Chapter 450: Great Sage, Where Are You Going?

"Wukong," a song for which Dai Quan wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and performed the vocals himself.

This song was first introduced to everyone on a program called "China Good Songs," during its second season.

That year, he said his idol was Sun Wukong.

Hmm, these words came from the mouth of a man who was already 35 years old that year.

When many people watched the program, for some reason, they all laughed; they just felt it was very funny.

But after listening to the song "Wukong," they suddenly didn't know what they were laughing at, or what exactly was so ridiculous.

……..

……..

At this very moment, on the Octopus TV New Year's Eve stage, the song's prelude rang in the ears of all the audience members; as they looked at the song title, they were first slightly stunned, then felt a sense of surprise.

"Looks like it's a song from 'Monkey King: Hero is Back'!"

"Reminds me of the previous 'Daughter's Love' and 'Daughter Kingdom'!"

"A song with a Journey to the West theme by Luo Mo is definitely worth looking forward to!"

"Curious, I wonder what the content will be."

The Journey to the West theme is one of the most commonly used themes in domestic entertainment, especially in novels, movies, and television dramas.

In terms of songs, it is relatively less common.

Among those watching Luo Mo's stage performance on time, there were certainly people from the industry.

For example... people like Lv Yi.

These people only felt that Luo Mo had great prestige, and that Octopus TV really dared to break the rules.

"To actually use such a large-scale holiday gala to promote his movie."

"This kind of format is a first."

"It can be considered setting a precedent in the industry."

This approach is quite risky; if the final data and ratings are high, the song's reputation is good, and the song becomes a big hit, then everything is easier to justify.

Otherwise, it would definitely be attacked by peers.

But Luo Mo... would he fail?

Judging from the song's prelude, it is still Luo Mo's usual technique, using music to render emotion.

Just like the "Legend" that Xu Chujing sang earlier, the special processing in the prelude gave the listener a feeling of being between heaven and earth.

And the prelude to this song gives one a sense of loneliness.

Coupled with Luo Mo standing alone on the stage, this feeling becomes even heavier.

It makes one inevitably think of that lonely monkey.

Logically speaking, on a holiday like New Year's Eve, creating this kind of atmosphere is not good.

But you must know, when you watch the Great Sage Equaling Heaven facing one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals alone, is the feeling you experience loneliness? Are you sympathizing with him, pitying him?

No, what you experience is defiance!

——Either be lonely, or be mediocre!

What's more, "Wukong" is not a sorrowful song to begin with.

As soon as Luo Mo started singing, many in the audience had a "wow" feeling.

"【The moon splashes the galaxy, the long road is endless.】"

"【The wind and smoke have faded, the lone shadow is desolate.】"

"【Who calls me extraordinary, who makes me torn between love and hate.】"

"【In the end, my heart is broken.】"

For this part, Luo Mo sang with a restrained tone.

When the four characters "extraordinary" were sung, the perfect transition between true and falsetto voices, along with the natural vocal runs, revealed his live singing prowess to the fullest.

Looking at the accompaniment, this song actually incorporates many ethnic Yueqi, such as the erhu and the flute.

The bleak atmosphere had already been rendered; Luo Mo kept his eyes half-lowered, singing with his head slightly bowed, not looking directly at the camera.

The lyrics give a rich sense of charm, and in terms of shaping the scene, it can be said to be excellent.

At the same time, one can also see that it contains rich psychological activity.

Luo Mo continued to sing, and the sound of the flute cut in at this moment, making the layers of the song more distinct.

"【The illusory world is in the sky, bear no grudges.】"

"【Abandoning enlightenment and leaving confusion, the six dusts remain unchanged.】"

"【Both angry and sad, how wild; whether human, ghost, or monster,】"

"【It is nothing more than a heart burdened by demonic debts.】"

By the time he sang this part, the emotions of a portion of the audience had already been stirred up.

These lyrics are well-written!

"Both angry and sad, how wild; whether human, ghost, or monster! Hiss—, it hits the spot!"

"For lyrics of this type of song, you still have to look to Luo Mo!"

"I've already started to find it cool!"

"I don't know why, it just has a very strong sense of imagery."

However, upon hearing this, many listeners already felt that Luo Mo's singing style this time was different from the past.

He was not singing this song entirely with a pop singing style.

It incorporates Opera Element.

Luo Mo was seen still with his head half-lowered, yet his pitch began to rise.

As soon as the next line of singing emerged, it made people shiver involuntarily, and the Opera singing style instantly became even richer.

"Calling upon the Buddha, there is no shore to turn back to.

Kneeling before one as a master, life and death are irrelevant.

In the world of Kindness and Evil, truth and falsehood are blurred, the ties of the mortal world scatter and gather, unclear,

Hard to sever—!"

Once the two words "Buddha" were sung, the feeling was there.

It was very strange; when many audience members heard this part, they couldn't help but imitate his vocalization.

Like some Singers from Xinyu, they were all watching their own Director's stage.

They also tried to imitate this singing style, only to find they had the form but lacked the spirit.

He had the foundation, so there was no helping it.

On Earth, Dai Quan was also able to incorporate these elements and sing with this feeling because he had many years of Opera foundation.

In that episode of the program, mentor Liu Huan stated that he had also made these attempts in his early years, and encouraged Dai Quan to continue walking on this path and continue to promote Opera culture.

And these lyrics were also written in a thought-provoking way.

Others write "turn back to the shore," but Luo Mo wrote "no shore to turn back to."

That line of "Life and death are irrelevant," also in the Opera singing style, was something others could not imitate.

After singing the long, two-word "Hard to sever" in a rather high pitch, Luo Mo finally began to lift his head and look directly into the camera.

The chorus part of the song was finally arriving.

As soon as he opened his mouth, that familiar effect appeared again—goosebumps rose instantly.

"What is the use of this iron rod,

What if I have this ability to transform,

Still uneasy, still sorrowful,

The Golden Hoop on my head, wanting to speak yet holding back."

These lyrics made many listeners feel a bit uneasy.

Five hundred years under the Five Elements Mountain.

After getting out of the Five Elements Mountain, he was put on the Golden Hoop again.

Sun Wukong seemed to have been resisting ever since he was born.

This monkey seemed to never admit defeat.

Even when he finally became a Buddha, he was called the Fighting Victorious Buddha.

In this life of mine, I must fight! I must battle! And I must win!

Just as a sentence in "Wukong Biography" says: "Some people would rather die than lose."

From beginning to end, there were no stage effects on Luo Mo's personal stage.

Behind him was pitch black, and even the large screen could not be seen.

And just as he was singing this chorus, the screen suddenly lit up, but the audience only saw one line of text.

—【Great Sage, where are you going?】

The audience looked at this line of text, feeling only that it was a dialogue.

But when Luo Mo was singing this chorus, this line of text never changed.

Backstage, Li You and Xu Guan couldn't sit still.

Because ever since before Luo Mo went on stage, the ratings had started to skyrocket.

With all the build-up from before, the ratings for Octopus TV's New Year's Eve Gala this year reached their highest peak in recent years at this moment!

Li You and Xu Guan couldn't help but look at each other; the ratings before them were already terrifying, and they were still rising.

"Station Master, do you think the three major satellite TV stations can have such high peak ratings tonight?"

"I don't know." Xu Guan shook his head.

Naturally, they could not know the data of other stations right now.

But compared to last year's data, Octopus TV's current ratings were already almost on par with the peak values of the three major satellite TV stations' New Year's Eve Galas last year.

These days, everyone prefers to go out to find fun, and with so many entertainment activities, they no longer like to watch galas.

Therefore, ratings are usually worse year by year.

Being able to be on par with last year is equivalent to doing better than last year, because the audience base is getting smaller and the target audience is decreasing.

In other words, if these current ratings are maintained, there is a chance to fight!

But what's absurd is that the ratings are rising!

Xu Guan couldn't help but look up at the screen in front of General Director Li You, watching Luo Mo on the stage.

The guest lineup for the three major satellite TV stations' New Year's Eve was far more luxurious than Octopus TV's.

At this moment, Luo Mo was Octopus TV's final reliance.

And what he had to face were countless First-line Singers, First-line Actors, and even Superstar-level Heavenly Kings.

You must know that current marketing accounts love to create gimmicks and attract attention by praising one and stepping on another.

As a Top Traffic, Luo Mo's stage ratings would definitely be compared with other traffic stars, or Heavenly Kings and Queens.

Tomorrow, press releases will be flying everywhere.

Could Luo Mo Studio not know about this?

Could Luo Mo not know that Octopus TV's audience base is worse than the three major satellite TV stations, and his stage would have a natural disadvantage?

He must have known.

But he still came.

"I don't care who your opponent is!"

This young man, standing alone on the stage at this moment, already possessed an unparalleled stage presence.

Throughout his journey, had it not been one act of resistance after another, one struggle after another?

On the big screen, it was written: Great Sage, what is your intent in going there?

Then, for what purpose was this young man doing this?

(PS: First update, requesting monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)