hollywood billionaire

Chapter 238 A Queen, A Hit, A Future
"In the back of this Land Rover that I know you can't afford,
Pull me close, hold me to death,
The tattoo that bites into your shoulder.

The mattress stolen from my roommate in Boulder,

I pulled the sheet from the corner and covered it in front of you and me,

We have always been such reckless souls,

Our youth will never grow old. "

Entering the 21st to 29th bars of this song, the atmosphere was so embarrassing that one could pick off one's nails - whether it was fingers or toes - and finally eased, because after the interlude, the song gradually entered the build- The up and drop part.Or to put it in language that laypeople can understand, "a snippet that everyone can sing along to."

In these eight bars, Andrew Taggart's male voice sang the main melody completely for the first time.As the vocal part gradually reaches its climax, all the drum sounds suddenly disappear without a trace, leaving only a single, continuous string line, creating a sense of tension and anticipation before the first drop of the song.

In order to increase the weight of the melody, The Chainsmokers also placed a male vocal track an octave lower and an octave higher than the main melody.These tracks are mixed very low, but follow the melodic flow perfectly, in line with the lead vocal.In other words, Andrew Taggart's thin vocals have more three-dimensional and thicker support in this part, and they no longer sound so unpleasant.

"You see, the song itself is very good." Han Yi spread his right hand and raised his eyebrows, as if it were natural, "It's just that the on-site team messed up, and coupled with Drew's own shortcomings, it felt like there was something wrong." question."

"You can hear it here." You Zhen nodded, "The sound of the vocal track underneath is really too small. If it were Tracy McGrady or Billie performing on the stage, the sound engineer would have no chance of leaving alive. Get off the sound console.”

"You are quite powerful." Han Yi laughed dumbly. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but Zhao Youzhen seemed to be becoming more and more bold and careless in front of him recently, whether it was physical movements or verbal expressions. Scruples.

"I'm already great." You Zhen snorted softly through his nose, "Let's see, in half a month, I can directly turn Future Now into a tour for them."

"Whoever dares to question our sister Zhao, I will be the first to refuse."

Han Yi winked at Zhao Youzhen. On the surface, it looked like he was joking, but all the emotional expressions of recognition and approval were actually hidden under the shell of ridicule.As an artist manager, Yuzhen’s negotiating ability to fight for artists’ rights is undoubtedly strong.She is not domineering like Carla Lewis, and her partners must do what she wants.Regardless of whether it is an email exchange or a conference call, Yuzhen always maintains a gentle and calm tone, and will never have any mood swings due to work matters.

But hidden behind the soft and watery appearance is an extremely tough bone.Where there should be no compromise, such as the increased performance quotation after Madison Beal won the championship, no matter what the other party did, Zhao Youzhen would never give in.As long as it is a benefit that can be obtained for artists and companies, even if it is just one more click, one more play, or one more penny, Yuzhen will do everything possible to get it.

Taking Tracy McGrady as an example again, the Future Now: The Tour tour team wanted to increase the length of her performance from half an hour to 45 minutes. In exchange, Yuzhen proposed to Live Nation through UTA to double the remuneration for a single performance. And the condition of giving Madison a second guest spot at five music festivals after the tour.Live Nation, which was eager to boost the tour's box office, had no choice but to accept Zhao Youzhen's request in full.

This kind of iron lady who picks up a knife and fights every day as soon as she opens her eyes and never tires of it, even if the aura of gender and the bonus of appearance are stripped away, it is enough to make Han Yi respect her.

"We ain't ever gettin' older...

We ain't ever gettin' older! "

During the low-pitched conversation, the performance of "Closer" at the 2016 VMA Awards finally reached its first climax - the drop part of bars 29 to 37.The overall look and feel of the performance has reached a new level at this stage.

Because Andrew Taggart finally put down the microphone.

Different from ordinary pop music, the biggest structural difference in electronic dance music is the way the chorus is handled.Take Taylor Swift's "Love Story" as an example. From the verse, to the interlude, and then to the chorus, the essence of the entire song is the vocal melody that progresses layer by layer and finally highlights the theme.

"I Knew You Were Trouble", which is also Taylor Swift's work, is based on pop dance music and electronic pop, and even has some Melodic Dubstep and Brostep elements, which is completely different.The single, co-written by Taylor Swift, Max Martin and Shellback, faithfully follows the arrangement structure of electronic music.From the main song, to the interlude, and then to the build-up where the main vocal melody comes in, all the vocal melody lines serve to accumulate emotions. Finally, they burst out in unison, allowing the audience to get the climax of adrenaline secretion feedback. There is no singing, just the drop part of the vocal slice.

This is the core essence of the fascinating electronic music. Through the instant changes and strong contrasts in melody, rhythm, drum beats and bass lines, it creates a thrilling feeling that seems to throw people up high and fall again. This is where the word drop comes from.

Although it has a strong pop flavor, "Closer" is always a very traditional electronic music in terms of structure.After the main vocal melody, the passionate arrangement of slices is added, which is the biggest highlight of the song itself.In terms of atmosphere creation and technical processing of Drop, The Chainsmokers and the behind-the-scenes production team working with them have reached the top level in the industry.

Unlike Phineas and Billie, two siblings who advocate minimalism, The Chainsmokerts' project files have always been very complicated. The project file of the song "Closer" contains a total of 82 audio tracks, including 39 vocal-related audio tracks alone.

It is unbelievable that so many elements and so many details, after mixing and mastering processing, the actual listening experience finally presented can achieve the effect of being simple and powerful when swallowed roughly, and rich and layered when chewed carefully.One has to admire The Chainsmokers' precise control of structure and sound priority, as well as the superb skills of their co-mixing engineer DJ Swivel.

Unlike traditional sound engineers, DJ Swivel is also an electronic music producer himself. Therefore, he is deeply involved in the pre-production process, trying to find sound-related problems in this link and fix them, rather than putting them on the back burner. Process it later during mixing and shrinking.Just like taking photos, if you can correct the model's body shape and expression on the shooting scene, it will definitely have a much better effect than using Photoshop to do it in the later stage.

The Chainsmokers and DJ Swivel both agree that if the bass patch is made softer, the bass line can better match the kick drum and create a fresh and dreamy sound field atmosphere. This small change will make the final sound better. The listening experience has been upgraded to a higher level.

Anyone with a little knowledge of music production can easily tell that the drop part of "Closer" and the stabs of the synthesizer chords are extremely warm and rich.It's quite wide in the final mix and has a wide frequency range, somewhere between 90Hz and 12000Hz.Generally speaking, the effect of lowering the frequency has both advantages and disadvantages.When one listens to this song in mono, one hears phase cancellation in the synthesizer chord stabs below 150Hz.In nightclubs, this phenomenon can make the sound thin and affect the performance of live performances.But on the other hand, this sense of spaciousness performs very well in stereo speakers. Whether it is played on radio or TV, it can significantly reduce the damage to the listening experience after sound quality compression.

As a commercial single created for music radio and the Billboard singles chart, the choice of "Closer" in this regard must be intentional.

In order to make "Closer" perform better in shortwave frequencies, another interesting feature is that the kick drum and bass only occupy a small part of the space in the frequency spectrum. The Chainsmokers chose very powerful tones for these two parts, so that they don’t need to take up too much mixing space, effectively reducing the competition between the various elements in the song, allowing the vocal main melody and lead part to It is more prominent and can create a repeated brainwashing effect.

Finally, although there are many tracks in the drop part, DJ Swivel only focused on three parts - kick drum, synthesizer chord stabs and lead synthesizer.The other audio tracks are auxiliary supporting these three main sound channels, which allows the audience to easily digest the sonic information the song wants to convey without putting in too much effort.

Rich but not crowded, lively but not noisy.The drop part, which did not require the cooperation of the on-site sound mixing team, finally showed the level and color that "Closer" should have.

For the first time since The Chainsmokers took the stage, the heartbeats and breathing of the audience began to gradually synchronize with the rhythm of electronic music.

The originally condensed atmosphere began to slowly heat up.

Only wait for one node to focus on the outbreak.

"You,

It's still as beautiful as the first meeting.

I forgot the reason why I left you at that time,

Maybe,

I've lost my mind. "

Just as Madison Square Garden began to rekindle expectations for this stalled performance, a wonderful voice came from a line array suspended in the sky, like an angel slowly descending to the earth, and filled the eardrums of tens of thousands of people at the scene. bloom before.

An angel who still retains his pure heart, but is about to fall into the devil's path in an instant.

If Han Yilai was asked to describe it, Horsi's voice gave people exactly the same impression.

She was able to release her debut album as an independent musician and immediately reach the runner-up spot on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, largely because of her unique vocal style that has never been seen before in the history of pop music and will rarely be matched in the future.

The undertone of Horch's voice must be ethereal.After removing all the interference of singing skills, you will find that her voice naturally has a child-like sanctity. It seems that only the cooing of a newborn baby can rival the purity of her voice.The treble is as clear as a harp, and the middle range sounds soft but has a driving force with a thick base, making it seem like it has its own effects device.A music critic from Rolling Stone magazine even commented that Horsch's good voice does not require an autotune and has a natural pretentious function.

But at the same time, Horsi's voice is full of the beauty of chaos and depression. The use of a large amount of nasal space and breath techniques gives her voice a hint of hushed texture that is full of temptation.In addition, Horsch used an almost deliberate way to shape the overly clear pronunciation of vowels, adding a bizarre and interesting atmosphere to her performance, making her voice instantly recognizable to everyone who had ever heard her sing. identification by music fans.

In other words, Horsch's voice is a mysterious blend that defies easy categorization, a God-given instrument spanning two octaves and a perfect fifth that cannot be replicated by any sampling device.

And this uniqueness that is hard to find in the world is the secret weapon that all electronic music producers strive to master.Therefore, when Horch chanted and sang and walked out from behind the LED curtain wall, the level of the entire performance was instantly elevated by an unknown amount.

Andrew Taggart's performance is just the unthinking and random behavior of a shy high school boy at his senior prom.And Horch's singing is the performance level that people think matches the most authoritative Music Video Awards in the United States.

For this performance, Horsch chose a fashionable and avant-garde dressing style to accurately capture the emotional energy of this electronic music dance song and the passionate ambiguity in the lyrics.She wore a white two-piece outfit, which included a silver crop top that exposed the Southern Hemisphere, high-waisted silver shorts and a shimmering silver choker around her neck that shone in the spotlight.

With smoky eyes and black lipstick, the word danger is written all over her body, but people can’t help but want to get close to Horsch. Judging from the look alone, she looks like Andrew Taggart in a faded plaid shirt. Not a worldly person.

This is especially true in terms of singing skills. Even if the effects device hanging on the microphone is still so dry, it cannot affect Horsch in the slightest.As soon as the sound was turned on, the reverb and autotune effects were fully activated. The mixer at the sound console even subconsciously glanced at the channel in front of him, wondering if he had accidentally touched some switch.

"Don't go,
Play that Blink-182 song we heard in Tucson that was so captivating,

okay? "

Horsi's body movements were extremely relaxed, and there was no trace of nervousness at all.She stood tall next to Andrew Taggart, swaying her shoulders rhythmically to the beat of the drums, and giving him a sweet smile that she had rehearsed in advance during the rehearsal.

A love song about rekindling an old love, this is when it gets on the right track.

What kind of leadership role should excellent performers play?Horsi answered this question perfectly in just 20 seconds of her performance.With her on stage, partner Andrew Taggart's tense and alert expression disappeared for the most part. Alexander Parr's frequency of looking up at the audience was also significantly reduced. Even the accompaniment keyboard player standing at the far end of the stage showed a look of relief. smile.

Finally saved.

"I know I broke your heart,
Driving a broken car that was about to fall apart, I arrived alone in a strange city.

There has been no news for four years.

But they unexpectedly reunited in front of the hotel bar.

You are so dazzling,
How can I let go of missing you?

How do you want me to stop what I'm doing? "

Horxi, who had made a good start, gradually got better and became more courageous as he fought.Although she sounds fragile and fragile, her high register is surprisingly stable.It was full of energy, breaking through the constraints of the line array sound with an irrefutable sense of power, washing over the audience's eardrums like a torrent that was about to be desensitized by Andrew Taggart.

"YES! Horsi! Great!"

Anne-Marie cheered for her friend's wonderful performance. Around her, all the stars of Han Music stood up and waved their arms up and down in accordance with the rhythm.Among them, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and Madison Beer performed the most exaggeratedly. The three of them had formed a small circle, as if they were really enjoying rave culture at an electronic music festival, laughing and squirming. body.

Not only to cheer up my fellow students, the appeal of this song is truly amazing.With the most concise arrangement, the richest details, the most accurate mixing, and the best vocal melody, the previous version of "Closer" was able to dominate the entire second half of the world music scene in 2016, so it's natural that it can't be beat. Alternative, unparalleled competitive advantage.

No one can resist such pure and intense joy.

"III can't stop,

No III can't stop……”

Andrew Taggart rejoins the chorus, but his voice has been completely overshadowed by Horsch's brilliance.The vast majority of the audience even had such an emotion involuntarily and rudely - if only this man could shut up and let Horch finish singing alone.

"In the back of this Land Rover that I know you can't afford,
Pull me close, hold me to death,
The tattoo that bites into your shoulder.

The mattress stolen from my roommate in Boulder,

I pulled the sheet from the corner and covered it in front of you and me,

We have always been such reckless souls,

Our youth will never grow old. "

Horch's stage charm is not limited to her voice. This New Jersey girl who has seen too many big scenes since her debut, even conquered the Met Gala, even her fingertips are dancing with the dramatic tension that adds color to the songs.As Holsh sang, she circled around Andrew Taggart, who was stuck in place like a wooden stake. Then, she gently put her left hand between Andrew's neck and pulled him closer in an ear-to-side manner. The body, the vibrant sexual tension, suddenly raised the temperature on and off the stage.

A banquet that should have been grand but fell silent due to various bizarre mistakes was rekindled by the arrival of the stage queen.Hands raised in the air, head shaking, eyes closed; a sea of ​​fans woven by music gradually formed.

Everyone in Madison Square Garden was waiting for that crucial moment, that high ecstasy that only music can bring.

Then, here it comes.

The second drop was like a meteorite hitting the earth. In an instant, the entire venue melted in a kaleidoscope-like energy explosion.

It's like someone opened the door to heaven, mixing the euphoria of liberation into the bass, pouring down like a torrential rain, mercilessly drenching every audience member.The expressions changed from calm to wild, the camera zoomed out, and tens of thousands of people at the scene staged a human fireworks display full of instinctive reactions.

The motionless legs were suddenly given a new life, as if they wanted to touch the rhythm pouring out of the speakers.The arms shoot into the air like rockets, as if trying to physically catch the notes floating in mid-air.

The air is filled with the indefinable smell of sweat, perfume and collective enthusiasm.The laser light passes through the mist formed by the air column, sometimes crossing and sometimes scattering, like cosmic rays, briefly drawing bright tattoos on the faces looking up to the stage.

"1, 2, 3, let's go!"

"From your roommate back in Boulder,

We ain't ever gettin' older…

We ain't ever gettin' older! "

In these rare and precious moments in life, everyone in the venue briefly breaks away from reality, loosens the shackles that have been holding them down, and unites in a wild dance of collective ecstasy.The ugly reality of the outside world disappeared in this moment. Apart from music and the love, peace, unity and respect it inspired, there was nothing more important.

"PLUR."

"This is what I bought for $1800 million."

Reaching out to catch the lucky and unfortunate piece of paper among the white fireworks falling all over the sky, Han Yi seemed to be talking to Zhao Youzhen, and also to himself.

"A queen, a hit, a future."

(End of this chapter)