TAIPEI, March 18 — Mandopop icon Jay Chou’s next album didn’t just arrive out of a creative vacuum — it started with a nickname, a handwritten note and a box of mangoes from fellow legend Jacky Cheung.
The phrase “Children of the Sun”, now the title of Chou’s upcoming 16th studio album, was first coined by Cheung during Chou’s Carnival World Tour stop in Hong Kong in May 2023.
After days of relentless rain cleared just in time for each performance, Cheung playfully credited Chou’s apparent streak of good fortune, sending him a note alongside mangoes labelled “Children of the Sun”.
Chou later said the gesture brought sunshine to his heart — and, true to form, decided to claim the title.
That inside joke has since evolved into a full-fledged era. Children of the Sun is set for digital release on March 25, marking Chou’s first full-length album in over three years following 2022’s Greatest Works of Art.
The rollout officially began at midnight on March 18 with a surprise teaser, featuring visuals inspired by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss.
The album will feature 13 tracks, including 12 new songs and a bonus cut, Christmas Star (2023).
Its title track is set to arrive with a nearly seven-minute music video, which will premiere globally during a press conference in Taipei on March 24.
The date carries personal significance, coinciding with the anniversary of wife Hannah Quinlivan’s entertainment debut in 2008 on Taiwanese variety show Blackie’s Teenage Club.
Leading up to release, Chou will unveil daily teasers through March 23, with each track positioned as its own artistic expression. He is said to explore new vocal textures and styles, drawing inspiration from the shifting nature of sunlight.
Visually, the project leans cinematic. Both the album artwork and the title track’s music video were shot at Chapelle Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc in Paris.
In recent weeks, Chou has also offered fans a glimpse into his creative rhythm, pushing back against assumptions about the gap between albums.
“Just because my last album came out in 2022 doesn’t mean I spent three or four years writing this one,” he wrote in Chinese on Instagram on March 11.
“Over the years, I’ve slowed down the pace of life and gradually poured that energy into my music. I write when inspiration strikes, sing when I have the time and shoot music videos when I can. The most productive time has actually been these past few months since the concert tour ended.”
He added, with a wink: “If I didn’t tour, play basketball or wait for (frequent collaborator) Vincent Fang to write the lyrics, maybe I could finish an album in a month.”
