| Myself | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jolin Tsai |
| Cover: | Jolin myself 2.jpg |
| Recorded: | 2010 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Prev Title: | Love & Live |
| Prev Year: | 2009 |
| Next Title: | Ultimate |
| Next Year: | 2012 |
Myself is the eleventh studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on 13 August 2010, by Warner and Mars.[1] Produced by Andrew Chen, Adia, and Paula Ma, Myself is primarily a pop and dance record with elements of R&B, Eurodance, and disco.[2] It was subject to mixed reviews from music critics, who praised the album's musical styles while others criticized the production of several of the tracks.[3] [4]
Commercially, the Myself sold more than 65,000 copies in Taiwan and was the fourth best-selling album in the country during 2010. The music video of "Honey Trap" received a Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Music Video. To further promote the album, Tsai embarked on her third concert tour, the Myself World Tour, on 24 December 2010 at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. The tour concluded on 13 April 2013 at the Kaohsiung Arena in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
On 27 March 2009, Tsai released her tenth studio album, Butterfly. It sold more than 1 million copies in Asia. In Taiwan, it sold more than 190,000 in Taiwan,[5] becoming the year's highest-selling album.[6] On 15 October 2009, Tsai founded her own entertainment company Eternal with her manager Ke Fu-hung to manage Tsai's day-to-day business affairs and coordinate the production and enforcement of copyright for Tsai's own sound recordings and concerts.[7]
On 16 March 2010, it was reported that her new album would be released in July 2010, and Sam Chen, the president of Warner Music Greater China, said: "The album will have many international collaborations, with a budget of more than NT$50 million."[8] On 14 June 2010, Tsai released "Take Immediate Action" through China Mobile's Migu Music.[9] On 12 July 2010, Tsai attended a press conference for China's Got Talent and played a song on the show, which was later included on the album as "Black-Haired Beautiful Girl".[10]
On 7 July 2010, Tsai announced that her upcoming album would be titled "Vogue". She expressed that the "album showcases my truest self. I'm eagerly anticipating its release. It's arguably the most thrilling album I've ever created." She also explained, "To me, vogue signifies an attitude, a spirit, and a confidence. It's not just about outward beauty or luxurious fashion; it's about a lifestyle and being true to oneself."[11] On 14 July, Warner revealed that the album's title would be changed to "Vogueing",[12] before being changed for the second time to "Myself" a month later. Tsai explained, "From the very beginning, I have invested a lot into this album. It is the most dedicated work I've produced over the years, encompassing everything from lyrics and music to interludes, costumes, and music videos. Whenever I have a good idea, I share it with my label and seek professional advice. That's why it's called 'Myself'".[13]
The album has a standard and a pre-order edition, and the cover art on both are different.[14] The standard edition's cover art features Tsai wearing a white petal shoulder pads with a blonde short wig, and the pre-order edition's cover art features Tsai wearing a black ripped tank top with windproof goggles. Tsai said, "This time I want to do a lot of different things, I actually want to show a more healthy sex appeal. When I tried to put on the blonde wig, I thought it looked cool and futuristic."
"Honey Trap" is a house music track with a bass beat, synth timbre, and provocative lyrics.[15] The interlude "Missed Call" opens with the melody of "Honey Trap" and is followed by an intercepted message after the disconnection of the destination phone. It turns from the confident attitude of "Honey Trap" to the plight of love.[16] "Love Player" is a mid-tempo Eurodance love song, with the lyrics depicting a "player" two-timing a girl.[17] This style of music had not been attempted by Tsai before, and she said: "In fact, I have always wanted to do different love songs, no longer ballads, but slow songs with rhythm. I have been thinking about it for many years, so when I listened to the demo of this song, I was very excited. Fortunately, the label also supported me." The interlude "Secret Talk" opens with voice message recorded by Tsai, with a group of friends on the other end of the line. Tsai said: "The interlude follows 'Love Player', and it is about a woman who shuts herself up at home after broke up, and her friends urge her to come out."[18] The next song, "Party Star", uses the simulated sound of a police inspection.[19] The interlude "Let's Start the Dance" pays tribute to vogue dancer predecessors. Tsai said that she saw some photos of drag queens in Benny Ninja's photo album, she added: "He detailed the history of vogue, because most of the vogue dancers in foreign countries are drag queens, so most of names I called in the interlude are famous drag queens."
"Black-Haired Beautiful Girl" is based on the concept of oriental black hair, and it describes the inner and outer beauty of oriental women. It was influenced by disco music, and it portrays a feminist attitude.[20] "Nothing Left to Say" merges urban pop with soft rock, and piano timbre also complements the R&B beat.[21] Tsai said: "The song merged R&B with rock, so we didn't design too much sound shift, because the most iconic feature of R&B is sound shift, but we added rock, its lyrics and music arrangement are to let people express emotions, not to make a fuss about an imaginary illness or to sing with tenderness."[22] The interlude "L'amour est parti" is a dialogue in French of a break up between two lovers, and it connects the preceding song and the following song. Tsai said: "I studied French during my break and wanted to put the language on the album, hoping to present the feeling of old movies, like those played on the black-and-white television."
The lyrics of "Real Hurt" are take a "small wound" as the starting point, describing the toughness and fragility of love.[23] The song is a ballad, featuring string and piano melodies, and describing the feeling of a break-up.[24] "Macho Babe" describes the independence and courage of modern women. Tsai said: "Modern women don't need to please men to reflect their own value. The idea of 'Macho Babe' is not against men, but mainly to reflect women's personality, especially their independence and autonomy."[25] "Butterflies in My Stomach" was influenced by exotic music elements, and it depicts the ambiguity between men and women.[26] "Let's Break Up" explores sadness and depression. The interlude "I Love You Too" reflects that Tsai misses the most innocent moments of love. "Take Immediate Action" is a love song.[27]
On 15 July 2010, Warner announced that the album would be available for pre-order on 20 July 2010 and would be released on 3 August 2010.[28] On 21 July, Warner announced that the pre-order date would postpone to 22 July and the release date would be postponed to 10 August.[29] On 9 August, Warner announced that the release date would be further postponed to 13 August 2010.[30] The album includes eight dance songs, two ballads, and five interludes.[31] Tsai said:
"I have never tried to include a lot of dance songs on the album, though everyone remembers my music style is mainly dance-pop, foreign artists such as South Korean artists also love dance music. Maybe a lot of people go to karaoke box to sing ballads, but they may often prefer to listen to dance music in leisure time, so this time I suggested to my label this concept album should be based on the concept of party, to make everyone happy, so it should be based on dance songs. Moreover, adding five interludes is something I've never done before, but I have heard such idea had been used in Western artists' albums before, so I want to see if I can also put the idea in Mandarin albums, especially dance-pop albums."[32]
On 13 August 2010, Tsai held a press conference for the album in Beijing, China.[33] On 25 August 2010, Tsai held a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan and announced that the album peaked at number one on the weekly album sales charts of Five Music, G-Music, and Pok'elai in Taiwan.[34] On 29 October 2010, Tsai released the deluxe celebration edition of the album, and it additionally includes six remixes, six music videos, and one video of behind-the-scenes footage.[35] On 12 November 2010, it was reported that it had sold more than 65,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's fourth highest-selling album overall in the country.[36] On 28 December 2010, Tsai released the LP edition of the album.[37]
On 14 July 2010, Tsai released the single "Honey Trap".[38] The music video for the song was directed by South Korean director Cha Eun-taek, who had previously worked with K-pop artists such as 2NE1, BigBang, Psy. It was released on 27 July with a budget of NT$10 million.[39] In the video, Tsai performed vogue and shared her inspiration: "I've always watched performers voguing. When I first heard the demo of 'Honey Trap', I wanted to incorporate vogue, so I asked my choreographer to find a vogue dance teacher. He found the instructor from America's Next Top Model to teach me. The teacher explained the origins of vogue and taught me not just the dance moves, but also the confidence and attitude behind them." She also mentioned how "When you think of vogue, you think of Madonna's classic song 'Vogue'. I've always admired Madonna. She constantly reinvents herself, showing her fans how hard she works, which is a great inspiration for me."[40]
On 20 October 2010, Tsai released the second single, "Honey Trap (Dance with Me remix)", and it includes the track "Macho Babe (Cheerleading remix)". The remix version of "Honey Trap" was remixed by George Leung, and remix version of "Macho Babe" was remixed by DJ Oscar.[41] In January 2011, "Honey Trap", "Nothing Left to Say", and "Love Player" reached number one, number 20, and number 55 on the 2010 Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year chart, respectively.[42] [43]
On 8 August 2010, Tsai released the music video of "Love Player", which was directed by Marlboro Lai. Tsai provided several ideas for the music video, including the story's script and the color tone.[44] The music video describes a player two-timing a girl, and the girl dances to relieve her negative feelings.[45] Tsai said: "The lyrics of the song are about meeting a love player, so I told the director that we should stop talking about how a boy get rid of a girl, or a girl always cry. The song is a little bit mysterious and sexy, so I hope the director can show even though the boy made the girl heartbreak, the girl still has to live a good life and show her confidence. So in the video I took off clothes alone at home, did a little sexy dance moves, and the mosaic is just a little trick."
On 19 August 2010, Tsai released the music video of "Nothing Left to Say", which was directed by Bill Chia. It depicts the feeling of helplessness after lovers break up.[46] On 1 September 2010, Tsai released the music video of "Butterflies in My Stomach", which was directed by Marlboro Lai. There is no special story in the music video, Tsai only danced to interpret the song.[47] On 7 September 2010, Tsai released the music video of "Take Immediate Action", which was directed by Marlboro Lai and was based on the concept of a party with friends.[48] On 9 September 2010, Tsai released the music video of "Real Hurt", which was directed by Sam Hu, and it describes the girl's loneliness after broke up.[49] On 1 November 2010, Tsai released the music video of "Black-Haired Beautiful Girl", which was directed by Kuang Sheng.[50]
The album received mixed reviews from music critics. Xiong Ziang of NetEase complimented the record and described it as a "clear, well-made Chinese dance-pop album."[51] Wang Shuo noted that Tsai adopted dance-rock instead of blindly pursuing the fashion trends at the time, which Wang felt aligned well with contemporary dance music styles.[52] Liang Xiaohui saw it as a conservative yet successful milestone for Tsai, and wrote that "Perhaps, in the future, when we look back on C-pop diva of the early 21st century, the name that first comes to our mind would be Jolin Tsai, just like when we look back on the second half of the 20th century, the first name that comes to mind is Madonna."[53] Eric from Sina highlighted the album's mature direction and elaborate production, and wrote that she was heading for the "dance-pop queen" title.[54]
Conversely, Sanshi Yisheng rated the album 3 out of 5 stars, praising its integrity and consistency despite writing that there was room for improvement for most of its songs.[55] Liu Shuiji appreciated the stable vocal performance and quality music arrangement but criticized the album's gimmicky concept. Lin Juli of NetEase likewise felt that "The inadequacy is not the conception, but the music itself." Lan Hudie of Tencent rated the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, citing its diverse styles but lack of lasting impression. Lao You gave it 3.2 out of 5 stars, pointing out the dry melody and lack of memorable tracks.[56] Shuwa rated the album 3.8 out of 5 stars, writing that "The disparity between the music and what Jolin asserted is rather big, and it exposes Tsai's awkwardness and entanglement."[57] Shui Shui gave the album 3.8 out of 5 stars, questioning the inclusion of the five interlude tracks as he felt that it offered "nothing special".[58]
On 31 July 2010, Tsai attended the Taiwanese television show Super King to perform "Honey Trap".[59] On 12 August 2010, she attended the Taiwanese television show Power Sunday to perform "Honey Trap".[60] On 27 August 2010, she attended the Taiwanese television show One Million Star to perform "Honey Trap".[61] On 2 September, she attended the Chinese television show Singing & Dancing to perform "Honey Trap", "Love Player", and "Real Hurt".[62] Two days later, she attended the Chinese television show We Are Family to perform "Honey Trap" and "Take Immediate Action".[63] On 22 September, she performed "Honey Trap" at the 2010 CCTV Mid-Autumn Festival Gala.[64] On the same date, she attended the Chinese television show Happy! to perform "Honey Trap", "Take Immediate Action", and "Real Hurt".[65]
On 24 September 2010, she attended the Chinese television show Day Day Up to perform "Honey Trap" and "Real Hurt".[66] On 10 October, she attended the grand final of China's Got Talent to perform "Black-Haired Beautiful Girl".[67] On 31 December, she performed "Honey Trap" and "Real Hurt" at the Open Your Dream New Year's Eve Concert in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[68] On the same date, she performed "Honey Trap" and "Take Immediate Action" at the E-Da World New Year's Eve Concert in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[69] On 9 April 2011, she performed "Honey Trap" at the 1st Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards.[70] On 24 April, she performed "Honey Trap" at the 2011 Music Radio China Top Chart Awards. Since then, Tsai has attended a series of events where she has performed songs from the album.[71]
See also: Myself World Tour. On 26 August 2010, Tsai revealed that she would embark on a new concert tour around Christmas of that year.[72] On 15 November 2010, Tsai held a press conference in Taipei for her concert tour Myself World Tour, she announced that the tour would embark on 24 December 2010 at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan and it would be based on the concept of a party, and she invited Benny Ninja to be the special guest.[73] [74] It concluded on 13 April 2013 at Kaohsiung Arena in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[75] Comprising 35 shows, it grossed NT$1.5 billion and played in front of 600,000 people from 31 cities in Asia, Europe, and Oceania.[76] On 19 October 2013, Tsai released the live video album, Myself World Tour, which documented the Taipei dates of the tour on 22–23 December 2012 at Taipei Arena.[77]
| Organization | Award | Work | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Baidu Hot Point Awards | Song of the Year | "Love Player" | [78] | |
| My Astro Music Awards | Top Dance Song | "Honey Trap" | [79] | ||
| Top 20 Songs | |||||
| "Love Player" | |||||
| Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards | Top 20 Songs | "Honey Trap" | [80] | ||
| Music Radio China Top Chart Awards | Top Played Radio Song | ||||
| Top Songs (HK/Taiwan) | |||||
| Golden Melody Awards | Best Music Video | [81] |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition(s) | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 13 August 2010 | Standard | Mars | |
| 29 October 2010 | Deluxe | |||
| China | 13 August 2010 | CD | Starsing | |
| 29 October 2010 | 2CD+2DVD | Deluxe | ||
| Malaysia | 13 August 2010 | CD | Standard | Warner |
| 21 June 2011 | 3CD+3DVD | Tour | ||
| Taiwan | 13 August 2010 | CD | ||
| 29 October 2010 | 2CD+2DVD | Deluxe | ||
| 28 December 2010 | CD+LP | Limited |