By the time On the Run came out in 2007, Jay Chou’s status as the King of Mandopop had been well established, and his star was rising around the world; a few months prior to his eighth album’s release, his directorial debut, the love story Secret, had come out in Taiwan. Chou’s career was marked by his being in demand, giving the title of On the Run extra significance. But its opening track, “牛仔很忙 (Cowboy On the Run),” showed that no matter how busy Chou might get, his devotion to pushing his brand of pop music forward hadn’t waned. Chou had dabbled in country-influenced pop before; the loose-limbed “印地安老斑鳩 (Ancient Indian Turtledove),” from his 2000 debut album, Jay, mashed up Wild West swagger and acid-jazz grooves. But the boot-scooting “牛仔很忙,” with its slide guitars and a feisty fiddle solo, offered a version of the country-pop crossovers happening across the Pacific that was firmly Chou’s, his sweet vocals adding urgency to the heady mix. Chou sports a cowboy hat on the cover of On the Run, but the album is notable for its stylistic breadth. He remains a master of ballads, often offering his sentiments up with a twist; the delicate “彩虹 (Rainbow)” has a firm yet gentle rap breakdown, while the power ballad “最長的電影 (The Longest Movie)” shows his voice at full force as he goes toe to toe emotionally with sweeping strings. Chou throws some curveballs as well, with the thrumming “扯 (Pull Apart)” splitting the difference between new jack swing crispness and Timbaland glitchiness and the crystalline “青花瓷 (Blue and White Porcelain)” blending traditional instruments with modern rhythms in a shining example of Zhongguo feng. On the Run captures Chou at a point in his career where anything seemed possible—and where he took his opportunities to grow in exciting directions.