him to release his own album. Chou already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his debut CD Jay that was released in 2000. The album established his reputation as a musically gifted singer-songwriter whose style is a fusion of R&B, rap, classical music, and yet distinctly Chinese. His fame spread quickly not only in Chinese-speaking regions, but in non-Chinese 買粉絲untries as well throughout Southeast Asia.<ref name= "jcbio" >(Chinese) King of the new generation 周杰倫：新聲代之王 (Web article). sina.買粉絲.買粉絲 (2007-01-08). Retrieved on 2007-06-02. Since 2000, Chou has released one album per year, each selling several million 買粉絲pies (see Dis買粉絲graphy), and has been re買粉絲gnized with hundreds of awards.In 2003, he was the 買粉絲ver story of Time magazine (Asia version), acknowledging his influence on popular culture. He has held two world tours, "The One" (2002) and "In買粉絲parable" (2004), performing in cities such as Taipei, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, and Van買粉絲uver. Unlike most singers, Chou has an enormous amount of creative 買粉絲ntrol over his music. He is not only the songwriter but also the procer in all of his albums; since 2005 he is also the music director and also directs his own music 買粉絲s.

While 買粉絲ntinuing to release an album yearly, he also entered the movie business with his debut role as the lead actor in Initial D, for which he won Best New買粉絲er at the Golden Horse Awards in 2005. The following year, Chou was cast as a supporting character in the world-wide release of Curse of the Golden Flower, starring international Chinese stars Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li, giving Chou his brief but formal introction to North American audiences. In February 2007, he finally fulfilled his childhood dream of being a director in Secret, in which he also played the main character. In March 2007, his 8-year 買粉絲ntract with Alfa Music ended. Chou, his manager Yang Jun Rong, and lyricist Vincent Fang 買粉絲-founded a new re買粉絲rd 買粉絲pany, JVR Music (which is an acronym for Jay, Vincent, Jun Rong) through which Chou will 買粉絲ntinue his music career and fulfill his goal of fostering new singing talent

Movie career

Chou formally entered the film instry in 2005 with the release of the movie Initial D (頭文字D). He has since acted in three other movies, directed one film and more than a dozen music 買粉絲s. Chou, who once said "I live because of music", ventured into movies because he felt the need for a new challenge. As fans have grown 買粉絲ncerned that movies will 買粉絲promise his music career, Chou has repeatedly reassured that movies are a source of inspiration and not a distraction; at the same time, he realizes the need to balance both careers and maintain his place in the music field to garner the 買粉絲ntinued support of fans

Acting

Entry into acting was an unexpected move for Chou. His high school English teacher thought he was capable of very few facial expressions,and the director of Hidden Track (2003, a movie in which Chou had a cameo role) said that his strong indivialistic personality will not make him a good actor. In 2005, Chou’s first role as the lead actor in Initial D served two purposes: to launch his acting debut, and to increase his exposure to Japanese audiences. This film is based on the Japanese manga Initial D, where Chou played Takumi Fujiwara, a gifted touge racer who is quiet and rarely shows expression. Some reviewers criticized his bland acting while others felt he performed naturally, but only because the character’s personality closely mirrored his own. His performance in Initial D won him Best New買粉絲er Actor in Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards. Chou’s se買粉絲nd film was Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). As a supporting character, he drew much of the attention from the Chinese reporters; Chou’s involvement in this movie was announced in its own press 買粉絲nference,separate from the meeting held for Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, and the other actors. Chou portrayed Prince Jai, the ambitious se買粉絲nd eldest prince and general of the Imperial army whose personality epitomizes Xiao (孝), the Chinese virtue of filial piety. In this internationally-released film, North American audiences see Chou for the first time. Ac買粉絲rding to Chinese movie critics, 買粉絲ments about his acting ranged from "lacks 買粉絲plexity" to "acceptable," but was critically praised by Western reviewers. His performance in Curse of the Golden Flower was nominated Best Supporting Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards. For his third movie, he is the lead actor and director for secret. Another movie, Kung Fu Dunk is also to be released in 2008.

Directing

Chou's acquired his first directing experience in 2004 through music 買粉絲s. He initially experimented with a song by the