周杰伦回归乐坛 

Jay Chou began his career in music. After exploring other entertainment territories–acting, directing and TV production–Chou seems to reckon that going back to music is in his best interest. But does he still have it?

周杰伦以音乐起家。在尝试过演员，导演和影视制作这些领域后，周董似乎意识到，音乐才是他最大的兴趣所在。但问题是，他是否实力依旧？


Since his last album, Capricorn (《魔羯座》), released one-and-a-half years ago, Jay Chou hasn’t really left the limelight. But his work on recent films and TV shows, such as The Treasure Hunter (《刺陵》) and Pandamen (《熊猫人》), has drawn more criticism than applause.

一年半前发表专辑《摩羯座》之后，周董并没有淡出人们视线。但对于他在《刺陵》和《熊猫人》等影视作品上的表现，人们给出的恶评要远多过掌声。


With his 10th album, New Era (《跨时代》), released this week, Chou’s making a comeback as a music man. However, he may have misjudged the climate of the industry.

本周他发布了第十张专辑《跨时代》，这标志着周董作为音乐人的回归。但对于业内环境的判断，周董可能失算了。


Superman Can't Fly (《超人不会飞》), the first official single off the new album, debuted last month. But it didn’t seem to impress fans. In the song, Chou rattles through a 600-word set of lyrics written by himself. He pours out his private and personal feelings about his career and the entertainment industry. But some say it’s just another so-so track with unclear enunciation. Some listeners are asking, “Is he trying to tell people his story, or is he just murmuring to himself?”

上月，新专辑首支单曲《超人不会飞》与乐迷见面，但似乎没能带来惊喜。在歌曲中，周董犹如连珠炮唱出自己写下的600余字歌词，道出对事业以及娱乐业的私人感受。但有人指出，新歌又是一首平淡无奇的喃喃自语之作。一些听众发问：“他是在给人们讲故事，还是在自言自语？”


Just days ago, when another of the album’s singles, Fireworks Cool Easily (《烟花易冷》), came out, it suffered from the very same criticism. Chinese-style R&B songs like Chrysanthemum Terrace (《菊花台》) and Blue and White Porcelain (《青花瓷》) have always been a must-listen. And thanks to lyricist Vincent Fang (方文山), Chou’s love songs have been welcomed by fans and imitated by many other artists. But this time, the song has been criticized as “stereotypical”, “half Sa Dingding and half Painted Heart (《画心》)”.

几天前，新专辑另一首作品《烟花易冷》与歌迷见面，伴随而来的是同样的批评。像《菊花台》和《青花瓷》这样的中国风R&B歌曲一直以来是不容错过的好歌。有了方文山的词，周董的情歌大受歌迷欢迎，其他艺人也竞相模仿。但这一回，该歌曲被外界批评为“老套”，“一半像萨顶顶，一半像《画心》”。


If we take a look back at Chou's career since 2007, he has focused on making films. He’s made some good ones, like Secret (《不能说的秘密》), his debut as a director. But Chou didn’t stop there. He took part in a few more films, which later turned out to be “bad choices”. His position in music (maybe plus his huge ego) helped him to get into acting. But as an actor, he’s still a rookie, with average acting skills and plain looks.

目睹这一切，人们不禁要问：“周董还行吗？”回望2007年以来，周董一直将事业重心放在电影上。其中不乏佳作，例如处女作《不能说的秘密》。但周董没有适时罢手，又接连参演了其他一些影片， 后被证明为“并非明智之举”。乐坛的成功地位（或许还有其雄心勃勃的个性），这都使得周董转投表演。但作为演员，他显然还是个新人——演技一般，相貌平平。


Over the last 10 years, Chou has been surrounded by a lot of success and honor–not to mention rumor and slander. Maybe he is past his time; or maybe he’s still a creative genius. Maybe it’s that listeners’ tastes are changing; or maybe it’s that Chou only wants to do what he really likes. When we think of Jay Chou nowadays, we see a “king”. But we’ll always remember him as a young man in a red hoodie with a big dream, singing “huh huh ha he”.

过去十年中，周董一直被成功和荣誉包围着，更不必说那些流言蜚语了。也许他已经过气了；也许他仍是一个创作天才。或许歌迷口味正在改变，亦或周董想做自己感兴趣的事情。现在想到周杰伦，我们仍会视他为“天王”。但我们总会想起那个个心怀梦想，穿着红色连帽衫，唱着“哼哼哈呵”的年轻人。