Countless
| Countless | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 September 2022 | |||
| Recorded | 2022 | |||
| Genre | Mandopop | |||
| Length | 47:13 | |||
| Language | Mandarin | |||
| Label | Chaoshi Music[1] | |||
| Producer | Joker Xue | |||
| Joker Xue chronology | ||||
| ||||
Countless (Chinese: 无数) is the twelfth album by Chinese singer-songwriter Joker Xue. It was released digitally on 20 September 2022, by Xue's own label Chaoshi Music.[2] Presale for the physical version began on 17 November 2022.[3]
Background
[edit]Of the ten tracks on the album, Xue composed music for five tracks and wrote lyrics for seven tracks. The title track, "Countless", was written and composed by Xue. The arrangement builds up from low piano notes integrated with percussion, culminating in a powerful and unyielding atmosphere where one rushes forward fearlessly and uncompromisingly despite the countless obstacles in pursuit of countless possibilities.[2]
The songs "You Are Not Alone" and "But" are collaborations with Jeff Chang and Jane Zhang, respectively. Zhang performed "But" with Xue as a special guest at Xue's Douyin Online Concert: Ke in February 2023 and at Xue's Extraterrestrial World Tour's third Beijing show in August 2023. "About You" is dedicated to Xue's mother, who died when he was 4, and released on his birthday.[4]
"Waiting" is a cover of the song by Xue's good friend Zhao Yingjun, who died in February 2021.[5] Zhao had expressed the wish of having an album of cover songs to hear his music through other artists' interpretation; Xue launched the project in August 2020 and the album A Song, a Story was released on 17 September 2020.[6] "Waiting" is included on the album A Song, a Story where thirteen of Zhao's songs are each covered by a different artist and Xue's own album Countless.[7] It is the seventh track on both albums; the placement is significant because Xue had previously said the seventh track holds a special meaning for him.[8]
Reception
[edit]All songs on the album peaked within the top ten spots on Tencent Music UNI chart, with the exception of "City of Luo", which peaked at 11.[9]
Countless was number 2 on Tencent Music's 2022 Year-End Chart which ranks the albums based on the sum of the five highest scored songs on each album, and "But" was named one of the Top 10 Hits of the Year.[10] On KuGou Music's year-end chart, Countless was among Top 10 Popular Albums and Xue was named one of Top 10 Artists of the Year and the Favorite Artist of Post-00s Generation.[11]
On Tencent Music's annual physical album sales chart, Countless ranked 5th in 2022 and continued to appear on the list in 2023 (ranked 18th), 2024 (ranked 31st), and 2025 (ranked 35th).[12]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Countless (无数)" | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 5:30 |
| 2. | "Phoenix Feathers and Unicorn Horns (凤毛麟角)" | Jace Guo | Jace Guo | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Turn Waste Into Treasure (变废为宝)" | Joker Xue/Chacha | Chacha | 4:39 |
| 4. | "You Are Not Alone (你不是一个人)" (feat. Jeff Chang) | Joker Xue/James Hu | James Hu | 4:24 |
| 5. | "But (可)" (feat. Jane Zhang) | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 4:40 |
| 6. | "Supporting Role (男二号)" | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 4:47 |
| 7. | "Waiting (守候)" | Zhao Yingjun | Zhao Yingjun | 4:52 |
| 8. | "City of Luo (洛城)" | Gan Shijia | Joker Xue | 4:58 |
| 9. | "Facade (被人)" | Joker Xue | Joker Xue/Jace Guo | 4:08 |
| 10. | "About You (关于你)" | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 4:53 |
| Total length: | 47:13 | |||
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Migu Music Awards 音乐盛典咪咕汇 |
Top 10 Hits of the Year 年度十大金曲 |
"Turning Waste Into Treasure" | Won | [13] |
| NetEase Cloud Music Awards 网易云年度音乐奖 |
Single of the Year 年度单曲奖 |
"Turning Waste Into Treasure" | Won | [14] | |
| 2022 | Asian Pop Music Awards 亚洲流行音乐大奖 |
Top 20 Albums of the Year 年度TOP20专辑 |
Countless | Won | [15] |
| Top 20 Songs of the Year 年度TOP20金曲 |
"Countless" | Won | |||
| People's Choice Award (Chinese) 大众选择奖(华语) |
"Countless" | 9th place | |||
| Male Artist of the Year (Chinese) 最佳男歌手(华语) |
Countless | Nominated | |||
| Album of the Year (Chinese) 年度最佳专辑 |
Countless | Nominated | |||
| Best Collaboration Single 最佳合作单曲 |
"But" | Nominated | |||
| NetEase Cloud Music Awards 网易云年度音乐奖 |
Song of the Year 年度单曲奖 |
"But" | Won | [16] | |
| Album of the Year 年度专辑 |
Countless | Won | |||
| 2023 | Wave Music Awards 浪潮音乐大赏 |
Song of the Year 年度歌曲 |
"But" | Nominated | [17] |
| Album of the Year 年度专辑 |
Countless | Nominated | |||
| Producer of the Year 年度制作 |
Countless | Nominated | |||
| Male Artist of the Year 最佳男歌手 |
Countless | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ "阔景音乐官方微博" (in Chinese). Weibo. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ a b "《无数》专辑介绍" (in Chinese). NetEase Music. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
- ^ "酷狗首发薛之谦第十二张专辑 实体专《无数》已挚诚开售" [Kugou releases Xue Zhiqian's twelfth album. The physical album "Countless" is now on sale.]. IFeng (in Chinese). 18 November 2022.
- ^ "薛之谦"梦想秀"首曝身世：我4岁时母亲去世-中新网". www.chinanews.com.cn. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "赵英俊离世后病房响起《小红花》 未婚妻默默送别" [After Zhao Yingjun passed away, "Little Red Flower" played in the ward, and his fiancée bid farewell silently] (in Chinese). Sina. 9 February 2021.
- ^ "薛之谦上热搜被质疑蹭赵英俊热度，知名经纪人发文鸣不平" [Netizens accuse Xue of taking advantage of Zhao Yingjun's popularity, well-known agent posted in defense of Xue] (in Chinese). Sina. 9 February 2021.
- ^ "一首歌一个故事 赵英俊某些作品重唱企划" [A song, a story, a re-singing project of some of Zhao Yingjun's works] (in Chinese). NetEase Music. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "新歌上线24小时获10万评论，薛之谦：不好听可以永久删除整张唱片". Sohu. 10 December 2019.
- ^ Tencent UNI Chart:
- "Facade (被人)". Tencent Music. 2021.
- "Turn Waste Into Treasure (变废为宝)". Tencent Music. 2021.
- "Phoenix Feathers and Unicorn Horns (凤毛麟角)". Tencent Music. 2021.
- "City of Luo (洛城)". Tencent Music. 2021.
- "Supporting Role (男二号 )". Tencent Music. 2022.
- "But (可)". Tencent Music. 2022.
- "About You (关于你)". Tencent Music. 2022.
- "You Are Not Alone (你不是一个人)". Tencent Music. 2022.
- "Countless (无数)". Tencent Music. 2022.
- ^ "2022腾讯音乐榜年度榜单". Tencent Music. 2022.
- ^ "酷狗音乐2022音乐生活白皮书". KuGou. 2022.
- ^ "腾讯音乐实体专辑榜". Tencent Music (in Chinese). Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ "以乐之名致敬热爱 动感地带第十五届音乐盛典咪咕汇引领年度乐坛". Sohu (in Chinese). 6 January 2022.
- ^ "网易云音乐2021年度音乐奖出炉". NetEase (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "亚洲流行音乐奖: 周杰伦获得6大奖项提名 周深詹雯婷OST歌曲提名". QQ (in Chinese). 15 December 2022.
- ^ "网易云音乐2022年度音乐奖出炉". Sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "只为品质音乐加冕 共树艺术审美标准 第一届浪潮音乐大赏入围名单隆重揭晓". Qianlong (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 29 August 2023.
