Chapter 211: The Voice of Dreams (4) The artist...

Dai Weiguang kept his word. After the "non-mainstream" transformation plan began, he immediately tailored a voice upgrade plan for Chang Xiaoman. Through various grueling training methods that were different from ordinary practice, he was determined to upgrade Chang Xiaoman's baby voice into an ethereal and sweet girl voice before the next round of the competition.

The people watching the movie in the seats near Li Sishi on the second floor, apart from You Jiating, were basically all established singers with guaranteed record sales. The unconventional "evolution" of the female lead, Chang Xiaoman, naturally did not escape their eyes and ears.

However, these unconventional techniques are minor tricks for these talented singers, but for most ordinary people, they are undoubtedly a kind of "I can do it too" secret.

Based on this, watching this transformation storyline is like watching the build-up before a major thrill, gradually increasing everyone's expectations and making them more and more eager for that eye-popping, thrilling moment to arrive.

Although director Liu, who spearheaded this film, said he wanted to make an award-winning film, he is used to this kind of commercial storytelling method. Just like in "The Legend of the Five Hundred Million Dollar Detective", he always uses the story of a comeback and upgrading to keep the audience's attention.

Of course, compared to the protagonist Hou Beihua played in "The Legend of the Five Hundred Million Dollar Detective," who went from a helpless and compromising policeman to a powerful chief detective, "The Voice of Dreams" has a more pronounced "upgrade" theme because its plot includes a music competition. It has an inherent advantage in terms of being accessible to both refined and popular audiences.

As for the word "elegance," people like Lun Yongnan and Rong Juezhang quickly saw the metaphor: in the Hong Kong music scene, the controversy between love songs and non-love songs has a long history, and the debate between original songs and cover songs has incorporated the competition between artistic consciousness and commercial interests.

Even top singers who have reached their level in the music industry have inevitably bowed their heads to commercial interests and compromised some of their ideas about music.

Although cover songs are strictly speaking also belong to "original Chinese songs" or "original Mandarin songs", which singer who has reached a certain level doesn't want to sing their own original songs? Who wants to sing all kinds of love songs, whether joyful or sorrowful, day and night, and fight to the death with the word "love"?

Unfortunately, the problem is that cover songs are convenient, easy, and cheap, and love songs are especially popular in the mass market, while original songs and non-love songs are simply no match for them.

Even because of business

The profit-driven industry supported Lu Hezhan openly while suppressing him behind the scenes. Lu Hezhan, one of the three giants of the first generation of lyricists, who was on par with Huang Yang and Cheng Guokang, suffered a lot of attacks and suppression from both the open and the covert because he launched the "Non-Love Song Movement". After the failure of this movement, he was disheartened and withdrew from the music scene.

In the movie, Shang Hanyou plays Dai Weiguang, who, like Lu Hezhan, chooses to distance himself from the profit-driven music scene and leave this entertainment-obsessed circle. However, in reality, he is a rising star who gradually achieved sales champion status and established his popularity and achievements as a second-generation singing god by relying on love songs and cover songs.

Even though the movie's plot incorporates some of his real-life upgrade process...

But when reality and the movie are intertwined and compared, a sense of helpless irony emerges – if Shang Hanyou hadn't adjusted in time back then, would this leading figure of the new generation of the music scene be as "down on his luck" as in the movie?

Then he hid in the countryside and lived a farmer's life, writing and singing songs only for his own amusement.

This is another storyline that is related to, yet corresponds to, the female protagonist Chang Xiaoman. The two characters' storylines are now connected through this music competition, which may represent two lives of "upgrading" and "rebirth".

The scene shifts back to the rural countryside in the early morning. After a rigorous training session, Chang Xiaoman finally produced a clear and resonant long note in her baby voice, which startled countless ducks. This caused Dai Weiguang, who had been up all night, to suddenly wake up from his drowsy state.

"Keep the same feeling and try again!" As if he had finally found a glimmer of inspiration in the vast fog, Dai Weiguang instantly became energetic and asked Chang Xiaoman to do it again.

Equally startled by her own voice, Chang Xiaoman nodded, then, with a mixture of cautious worry and eager confidence, repeated the long tone in the same voice—

The tranquil countryside has transformed into a dazzling competition stage. Feng Beirun, who plays the supporting character "Ah Run," is the most popular contestant in this competition. Tall, handsome, and talented, he has been performing his own energetic songs since the start of the competition. His powerful electronic melodies and intense dance moves instantly capture the hearts of the audience. Compared to other contestants, it's a complete and utter crushing defeat.

Compared to Ah Run's ex, Chang Xiaoman is naturally another "hot topic" in this competition—after their former relationship was exposed, people disliked Chang Xiaoman, who was considered a complete slacker who advanced by playing the victim and being unattractive.

That is undoubtedly more.

To boost the competition's popularity and ratings, the TV station deliberately arranged for Chang Xiaoman to appear after Ah Run, clearly demonstrating their intention to highlight the superior quality of the top horse by contrasting it with the inferior quality of the bottom horse. They were only concerned with entertainment and didn't care whether others would die or how they would die.

As the host's introduction, which was tinged with mockery and ridicule, was met with boos and jeers from the audience.

⑤

Only Dai Weiguang and Mrs. Chang kept their eyes glued to the stage, waiting for Chang Xiaoman, who had already undergone a transformation, to appear.

Backstage, Ah Run, holding a guitar, brushed past Chang Xiaoman, who was still dressed like a Christmas tree.

“Stop going on like this. They just see you as a joke,” Ah Run suddenly said. “There’s no future for us.”

"Do you think I persisted because of you?" Although that was true at first, after receiving support and encouragement from her mother amidst the ridicule, Chang Xiaoman's initial idea of ​​standing up to her ex-boyfriend had changed.

Today, the reason she continues to participate in competitions and step onto the stage is to encourage her mother no matter what, and to thank her "mentor" Dai Weiguang for his painstaking training.

There was also an indescribable joy, which came from picking up and rebuilding the shattered dreams of her childhood—though she was unaware of it at the time.

As she stepped onto the stage, the boos and jeers from the audience grew louder, but because there were people in the audience she wanted to sing for, she wasn't afraid of anything.

"By your side, though the road is long, I am not tired..." Amidst the expectant gazes of many, an old-fashioned inspirational classic song that had been forgotten by many was sung once again on the stage.

Life is a long journey, and we will always encounter many difficulties and obstacles. But we cannot stop moving forward. Instead, we must have enough confidence in ourselves and believe that there will be a bright future ahead.

Such a warm voice and melody are completely contrary to the currently popular sad love songs, but they are precisely what touch the softest string in people's hearts.

"May laughter cover up the pain, whether it's sorrow or joy, may we find something new every day..." This seems to be a reflection of the girl on stage during this period. Many people were mocking and insulting her appearance, singing style, story, and the courage to "stubbornly" stay in the competition, but she never wavered because of it. Then, through hard training, she transformed herself and sang an inspirational song that had become a thing of the past.

That extraordinary infectiousness directly

It touched the hearts of everyone present—perhaps some people haven't experienced unforgettable love, but everyone has certainly experienced setbacks and failures on the long road of life.

This inspirational song, which encourages people to not be afraid of difficulties and obstacles and to see even greater heights, serves as a reminder for those who have experienced setbacks and as a source of encouragement for them to bravely face the future.

Unfortunately, the queen of sweet songs who sang this song has passed away—but it is precisely because of this that the fact that a talented newcomer is singing this song live again makes people even more excited.

This circle is cruel; people despise those who are unworthy of their status. But this circle is also quite "tolerant." Once someone is cleared of wrongdoing, they can be forgiven for all their past mistakes, and this contrast can be used to attract more fans.

After the song ended, the "filler" who ranked last transformed into the "super talent" who ranked first. Not only did the audience who witnessed the transformation go crazy, but the TV station that organized the competition was also pleasantly surprised: such a contrasting and upheaval will surely generate even more buzz than before.

Amidst the jubilation, Chang Xiaoman, who had just made a remarkable turnaround, encountered the biggest change in her life—she stepped off the stage with great joy, intending to celebrate with her mother, only to be told that her mother didn't have much time left.

"Remember how you feel right now; you'll use it when you sing later." Looking at Chang Xiaoman, who was weeping by Mrs. Chang's hospital bedside.

Dai Weiguang said softly.

"Have you no humanity?!" Chang Xiaoman suddenly looked up and glared at him angrily. "My mother is already like this, what else do you want me to remember?! Are you addicted to being a devil coach?!"

"There will always be things in life that we are powerless to change. The only thing we can do is learn from them and incorporate them into the future." You could even say that artists are a group of madmen who are looking forward to death.

The passing of a particularly important person can greatly inspire all their inspiration and passion—writers use it to write timeless elegiac poems, singers use it to sing heart-wrenching dirges, and painters' works are thus imbued with a soul that touches the heart.

He couldn't write songs that truly touched people's hearts, nor was he willing to write commercial works built on fantasy for money. So, being out of step with the times and unable to "force himself to write new lyrics to express his sorrows," he could only choose to stay away from this circle.

But now someone can sing his new song—a song born from death paired with the most moving performance is bound to be the most touching and emotionally resonant.

"You're a madman!" Chang Xiaoman was speechless for a moment when faced with this "artist" who seemed to have lost all humanity in his pursuit of art.

Faced with such accusations, Dai Weiguang simply chuckled slightly before offering an irrefutable reason: "So—do you want to win?"

It was the same scene at a mother's bedside, but this time it was someone else who compromised.