Chapter 190: The Inheritance of Status

As one of the three essential Mandarin songs that Xie Tingfeng would almost certainly perform at mainland events in the future, the lyrics of "Yellow People" carried a sense of being tailor-made for the turbulent era of 2001.

The flute and drums, brimming with Eastern charm, blended perfectly, creating a grand and majestic atmosphere; paired with Zhou Yi's powerful, heart-shattering high notes that built up with emotional intensity, Chen Yulu, with her keen intuition, immediately made a decision in her heart—

The Spring Festival Gala!

Zhou Yi and this song of his should absolutely try for the Spring Festival Gala!

The lyrics and atmosphere of this song fit the current situation of this year far too well.

On July 13, 2001, International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch announced in Moscow that Beijing would become the host city for the 2008 Olympic Games;

The Chinese men's national football team, after several years, once again saw the dawn of entering the World Cup; under the guidance of the miraculous coach Milutinović, they remained undefeated in the Asian ten-team qualifiers and were expected to qualify for the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup two rounds early, sparking wave after wave of football mania across the nation.

Beyond that, the fifteen-year-long journey to join the world was expected to reach a perfect conclusion by the end of this year; the news of joining the World Trade Organization boosted the economic confidence of a large number of Chinese people.

One major event after another perfectly matched the atmosphere depicted in this song—after the clamor had passed, the Chinese people once again stepped onto the world chessboard as players.

"Send an invitation to his agent."

Having watched Zhou Yi's first rehearsal, Chen Yulu, her eyes filled with appreciation, casually instructed someone beside her.

Although in the extremely professional broadcast hall of CCTV, Zhou Yi's singing performance still had some flaws, it was no big deal.

There were still several months until the Spring Festival Gala; after rounds of rehearsal and training, any flaws could be smoothed out, and if necessary, he could be filtered out then.

Zhou Yi, who didn't know that the general director of the Spring Festival Gala was watching his rehearsal from below, was now somewhat aware of his own problems; after the first rehearsal ended and he came off stage, he couldn't help but press his lips together.

His singing ability was certainly not excellent; it was just that his vocal apparatus was good and could hold up, which should belong to the physical talent he had since his rebirth.

But, whether it was because the rehearsal hall's acoustics were too good or for some other reason, leaving aside the many mistakes in coordination with the various instrument teachers, he himself was even led astray, making several minor mistakes that should not have happened.

"No wonder large-scale galas require so many rehearsals..."

Zhou Yi, who had muttered to himself, had just taken a sip of water when, not far away, a stout woman walked straight toward him—

"Hello, Zhou Yi, I'm Han Hong."

"Hello, Sister Han."

Zhou Yi smiled and greeted the newcomer.

Han Hong, born in 1971, should theoretically be in her prime in the music scene; by seniority, she belonged to the mainland's new generation of singers, yet since debuting and releasing her first album in 1998, she had quickly secured a place in the mainland music industry.

Moreover, if Zhou Yi remembered correctly, by 2002, after Na Ying married and retired, Han Hong's outstanding songwriting ability directly propelled her to the position of number one, leaving Tian Zhen, who wanted to reclaim the top spot by taking advantage of Na Ying's marriage and retirement, and Sun Yue, who also wanted to rise, utterly stunned.

To be fair, if it weren't for Zhou Yi, she would be the one whose status rose the fastest in the mainland music scene.

One can only say that people who can write and produce their own songs are indeed awesome.

Han Hong's album "Awake" released this year, apart from a cover tribute to "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," had all other songs written and composed by her alone.

The songs "That Sea" and "The Sky Brightened" had once become rivals to Zhou Yi on mainland music charts like the Music Wind and Cloud List and the China Song Chart; recently, under the impact of Hong Kong and Taiwan music, they even held onto the tenth spot, echoing Zhou Yi, who ranked first, on that week's charts.

Although it had already dropped this week.

"Your song 'Susan Says' is truly strong."

Although older, Han Hong kept a very low posture when facing Zhou Yi, sincerely praising him: "And that song 'Dong Feng Po', how did you think of it, to derive such a new feeling from an R&B foundation."

Han Hong, for a moment, didn't even know how to use a correct word to describe it.

The collision of R&B and traditional Chinese elements was surprisingly wonderful, truly a model of using foreign methods for Chinese purposes.

"I just wanted to try it out; 'In the Plum Orchard' used Hip-Hop combined with drama culture, so I had a sudden whim to experiment with R&B."

Seeing that the groundwork he laid in his album was gradually bearing fruit, Zhou Yi smiled and replied.

The first album featured Hip-Hop as the main theme, accompanied by the market-hot R&B, with an experimental track "Flower Field Mistake" as a setup;

The second album built further upon the first; "Susan Says" deepened the combination of drama and R&B elements based on "Flower Field Mistake";

"In the Plum Orchard," "The West Chamber," and "Dong Feng Po" represented the other three directions he experimented with in this album: Hip-Hop and drama, Gong mode, and R&B.

Adding a more pop-oriented "Jiang Nan," the second album was almost a comprehensive upgrade and exploration of the first in terms of concept.

As an expert creator, Han Hong was sincerely admiring.

An album that could innovate while playing out so many tricks, while simultaneously using B-sides to ensure popularity and market sales.

As a pop singer, Han Hong knew how high the difficulty was. To play with music so freely was simply inhuman.

Normally, there was no chance to meet Zhou Yi; now, finally meeting him through the China-Korea Song Festival, Han Hong naturally pulled Zhou Yi into a thorough discussion.

The final result could only be described as her feeling she had benefited immensely.

Zhou Yi's analytical perspective was very advanced, especially in musical concepts.

Is Xinhua Bookstore really that powerful...

Because of the intense reaction caused by the broadcast of that episode of "Super Visit," Zhou Yi was directly nicknamed by the media as "the Little Heavenly King who walked out of Xinhua Bookstore."

If Xinhua Bookstore didn't refuse to hire spokespeople, Zhou Yi would have already started negotiating a contract with them.

"I heard you also have an English single? Is it also R&B?"

"It has fusion, but Lei Gui is more obvious."

—?!

Zhou Yi's answer was unexpected for Han Hong; after all, playing Lei Gui in the country these days was less popular than playing rock.

As she was thinking this, several people representing domestic rock bands also walked over together—

"Hello, Zhou Yi..."

"Hello, Zhou Yi..."

"Hello..."

Qin Yong from Black Panther, Zhou Xiaou from Zero Point, and Wu Tong from Lunhui.

A few years later, no one would have dared to believe that members of these bands would appear on a stage like the China-Korea Song Festival.

However, the lead singers of these famous bands, at this very moment, were all orbiting around Zhou Yi like satellites, and it was they who approached him first.

Zhou Yi hadn't even moved a step; not long after the rehearsal ended, the area where he was located was already crowded with people coming to find him, until the appearance of a man and a woman—

Dai Yuqiang and Chen Hong.

As veteran national-team singers of the caliber of a house-guarding treasure at this year's China-Korea Song Festival, their arrival caused those who hadn't managed to crowd around Zhou Yi to flock toward them instead.

"..."

Noticing this, Zhou Yi didn't say much; after all, he wasn't Renminbi, so he couldn't be loved by everyone, as long as they didn't hinder him.

However, what he hadn't expected was that Dai Yuqiang, the most senior national-team singer, extended his hand to him first before he could speak, smiling friendly: "You're Zhou Yi, right? First time meeting; you're much more handsome than Tan Jing said."

?

Zhou Yi's tone paused: "Sister Jing?"

"She hasn't stopped praising you after collaborating with you; if you don't believe me, ask Chen Hong."

After introducing himself, Dai Yuqiang pointed to the female singer beside him, who shared the same name as the wife of the great director Chen Kaige; the latter smiled kindly and said, "Yes, I've heard the song 'Drifting North'; the lyrics and theme are very good."

"..."

Zhou Yi, who never expected that Tan Jing, with whom he had collaborated just once, could still spread good reviews for him within the national team, was truly surprised this time.

There's actually such a good thing?

On second thought, Tan Jing seems to have joined the national team this year too—

Then it's fine.

The goodwill released by Dai Yuqiang and Chen Hong, the two big shots leading the team this year, and their regard for Zhou Yi surprised many people.

Especially that group of rockers.

Wait, you guys didn't treat us like this before!

PS: Ate something and ended up vomiting it all over the floor; feels terrible.

Seems I stayed up too late yesterday... orz

(End of this chapter)