Chapter 720: Suzhou Pingtan

The dance "Prayer" is less than two minutes long.

However, when the Penguin Video data team looked at the bullet screen data, they were surprised to find that the total number of bullet screens in one minute was more than the previous two regular programs combined.

Of course, while the quantity of bullet screens was high, the quality was not.

Most were nothing more than exclamations lacking any real depth.

Such as "Holy crap," "I'm kneeling," "My god," and "Too Ox."

Naturally, many people also voiced the confusion in their hearts.

"Does she not need to come up for air?"

"Prayer" was performed in water, so breathing was naturally one of the points of concern for everyone.

The reason this dance had such a strong visual impact was that everyone knew very well how difficult underwater performance is.

Soon, some netizens who had seen the earlier interviews and program preparation behind-the-scenes footage replied: "This was pre-recorded."

Yes, as mentioned before, this was the only pre-recorded program in this year's Spring Festival Gala.

Did you think this dancer danced in the water for 2 minutes?

No.

She danced for nearly 30 hours in total!

The recording of the entire dance alone took more than two weeks.

Dancing underwater puts a significant burden on the human body, so the time spent in the water each day was controlled.

At the same time, after each time she went into the water, details like her hairstyle, costume, and makeup had to be adjusted.

Besides that, although the water flow could allow the clothing to spread out completely and create a sense of elegance, the final effect was always unknown.

For the same movement, the dress might be in one position last time and in another position the next.

To achieve the best visual effect, it had to be recorded repeatedly and then selected.

Although the daily time limit for being in the water was set from the beginning, this dancer still ended up with bleeding ears and some skin issues.

Because she had to keep her eyes open while in the water, her eyes were also bloodshot every day, and she had some minor problems there too.

Everyone's physical limits are unknown; this cannot be avoided just by making a strict plan, as the water is full of various accidents.

There is no help for it; the audience felt she was a goddess at that moment.

But in reality, she is ultimately made of flesh and blood.

Mortals playing deities always have to pay a significant price.

This dancer was introduced by Xu Chujing; she is her dance teacher.

Luo Mo was truly convinced by her professionalism.

The two minutes of dance that the audience saw were carefully selected from a total dance duration of nearly 30 hours.

She did the same movement hundreds of times, and then they slowly picked from them.

The daily routine during that time was: inhale—enter the water—dance—breathe—.

The task was too arduous; whoever did it would be the same.

Don't forget, it's winter now!

Fortunately, the final effect presented was very perfect!

This dance, like "Tang Palace Night Banquet," also had very strong cinematography.

A dance program that is creative, aesthetic, culturally rich, and visually impactful... if it doesn't become legendary, who would?

Director Li Dongliang, you should learn a thing or two!

Backstage at the Spring Festival Gala, Ning Dan looked at the viewership ratings and the online live broadcast data sent by the streaming platform, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

With Luo Mo stirring things up like this, it would be hard not to be satisfied.

The viewership ratings soared, and the online data also skyrocketed!

In places like WeChat Moments and Weibo, many people were sharing and exclaiming.

——Breathtakingly beautiful!

In previous years' Spring Festival Galas, you could watch from beginning to end and barely remember a few dance programs.

This year's "Prayer" is truly god-tier; it completely killed it!

When the stage concluded, it was as if, after the prayer, she flew away once more.

"I'm obsessed with this program!"

"Luo Mo is so strong, the young lady is so amazing!"

"The Emperor Experience Card has turned into a Jade Emperor Experience Card!"

Yes, with the previous "Tang Palace Night Banquet," it felt like you were in the imperial palace, watching the musicians and dancers.

Today, hasn't it been upgraded directly to the Heavenly Court?

If this isn't a Jade Emperor Experience Card, what is?

The two-minute stage left countless viewers with a sense of wanting more.

However, that is exactly the feeling desired.

As of now, the Spring Festival Gala has been going on for half an hour.

Station Head Ji Huawen and the senior management of the station received the first real-time data report.

Everyone is now both excited and expectant.

They were looking at this data sheet with great anticipation.

But in the end, they were still shocked by the specific figures!

"As of now, the average viewership rating is actually this much higher than last year's Spring Festival Gala!"

"The online live broadcast data is even higher!"

In this age of entertainment-to-death, data perhaps can only represent a part of it.

But what if both the data and the word-of-mouth are explosive?

This year, could the duo of Luo Mo and Ning Dan be... creating a miracle?

………

The recorded program "Prayer" concludes here.

In the hearts of many viewers, this is the most stunning dance program in the Spring Festival Gala in recent years.

These days, mainstream dances on the internet are mostly based on... borderline content.

The dancer of "Prayer" has fair skin and a great figure; during the process of Dancing, you can see her graceful waist and slender, well-proportioned legs, yet you cannot produce even the slightest bit of profanity.

More so, it is instead a moving feeling from the inside out.

You must know, these days there are many parents who are very controlling; showing legs, arms, or waist on the Spring Festival Gala stage might lead to all sorts of cursing and reporting, feeling that how could children watch this?

And to what extent was "Prayer" stunning?

It is that even an idiot would clap and shout in praise!

At this moment, many viewers are already thinking: "There shouldn't be a better dance than this one this year, right?"

"There shouldn't be a more stunning dance."

"It came on too early; suddenly it feels a bit dull."

"I think we can still look forward to it; Luo Mo said in an interview before that he was responsible for several dance programs, and this is only the first one!"

How should I put it.

"Prayer" definitely counts as Luo Mo unleashing a big move.

But in this guy's 【Skill Bar】, they are all big moves, only big moves!

What small skills? They don't exist.

The next stage is an acrobatic performance.

This program doesn't have much to do with Luo Mo either, but he saw it during rehearsals, and it was extremely spectacular.

The entire stage is also of the more interesting kind; when you are holding your belly and laughing, he will suddenly give you an extremely shocking moment.

After the acrobatic performance ends, it is a crosstalk segment.

Although Luo Mo also listened to a lot of crosstalk on Earth, he didn't participate too much in this program either, only offering some suggestions.

On the Blue Star side, there are still quite a lot of people who listen to crosstalk, and the development of the entire industry is no worse than it has been on Earth these past few years.

On the contrary, on Earth, as crosstalk becomes more and more popular, many crosstalk performers have had their reputations collapse rapidly.

The content of their crosstalk is varied, and the ways their reputations collapse are also varied...

The Blue Star side is currently doing fine, and every year the Spring Festival Gala can make a pair of crosstalk actors popular.

Now, many viewers watching the Spring Festival Gala are thinking only of the new songs written by Luo Mo.

Logically speaking, as the number one person in the music scene today, he should definitely have prepared more new songs for this year's Spring Festival Gala.

The next one to go on stage is Li Junyi.

A new song, isn't it coming right now!

At this moment, the camera hasn't cut to Li Junyi yet, and the CCTV hosts are in the middle of program transitions.

Liu Xu is holding her pipa, constantly taking deep breaths.

The Spring Festival Gala stage is indeed too big for her.

The biggest stage she had been on before was still the school's anniversary...

Seeing that she was a bit tense, Li Junyi deliberately started doing a "vocal performance" on the side.

He pretended that he was warming up his voice, constantly making some strange and peculiar sounds in his mouth.

He also shook his face, and combined with the peculiar sound effects he made, it was a bit like he was imitating a horse neighing.

Liu Xu listened from the side, trying hard to hold back her laughter.

She was afraid that if she laughed out loud, it would affect Li Junyi's singing state later and affect him getting into the mood.

Little did she know that Li Junyi wasn't nervous at all, and his heart was very peaceful.

Singing a new song written by Brother Mo, what is there to panic about?

He secretly glanced at Liu Xu, and seeing that she had relaxed a bit, he stopped "acting up," walked to her side, and stood in the designated position.

As soon as the camera switched over, the bullet comments started frantically spamming Li Junyi's name.

This young man, who hadn't been too eye-catching on the stage of "Creating Idols," now has a truly high level of popularity.

"Li Junyi!"

"You've made progress, there's actually a girl."

"Dressed quite handsomely today."

"This young lady has a very good temperament."

"Fair skin really adds points; she is very pleasant to look at."

"She's holding a pipa!"

As of now, everyone thinks that Li Junyi is going to sing, and this young lady holding a pipa is accompanying him on the side.

Liu Xu is dressed in a more classical style today, in a dark red tight-fitting long dress that outlines her slender waist and the outward-spreading curves of her hips.

Her leg injury had long since healed and would not affect the performance.

Her slender fingers plucked the pipa, and when the first note appeared, the song title emerged before the audience.

——"Sheng Sheng Man".

This is a song from Earth that was fairly popular, but couldn't be called a massive hit.

The lyrics and melody are both quite good; the original singer is Cui Kaichao.

Most importantly, this song, which leans toward the Folk style, is extremely suitable for incorporating many Huaxia elements.

This song has been covered in a 【Jing Yun Version】.

It combines Peking Opera with the song.

There are also versions in various dialects.

On today's Spring Festival Gala stage, the version brought by Li Junyi and Liu Xu can be considered a fusion of the original version and the 【Pipa Pingtan Version】.

This song is just too perfect for Pipa Pingtan.

The best 【Pipa Pingtan】 version Luo Mo has ever heard is the one sung by Teacher Wu Liangying.

In the movie "The Flowers of War", it was she who provided the vocals.

Presumably, many people were stunned by the voice when they first watched the movie.

Amidst the song's prelude, Li Junyi's soothing and peaceful voice began to spread throughout the venue.

"【Green bricks accompany the lacquer tiles,"

"White horses tread on fresh mud,"

"Mountain flowers and banana leaves in the twilight dye the kerchief red."

"Raindrops sprinkle on the eaves,"

"Cooking smoke rises in wisps,"

"Where are you, wandering and turning in hesitation.】"

The melodious singing reached the ears of the audience.

Everyone's current feeling is that Luo Mo's composition and Li Junyi's singing are, as always, of consistent quality.

"The lyrics are good; they are worthy of being written by Luo Mo."

"It really has a Southern feel!"

"The imagery is very strong."

"Li Junyi's vocal timbre is just so comfortable!"

"This young lady plays the pipa very well too!"

As of now, everyone still thinks Liu Xu is just providing accompaniment.

But once Li Junyi sang the next line, everything changed.

"【Searching and seeking.】"

After he sang these four words, Liu Xu began to sing.

She also sang: "【Searching and seeking.】"

The two voices were not joined together, but separated.

Here, she used a little bit of the Suzhou Pingtan singing style, but was still singing in a normal singing mode.

Luo Mo's requirement for her was that she needed to sing with a sense of the past here.

It had to give people the feeling of an old record player.

Liu Xu could not achieve this with her own vocal timbre, so there was harmony recorded into it here.

Originally, for a song this soothing, some people would love it, and some would be indifferent.

But once Liu Xu opened her mouth to sing, many in the audience felt: "This is kind of interesting!"

When singing "In the dream there are flowers, in the dream there is green grass," the two performed a harmony.

The male and female voices intertwined, creating a somewhat inexplicable sense of lingering affection.

After the A section of "Sheng Sheng Man" ended, the song entered the B section.

It was still Li Junyi who performed the solo first.

"【Long hair draws ripples,"

"White cloth spreads on the stone jetty,"

"The river boy poles the long boat to ferry the elderly"

........】"

After singing to the chorus, it was still the exact same mode as the A section.

Folk-leaning songs are naturally loved by those who like them, and those who don't feel anything, don't feel anything.

But overall, this "Sheng Sheng Man" still brought a little Surprise to the audience.

Everyone had assumed that this soothing and peaceful song should have ended just like that.

But who would have thought that after the B section was finished, the song actually entered the content of the A section again.

Only this time, it was no longer dominated by Li Junyi.

The delicate and pretty Liu Xu sat on the stage, holding the pipa, originally appearing like a supporting character.

She was responsible for playing, singing two lines of content, and a few lines of harmony.

No matter how you looked at it, she was just an assistant.

But in reality, Li Junyi knew very well Brother Mo's arrangement for this song!

Liu Xu was the finishing touch!

This time, she was no longer singing with a normal singing method.

Instead, she directly utilized Suzhou Pingtan!

Her singing style had completely changed.

While playing the pipa, she began to sing:

"【Green bricks accompany the lacquer tiles,"

The white horse treads on the fresh mud.】」

As soon as the voice came out, the bullet comments went completely wild.

"It made my bones feel soft just listening to it!"

"I love it, I love it!"

"I suddenly feel that our ancestors really knew how to enjoy life."

"Even as a woman, it makes my heart itch!"

"Wu Nong Soft Language indeed!"

Of course, there were also many people who did not know what kind of Singing this was, so they asked sincerely in the bullet comments.

Immediately, rows of answers floated by: "Suzhou Pingtan!"

Many young people were instantly captivated.

Many young people have stereotypes about some traditional things, feeling that they definitely wouldn't like them.

But listening to it today at the Spring Festival Gala... good heavens!

"If this were my morning alarm, I wouldn't even have morning grumpiness!"

"What tough guy could handle this?"

"A soft and glutinous feeling, so this is what a soft and glutinous feeling is!"

It is just a pity that the masterpiece "Pipa Song," which has been passed down through the ages, does not exist in this world.

Otherwise, amidst the endless stream of "holy crap" in the bullet comments, there would surely be one more line:

"【Hearing your pipa words today, it is like listening to celestial music, and my ears are suddenly enlightened.】"

(End of this chapter)