Favorite (Chinese: 最愛) is a compilation album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai, released on November 3, 2006, by Sony BMG. The album features 15 remixed tracks, 3 songs from the soundtrack of the film Why Me, Sweetie?! (2003), and 1 live performance medley.[1]
On July 23, 2002, Tsai signed with Sony.[2] Under this label, she released three studio albums: Magic (2003), Castle (2004), and J-Game (2005). These albums achieved commercial success in Taiwan, with sales exceeding 360,000,[3] 300,000,[4] and 260,000 copies,[5] respectively. Across Asia, the total sales for each album surpassed 1.5 million,[6] 1.5 million,[7] and 1.2 million copies,[8] respectively. Each of these albums ranked second in annual album sales in Taiwan for their respective years and secured the top spot for female artist album sales in the same period.[9][10][11]
On February 16, 2006, Tsai signed with EMI.[12] On May 5, 2006, Sony BMG released her compilation album J-Top.[13] On November 3, 2006, Sony BMG released another compilation album, Favorite. The album featured 15 remixed tracks, 3 songs from the soundtrack of the movie Why Me, Sweetie?! (2003)—"Angel of Love", "Darkness", and "Sweetie"—and a live performance medley from the Taipei stop of her J1 World Tour, which included "I'm Still Your Lover" and "Cut Love".[1]
In its first week of release, the album debuted at number 12 and number 5 on the weekly sales charts of G-Music and Five Music in Taiwan, respectively.[14][15]
Tencent Entertainment's music critic Shu Wa commented, "After the release of Dancing Diva, Jolin Tsai became a market sensation. Sony, which had already seen considerable profits from the release of her earlier compilation J-Top in May, once again capitalized on her commercial appeal with a live and remix compilation. Riding on the wave of her second world tour, they put together this live and remix album. However, it mainly rehashes classic tracks from the J1 World Tour along with previously unreleased live performances, and also reissues several older tracks that were originally part of movie soundtracks. It's fair to say that this album is a patchwork of past material. Unfortunately, this type of marketing strategy has long since lost its novelty, and the album did not receive much recognition from the market."[16]
