| Ugly Beauty | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jolin Tsai |
| Cover: | Jolin Tsai Ugly Beauty Cover.jpg |
| Recorded: | 2017–2018 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Prev Title: | Play World Tour |
| Prev Year: | 2018 |
Ugly Beauty is the fourteenth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai, released on December 26, 2018, by Sony and Eternal.[1] Tsai recorded Ugly Beauty throughout 2017 and 2018 with a team of producers, including Razor Chiang, Starr Chen, Howe Chen, and Øzi. Tsai's creative inspiration behind the record was to challenge conventional aesthetic standards and to unveil the duality of human emotions. As a result, the album's material delves into themes such as the ugliness hidden behind a seemingly perfect surface and emotions that are frequently suppressed. Musically, Ugly Beauty is a pop record that blends various genres such as trap, house, reggae, and gothic rock.[2] [3]
The album received positive reviews from music critics, who praised the album's composition, production, and the singer's vocal performance.[4] In Taiwan, Ugly Beauty became the highest-selling album of 2019.[5] It became the highest-selling digital album by a Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in China,[6] and it made Tsai the highest-selling digital Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in the country.[7] In August 2023, the album's digital sales crossed the 850,000 mark in China.
The album received a total of eight Golden Melody Award nominations.[8] The album was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Mandarin Album, and Best Vocal Recording Album. "Womxnly" was nominated for Song of the Year, the music video of "Ugly Beauty" and "Lady in Red" were nominated for Best Music Video. Tsai was nominated for Best Female Mandarin Singer, and was nominated alongside Starr Chen for Best Single Producer for "Ugly Beauty".[9] [10] The album eventually won Album of the Year, and "Womxnly" won Song of the Year.[11] To promote the album, she embarked on her fifth concert tour, the Ugly Beauty World Tour, on December 30, 2019.[12] [13]
On November 15, 2014, Tsai released her thirteenth studio album, Play. It sold more than 85,000 copies in Taiwan,[14] becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female singer and the year's fourth highest-selling album overall.[15] The album earned a total of 10 Golden Melody Award nominations, and it is one of the three most nominated albums in the awards' history.[16] Eventually, it won Best Mandarin Album and Best Vocal Recording Album.[17] In support of the album, Tsai embarked on her fourth concert tour, Play World Tour.[18] The tour started on May 22, 2015, in Taipei, Taiwan at Taipei Arena and continued before concluding on July 16, 2016, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at Stadium Merdeka.[19]
On September 30, 2016, she collaborated with Alesso and released the single, "I Wanna Know".[20] On October 31, 2016, Tsai collaborated with Starr Chen and released the single, "Ego-Holic".[21] In 2017, Tsai released a series of single, including "Give Love" for the 2017 Mother's Day and a related public interest campaign held by Taiwanese charity organization Tzu Chi Foundation,[22] "We Are One" collaborated with Hardwell,[23] "On Happiness Road" for the 2018 Taiwanese animated film of the same title,[24] and "Stand Up" for the 2018 Chinese film, Monster Hunt 2.[25] In January 2018, Tsai released the live video album, Play World Tour, which chronicled the Play World Tour and was filmed at Taipei Arena during the Taipei dates of the tour on May 22–25, 2015.[26] On June 12, 2018, Tsai released the single "The Player" for the video game, Dungeon & Fighter.[27]
On July 26, 2016, Tsai announced that she was ready to get started on her next album.[28] On November 12, 2016, Tsai revealed on Instagram the names of songwriters Hayley Aitken, Olof Lindskog, and Johan Moraeus with photos of them working in the recording studio The Kennel in Stockholm, Sweden.[29] On July 18, 2016, Tsai's manager Tom Wang confirmed that Tsai devoted herself to the album and it would be the most expensive album Tsai will make, with a budget of over NT$100 million.[30] Wang also revealed that Tsai has formed the team independently to create songs and music videos and she would form the team to promote the album. On July 20, 2017, Tsai revealed that she had invited Ashin to collaborate on the album.[31] On the same date, Tsai said: "So far around eight demos have been collected, but we are encountering problems in rewriting the lyrics until the songwriters could get the correct sentiment I want. This time I am listening to my body, if the demo conveys me a sense of excitement, then it's right."[32] [33] On September 11, 2017, Tsai confirmed that two songs had been recorded but the album were significantly behind in progress.[34]
On March 1, 2018, Tsai posted on Instagram the names of songwriters Richard Craker, Stan Dubb, Rhys Fletcher, and Alex Sypsomos, with images of the group working in Karma Sound Studios in Pattaya, Thailand.[35] On March 14, 2018, Tsai said that she had started to determine the lead single.[36] On May 15, 2018, Tsai talked to Nylon and confirmed that 11 demos had been collected and 4 songs had been recorded.[37] Tsai also said that she had been reading books related to neuroscience, psychology, and Zhuangzi, and described that the album should be "the most honest album".[38] Tsai revealed that the album would have a wide range of music styles, including genres she had never attempted before.[39] On June 12, 2018, Tsai's manager, Tom Wang revealed that her album was already halfway complete and would be released by the end of the year.[40] On June 24, 2018, Tsai talked to QQ Music's Big Star Show and confirmed that she had written some songs for the album. On September 12, 2018, Tsai's manager Tom Wang confirmed that Tsai has started to prepare for shooting music videos.[41] On October 4, 2018, Tsai's manager Tom Wang confirmed that Tsai would finish recording for her album in the same month, with its release scheduled in December of the same year, and she would begin to shoot the album's cover art and music videos in the next month.[42] On November 12, 2018, Tsai confirmed through Sina Weibo that she had finished recording the album.[43]
"Ugly Beauty" has trap, hip hop, and drum & bass influences.[44] It is an up-tempo dance song where Tsai responds positively to criticisms that are being made in the song, with lyrics such as: "If you can't see my beauty, you must be blind."[45] "Hubby" is an upbeat dance song with heavy backing vocals to enhance the lively atmosphere. Tsai said: "I hope this song could be everybody's wedding march." "Womxnly" was inspired by the story of Yeh Yung-chih. It speaks about the absence of an established framework for gender identity. Tsai has constantly advocated for human rights campaigns, including LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. Tsai said: "People do not have to live in the established framework of society, a boy that has femininity doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing, and masculinity is not something every boy desires to have." Musically, it merged the genres of tropical house and dancehall, featuring instrumentation from Southeast Asia's musical instruments.[46]
"Life Sucks" is a future bass song. Tsai used a lazy vocal timbre to speak about the negative aspect of one's personality, and she said: "This song talks about the things you don't want to do but have to face in life. We can only tell ourselves that the negativity will eventually leave us." "Lady in Red" was described as "a sense of ghost story". It contains pop sounds and mumble rap influences, and Tsai sings in a deeper tone. "Karma" is a reggaeton song talking about having a breakup in relationships and dealing with an ex-lover, and Tsai described that the song accompanies the black humorous style of lyrics and delivers the message that "living well is the best revenge". "Romance" is a ballad talking about the reality of modern love relationships. With its classic piano sound and electronic melody, Tsai sings over a tune consisting of gothic rock and urban R&B. Tsai said: "Sometimes romance is established, as all the fairy tales go, the princess and the prince get married and lead a happy life ever since, but nobody tells us what will happen after marriage."
"Sweet Guilty Pleasure" speaks about the love game and incorporates bounce beats. Tsai said: "Knowing your body is also knowing your own desires; society has to tell everybody such a concept, so people will not hurt others due to curiosity." "Necessarily Evil" incorporated hardcore hip hop with trap and gothic rock styles; it also accompanies "devil's voices", shouting sounds, and synths. Tsai used a deeper vocal register to intone the lyrics to express a sense of conflict between repression and emancipation, and the lyrics carry a message of being fearless of evil in the inner world. Tsai said: "I want to use this song to tell everybody it's horrible to enter your inner world, but it will become not that evil when you're ready to face it." 1960s-inspired rock and roll and soul music formed the backbone of "Vulnerability", where Tsai sings about what should be the real courage in love relationships.[47] "Shadow Self" is a slow-paced alternative R&B song that features the sounds that often appear in Tsai's dreams. Inspired by Carl Jung's psychological term "shadow", the song was written through live instruments and musical improvisation in the studio. Tsai said: "Dream is a spiritual journey of loneliness, and I believe in the words the subconscious wants to tell me."
On November 27, 2018, Tsai released the cover art of the album's pre-order limited edition and the first series of promotional artworks for the album, which were shot by Chinese photographer Zhong Lin and directed by Malaysian stylist Yii Ooi.[48] The artwork, themed similar to "The Mouth of Truth", depicts the singer with weak eyes with an exaggerated lip-shaped adornment making a strange gesture. The artwork conveys the message of breaking the conventional concept of beauty and ugliness.[49]
On December 14, 2018, Tsai released the cover art of the album's standard edition and the second series of promotional artworks, which were shot by Taiwanese photographer Icura Chiang and directed by Hong Kong stylists Tungus Chan and Matthew Chan.[50] The artwork features the singer with wet hair in a black strapless bodysuit and a suit jacket designed by British fashion designer Gareth Pugh. The artwork intends to remind people to be aware of the existence and benefits of negative emotions.[51]
Inspired by the Greek myth story of "Pandora's Box", the package of the album's standard edition was designed by Taiwanese designer Yen Po-chun, who described that the myth, which exhorts people to have hope, is well suited with the album's theme of exploring the good and evil of human nature.[52] The package of the album's pre-order limited edition uses a cloth box, and the edition presents a 200-page photo diary with four different cover arts.[53]
On December 4, 2018, Tsai held a pre-order promotional event in Taipei, Taiwan.[54] On December 5, 2018, the pre-order edition of the album, which was only limited to 10,000 copies, was made available for pre-order at Taiwan's 7-Eleven stores and record stores.[55] The pre-order, which started at midnight, lasted only for less than one minute within which all the available units were sold out.[56] On December 26, 2018, Tsai held a press conference for the album release in Beijing, China.[57] On January 20 and 27, 2019, Tsai held two signing sessions in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[58] On May 18, 2019, Tsai held a music sharing session for Ugly Beauty at Baosteel Gymnasium in Shanghai, China.[59]
On its first date of release, it became Spotify's one-day most streamed album of all time in Taiwan.[60] On March 8, 2019, Spotify unveiled Tsai as the most streamed female artist of all time in Taiwan.[61] On December 3, 2019, Spotify announced the "2019 Wrapped", revealing that the album was the second most listened album of the year in Taiwan, and that Tsai became the third most listened singer, the most listened female singer, and the second most listened Taiwanese singer of the year in Taiwan.[62] The digital album peaked at number one in China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, number three in Vietnam, number eight in Chile, number 10 in Turkey, number 19 in Thailand, and also appeared on the charts of Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Russia.[63] It became the second highest-selling digital album by a female artist of the year in China, with total sales of more than 220,000 copies in China within six days as of December 2018.[64] The following year, it became the highest-selling digital album by a Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in China, and it made Tsai the highest-selling digital Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in the country. On February 5, 2020, the album's digital sales crossed the 500,000 mark in China.
The physical format of the album was only released in Taiwan, and it peaked at number one on the album sales charts of Taiwanese record stores and online marketplaces, including Chia Chia, Eslite, Five Music, G-Music, Kuang Nan, PChome, and Pok'elai. In 2018, it reached number eight on the yearly album sales chart of Pok'elai,[65] number three on Kuang Nan,[66] number four on Chia Chia,[67] number two on G-Music,[68] number three on Five Music.[69] As of March 1, 2019, it topped the albums sales charts of Chia Chia for five weeks, Five Music for nine weeks, G-Music for five weeks, Kuang Nan for eight weeks, and Pok'elai for three weeks.[70] In 2019, it reached number three on the yearly album sales chart of Kuang Nan,[71] number eight on Chia Chia,[72] number one on G-Music,[73] number five on Five Music.[74] On December 7, 2020, Forbes reported that it was the highest-selling album of 2019 in Taiwan.[75]
On December 31, 2018, Tsai attended the Jiangsu TV's New Year's Eve Concert and performed "Ugly Beauty".[76] On January 5, 2019, Tsai appeared on the Taiwan TV's Chinese New Year special 2019 Super Star, which aired on February 4, 2019, and performed "Ugly Beauty" and "Womxnly".[77] On January 26, Tsai performed "Sweet Guilty Pleasure", "Ugly Beauty", and "Hubby" on the 14th KKBox Music Awards.[78] On April 5,Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" on Youth with You together with Guan Yue, Jia Yi, Sun Zelin, Feng Junjie, and Lian Huiwei.[79] On April 11, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" on the Singer 2019 together with Greeny Wu.[80] On June 2,Tsai performed "Sweet Guilty Pleasure" and "Karma" on the 2019 Hito Music Awards.[81]
On June 29, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" on the 30th Golden Melody Awards.[82] On August 30, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" and "Womxnly" on the 2019 Global Chinese Song Chart Awards.[83] On November 10, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" on the 2019 Suning Double 11 Gala. On December 14, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty", "Womxnly", "Sweet Guilty Pleasure", and "Hubby" on the 13th Migu Music Awards.[84] On December 23, 2019, Tsai appeared on the CCTV's New Year Gala, which aired on December 31, 2019, and performed "Ugly Beauty".[85] On June 5, 2023, Tsai appeared on the Japanese YouTube channel The First Take and performed "Womxnly".[86]
On December 21, 2018, the lead single "Ugly Beauty" was released, and it debuted at number one in China, Malaysia, and Taiwan, number three in Hong Kong, number four in Singapore, and number nine in Philippines.[87] On the same date, Tsai released the music video of "Ugly Beauty", which was directed by Muh Chen.[88] Tsai also responded positively to all the criticisms that were being said through the music video.[89] With a budget of NT$15 million, it became the most expensive music video of her career to this date.[90] The music video reached number one on the weekly most-watched music videos charts of Bilibili, YinYueTai, and Taiwan's YouTube in the first week. The song topped the 2018 Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year chart, and it made Tsai become the artist who earned the most number-one songs on the chart.[91] The song also debuted at number one on Billboard China Top 100, the Chinese equivalent to the US Billboard Hot 100.[92] "Womxnly", "Sweet Guilty Pleasure", "Lady in Red", "Hubby", "Life Sucks", and "Karma" peaked at number seven,[93] number 10,[94] number 10,[95] number 11,[96] number 17,[96] and number 20[97] on Billboard China Top 100, respectively.
On January 28, 2019, Tsai released the music video of "Hubby", which was directed by Jeff Chang. It was inspired by Hong Kong films of the 1980s, and it features Hong Kong actress Sandra Ng and Chinese actor Ryan Zheng.[98] On February 15, 2019, Tsai released the music video of "Womxnly", which was directed by Ryan Parma.[99] YouTube unveiled that it was the sixth most viewed music video of 2019 in Taiwan.[100] On March 12, 2019, the music video of "Life Sucks", which was directed by Jeff Chang, was released.[101] It topped the weekly charts of Bilibili and QQ Music in the first week of release.[102]
On April 2, 2019, Tsai released the music video of "Lady in Red", which was directed by Cheng Wei-hao, and features Taiwanese artists Dee Hsu and Edison Wang. It was premiered on the release date at Vieshow Cinema in Taipei, Taiwan in a one-night-only event.[103] With a budget of NT$15 million, it topped the Bilibili and QQ Music charts in the first week of release.[104] [105] The Beijing News described it "changed the previous music videos which simply record singer's performance scenes simultaneously. It is like an inspiration to music video works in the music industry."[106]
On May 9, 2019, Tsai released the music video of "Karma", which was directed by Remii Huang. It was inspired by an actual event around Kazuko Higa, the so-called "Queen of Anatahan", during the World War II.[107] On June 26, 2019, the music video of "Romance" was released, which was directed by Cheng Wei-hao, and it features Taiwanese actors Rhydian Vaughan and Bamboo Chen.[108] On December 16, 2020, Tsai released the music video of "Sweet Guilty Pleasure", which was directed by Leo Liao.[109] With a budget of NT$12 million, it was inspired by the documentary film, The Girl Who Talked to Dolphins.[110]
See also: Ugly Beauty World Tour. In March 14, 2018, Tsai attended the Michelin Guide Taipei 2018 Gala Dinner, and she said that she has started to think of ideas for her new concert tour. On May 18, 2019, Tsai said on a music sharing session for the album in Shanghai, China that she would embark on a new concert tour later the year. In August 2019, Apple Daily reported that Tsai has planned to start her new concert tour at Taipei Arena in late December of the year, and Tsai's manager Tom Wang said: "We will announce the good news after confirming the show dates."[111] On September 20, 2019, Tsai announced that her fifth concert tour Ugly Beauty World Tour would start on December 30, 2019.[112] The tour collaborated with the creative production house Squared Division.[113] Tsai said: "This time I hope to break all rules, and bring a crazy sense to everybody", adding that: "This time I want to bring the complete visual effect of my album to the stage, build an incredible 'Ugly Beauty' magic world, and present the classic songs of my 20-year career in a different way, hope my fans feel the diligently of my production team in this 'another dimension'."[114] On November 19, 2019, Tsai flew to Los Angeles to start a 12-day rehearsal with 16 newly selected dancers.[115]
On December 31, 2019, China Times reported that the Taipei dates of the tour costed NT$246 million, including NT$90 million of stage props design and NT$20 of six video interludes, becoming the concert with the highest cost at Taipei Arena in history.[116] Writing for United Daily News, Tso Kuang-ping said: "There are not many singers who can make such large-scale singing and dancing performance in the C-pop industry. Jolin Tsai is definitely second to none, but she has produced a set of work of a higher standard than expected. From everyone's reaction and word of mouth, there is no doubt about the good reviews."[117] Since January 2020, a series of showing dates were successively cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[118] On January 7, 2022, all the China shows were cancelled due to the pandemic. On October 13, 2022, Tsai announced six final dates in Taipei, Taiwan began on December 31, 2022.[119] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour only held 23 shows in 2 cities in Taiwan within three years, it cost a total of NT$400 million, and it grossed a total of NT$680 million from 250,000 attendance.[120]
The album received positive reviews from music critics. The Golden Melody Awards remarked that through Ugly Beauty, "Tsai faces her personal struggles and external mockery, inspiring everyone to embrace their bodies" and "heal their pain through music". They felt that the record's material offered a unique narrative amongst pop albums released during the year. The Chinese Musicians Exchange Association lauded the album, hailing it as "well made" and complimented Tsai's vocal performance, ambition, and creativity.[121] Bradley Stern, a writer for MuuMuse, wrote that the record serves as "the triumphant return of Tsai after a four-year hiatus since 2014's Play."[122] Billie Helton, writing for Everything Is Noise, described Ugly Beauty as an "great pop album" that employs a variety of elements to maintain listener interest, and felt that it served as yet another testament to Tsai's talent and diversity after nearly twenty years in the industry.[123]
Sina Weibo editors Ruili Xiurui and Zou Xiaoying gave the album positive reviews; Ruili opined that it "elevated the audience's aesthetic appreciation"[124] whereas Zou characterized it as "a new personal milestone for Tsai", believing that it aligned well with international trends.[125] PlayMusic gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, describing it as "a masterpiece inspired by her exploration of the good and bad experiences of the past." QQ Music rated the album 4 out of 5 stars and named it one of the top 60 albums of 2018,[126] praising it as a "a fine production that outruns the rest of the C-pop albums". The publication also perceived it to be the "grand finale" of Tsai's "self exploration" stage that began with 2010's Myself. They highlighted how Ugly Beauty begins with a dance production that exudes confidence while concluding with a more emotional material that embraces imperfections.
GQ Taiwan included Ugly Beauty in their list of the top 12 C-pop albums of 2018, writing that "It embraces many years of criticisms directed at her as she responds beautifully."[127] The Beijing News ranked the album amongst the top 10 C-pop albums of the year, commenting that it explores both the inner and outer worlds, challenges repetitive aesthetics and values, and showcases continuously evolving musical ideas and achievements.[128] Southern Metropolis Daily and CRI Online Japan both ranked the album as the number one C-pop album of 2018.[129] [130] Punchline listed the album as the number three of top 10 C-pop albums of the year,[131] while Hit FM listed it as one of their annual top 10 albums.[132] [133]
On March 25, 2019, Tsai won a Chinese Top Ten Music Award for Best Female Singer (Hong Kong/Taiwan).[134] On May 12, 2019, the Chinese Musicians Exchange Association awarded the album Top 10 Albums, and "Womxnly" won Top 10 Singles.[135] On May 15, 2019, the nominees of the 30th Golden Melody Awards were announced, the album received a total seven nominations, and it is one of the two albums that received the most nominations in the year.[8] The album was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Mandarin Album, and Best Vocal Recording Album, "Womxnly" was nominated for Song of the Year, the music video of "Ugly Beauty" was nominated for Best Music Video, Tsai was nominated for Best Female Mandarin Singer, and Tsai together with Starr Chen were nominated for Best Single Producer for "Ugly Beauty".[9] On June 2, 2019, the album won a Hito Music Award for Most Weeks at Number One Album, "Ugly Beauty" won Top 10 Songs and Hit FM Top 100 Number One Song, and Tsai won for Best Female Singer.[136]
On June 26, 2019, the album won a Golden Melody Award for Album of the Year, and "Womxnly" won Song of the Year.[137] On July 31, 2019, the album won CMIC Music Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Pop Performance, "Ugly Beauty" won Best Music Arrangement and Best Single Production, and the music video of "Ugly Beauty" won Best Music Video.[138] On August 30, 2019, the album won a Global Chinese Pop Chart Award for Best Album (Hong Kong/Taiwan/Overseas), "Ugly Beauty" won Top Songs, and Tsai won Favorite Female Singer (Hong Kong/Taiwan/Overseas).[83] On December 4, 2019, Starr Chen, Howe Chen, and Razor Chiang won an Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Producer of the Year, and Kiel Tutin won Best Choreographer of the Year for the choreography in the music video of "Womxnly".[139] On December 14, 2019, she won Migu Music Awards for Favorite Female Singer (Hong Kong/Taiwan) and Top Appealing Female Singer, and "Ugly Beauty" won Top 10 Songs.[140] On January 18, 2020, Tsai won a KKBox Music Award for Top 10 Singers.[141] On July 15, 2020, the music video of "Lady in Red" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 31st Golden Melody Awards.[142]
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| Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition(s) | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | December 26, 2018 | Standard | Eternal | |
| Taiwan | CD | Sony | ||
| Malaysia | January 9, 2019 | Standard |
