Jay & Piano

Jay's love affair with the piano began when he was 4 years old.

His mother noticed how he was fascinated with music, and enrolled him in piano class.

In 1998, he played the piano for a friend who entered their names in a TV talent search.

Host Jacky Wu peeked over Jay's shoulder and was so awed by the complexity of his music score that he groomed him as a songwriter.

In 2000, his album, Jay, took the Mandopop scene by storm.

Today, Jay, 29, is one of the biggest and most influential Mandopop artistes.

His largely female fan base is usually mesmerised and swoons over how he can play two pianos at the same time.

So what if he didn't become the next Beethoven? Jay is still an accomplished pianist whose classical background shows through in his songs.

In 2005, Jay paid tribute to his idol, Polish composer Chopin, by naming his album November's Chopin.

Basketball

Besides music, Jay's other great love is basketball.

He was hooked from the moment his mother took him to a basketball court for the first time when he was 10 years old.

If you can't find Jay in the recording studio, he's probably out shooting hoops with pals in the neighbourhood basketball court.

In his debut album, the singer wrote about the ball game and sportsmanship in the catchy track, Dou Niu (Bullfight).

Not only that, he even turned his concert stage into a basketball court and challenged his pals on stage.

Fast cars

Jay is besotted with antique cars.

He bought his first vintage vehicle in 2003, after falling in love with a blue Jaguar XJ-S that appeared on the set of one of his music videos.

By mid 2004, he already had nine cars in his collection, including a purple Cadillac from the early '80s and a metallic blue Packard from the '40s.

Jay's love for fast cars translates into his music too - in the songs Piao Yi (Drifting) and Yi Lu Xiang Bei (All The Way North).

He wrote them in 2005 for his celluloid debut Initial D, in which he plays a race-car driver.

Given his affinity for Oriental sounds, Chinese culture and gongfu, Jay almost single-handedly popularised the genre Zhong Guo Feng (literally China Trend).

One of his first compositions is the nostalgic Shanghai 1943, and he makes sure to include at least one Zhong Guo Feng song in every album.

It's his way of standing out from the rest while remaining true to his Chinese roots.

Instead of learning English to reach out to the global audience, the self-processed nationalistic singer believes that foreigners should be learning Mandarin instead.

No wonder then, he has produced so many songs that pay tribute to his cultural heritage.

In the second parter next Saturday, we look at Jay's views on love, his struggles with the paparazzi, his views on being a role model, and finally, how he adores his mum.

This story was first published in The New Paper on May 17, 2008.