叶惠美 (2003)

Yeh Hui-Mei (Chinese: 葉惠美) is the fourth studio album by Taiwanese recording artist Jay Chou. It was released by Alfa Music on 31 July 2003, and was distributed throughout Asia in physical and digital formats. Chou enlisted various collaborators to assist with the album's lyrical content, including Vincent Fang, Alang Huang, Tseng Yu-ting, and Vivian Hsu, while Chou served as the album's sole composer. Named after the singer's mother, Yeh Hui-Mei utilizes genres such as pop, R&B, and alternative rock, whilst containing influences from classical music, opera, and hip-hop. The record's production and visuals utilize both retro and contemporary elements.

The album received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production and composition. Yeh Hui-Mei saw commercial success in various countries across Asia; in Singapore, it reached number one on the Recording Industry Association Singapore (RIAS) album chart upon release. In Taiwan, it was the best-selling album of 2003 with 335,000 copies sold, becoming Chou's third consecutive best-selling annual album after The Eight Dimensions (2002) and Fantasy (2001). Yeh Hui-Mei went on to sell over three million copies throughout Asia, and was certified gold by the RIAS.

Yeh Hui-Mei produced various singles—the track "In the Name of the Father" premiered on radio stations ahead of the album's release on 16 July, while the singles "Sunny Day" and "Dong-Feng-Po" were promoted after the album's release. Several of the record's other tracks were also featured in promotional campaigns in Greater China. At the 15th Golden Melody Awards, Yeh Hui-Mei won two awards out of eight nominations: Album of the Year, while the video for "Class 3-2" won Best Music Video. The album's other accolades include Most Popular Album of the Year the 4th Global Chinese Music Awards and the Asia Album Award at the 2004 Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards.

Background and development

Chou assumed creative control over all aspects of Yeh Hui-Mei, composing all of the tracks on the album and served as the executive producer and visual director. Alongside Chou and Vincent Fang, other musicians such as Alang Huang, Tseng Yu-ting and Vivian Hsu helped write the lyrical content for the record. Chou not only composed the songs and wrote the lyrics for three of them, but also served as the album's producer and stylist. In terms of the cover art, Yeh Hui-Mei added retro elements, and Chou also wore a retro suit to participate in the shooting.

Chou's musical philosophy in creating the album was to seek change. Out of his humanistic aspirations, Chou added different views and ideas to the album. The lead single "In the Name of the Father" was inspired by Chou's experience with his father. Chou's father, Chou Yiu-Chung, was an introvert and didn't talk much to Chou, so Chou wrote the song "In the Name of My Father" for him. The song "Class 3-2" was inspired by Jay's experience of playing pool with his friend Fang.

Writing and composition

Yeh Hui-Mei carries a variety of styles, including vintage style, classical, opera, hip-hop and rock. The album is full of human, musical, experimental, satirical and social realism images that stimulate the flesh and blood of people.