Cool Jay

Before the satin bedsheets and Ducati motorcycles, before the screaming groupies fainting at his shows and the teenage girls making pilgrimages to stroke his piano bench, there was this narrow stretch of blond floorboard between the leather sofa and the teal walls of Alfa Music's studio in a gray, concrete high-rise in eastern Taipei. This was Jay Chou Chieh-lun's world back then, a crawl space where he would curl up and crash between sessions, where he would dream and then redream his melodies and lyrics, where the songs would come to him as snatches of somnambulant soundtrack, and then he would...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!