Chapter 632: 《Rice Aroma》

Chen Luo, known as the number one singer in the music scene, is about to release a new song called "Rice Field".

The rising star and musical genius known as the future MusicGodfather, Luo Mo, is about to release a new song called "Rice Aroma".

If the fact that two albums are going head-to-head already makes the onlookers feel excited and thrilled, wouldn't it be even more worth watching if the song titles were so similar?

"Rice Aroma, Rice Field, holy crap!"

"It's a direct confrontation!"

"Incredible, just incredible! The onlookers are ecstatic!"

"Look, this is what you call a real showdown!"

"So this is how the gods fight, is it?"

Clearly, both song titles are full of rural flavor.

But because Chen Luo took the initiative and specifically chose to release his new song on the same day, everything is filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Media outlets of all kinds have started reporting on this frantically, and the Weibo Hot Search has been completely occupied by these two people.

Even though the two songs won't be released for another three days, they have already stirred up a storm online.

And yet, not many people think they are just hyping each other up.

In this day and age, some stars in the entertainment industry fight tooth and nail in public, while behind the scenes they act like brothers, clinking glasses together.

—All they want is the heat!

Only the fans and the onlookers are foolish enough to divide themselves into camps, spending money and putting in effort.

However, these two are the top figures in the music scene today.

Chen Luo took the initiative because he didn't want to hand over the throne of the number one singer in the music scene on a silver platter.

This is a real battle for supremacy!

But there is one thing that is still quite good.

That is, the fans haven't engaged in large-scale bickering online.

One reason is that Chen Luo has many fans, and Luo Mo also has many fans; the overlap of fans between these two top figures in their respective fields is—absolutely very high!

Another reason is that the 【Moshengren】 never participate in bickering, always upholding the principles of "【Idol's actions, idol pays for them】" and "【You can scold Luo Mo, but you can't scold us】."

Therefore, even if they wanted to bicker, they couldn't.

This has made many onlookers call for the fans of traffic stars to come and learn from them.

"Who is higher and who is lower, let strength do the talking."

"Exactly, look at you traffic stars, your fans only know how to bicker and spray each other on the internet."

"Heh, it's like fighting in school; you think there's going to be a real fight, but it ends up being two groups of people standing there, you spray a few words, I spray a few words, just throwing out harsh threats."

"People with real strength rely on their strength. These weaklings without strength can only curse at each other, of course; after all, no one listens to their songs except their fans, and there's no third party to judge them."

The atmosphere of a master-level duel and a peak showdown between Luo Mo and Chen Luo has already spread across the entire internet.

Now, we just wait for the new song release in three days!

……….

……….

Three days passed in a flash.

Over these few days, Luo Mo Studio has been conducting routine promotion for the new album.

As for Cilong Entertainment, it is the same.

A peak showdown is already highly anticipated.

Both teams are smart and know that the matter has already been blown up enough; the principals shouldn't over-promote, otherwise it will give people a feeling of crazy marketing, which does more harm than good.

The style of this kind of master-level duel must be maintained.

Both teams unanimously agreed: It's not like we lack the strength!

—Superficial things are unnecessary!

Today is Monday, and the data for the new song weekly chart will be refreshed.

Both "Rice Aroma" and "Rice Field" will be released at exactly twelve noon on major music platforms.

It can be said that the onlookers across the entire internet are waiting.

Media outlets of all kinds are also standing by.

A host of singers and lyricists in the music scene are also very excited.

This battle is not to be missed.

Guangcheng, inside a villa.

Heavenly King-level singer Meng Donghua is dining with his two old partners.

This Heavenly King, Meng Donghua, is not in the same league as an Ordinary Heavenly King like Zhao Xueqin.

If we were to classify it using fantasy-style levels, Zhao Xueqin is only at King of Power Stage 1, while Meng Donghua is at King of Power Stage 8!

Among the male singers in the music scene, before Luo Mo burst onto the scene, there were three singers whom everyone considered to be on the same level, a level called: second only to Chen Luo.

Meng Donghua is one of these three.

And sitting next to him dining now are his most tacit partners, the Lyricist Dong Guanshan and the composer Lin Xuan.

Some singers and songwriters have a relationship of mutual achievement.

The three of them are just like that.

Over so many years, every time Chen Luo releases a new album, the three of them sit together to listen to it.

As for others, they don't receive this level of attention.

But in recent years, there has been one more, Luo Mo.

Luo Mo is incredibly talented and unrestrained. Many of his songs possess extremely strong innovation, and his 【Chinese Style】 is even more of a school of its own.

Lyricist Dong Guanshan and composer Lin Xuan, every time they listen to his new album, even have a feeling of being enlightened, gaining great harvest and insight.

Dong Guanshan is more bookish; this is how he evaluates Luo Mo and Chen Luo.

"Chen Luo is strong in every aspect; there are no shortcomings at all."

"Luo Mo is different; he isn't playing with us in the same field at all; he is pioneering a new field himself."

"There is a bit of a feeling of being beyond the three realms and not within the five elements."

After the three finished their meal, it was just about twelve o'clock.

Meng Donghua then brought the two of them to the equipment room inside the villa.

He wanted to use the top-tier audio equipment to play the two's new songs.

Now, with a few minutes left until twelve o'clock, everyone chatted idly.

"After Chen Luo lost to Luo Mo last time, he probably held back a burst of energy. He has already reached the extreme in his own field; this time he was thinking of making a breakthrough, even doing international cooperation, specifically creating 'Rice Field' with 'Island Singing Style'." Meng Donghua clicked his tongue in wonder.

"It can be considered a risky move; it requires courage," Dong Guanshan evaluated.

The three of them have lost to Chen Luo quite a few times together. Having lost so much, everyone didn't even have the heart to be sour about him anymore, leaving only admiration.

However, what Dong Guanshan said was not wrong.

For Chen Luo to do this, it indeed required courage.

The reason why the number one singer in the music scene is the number one is not something that can be maintained by just resting on one's laurels.

"It's time!" Meng Donghua's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to open Penguin Music.

"Whose should we listen to first?" He asked the two sitting opposite him.

"Let's listen to Chen Luo's first," Lin Xuan suggested.

He was very curious about what kind of song Chen Luo would bring after incorporating the Island Singing Style.

"Alright." Meng Donghua nodded and started playing "Rice Field".

The prelude of the song was relatively soothing, and as soon as Chen Luo opened his mouth, the three people in the room couldn't help but look at each other.

This singing style made the three of them feel a bit unaccustomed.

But it just happened to sound very good!

When the song ended, Meng Donghua said: "If you don't look at the Singer's name, you really can't guess right away if it's Chen Luo singing."

"For me, it's a Surprise!" Lin Xuan evaluated.

"It is very good to listen to; I think his fans should also accept such appropriate changes and will also feel it is an unexpected Surprise," Dong Guanshan said.

In the eyes of the three, Chen Luo specifically found foreign creators to cooperate with this time, and it really did spark something different.

From the perspective of the song's creation, this song is called "Rice Field", yet it has a feeling of being by the seaside.

Actually, it is singing about childhood.

It is a middle-aged man sitting by the sea, blowing in the sea breeze, thinking of all sorts of things from the past.

The angle is good; for people of their age, it is still very resonant.

And for young people, the special singing style will likely feel fresh.

"Chen Luo is worthy of being Chen Luo," the three couldn't help but sigh.

They didn't just listen once before switching to "Rice Fragrance".

The Meng Donghua trio has their own mode; according to the old rules, they would listen three times in one go, then everyone would chat about the song, analyze it in depth, analyze the strengths of the song, thoroughly understand it, and then switch to the next one.

Time just passed by like that for over twenty minutes; Dong Guanshan and Lin Xuan were still holding their phones, recording some content.

This is Chen Luo, and it is Chen Luo attempting to make a breakthrough! It is worth us treating it this way.

"Then... shall I play 'Rice Fragrance'?" Meng Donghua felt the discussion was about enough and it was time for the next song.

"Play it," Lin Xuan said.

Meng Donghua nodded and clicked on Luo Mo's "Rice Fragrance".

This song "Rice Fragrance" comes from Zhou Jielun's 2008 album "Capricorn".

2008 can be said to be an extremely special year.

In this year, there were natural disasters, financial crises, and...

This song was born against such a background of the times.

When Zhou Jielun faced an interview with "People Weekly", he also expressed: Jet Li told me that I should give the current young people some education; there are many people suffering from depression and committing suicide now, so I should write a positive energy song. It just so happens that the economy is not good now, and there are a bunch of layoffs for office workers, so I thought I wouldn't write directly about the earthquake, but write a song that resonates.

And looking at Blue Star, in the long river of human history, natural and man-made disasters will never stop.

It is like this on Earth, and it is the same on the other world, Blue Star.

What's more, in this society now, the pressure given to people is relatively high.

In Luo Mo's view, the song "Rice Fragrance" still has its unique significance.

Furthermore, not talking about significance, just talking about music, this song is also done very well in many aspects.

It is worth mentioning that the lyrics and music of this song both come from the hands of Zhou Jielun.

Zhou Dong's ability to write lyrics, um... how should I put it?

He would create ghost names like "If You Don't Love Me, Then Forget It".

In this song, he also wrote lyrics like: 【Anyway, it's not like I'm unwanted; brother has trained his pectoral muscles, if you still want to lean on them, you'd better run if you have the guts】.

And there are lines like in "Big Ben": 【What are you acting tough for, acting, what are you acting tough for. What's wrong with you, what, what's wrong with you】.

Of course, there is also a song that you know at a glance was written by him—"What Kind of Man".

Just looking at the lyrics is a bit funny, but singing it out, damn, it sounds good!

But he can also write lyrics for "The Longest Movie", "Sunny Day", "Grandma", etc.

—This person is really hard to talk about!

At this moment, the prelude of the song flowed through the room.

Listening to the intro, the composer Lin Xuan couldn't help but have his eyes light up!

He first heard various insect sounds, and heard sounds of laughter!

Only then did the Yueqi sounds enter very naturally.

"Wonderful! The sense of imagery comes rushing at you all at once," Lin Xuan said in his heart: "The Arranger of this song definitely put in the Kung Fu Hustle."

Judging from the accompaniment, this song is also relatively soothing.

However, within that soothing quality, a sense of lightness appears from time to time.

The flexible use and clever combination of Yueqi are displayed to the fullest.

Honestly, in the eyes of the three, whether it is "Rice Field" or the name "Rice Fragrance," at first glance, they both seem a bit rustic and shouldn't be song titles that young groups like.

However, as soon as Luo Mo opened his mouth for this "Rice Fragrance," it stunned them.

"【If you have too many complaints about this world,

and dare not continue walking forward after falling,

why must people be so fragile and degenerate.】"

"What kind of style is this?" Meng Donghua said, puzzled: "Hip Hop plus Folk?"

The musical style of "Rice Fragrance" is indeed Hip Hop plus Folk, and it also contains a very typical Zhou-style rap flair.

In recent years, 【Hip Hop】 can be said to have emerged suddenly.

But the lyrics mostly revolve around money, cars, and girls...

In many lyrics, there is even a lot of negative energy or illegal content.

Compared to that, this "Rice Fragrance" by Luo Mo is simply at the opposite extreme in terms of Lyricist!

Luo Mo's singing voice continued to echo.

"【Please turn on the TV and take a look,

how many people are striving and walking bravely for life,

shouldn't we be content?

Cherish everything even if you don't possess it.】"

Don't even mention it, after listening to this song, they really felt it fit quite well with the name of Luo Mo's album.

The album is titled "On the Road."

"The You of the Past" goes very well with this album title; after all, it starts with: 【Once dreamed of wielding a sword to roam the world, to see the blooming flowers of the world】.

And this song sounds energetic; it makes one want to go on a road trip.

What "Rice Fragrance" fits is the road of life.

It's just that some people walk halfway and choose to stop.

While some people choose to continue walking.

Perhaps the intent of this song is to give those on the road a bit more encouragement and a bit more warmth.

The chorus part of the song begins here.

"【Still remember you said home is the only castle,

running along with the rice fragrance and the river,

smiling slightly, I know the dreams of childhood.

Don't cry, let the fireflies take you away,

the folk songs of the countryside are an eternal reliance,

go home, return to the initial beauty.】"

Lin Xuan noticed in an instant that before the chorus started, drum beats suddenly cut in.

This made the sense of rhythm for the entire song section stronger.

He felt this point was very crucial and also very clever.

To encourage (guwu) is to dance (wu); it contains the word for dance.

A little more lightness and a little more rhythm might make the effect even better.

Otherwise, the preachy tone would be a bit too heavy.

In the interlude of the song, one can still hear various insect sounds.

This makes people think of childhood.

It makes people feel comfortable, feel carefree, and feel as if time is flowing backward.

Up to this point, the A-section of the song, in the eyes of the three, should be over.

After the interlude, it should enter the B-section, repeating the format and melody, and at most, the lyrics would just be different.

However, do not forget, many music critics now love to use one word to describe Luo Mo's music, and that is—【Luxury】!

Yes, it is luxury.

It was clearly already very good just like this, but Luo Mo refuses; he insists on stuffing more talent into it, stuffing in all kinds of different musical style changes, just refusing to play by the book.

Just repeat the A-section directly?

Impossible!

A very natural transition began just like that.

Dong Guanshan and Lin Xuan looked at each other instantly.

For these two songwriters, Luo Mo doing this is truly wantonly pouring out his own talent.

This could clearly be split into two songs!

And this kind of transformation can often make a song sound better and more worth listening to repeatedly.

The singing voice echoed:

【"Don't think about giving up so easily,

just like I said,

if you can't chase a dream, why not just change to another one?

Add vibrant colors to your own life,

first, paint love with your favorite color."】

How should I put it? That line in these lyrics, 【if you can't chase a dream, why not just change to another one】, is actually quite consistent with the style of Zhou Jielun's own songwriting, hahaha.

The standard trope is to tell you to keep chasing your dreams.

But if you ask yourself honestly, it seems a person doesn't only have one dream in their entire life.

These lyrics have even been controversial on the internet.

But in reality, combined with the creative background mentioned earlier, this song is also singing to the increasing number of people in society with suicidal tendencies.

The "don't give up easily" mentioned earlier might just be referring to life.

Life has many choices; why not try walking a different path?

And after this part was finished, a very unified impulse emerged in the hearts of the three people in the room: "Rewind and listen to it again!"

The reason is simple: after this segment ended, there was actually a momentary pause.

In this pause, there was no sound at all.

Only after the pause ended did it suddenly connect to the content of the next segment, connecting to:

【"Smile, fame and success are not the goal."】

Such a simple, silent pause made Meng Donghua and the others feel it was stunning!

Honestly, with the level of these three, this kind of technique is certainly not something they are hearing for the first time. Many songs use this pattern.

But for some reason, they just felt that what Luo Mo used was extremely clever.

It didn't make people feel abrupt or uncomfortable; it was very natural and added a lot to the song!

It didn't give people a feeling of being flashy or messy.

This kind of silent pause had long been played by Zhou Dong.

But later, when "China Hip Hop" became popular, quite a few people were stunned by someone in it adopting this pattern, even thinking he was the founder of this style, and subsequently, whenever there was a pause in other singers' songs, they would all say it was copying him.

In the room, when the three heard the lyric 【"fame and success are not the goal"】, they only felt—he really showed off!

If Luo Mo doesn't count as having fame and success, then what does?

But in terms of the overall meaning of the lyrics, there was actually no intention of being humble-braggy.

On the contrary, in this segment, there is a lyric that Luo Mo likes the most personally.

That is 【"The paper airplane from childhood has finally flown back into my hands."】

Looking at the melody, the tune of this line goes downward, and it didn't continue singing directly afterward; it added a few 【"Ho"】 sounds, representing that a section of content had already ended.

The three listeners in the room instinctively thought, this time it should go back to the previous format and melody to repeat, right?

Luo Mo: I refuse!

If it just repeated the melody directly, that would be 【light luxury】 at most.

We aren't doing that; we want total 【luxury】!

The melody actually had new changes again!

This made the three of them listen to the song and couldn't help but look at each other and smile helplessly.

The volume in the room was still turned up quite high:

【"That so-called happiness,

chasing dragonflies barefoot in the fields until tired,

stealing fruit and getting stung by bees until scared,

who is giggling?

I lean against the scarecrow, blowing in the wind,

singing a song, falling asleep........"】

Throughout the entire segment, the imagery was truly too intense.

The song is titled "Rice Field Fragrance," yet it writes about life.

Until the chorus part appeared again, the singing spread out once more, singing that line again 【"Still remember you said home is the only castle......"】

In the hearts of the three, a unified thought actually appeared again: "Finally! Finally, the chorus is repeating!"

After Luo Mo sang the climax of the chorus a few more times, the song officially ended.

Meng Donghua suggested: "Let's not discuss it yet; let's quietly listen to it two more times, how about that?"

"Okay." Dong Guanshan and Lin Xuan nodded in unison.

After listening to it twice, this tacit trio sighed in unison.

Meng Donghua now only had one thought.

Even if Chen Luo really started to go downhill, the throne of the top singer in the music industry wouldn't be his turn to sit on!

Meng Donghua asked: "Which of these two songs do you two think is better?"

"Why don't you say it first?" Dong Guanshan said displeased.

"Forget it, it's not up to us to decide; the key is still to look at the vast number of listeners," Lin Xuan said.

Meng Donghua nodded.

He only knew that with a Luo Mo like this, Chen Luo could have the heart to fight.

And he, he is not worthy.

On the other side, what is the main person, Luo Mo, doing?

He was looking at his calligraphy copybook, lost in deep thought.

The new song had already been released, so he definitely had to cooperate with the promotion by posting on Weibo or something similar.

As for Luo Mo, he was thinking about writing a piece of calligraphy and posting it up.

In the past, he always had his master Tong Qinglin write it, because the old man's calligraphy was quite impressive.

At the same time, this way, it could also give his master, who was already quite old, a sense of participation.

It could make him feel that he was still useful and could still help his disciple's career.

In this way, the old man's mood could be good for several days in a row!

As for calligraphy, Luo Mo had also learned it.

Liu Shixiong Liu Gongming, don't look at how he is like a Happy Comedian now; in fact, he has deeply inherited the old man's true teachings.

On the contrary, Luo Mo's writing was just terrible.

Xu Chujing stood by his side, studied it for a long time, and said, "I'm not even sure what several of these characters you wrote are."

"What? Is it that exaggerated?" Luo Mo asked.

"Then what are you agonizing over? If you think your calligraphy is very good, then just post it," Xu Chujing said, hitting him where it hurts.

"You, this, you—" Luo Mo was furious.

His calligraphy was indeed a bit of an insult to the content written in the copybook.

That was a ci poem.

A ci poem written by one of Luo Mo's favorite ci poets, Xin Qiji.

【"The bright moon startles the magpies in the branches, a clear breeze makes the cicadas chirp at midnight.

Amidst the fragrance of rice blossoms, they talk of a bountiful year, listening to the chorus of frogs.

Seven or eight stars beyond the sky, two or three drops of rain before the mountains.

The old thatched inn by the village shrine, suddenly appearing as the path turns by the creek bridge."】

(PS: Just a quick note, the motion comic for my old book "Keep a Low Profile, Sect Leader" will be released across the entire web on June 24th! I watched the trailer, it's quite good, looking forward to it!)

(End of this chapter)