Ugly Beauty


Ugly Beauty is the fourteenth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai. It was released on December 26, 2018, by Sony Music Taiwan. Production was done by Tsai with Razor Chiang, Starr Chen, Howe Chen, and Øzi, alongside a variety of collaborators including Rhys Fletcher, Richard Craker, Hayley Aitken, Jeff Bova, and Alex Sypes. Musically, it is a pop record which merges a series of genres such as trap, house, reggae, and gothic rock. Thematically, it tends to break through the traditional aesthetic criterion and explore the bipolarity of human feeling.
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who called it leading C-pop music production. The album peaked at number one on charts in China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, while reaching top ten in countries such as Chile, Turkey, and Vietnam. The album became the best-selling album by a female artist of the year in Taiwan. The following year, it became the best-selling digital album by a Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in China, and made Tsai the best-selling digital Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in the country. In February 2020, the album's digital sales crossed the 500,000 mark in China.
The album received a total of eight Golden Melody Award nominations, and it is one the two albums which received the most nominations at the 30th Golden Melody Awards. The album was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Album in Mandarin, and Best Vocal Recording Album, the track "Womxnly" was nominated for Song of the Year, the music video of the track "Ugly Beauty" was nominated for Best Music Video, Tsai was nominated for Best Female Vocalist Mandarin, and Tsai together with Starr Chen were nominated for Best Single Producer for the track "Ugly Beauty". The album eventually won for Album of the Year, and the track "Womxnly" won for Song of the Year. The music video of the track "Lady in Red" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 31st Golden Melody Awards.

Background

Tsai released her thirteenth studio album Play in November 2014, it garnered critical acclaim and was declared as "easily the best album of the year". The album has sold more than 85,000 copies in Taiwan alone, and made her the best-selling female singer of the year in Taiwan. The album won two Golden Melody Awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Vocal Recording Album, and earned Tsai an Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Asian Artist. In support of her album, Tsai embarked on her fourth concert tour, Play World Tour. The tour started in May 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan at Taipei Arena and contended throughout Asia and North America before concluding in July 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at Stadium Merdeka. By July 2016, Tsai announced that she was ready to get started on her next album.
In September 2016, she collaborated with Swedish DJ Alesso and released an English single named "I Wanna Know", and the two performed the song together at the Storm Music Festival in Shanghai. At the same time, she and Alesso closed International Music Summit's Asia-Pacific event with an discussion of what it takes to bridge the gap between East and West in electronic music. Tsai also expressed on Instagram her desire to continue working together with Alesso. Next month, Tsai collaborated again with Taiwanese producer Starr Chen and released a new single named "Ego-holic". In 2017, Tsai released a series of single, including "Give Love" for the 2017 Mother’s Day and a released public interest campaign represented by Taiwanese charity organization Tzu Chi Foundation, "We Are One" collaborated with Dutch DJ Hardwell, "On Happiness Road" for the 2018 Taiwanese animated film under the same title, and "Stand Up" for the 2018 Chinese film Monster Hunt 2. In January 2018, Tsai released her seventh live album, Play World Tour, which chronicles her Play World Tour and was recorded at Taipei Arena during the Taipei dates of the tour on May 22–25, 2015.

Development

In November 2016, Tsai revealed on Instagram the names of songwriters Hayley Aitken, Olof Lindskog, and Johan Moraeus, who have collaborated with Tsai on her album, Play, with photos of them working in recording studio of record label The Kennel in Stockholm, Sweden. In July 2017, Tsai revealed that she has invited the vocalist of Taiwanese band Mayday, Ashin, who wrote "The Finale" for her album Dancing Diva, to collaborate again for the album. By July 2017, Tsai described the writing process: "So far around eight demo songs have been produced, but we are encountering problems in rewriting the lyrics until the songwriters could get the correct sentiment I want. This time I am listening to my body, if the demo conveys me a sense of excitement, then it’s right." In the same month, Tsai’s manager Tom Wang confirmed that the singer devoted herself to the album and it would be Tsai’s most expensive album ever made, with a budget of over NT$100 million. Wang also indicated that Tsai has formed team independently to create songs and music videos, and would form her own group to promote the album. At the time, Tsai’s recording deal with Warner Music Taiwan expired, Wang commented that her record label would be confirmed following the completion of the production of the album. In September 2017, Tsai confirmed two songs have been recorded but they were significantly behind in their progress. In February 2018, Tsai was diagnosed as suffering from shingles, and called off all scheduled events in February and instead remained hospitalized for a period of time.
In March 2018, Tsai revealed on Instagram the names of songwriters Richard Craker, Stan Dubb, Rhys Fletcher, and Alex Sypsomos with images of the group working in Karma Sound Studios in Pattaya, Thailand. In the same month, Tsai said that she has started to determine the lead single. In May 2018, Tsai talked to Nylon and confirmed that eleven demo songs have been produced and four songs have been recorded. Tsai also said that she was currently reading books related to neuroscience, psychology, and Zhuangzi, and described the album should be “the most honest album”. In June 2018, Tsai released a promotional single titled "The Player" for the video game Dungeon & Fighter. Tsai described that the musical style of her album is different from the style of the single, and the album has a wide range of music styles, which include genres she has never tried before. At the same time, Tsai's manager Tom Wang revealed that the songs on her album are already fifty percent complete, and the album would be released by the end of the year. In the same month, Tsai talked to QQ Music's Big Star Show and confirmed that she has written some songs for the album. In September 2018, Tsai's manager Tom Wang confirmed that Tsai has started to prepare for shooting music videos for the album's tracks. In October 2018, Tsai's manager Tom Wang confirmed that Tsai would finish recording her album in the same month, with its release scheduled in December of this year, and she would start to shoot album cover art and music videos in the next month. In November 2018, Tsai confirmed through Sina Weibo that she has finished recording the album.

Writing and production

Ugly Beauty opens with the song "Necessarily Evil". Produced by Taiwanese record producers Razor Chiang and Starr Chen, the song incorporates hardcore hip hop with trap and gothic rock styles, it also accompanies "devil's voices", shouting sounds, and synths. Tsai uses a deeper vocal register to intone the lyrics to express sense of conflict between repression and emancipation, and the song's lyrics carries a message of being fearless of the evil in inner world. Tsai described: "I want to use this song to tell everybody it's horrible to enter into your inner world, but it will become not that evil when you're ready to face it." The second track, "Womxnly", was inspired by the story of Yeh Yung-chih who had been long bullied for his perceived effeminate behavior and was found dead in school’s restroom at the age of 15. Written with Taiwanese singer-songwriter Ashin and Razor Chiang, it speaks about regardless of gender there is no established framework for gender identity, and Tsai has been constantly paid attention to human rights campaigns, including LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. Tsai described: "People do not have to live in the established framework of society, a boy has femininity doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing, and masculinity is not every boy desires to have." Musically it merges the genres of tropical house and dancehall, featuring instrumentation from Southeast Asia's musical instruments.
The lead single from the album, "Ugly Beauty", has trap, hip hop, and drum & bass influences. The song was written with Golden Melody Award winner for Best Lyrics, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Greeny Wu, British songwriter Rhys Fletcher, Taiwanese songwriter Stan Dubb, British songwriter Richard Craker, and Starr Chen. Produced by Tsai and Starr Chen, it is an uptempo dance song where Tsai responds positively to all the criticisms that were being said, with lyrics such as: "If you can't see my beauty, you must be blind." The track was mixed by Italian mixing engineer Luca Pretolesi, who collaborated on Grammy nominated albums Wonderland and Reincarnated. The fourth track, "Karma", was written with Chinese songwriter Lan Xiaoxie, Australian songwriter Hayley Michelle Aitken, and Swedish songwriter Johan Isac Gustafsson. The song is a reggaeton song talking about break-up and ex-lover, and Tsai described that the song accompanies the black humorous style of lyrics delivers the message of "living well is the best revenge". "Lady in Red" appears next, and this song was written by Golden Horse Award winner for Best Original Film Song, Taiwanese songwriters Matthew Yen, Alex Ni, Lotus Wang, Karencici, and American songwriter Jeff Bova. Described the song as "a sense of ghost story", it contains pop sounds and mumble rap influences, and Tsai sings in a deeper tone.
"Sweet Guilty Pleasure" was written by Taiwanese songwriter Adia, Swedish songwriter Olof Lindskog, Hayley Michelle Aitken, and Swedish songwriter Johan Moraeus, and it speaks about love game and incorporates bounce beats. Tsai described: "Knowing your body is also knowing your own desires, the society has to tell everybody such concept, so people will not hurt others due to curiosity." The tempo slowed down on Ugly Beauty with the next two songs. Written by Hong Kong songwriters Wyman Wong and Victor Lau, "Romance" is a ballad talking about the realities of modern love relationships. With its classic piano sounds and electronic melody, Tsai sings over the tunes consisting of gothic rock and urban R&B. Tsai described: "Sometimes romance is established, as all the fairy tales go, the princess and the prince get married and lead a happy life ever since, but nobody tells us what will happen after marriage." The song was mixed by American mixing engineer Phil Tan, who collaborated on Grammy-winning works The Emancipation of Mimi, Release Therapy, and "Only Girl ". A 1960s inspired rock and roll and soul music formed the backbone of "Vulnerability", where Tsai sings about what should be the real courage in love relationships. The song was written by Taiwanese songwriter Liao Ting-i and Taiwanese singer-songwriter Xiao Yu, who also provides the backing vocals.
Produced by Taiwanese record producer Øzi, the next track "Hubby" is a upbeat dance song with heavy backing vocals to enhance the lively atmosphere. The song was written with Taiwanese songwriter Color Lee, Rhys Fletcher, Stan Dubb, Richard Craker, and American songwriter Alex Sypes. Tsai commented: "I hope this song could be everybody's wedding march." "Life Sucks" is a future bass song, and it was written by Tsai's manager Tom Wang and American songwriters Sam Fishman, Jazelle Rodriguez, and Samual Petersen. Tsai sings in a lazy vocal timbre to speak about the negative aspect of one's personality, and she described: "This song talks about the things you don't want to do but have to face in life. We can only tell ourselves that the negativity will eventually leave us." Produced by Taiwanese record producer Howe Chen, the album ended with "Shadow Self", which is a slow-paced alternative R&B song features the sounds that often appear in Tsai's dreams. Inspired by Carl Jung's psychological term "shadow", the song was written with Taiwanese songwriters Huang Tzu-yuan, Mickey Lin, and Sam Ho, and it was written through live instruments and musical improvisation in the studio. Tsai described: "Dream is a spiritual journey of loneliness, and I believe in the words the subconscious wants to tell me."

Artwork and packaging

On November 27, 2018, Tsai released the cover art of the album's pre-order limited edition and the first series of promotional artworks for the album, which were shot by Chinese photographer Zhong Lin and directed by Malaysian stylist Yii Ooi. The artworks themed "The Mouth of Truth" depicted the singer making strange gesture and weak eyes with an exaggerated lips-shaped adornment, and they conveyed the message of breaking the conventional concept of beauty and ugliness. On December 14, Tsai released the cover art of the album's standard edition and the second series of promotional artworks, which were shot by Taiwanese photographer Icura Chiang and directed by Hong Kong stylists Tungus Chan and Matthew Chan. The artworks featured the singer with wet hair in a black strapless bodysuit with a suit jacket designed by British fashion designer Gareth Pugh, and they intended to remind people to aware the existence and benefit of negative emotions. Inspired by the Greek myth story of "Pandora's Box", the package of the album's standard edition was designed by Taiwanese designer Yen Po-chun, who described the myth story which exhorts people to have hope is well suited the album's theme of exploring the good and evil of human nature. The package of the album's pre-order limited edition uses cloth box, and the edition presents a 200-page photo diary with four different cover arts.

Release and promotion

In October 2018, Tsai attended the Taipei Fashion Week, and confirmed that the album has been set for a December release. In November 2018, Tsai revealed on Sina Weibo the title and release date of the album. On December 4, 2018, Tsai released the album's pre-order trailer, and attended a pre-order promotional event held in Taipei, Taiwan. On December 5, 2018, the digital album was made available for pre-order in China at online music stores including QQ Music, Kugou, Kuwo, and Migu Music, while the physical copy, which only limited to 10,000 copies, was made available for pre-order in Taiwan at 7-Eleven and record stores. The limited edition pre-order which started at midnight lasted only for less than 1 minute within which all the available units were sold out. On December 26, 2018, the album was officially released, and Tsai held a press conference for the album in Beijing, China. On the same date, the album reached the Spotify's one-day most streamed album of all time in Taiwan. With the rise of digital music, the physical format of the album was only released in Taiwan, and it reached number one on the charts of Taiwanese record stores and online marketplaces including Chia Chia, Eslite, Five Music, G-Music, Kuang Nan, PChome, and Pok'elai. The digital album peaked at number one in China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, number three in Vietnam, number eight in Chile, number 10 in Turkey, number 19 in Thailand, and appeared on the chart of Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Russia. The album reached number seven on the 2018's year-end sales chart at QQ Music, and it became the second best-selling digital album by a female artist of the year in China, with total sales of more than 220,000 copies within six days as of December 2018 in China. The following year, it became the best-selling digital album by a Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in China, and made Tsai the best-selling digital Hong Kong/Taiwanese female artist of all time in the country. On January 20 and 27, 2019, Tsai held two signing sessions for Ugly Beauty in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. On January 29, 2019, QQ Music unveiled the 2018 Top Year-End Chart, the album was listed one of the Top 10 Hong Kong/Taiwan Albums and Top 10 Best-Selling Albums, and Tsai was listed as one of the Top 10 Hong Kong/Taiwan Singers. As of March 1, 2019, the album topped the physical albums sales charts of Chia Chia for five weeks, Five Music for nine weeks, G-Music for five weeks, Kuang Nan for eight weeks, and Pok'elai three weeks. On March 8, 2019, Spotify unveiled Tsai the most streamed female artist of all time in Taiwan. On November 19, 2019, YouTube announced Tsai reached the third most viewed Taiwanese singer in the past year on YouTube and the fifth most viewed Official Artist Channel in the past year in Taiwan. On December 3, 2019, Spotify announced the 2019 Wrapped, Ugly Beauty reached the second most listened album of the year in Taiwan, and Tsai became the third most listened singer, the most listened female singer, and the second most listened Taiwanese singer of the year in Taiwan. In February 2020, the album's digital sales crossed the 500,000 mark in China.

Live performances

In October 2018, Tsai confirmed her appearance on the Jiangsu Television's 2019 New Year's Eve Concert in Macau on December 31, 2018. The singer performed a series of her old songs and "Ugly Beauty" wearing an Alessandra Rich ruched emerald silk-satin midi dress with braided hair styled in long dreadlocks. On January 5, 2019, Tsai appeared on the Taiwan Television's Chinese New Year special, 2019 Super Star, aired on February 4, 2019 to perform "Ugly Beauty" and "Womxnly" wearing a Halpern pink and red sequined tulle jumpsuit. On January 26, 2019, Tsai performed "Sweet Guilty Pleasure", "Ugly Beauty", and "Hubby" wearing Moschino blue poplin blouse and satin pants on the 14th KKBox Music Awards in Taipei. On April 5, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" wearing Palm Angels yellow track jacket on the second season of Idol Producer together with trainees Guan Yue, Jia Yi, Sun Zelin, Feng Junjie, and Lian Huiwei. On April 11, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" wearing Ralph Lauren black shawl-collar jacket and wide-leg pant on the Singer 2019 together with Taiwanese singer Greeny Wu. On April 28, 2019, Tsai appeared on the Mount Emei Music Festival to perform "Ugly Beauty", "Hubby", "Womxnly", and "Vulnerability" wearing Chloé floral-print silk shirt and wide leg trousers in Leshan. On May 18, 2019, Tsai held a music sharing session for Ugly Beauty at Baosteel Gymnasium in Shanghai, and she performed "Ugly Beauty", "Hubby", and "Life Sucks". On May 25, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty", "Life Sucks", "Vulnerability", and "Hubby" wearing Raisa & Vanessa silver sequined mini dress on the Rye Music Festival in Beijing. On June 2, 2019, Tsai performed "Sweet Guilty Pleasure" and "Karma" wearing Versace Baroque print dress on the 2019 Hito Music Awards. On June 21, 2019, Tsai wearing Attico pink single-breasted oversize blazer attended as special guest to perform "Ugly Beauty" together with Hong Kong singer Coco Lee on the Taipei date of her You & I World Tour. On June 29, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" wearing Gucci purple sequined jumpsuit on the 30th Golden Melody Awards. On August 30, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" and "Womxnly" wearing Moncler 0 Richard Quinn leopard and daisy print jumpsuit on the 2019 Global Chinese Song Chart Awards. On November 3, 2019, Tsai wearing Damo Wang silver blazer and shorts attended as special guest to perform "Womxnly" together with Taiwanese band Mayday on the Shanghai date of their Just Rock It! Blue Tour. On November 10, 2019, Tsai performed "Ugly Beauty" wearing Chen Peng black jumpsuit and orange puffer jacket on the 2019 Suning Double 11 Gala. On December 23, 2019, Tsai wearing Moschino graffiti blazer and pants appeared on the China Media Group's New Year Gala aired on December 31, 2019 to perform "Ugly Beauty".

Singles

On December 21, 2018, the lead single "Ugly Beauty" was released, and the song debuted at number one in China, Malaysia, and Taiwan, number three in Hong Kong, number four in Singapore, and number nine in Philippines. On the same date, Tsai released the music video of "Ugly Beauty". The music video was directed by Golden Melody Award winner for Best Music Video, Muh Chen, who has collaborated with Tsai on the music videos of "The Great Artist", "Play", and "I'm Not Yours". With the concept of accepting what was and what is, Tsai responds positively to all the criticisms that were being said through the music video. With a budget of NT$15 million, it became the music video of the highest costs of her career to this date. Since December 28, 2018, the music video of "Ugly Beauty" was played repeatedly until January 4, 2019 on the large screen at the south plaza of Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing, China. The music video reached number one on the charts of Bilibili, YinYueTai, and YouTube Taiwan in the first week. The song reached number one on the Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year, and it made Tsai become the artist who has the most number-one songs on the chart. The song also debuted at number one on Billboard China Top 100, the Chinese equivalent to the US Billboard Hot 100. Other non-single tracks "Womxnly", "Sweet Guilty Pleasure", "Lady in Red", "Hubby", "Life Sucks", and "Karma" peaked at number seven, number 10, number 10, number 11, number 17, and number 20 on Billboard China Top 100 respectively. On December 1, 2019, the single "Ugly Beauty" and other non-single tracks "Hubby", "Womxnly", "Life Sucks", "Vulnerability", "Karma", "Sweet Guilty Pleasure", "Romance", and "Lady in Red" reached number 3, number 12, number 16, number 20, number 46, number 50, number 54, number 80, and number 82 on Taiwan's KKBox Top Mandarin Yearly Singles Chart respectively, "Ugly Beauty" and "Womxnly" reached number 29 and number 63 on Hong Kong's KKBox Top Mandarin Yearly Singles Chart respectively, "Ugly Beauty", "Hubby", "Womxnly", "Life Sucks", "Karma", "Vulnerability", "Lady in Red", and "Sweet Guilty Pleasure" reached number 16, number 34, number 35, number 51, number 67, number 83, number 91, and number 92 on Malaysia's KKBox Top Mandarin Yearly Singles Chart respectively, "Ugly Beauty", "Hubby", "Womxnly", "Life Sucks", "Vulnerability", "Karma", "Romance", and "Sweet Guilty Pleasure" reached number 16, number 36, number 39, number 69, number 77, number 91, and number 97 on Singapore's KKBox Top Mandarin Yearly Singles Chart respectively, "Ugly Beauty", "Womxnly", and "Hubby" reached number 49, number 66, and number 76 on Japan's KKBox Top Asian Yearly Singles Chart respectively.

Music videos

On January 28, 2019, Tsai released the music video of "Hubby". The music video was directed by Golden Melody Award winner for Best Music Video, Jeff Chang, who has collaborated with Tsai on the music videos of "Dancing Forever", "Agent J", and "Phony Queen". The music video was inspired by Hong Kong films of the 1980s, and it featured Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress winner, Sandra Ng, and Chinese actor Ryan Zheng. On February 15, 2019, Tsai released the dance performance video of "Womxnly", which was directed by American director Ryan Parma. On March 12, 2019, the music video of "Life Sucks", directed by Taiwanese director Jeff Chang, was released. The music video reached number one on the charts of Bilibili and QQ Music in the first week. On April 2, 2019, Tsai released the music video of "Lady in Red". The music video was directed by Golden Horse Award winner for Best Short Film, Taiwanese director Cheng Wei-hao, and it featured Taiwanese actress Dee Hsu and Taipei Film Award winner for Best New Talent, Taiwanese actor Edison Wang. The music video was premiered on the release date at Vieshow Cinema location in Hsinyi District, Taipei in a one-night-only event. It reached number one on Bilibili and QQ Music charts in the first week. The Beijing News described it "changed the previous music videos which simply record singer's performance scenes simultaneously. It is like an inspiration to music video works in the music industry." On May 9, 2019, Tsai released the music video of "Karma", which was directed by Taiwanese director Remii Huang, the Indie Fest USA International Film Festival winner for Women Filmmakers and the set production assistant of the 2012 film, Life of Pi. The music video was inspired by an actual event around Kazuko Higa, the so-called "Queen of Anatahan", during the World War II. On June 26, 2019, the music video of "Romance" was released, it was directed by Taiwanese director Cheng Wei-hao, and it featured the Taiwanese actor Rhydian Vaughan and Golden Horse Award winner for Best Supporting Actor, Taiwanese actor Bamboo Chen. On December 5, 2019, YouTube unveiled the dance performance video of "Womxnly" became the sixth most viewed music video of the year in Taiwan.

Touring

In January 2018, Tsai released her seventh live album, Play World Tour, which chronicles her Play World Tour and was recorded at Taipei Arena during the Taipei dates of the tour in May 2015. Comprising 34 shows, the tour began on May 22, 2015, in Taipei, Taiwan, at Taipei Arena and concluded on July 16, 2016, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at Stadium Merdeka. Tsai's manager Tom Wang described: "Tsai has grown up so much doing the tour, and later she will release a new album and prepare for a new concert tour." In February 2018, Next Magazine reported a pre-scheduled concert date in August 2018 was cancelled due to Tsai’s physical condition. Tsai’s manager Tom Wang commented that the concert tour plan cancellation was due to completion of the album was lagging behind the schedule, and he added: "Her album was scheduled to be released in late 2017, but it was postponed until summer of this year, since we can only go on a new tour after released the album, her new concert tour would not be started until 2019." In the same month, Tsai attended the Michelin Guide Taipei 2018 Gala Dinner, and described that she has started to think of ideas for her new concert tour. On May 18, 2019, Tsai said on a music sharing session for Ugly Beauty in Shanghai that she would embarked a new concert tour later this year. In August 2019, Apple Daily reported Tsai has planned to start her concert tour at Taipei Arena in late December of the year, and Tsai's manager Tom Wang described: "We will announce the good news after confirming the show dates." On September 20, 2019, Tsai announced her fifth concert tour Ugly Beauty World Tour would start on December 30, 2019. The tour collaborated with Australian creative production house the Squared Division which has worked with singers including Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift. Tsai described: "This time I hope to break all rules, and bring a crazy sense to everybody", adding that: "This time I want to bring the complete visual effect of my album to the stage, build an incredible 'Ugly Beauty' magic world, and present the classic songs of my 20-year career in a different way, hope my fans feel the diligently of my production team in this 'another dimension'." On November 19, 2019, Tsai flew to Los Angeles to have a 12-day rehearsal with sixteen newly selected dancers. On December 31, 2019, China Times reported the Taipei dates of the tour costed NT$246 million, including NT$90 million of stage props design and NT$20 of six video interludes, became the concert with the highest cost at Taipei Arena in history. Writing for the United Daily News, Tso Kuang-ping described: "There are not many singers who can make such large-scale singing and dancing performance in C-pop industry. Jolin Tsai is definitely second to none, but she has produced a set of work of a higher standard than expected. From everyone's reaction and word of mouth, there is no doubt about the good reviews." Since January 2020, a series of showing dates were successively cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Ugly Beauty received positive critical reviews. QQ Music gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and listed it as one of the Top 60 Albums of 2018, and it wrote that it was "a fine production that outruns the rest of the C-pop albums", adding that: "The album is a 'grand finale' to her 'self-exploring' stage of career since 2010's Myself. It starts with world-class dance music production to reveal confidence, and ends with emotional expression to accept imperfection." Writing for Sina Weibo, Ruilixiurui and Zou Xiaoying praised the album. Ruilixiurui felt the album "elevates the altitude of audience's aesthetic appreciation". Zou Xiaoying described the album as: "A new personal milestone to Tsai", adding that: "It focuses on narrative and keeps up with international trend." Taiwan's GQ listed the album as one of the Top 12 C-Pop Albums of 2018, reasoning that: "It embraces many years of criticisms that being said to her, and she fights back beautifully." The Beijing News listed the album as one of Top 10 C-Pop Albums of 2018, and it wrote that the album "explores inner and outside worlds, objects repetitious aesthetics and values, and appears continuously growing musical ideas and accomplishment." MuuMuse writer Bradley Stern called the album "marks the grand return of Tsai after four long years since 2014's Play". PlayMusic gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, and it described it was "a masterpiece inspired by her exploration to the good and bad things in the past." Hit FM and Global Chinese Music Golden Awards listed the album as one of Top 10 Albums of 2018. Punchline listed the album as the number three of Top 10 C-Pop Albums of 2018. Southern Metropolis Daily and CRI Online Japan both listed the album as the number one of Top 10 C-Pop Albums of 2018. Writing for Everything Is Noise, Billie Helton described: "Ugly Beauty is a great pop album that does a lot of different things to keep you interested. It is another example of just how good Jolin Tsai is after twenty years, and shows what a treasure the singer is to still be able to produce such diverse music." The Association of Music Workers in Taiwan wrote: "The album is well made, and her singing is comfortable and enjoyable, not only expresses her reflection on life, but also sets the concept based on her achievements over the years, there is full of ambition and creativity, which is worthy of her diva status." Golden Melody Awards commented: "Tsai faced her own pain and ridicule from outside through the album, and encouraged everyone to love their bodies and dance, to heal their inner pain with upbeat dance songs. It's the last year's work that has unique narrative angle and style."

Accolades

On May 12, 2019, the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan awarded the album one of the Top 10 Albums of the Year, and the track "Womxnly" won for one of the Top 10 Singles of the Year. On May 15, 2019, the nominees for the 30th Golden Melody Awards were announced, Ugly Beauty received seven nominations, and it is one of the two albums which received the most nominations of the year. The album was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Album in Mandarin, and Best Vocal Recording Album, the track "Womxnly" was nominated for Song of the Year, the music video of the track "Ugly Beauty" was nominated for Best Music Video, Tsai was nominated for Best Female Vocalist Mandarin, and Tsai together with Starr Chen were also nominated for Best Single Producer for the track "Ugly Beauty". On June 2, 2019, the album won a Hito Music Award for Longest Chart Topping Album, the track "Ugly Beauty" won for Top 10 Songs of the Year and Top Song of the Year, and Tsai won for Best Female Singer. On June 26, 2019, the album won for a Golden Melody Award for Album of the Year, and the track "Womxnly" won another award for Song of the Year. On July 16, 2019, the nominees for the 3rd CMIC Music Awards were announced, and the album received nine nominations. It was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Pop Album, and Best Pop Performance, the track "Ugly Beauty" was nominated for Song of the Year, Best Composition, Best Music Arrangement, Best Single Production, and Best Mixing Engineering, and the music video of "Ugly Beauty" was nominated for Best Music Video. On July 29, 2019, the nominees for the 2019 Global Chinese Song Chart Awards were announced, the album was nominated for Best Album, Tsai was nominated for Most Popular Female Singer, and Best Stage Performance, and Razor Chiang, Starr Chen, Howe Chen, Øzi, and Tsai were nominated for Best Music Producer. On July 31, 2019, the album won two CMIC Music Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Pop Performance, the track "Ugly Beauty" won two awards for Best Music Arrangement and Best Single Production, and the music video of "Ugly Beauty" won another award for Best Music Video. On August 30, 2019, the album won a Global Chinese Song Chart Award for Best Album, the track "Ugly Beauty" won for Best Song of the Year, and Tsai won for Most Popular Female Singer. On December 4, 2019, Starr Chen, Howe Chen, and Razor Chiang won an Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Producer of the Year, and Kiel Tutin won another award for Best Choreographer of the Year for his choreography in the music video of "Womxnly". On January 18, 2020, Tsai won a KKBox Music Award for Artist of the Year. On July 15, 2020, the music video of the track "Lady in Red" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 31st Golden Melody Awards.

Track listing

Personnel

Song #1
Song #2
Song #3
Song #4
Song #5
Song #6
Song #7
Song #8
Song #9
Song #10
Song #11

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Taiwanese Albums 8
Taiwanese Albums 5
Taiwanese Albums 1
Taiwanese Albums 3
Worldwide Mandarin Albums 2

Release history