"You're too blunt." Duan Yiran looked at Ning Wei, her expression somewhat helpless. "Ji Ruan is quite popular right now, isn't she?"
"His songs are full of artificial sweeteners, he sings without any emotion, and his singing skills aren't that great, but fans still like them," Du Jian commented. "However, things are definitely different now than when we first debuted. Now singers need to have a persona."
"Blue" debuted in the best of times, captivating fans with their work. Although they don't release albums as frequently as before, their fans' trust in them continues.
Blue equals quality; this is a widely acknowledged fact in the music industry.
"Can't you show some respect when you're talking?" Duan Yiran was at a loss for words when it came to Ning Wei. "You know how to sing 'The Traveler,' so why are you acting like this?"
They didn't know why Ning Wei liked Ji Yan's cover of "The Traveler" so much. He had been listening to it repeatedly since the first time he heard it, as if he could never get tired of it.
However, as his teammates, they were well aware that Ning Wei had a natural obsession with sound. He had very sensitive ears and would listen to his favorite works over and over again. But there were very few songs that suited his taste, and even fewer that he liked as much as Ji Yan's version of "The Traveler".
Let him be.
Du Jian pointed at Ning Wei, gesturing for Duan Yiran to look. The latter turned her head and saw that Ning Wei's face, which had been tense recently, relaxed, the lines of her mouth softened, and her two dimples appeared faintly.
Duan Yiran sighed: "There's nothing we can do about him."
Who made Ning Wei the lead singer?
...
For Ning Wei, paying attention to Ji Yan might be a trivial matter, but for Ji Yan, Ning Wei's attention was far more sensational than the effect caused by his appearance on "The Voice of China"—his Weibo followers skyrocketed to 10 million, a meteoric rise.
His friends had already lost control due to jealousy: "Why is Ning Wei paying attention to you? Why is Ning Wei paying attention to you..."
Ji Yan was certain, without even counting, that Fang Yu had repeated the same question at least 20 times.
“Being popular is inevitable.” Ji Yan winked at him. “My charm can conquer the whole world.”
Fang Yu let out a "howl" and pounced on Ji Yan: "That's not fair! We're the ones who took you to the concert!"
That's Ning Wei!
"Blue" has a maverick style in the industry, and Ning Wei is the maverick among mavericks. Apart from his teammates, he doesn't have much interaction with other stars, which may sound unbelievable. But "Blue" has created a legend in the music scene with this unique style.
Despite their style, "Blue" is quite popular in the industry because members Ning Wei, Duan Yiran, and Du Jian all write songs for other singers and have created several classic works. Whenever they announce that they are willing to write a song for a certain singer, the singers will definitely fight tooth and nail to get it.
Ning Wei's attention also brought Ji Yan another benefit—the doubts of "blue" fans about him completely disappeared.
When Ji Yan confirmed that he would sing "The Traveler" on "The Voice of China", fans of the "Blue" band were full of doubts. However, when his version was actually released, the doubts of the fans gradually faded. However, a large number of fans still believed that Ji Yan was not worthy of being compared with Ning Wei, and even thought that his cover was just to take advantage of the popularity of "Blue".
However, Ning Wei's personal attention is the greatest support for Ji Yan right now.
Since the artists themselves have no objections, there's no need for the fans to dwell on it any further.
Ji Yan's popularity has risen once again.
...
A few days later, "Wing" began shooting the cover for T Fashion magazine.
T Fashion has only been published for ten years and is only a second-tier fashion magazine among the many large and small fashion magazines in China, but its popularity is still quite good. The covers it shoots are recognized as "fashionable" rather than girly or gentle. T Fashion's style is more sharp.
This is the first time Wings has reunited since preparing their album, and it's also the first time Wings has received an invitation to appear on a magazine cover in several months. In the entertainment industry, people always follow the crowd. When Wings first debuted and were popular, they appeared on dozens of magazine covers, both big and small. However, as the group's stage performances became the subject of ridicule, they could only choose to shoot inside pages for magazines.
Actually, the members of "Wings" don't really care about magazine covers. Fashion magazines usually require brand recommendations to get on the cover, especially major publications. Idol boy groups appearing on magazine covers are often jokingly referred to by netizens as "harvesting leeks" (a Chinese idiom for exploiting idols). Regardless of the fashionability of the cover itself, the sales of that issue of the magazine are definitely guaranteed.
But now, with its popularity gradually declining, "Wing" is considered to have lost its ability to "harvest" fans.
That morning, Ji Yan and the others were kept in the dressing room for two whole hours. They felt like their faces were no longer faces, but walls. The makeup artist frantically applied makeup to their faces with brushes, creating an atmosphere of utter depravity.
"alright."
The moment the makeup artist finished, Ji Yan and the others felt like they had escaped from a dead end. But before they could even properly admire their new look, the photographer instructed them to strike various poses in the studio.
The theme of this issue's cover shoot is awakening, aiming to present the audience with the transformed side of "Wings".
"Guys, it's going to be tough from here on out, so hang in there."
After filming began, in a season when the ground temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius, even with the air conditioning on in the studio, the temperature did not drop much—because Ji Yan and the others were all dressed in thick feather costumes, and their pure white wigs created an atmosphere of ice and snow. Against this backdrop, the four of them were rulers stepping onto the throne, with a pile of withered bones under their feet.
"Be even colder, Fang Yu, and watch your expression."
"Ji Yan, lift your eyes up."
Despite Ji Yan, Fang Yu, and the others complaining before filming, once they got into shooting mode, their expressions became serious and cold. When they looked at the camera, their makeup, which was too heavy for everyday life, was just right. Their faces were not originally suitable for white wigs, but with the makeup applied white enough, the pure white look created a hazy and cold atmosphere in the shot. No matter the look or the scene, their eyes were consistently firm—the eyes of kings.
In the footage, the youthful and lively spirit of the four has completely faded, and their eyes reveal not gentleness, but a chilling coldness.
T Fashion originally didn't intend to give the "Awakening" theme to "Wings," but this issue's theme had very high requirements for the cover model's image. After much deliberation, T Fashion was ultimately drawn to the photo of Ji Yan posted on Fang Yu's Weibo homepage.
"Wings" is undoubtedly the combination that best fits this theme, and recent discussions about "Wings" also seem to be related to the theme of awakening.
The longer the filming lasted, the more natural the "Wings" appeared. Whether in individual shots or group shots, the four of them shared a strong and inseparable atmosphere. Coupled with their distinct appearances and temperaments—Xie Mingxuan's cool composure, Lu Wei's handsome gentleness, Fang Yu's lively and dashing personality, and Ji Yan's focused enthusiasm—they blended together with the theme of this episode to create a unique charm.
Visually, the photographer seems to have anticipated the reaction the magazine would generate after its release.
He couldn't resist taking several more pictures.
"His expressiveness is really good," the photographer couldn't help but mutter to the stylist. "Why isn't someone like him a huge star?"
He has filmed boy groups more than once. In terms of looks, "Wings" is definitely top-notch. In terms of cooperation, the members are all perfect. They do whatever you ask them to do. However, before the shoot, the photographer had seen a lot of news about "Wings," mocking their resources and popularity. Their first album, which was about to be released, was also mocked as their last album.
"It's all in the industry, you never know," the stylist smiled slightly. "Becoming famous or not can happen overnight."
"It's a shame that her face isn't red."
The members of "Wings" didn't feel too disappointed. After the cover shoot, they sent their work to the "I, Nameless" production team, but unfortunately, they didn't get any feedback. They guessed that the project was off, so they simply focused on recording the album.
Half of the songs on the new album were written by themselves, and they knew the demos the company gave them very well. Recording actually became the easiest thing in the album production process. The cooperation during this period gave them enough tacit understanding, who would sing which part, and whose timbre would match whose. In many cases, the recording was completed in just one take. Even if there was a re-recording, it was only because they felt that the previous take was not good enough.
The further they recorded, the deeper their understanding of each other became. When all 10 songs for the album were recorded, they didn't feel tired at all; on the contrary, they were extremely excited.
Ji Yan couldn't wait for the day the album would be released.
In fact, he didn't have to wait long—in early October, DW Entertainment announced on its official Weibo account that "Wing's" debut album, "Mist," would be officially released at the end of October.
The official Weibo post featured the cover of the new album. In the picture, the four members of "Wings" were enveloped in a hazy mist, with only their outlines faintly visible. In the center of the black mist, the words "Mist" were drawn with delicate strokes, creating a mysterious and profound effect.
"New album!"
"The new album is finally here! Ahhhh, I can't wait!"
"Fresh winged balls!!!"
"@DW Entertainment, get to work! Stop just issuing notices and post a few more photos, okay?"
"Yi is simply the laziest group in the world. Fortunately, Lu Wei and Ji Yan have both taken on new variety shows, otherwise these people who don't even post photos... are exhausting."
"Looking forward to the new album, hehehe. There's also a new episode of 'The Voice' on Saturday, and I can watch 'Battle of the Voices' on Sunday. Although it's just Ji Yan and Lu Wei fighting each other, it's great to have shows to watch!"
"Humble fans of Wings are truly moved. After 300 years, have you finally remembered to release an album?"
The album "Wings" has actually been promoted for a while, but DW Entertainment has not revealed a specific release date or announced any new releases. It felt like they were just making empty promises to fans. But now, the promise has finally arrived.
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