Love Exercise

Love Exercise
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 31, 2008 (2008-10-31)
Recorded2008
GenrePop
Length41:09
Label
Producer
  • Paula Ma
  • Peter Lee
  • Jim Lee
  • Daniel Bi
  • Paul Lee
  • Adia
Jolin Tsai chronology
Agent J
(2007)
Love Exercise
(2008)
Jeneration
(2009)

Love Exercise (Chinese: 愛的練習語) is a cover album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on October 31, 2008, by Gold Typhoon and Mars.[1] It contains English covers of 10 classic songs, and was released alongside her book publication under the same title. Tsai collaborated with various producers on the album, including Paula Ma, Peter Lee, Jim Lee, Daniel Bi, Paul Lee, and Adia.[2]

Love Exercise was scheduled to be released on March 7, 2008, but was forced to be postponed due to the personnel change and withdrawal from the Asian market of EMI in the same year.[3] The album received negative reviews from music critics upon release, who criticized its lack of creativity in production.[4] Although the album did not receive promotions, it sold more than 30,000 copies in Taiwan[5] and became the highest-selling English-language album in the country during 2008.[6]

Background and development

[edit]

On September 21, 2007, Tsai released her ninth studio album Agent J, and it released alongside the film under the same title. It sold more than 3 million copies in Asia.[7] In Taiwan, it sold more than 200,000 copies,[8] becoming the highest-selling album of the year.[9] On January 12, 2008, it was reported that Tsai has begun working on her English album, which would be released around Chinese New Year of the year, and it would complement her book publication under the same title.[10] Before then, Tsai released two English books Jolin's English Diary Book (2005) and Jolin's Party (2006), and they sold more than 120,000 copies and 150,000 copies in Taiwan, respectively.[11]

On January 20, 2008, EMI announced that the album would be available for pre-order on February 14, 2008, and would be released on March 7, 2008. Tsai said that it is fast and effective to learn English through listening to English songs, she added: "So far, I still like to learn English through listening to English songs." The album includes ten English songs related to love, it complements the book under the same title, and the lyrics of the songs are used as starting point to explain the vocabularies and grammars.

On February 29, 2008, it was forced to be delayed due to the personnel change in EMI Greater China. Tsai's manager, Howard Chiang, said that the budget of the album is more than NT$5 million, and he asked EMI to decide on the release date as soon as possible.[12] On March 26, 2008, it was reported that the withdrawal from the entire Asian market of EMI would be occurred after Easter of the year.[13] On July 4, 2008, Howard Chiang said that Tsai could not cooperate the promotion for the album anymore, since there would be scheduling conflict with other projects.[14] On August 3, 2008, Norman Cheng, the former president of EMI Asia, announced that he would acquire all the shares in EMI Greater China, including EMI of Taiwan, Gold Label of Hong Kong, and Push Typhoon of China. He would go on to found a new company named Gold Typhoon.[15] On August 27, 2008, Tsai said that the album would be released in September or October 2008.[16]

Release and promotion

[edit]
Tsai covered the Carpenters' "I Won't Last a Day Without You" on the album

On October 14, 2008, Gold Typhoon announced that the album would be available for pre-order on October 17, 2008, and would be released on October 31. On October 20, the lead song "I Won't Last a Day Without You" was released.[17] On October 30, Gold Typhoon released the music video of "I Won't Last a Day Without You", which was directed by Marlboro Lai. On November 23, 2008, the music video of "When You Say Nothing at All" was released, and it was directed by Hooya Chen.[18] On November 28, Gold Typhoon released the LOHAS edition of the album.[19] In December 2008, the music video of "Lady Marmalade" was released, and it was directed by HooYa Production.

The album debuted at number one on the weekly Western-language album sales charts of Five Music and G-Music in Taiwan.[20] As of December 31, 2008, the album has sold more than 30,000 copies in Taiwan without promotions. It reached #10 and #2 on the 2008 Western-language album sales charts of Five Music and G-Music, and it became the year's highest-selling Western-language album in the country.[21] "I Won't Last a Day Without You" reached number seven on the 2008 Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year chart.[22]

Critical reception

[edit]

Writing for NetEase, Lin Juli remarked that the production closely resembled the original version, with traditional music arrangements and nothing particularly special.[23] Tencent Entertainment's Shuwa commented that the production quality was lacking and the songs she covered were "too classic", leading to "a lot of negative reception".[24] NetEase’s Cabin was less critical towards the record, pointing out that the album's release, driven by approval procedures, led to low sales. The editor mentioned that the cover album showcased recordings that reflected Tsai’s emotions, with her unique style and music arrangements adding her own perception and understanding to the songs.[25]

Track listing

[edit]
Love Exercise track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Get the Party Started"Linda PerryDaniel Bi3:52
2."Kiss Me"Matt SlocumPaul Lee3:15
3."I Won't Last a Day Without You"Paula Ma5:01
4."Physical"
Adia3:56
5."Angel"Sarah McLachlanPaula Ma4:35
6."Lady Marmalade"Paula Ma4:26
7."Lovefool"Jim Lee3:17
8."The Blower's Daughter"Damien RicePaula Ma4:57
9."Thank You"Peter Lee3:34
10."When You Say Nothing at All"Peter Lee4:16
Total length:41:09

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format Edition Distributor
Various October 31, 2008 Streaming Standard Mars
China CD Standard Push Typhoon
December 15, 2008 Deluxe
February 9, 2009 LOHAS
Taiwan October 31, 2008 Standard Gold Typhoon
November 28, 2008 LOHAS

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "蔡依林出书否认对撼周杰伦新碟_影音娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "蔡依林『愛的練習語』專輯介紹". 銀河網路電台. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "传蔡依林12月跳槽华纳 英文专辑将于本月底发行_影音娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  4. ^ 网易 (November 24, 2008). "视频:蔡依林《尽在不言中》MV". ent.163.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "爱的练习语 爱的练习语专辑 爱的练习语资料 - 娱乐沸点". www.5669.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "蔡依林个人资料- 中国娱乐资讯网CECET.CN". www.cecet.cn. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  7. ^ "蔡依林红这么久的秘诀是?_腾讯新闻". new.qq.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "为销量竞争致决裂 周杰伦蔡依林二度撕破脸内幕-搜狐娱乐". yule.sohu.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  9. ^ "今日我最霸 蔡依林風光封后 星光幫不爽第2|蘋果新聞網|蘋果日報". 蘋果新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  10. ^ "Jolin出書當夫子 靠英文削千萬|蘋果新聞網|蘋果日報". 蘋果新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  11. ^ "Jolin出書當夫子 靠英文削千萬|蘋果新聞網|蘋果日報". 蘋果新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "陈泽杉卷土重回华纳 萧亚轩成最大得益者(附图)_影音娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  13. ^ "EMI被曝将退出亚洲 蔡依林孙燕姿去向成迷-搜狐娱乐". yule.sohu.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  14. ^ 网易 (October 15, 2008). "蔡依林英文专辑月底面世". ent.163.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "蔡依林被动跳槽 原EMI华语艺人转移至金牌大风_娱乐_凤凰网". ent.ifeng.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  16. ^ "后奥运的娱乐时代 明星开工大吉新专辑大井喷-搜狐音乐". music.yule.sohu.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  17. ^ "周杰伦大手笔宣传 蔡依林英文书专辑预购静悄悄_影音娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  18. ^ "11/23 蔡依林 When You Say Nothing At All MV首播版". www.matsu.idv.tw. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "愛的練習語(輕裝LOHAS版) (豆瓣)". music.douban.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  20. ^ "五月天演唱會助攻雙榜稱王 Jolin西洋榜封后|蘋果新聞網|蘋果日報". 蘋果新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  21. ^ "蔡依林2009年新专辑《花蝴蝶》策划之③_腾讯音乐_腾讯网". ent.qq.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  22. ^ "Hitoradio‧Hit Fm --華人音樂入口指標". www.hitoradio.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  23. ^ 网易 (November 24, 2008). "视频:蔡依林《尽在不言中》MV". ent.163.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  24. ^ "蔡依林2009年新专辑《花蝴蝶》策划之③_腾讯音乐_腾讯网". ent.qq.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  25. ^ 网易 (October 21, 2009). "蔡依林谈歌曲翻唱:曲目很重要 敢于挑战自我". ent.163.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
[edit]