The Time (Xu Weizhou album) explained

The Time
Type:album
Artist:Xu Weizhou
Cover:The Time album cover.jpg
Released:July 5, 2018
Recorded:2017
Label:Baina Entertainment
Prev Title:Light
Prev Year:2016

The Time is the second album and first full-length studio album of Chinese singer-songwriter Xu Weizhou. It is divided into four parts.

Background and release

1st Quarter — 15 Minutes for Craziness:

The 1st quarter consists of 3 songs, namely: "So What", "Leave Me Alone" and "Edge of Darkness".[1] It was produced by Lee Shih Shiong.[2]

Timmy Xu Studio shared a 37-second highlight medley teaser of the 3 songs on August 6, 2017. Pre-sale has started on August 8 and was officially released on August 10.[3] [4] The album reached platinum record status in just 3 minutes and 3 seconds[5] and in a day, it has sold over 400,000 copies earning a double platinum record.[6] The day of its release, The Time album ranked first on QQ Music real-time chart and the online topic "Xu Weizhou The Time" reached more than 100 million reading within an hour.[7]

The official music video of "Leave Me Alone" was released on August 21[8] while "So What" on September 11[9] [10] at several Chinese streaming sites as well as YouTube. Both music video were shot in London. On April 2, 2018, the official music video of "Edge of Darkness" was released exclusively through the NetEase Music streaming service.[11]

2nd Quarter — 15 Minutes for Radiance:Xu released the whole 2nd quarter on October 20, 2017; same day of his 23rd birthday for free online.[12] [13] It consists of 3 songs, namely: "Glory", "Between Us" and "It's Always You".[14]

The official music video of "It's Always You" was released on October 31 at Miaopai and other Chinese streaming sites.[15]

3rd Quarter — 15 Minutes for Monologue:On December 12, 2017, the third quarter was released. It consists of one song and an audio of Xu talking. The track titles were "Cat" and "Confession". "Cat" was dedicated for Xu's fans and was written and produced by himself while the other one was Xu's "Confession" to "Baizhou" (his official fanclub).[16] Xu also participated in designing the album cover.[17] Before of its official release, Xu performed "Cat" on his Light 2017 concert in Shanghai on December 9.[18]

4th Quarter — 15 Minutes for Fantasy:The last quarter was officially released on January 31, 2018.[19] It consists of 3 songs, namely: "Orange Sky", "Maze" and "Rio".[20] "Maze" was first released as a Chinese promotional song for the American film on January 24 with some clips of the upcoming movie.[21] [22] The album cover was taken by an internationally renowned photographer Leslie Kee.[23]

On February 8, the official music video of "Orange Sky" was released.[24] [25] It was released at several Chinese streaming sites as well as Sony Music Taiwan's YouTube channel.

Live performances

Xu first performed "So What" live followed by "Leave Me Alone" during the iQiyi Screaming Night Concert on August 19, 2017[26] and 2017 Fresh Asia Music Awards on August 27, respectively. On November 25, Xu performed "Glory" for the first time on television and won the weekly CCTV Global Chinese Music Chart.[27]

On December 9, 2017, Xu held a concert in Shanghai entitled Light 2017. He performed all his songs from the first two quarters of "The Time" and a new song from the next quarter entitled "Cat" as well as some songs on his previous album Light.[28] All tickets were sold out within 30 seconds.[29]

Critical reception

The 1st quarter has garnered positive reviews from music critics and music bloggers and 13 well-known music personnels and companies as well as 2 fans where invited to ask Xu regarding his album on Sina Weibo.[30]

Deng Ke, a famous music critic said that normally, an idol singer won't write or sing something hardcore but he said that he particularly like "Fading into the Night" out of the three which is quite popular.[31] He also added that "a singer should follow through his heart.." and "..the audience will naturally recognize it".[32]

Zhao Nanfang, also a music critic and an author from Toutiao praised that naming the 1st quarter "15 minutes for craziness" can be effective, has a very strong attraction and fully fit Xu's own singer physique because rock music is Xu's personal preference and it's an important way to identify singers.[33] He also praised the 2nd quarter upon its release and compared it to the previous quarter.[34]

Upon releasing the 2nd quarter, netizens praised the improvement of Xu's English pronunciation to his second pure English song "It's Always You".[35]

Chart performance

Weekly

SongChart (2017)Peak
Position
Leave Me Alone Billboard Radio China Chart 2[36]
China V Chart2[37]
Fresh Asia Music Chart 2[38]
So What Billboard Radio China Chart 4[39]
China V Chart 3[40]
Fresh Asia Music Chart 4[41]
It's Always You Billboard Radio China Chart 7[42]
China V Chart 1[43]
Cat Fresh Asia Music Chart 6[44]
Maze Billboard China Chart 3[45]
Billboard Radio China Chart 4[46]
China V Chart2[47]
Fresh Asia Music Chart 4[48]
Orange Sky Billboard China Chart 3[49]
China V Chart1[50]
Fresh Asia Music Chart 4[51]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的疯狂》:15分钟展示一个内心世界 . ent.sina.com.cn. October 1, 2017.
  2. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的疯狂》:释放青春荷尔蒙 . ent.sina.com.cn. September 11, 2017.
  3. Web site: 许魏洲发《15分钟的疯狂》试听影像 8月8日将预售 . ent.sina.com.cn. September 10, 2017.
  4. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的疯狂》曝预告海报 开启新专篇章 . ent.sina.com.cn. September 10, 2017.
  5. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的疯狂》上线 上交音乐新答卷 . www.cnwnews.com. September 10, 2017.
  6. Web site: 許魏洲首發影像圖文集《This is Timmy》分享鮮活自我 . news.sina.com.tw. September 10, 2017.
  7. Web site: 魏洲新专辑《15分钟的疯狂》预售1小时破30万张 . cnwnews.com. October 1, 2017.
  8. Web site: 许魏洲曝《忘了我吧》MV预告 完整版8月21日上线 . ent.sina.com.cn . December 9, 2017.
  9. Web site: 许魏洲自作曲《那又怎样》MV首播 传递不服输精神 . ent.sina.com.cn . December 9, 2017.
  10. Web site: 许魏洲自作曲《那又怎样》MV首播 传递不服输精神 . ent.sina.com.cn . September 30, 2017.
  11. Web site: 许魏洲的MV《黑暗边缘》. weibo.com . April 2, 2018.
  12. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的光芒》封面照公开 由陈漫掌镜 . ent.sina.com.cn. December 9, 2017.
  13. Web site: 许魏洲《THE TIME》开启第二篇章 概念海报曝光 . www.sohu.com. December 9, 2017.
  14. Web site: 《评论:许魏洲《15分钟的光芒》展现对音乐的追求. ent.sina.com.cn. December 9, 2017.
  15. Web site: 许魏洲《It’s Always You》MV首发 演绎迷幻风. ent.sina.com.cn. December 9, 2017.
  16. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的独白》发布 自作《猫》告白粉丝 . ent.sina.com.cn . December 12, 2017.
  17. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的独白》发布 自作词曲告白粉丝 . www.sohu.com . December 12, 2017.
  18. Web site: 许魏洲上海演唱会悼念偶像 自作词曲表白粉丝 . ent.sina.com.cn . December 12, 2017.
  19. Web site: 许魏洲《THE TIME》最终篇31日上线 预告海报首曝光 . ent.rednet.cn . February 9, 2018.
  20. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的异想》上线 自作曲再合作方文山 . ent.rednet.cn . February 9, 2018.
  21. Web site: 《移動迷宮3》推廣曲MV上線 ,許魏洲獻唱 . news.sina.com.tw . February 9, 2018.
  22. Web site: 《移动迷宫3》发中文推广曲《迷宫》 . news.mtime.com . February 9, 2018.
  23. Web site: 许魏洲二专终章《15分钟的异想》上线 自作曲再合作方文山 . www.sohu.com . February 9, 2018.
  24. Web site: 许魏洲穿FENDI2018秋冬男装拍摄新歌《橙色天空》MV . lady.people.com.cn . February 9, 2018.
  25. Web site: 许魏洲自作曲《橙色天空》MV上线 . ent.ynet.com . February 9, 2018.
  26. Web site: 爱奇艺尖叫之夜工体开唱 中国有嘻哈学员通过吴亦凡大考666 . news.yule.com.cn . September 10, 2017.
  27. Web site: 许魏洲登央视榜上榜 首唱《荣耀》夺周榜冠军 . ent.sina.com.cn . December 9, 2017.
  28. Web site: 许魏洲上海演唱会自作词作曲感谢粉丝 . www.chinanews.com . December 11, 2017.
  29. Web site: 许魏洲上海演唱会开放探班 新歌首唱曝行星概念 . ent.sina.com.cn . December 11, 2017.
  30. Web site: 对话音乐人许魏洲,我们向你征集一个问题! 着调征集 . k.sina.com.cn. September 10, 2017.
  31. Web site: DK在北京 . www.weibo.com . September 10, 2017.
  32. Web site: #许魏洲的15个问题# . www.weibo.com . September 10, 2017.
  33. Web site: 赵南坊 . www.weibo.com . September 10, 2017.
  34. Web site: 评论:许魏洲《15分钟的光芒》展现多种可能性 . ent.sina.com.cn . December 9, 2017.
  35. Web site: 许魏洲《15分钟的光芒》试听公开 20日正式发行 . www.sohu.com . December 9, 2017.
  36. Web site: Mandarin Top 10 Songs for August 28 - September 3, 2017 . billboardradiochina.com . September 20, 2017.
  37. Web site: China V Chart SEPTEMBER 9, 2017 . billboard.com . September 20, 2017.
  38. Web site: 第116期周榜揭晓!TOP20 . weibo.cn . September 20, 2017.
  39. Web site: Mandarin Top 10 Songs October 19, 2017 . billboardradiochina.com . December 6, 2017.
  40. Web site: China V Chart OCTOBER 7, 2017 . billboard.com . September 27, 2017.
  41. Web site: 119期周榜揭晓!TOP20 . weibo.com . September 20, 2017.
  42. Web site: Mandarin Top 10 Songs Nov. 30, 2017 . billboardradiochina.com . December 6, 2017.
  43. Web site: China V Chart DECEMBER 2, 2017 . billboard.com . December 6, 2017.
  44. Web site: 亚洲新歌榜#第133期周榜TOP20 . m.weibo.cn . February 9, 2018.
  45. Web site: Billboard China for January 29, 2018. billboardchina.cn . February 5, 2018.
  46. Web site: Mandarin Top 10 Songs for February 5, 2018 Week 6 . billboardradiochina.com . February 9, 2018.
  47. Web site: China V Chart February 10, 2018 . billboard.com . February 9, 2018.
  48. Web site: 亚洲新歌榜#第139期周榜TOP20 . weibo.cn . February 9, 2018.
  49. Web site: Billboard China for February 5, 2018. billboardchina.cn . February 13, 2018.
  50. Web site: China V Chart February 5, 2018 . vchart.yinyuetai.com . February 13, 2018.
  51. Web site: 亚洲新歌榜#第140期周榜TOP20 . weibo.cn . February 13, 2018.