{"id":253629,"date":"2026-03-23T19:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=253629"},"modified":"2026-03-25T12:50:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:50:43","slug":"mandopop-superstar-jay-chou-is-about-to-release-his-new-album-children-of-the-sun-via-umg-led-by-a-2-8m-music-video-the-timing-couldnt-be-more-significant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/mandopop-superstar-jay-chou-is-about-to-release-his-new-album-children-of-the-sun-via-umg-led-by-a-2-8m-music-video-the-timing-couldnt-be-more-significant\/","title":{"rendered":"Mandopop superstar Jay Chou is about to release his new album ‘Children of the Sun’ via UMG, led by a $2.8M music video. The timing couldn’t be more significant."},"content":{"rendered":"MBW Reacts is a series of analytical commentaries from Music Business Worldwide<\/a> written in response to major recent entertainment events or news stories. Only MBW+ subscribers<\/span><\/a> have unlimited access to these articles.<\/em>\n
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Mandopop superstar Jay Chou<\/strong>, widely regarded as the most influential figure in Chinese-language pop music, is set to release his 16th studio album, Children of the Sun<\/em>, on digital platforms worldwide on March 25. It will be his first full-length release in over three years.<\/p>\n

The album is also the first new studio record released since Chou and his label JVR Music signed a strategic global partnership<\/a> with Universal Music Greater China<\/strong> in December 2023, a deal that secured UMG’s global marketing and distribution rights for Chou’s extensive catalog and future projects.<\/p>\n

Universal Music Publishing Group has been Jay Chou’s global publisher since 2013. A worldwide physical release of the new album is set for April 10.<\/p>\n

The album’s title track music video will premiere globally on March 24 via a livestreamed press conference in Taipei, with simultaneous screening events in Beijing and Shanghai<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It’s being described as one of the most ambitious productions in Mandopop history: a nearly seven-minute cinematic piece with a budget exceeding USD $2.8 million<\/strong>, filmed across Paris and Taipei, and featuring post-production by W\u0113t\u0101 Workshop \u2014 the five-time Academy Award-winning New Zealand studio known for its work on franchises including Avatar<\/em>, The Lord of the Rings<\/em>, and Dune<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here’s why the release matters for UMG, for China’s booming recorded music market, and for the global superfan debate…<\/p>\n

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1. The Children of the Sun<\/em> campaign has the hallmarks of a top-tier global release, not a regional one.<\/h6>\n

The high-budget music video was more than two years in the making.<\/p>\n

According to the press materials, production began in December 2023, with principal photography taking place at Chapelle Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc in Paris in January 2025 \u2014 where the production team meticulously recreated 19th-century set design and deployed nine cranes for large-scale exterior lighting to illuminate the church’s stained glass \u2014 followed by additional set filming in Taipei in April 2025.<\/p>\n

The video was completed in March 2026 after an extensive post-production process led by W\u0113t\u0101 Workshop.<\/p>\n

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