When it comes to all the international queens of pop, R3HAB evidently knows what’s up.
The Dutch-Moroccan DJ’s done official remixes for all the girls – from Rihanna to Katy Perry to Taylor Swift. And only a few months ago, he and Chung Ha served up the supremely fierce tag-team in the form of “Dream of You,” as featured on her language barrier-blurring, boundary-breaking Querencia.
And now, he’s set his sights on the Ugly Beauty Mandopop supreme herself, Jolin Tsai.
Evidently, the Queen of C-Pop found some time in between supplying life mantras and having intimate relations with dolphins to duck into the recording studio for a starry-eyed EDM endeavor.
“Stars Align” is an English-language dance floor moment for Jolin, released as part of PUBG MOBILE‘s third anniversary celebrations. I’m solely a League of Legends kind of gay (bronze trash!), but this game is actually huge, with over 50 million (!) daily active users. Our ladies are truly winning with all these video game tie-ins. The impact of Ava Max‘s Roblox concert!
The track is a catchy, if simple dance floor banger, equipped with a solid thump, a nonsense ATC / Eiffel 65-adjacent earworm of a chorus (“da, da, da-da-da-da, da“) and hopeful wishes for an eventual reunion: “Can I go back to the days that I had you? / Back to one more night like we’re used to,” Jolin reminiscences. In the socially distanced time of a panorama, it fits all too well.
R3HAB also played an in-game set live on PUBG Mobile, premiering the track alongside acts like Alesso and Lost Frequencies. It’s genuinely wild to see how much gaming has virtually incorporated music, especially amid the pandemic.
“I’m always looking to push boundaries and explore different genres. Jolin feels the same way and has been a pioneer in Mandopop. It’s energizing for me to work with artists who know the sky’s the limit, and ‘Stars Align’ is a nod to that shared vision. I’m a long-time player of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, so being able to share the song with this community is an honor. I hope this song is a lucky star for all the players, listeners, and fans enjoying it,” R3HAB said of the collaboration.
Although Jolin’s supplied more musically and lyrically advanced works in the past, sometimes less is more…which is to say she might just globally smash with this basic banger.
Frankly, it would be bliss to hear the Taiwanese superstar’s voice blaring from the speakers at electronic festivals across the world throughout 2021. (And for festivals to exist in general.) Here’s hoping.
