslite, Five Music, G-Music, Kuang Nan, and Pok'elai, and it reached number one on the chart of Singaporean record store HMV. As of December 31, 2014, the album has sold more than 63,837 copies in Taiwan, and it became the third best-selling album and the best-selling album by a female artist of the year in Taiwan. On February 6, 2015, Tsai released the deluxe edition of the album, and it includes nine music videos in addition to ten original tracks. Tsai held two signing sessions on February 14, 2015 in Kaohsiung and Taichung and one another on February 15 in Taipei. With a budget of more than NT$60 million, the earnings from the album made Tsai appeared on the Warner Music Group's annual financial reports of fiscal year 2014, 2015, and 2016, and she became the only one C-pop artist who appeared on the reports so far.

Live performances

On November 22, 2014, Tsai appeared on the China Central Television's Global Chinese Music to perform "Medusa" and "The Third Person and I". On December 6, 2014, Tsai appeared on the Hope Is Where We Are Concert held by CTBC Financial Holding in Taipei, Taiwan to perform "Play", "The Third Person and I", and "Medusa". On December 7, 2014, Tsai held the Play Concert in Taipei, Taiwan to perform all the tracks from the album. On December 20, 2014, Tsai attended the fourth season of TVB's The Voice to perform "Play" in Hong Kong, China. On December 31, 2014, Tsai attended the China Television's 2015 Happy New Year Concert in Kaohsiung, Taiwan to perform "Medusa", "The Third Person and I", "We're All Different, Yet the Same", and "Play". On February 8, 2015, Tsai performed "I'm Not Yours", "Medusa", and "Play" at the 10th KKBox Music Awards in Taipei, Taiwan. On February 12, 2015, Tsai appeared on China Central Television's Chinese new year special 2015 CCTV Web Gala to perform "Phony Queen" and "I'm Not Yours". On March 25, 2015, Tsai performed "The Third Person and I", "We're All Different, Yet the Same", "I'm Not Yours", and "Play" at the 2015 QQ Music Awards in Shenzhen, China. On May 31, 2015, Tsai performed "I'm Not Yours", "Phony Queen", and "Play" at the 2015 Hito Music Awards in Taipei, Taiwan. On November 6, 2015, Tsai attended the 2015 Simple Life Festival in Shanghai, China to perform "Gentlewomen", "The Third Person and I", "Lip Reading", "We're All Different, Yet the Same", and "Play". On November 10, 2015, Tsai performed "Medusa" and "I'm Not Yours" at the 2015 Tmall Double 11 Carnival Night in Beijing, China. On December 12, 2015, Tsai performed "Play" at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong, China. On December 31, 2015, Tsai attended the Jiangsu Television's 2016 New Year's Eve Concert and performed "I'm Not Yours" and "Play". Since then, Tsai has attended a series of events and performed songs from the album.

Singles

On September 29, 2014, the single "Phony Queen" was released as the theme song of the video game We Dancing Online DX. It peaked at number one in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. On the same date, the music video of "Phony Queen" was released. With the budget of NT$6 millions, the music video was directed by Jeff Chang, who has collaborated with Tsai on the music videos of "Dancing Forever", "Agent J", and "Fear-Free". It reached number one on the chart of YouTube Taiwan. On October 27, 2014, the lead single "Play" was released, and it peaked at number one in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan. On October 28, 2014, Tsai released the lyrics video of "Play". On December 2, 2014, The music video of "Play" was officially released, and Tsai held a promotional event for the music video at National Taiwan Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It was directed by Golden Melody Award winner for Best Music Video Muh Chen, who has collaborated with Tsai on the music video of "The Great Artist". With the budget of NT$8 million, it received acclaims from international medias including Time, GQ Spain, and Pro Motion. The music video reached number one the charts of YouTube Taiwan, YinYueTai, and QQ Music. The music video was nominated for a Golden Melody Award for Best Music Video and a Berlin Music Video Award for Best Art Director, and it won for a Red Dot Design Award for Communication Design and a Golden Pin Design Award for the same category. On December 8, 2014, Tsai released the dance video of "Play". On December 10, 2014, the single "The Third Person and I" was released, and it peaked at number one in China and Taiwan. Its music video was released on December 13, 2014 and was directed by Fu Tien-yu, who has collaborated with Tsai on the music video of "I". It featured the Hong Kong Film Award winner for Best Actress Carina Lau, and it reached number one on the chart of YinYueTai. On January 6, 2015, "Play" and "The Third Person and I" reached number one and number eight respectively on the Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year, and it made Tsai become one of the artists who earned the most number-one singles on the chart.

Music videos

On November 30, 2014, Tsai released the music video of "Medusa", which was directed by Jennifer Wu. Tsai dressed the Medusa-inspired costume exclusively designed by Versace in the music video, and it was the first time that the brand exclusively designed costume for Asian artist. On December 16, 2014, Tsai released the music video of "We're All Different, Yet the Same", it was produced by Leste Chen and directed by Hou Chi-jan, and it featured Grace Guei, Ruby Lin, and Bryan Chang. The music video was adapted from a true story, and it spoke for the same-sex marriage. It received reports from international medias including El País, Gay Star News, and AfterEllen.com, but the song and its music video were banned from radios and televisions by Singapore's Media Development Authority due to its violation of Free-to Air Television Programme Code. The music video was nominated for a Golden Melody Award for Best Music Video, and it won for a Queermosa Award for Visual Influence Award. On December 30, 2014, Tsai released the music video of "Gentlewomen", and it was directed by Scott Beardslee and Kitt Lin. On January 20, 2015, Tsai released the music video of "Lip Reading", and it was directed by Thomas Wyatt and Edwin Eversole. On February 3, 2015, Tsai released the music video of "I'm Not Yours", which was directed by Muh Chen, who has collaborated with Tsai on the music videos of "The Great Artist" and "Play". The music video was inspired by the ancient Chinese folk tale Banqiao San Niangzi, it featured Namie Amuro and Tsai herself wearing customized Ancient Chinese clothing, and it was filmed at Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Taichung, Taiwan. It reached number six on the yearly chart of YouTube Taiwan of 2015, and it was nominated for a Golden Melody Award for Best Music Video and won for a Golden Pin Design Award for Communication Design. On February 6, 2015, Tsai released the music video of "I Love, I Embrace", which was directed by Thomas Wyatt and Edwin Eversole. The music video of "Miss Trouble" was directed by Michael Sun, but because the singer was not satisfied with the result and then dropped the idea of releasing the music video.

Touring

In October 2014, Tsai confirmed that she would embark on a concert tour afterwards for promotion of the album. In February 2015, Tsai announced that the Play World Tour would begin on May 22, 2015, at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan and would be available for ticket sale on April 12. In March 2015, the promotional poster of the tour was released, and it was directed by Wyman Wong and photographed by Chen Man, who has collaborated with Tsai on the cover art of the album. The concert tour collaborated with Live Nation Entertainment, and it was directed by Travis Payne, who has collaborated with Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, and Stacy Walker. At the same time, some media reported that the budget of the concert tour exceeded NT$100 million, and Tsai invited Jet Tone Production to film five video interludes for the tour. Live Nation Entertainment invited fourteen choreographers and held three dance auditions in Los Angeles, United States to select twelve dancers for the tour. On March 29, 2015, Tsai went to Los Angeles to attend a two-week dance rehearsal, and then the entire personnel gathered in the city to begin the preparatory work. Since then, Tsai and all the dancers began a two-week rehearsal in Taipei, Taiwan. On May 22, 2015, the concert tour started at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. On June 1, 2015, Tsai held a press conference for the concert tour in Beijing, China, and she announced at the event the scheduled show dates in China. Comprising 34 shows, the tour visited 23 cities in Asia and North America and concluded on July 16, 2016, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Stadium Merdeka. On January 30, 2018, Tsai released the live album Play World Tour, which documented the performances at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan during May 22–25, 2015.

Critical reception

Play received generally acclaims from domestic and international music critics. Cool-Style writer Jamie Lee described the album was "a fantastic and symbolistic work of the time. Tsai once again set a high standard for the C-pop music industry." Today gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, and it described the album was "a finely crafted electropop record". Freshmusic gave the album 9 out of 10 stars, and it wrote that the album was "undoubtedly the benchmark work of C-pop music in 2014, and it can be the magnum opus of Tsai reaching the peak again." Tencent Entertainment wrote: "The Chinese music industry has never produced a dance-pop album as great as this one, and its superior production can be comparable to the albums of same genre in the Western market." United Daily News writer Yen Fu-min described the album "built an unsurmountable obstacle for music from other Taiwanese dance-pop singers, you can hear Tsai's dedication and consideration of conceptual integrity. It's a "smart" dance-pop album from a "smart" diva." Tencent Entertainment and Hit FM both listed the album as one of the "Top 10 Albums of 2014". Taiwanese songwriter Adam Hsu wrote: "She began to speak with overtones, she began to construct consciousness, and she began to exploit the territory of her new music world." PlayMusic writer Danial Chang gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, and he described the album "broke the pop music framework, crossed the barrier between mainstream and alternative, and gave C-pop new depth and breadth." Bloomberg Businessweek called Tsai the "Great Dance-Pop Artist" and described the album "thrust her into the international spotlight and made the globe know the world-level quality of Chinese dance-pop music." Hou Cheng-nan, associate professor from I-Shou University, described the album "elevated the Chinese dance-pop level, and set an insuperable high standard." DJ Mykal wrote: "Revolutions can have major effects only when they take place in the mainstream market. Tsai merged new dance music elements in the name of diva, and I believe there is a chance to have an impact on the general audience." Chia Hsu from PlayMusic gave the album 5 out of 5 stars, reasoning that: "She is completely at ease with herself in dancing and playing music, and she successfully set a new high standard." Taiwanese songwriter Eazie Huang wrote: "Musically the album already reached another higher plateau." The album won Golden Melody Awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Vocal Recording Album, and the jury commented: "The entire album presented a superior level of recording skills, it's full of surprises as listening, and it gave the audience a rich listening experience", adding that: "The songwriting focused on the minority groups within the society, and it combined music with what the singer had experienced. The splendidness of the album amazed audience, and it's a new milestone of Tsai's singing career. Musically it explored new directions, and it's quite successful both auditorily and visually."

Accolades

On February 8, 2015, Tsai won for a KKBox Music Award for Top 10 Singers of the Year. On March 25, 2015, the album earned a QQ Music Award for Best Mandarin Album, and Tsai received two another awards for Best Hong Kong/Taiwan Female Singer and Most Popular Hong Kong/Taiwan Female Singer. On April 11, 2015, the album won a V Chart Award for Best Hong Kong/Taiwan Album, and Tsai received Best Hong Kong/Taiwan Female Singer. On May 15, 2015, the album received three Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards, including Album of the Year, Top 20 Songs of the Year for "The Third Person and I", and Hit FM Song of the Year for "Play". On May 18, 2015, the nominees for the 26th Golden Melody Awards were announced, the album received nine nominations—Best Mandarin Album, Best Vocal Recording Album, Song of the Year for "Play", Best Music Video for "Play" and "We're All Different, Yet the Same", Best Music Arrangement for "Play", Single Producer of the Year for "Play" and "Lip Reading", and Best Album Design, and it became the album received the most nominations in the year. On May 31, 2015, Tsai won a Hito Music Award for Best Female Singer, the album won for Longest Chart Topping Album, and the song "Play" won for Top 10 Mandarin Songs of the Year and Song of the Year. On June 27, 2015, the album was honored with three Golden Melody Awards for Best Mandarin Album, Best Vocal Recording Album, and Single Producer of the Year for "Lip Reading", and it became the album received the most awards in the year. On August 23, 2015, Tsai won two Music Radio China Top Chart Awards for Most Popular Hong Kong/Taiwan Female Singer and Top Songs of the Year for "The Third Person and I". On September 15, 2015, Tsai was nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Taiwanese Act. On November 6, 2015, Tsai won two Global Chinese Music Awards for Most Popular Female Singer and Top 20 Songs of the Year for "Phony Queen". On December 2, 2015, Tsai won an Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Asian Artist. On May 13, 2016, the album received another Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Music Video for "I'm Not Yours". Hence, the album received a total of ten Golden Melody Award nominations, and it became one of the three albums who received the most nominations in history.

Track listing

Personnel

Song #1
Song #2
Song #3
Song #4
Song #5
Song #6
Song #7
Song #8
Song #9
Song #10
Chris Gehringer – mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Taiwanese Albums 15
Taiwanese Albums 10

Release history