"Puppet" (Chinese: 木偶人; pinyin: Mù'ǒurén) is a song by Chinese singer-songwriter Joker Xue. It was released on June 26, 2019 as a single and part of his tenth album Dust by Huayu World Expo; both have since been acquired by Xue's own label Chaoshi Music.
It ranked number one on Billboard China Top 100 for three consecutive weeks, Hit FM weekly chart for four consecutive weeks, and Tencent Music's UNI Chart for two consecutive weeks. 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."
Background "Puppet" was written and composed by Xue, and arranged and produced by Chen Di. As the lead single, "Puppet" conveys the theme of the album: a journey of illusions seen through the eyes of a puppet and upon reaching its destination, the illusions scatter to dust. While we may envy and wish to be a puppet without emotions and therefore cannot feel pain, we ultimately realize that is an impossible task: "No one can become a puppet, it's just a process of evading emotions (没有人能变成木偶人, 无非是在感情里的逃避过程)."
Music video The music video for "Puppet" was directed by Taiwanese director duo Howard Kuo and Allen Shen. To construct the puppet world, the music video incorporated fantasy elements and steampunk aesthetics to tell the cautionary tale of a puppet who repeatedly gives up the most precious traits in exchange for the most desired things, likening the loss of sincerity to a disease.
Accolades + Awards and nominations for "Puppet" Award Year Category Work Result Migu Music Awards音乐盛典咪咕汇 2019 Top 10 Hits of the Year年度十大金曲 "Puppet" Chinese Music Awards华语金曲奖2020 Best Mandarin Song of the Year年度最佳国语歌曲 "Puppet" Top Ten Mandarin Songs国语十大金曲 "Puppet" Lyricist of the Year年度最佳作词人 "Puppet" Composer of the Year年度最佳作曲人 "Puppet" CMIC Music Awards唱工委音乐奖 2020 Best Composition最佳作曲 "Puppet"
Credits and personnel Joker Xue – lyrics, composition, vocals Chen Di – arrangement, production Howard Kuo, Allen Shen – director
Release history + Release dates and formatsRegionDateFormatLabelVarious June 26, 2019Huayu World Expo
References