Chou became the first Mandopop artist to top IFPI’s Global Album Sales Chart, with his Greatest Works of Art (2022) being the world’s best-selling record in 2022.

Although they did not win, the show's host, Jacky Wu – an influential character in Taiwan's entertainment business – happened to glance at the music score and was impressed with its complexity.

Wu then asked who wrote it, discovered Chou and hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang[3][13] for his then record company, Alfa Music.

However, in late 2001, Wu, due to mismanagement, decided to sell Alfa Music, including Chou’s contract, to Holiday Co., Ltd., a KTV chain operator.

The album features songs on Mafia and drug lords "In Father's Name" (以父之名) which at first hearing was very unorthodox but displays Jay's creative writing and producing ability.

[24] The World Music Awards in September 2004 held in Las Vegas formally acknowledged him as the most popular Chinese singer based on commercial sales performance.

The group has been noted for sounding too similar to their mentor;[25] as a result, Chou has reduced his involvement in the band,[26] though he continues to increase their exposure by inviting them as guests performers for his concerts and music videos.

Two studio recordings of duets have been officially placed in his albums: "Coral Sea" in 2005 with Lara Veronin (of Nan Quan Mama)[30] and "Faraway" in 2006 featuring Fei Yu-ching.

[35] Chou embarked on The World Tour in support of the release, visiting numerous countries including Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Canada and the United States from November 2007 to August 2009.

[39] Chou collaborated with the late NBA player Kobe Bryant on the single "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" to "promote youth creativity, as well as an upcoming slam-dunk competition in China.

[58] Following the commercial success of Greatest Works of Art, Chou resumed the Carnival World Tour at the Singapore National Stadium on 17–18 December 2022, which was attended by a total of 60,000 people.

[60] The Carnival Tour also boosted economic activities in other cities within mainland China such as Tianjin and Hohhot; both of which experienced a significant surge in tourism revenue following Chou's concerts, each nearing a total of ¥3 billion.

What distinguished and separated Chou from the quintessential Chinese popular musical artist was that his pieces combined ancient themes with futuristic ones, including things like space ships, all while employing graphic storytelling skills to evoke vivid imagery to his audience.

What also made Chou different was his enunciation, or lack thereof, whether rapping or singing, was also critiqued when listeners often found that they could not decipher the words sung until they looked up the lyrics.

While many of his works fall into contemporary Western R&B, rap, and rock genres, the term "Chou Style" (周式風格; zhōu shì fēnggé)[63] has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and insistence on singing with slurred enunciation.

Sound effects from everyday life are frequently woven into his music, such as bouncing ping pong balls, touch tone phone dialing, helicopter blades, dripping rain, and radio static noise (Musique concrète).

Several "regulars" write the lyrics for most of his music,[70] but the content and style is unified with his own personality and image, covering a diverse range of topics and ideas.

[f] Chou himself has written lyrics for many ballads,[g] but has also discussed societal ills such as drug addiction in "Coward" (懦夫) and loss of the rural countryside to urbanization in "Terrace Fields" (梯田).

Domestic violence discussed in "Dad, I'm Home" (爸, 我回來了) received a great deal of commotion since he was the first to bring up this taboo subject in Sanscript music.

In the line "Chrysanthemums broken, scattered across the floor, your smile has faded" (菊花殘 滿地傷 你的笑容已泛黃),[76] as well with "Blue and White Porcelain" (青花瓷) and "Orchid Pavilion" (蘭亭序).

[85] His high school English teacher thought he was capable of very few facial expressions,[3] and the director of Hidden Track (2003, a movie in which Chou had a cameo role) said that his strong individualistic personality will not make him a good actor.

[87] In 2005, Chou's first role as the lead actor in 头文字D Initial D served two purposes: to launch his acting debut, and to increase his exposure to Japanese audiences.

[88] This film is based on the Japanese comic Initial D, where Chou played Takumi Fujiwara, a gifted touge racer who is quiet and rarely shows expression.

As a supporting character, he drew much of the attention of Chinese reporters; Chou's involvement in this movie was announced in its own press conference,[94] separate from the meeting held for Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, and the other actors.

Chou portrayed Kato in The Green Hornet, directed by Michel Gondry and released in January 2011, after Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow withdrew from the project; the film grossed over $228 million worldwide.

He initially experimented with a song by the group Nan Quan Mama titled "Home" (Chinese: 家; pinyin: jiā) where he was involved throughout the entire process from research to editing.

[140] Government officials and educators in East Asia have awarded him for his exemplary behaviour,[141] designated him a spokesperson in the youth-empowerment project "Young Voice" in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007.

An editorial written by Kerry Brown of Chatham House named Chou as one of China's 50 most influential figures in 21st century, one of only three singers on a list dominated by politicians and corporate owners.

In 2006, Chou composed and sang the theme song for Fearless, a movie released in major theatres in most English-speaking countries,[163] though the impact to his fame has been minimal.

"[198] Taiwanese vocalist Jay Chou was named the best Asian artist at the eighth annual CCTV/MTV Music Awards, held 12 October 2006, at the Beijing Exhibition Centre Auditorium.