Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Jay Chou’s Lyricist Speaks Up For The Singer After His New Single Gets Bad Reviews

Netizens have slammed 'Won't Cry' as being “sexist” and “dated”.

Netizens have slammed 'Won't Cry' as being “sexist” and “dated”.

Netizens have slammed 'Won't Cry' as being “sexist” and “dated”.

Mandopop King Jay Chou recently made his chart comeback after a three-year hiatus with his long-awaited new single ‘Won’t Cry'. The song, which features Mayday frontman Ashin, was released last Monday (Sep 16) and its music video has since raked in over 22 million views on YouTube.

In fact, the song was streamed so many times that it was reported to have caused QQ music — China’s biggest streaming platform — to crash on the day of its release.

1 of 4 Don't cry over spilt milk (tea)

But despite all that, some netizens and critics have slammed ‘Won’t Cry’'s music video for being “sexist” and “dated”. Its rating on Douban, a Chinese website that rates music and film based on community reviews, has also plummeted.

In the MV, the female lead, played by Japanese actress Ayaka Miyoshi, is seen slogging away at a bubble tea shop just to help her boyfriend realise his dream of being a photographer. He later moves on in life, leaving her pining for him.

2 of 4 Mayday's Ashin with Jay

After all these years, Jay Chou's new music video shows that some men still dream of a world where a beautiful woman willingly works herself to the bone to support your dream, Chinese fiction writer Deng Anqing wrote.

There were also complains directed at the song itself with some disgruntled netizens complaining that 'Wont' Cry' “sounds so bad [they] can’t even cry to it” and that it is not as good as his old songs”.

  • 3 of 4 Vincent during an interview

    The lyrics to ‘Won’t Cry’ were written by Jay's pal, lyricist Vincent Fang, who has penned the lyrics to some of the singer's biggest hits, like 'Blue and White Porcelain'. And Vincent has since stepped up to defend the ballad.

    “I believe that in a relationship, it is the girl who is more willing to sacrifice herself to help fulfil the wishes of her boyfriend. Even if she isn’t able to share his success or have anything to do with him in the future, I believe that she will still be emotionally fulfilled just to see how well he is doing,” Vincent said.

  • 4 of 4 Old pals

    He also spoke about Jay, who he has collaborated with since 1997, years before the singer became a big star. It's different these days. Jay has two kids already, said Vincent. When Bedtime Stories (2016) was released, I felt that his taste in music had changed. It’s like going from traditional drawing to oil painting, there’s a change in the standard of the art. The quality of the music is still there, it's just that from a father's point of view, the way he looks at the world has become kinder and less critical.

    Read more of the latest in

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

    Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

    By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.