Jay Chou on a quarter century in showbiz—and the passions that drive him

Our conversation soon turns to Chou’s passion for collecting beyond his supercars. The musician is a respected art collector, and in 2019 was listed by leading art magazine Artnews as one of its 50 collectors to watch.

“Art collecting changes with time,” he says. “At first, I bought what looked good, like decor. Later, through conversations with friends in the art world, I realised it’s about self-discovery. I don’t collect for investment; I collect because I understand and connect with the artist.”

Chou curated and hosted an exhibition in Shanghai at the end of 2023 called Art Encounters with Jay. It featured the works of more than 20 celebrated contemporary artists, including German visual artist Gerhard Richter, American visual artist Mark Bradford and José Parlá, a New York-based contemporary artist. He also commissioned American artist Katherine Bernhardt, who’s known for an expressionist, abstract-like style of depicting everyday objects in her work, to create two pieces for the show: Shining Star and Brilliant Star. They both feature emblems Chou is closely associated with: pianos, microphones and basketballs, as well as nunchuks and magic tricks—Chou is known for his skills in the martial arts weapon, while his Netflix variety show J-Style Trip sees him perform illusions while travelling the world with friends. The exhibition was open to the public for just over two months. “The joy of art is in sharing it,” he says. “When I’m not on tour, I want to share this part of myself with fans.”

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While sitting with us, he scrolls through his Instagram feed, where he frequently posts his latest acquisitions and inspirations. A particular favourite appears to be American neo-expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose work appears multiple times in his social media—from his very first post, where he and his mother are shown in front of a Basquiat piece, to photos of one of his two daughters sketching the artist’s work on an iPad.

One of his proudest acquisitions is German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer’s Die Deutsche Heilslinie, or “The German Lifeline”, which he first saw exhibited at Milan’s Pirelli Hangar Bicocca, the contemporary art exhibition venue converted from a former Pirelli tyre factory. The piece depicts a person standing in a body of water, observing a rainbow. “I told the artist I loved the work and shared lyrics from my song Rainbow [from 2007]. Eventually, I brought the piece home.”

Just as many of Chou’s music videos feature cars, so too do they contain iconic artworks and references to modern and surrealist artists. In the music video for his 2022 hit If You Don’t Love Me, It’s Fine, Richter’s Abstraktes Bild (776-1), which Chou acquired at a Phillips auction in 2016, is prominently displayed. The Still Wandering music video, released in the same year, features a painting by pop art pioneer Edward Ruscha. “Art and music both speak to the soul,” Chou says. “Pop music is my stage; art collecting is another form of expression. They may seem different, but both reflect my pursuit of beauty.” He seems to be something of a Ruscha fan too; he once posted a piece by the artist on Instagram that reads “Romeo”, which is Chou’s
son’s name.

What with his Netflix series, it’s obvious that another of Chou’s passions is travel. But, he says, “It’s hard to narrow down my travels to one favourite trip. Every place has its own unique atmosphere, especially when I combine travel with creative work. You can see it in my music videos—each location has its own identity, and the memories run deep.”

The list of filming locations for his music videos look like a globetrotter’s passport pages: Rome for In the Name of the Father (2003); Japan’s northwesternmost prefecture of Gunma for Common Jasmine Orange (2004); Prague for You Can Hear It (2004); New York for Nocturne (2005); and Havana for Mojito (2022). “When I travel, I’m always looking for that special quality that makes a place unique—the architecture, the light, the people and the history,” he adds. “All of these elements find their way into my work, whether it’s music, videos or the pieces I collect.”

We head across the street from the factory to the Fiorano Test Track, where we’re introduced to Yifei Ye, a 24-year-old Chinese race car driver who once led for eight hours straight at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the annual endurance-focused sports car race named for the French town it is held in—and who considers himself one of Chou’s biggest fans, despite having been born after the star’s debut. Ye, who also only began listening to the singer at age 14, has made up for lost time. He shows Chou his Spotify stats: over 10,000 minutes of the singer’s music streamed in 2024 alone, placing the racer in the top 0.5 per cent of global listeners. Sharing a sentiment that may resonate with fans of all ages around the world, Ye tells Chou, “I had been sent alone to Le Mans to train—no one around me spoke Chinese. Your music became my anchor.”

As our time with Chou draws to a close, we ask one final question: “What do you consider your greatest work?”

Chou pauses for a moment before giving an answer reflective of the star he is.

“Every artist has their own unwavering principles. I never create with the goal of success or instant resonance. Great works take time. What matters is confidence—that’s how I made my first album. Success is how others respond—sales reflect their belief in your work,” he says. “But for myself, I just want to look back and be proud of everything I’ve created.”

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