Jay Chou aims to become the 'Jet Li of music,' breaking into non-Chinese markets with his unique sound that blends Chinese influences with Western pop.

Asian pop sensation Jay Chou speaks to reporters during a celebration party of his new film in Hong Kong Monday, June 27, 2005.

The Taiwan singer admires Eminem, Jay-Z and Usher and hopes to break into Western markets. His strategy: "I want to become the Jet Li of music."

He's branching out into acting, too, making his feature film debut in "Initial D," a Hong Kong production based on a Japanese cartoon series about street car racing.

He says that action film star Li is his model because he used a Chinese art to attain success in the West.

"Jet Li used kung fu to break into foreign markets, Hollywood. I hope my music can do the same thing," Chou told The Associated Press in an interview.

The 26-year-old singer became a star five years ago with a unique, rhythmic sound that broke the monotony of sappy, artificial sounding ballads. Chou's own ballads are soulful , unplugged fare with a lone piano accompaniment .

Chou has since become one of the Chinese-speaking world's biggest acts.

He's also a rarity: He writes songs and produces. The Chinese music industry is known for its well-packaged pop idols who can carry a tune and look attractive — but that's about it.

Chou speaks with a bright-eyed idealism — not like a superstar with a sense of entitlement — expressing hope that he can help lift Taiwan's film industry to greater heights as he delves deeper into moviemaking.

(CRI)

rhythmic: recurring with measured regularity（節(jié)奏的，合拍的）

soulful: full of or expressing deep emotion（深情的，高尚的）

accompaniment: a subordinate musical part; provides background for more important parts（伴奏）