周杰倫回歸樂壇 “超人”是否不會飛

Jay Chou began his career in music. After exploring other entertainment territories–acting, directing and TV production–Chou seems to reckon that going back to music is in his best interest. But does he still have it?
周杰倫以音樂起家。在嘗試過演員，導演和影視制作這些領(lǐng)域后，周董似乎意識到，音樂才是他最大的興趣所在。但問題是，他是否實力依舊？

 Since his last album, Capricorn (《魔羯座》),released one-and-a-half years ago, Jay Chou hasn’t really left the limelight. But his work on recent films and TV shows, such as The Treasure Hunter (《刺陵》) and Pandamen (《熊貓人》), has drawn more criticism than applause.
一年半前發(fā)表專輯《摩羯座》之后，周董并沒有淡出人們視線。但對于他在《刺陵》和《熊貓人》等影視作品上的表現(xiàn)，人們給出的惡評要遠多過掌聲。

With his 10th album, New Era (《跨時代》),released this week, Chou’s making a comeback as a music man. However, he may have misjudged the climate of the industry.
本周他發(fā)布了第十張專輯《跨時代》，這標志著周董作為音樂人的回歸。但對于業(yè)內(nèi)環(huán)境的判斷，周董可能失算了。

 Superman Can’t Fly (《超人不會飛》), the first official single off the new album, debuted last month. But it didn’t seem to impress fans. In the song, Chou rattles through a 600-word set of lyrics written by himself. He pours out his private and personal feelings about his career and the entertainment industry. But some say it’s just another so-so track with unclear enunciation. Some listeners are asking, “Is he trying to tell people his story, or is he just murmuring to himself?”
上月，新專輯首支單曲《超人不會飛》與樂迷見面，但似乎沒能帶來驚喜。在歌曲中，周董猶如連珠炮唱出自己寫下的600余字歌詞，道出對事業(yè)以及娛樂業(yè)的私人感受。但有人指出，新歌又是一首平淡無奇的喃喃自語之作。一些聽眾發(fā)問：“他是在給人們講故事，還是在自言自語？”
 
Just days ago, when another of the album’s singles, Fireworks Cool Easily (《煙花易冷》), came out, it suffered from the very same criticism. Chinese-style R&B songs like Chrysanthemum Terrace (《菊花臺》) and Blue and White Porcelain (《青花瓷》) have always been a must-listen. And thanks to lyricist Vincent Fang (方文山), Chou’s love songs have been welcomed by fans and imitated by many other artists. But this time, the song has been criticized as “stereotypical”, “half Sa Dingding and half Painted Heart (《畫心》)”.
幾天前，新專輯另一首作品《煙花易冷》與歌迷見面，伴隨而來的是同樣的批評。像《菊花臺》和《青花瓷》這樣的中國風R&B歌曲一直以來是不容錯過的好歌。有了方文山的詞，周董的情歌大受歌迷歡迎，其他藝人也競相模仿。但這一回，該歌曲被外界批評為“老套”，“一半像薩頂頂，一半像《畫心》”。
 
All of this has made people wonder: Has Chou still got it?
目睹這一切，人們不禁要問：“周董還行嗎？”

If we take a look back at Chou’s career since 2007, he has focused on making films. He’s made some good ones, like Secret (《不能說的秘密》), his debut as a director. But Chou didn’t stop there. He took part in a few more films, which later turned out to be “bad choices”. His position in music (maybe plus his huge ego) helped him to get into acting. But as an actor, he’s still a rookie, with average acting skills and plain looks.
回望2007年以來，周董一直將事業(yè)重心放在電影上。其中不乏佳作，例如處女作《不能說的秘密》。但周董沒有適時罷手，又接連參演了其他一些影片，后被證明為“并非明智之舉”。樂壇的成功地位（或許還有其雄心勃勃的個性），這都使得周董轉(zhuǎn)投表演。但作為演員，他顯然還是個新人——演技一般，相貌平平。

 Over the last 10 years, Chou has been surrounded by a lot of success and honor–not to mention rumor and slander. Maybe he is past his time; or maybe he’s still a creative genius. Maybe it’s that listeners’ tastes are changing; or maybe it’s that Chou only wants to do what he really likes. When we think of Jay Chou nowadays, we see a “king”. But we’ll always remember him as a young man in a red hoodie with a big dream, singing “huh huh ha he”.
過去十年中，周董一直被成功和榮譽包圍著，更不必說那些流言蜚語了。也許他已經(jīng)過氣了；也許他仍是一個創(chuàng)作天才?；蛟S歌迷口味正在改變，亦或周董想做自己感興趣的事情。現(xiàn)在想到周杰倫，我們?nèi)詴曀麨?ldquo;天王”。但我們總會想起那個個心懷夢想，穿著紅色連帽衫，唱著“哼哼哈呵”的年輕人。