Jolin Tsai facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jolin Tsai
Tsai in 2018
Born	Tsai I-ling (1980-09-15) September 15, 1980 (age 43) Hsinchuang, Taipei, Taiwan (now Xinzhuang, New Taipei, Taiwan)
Alma mater	Fu Jen Catholic University
Occupation	Singer songwriter actress dancer record producer author businesswoman
Years active	1999–present
Works	Albums songs singles concerts videos films
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	Taipei, Taiwan
Genres	Pop dance
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Universal EMI Gold Typhoon Warner Sony
Chinese name
Chinese	蔡依林
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Cài Yīlín Wade–Giles Ts'ai4 I1-lin2 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chhoà I-lîm

Jolin Tsai (Mandarin: [tsˈaɪ]; Chinese: 蔡依林; born September 15, 1980) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen of C-Pop", she is one of the most influential pop cultural figures in the Chinese-speaking world. Recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in musical style and visual image, she is a key figure of popularizing dance-pop as mainstream music in Greater China. She maintains control over every aspects of her career, her works, which incorporate social themes and ideological connotations, have achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim.

Tsai was born in Hsinchuang, Taiwan. In 1998, Tsai won a singing competition held by MTV Mandarin. Her debut album 1019 (1999) made her an instant hit, while her girl-next-door image made her a teen idol with a huge teenage fan base. Her album Magic (2003) reflected her first musical transformation, marking the beginning of her dance-oriented musical direction. Her album Dancing Diva (2006) featured dynamic dance music and dazzling dance moves, establishing her status as a representative dance-pop artist in the Chinese music scene.

In 2009, Tsai founded her company Eternal, and began to dominate her career. She began demonstrating girl power and concern for minorities with her album Myself (2010), which marked a significant turning point in her musical form. Her album Muse (2012) spans both mainstream and independent music. Her album Play (2014) made the world aware of the high standard of Chinese dance music. Her album Ugly Beauty (2018) explored secular beauty standard and inner psychological polarity, leading the Chinese music industry in terms of production level.

Tsai has sold over 25 million records, making her the highest-selling Taiwanese female recording artist since 2000. Beginning with her album Magic (2003), each of her studio albums has been the highest-selling album by a female artist in Taiwan in the year of release, with four of which also being the highest-selling album overall in the country in the years of release. She has won a total of seven Golden Melody Awards, the most of any dance-pop artist in history. Since 2010, she has been ranked top 20 on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list for six out of ten times, with being ranked top one in terms of Chinese female singer three times. Her net worth exceeded NT$2 billion in 2014, and she has been ranked as the highest-paid Taiwanese female singer 16 times across two decades (2003–2022).

Life and career

1980–1998: Early life and career beginnings

Tsai was born in Hsinchuang City, Taipei County, Taiwan (now Hsinchuang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan) on September 15, 1980. Her father's name is Tsai Chu-chen, her mother's name is Huang Chun-mei, and she has an older sister named Tsai Min-wen. Her father is of Han Chinese descent, and her mother is half Han Chinese and half Taiwanese indigenous Papora. Her father worked as an accountant before opening a factory in Thailand, and her mother raised their two daughters in Taiwan on her own. Her father later returned to Taiwan to operate a Thai migrant worker agency. Tsai attended Hsinchuang Elementary School, Hsinchuang Junior High School, and Chingmei Girls' High School. Since the first grade, she has been among the top three in class almost every semester. She has learned to practice Chinese calligraphy and play the piano since elementary school, and she has passed the grade 9 piano exam. She has been interested into participating in extracurricular activities since elementary school. She joined the track and field team of her elementary school, but she later quit due to an ankle injury. She joined the volleyball team of her high school, and she formed a band called Twister with classmates, the band later broke up because their performance was not as good as expected. She performed the Cranberries' "Zombie" at a welcome party of her high school's popular music association in her sophomore year, and she performed Bette Midler's "The Rose" at another high school event in the sophomore year.

Tsai has taken part in singing competitions since high school, and she won in a singing competition organized by her high school and placed second in another competition organized by Broadcasting Corporation of China. In May 1998, she participated in a television singing competition show produced by MTV Mandarin to meet the requirement for a record of extracurricular activity to apply for universities, and she stand out by performing a series of English songs, including Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All", Mariah Carey's "Hero", and LeAnn Rimes's "How Do I Live", and eventually won the competition. "It will be great if I could help her produce a record," said one judge Jeff Lee. "She is a born singer, she sings with her talent," said another judge Wawa Chen. Universal Music Taiwan's music director Sam Chen described Tsai looked different on and off stage in the competition, saying: "She looked just like a uniform student when she was off the stage, but she looked like she has great superstar potential when she was on the stage." In March 1999, Tsai signed a recording contract with Universal, and she became the key new artist of the year. Universal arranged a series of courses for Tsai for half a year, including twice-weekly dance course to help her improve stage performance, twice-weekly makeup course to help her do makeup when she was pressed for schedules, and speech training course to help her cope with the press. Additionally, Universal arranged for her to fly to Ireland, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom to watch live performances of foreign artists. In June 1999, Tsai was admitted to the English literature major of Fu Jen Catholic University after winning first place in the recommendation and screening test, and she started her four-year career as a "student singer".

1999–2002: 1019, Don't Stop, Show Your Love, and Lucky Number

On July 16, 1999, Tsai released her debut single "Living with the World" and announced the release of her debut album in early September 1999. On September 10, 1999, Tsai released her debut studio album, 1019. Produced by David Wu, Peter Lee, and Paul Lee, it incorporated genres of pop, hip-hop, R&B, and world music to showcase her musical talent and versatility. It was well received by music critics, who commented that the girlish sentiment exuded from the album filled the vacancy of the girl-next-door singer in the Taiwan music scene at the time, her idol vibe and strength combined with the excellent production made her become an instant hit. It sold more than 450,000 copies in Taiwan. On December 4, 1999, Tsai held the 1019 I Can Concert in Taipei. On March 16, 2000, Tsai released the live video album, 1019 I Can Concert, which contained the 1019 I Can Concert footage.

On April 26, 2000, Tsai released her second studio album, Don't Stop. Produced by David Wu, Peter Lee, Paul Lee, and Chen Wei, it incorporated genres of pop, R&B, hip-hop, rock, and reggae. Her singing skills on the album were better than before, and her ballad interpretation became more emotional and delicate, while her uptempo song interpretation became more free and easy. It was well received by music critics, who commented that the dance tracks, which was flush with positive vibe and cheerful disposition, set her off in a more dance-oriented direction. It sold more than 500,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the year's second highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's sixth highest-selling album in the country. On April 16, 2020, Tsai held the Don't Stop Concert in Taichung. On July 10, 2000, Tsai held the Examinee Night Concert in Taipei. On May 5, 2020, Tsai released the photo book, Nineteen Years, which sold more than 60,000 copies in Taiwan.

On December 22, 2000, Tsai released her third studio album, Show Your Love. Produced by David Wu, Peter Lee, Paul Lee, Chen Wei, and Jae Chong, it featured a wide range of musical styles and her maturer song interpretation. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it was relatively rich in music styles in the true sense during her Universal period, with a fairly balanced ratio of ballads and uptempo songs. It sold more than 280,000 copies in Taiwan. On February 25, 2001, Tsai held the Show Your Love Concert in Panchiao. On March 4, 2001, Tsai held another Show Your Love Concert in Taichung. On May 10, 2001, Tsai released the live video album, Show Your Love Concert, which contained the Show Your Love Concert footage recorded in Panchiao. On September 6, 2001, the music video of the track "Fall in Love with a Street" won an MTV Video Music Award for International Viewer's Choice.

On June 28, 2001, Tsai released the Mandarin version of the theme song "Where the Dream Takes You" of the 2001 Disney film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. On July 7, 2001, Tsai released her fourth studio album, Lucky Number. Produced by David Wu, Peter Lee, Paul Lee, Chen Wei, and Kay Huang, it incorporated genres of pop, R&B, disco, and hip-hop. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it was her most amazing album during her Universal period. On July 14, 2001, Tsai held the Lucky Number Concert in Taipei. In July 2001, Tsai's father Tsai Chu-chen and her former management company D Sound were involved in a financial dispute due to conflicts in understanding of the contract. On August 15, 2001, Tsai and her family held a press conference to announce the termination of the contract with D Sound. Subsequently, D Sound held a press conference to declare Tsai's unilateral early termination of the contract was a breach of contract, but they said they would not file a lawsuit against her for the time being. In early November 2001, Tsai signed a contract with Angie Chai's management company Comic Ritz, and subsequently D Sound filed a criminal lawsuit against her. On December 4, 2001, the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office opened a court session, D Sound accused Tsai's family of defamation and demanded NT$27 million in compensation, while Tsai's family pointed out D Sound was suspected of embezzlement. Lucky Number lacked promotion due to the contractual dispute, and it only sold more than 150,000 copies in Taiwan, ranking top 20 in the year's album sales in the country. On November 6, 2001, Universal released Tsai's greatest hits album, Together. On January 21, 2002, Tsai's family and D Sound separately requested arbitration. On April 2, 2002, Universal released Tsai's remix album, Dance Collection. On June 4, 2002, the Chinese Arbitration Association Taipei ruled Tsai must pay a compensation of NT$9 million for the early termination of the contract with D Sound.

2002–2005: Magic, Castle, and J-Game

On July 23, 2002, Tsai signed a recording contract with Sony. On August 2, 2002, Tsai released the photo book, The Masque of the Princess, the Spirit of Knight, which sold more than 50,000 copies in two weeks in Taiwan. On March 7, 2003, Tsai released her fifth studio album, Magic. Produced by Bing Wang, Jamie Hsueh, Jay Chou, Peter Lee, and Huang I, it incorporated genres of pop, disco, funk, hip-hop, and Britpop. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it was the key piece of her first musical reinvention and established her dance-oriented musical direction. It sold more than 1.5 million copies in Asia. In Taiwan, it topped the album sales chart for ten consecutive weeks and sold more than 360,000 copies, becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's second highest-selling album. The album earned three Golden Melody Award nominations, it was nominated for Album of the Year, Tsai was nominated for Best Female Mandarin Singer, and Baby Chung was nominated for Best Music Arrangement for the track, "Prague Square". Eventually, Baby Chung won Best Music Arrangement. On March 9, 2003, the Taiwanese television series Hi Working Girl, where Tsai played the title role of Fu I-ling, was aired on China Television. On March 14, 2003, Universal released Tsai's greatest hits album, The Age of Innocence. On April 10, 2003, Tsai released the songs "Angel of Love", "Darkness", and "Sweetie" for the 2003 Hong Kong film, Why Me, Sweetie?!. On April 12, 2003, Tsai held the Say Love You Concert in Tainan. On June 14, 2003, Tsai graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University with a bachelor's degree in English literature. On September 15, 2003, Tsai translated the book The English Roses into Chinese for Madonna, and later she translated another five Madonna's books. On September 10, 2003, Tsai released the theme song "Warriors in Peace" of the 2003 Chinese film, Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

On February 27, 2004, Tsai released her sixth studio album, Castle. Produced by Bing Wang, Peter Lee, Jay Chou, Jamie Hsueh, G-Power, and Huang I, it incorporated genres of pop, hip-hop, Latin, chanson, heavy metal, and Britpop. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it consolidated Tsai's successful development trend in the Chinese music scene. It sold more than 1.5 million copies in Asia. In Taiwan, it topped the album sales chart for nine consecutive weeks and sold more than 300,000 copies, becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's second highest-selling album. On April 17, 2004, Tsai held the It's Love Concert in Taipei. On August 7, 2004, Tsai embarked on her first concert tour J1 World Tour in Shanghai. On November 12, 2004, Tsai released the compilation album, J9. On the same date, Universal released Tsai's greatest hits album, Born to Be a Star. On February 8, 2005, Tsai performed the track "36 Tricks of Love" at the CCTV New Year's Gala. On March 9, 2004, Tsai released the book, Jolin's English Diary Book. It sold more than 1 million copies in Asia, with more than 120,000 copies sold in Taiwan.

On April 25, 2005, Tsai released her seventh studio album, J-Game. Produced by Jamie Hsueh, Jack Chou, Bing Wang, and Adia Chang, it incorporated genres of pop, hip-hop, electronic, old school, disco, and Chinese style. It received mixed reviews from music critics, who commented that it for being trendy and pursuing perfection, but also for being vague positioning and lacking in personality. It sold more than 1.2 million copies in Asia. In Taiwan, it sold more than 260,000 copies, becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's second highest-selling album. On June 18, 2005, Tsai held the Exclusive Asia Concert in Taichung. On September 9, 2005, Tsai released the Mandarin version of the song "Under the Sea" from the 1989 Disney film, The Little Mermaid. On September 23, 2005, Tsai released the live video album, J1 Live Concert, which chronicled her J1 World Tour. It topped the video album sales chart for twelve consecutive weeks in Taiwan. On September 28, 2005, Taiwanese singer Show Lo released the duet "Destined Guy" with Tsai, which was included on Lo's album, Hypnosis Show. On December 30, 2005, Tsai released the book, Jolin's Party. It sold more than 1 million copies in Asia, with more than 150,000 copies sold in Taiwan.

2006–2008: Dancing Diva and Agent J

On February 16, 2006, Tsai signed a recording contract with EMI. On May 5, 2006, Sony released Tsai's greatest hits album, J-Top. It sold more than 100,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the year's fifth highest-selling album in the country. On May 6, 2006, Tsai won an MTV Asia Award for The Style Award. On May 12, 2006, Tsai released her eighth studio album, Dancing Diva. Produced by Adia Chang, Peter Lee, Paul Lee, Yuri Chan, Stanley Huang, and Paula Ma, its musical style was mainly based on pop and electronic music, the slick dance songs with dazzling dance moves also revealed a strong exotic atmosphere. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it was variety in content and well produced, and had an extremely high listenability and popularity, which established Tsai's representative status as a dance-pop artist in the Chinese music scene. It sold more than 2.5 million copies in Asia. In Taiwan, it sold more than 300,000 copies, becoming the year's highest-selling album. The album earned three Golden Melody Award nominations, it was nominated for Best Mandarin Album, Tsai was nominated for Best Female Mandarin Singer, and Adia Chang was nominated for Best Single Producer for the track, "Dancing Diva". Eventually, she won Best Female Mandarin Singer and Favorite Female Singer/Group. On July 1, 2006, Tsai held the Pulchritude Concert in Kaohsiung. On September 15, 2006, Tsai embarked on her second concert tour Dancing Forever World Tour in Hong Kong. On September 29, 2006, Tsai released the compilation album, Dancing Forever. The duet "Marry Me Today" with Taiwanese singer David Tao included on the album won a Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year. On November 3, 2006, Sony released Tsai's remix album, Favorite. On February 17, 2007, Tsai performed the song "Marry Me Today" with David Tao at the CCTV New Year's Gala. On June 8, 2007, Tsai released her documentary film, If You Think You Can, You Can!, which chronicled her Dancing Forever World Tour. It sold more than 120,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the year's highest-selling video album in the country. On September 19, 2007, Sony released Tsai's greatest hits album, Final Wonderland.

On September 21, 2007, Tsai released her ninth studio album, Agent J, which was produced by Adia Chang, Paul Lee, Michael Lin, Jamie Hsueh, Paula Ma, Lars Quang, Nik Quang, Rene Prang, and Gabriel Ssezibwa. It received mixed reviews from music critics, who commented that it retained Tsai's adventurous way and diverse musical styles, but lacked freshness and melodicity. It sold more than 3 million copies in Asia. In Taiwan, it sold more than 200,000 copies, becoming the year's highest-selling album. Adia Chang won a Golden Melody Award for Best Single Producer for the track, "Agent J", and Andrew Chen won a Golden Melody Award for Best Music Arrangement for the same track. It was released alongside a musical film of the same name, which premiered on September 14, 2007 and starred three Asian actors Kim Jaewon, Stephen Fung, and Carl Ng. On October 21, 2007, Tsai held the Agent J Concert in Tamsui. On November 21, 2007, Kylie Minogue released the duet "In My Arms" with Tsai, which included on the Asian special edition of Minogue's album, X.

In February 2008, there was a personnel change in EMI Greater China. In March 2008, EMI was reported to withdraw the entire Asian market after the Easter of the year. On July 18, 2008, Tsai received a Butterfly Award from Taiwan's Ministry of Labor for her outstanding achievement in the entertainment industry. On August 3, 2008, former EMI Asia's CEO Norman Cheng announced that he would acquire all the shares of EMI Greater China, including Taiwan's EMI, Hong Kong's Gold Label, and China's Push Typhoon, then he would found the new record label Gold Typhoon, and all former EMI artists' contracts would automatically be transferred to Gold Typhoon. On October 31, 2008, Gold Typhoon released Tsai's book as well as cover album, Love Exercise, which was produced by Peter Lee, Paul Lee, Adia Chang, Daniel Bi, Paula Ma, and Jim Lee. It was scheduled to be released on March 7, 2008, but it was forced to be postponed due to the personnel change in her former record label and the withdrawal from the entire Asian market of EMI. It was poorly received by music critics, who commented that the original songs were too classic but the production lacked novelty. It sold more than 30,000 copies in Taiwan without any promotion, becoming the year's highest-selling Western-language album in the country.

2008–2018: Butterfly, Myself, Muse, and Play

On December 16, 2008, Tsai signed a recording contract with Warner. On February 27, 2009, Gold Typhoon released Tsai's greatest hits album, Jeneration. On March 27, 2009, Tsai released her tenth studio album, Butterfly, which was produced by Adia Chang, Paul Lee, Peter Lee, and Paula Ma. It was poorly received by music critics, who commented that the tracks were popular but lacked surprise, sincerity, and breakthrough. It was pre-ordered more than 120,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the country's most pre-ordered album of all time. It sold more than 1 million copies in Asia. In Taiwan, it topped the album sales chart for six consecutive weeks and sold more than 210,000 copies, becoming the year's highest-selling album. On March 28, 2009, Tsai embarked on the concert tour Butterfly Campus Tour in Hsinchu. It was originally scheduled to perform ten shows, but the rest was canceled after four shows due to her recurring injury. On May 9, 2009, Tsai held the Butterfly Concert in Taichung. On May 24, 2009, Tsai held the Slow Life Concert in Taipei. On October 9, 2009, Tsai released the live video album, Love & Live, which contained the Butterfly Concert and Slow Life Concert footage. On October 15, 2009, Tsai founded the management company Eternal with her manager Ke Fu-hung to manage her day-to-day business affairs and coordinate the production and enforcement of copyright for her sound recordings and music concerts. On April 27, 2010, Tsai released the theme song "Heartbeat of Taiwan" of the Taiwan pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

On August 13, 2010, Tsai released her eleventh studio album, Myself, which was produced by Andrew Chen, Adia Chang, and Paula Ma. It received mixed reviews from music critics, who commented that it established a new benchmark for Chinese dance music albums, but had an imbalance between commerciality and musicality. It sold more than 65,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's fourth highest-selling album in the country. The music video of the track "Honey Trap" was nominated for a Golden Melody Award for Best Music Video. On December 24, 2010, Tsai embarked on her third concert tour Myself World Tour in Taipei. On July 12, 2012, Tsai released the book, Living Slim, which sold more than 120,000 copies in Taiwan. On August 28, 2012, Sony released Tsai's greatest hits album, Ultimate.

On September 14, 2012, Tsai released her twelfth studio album, Muse. Produced by Michael Lin, Peggy Hsu, JJ Lin, and Tanya Chua, it integrated pop music with pop art, with music styles spanning mainstream and indie. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it was worthy of repeated listening and having depth. It sold more than 100,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's third highest-selling album in the country. The album earned four Golden Melody Award nominations, it was nominated for Best Mandarin Album, Tsai was nominated for Best Female Mandarin Singer, the track "The Great Artist" was nominated for Song of the Year, and the music video of "The Great Artist" was nominated for Best Music Video. Eventually, "The Great Artist" won Song of the Year. On October 19, 2013, Tsai released the live video album, Myself World Tour, which chronicled her tour of the same name. On May 19, 2014, Tsai released the song "Now Is the Time", which was included on the album, Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game. On June 13, 2014, Tsai released the theme song "Kaleidoscope" of the 2014 Chinese film, Tiny Times 3. On August 27, 2014, Tsai released the song "Be Wonderful Together" for the joint campaign of Pepsi and Tmall. On October 31, 2014, Tsai became one of the judges for the Chinese television singing competition show, Rising Star.

On November 15, 2014, Tsai released her thirteenth studio album, Play. Produced by Starr Chen, Andrew Chen, Tiger Chung, JJ Lin, and Michael Lin, it broke away from the framework of traditional Chinese albums with rich musical contents and all-encompassing themes. It was well received by music critics, who commented that it brought international awareness to the world-class quality of Chinese dance music. It sold more than 85,000 copies in Taiwan, becoming the year's highest-selling album by a female artist and the year's fourth highest-selling album in the country. The album earned ten Golden Melody Award nominations, and it is one of the three most nominated albums in the award's history. The album was nominated for Best Mandarin Album and Best Vocal Recording Album, the track "Play" was nominated for Song of the Year, the music videos of "Play", "We're All Different, Yet the Same", and "I'm Not Yours" were nominated for Best Music Video, Alex Ni and Starr Chen were nominated for Best Music Arrangement for "Play", Starr Chen was nominated for Best Single Producer for "Play", Andrew Chen was nominated for Best Single Producer for "Lip Reading", and Aaron Nieh was nominated for Best Album Packaging. Eventually, the album won Best Mandarin Album and Best Vocal Recording Album, and Andrew Chen won Best Single Producer. On May 22, 2015, Tsai embarked on her fourth concert tour Play World Tour in Taipei. On December 2, 2015, Tsai won an Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Asian Artist. On February 26, 2016, Tsai voiced Judy Hopps in the Taiwan's dubbed version of the 2016 Disney film, Zootopia. On September 30, 2016, Tsai collaborated with Alesso to release the single, "I Wanna Know". On October 31, 2016, Tsai collaborated with Taiwanese producer Starr Chen to release the single, "Ego-Holic". On May 12, 2017, Tsai released the single "Give Love" for the Mother's Day campaign by Da Ai Television. On June 20, 2017, Tsai collaborated with Hardwell to release the single, "We Are One". On November 20, 2017, Tsai released the theme song "On Happiness Road" of the 2017 Taiwanese film of the same name. On December 29, 2017, Tsai released the theme song "Stand Up" of the 2018 Chinese film, Monster Hunt 2. On January 30, 2018, Tsai released the live video album, Play World Tour, which chronicled her tour of the same name. It became the year's highest-selling video album in Taiwan. On June 12, 2015, Tsai released the theme song "The Player" of the video game, Dungeon & Fighter.

2018–present: Ugly Beauty

On December 26, 2018, Tsai released her fourteenth studio album, Ugly Beauty. The album was co-produced by Starr Chen, Razor Chiang, Howe Chen, Øzi, and her, and combined pop with reggae, electronic, hip-hop, and others. It returned to the inner level of the singer herself, with the theme of breaking the secular beauty standard and exploring the inner psychological polarity. It was generally praised by music critics, who said that the concept of the album was complete and unified, the singing state was comfortable, and the production was exquisite and ranked top among Chinese albums. The album became the highest-selling album of 2019 overall in Taiwan. As of August 13, 2023, it has sold more than 850,000 digital copies in China, becoming the highest-selling digital album by a female Hong Kong/Taiwan artist in history, she also became the female Hong Kong/Taiwan artist with the highest-selling digital sales of all time. The album was nominated for a total of eight Golden Melody Awards. The album was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Mandarin Album, and Best Vocal Recording Album, the track "Womanly" was nominated for Song of the Year, the music videos of the tracks "Ugly Beauty" and "Lady in Red" were nominated for Best Music Video, she was nominated for Best Female Mandarin Singer, and she and Starr Chen were jointly nominated for Best Single Producer for the track "Ugly Beauty". Eventually, the album won Album of the Year, and "Womxnly" won Song of the Year.

On January 21, 2019, Tsai began to serve as the dance mentor of the iQiyi variety show Youth with You, which ended on April 6, 2019. On January 24, 2019, she released the single "Happy New Year Do Re Mi", which she sung with Liu Yuning and TikTok influencers. On November 1, 2019, she released the single "Gravity" with Karry Wang. On December 30, 2019, she embarked on her fifth concert tour Ugly Beauty World Tour at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. On April 3, 2020, she released the single "Fight as One" with Eason Chan. On November 22, 2020, she released the songs "Who Am I", "Turn Back Time", "Opposite" for the 2020 Chinese television series, The Wolf. On March 21, 2021, she released the single "Stars Align" with R3hab. On October 21, 2021, she released the single "Equal in the Darkness" with Steve Aoki and Max Schneider. On December 9, 2022, she released the theme song "Untitled" of the 2022 Taiwanese film, Marry My Dead Body. The song was nominated for Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song. On October 31, 2023, she released the theme song "Someday, Somewhere" of the 2023 Taiwanese web series, At the Moment. On November 20, 2023, she released the 40th anniversary theme song "Oh La La La" of McDonald's Taiwan.

Artistry

Musical styles

Tsai has been continuously experimenting with new musical ideas throughout her career. According to Taiwanese singer Sky Wu, "Jolin Tsai has surpassed the general singers and reached the level of a true artist." Tsai is generally known for her dance-pop works, she said: "Every singer has to build their own trademark and distinctiveness, maybe I don't have many representative ballad works, but dance music is my best." Her album 1019 (1999) was dominated by ballads. However, the track "Because of You" foreshadowed dance music as her major musical style in the future. Her album Don't Stop (2000), especially the title track and "You Gotta Know", set her off in a more dance-oriented direction. Her albums Show Your Love (2000) and Lucky Number (2001) were heavily influenced by R&B.

Her album Magic (2003) is regarded as her first musical reinvention. Its overall musical atmosphere was quite different from that of her previous albums, with many of the dance tracks being disco-influenced. Her album Castle (2004) featured the tracks, "36 Tricks of Love" and "Priority", which blended dance-pop and heavy metal music. It also featured the chanson track, "Love Love Love". Her album J-Game (2005) featured a number of dance tracks heavily influenced by electronic music, and the track "Exclusive Myth" was a hybrid of hip-hop and Chinese style.

Her album Dancing Diva (2006) marked the beginning of Eurodance as her major dance music style, and she became a key figure in popularizing dance-pop as mainstream music in Greater China. It also featured the electronic rock track, "Nice Guy". Tsai continued to explore Eurodance on her album, Agent J (2007), which established her representative status as a dance-pop artist in the Chinese music scene. The album also featured the swing ballad, "Fearless". Her album Butterfly (2009) was heavily influenced by synth-pop for many of the dance tracks, and it featured the pop rock track, "Love Attraction".

In October 2009, Tsai founded her own music production company Eternal and began to completely control over her career, she said: "I'm in charge of my music now." Her album Myself (2010), which was the first album with a lot of her own creative ideas, was considered one of the most experimental albums in the Chinese music industry. It featured the track, "Nothing Left to Say", a fusion of soft rock and R&B. Tsai said: "When making pop music, we should lead people to accept new styles, new elements, and challenge existing concepts. For many things, fear is the biggest obstacle, fear other people will not like it." The tracks "Fantasy", "Dr. Jolin", and "Beast" on her album Muse (2012) were influenced by trance, progressive house, and techno respectively. Many of the dance tracks on her album Play (2014) were heavily influenced by trap and dubstep, and the track "Gentlewomen" was a fusion of noise rock and alternative dance. According to Hou Cheng-nan, the professor of the Department of Mass Communication at I-Shou University: "Jolin Tsai has elevated the framework of Chinese dance music and set an unsurpassable high standard." Her album Ugly Beauty (2018) featured the title track, which incorporated drum & bass, "Necessarily Evil", a fusion of gothic rock and trap, and "Womxnly", a fusion of tropical house and dancehall.

Voice

Tsai possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range. In May 1998, Tsai took part in the singing competition held by MTV Mandarin. She won the competition by performing songs of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and LeAnn Rimes, and it proved that she has good singing skills. "She is a born singer. She sings with her talent," said one judge Wawa Chen. Tsai's voice is very recognizable, but she has been criticized for singing skills since her debut, including thin singing voice and limited vocal range. Taiwanese producer Bing Wang commented: "Her singing skills are average, but fortunately her enunciation is distinctive."

Tsai has been nominated for Golden Melody Award for Best Female Mandarin Singer several times, and she won the award for her 2006 album, Dancing Diva. It was the first time that her vocals were recognized by professional music award, but some people still questioned whether her singing ability deserved the award. Liu Ya-wen, the chief convener of the year's Golden Melody Awards jury, commented that Tsai won for her all-around trait, saying: "Jolin Tsai leads the way with her smart and well-sung performance, especially her album Dancing Diva is rich in content, made her break away from being an entertainer and become a real vocalist."

Tsai was nominated for ten Golden Melody Awards for her 2014 album, Play, but was only not nominated for Best Female Mandarin Singer, because some judge pointed out that the album had problem with excessive pitch correction, so that influenced the voting of other judges. Taiwanese DJ Kyle Cheng stated that he didn't see a problem with pitch correction, saying: "Records are creating unique sound." Tsai's manager Tom Wang also responded: "Jolin Tsai is not a singer who relies on pitch correction, we welcome people to listen to her live performance. I have confidence in her ability." Tencent Entertainment wrote that Tsai's singing skills were often underestimated, adding: "Jolin Tsai has top breath control and high pitch skills, there are not many singers like her who can dance the entire concert without losing breath."

In November 2017, Tsai performed at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, she appeared out of tune when she sang the first song "Tian mi mi", and the later problem was due to a series of songs were dominated by low pitch, she, whose voice is roughly the mezzo-soprano range, didn't sing these songs as well as expected. The performance was criticized by some people, and Tsai readily admitted that it was a mess. However, Tsai's singing skills have been recognized by the general public in recent years, and her live performance skills are also highly recognized.

Influences

Tsai has cited Madonna, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Destiny's Child as her major influence on her career. In May 1998, Tsai took part in the singing competition produced by MTV Mandarin, and she emerged championship by performing songs of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. She said that the two singers with high-pitched voices had a great influence on her during her student years.

According to Tsai, her opening yoga performance of J1 World Tour in 2004 was inspired by Madonna's opening yoga performance of Re-Invention World Tour in the same year. Tsai stated that she gradually became a fan of Madonna after she noticed that she put on a lot of muscle, she said: "I hope to be a stage artist in the future, just like Madonna, who can lead the way in music, stage, dance, and costume. She is my goal." Former Tsai's choreographer Bruce Chang recalled that Tsai had carefully watched Madonna's stage performance, Tsai said: "She [Madonna] rarely does line dancing, but her every move is powerful, and that's the stage performance I'd look up to." Tsai performed vogue dance in tribute to Madonna in the music video of "Honey Trap" from the 2010 album, Myself, she said: "Madonna has always been the artist I admire very much. She is very creative in many aspects. Even though her works generated a lot of controversy at the time, looking back now, I still think her works are very amazing." Madonna brought Eurodance and electronic music into a massive popularity in the American mainstream music scene in the 1980s and 1990s, Tsai stated: "I want to bring the most popular dance music from the West to the Chinese music scene." She added: "When making pop music, we should lead people to accept new styles and new elements, and challenge existing concepts." Taiwanese DJ Mykal said: "Revolution must take place in the mainstream market to have a big effect. Jolin Tsai experimented with new dance music elements as a diva, which is believed that she had the chance to make an impact on the general audience."

Tsai also mentioned that Destiny's Child inspired her a lot before, saying: "I admire them so much, both dancing and singing are real skills." In addition, Tsai has also named artists including Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Sandy Lam, A-Mei, Faye Wong, and Coco Lee as sources of inspiration.

Legacy

Tsai's success has made her a pop cultural symbol in the Chinese-speaking world, Tencent Entertainment wrote: "Jolin Tsai has become a symbol of pop music not only because of her music, image, and dance, but also due to her unyielding, fearless spirit, and endless possibilities." NetEase Entertainment wrote: "Perhaps, a few generations from now, when we look back on the C-pop divas of the early 21st century, we will first think of Jolin Tsai and no one else as the benchmark, just as we will never look back on the second half of the 20th century without the shining name of Madonna." Hung Hsiu-chu, former chairperson of Chinese Nationalist Party, said: "Her artistic achievements have set an unsurpassable standard in the C-pop music industry. The name Jolin Tsai can be said to have accompanied generations of young people through the entire twenty years. All along, I have always admired Tsai's earnest and hardworking personality. All the glory and applause she have received now were accumulated with countless blood, sweat, and tears, which are respectable and highly appreciated!" In April 2010, Tsai was named one of the ten most influential Hong Kong/Taiwan music figures of the decade by the Top Chinese Music Awards. In December 2016, she was awarded Best Female Singer of the Decade by Migu Music Awards. In May 2019, she was ranked first in the field of fashion style in the survey of "Who Is the Most Influential Woman for the New Generation?" by Elle Taiwan and Taiwan's Cheers magazine. She was also ranked second in both fields of gender issues and life attitude. Cheers added, "From a pop singer to a social activist, Jolin Tsai has been consciously showing her energy over the years."

Known as the "Queen of C-Pop", Tsai is credited with popularizing dance-pop as mainstream music in Greater China. Bloomberg Businessweek wrote: "Jolin Tsai started her era with music, and she made the world know the standard of Chinese dance music." Tencent Entertainment wrote: "Jolin Tsai is the most evergreen diva in the Chinese music scene in the past decade. From the girl next door to the 'Queen of Reinvention', the best thing about Jolin Tsai is not her singing skills, but her hardworking attitude as an entertainer." Tsai has also pushed the production of Chinese music videos to a new height. Douban wrote: "Before Jolin Tsai, the influence of a music video was not that big. In Jolin Tsai's era, apart from ordinary shooting work, every outfit was carefully designed along with the scene, and the construction of each scene was carefully considered. The editing and application of various montage also achieved qualitative leaps." Tsai's work has also influenced many other artists of later generations, including Cyndi Wang, Rainie Yang, Angela Chang, A-Lin, G.E.M., Lala Hsu, Eve Ai, Shi Shi, Emma Wu, Yao Yao, By2, Lexie Liu, Meng Meiqi, Wu Xuanyi, Cheng Xiao, Kimberley Chen, Sharon Kwan, etc.

Tsai has exerted positive influence on social issues using her influence in Chinese popular culture. Taiwan's Business Weekly magazine wrote: "Even though her status has dominated the C-pop music industry, Jolin Tsai has never stopped. In the form of performance and dance, he constantly breaks through herself. In her songs, she broke away from the little love and expanded the pattern to social issue, same-sex issue, and feminist issue, Jolin Tsai’s artistic growth led us to see a wider world." Apple Music wrote: "Jolin Tsai’s legacy is built on her tenacity as much as her pioneering vision. Moving on from her first incarnation of sweet idol singer in 1999, she honed her signature slick dance-pop and dazzling moves on albums like Dancing Diva in 2006. But this was just the beginning for the daring artist, who continued to innovate her sound—and became an LGBTQ icon in the process. Songs like “Play” and “Ugly Beauty” are both sharp societal critiques and helped set new visual and creative standards for Mandopop, leaving no doubt about Tsai’s lasting artistic relevance."

Other ventures

Endorsements

Taiwan Beer's advertisement featuring Tsai in Taipei

Tsai has endorsed many internationally renowned brands and products since her debut, including Absolut Vodka, Adidas, Always, Balvenie, Bausch & Lomb, Bulgari, Crest, Diablo, Dr. Jart+, Dungeon & Fighter, Gap, Head & Shoulders, Intel, Knorr, Levi's, L'Oréal, Lux, Max Factor, McDonald's, Mercedes Benz, Morinaga, Motorola, Nars, Olay, Pepsi, Pony, Puma, Quaker, Rémy Martin, Samsung, Shiseido, Standard Chartered, Sunbites, Swarovski, Toyota, Tropicana, Uber Eats, Yamaha, 7-Eleven, etc.

Tsai has cooperated with some of the brands to launch cooperative products. In December 2018, Pony launched two limited-edition collaborative sneakers of her design, based on the brand's M100 series of sneakers. In July 2019, Gap released six collaborative T-shirts she designed, inspired by six songs from her 2018 album Ugly Beauty. In September 2019, Gap released four long-sleeved pullover hoodies designed by her.

Products

In September 2007, Tsai and her sister released the nail polish brand Oops! Jealous, which was originally sold on the Taiwanese online shopping website PayEasy, while she was mainly responsible for the development of nail polish colors and styles. In August 2010, PayEasy and it further cooperated and sold its products in the vending machine at Qsquare in Taipei, Taiwan. In October 2011, it entered the personal care chain retailer Watson. It has been discontinued since 2014.

In February 2009, Tsai and Ken Erman announced the release of the fashion brand Seventy Two Changes in New York City. It was originally sold in Nordstrom in 12 cities in North America, and planned to expand the business scope to Asia, including Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and others. In February 2010, it entered the mainland Chinese market, and opened its first flagship store in Shanghai Times Square in Shanghai, China. In the following year, it was reported that because the shareholders in the United States and China had differences in business philosophy, coinciding with the expiration of her two-year contract, she quit being the designer of the brand.

On October 20, 2015, Tsai opened a fondant cake fan page Your Majesty on Facebook. On December 7, 2015, she set up a company mainly engaged in the affairs of the fondant cake brand, which mainly sold fondant cakes and offered customized fondant cake order services on Facebook and Instagram. On January 8, 2018, she said that her cake business had four cake chefs.

Achievements

Tsai has been nominated for a total of 15 Golden Melody Awards, including two Album of the Year, four Song of the Year, four Best Mandarin Album, four Best Female Mandarin Singer, and one Best Single Producer. She has received a total of seven Golden Melody Awards, Including one Album of the Year for the album Ugly Beauty (2018), three Song of the Year for the songs "Marry Me Today", "The Great Artist", and "Womxnly", one Best Mandarin album for the album Play (2014), one Best Female Mandarin Female Singer for the album Dancing Diva (2006), and one Favorite Female Singer/Group. She has become the dance-pop artist who has been nominated for and awarded the most Golden Melody Awards in history, and has also been certified by the Guinness World Records as the artist who has won the most Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year in history. Her 2014 album Play has become one of the albums with the most Golden Melody Award nominations in history with a total of ten nominations, tying Jay Chou's Fantasy and A-Mei's Amit for the record. In addition, her 2018 album Ugly Beauty was also nominated for a total of eight Golden Melody Awards.

Tsai has received several awards from other Chinese music awards, Including Beijing Pop Music Awards, CCTV-MTV Music Awards, China Music Awards, Global Chinese Music Awards, Global Chinese Pop Chart Awards, Hito Music Awards, IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award, KKBox Music Awards, Metro Radio Hits Music Awards, Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards, Migu Music Awards, Music Radio China Top Chart Awards, My Astro Music Awards, Singapore Hit Awards, Top Chinese Music Awards, Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award, TVB8 Mandarin Music on Demand Awards, etc. Among them, she has been awarded eight Hito Music Award for Best Female Singer and eight for Most Weeks at Number One Album/Song, ten KKBox Music Award for Top Ten Singers of the Year, one Top Chinese Music Award for Top Ten Most Influential Hong Kong/Taiwan Music Figure of the Decade in 2010, and one Migu Music Award for Best Female Singer of the Decade in 2016.

Tsai has been nominated for and awarded from international music awards, including being awarded MTV Video Music Award for International Viewers' Choice for the music video of the song "Fall in Love with a Street" in 2001, being nominated for MTV Video Music Award Japan for Best Buzz Asia for the music video of the song "Pirates" in 2005, being awarded MTV Asia Award for The Style Award in 2006, being nominated for MTV Europe Music Award for Best Asian Act in 2012, being nominated for MTV Europe Music Award for Best Taiwanese Act in 2015, being awarded Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Asian Artist in 2015, etc. In July 2008, she was awarded Butterfly Award by the Taiwan's Ministry of Labor, in recognition of her outstanding performance in the entertainment industry. In October 2023, her song "Untitled" was nominated for Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song.

Tsai has reached number one on the Taiwan's Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year chart five times with her songs "Marry Me Today", "Sun Will Never Set", "Honey Trap", "Play", and "Ugly Beauty", becoming the singer with the most number one songs on the chart so far. Each of her studio albums, beginning with her 2003 album Magic, has been the highest-selling album by a female artist in Taiwan in the year of release, with four of which, Dancing Diva (2006), Agent J (2007), Butterfly (2009), and Ugly Beauty (2018), also being the highest-selling album overall in the country in the respective years of release.

Personal life

Tsai's personal life has been discussed and concerned by the public and the media. Since her debut, she has had suspected or real long-term romantic relationships with three male artists, Jay Chou, Eddie Peng, and Vivian Dawson. In January 2001, she and Chou met on the CTV variety show, Guess. In December 2001, she and Chou were seen dining at an izakaya in Shinjuku, Japan, and the two were later seen meeting privately several times in Taiwan. In February 2005, Chou and Patty Hou were seen together in Shibuya, Japan, after which Tsai and Chou began to avoid seeing each other on various occasions. In June 2010, Tsai was invited to be the guest performer of Jay Chou's The Era World Tour at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan.

In January 2007, she and Eddie Peng were seen together in London, England, and the two were seen meeting privately in Taiwan several times. In September 2008, Peng was involved in a dispute with his management company, which allegedly tried to block his relationship with Tsai. In August 2009, Peng's former manager Liu Wei-tzu indirectly confirmed that Tsai and Peng had been in a relationship for more than three years since mid-2006, and that the breakup was suspected to be due to Peng's mother preventing the two from continuing their relationship because she was unhappy with Tsai's reluctance to disclose her relationship with Peng.

In July 2010, Vivian Dawson appeared in the music video of her song "Love Player". In September 2010, she and Dawson were seen together in Tokyo, Japan, and the two later traveled together around the world several times. In November 2011, her father indirectly confirmed the relationship between Tsai and Dawson, and indirectly revealed that Tsai had relationships with both Chou and Peng. In February 2013, she and Dawson flew to New Zealand to meet his parents, and the relationship between the two was confirmed. In December 2016, her agent Tom Wang confirmed that the relationship had ended in November 2016.

Discography

Filmography

• Six Friends (2001)
• Come to My Place (2002)
• In Love (2002)
• Hi Working Girl (2003)
• Agent J (2007)
• Zootopia (2016)

Tours

• J1 World Tour (2004–2006)
• Dancing Forever World Tour (2006–2009)
• Myself World Tour (2010–2013)
• Play World Tour (2015–2016)
• Ugly Beauty World Tour (2019–2024)

Enterprises

• Oops! Jealous (2007–2014)
• Seventy Two Changes (2009–2011)
• Eternal Music Production Co., Ltd. (2009)
• Your Majesty (2015)

See also

In Spanish: Jolin Tsai para niños

• Forbes China Celebrity 100
• Honorific nicknames in popular music
• List of best-selling albums in Taiwan
• List of dance-pop artists