My first Jay movie premiere: The Viral Factor 逆战

This was first posted on multistars forums in January 2012:


I WAS THERE!!!!
I SAW JAY!!!!!

Ok, let me come down from Cloud 9 and share the experience with you guys when Jay and Dante walked the red carpet in Singapore on 16 January.

A kind friend from the local paper managed to snag me two tickets to the premiere, after I practically begged her to try.
Got there nice and early and heard the MC point out a billboard halfway along the red carpet where Jay and Dante would stop for photos and it was also where a local online tv site would be interviewing them.
Naturally, I hotfooted it to that spot and squuezed my way in to just behind the front row of fans.
As time went on, the MC would give us updates on how near Jay was and got the crowd to rehearse two well-wishes for Jay.

When the time came for him to appear, I could hear the onset of the screams from the start of the red carpet, which was about 50m long.
The anticipation was just so exciting!
Held up my iPhone to video him walking past and yes, he stopped at the spot near me and posed for photos and a short interview!
At this point, I want to apologise for the quality of the pics as I was using my phone, finding it easier to handle.
Plus my hands were not that steady, 'cos of the excitement!

It was AWESOME seeing him so up close!!!!
But I wished he wasn't wearing those sunglasses....it would have been nice to see his eyes!
But....that's just a tiny grouse....
Hehe...his outfit was ..... unusual, to say the least, with that apron thingy around his hips...but that's our Jay...never boring with his clothes!
Love his blue shoes!

After that, I had to SQUEEEEEZZZZEEE my way to the front nearer the stage to take more photos.
But it was really PACKED there so the best I could get was this:

After the interview on stage, he was presented with a 'tank' cake and the fans wished him Happy Birthday and BIG box-office for The Viral Factor. :)
I'll post a pic from Facebook 'cos from where I was, I simply could not get a good shot.

We then proceeded to the screening of the movie proper:

Jay and Dante made an appearance there too for a short interview before the movie and as I was seated near the back, I couldn't resist running down to the front to get a shot of them on stage.

Sigh...Jay...the crazy lady in the green dress running down the steps to the front to take your picture was ME!!! Did you see me??? Yes, the one with the iPhone which had you on its shiny back??

The security guy was kind enough to let me take a couple of shots before shoo-ing me back to my seat. :)
But erm...hands were shaking with excitement again so pardon the quality of the photo!

 He walked up the aisle on MY side to exit the cinema hall and I could see him up close again!!!

There were three halls screening the movie that night; mine was mainly occupied by the media.
I think the other smaller halls were for the winners of various contests.
Reports said that he went to every hall to say hello and be interviewed. :)

Then it was time to watch the movie and I'll review that for you guys another time when more people have watched it.
Needless to say, I LOVED it!

NB: just to share a pic of Jay and Dante at a meet-the-fans session at another venue just prior to the gala:

Here are links to reports from the local papers and in one of the Chinese papers, there was a mention about how nice and no-airs Jay was towards the staff and event organisers.
And he insisted on being punctual for the events with a 10min-standby for each one. :)

Update: links have been deleted.



And here's a good vid compilation of Jay's answers at the press conference, complete with English subs..his sense of humour cracks me up! And he is so much more articulate now. :)

And this is my, admittedly biased review:

The Viral Factor ROCKS, with its explosive and exciting sequences which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the movie! Seriously, it felt like a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster but it was made at a fraction (only US$17m!) of the cost.
But what makes any movie memorable will always be the human interest aspect and this is where Dante Lam is ace as well.
The narrative about the Wan family's breakdown and eventual closure is heart-tugging but believable.
Some may find the mix of languages used (English, Mandarin, Cantonese, a smattering of Malay and even Arabic!) a tad confusing but the subtitles are excellent and easily followed.
I feel that it brings a touch of realism to the movie, as I've been brought up in a multi-lingual and multicultural society and I converse like that with the people I come in contact with.

As for the actors, what else can I say??
Nicholas Tse is quite a young veteran of movies by now and it shows. His portrayal of Wan Yang is feral yet compelling.
Jay Chou, on his part, has proven he can do an action movie, convincingly, in spite of what he says about himself not being suited to such roles. I'm necessarily biased but his performance was definitely a step up even from The Green Hornet. It was really good to see him all tough-guy and dirty but his scenes with his family are heartfelt, especially with his mother, Nick and his niece.
The supporting actors are in a class of their own, from the Wan family members to the rest of the bad/good guys.

All in, this is a Chinese New Year movie with a difference. If you want action with heart, go for The Viral Factor. I watched it twice, both times equally moved. Intend to go again.


The movie got the thumbs-up from the fans in general and did very well in Hongkong, China, Malaysia and Singapore. It, surprisingly, flopped in Taiwan, of all places...which I felt, was rather unfortunate. After all, that is Jay's home country and I'm sure he felt saddened.
Why it did not do well is open to speculation....perhaps an action movie like that was not what audiences there wanted to watch during the Lunar New Year?
Maybe they did not like his look in the movie?
Or was it because there were other Taiwanese flicks competing for their attention at that time too?
Or all of the above?


Whatever the reason, the overall box office was sufficient for a sequel to be considered.
The last I heard, Jay is not keen on being in it and I have not seen any other related news since.


I shall close this post with some pics of Jay as Wan Fei in the movie...personally, I loved his rugged and manly look here.
I wish he had penned a song or two for it, though!

My first Jay concert: LOUD Festival 2011

Becoming a Jay-maniac has been one of my most rewarding fandom experiences ever!

In the one year after I became obsessed with His Royal DIAOness, he has come to Singapore twice:

First as (a MAJOR) part of LOUD Festival in October 2011, and in January 2012 for the gala premiere of The Viral Factor.
And I got to see him both times!!!! *happy dance*

Anyway, I was mulling over what to post tonight (frankly, I'm spoilt for choice!) and after some thought, decided on writing about the first time I watched him performing live, which was the above-mentioned musical extravaganza last year.

You can imagine how mind-blowingly excited I was when I first got wind of the fact that Jay would bring his LOUD Festival concert to Singapore, as they had originally appeared to been scheduled only in Hongkong and Malaysia.
So when my dear fellow Jay-fan-friend, A messaged me on Facebook with the news, 7 October was officially declared My First Jay Chou Concert Nite in my calendar and nothing/nobody was going to interfere.

Yes, Jay was amongst four acts for LOUD but he definitely was THE main draw for the fans, who snapped up the tickets to make it a capacity audience...and the response at the concert proved as much.

That's the view of the stage from where we were sitting on the terrace seats. Of course we got there nice and early to soak in the atmosphere and buy merchandise...like these...viz mousepad, iPhone case and mouse...all of which are I'm happily using now! :)

As I mentioned earlier, besides Jay, there were three other acts viz Sodagreen , Landy Wen and Cindy Yen. They are all Jay's friends; he has written many songs for Landy and Cindy is an artiste with his company JVR Music. Sodagreen is a popular Taiwanese indie-pop-rock band who have quite a following in Singapore too.

I shall take the liberty of posting a write-up from xinmsn here as their review is quite comprehensive, complete with links to vids of the artistes:

http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/celebrity/buzz/asia/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=5376453

Text: Joanna Goh
Photos: UnUsUaL Entertainment
Videos: Fiona Lin

"The LOUD Festival had more than 8,000 concertgoers rocking out to a mixture of rock tunes and pop-ballads by Taiwanese artistes such as Sodagreen, Landy Wen, Cindy Yen, Jay Chou, and local band Ang Mo Pai.
Taiwanese indie-rock band Sodagreen hyped up the Indoor Stadium's atmosphere when they kicked off the concert with a rock tune called 'Kuang Re'. The six-member group (minus Kay who is away in the army now) bantered onstage as lead singer Greeny went round interviewing his co-members in-between songs.
The stadium sang along when the group, who will be releasing a new album in November, played a mixture of favourite hits such as 'Xiao Qing Ge' and new songs like 'Xi Huan Ji Mo' and 'Zao Dian Hui Jia'.
After Sodagreen's eclectic performance, Landy made a loud appearance and paid tribute to her ethnic roots when she showcased her powerhouse vocals in an aboriginal-esque tune. Dressed in a gold brocade outfit with a mesh top over a short jacket and lace shorts, it was not the 32-year-old's sexy table dance that had the crowd swooning at her feet. Instead, it was Landy's live rendition of her popular love ballads like 'Zhu Wo Sheng Ri Kuai Le' and 'Sha Gua' that got everyone excited.
Following Ang Mo Pai's entertaining rock tunes and a short showcase of Cindy's versatile vocals, concertgoers went electric the moment Jay took over the performing baton. On their feet, everyone welcome Jay with enthusiastic screams and jumps of glee -- as if it was the multi-hyphenate's personal concert -- when he popped up from an ornate coffin for the song 'Herbalist's Manual'.

 The man showcased his adroit piano-playing skills with a short performance of 'Flight of the Bumblebee' and delighted fans with his next song, 'Shuo Hao De Xing Fu Ne'.
In a red biker jacket and torn jeans, Jay was surprised at the crowd's overwhelming responsiveness and quipped teasingly, "Everyone's so high today! Why are you guys so enthusiastic?"
Apart from improvising the lyrics in his songs last night, Jay also performed an improvised rock-ballad version of 'Shuang Jie Gun', a hit song from his debut days, on the guitar. Hogging the entertainment headlines with his rumoured romance with an 18-year-old Hannah Quinlivan, the 32-year-old did not forget to poke fun at himself when he thanked fans for their support in the past decade.
"You and I will not give up regardless of rumours or speculations," he cheekily added.
After his performance segment, Jay reappeared with Landy for an encore rendition of their well-loved ballad, 'Wu Ding'. It was a rare chance and a surreal moment for everyone present to catch both Jay and Landy sharing the same stage, performing the latter's 1999 hit as the concert concluded on a resounding note."

Some pics from my album of Sodagreen, Landy and Cindy:

 And of course, resounding screams when THIS appeared!

And some better fan-cam vids from youtube:

Some of my own thoughts on the show:

It was simply awesome to have all those artistes there for a night of music feasting.
They were all very good, and apart from Jay, Sodagreen. especially had loads of fans who were singing along lustily as well.

Landy performed well but she was a little out-of-breath after the dance numbers. ;)

The audience appeared to be less familiar with Cindy, which I think is a pity as she really gave it her all and she shows great promise in her writing, singing and dancing. Only time will tell.

As for Jay...what can I say???

It was DA MAN himself on that stage!!!

His outfit totally ROCKED!
Red jacket, black tee and torn jeans...MUCH better than the furry thing he wore in Hongkong.
NB: hairpiece looked almost naturel. :P

He pretty much performed the same songs as at other LOUDs, with his usual banter and joking with the audience.
Viz Ben Cao Gang Mu, Free Instructional Video, Where is the Promised Happiness, Qing Hua Ci, Final Battle, Shuang Jie Kun and Rooftop with Landy Wen.
Oh...and his rendition of Mozart's Turkish March on the piano.

He couldn't help throwing in references to tabloid news about his love life and speculations on when he was getting married and asked us if we would still support him when he did.
Of course the response was a resounding YES!!

There was also a nice bit of lyric improv in Qing Hua Ci, where he expressed his gratitude to the fans for their warmth and support all these years...very endearing!!




All in, it was a wonderful combination of music styles in one concert and the only grouse I had was that Jay escaped very quickly after the show and did not do what Jacky Cheung did after his concert...greet the fans at the stadium exit as he was leaving.

But I guess I shouldn't complain.
He came and he gave a GREAT performance....what more can a fangirl ask for, right??

Chou Style: Create and improvise!

 "One time he sat down and started playing the Taiwanese national anthem," says his high school piano teacher Charles Chen. "It's usually very solemn but Chou was riffing and turned it into an interesting piece of music, one that sounded like a pop song."---from the TIME ASIA feature in 2003 


"Songwriting to me is like drinking water. It comes very naturally and it makes me happy. When I act, I'm taking on another character and I have to fulfill my director's expectations. When I write songs, I have to satisfy only myself."--- Jay Chou, in an interview from HOT magazine, 2012, whilst promoting The Viral Factor


"I'm not a doctor nor a magician, but I can make the music come alive."--- Jay Chou


From all accounts I've read, Jay was composing even in his early childhood music class, where he wrote a song for a girl whom he liked. Ditto in high school and therefter. ;)
The first quote on top also attests to his knack for improvisation, which continues to charm his fans to no end, whether on the piano or in his song lyrics during live performances.

I've posted this video before but it bears watching again for this topic, as Jay's ability to pluck a tune out of thin air (or three random notes), so to speak, is demonstrated very clearly:

A fan-compiled audio clip of all three pieces, minus the talking:

Jay on a TVB show, making up tunes from random keys:

This is from a TV interview with him, where he mashes up Chopin, Liszt and adds a modern pop twist:

Jay again modifies his own song, Qing Hua Ci, from Chinese-style to one with a more updated feel:

Another instance of him having fun with the classics on his talkshow, Mr J Channel...here with Mozart's Turkish March, one of his favourites:

He made up a Chinese-style song for his guest and Treasure Hunter co-star, Lin Chiling:

I love the following clip, again from Mr J Channel, where he provided 'background music' to a story which Xuegao (Ice cream) was making up...very funny! But his accompaniment was spot-on in its appropriateness and feel for whatever Xuegao was throwing at him...lol!
NB: there are English subs!

Jay playing the Secondo part in a duet, where he comes up with amazing chord progressions for an old favourite, Home Sweet Home:

This is a wonderful vid of Jay and Michel Gondry jamming on a street in LA during The Green Hornet filming...Mackaronie anyone??
I'm so envious of all those lucky bystanders....Jay Chou playing for you for free in public?!?!?!






And he improvised a song for this talkshow:

I love how matter-of-fact and cool he is where impromptu music-making is concerned...it's just so stress-free for him!
He's like a sponge, absorbing and mashing up genres which then come back out as beautifully balanced musical masterpieces, as evidenced by the examples in my other posts on Chou Style.


As he says in the second quote above, songwriting is an enjoyable and natural activity for him.
Therein lies the secret of how he has been so impossibly prolific all these years, coming up with an album almost every year whilst composing yet more music for other artistes and his own movie.
And he's still going strong!
Secret 2 is set to have alot more music and he has assured us of his twelfth album after that...the mind boggles, but believes he'll do so as only His Royal DIAOness can....awesomely!

Golden Melody Moments

 "Winning here and now does not mean you'll always win. Losing here does not mean you'll be a loser for life. So don't give up! After all, there's always a chance every year. I've experienced not winning too."--- Jay Chou before presenting the award for Best Female Mandarin Singer at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards on 23rd June 2012  (More on the event further down this post)


Sage words from His Royal DIAOness who has had his share of disappointments at the Golden Melody Awards (GMAs) over the course of his illustrious career, most notably for his third album, The Eight Dimensions.
The GMAs are probably THE most prestigious awards in the Mandopop industry, equivalent to the Grammy Awards in Western pop music.
Here's a Wikipedia link about them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Melody_Awards


I decided to write about the GMAs tonight as I was pretty impressed by Jay's little speech and bantering with the audience as a presenter last night. He was really cool, relaxed and managed to throw in an apt reference to his own song, Healing Rice Dumplings in a very charmingly cute and natural manner, as it was, coincidentally also the day of the Dumpling Festival. :)

AND the winner in this category was none other than our very own Tanya Chua, for whom this was her third time! *applause*
Gotta feel for the other five, especially Hebe Tien, who had many nominations but went home empty-handed....hopefully, she would find solace in Jay's song, as he suggested. ;)

Jay was up for three awards last night (actually only two, 'cos one was for Best Album Packaging); they were Best Arranger and Best Male Mandarin Singer (which he won last year, together with Best Album).
He did not win either but I don't think he was too bothered.
But the fans (like myself) were, 'cos he had earlier promised to show-off his new-look abs if he won anything. :(

Here's the vid of his pre-event interview, showing off his impressive arm muscles, as he had already said he would wear a sleeveless top to the GMAs...and Jay is a man of his word:

But as you can see from the first vid of his presentation, in the interest of decorum, he dutifully put on that leopard-print long-sleeved top for the event proper, and removed the shades. ;)


Anyway, I wanted to put together some of the more significant GMAs he won or performed at for this post as it'as always nice to see how he looked and behaved in his early years all the way to the present.

Where to start?
Of course it has to be the very first time he won Best Album, which was at the 12th GMAs in 2001and it was for his debut album, no less!
How much more affirmation could a newcomer get??

Here's a vid of him performing Lovable Woman at that event, in his inimitable way:

And the presentation ceremony...the run-up takes a while as the presenters banter but keep watching for Jay's jumping onto the stage in his youthful exuberance! He spoke quite a lot here, actually and thanked his parents for giving birth to him. It was also really funny when Jacky Wu and the guys tried to push him into the pool (why is there a pool in the middle of the stage anyway???) and he just stumbled in finally. :))

The next year, he won Best Album again for Fantasy: (the first three minutes are the presenters joking around and the lady really knew how to stoke the fans' fervour!). Jay was gawky and soooo cute!!!

Fantasy propelled him to great heights and he had high hopes when the next GMAs came around, for his third album, The Eight Dimensions.
However, that was the year he would be disappointed and brought down to earth when he went home, empty-handed. What made it worse for him was that he had brought his beloved grandma to the event and he felt that he had let her down in some way when he did not win anything.
It was not for lack of effort nor quality of the album.
But awards ceremonies can be unpredictable as judges' decisions can never be fully understood sometimes.
That was a lesson for Jay and he subsequently decided that he was not going to let something like that get to him so deeply again.
He did express his feelings about this in a song dedicated to his grandma on his fifth album,Common Jasmine Orange.

Here's the vid of his red carpet walk and performance there:

But the following year at the 15th GMAs, he did win Best Album again, for Ye Hui Mei, titled after his Mum's name. :)

Awesome double piano performance with Yuhao at 16th GMAs (no wins here, I think):

From what I gather, Jay did not attend some of the subsequent GMAs, despite winning awards, including Best Singer for Capricorn, as he was occupied with other concerts or events.

He did however, have a presenting stint at the 21st GMAs, with A-mei, who's a good friend of his. Very comfortable and speaking quite well, having gotten experience hosting Mr J Channel, methinks!

He attended and won the two biggies eventually at the 22nd GMAs in 2011, for Best Singer and Best Album (The Era).

Red carpet walk...what a cool look!

Pre-event interview with his band of brothers:

Award for Best Singer, with Jacky Wu being funny and presented by David Tao:

And for Best Album, where he and Jody Chiang presented...lol!
Really funny when Jody asked him who was sexier, she or Patty Hou (Jay's ex and one of the main hosts!) and Jay rebutted her about whether he looked better or Hong Ronghong...which made Jody change the subject immediately. :D
Jody and Jay are of course, good friends from waaay back, when Jay wrote songs for her.
Very entertaining and befitting for the biggest and final award of the night!

As can be seen, Jay has come a long way from those innocent days when he debuted.
He's so much more confident but still has that hint of self-deprecation and embarrassment, which is so endearing!

"I want to thank my fans. I will continue to be your Superman."--- when he won the Best Singer award in 2011.

GO JAY!!!!

My 1000-piece Jay Jigsaw 周杰伦拼图

This was given to me by a friend who knew how partial I was/am to Jay. It had been sitting pretty in my cupboard for a few months as I had never done anything like this in earnest. It was only
after my son had tenaciously finished his 1000-piece Hitman Reborn puzzle that I was inspired to give this a go.

 First things first...his cute face! And as much of the edges as possible.

Then came the body. Thankfully, there were alphabets behind the pieces and after a while, we got the hang of the order/grids somewhat, and it became easier.

 TA-DAH!!!! Everything in place at last!!! 

Framed-up and ready to be displayed!!

I actually have a spot to hang this up on but he looks kinda nice, sitting on the floor of the landing outside our rooms... :)

And for added perspective, see the CD at the bottom righthand corner....that's how big the finished 50cm by 75cm picture is!

Some thoughts on the experience:

I never realised that putting together a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle could induce such a spectrum of emotions! It was a surreally obsessive yet fulfilling experience over six days of intermittent work which involved my family (bless their kind hearts!) as well.

The process started off with eager anticipation as we emptied out the pieces from the box and started sorting them out...slowly. When the fit was right, the satisfaction was great. But when nothing seemed to come together, frustration would set in. Which was also not helped by the fact that neckache, backache and eyestrain were all part of the whole procedure!

The most agonising incident was when I accidentally dropped the 60%-completed puzzle whilst transferring it to another room to continue working on it. I saw our hard work go to pieces...literally! The feeling then was indescribably awful, that's all I can say. But after wailing in despair and uttering countless expletives for about 30 minutes, life had to go on. Pieces had to be picked up and put together again...painstakingly. And with a firm resolve not to let something like that happen again!

Another heartstopping moment was when it appeared that there were missing pieces, just as we were nearing the end of the puzzle. That triggered off a thorough search, and it was with immense relief that the errant pieces were found.

Of course the most exhiliarating part was at the conclusion when the last few pieces were put in place and..voila!
The whole process appears rather like an allegory for life on the whole, don't you think? ;)

Chou Style: The Body (with update on 30 Nov 2012)

Tonight's post is prompted by the recent unveiling of His Royal DIAOness' impressive pecs and washboard abs as seen in that pic above...which has resulted in not a few fans hyperventilating and squealing in delight, I'm sure. *grins*
When I can find a nicer and more close-up shot, I'll post it here. ;)

Heh...I was going to write about his talkshow or Pandamen but wth, this topic is waaay more interesting, don't you think? 

Anyway, as I mentioned in a previous post, Jay was not above taking off his shirt in his early years. Perhaps he was advised by his record company to do so. Or he just had no qualms whatsoever, being somewhat young and naive.
As you can see in the pic below, taken from one of his first concert showcases, that's a comfortably topless Jay playing piano and singing. He was sweating profusely and it seemed the most natural thing to do...lol!
He already had quite nice arms and pecs even then....definitely not scrawny. Probably a result of all that basketball practice!

Another shot:

From his Grandeur de D Majeur book:

And from the accompanying booklet on his Still Fantasy album:

He became more self-conscious subsequently, though...quote from today's article in the local paper:
"I took my clothes off because I was young and ignorant. That was why I put my clothes on after that."

However, he was not averse to sleeveless tops or open shirts showing a hint of his chest.

And even in The Green Hornet and The Viral Factor, both action-packed movies, he did not appear in tank tops or shirtless (although all his fans were hoping he would!).

He was also always fully dressed for his concerts, complete with jackets or coats of some sort.


Cut to the present and our man appears to have changed his mind about baring his bod....but on his terms, which is that it has to be a bod worth flaunting.
He has been working out at his BFF's gym over the past two months and the retrolicious look in that pic at the top is apparently for his upcoming movie, Secret 2 (tentatively titled 'Rooftop'), where he'll once again be acting in and directing.

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=15221.0

This fangirl thinks he looks really hot (and cool!) in that get-up and nearly fell off her chair when she first saw it on Facebook!
His pecs and arms are just about nicely muscled ( I don't like overtly muscular types like what the bodybuilders have) and as for those abs...*hyperventilates*


Not surprisingly, there have been question marks over the 'realness' of that pic, with all the usual talk of Photoshop or camera tricks.
Jay has adamantly denied anything of that sort and knowing him, I'm certain that all those muscles are definitely genuine. It's just not in his nature to shortchange his fans and consent to any enhancements for an officially-released shot (by JVR).
He has promised that he'll wear a sleeveless top at the Golden Melody Awards tomorrow...and Jay is a man of his word.
I can't wait to see what he'll come up with!


Update on 24 June 2012:

Pic from weibo of Mr Chou working out... WOW! @@

Methinks we'll see him on the cover of Men's Health pretty soon!! ;)




NB: Update on 30 November 2012:

Check this out!!! *OMJ*

Friends

"I will do whatever I can to help my friends. I started out from humble beginnings and have come thus far. Friends, to me, are for life. I want to use my success to be of help to my friends. Like I don't mind spending two days out of my busy schedule to shoot an MV with them."---- Jay Chou, from Chapter Three of his book, Grandeur de D Majeur

Amongst the many reasons I've grown to love and respect Jay so much is how he has maintained his friendships with so many people from the start of his career, till the present where he is a megastar and King of Mandopop. Being an only child probably accounts for why he treasures his friends so much and treats them as part of an extended family.
Jay also likes to rope them in to act in his numerous music videos and movies (especially Secret).

There are his buddies and staff from his early days in Alfa Music; and they kept with him when he set up JVR Music with Vincent and JR Yang. They include his recording engineer, Gary Yang and makeup artiste, Du Guochang aka Du Ge. And of course, his best friend forever, Wil Liu Genghong.

This is Gary Yang, Jay's recording engineer from his very first album till now. They have also sung duets viz Moonlight, Wandering Poet and Love's Flight Diary and Gary usually plays guitar during Jay's concerts. They clicked well from their first meeting and Jay was always encouraging Gary to release his own album...which he did!

Moonlight, written by Gary and performed here with Jay:

MV of Wandering Poet, written by Jay:

 Jay and Gary singing Love's Flight Diary (written by Jay) at The Era concert:

This is Du Ge, Jay's makeup artiste, friend and actor in many of his MVs and most notably, as the disabled janitor in Secret. He also co-hosted Jay's talkshow, Mr J Channel, together with another three, who'll be mentioned later.

And that's Jay's best friend, Wil Liu Genghong (in the middle) with his bride, Vivi; Jay was the bestman and now godfather of Wil's son, Yu En (see pic below):

Jay and Wil have collaborated on many projects in music, movies and business ventures. One of his more prominent roles was in the MV for Maple, for which he also wrote a follow-up song.
Their latest venture is Wil's gym, where Jay has been working out to prepare himself for filming and directing Secret 2.

From the Jay Chou Studio archives in 2009, here is an insightful and heartwarming interview where Wil talks about his friendship with Jay, his first impressions of Jay's singing ("not good") and how basketball bonded them. Also how Jay has matured and from here, we can also see that it was Wil who advised Jay about being more discreet about his 'girlfriends' so as not to affect the girls' reputations:

http://www.multistars.com/forums/index.php?topic=13212.msg276093#msg276093


Now we come to Nan Quan Ma Ma, a group which Jay formed and made up of his good friends. Members have changed over the years. (Thank you to havamahal from multistars forums for the info and pics of NQMM)

These are the original members:  Devon Song/Dan Tou (宋建彰/弹头), G-Power (钟佐泓/巨炮) (I think he's currently still part of Jay's crew, who takes care of his concerts), Gary Yang (杨瑞代) and Yuhao Zhan (詹宇豪).

MV for Childhood, a poignant song, featuring Jay:

Second generation: Chase Chang (张杰), Yuhao Zhan (詹宇豪), Lara Veronin (梁心颐) and Devon Song/Dan Tou (宋建彰/弹头)

MV for Li Jia Bu Yuan, with subs:

Third generation: Gary, Chase and Lara all started their own solo careers, so the latest NQMM consists of only 2 members - Devon Song/Dan Tou (宋建彰/弹头) and Yuhao Zhan (詹宇豪).



Another good friend is Huang Junlang, who has written lyrics for some of Jay's cute songs, notably Cowboy Very Busy and Sailors Afraid Of Water., amongst others. He also played the part of the overaged rugby captain in Secret. That's him below next to Vincent:

Interview with Huang Junlang from JCS Archives:

Circa 2008:
http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/huang-jun-lang-jay-chou-is-a-good-friend-lyrics-arent-good-but-if-he-sings-it-it-will-definitely-be-popular/956

Circa 2009:
http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chous-regular-lyricist-huang-jun-lang-reveals-that-jay-and-vincent-are-fools/983


Observant fans will also recognise Yuhao and Devon from their roles in Secret and Pandamen.
Devon has also written lyrics for some of Jay's songs,
Yuhao frequently duets with Jay on piano at concerts and their most recent venture has, most appropriately, been a music school and custom-made pianos! 
Lara has sung duets with Jay on his albums (Twilight's Chapter Seven, Snake Dance and Coral Sea) and also guests at his concerts too, together with the other NQMM members.



Now we come to The Drifters aka Lang Hua Xiong Di, consisting of Darren and Yannick (aka Chang Qing). Chang Qing was Jay's friend from school and they are frequent guests at his concerts. Darren is also often in Jay's MVs and is likely to be in Secret 2.

Here is a link to a very good write-up about them:

http://www.cpopaccess.com/2010/03/closer-look-at-drifters.html

One of my fave songs by The Drifters, it's a remake of a Japanese song, featuring Jay and Elly (from Mr J Channel), with very meaningful and encouraging lyrics:

This is also very nice...If I Think Of You, I'll Write A Letter:

Now we come to Jay's two choreographers, Xiao Mai and Xue Gao (Ice cream), who have appeared in Secret and his MVs. They also co-hosted Mr J Channel with him, Du Ge and Elly (more on this show in another post).
And if I'm not mistaken, Jay has also helped them set up a dance school.

From left: Xiao Mai, Xue Gao, Jay, Elly, Du Ge


Another very important person in Jay's life is, however, not male. She has worked for Jay for at least seven years and as Jay often says, she was a fan who became his assistant. You'll see her in many of his MVs and behind-the-scenes vids at concerts, talkshows, and even when Jay was in America filming The Green Hornet.
Yup, that (some say) lucky lady is Danni, his indispensable personal assistant, credit card holder and go-to person for cute roles in his MVs...Cowboy Very Busy, Time Machine, Free Instructional Video and most recently and funnily as the 'scary' shark in Sailors Afraid Of Water...lol!

There are many other regulars in Jay's life, including all the JVR staff, band musicians, dancers, backup singers, etc. It's beyond me to mention them all but suffice to say, Mr Chou is known as a good friend who does not hesitate to help any member of his team when needed.
They have all been instrumental in providing an extensive network of support for him, without which he would not have gotten to where he is today too.