| November's Chopin | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jay Chou |
| Cover: | Jaychou novemberschopin.jpg |
| Recorded: | 2004–2005 |
| Studio: | Alfa Studio (Taipei) Yang Dawei Studio (Taipei) |
| Genre: | |
| Language: | Mandarin |
| Label: |
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| Producer: | Jay Chou |
| Prev Title: | Initial J |
| Prev Year: | 2005 |
| Next Title: | Fearless |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
November's Chopin is the sixth studio album by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou. It was released on 1 November 2005, by Alfa Music and Sony BMG.[1] The album's production was handled entirely by Chou himself, while the lyrical content was handled by frequent collaborator Vincent Fang along with songwriters Devon Song, Alang Huang, and Michael Lin. November's Chopin, like its predecessors, is primary a R&B and pop record that also utilizes soft rock. The title of the album pays homage to Polish composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin, whom Chou was inspired by since his childhood.
The album was met with positive reviews from music critics upon its release. In Taiwan, it peaked at number one on the G-Music album chart for multiple weeks and was best-selling album of the year, with sales of over 280,000 copies. It became the singer's fifth consecutive yearly number-one album in Taiwan since his second studio album, Fantasy, in 2001. November's Chopin was later certified platinum in Singapore in 2019.
Multiple singles were promoted for November's Chopin—"Nocturne", "Hair Like Snow", "Maple Leaf", "Coral Sea", and "All the Way North". The album received several accolades and regional award ceremonies, including Best Original Album at the Metro Radio Music Awards as well as Song of the Year and Best Music Video for "Nocturne" at the China Music Awards. The Chinese Musicians Exchange Association named the record one of the top 10 albums of 2005.
"Nocturne" is an R&B track with a light classical-themed background music played by piano and acoustic guitar, and was the first piece to be completed for the record in November 2004. The lyrics describe the death of a lover, using metaphors involving black crows and wells to express emotion. The production of "Blue Storm" utilizes distorted electric guitar and turntable scratching, while its lyrics deal with religious themes. The track "Hair Like Snow" incorporates traditional Chinese instruments including the pipa and yangqin, while the vocals are sung softly. Towards the end, a false voice is used.[2] [3] [4] [5]
"Black Sweater" is an R&B piece with a slow tempo, and incorporates acoustic guitar on top of soft vocals. The lyrics expresses one's longing for their beloved. "Besieged From All Sides" utilizes violin, cello and synthesizers, while its lyrics express his resentment towards the paparazzi. Chou openly calls them "dogs" who "bite an apple in their mouths and hold a camera in their hands". Toward the end of the track, Chou raps a few lines in Korean.
"Maple Leaf" incorporates piano, violin and cello over a soft R&B beat. The lyrics describe the sorrow behind a lost love. "Romantic Cellphone" is a R&B piece that features an electric guitar, whereas "Reverse Scale" is a hip-hop number. "Malt Candy" uses violin and electric guitar with lyrics focusing on romance themes. "Coral Sea" is a duet between Jay Chou and Lara Veronin and utilizes instrumentations from piano, violin, acoustic and electric guitars.
Chou, who had learned classical piano since childhood, admitted that Frédéric Chopin had always been his idol, with him also accustomed to designing his images after the name of the composer. He felt very excited that he and the record company agreed to use November's Chopin as the album title.
The pre-sale for the album began in various regions on 19 October 2005. The lead single "Nocturne" premiered on radio Hit FM on 17 October 2005, which was the anniversary of Chopin's death. The music video for "Nocturne" premiered in Asia on 21 October 2005.[6]
Chou's music has been visual in this album, and made that every song in the new album is full of poetry and romantic, creating a poetic picture. In order to match the theme of the new album, he personally designed the look this time, expressing the romantic temperament of a "music poet" with a retro image, and even went to Venice's Piazza San Marco to shoot the video for "Black Sweater" and the album cover. The "Nocturne" music video was shot in December 2004, in the middle of his Incomparable Tour in Montville, Connecticut. He travelled to New York City to film the video, and included locations such as the Brooklyn Bridge and a cemetery in the suburbs. There was a snowstorm in New York the day before the shooting of the video, which Chou felt made the cemetery scene even more sentimental, but also inconvenient according to the singer.[7] [8] [9]
The album was nominated for two Golden Melody Awards. The album won for an IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award for Top 10 Best Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year.[10] The track, "Drifting", was nominated a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song and a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Song.[11]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Metro Radio Music Awards | Best Original Album | November's Chopin | [12] | |
| Hot Song Award | "Nocturne" | ||||
| 2006 | China Music Awards | Best Music Video Award | [13] | ||
| Song of the Year | |||||
| Chinese Music Media Awards | Best Lyricist | Vincent Fang for "Hair Like Snow" | [14] | ||
| Chinese Musicians Exchange Association | Top 10 Albums of the Year | November's Chopin | [15] | ||
| Golden Melody Awards | Best Lyricist | Vincent Fang for "Hair Like Snow" | |||
| Best Musical Arranger | Eric Hong for "Blue Storm" |
| Peak position | ||
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16] | 99 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwanese Albums (G-Music)[17] | 1 |