"Extraterrestrial" (Chinese: 天外来物; pinyin: Tiān wài lái wù) is a song by Chinese singer-songwriter Joker Xue. It was released on Xue's 37th birthday on July 17, 2020, as a single and then included on his eleventh album Extraterrestrial by Huayu World Expo; both have since been acquired by Xue's own label Chaoshi Music.
It peaked at number four on Tencent Music's UNI Chart.
"Extraterrestrial" serves as the inspiration for and bookends the set list of Xue's record-breaking Extraterrestrial World Tour.
Background Prior to the release of the song, Xue hinted at the possibility of a new song via Weibo. He posted "When I appear in the late night continuously, it means..." (当我连续出现在黑夜的时候, 就代表....) on July 10, then "If there is no birthday, what new song to listen to..." (没有生辰, 听什么新歌....) on July 14. The latter especially generated interest as Xue had previously released "Half a Beat Slower" on his birthday last year and this could be the beginning of a new birthday tradition between Xue and his fans.
"Extraterrestrial", the lead single and titular track of Xue's eleventh album, has a pop rock style and utilizes a string arrangement with drum beats. Xue said the meaning of the song, to him, is that there is someone in this world who is unique to you (非你不可).
Music video The music video for "Extraterrestrial" was directed by Niu Chao and starred Xue and Stephy Qi. It was released on November 11, 2020. The music video integrates the sense of time through different settings with gradually warming and darkening color palates, creating an emotional foundation that has a time limit and is about to be lost.
A barcode was shown on the back of Qi's neck that is valid until November 22, 2020, which was shown at the beginning of the music video as today's date and marked the day as the last day Xue and Qi had together. At the end of the music video, Qi faded away but the last scene revealed that Xue also had a barcode on the back of his neck, corresponding to the last line of the song "trade my tomorrow for a chance of you approach (用明天换你 靠近我)".
Accolades + Awards and nominations for "Extraterrestrial" Award Year Category Nominee Result 2020 Tencent Music Entertainment Awards腾讯音乐娱乐盛典 Top 10 Hits of the Year年度十大金曲 "Extraterrestrial" 2021Asian Pop Music Awards亚洲流行音乐大奖 Top 20 Songs of the Year年度TOP20金曲 "Extraterrestrial" People's Choice Award (Chinese)大众选择奖(华语) "Extraterrestrial" Chinese Top Ten Music Awards东方风云榜颁奖典礼 Top 10 Hits of the Year年度十大金曲 "Extraterrestrial" CMIC Music Awards唱工委音乐奖 Song of the Year年度歌曲 "Extraterrestrial" Best Music Video最佳音乐录影带 "Extraterrestrial"
Credits and personnel Joker Xue – lyrics, vocals Luo Xiaohei - composition Zhou Yili – arrangement, production Niu Chao – director
Release history + Release dates and formatsRegionDateFormatLabelVarious July 17, 2020Huayu World Expo
References