# Dust (Joker Xue album)

Dust (Chinese: 尘) is the tenth album by Chinese singer-songwriter Joker Xue. It was released digitally on December 27, 2019, by Huayu World Expo and later acquired by Xue's own label Chaoshi Music. The physical album went on presale on May 5, 2020.

## Background

The album cover, featuring images of horse and deer in black and red, is a reference to the Chinese idiom "calling a horse a deer" which is used to describe people who deliberately confuse one thing for another and do not distinguish between right and wrong. This is later explored further in songs like "Puppet", "Half a Beat Slower", "Morbidity", "Loop" and more specifically in "Cooperate" through the contradictory lens of criticism and hope, shuttling between reality and ideals.
Of the ten tracks on the album, Xue composed music for six tracks and wrote lyrics for nine tracks. "Express Your Feelings" was created on the variety show Infinite Song Season when Xue was partnered up with Yi Yi in 2018. Xue developed the song further and invited Liu Xijun on the track.
On Weibo, Xue posted that the seventh song on an album serves as a gauge of the album's quality. The seventh track, "Wandering with You", is the song Xue worked on for the longest, starting from when he adapted "Thousands of Words" by Teresa Teng as a prelude to "Wandering With You" on the show Mother Like Flowers. Over the years, he attempted to find a better prelude but could not. Finally, he acquired the rights "Thousands of Words" and completed "Wandering With You".

## Reception

Dust is #1 on Tencent Music's 2019 Year-End Chart which ranks the albums based on the sum of the five highest scored songs on each album while "Puppet" and "Half a Beat Slower" were among the Top 20 Songs of the Year and "Puppet", "Mocking", "It's Been So Long", and "Half a Beat Slower" were among the Top 20 Popular Singles of the Year.
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." "Puppet" and "Half a Beat Slower" peaked at #1 on Tencent Music UNI Chart. All songs on the album peaked within the top ten spots, with the exception of "Loop" which peaked at 19.

## Track listing

| # | Track listing | Lyricist | Composer | Length |
| 1 | "Puppet" (木偶人) | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 4:49 |
| 2 | "Half a Beat Slower" (慢半拍) | Joker Xue | Xu Song | 4:04 |
| 3 | "It's Been So Long" (这么久没见) | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 4:57 |
| 4 | "Mocking" (笑场) | Pei Zhisen/Joker Xue | Zhang Zhenhao | 4:34 |
| 5 | "Morbidity" (病态) | Joker Xue | Song Tao | 4:42 |
| 6 | "Dust" (尘) | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 4:44 |
| 7 | "Wandering with You" (陪你去流浪) | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 4:36 |
| 8 | "Cooperate" (配合) | Joker Xue/Gan Shijia | Zhou Yili/Joker Xue | 3:35 |
| 9 | "Loop" (环) | Meng Nan | Meng Nan | 4:07 |
| 10 | "Express Your Feelings" (聊表心意; with Liu Xijun) | Joker Xue | Joker Xue | 5:17 |

## Accolades

Accolades for Dust :
| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result |
| Chinese Music Awards | 2020 | Top 10 Mandarin Chinese Hits of the Year | "Pupper" | Won |
| Chinese Music Awards | 2020 | Top Mandarin Chinese Hit of the Year | "Puppet" | Won |
| Chinese Music Awards | 2020 | Best Lyricist of the Year | "Puppet" | Nominated |
| Chinese Music Awards | 2020 | Best Composer of the Year | "Puppet" | Nominated |
| CMIC Music Awards | 2020 | Best Popular Album | Dust | Nominated |
| CMIC Music Awards | 2020 | Best Composition | "Puppet" | Nominated |
| G-Hits Awards | 2020 | Top 10 Mandarin Singles of the Year | "Mocking" | Won |
| Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards | 2020 | Top 20 Hits of the Year | "Half a Beat Slower" | Won |
| Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards | 2020 | Most Popular Album of the Year | Dust | Won |
| Migu Music Awards | 2019 | Top 10 Hits of the Year | "Puppet" | Won |