Chapter 104: Anxious Little Heavenly Queen! Second Class Private Yuan, Triggering a Passive?
Just as Chen Zebing of EMI Records said, the record market has been declining since the millennium, and even artists like Jay Chou, Stefanie Sun, Wang Leehom, and Zhang Shanshan couldn’t escape this curse.
It’s really because of the rampant online pirated music.
With just a click of a mouse, people can listen to free MP3s on platforms like Baidu, Kugou, and Qianqian Jingting… The number of people buying albums will definitely decrease.
After the first wave of fan purchasing frenzy ends, what’s left is to compete for the existing market, for casual fans. Casual fans are also the main force of consumption, and there will inevitably be a battle between Jolin Tsai and Zhang Liangying.
At this moment, after listening to the first song, “Ray of Light,” Jolin Tsai felt nothing. Her evaluation: a very ordinary ballad, Zhang Liangying’s singing skills are very good.
But when she heard the second song, she couldn’t sit still.
“The carrying pole is wide, the stool is long.”
“The carrying pole wants to be tied to the stool.”
“…”
Oh, this!
What song is this?
A children’s song!?
So strange!
Jolin Tsai frowned.
The first few lines of lyrics made her feel confused, a bit like a tongue twister, but she didn’t dare to underestimate Shen Qing’s lyricism and arrangement skills, always feeling that this song was not that simple.
She glanced at the song title: “Chinese Language”!
“Could it be a Chinese Style song incorporating the classical culture of ‘tongue twisters’? That would be quite innovative, the theme is excellent, I wonder how the arrangement is…”
Continuing to listen, Jolin Tsai’s frown deepened.
“Skin of all colors, hair of all colors.”
“What we say and speak is starting to popularize Chinese.”
“For how many years we practiced English pronunciation and grammar.”
“These past few years, it’s their turn to roll their tongues.”
“To learn the changes in tones.”
“Ping, Ping, Ze, Ze, Ping, Ping, Ze.”
“Such clever Chinese people, such beautiful Chinese language.”
Seeing the lyrics sung out by Zhang Liangying in a rap style, Jolin Tsai couldn’t help but want to applaud her, “This arrangement is amazing, rap combined with tongue twisters, very trendy, Shen Qing is so imaginative!”
Jolin Tsai’s musical appreciation ability is beyond doubt.
Her intuition told her that “Chinese Language” would definitely be a hit, widely spread, and even officially recognized.
In current China, from top to bottom, everyone is thinking about how to resist Western cultural invasion, but with little effect.
Hollywood blockbusters, Korean girl and boy groups, European moons… all sorts of entertainment products and cultural trends are pouring in, coupled with a large number of public intellectuals pushing the tide on “Yilin” and “Reader,” many people’s consciousness has come to believe: the moon abroad is big and round.
Who wouldn’t be anxious?
But is anxiety useful?
Cultural confidence cannot be built in a day or two; it must be a gradual, long-term effort, requiring everyone’s participation and hard work.
But now, there are very few things domestically that can be presented to resist…
The only thing that can give everyone confidence is perhaps the 29th Summer Olympic Games to be held in Beijing in two years.
This is an opportunity for the world to re-recognize China!
Against this backdrop, Shen Qing actually wrote “Chinese Language” for Zhang Liangying – isn’t this a genius music producer!?
So infuriating!
Why don’t I, Jolin Tsai, have such a producer behind me?
The lyrics of this song are full of confidence in Chinese culture, genuinely promoting traditional culture. Jolin Tsai can’t even imagine how popular it will be!
When it reached the chorus, Jolin Tsai’s eyes rolled…
“The whole world is learning Chinese.”
“Confucius’s words are becoming more international.”
“The whole world is speaking Chinese.”
“What we say makes the world listen attentively.”
These lyrics, paired with this melody…
What genius ideas are in Shen Qing’s head?
It sounds good!
Catchy!
Crucially, it has a brainwashing magic!
The kind you can’t forget once you hear it…
The whole world is learning Chinese?
Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, why does it sound so satisfying?
Damn, how can it be written so brilliantly!!
One can imagine that after tomorrow, the streets and alleys of Mainland China will be playing this song “Chinese Language,” and even some shops in Taipei will play this song.
Damn, truly enviable!
“But my ‘Dancing Girl’ doesn’t seem bad either?! After all, it sold well, but why do I have no confidence at all? Sigh, after almost 6 years since my debut, I’m even afraid of newcomers.”
In recent years, Jolin Tsai has been quite popular. Her representative works include “Magic,” “Prague Square,” “Rewind,” “36 Stratagems of Love,” “Wild Game,” and so on, but she has always been one step away from being top-tier.
She knows very well that a singer’s golden age is only a few years, especially for a singing and dancing artist like her. If she cannot break through herself in these years, she will inevitably decline in the future.
This album, “Dancing Girl,” is her final charge towards becoming a “Versatile Heavenly Queen,” and there can be no mistakes.
If she fails, she feels her spirit will be exhausted.
Now, facing Zhang Liangying, Jolin Tsai can’t quite describe her feelings. She always feels that her spotlight is about to be stolen by Zhang Liangying.
After all, news resources and public attention are limited. Once a “major event” occupies these public resources, other minor artists will lose their popularity.
This is also what people often say: using one event to suppress the popularity of another.
At this moment.
After the song finished, Jolin Tsai shook her head, forced herself not to overthink, took off her clothes, and went to the bathroom.
The CD was still playing, and Jing Tian appeared on the TV screen. In the bottom right corner of the screen were a few lines of text:
What I Miss
Lyrics: Shen Qing
Composition: Shen Qing
Arrangement: Shen Qing
Vocals: Zhang Liangying
MV Starring: Jing Tian / Huang Xuan
…
Through the transparent glass, Jolin Tsai saw the MV and heard the singing. Her vision went black again: “Is every song this powerful?”
As Zhang Liangying’s straightforward yet very delicate voice reached the bathroom, Jolin Tsai fell silent. She let the faucet run with a gushing sound, quietly leaning on the glass and watching the TV screen.
“What I miss is talking about everything.”
“What I miss is dreaming together.”
During the chorus, Zhang Liangying’s emotions clearly intensified, and the song’s tempo quickened, instantly drawing the listener into that deep sense of nostalgia and reluctance.
“This arrangement ability… Shen Qing is really strong. How great it would be if I could get a song from him!”
Jolin Tsai’s own songwriting talent is actually average; she doesn’t have many representative works of her own creation, relying on professional music producers.
For example, in her first few years, she relied on Jay Chou. Last year, when Jay Chou was busy, she found Wang Leehom, and this year for “Dancing Girl,” she hired a foreign team.
For singers like her, they actually envy those genius music producers, because only they themselves know how incredibly difficult it is to write a song.
After listening to “What I Miss,” the next song was “Thinking of You, 00:01.” Jolin Tsai’s emotions finally calmed down a bit, “Finally, something more ordinary.”
She took advantage of the brief lull in the song’s intensity to quickly wet her body, apply body wash, and then wrapped in a towel, she went to the TV. At this moment, the sixth song had just finished.
“Dream It Possible”
“It’s an English song?”
“This is my strong suit!”
“Ah? This singing… Zhang Liangying, are you this good at English songs too?”
“Her vocal line is so similar to those European and American singers, powerful, penetrating, and her tone is also attractive. As expected, she’s naturally talented… Is this song adapted from ‘My Dream’?”
By the sixth song, Jolin Tsai no longer felt much jealousy.
She just felt that Shen Qing was so talented and Zhang Liangying was so strong.
Flipping to side B.
The first song was “Wonderful Ability Song.”
“It’s a folk song, her style is so versatile!”
“Zhang Liangying’s singing style has shifted to a cold, resolute state. The transition is too seamless. It must be the result of later training. The compilation she released after the Super Girl competition didn’t have this feeling.”
Listening song by song, she unknowingly reached “Small Happiness.”
“Look.”
“The little dog barks, the leaves smile.”
“The wind whispers.”
“Might as well enjoy it for a second.”
“Misty romance.”
As Jolin Tsai listened, she actually started to smile, murmuring, “What a sweet song.”
In the MV, Zhang Liangying is running on a lawn under the sunset, holding a small dog. The camera is very shaky, simulating the state of a boyfriend holding a DV to record.
This kind of scene is so likable~
…
After listening to all ten songs, Jolin Tsai hadn’t recovered. The CD spun to the three bonus tracks – “Warmth,” “Moonlight,” and “Myriad Lands.”
She listened to them one by one, then sat on the sofa hugging her knees. It was past one in the morning, and she had no sleepiness at all. Gradually, the image of a shy young man appeared in her mind.
This night, she couldn’t sleep!
Jay Chou, are you with Hebe Tien now? If you continue to write songs for me, will I not be so worried and anxious?
But that’s all in the past~
Jay Chou has had quite a few relationships; Jolin Tsai is just a beautiful memory from his past.
…
Beijing, Chaoyang.
Gao Yuanyuan was also caught in anxiety.
She also bought Zhang Liangying’s CD today.
But she didn’t really want to listen to it…
At this late hour, she was still sitting in a lounge chair on the balcony, covered with a thin blanket, gazing at the night sky in a daze.
“I was the first female celebrity Liangying and Shen Qing knew, and we have a good relationship, but they still found an unknown young girl to shoot the MV. Am I really that bad?”
“Shen Qing would rather choose someone else than ask me… Does he look down on me because he’s talented?!”
Since “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber” in 2003 made her famous, Gao Yuanyuan’s career has been on a downward trend.
Although she starred in works like “The Benevolent Prime Minister Di Renjie,” “You Are Smiling, But I Am Crying,” “The Couple of Doctors and Knights,” “Emperor Qin Li Shimin,” and “The First Under Heaven,” none of them made a splash. Later, she started to get involved with the Hong Kong circle, but it didn’t have much effect either.
After being silent for several years, and just being cheated on by music genius Zhang Yadong with Xu Jinglei, Yuan Yuan’s heart was extremely fragile and anxious, and she was very sensitive to any disturbance.
Thinking of this, Yuan Yuan felt like crying.
She couldn’t help but want to call Shen Qing, wanting to ask him face-to-face: “We met first, and I even helped Liangying get votes in Changsha, but you didn’t choose me this time… Shen Qing, just tell me the truth, do you look down on me?!”
