Dust (Joker Xue album)

2019 studio album by Joker Xue

Dust

Studio album by

Joker Xue

Released| December 27, 2019 (2019-12-27)
Recorded| 2019
Genre| Mandopop
Length| 45:25
Language| Mandarin
Label|

* Huayu World Expo
* Chaoshi Music[1]

Producer| Joker Xue
Joker Xue chronology
| Freak
(2018)  | Dust
(2019)  | Extraterrestrial
(2020)

|
|

Dust (Chinese: 尘) is the tenth album by Chinese singer-songwriter Joker Xue. It was released digitally on December 27, 2019, by Huayu World Expo and later acquired by Xue's own label Chaoshi Music.[2] The physical album went on presale on May 5, 2020.[3]

## Background

[edit]

Xue described the concept for the album as a journey of illusions seen through the eyes of a puppet and upon reaching its destination, the illusions scatter to dust.[4] The album cover, featuring images of horse and deer in black and red, is a reference to the Chinese idiom "calling a horse a deer (指鹿为马)" which is used to describe people who deliberately confuse one thing for another and do not distinguish between right and wrong. This is later explored further in songs like "Puppet", "Half a Beat Slower", "Morbidity", "Loop" and more specifically in "Cooperate" through the contradictory lens of criticism and hope, shuttling between reality and ideals.[3]

Of the ten tracks on the album, Xue composed music for six tracks and wrote lyrics for nine tracks. "Express Your Feelings" was created on the variety show Infinite Song Season when Xue was partnered up with Yi Yi in 2018. Xue developed the song further and invited Liu Xijun on the track.[5]

The seventh track, "Wandering with You", is the song Xue worked on for the longest, starting from when he adapted "Thousands of Words" by Teresa Teng as a prelude to "Wandering With You" on the show Mother Like Flowers. Over the years, he attempted to find a better prelude but could not. Finally, he acquired the rights "Thousands of Words" and completed "Wandering With You".[6] When he shared the song on Weibo, he revealed that, to him, the seventh song on an album has a special function by serving as a gauge of the album's quality.[7]

## Reception

[edit]

Dust is #1 on Tencent Music's 2019 Year-End Chart which ranks the albums based on the sum of the five highest scored songs on each album while "Puppet" and "Half a Beat Slower" were among the Top 20 Songs of the Year and "Puppet", "Mocking", "It's Been So Long", and "Half a Beat Slower" were among the Top 20 Popular Singles of the Year.[8]

Billboard magazine included "Puppet" (木偶人) on their The Global No. 1s You (Probably) Never Heard list, describing the song as a "soaring ballad about a failing relationship."[9] "Puppet" and "Half a Beat Slower" peaked at #1 on Tencent Music UNI Chart. All songs on the album peaked within the top ten spots, with the exception of "Loop" which peaked at 19.[10]

On TME Physical Album Annual Sales Chart, launched in 2021 and two years after the album's release, Dust ranked 78th in 2022 but then rose and continued to be in the top 40 in 2023 (ranked 33th), 2024 (ranked 32nd), and 2025 (ranked 34th).[11]

## Track listing

[edit]

Track listing for DustNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Puppet (木偶人)"| Joker Xue| Joker Xue| 4:49
2.| "Half a Beat Slower (慢半拍)"| Joker Xue| Xu Song| 4:04
3.| "It's Been So Long (这么久没见)"| Joker Xue| Joker Xue| 4:57
4.| "Mocking (笑场)"| Pei Zhisen/Joker Xue| Zhang Zhenhao| 4:34
5.| "Morbidity (病态)"| Joker Xue| Song Tao| 4:42
6.| "Dust (尘)"| Joker Xue| Joker Xue| 4:44
7.| "Wandering with You (陪你去流浪)"| Joker Xue| Joker Xue| 4:36
8.| "Cooperate (配合)"| Joker Xue/Gan Shijia| Zhou Yili/Joker Xue| 3:35
9.| "Loop (环)"| Meng Nan| Meng Nan| 4:07
10.| "Express Your Feelings (聊表心意)" (feat. Liu Xijun)| Joker Xue| Joker Xue| 5:17
Total length:| 45:25

## Accolades

[edit]

Accolades for Dust Award  | Year  | Category  | Work  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Migu Music Awards
音乐盛典咪咕汇  | 2019  | Top 10 Hits of the Year
年度十大金曲  | "Puppet"  | Won  | [12]
Canadian Chinese Pop Music Awards
加拿大至 HIT 中文歌曲排行榜  | 2020  | Top 10 Mandarin Singles of the Year
至 HIT推崇 國語 十大歌曲  | "Mocking"  | Won  | [13]
Chinese Music Awards
华语金曲奖  | 2020  | Best Mandarin Song of the Year
年度最佳国语歌曲  | "Puppet"  | Won  | [14][15]
Top Ten Mandarin Songs
国语十大金曲  | "Puppet"  | Won
Best Singer-Songwriter of the Year
年度最佳唱作人  | Dust | Nominated
Best Mandarin Male Singer of the Year
年度最佳国语男歌手  | Dust | Nominated
Lyricist of the Year
年度最佳作词人  | "Puppet"  | Nominated
Composer of the Year
年度最佳作曲人  | "Puppet"  | Nominated
CMIC Music Awards
唱工委音乐奖  | 2020  | Best Pop Album
最佳流行专辑  | Dust | Nominated  | [16]
Best Composition
最佳作曲  | "Puppet"  | Nominated
Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards
全球流行音乐金榜颁奖典礼  | 2020  | Most Popular Album
年度最受欢迎专辑  | Dust | Won  | [17]
Top 20 Hits of the Year
年度二十大金曲  | "Half a Beat Slower"  | Won

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "阔景音乐官方微博" [Grand Vista Music Group Official Weibo]. Weibo (in Chinese). Retrieved June 16, 2024.
2. ^ "《尘》专辑介绍" ["Dust" Album Details]. NetEase Music (in Chinese). Retrieved June 17, 2024.
3. ^ a b "薛之谦第十张实体专辑《尘》 多维度探讨音乐艺术性" [Xue Zhiqian's tenth physical album "Dust" explores the artistry of music from multiple dimensions]. China Daily (in Chinese). May 18, 2020. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022.
4. ^ "薛之谦第十张实体专辑《尘》 传递音乐的故事感" [Xue Zhiqian's tenth physical album "Dust" conveys the storytelling sense of music]. Rednet Entertainment (in Chinese). May 15, 2020.
5. ^ "《无限歌谣季》终极演唱会7月8日强势来袭 薛之谦于文文等为青春放歌" [The final concert of "Infinite Song Season" will be held on July 8th. Xue Zhiqian, Yu Wenwen and others will sing for the youth]. China Daily (in Chinese). July 8, 2018.
6. ^ "薛之谦 锤娜丽莎揪心合唱《陪你去流浪》 胡夏听懂了又好像没懂" [Xue Zhiqian and Chu Nalisa sang "Wandering with You" in a heart-wrenching duet. Hu Xia understood it but also seemed not to understand it.]. Tencent News (in Chinese). November 23, 2021.
7. ^ "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" [The new song received 100,000 comments within 24 hours of its release. Xue Zhiqian: If it doesn't sound good, you can delete the entire album permanently.]. Sohu (in Chinese). December 10, 2019.
8. ^ "2019华语数字音乐年度报告" [2019 Chinese Digital Music Annual Report]. Tencent Music (in Chinese). 2019.
9. ^ Glicksman, Josh (December 21, 2019). "The Global No. 1s You (Probably) Never Heard" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
10. ^ "薛之谦 在腾讯音乐由你榜内相关歌曲" [Joker Xue TME UNI Chart History]. Tencent Music (in Chinese). Retrieved August 11, 2024.
11. ^ "腾讯音乐实体专辑榜" [Tencent Music Physical Album Sales Chart]. Tencent Music (in Chinese). Retrieved April 23, 2025.
12. ^ "薛之谦神武4咪咕汇斩获三项大奖 最佳专辑 十大金曲收入囊中" [Xue Zhiqian's won three awards, including the Best Album and the Top Ten Golden Songs, at Migu Awards]. Sohu (in Chinese). December 22, 2019.
13. ^ "加拿大至 HIT 2019 年全國總選獎項揭曉 網上和手機 App 足本重溫" [Canada to HIT 2019 National Awards Announced Watch the Full Version Online and on the App]. AM1470 (in Chinese). January 15, 2020.
14. ^ "第十二届华语金曲奖提名公布 吴青峰10项提名叱咤风云" [The 12th Chinese Music Awards nominations announced, Wu Qingfeng leads with 10 nominations]. Chinese Music Awards (in Chinese). December 29, 2020.
15. ^ "第十二届华语金曲奖"云直播": 寻找心中的天籁" [The 12th Chinese Golden Melody Awards "Cloud Live": Finding the Heavenly Music in Your Heart] (in Chinese). December 31, 2020.
16. ^ "CMA 2020". CMIC Official Website (in Chinese). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
17. ^ "GCGC 2019 年度 流行音樂全金榜 結果公佈" [GCGC 2019 Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards Results Announced]. AM1470 (in Chinese). September 12, 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Joker Xue

* Discography
* Awards
* Filmography
* Live performances

Studio albums|

* Jacky
* How Are You?
* Deeply Loved You
* Unfinished Songs
* Several Of...
* An Unexpected Journey
* Beginner
* The Crossing
* Freak
* Dust
* Extraterrestrial
* Countless
* The Guardian

Extended plays|

* Gentleman
* Half

Singles|

* "Serious Snow"
* "How Are You
* "Actor"
* "Beginner"
* "Animal World"
* "Skyscrapers"
* "Puppet"
* "Extraterrestrial"

Tours|

* I Think I've Seen You Somewhere Tour
* Skyscraper World Tour
* Extraterrestrial World Tour

Concerts|

* Live Concert in Shanghai
* Douyin Online Concert: Ke

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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