Chapter 153: Influence - New Album is Here!
Chapter 153
In the "XX Heavenly Maiden" group, Zheng Huinong woke up to find it full of @ tags.
The talent show she participated in that year was called "XX Heavenly Girl," but unfortunately, none of them ended up as expected during the competition; they just became ordinary, unremarkable people.
Whether you have talent or not, whether you're popular or not, your eventual development will be roughly the same.
The music scene is getting worse year by year, and even big-name singers are having a tough time, spending their time on music variety shows, not to mention those who lack the support of big companies.
Zheng Huinong went to bed very late last night—sorry, she was constantly searching her own name on Weibo.
This situation is so rare for her that it may only be concentrated in this stage, and then there will be no more.
Search early and enjoy early.
Many fans praised the song, although the vast majority of comments were still focused on "Who is Zheng Huinong?", but for her, this was already a huge change.
In the Heavenly Maidens Group, Ning Miao is the most active member.
"Huinong, is this you? Or is it just someone with the same name?"
Zheng Huinong was asleep and didn't reply, so Ning Miao continued, "I didn't hear you mention anything about cooperating with Lin Yuan. Is it really you?"
Zheng Huinong: "..."
An album isn't expensive, just a few dozen yuan. If you're so curious, why don't you just buy it and listen to it?
But based on Zheng Huinong's understanding of Ning Miao, the other side would definitely not buy her. Since the start of the talent show, the other side has been playing a strategy of only taking in and not giving out.
Even if she "kindly" introduces jobs to her classmates, it's based on the premise that the introduction will bring her more benefits.
While Ning Miao was still guessing whether Zheng Huinong was the lucky one who would collaborate with Lin Yuan, the other contestants from the same year had already confirmed it: "This song is really good, and Huinong sings it well too."
"Is this really a benefit to farmers???"
Ning Miao sent a few exclamation marks and question marks, and then her next sentence was even more exaggerated: "You've struck it rich!"
"Why didn't you share this great opportunity with everyone so we could be happy for you too!"
“I was quite worried about you, Huinong. No wonder... it turns out you had a better opportunity.”
Ning Miao chattered on and on in the group chat, but the chat fell silent after she started speaking.
Her statement boiled down to two points: first, Zheng Huinong was quietly accomplishing great things; second, Zheng Huinong would look down on them, these small fry, from now on.
Zheng Huinong: "..."
In fact, she had anticipated this moment from the moment she decided to cooperate with Lin Yuan.
Another classmate messaged her, telling her to ignore what Ning Miao was saying.
The contestants were just contestants who met by chance on the same show. They only spent a few months together and were competitors, so there was no close friendship between them.
It's quite unexpected that group chats have survived this long.
Zheng Huinong quietly went online and admitted that he was the one who sang "Dahlia" with Lin Yuan.
"How did you get in touch?" Ning Miao asked curiously again. "Is your agent that capable?"
"It was found by Lin Yuan."
Zheng Huinong didn't say much else. Ning Miao knew everything about her, and she knew her agent's situation all too well.
If her agent could easily connect with Lin Yuan and achieve a collaboration, she wouldn't be so unknown to this day.
“I’m so envious.” Ning Miao sent a few more ambiguous emojis. “It feels like Huinong, you’ve always been like this, different from us.”
A question mark appeared on Zheng Huinong's forehead.
Just then, his agent came in carrying a bowl of spicy hot pot, and Zheng Huinong quietly moved the screen away.
"Why bother with her? She's acting crazy in broad daylight." The manager put the bowl of spicy hot pot aside and asked Zheng Huinong if he wanted more seasoning. "She's probably grinding her teeth to pieces right now, she must be in pain."
Both of them couldn't understand why Ning Miao was so hostile towards Zheng Huinong; she didn't act this way towards anyone else.
Zheng Huinong summarized it as follows: her mentality is incredibly good. Although she hasn't made a name for herself in the industry over the years, she has always stayed true to herself and has managed to get through this period smoothly until today.
Zheng Huinong also paid a price, but it wasn't a price she couldn't afford.
Zheng Huinong and his manager were hoping to gain some public recognition through the album "1895," but—
"1895" became even more popular than the two had expected.
First, there's album sales.
The digital version of "1895" will be released first, and some physical versions will probably be released as well, but the progress is very slow.
Lin Yuan never worried about album sales, nor did the record company he worked with. Even male actors who were less famous than Lin Yuan had fans who would buy their albums and concerts. Regardless of the overall quality of "1895", Lin Yuan's sincerity was at least better than that of others.
In fact, the quality of "1895" far exceeded the record company's expectations.
From the lead single "Hate" to the closing track "Dahlia," every song is closely connected to the theme of the film. The album contains ten songs, but none of them can be described with the word "water."
Even though guava is a common, overused food, it doesn't feel cheap or perfunctory.
This is an album that was created with great care.
...
The first song to draw attention on the album "1895" is the title track "Hate".
He Xun believes that this is a product of Lin Yuan's inner perversion while filming "Bloody Past," and his thoughts... overlap with those of Lin Yuan's fans to some extent.
"At least the last song still had love in it, but how come this one is so cold that all that's left is hatred?"
Before even hearing the full song, fans unanimously expressed this sentiment.
And after listening to the entire piece—
"Nobody told me this song was so good?!"
"It has a very gothic feel. Towards the end, I felt like someone was choking me. There was a part where Lin Yuan's voice sounded like he was chanting a spell... The atmosphere of a vampire movie is very strong."
"+1+1+1, you'll know once you listen to the whole album that '1895' has a very strong cinematic style. I specifically looked it up, and 1895 is the year that cinema was born."
"This is amazing!! Lin Yuan is truly a god!"
Fans are used to Lin Yuan's voice, which can be affectionate, mournful or refreshing, but this is the first time they have heard his voice in "Hate".
Just like the song title suggests, Lin Yuan did indeed pour a lot of hatred into this song, like the discomfort of fingernails scratching a blackboard, and also reminding people of the underground where air is scarce... an area that ordinary people are unwilling to touch, yet someone is wantonly showing his hatred.
The more unusual Lin Yuan's voice is, the more it matches the theme of the song.
Especially after the chorus ends, the vampire's voice is almost a sigh.
Is that the satisfaction of seeing one's lover reduced to one of their own kind? Of course not.
He loved that person; he loved their vitality and dynamism, their being a part of humanity.
Rather than a part of what is lost.
He never loved vampires.
He wanted revenge, to make his opponent endlessly regret it, but this same knife was also used to stab himself.
Sang Zi listened to the part of Lin Yuan's voice that was almost a lament five times. She felt that Lin Yuan's approach of making "Hate" the main song was very bold, as this type of song is quite rare.
However, upon closer examination, this is because Lin Yuan already has a large enough fan base. Just because he can do this doesn't mean that other singers can do the same.
"Hate" has indeed exceeded the expectations of fans.
Sang Zi occasionally gets the feeling that Lin Yuan is very, very kind to his fans. She's not blindly praising him, but she can genuinely feel it from Lin Yuan's works.
It's a feeling of not wanting to be let down.
There are no heart-wrenching screams in the song "Hate", and not even a single word of "hate", but Sang Zi can feel the hatred from Lin Yuan's voice.
This is probably related to his identity as an actor—Lin Yuan has many angles for expressing emotions.
The composition is excellent, and the lyrics are excellent too.
Sang Zi is a person with rich emotions, so when watching dramas, she can see the emotional changes of the characters, rather than feeling that every character is played in a similar way.
In other words, she really understands Lin Yuan, and Lin Yuan's lyrics also resonate with her.
...
"Hate" stayed on the trending topics list for a long time and attracted a lot of attention.
Generally speaking, only film crews engage in large-scale marketing. Some actors generate hundreds of trending topics a year, and even if viewers don't know who they are, they'll get tired of seeing their names.
When "Hate" first trended on social media, music critic "Pause" thought it was a new drama starring Lin Yuan.
Although the title of this show seems strange.
"Rest" was one of the earliest music critics to know Lin Yuan. He gave a serious review of Lin Yuan's duet with Tian Yi, "Heart's Desire".
Lin Yuan has had a great career as an actor, but the "pause" is inevitably a bit of a regret.
Whether it's Lin Yuan's interpretation of "Heart's Desire" or his creations "Hibernation" and "Love and Hate," they are all outstanding works in the eyes of "Pause."
Lin Yuan did not focus on becoming a singer, as he felt it would be a waste.
However, a person's energy is limited, and he understood Lin Yuan's choice.
The music scene is still too quiet.
However... it is precisely because the music scene is too deserted and there are not many good works that some people try to make money from it. In addition to commenting on music variety shows, "Pause" has been criticizing bad works every week.
His online traffic is actually higher than before.
The fans of the "singers" he criticized will inevitably defend themselves fiercely in the comments section, while netizens who want to watch the show will flock to see what's going on.
...This is not the original meaning of "rest".
But there was nothing he could do.
To some extent, "Rest" is now more of a music popularizer than a music critic, often bringing up classic songs and performances by classic singers to popularize music.
Besides these, he had nothing else to do.
"Pause" glanced at Lin Yuan's name, but wasn't interested in clicking on it, so he started writing today's column.
Before writing, he habitually opened the comments and private messages, expecting another battle between two factions in his comment section. However, to his surprise, the most frequent comment was—
Have you heard of Lin Yuan's "1895"? I'd appreciate your feedback!
"I absolutely love 'Hate,' and I'm sure you'll like it too, teacher."
Looking forward to your review!
"Pause" suddenly realized that the trending search term he had just seen was probably Lin Yuan's new song.
"1895", "Hate"?
"Pause" listened to the entire "1895" album at top speed, just a quick overview, in less than an hour.
After listening to it the first time, "Rest" silently flipped to the basic information section of "1895".
Lin Yuan wrote both the lyrics and the music—surprisingly, every single song was written by him.
The term "rest" is quite surprising.
The two pieces, "Hibernation" and "Love and Hate," prove that Lin Yuan has creative talent, but what amazes "Fuzhibu" the most about this album, "1895," starting with the first piece, "Hate," is the difference in style between each piece.
There are ballads, dance music, dark themes... Lin Yuan's progress is so great that it's unbelievable.
The style of this album can be described as chaotic, encompassing all sorts of genres. Generally speaking, mature singers wouldn't release an album like this, but Lin Yuan isn't exactly a mature singer, so this is forgivable.
The key point is that every song on the album, such as "Hate," "Prison," and "Hero Who Saved the Earth," has a strong character and is highly accomplished.
"How did it evolve so powerfully?"
"Pause" first got to know Lin Yuan through "Heart's Desire". What he affirmed first was Lin Yuan's singing skills. As a singer, Lin Yuan's ability to empathize is extremely strong. He can give a song the most accurate way of singing.
Lin Yuan's physical abilities weren't that strong, but his ability to express emotions effectively was a talent in itself.
After that, Lin Yuan's works "Hibernation" and "Love and Hate" amazed "The Rest".
And that was the end of it.
In any case, it is quite rare to write songs with the same level of completion as "Hibernation" and "Love and Hate" in the entertainment industry.
But “1895” is impressive from another angle. “Pause” can even be said to be the most accurate judgment that Lin Yuan invited Zheng Huinong to sing “Dahlia”.
Singers with a cool and aloof style like Zheng Huinong are rare in the industry. His voice is very unique. The fact that Lin Yuan brought him in shows that his control over his compositions has reached a terrifying level.
He can always find the most suitable voice—whether that voice belongs to himself or someone else.
"Pause" naturally knew the name Zheng Huinong. That year's talent show produced many distinctive singers, but almost none of them became famous.
For the entire history of the Chinese music scene, the years when talent shows flourished were also a representative period.
He felt sorry for Zheng Huinong, because with his voice and singing skills, he could have become a big star if he had the right songs.
Unfortunately, the other party is still lying low to this day.
Seeing this name in Lin Yuan's album, "Pause" was even more surprised.
"Rest" listened to "1895" a second time.
He quickly picked out his two favorite songs—"Heroes Who Saved the Earth" and "Dahlia".
There isn't a single song he dislikes on this album.
Although there are some mediocre works among them, "Pause" can only be described as mediocre at worst. In his opinion, Lin Yuan could have done better but did not, but that does not mean that the song is perfunctory or written casually to appease fans.
This album is filled with Lin Yuan's dedication.
It wasn't until then that "Pause" searched for information related to Lin Yuan and discovered that after finishing his previous movie, Lin Yuan had been preparing for this album and had been in seclusion for a long time.
He just hadn't paid attention to it.
There are still comments in his comment section asking him to comment on "1895".
He will definitely give his critique, but it will take some time.
"Pause" leaned back in his chair.
This week's work has already been scheduled in advance.
However, he was only delighted by this, and not at all weary.
Reviewing Lin Yuan's new album is much better than reviewing those albums that he considers utterly worthless and no different from shit.
While he was reviewing those albums, fans would always leave comments saying that he was jealous of his idol's good looks and wealth, and that he was a complete hater.
"Pause" just wants to say that because he works as a music critic, this is his job.
Does he have some kind of peculiar fetish for eating feces?
His ears, worth a fortune, are forced to critique this rubbish every day. Is he happy? Is he willing to do it?
It might be fun for the fans, but for him—not at all.
...
When the total revenue of "1895" reached tens of millions, Lin Yuan was slightly surprised.
He did not underestimate his appeal, but no matter which brand he collaborated with or what he endorsed, Lin Yuan did not encourage fans to buy a lot at once.
It's good enough that the fans are willing to support us.
At the price of "1895", achieving this revenue means that the number of people who bought the album reached 400,000.
If fans buy them one by one, that's 400,000 supporters.
Objectively speaking, this number is already quite large.
But... this number is still growing steadily.
The price of "1895" is not high, just the industry average. Although there are plans to release a physical album later, Lin Yuan has not added any gimmicks to the digital album. Fans can buy it if they want.
However, the initial results far exceeded Lin Yuan's expectations.
Although other singers' digital album sales often exceed 100 million, Lin Yuan feels that he has already achieved a very good result.
He was quite content.
The studio also doesn't plan to release specific sales figures, as Lin Yuan doesn't intend to showcase his abilities from that angle.
After all, the initial sales were driven by the fans.
Lin Yuan knew very well that if the word-of-mouth for "1895" did not spread and remained only within the fan base, some people would say that these fans who bought the album were being ripped off.
Marketing accounts have already written this, and Lin Yuan has seen it.
Fortunately, according to fans who bought the album, the songs on it were all pretty good.
However, there are still dissenting voices, such as—
Are actors releasing albums to cash in on the lukewarm reception of long-running dramas?
In summary, actors are now using increasingly diverse methods to make money. They think about releasing albums and holding concerts as soon as they become popular, treating their fans' money as worthless.
I originally thought only a few habitual money-grabbers like XXX and XX were involved, but "it's truly disappointing that Lin Yuan, a top actor, was also involved."
"The fans' passion is nothing more than a series of harvested leeks in the eyes of celebrities."
"When celebrities endorse products, fans buy them; when celebrities generate data, fans create them. In any case, with legitimate endorsements, fans at least get a bunch of tangible goods, whether it's food or daily necessities, which have value. But what's the difference between a celebrity's so-called album and scamming people out of their own pockets?"
Lin Yuan: "..."
He really couldn't refute it.
They're both releasing albums, so why is it that when he releases one, it's considered a gift to his fans, while when others release one, it's seen as a money grab?
Although Lin Yuan had no intention of making money, there was not much he could do besides urging more people to listen to his songs.
This appeal, ironically, became irrefutable evidence of money-grabbing schemes.
Lin Yuan's only advantage is probably that he has two songs, "Love and Hate" and "Hibernation," both of which are quite popular.
Of course, his fans also refuted the accusations made by the marketing accounts.
"The song '1895' is amazing! You'll definitely regret it!"
↑This sounds like rhetoric instigated by Lin Yuan Studio.
In short, after the attempt to promote the product failed, the fans stopped trying.
But word of mouth for "1895" still spread.
In short, the way "1895" spread its reputation was quite remarkable, and it wasn't even a "stop" in the promotion.
The story begins with a figure skating exhibition match.
On this day, a large-scale figure skating exhibition was held in China, and the skaters' routines were revealed one by one during the competition.
Because it was an exhibition match, the skaters were very relaxed and didn't feel so constrained in their choice of music.
A famous skater performed a piece called "Hero Who Saved the Earth".
This song is actually the most passionate track on the album "1895", so it seems a bit out of place in the exhibition match.
So this song became popular during the exhibition match.
Then netizens discovered... this seems to be a song from Lin Yuan's new album?
It is indeed "The Hero Who Saved the Earth".
"Lin Yuan's song?"
"It sounds really nice."
"Didn't some people say that Lin Yuan's album was just a money grab? I actually think it's pretty good, so I listened to it on purpose."
"The mysterious Lin Yuan always seems to appear in various places... I quietly listened to 'Heroes Who Saved the Earth' once, and then couldn't resist listening to the entire '1895' album."
"I also……"
In the album "1895", "Hero Who Saved the Earth" is ranked fourth or fifth, and is a rather unremarkable song that is not easily noticed.
But the song's popularity was beyond Lin Yuan's expectations.
Perhaps because the other songs sounded too depressing, fans really needed this kind of cheerful music to lift their spirits.
"Who wouldn't want to emit light waves and draw power from lightning?"
"The lyrics even include lines like 'killing a bear with your bare hands,' and the athletes are jumping and skating at the same time, it's so much fun!"
"Hahaha, I saw it, I'm dying of laughter. The moment I saw the lyrics here, all I wanted to do was warn Lin Yuan."
"The 'life imprisonment' series is really daring."
"After all, human laws can't govern kangaroos, lol, this song is really super cute."
"The Hero Who Saved the Earth" doesn't actually tell you how the hero saved the Earth; it just shows off the hero's skills and recounts his daily life.
He fought bears with his bare hands, bungee jumped off a mountain, and breathed fire. Although he became bald and stronger, he couldn't find a shampoo that matched his baldness.
"Even heroes have their troubles"—this lyric was repeated three times.
Even heroes can't avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
The more the fans listened, the happier they felt.
In short, a week after "Hate" became a trending topic, "Heroes Who Saved the Earth" even surpassed "Hate" in popularity.
Next is "Pause's" evaluation of the entire album "1895".
The usually stingy critic gave "1895" a score of 9.1.
If this were a movie released on the Maoyan platform, this score would basically be telling viewers not to watch it.
But the scorer is the "pause".
If you enter the number "9" on the "Pause" homepage, it appears very infrequently throughout the year.
Therefore, "1895" has received quite high praise.
"Personally, I think Lin Yuan could have focused on his singing career. He spent nearly a year preparing this album in between filming. So, if we exclude the interference of filming, this album could have been even better."
"The title track, 'Hate,' is a dark gothic song about vampires' revenge on humans. Lin Yuan tried a new vocal style here, which blended with the song, giving 'Hate' a different flavor."
“This voice would not fit in any other song, but it fits perfectly in ‘Hate’.”
"The second song, 'Prison,' is hard to imagine as a dance track. I personally like the two echoing sections in the chorus. One section is about extravagant revelry every night, while the harmony is about the groans of the poor. The contrast is strong and very interesting."
"Five in the Morning" is an ordinary piece, slightly lacking compared to the other poems.
The film "The Rest" also highly praised "Heroes Who Saved the Earth" and "Dahlia".
He praised the melody of "Heroes Who Saved the Earth," saying that the song is easy to sing and has a strong memorability.
"The lyrics are also very interesting."
As for "Dahlia," he praised Lin Yuan and Zheng Huinong's voices. The song's background is a dark story.
It is precisely Zheng Huinong's voice that is needed to interpret this; her voice has a kind of detached detachment.
The cruelty of "Dahlia" is no less than that of "Hate".
When Lin Yuan and Zheng Huinong's voices come together, it's like a collision between the world's best storyteller and the most indifferent person. In short, "Dahlia" sounds magical.
When I first heard the word "rest," I thought, "How could these two people work together?"
But after listening to it a second time, he felt that Lin Yuan's decision to invite Zheng Huinong was absolutely correct.
The two voices have a sense of harmony and disharmony, but they are indeed impressive and easy to listen to.
The essay "Pause" is nearly 10,000 words long, so long that even his fans can hardly read it.
So far this year, "Pause" has been very disappointed with the performance of the music scene as a whole. Although singers have been holding concerts and music festivals have been held all over the world, "Pause" believes that the singers are resting on their laurels.
Eating is certainly important, but those singers who don't release albums these days... don't belong to the type who can't afford to eat.
"Pause" is his longest commentary on "1895" published this year.
This only proves his appreciation for "1895".
"Is it really that amazing? '1895'?"
"You'll know once you hear it, it definitely exists!!"
"Buying one won't hurt; it's only a little more expensive than a cup of milk tea. Listen to this! You won't be disappointed."
Thanks to the strong recommendation from "Pause", many fans flocked to watch "1895".
Besides introducing the album "1895", "Pause" also dug up Zheng Huinong and Lin Yuan's audition scene from back then.
In his view, "Dahlia" is a representative work of the two singers who came from talent shows and have been constantly honing their skills.
Back when they participated in the competition, neither Zheng Huinong nor Lin Yuan had particularly outstanding singing skills, but now, they have both transformed.
"Dahlia" is the culmination of their singing skills.
"Looking forward to the live performance of 'Dahlia'."
I'm really looking forward to "The Rest".
But the industry's reaction speed was faster than the "pause".
Zheng Huinong received an invitation to participate in the competitive variety show "Singer".
-----------------------
Author's note: [Kiss][Kiss][Kiss] Here I am!
This "Singer" program has nothing to do with reality.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com