Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 889 Merit or Demerit?

Afterwards, the show resumed its normal performance format. Although no new songs were performed, more than 9% of the audience were new fans. No matter what Rolling Stones sang, it was a new song for the live audience.

So the atmosphere at the scene was maintained at a very good level!
For the Rolling Stones, Juventus fans and Roma fans are practically brothers in this second half of the season. Although tomorrow they face a crucial competition that neither side can afford to lose, for now they are all loyal Rolling Stones fans.

Especially the Juventus fans, led by Davies, actually found the Roma fans to be quite adorable in some ways.

The encore was "Forever Young." Although there is still no studio version of this song, thanks to the spread of the live video, almost any die-hard Rolling Stones fan can sing along.

With this, Bian Lang has taken another step towards reaching the level of Wu Bai.

After the event, Agnelli naturally arranged a small gathering. Rolling Stones had a large group of relatives and friends there, while Juventus only had Agnelli with the players who wouldn't be playing the next day.

After having a few drinks and getting to know each other, Agnelli and Bian Lang found a quiet corner to chat: "Wave, will there be another romantic scene like today?"

Although Bian Lang was a little tipsy, he was still clear-headed and reacted quickly: "This is all random. If it were a planned surprise, would it still be a surprise?"

"What if I want to customize a..."

"If you really want to, you can let me know if it happens to coincide with a concert. But don't bother with custom-made ones, neither Rolling Stone nor I accept them... We either do this because we think it's very meaningful, or it's for good friends. If it's paid for, it's called a commercial performance. You can hire a bigger star than us to do this."

At this point, Agnelli clearly understood: "Thank you, Wave, thank you for considering me a friend. If I make a decision, I will definitely take her directly to the Rolling Stones concert, no matter where it is..."

"It's alright, I'll need your help with the World Cup theme song..."

After they finished speaking, they raised their glasses and drank another glass, agreed to meet again the next day, and then went off to attend to their respective social engagements.

By the time they returned to the hotel after the event, the video of Fimos's video call had already gone viral online. The memory of helping Charles propose was still fresh, and now he was sending birthday wishes to Fimos's new girlfriend.

The Rolling Stones have become a wish-granting machine in the eyes of European music fans. So much so that resale tickets for their next show in Russia have seen an unprecedented surge in price. First, couples are buying them, followed by wealthy individuals willing to spend money to impress women.

Given Taylor's experiences, which ordinary girl wouldn't be confused?

As for what happened after Fimos woke up the next day, that's another story...

Looking at the domestic scene, the buzz surrounding the revival competition of The Big Band last night hasn't died down yet. Although the Rolling Stones and their affiliated bands weren't involved, the spectacle still thrilled rock fans.

After all, rock music, an art form that belongs only to live performances, rarely has the opportunity to appear on variety shows in a complete stage format.

Why do so many musicians around the world regard "The Big Band" series as a masterpiece, the pinnacle of domestic music variety shows? The most important reason is its authenticity and musicality.

Although some behind-the-scenes footage of the competition shows traces of borrowing from other variety shows, in terms of band resources, Scorpion Baba is probably unique in the domestic music scene.

Back then, it's no exaggeration to say that Modern Sky controlled half of the Chinese rock music scene. They had over 200 artists under their management, more than half of whom played rock. Not to mention the familiar faces from "The Big Band," there were also veterans like Ding Wu, Wan Qing who achieved legendary status with their first album, Shan Ren who won "The Voice of China," and Sound Fragments who didn't want to participate in variety shows… all of these were bands under Modern Sky's label.

It's rumored that "The Big Band" won't have a sequel because they ran out of band resources. But if you just look at Modern Sky's band roster, it's clear they didn't have enough bands to invite. It's just that Miwei, for some profit, lowered the bar for the show, and Modern Sky is also planning to produce its own band-themed variety show…

In the end, they parted amicably, leaving behind only a group of music fans with nothing but regrets!
This situation would absolutely never happen on Earth. As for the idea of ​​adding edited audio to a live broadcast, anyone within Rolling Stone who dares to bring it up should be prepared to leave immediately.

Therefore, compared to previous performances, the band's flaws began to emerge under the influence of various complex emotions.

Off-key notes, broken strings... it's safe to say that every possible mishap a band could have at a live performance occurred in this competition. However, this authentic live experience made many casual viewers start to question the difference between what's real and what's fake.

While fake beauty may offer better audiovisual effects and cater to the experience of most viewers, the consequences of using this tactic on some competitive music variety shows can be far more complex than can be explained in a few words.

They sang terribly live, so their elimination was deserved. But once the edited version came out, the fans of the eliminated singer started making a scene: "What did our XXX do wrong? Why was they eliminated?"

Then the music critics, guests, and others responsible for scoring all became scapegoats for the show.

Over time, when we hear a singer's true state of mind, will we feel like the sky is falling?

So some casual viewers, after seeing the various imperfections and beauty in the actual performance, suddenly felt that the perfect ones were too boring...

While most people in the television industry were still skeptical, someone had already started studying the psychology of the audience. That person was Lao Jiang from Hunan TV.

Just like readers on Qidian, after seeing too many protagonists in the "survival" genre, they started to experience aesthetic fatigue and began to rebel, preferring to read about reckless characters.

In this sense, singing live isn't necessarily the next direction, but if there's absolute control, the label of "singing live" is definitely a powerful tool for attracting attention. Moreover, the entire team behind "The Big Band," under the guidance of Rock Records, shares the same pride as those people at Rock Records.

Although it's a live performance, they would never publicize it extensively in their own promotions, because they feel that this is the bare minimum, nothing more. If they couldn't even do this, what kind of band would they be, what kind of songs would they be singing!

But in Lao Jiang's opinion, that's a different story!
When everyone's playing the fake game, if you decide to play the real thing, you have to let people know. Because you can't guarantee authenticity and let the audience think yours is substandard! You have to let the audience figure out for themselves what the other counterfeit and inferior products are all about.

But before the buzz surrounding "The Big Band" had died down online, videos of the Rolling Stones' performance in Rome circulated back in China. Just as those who had worried had predicted, while the experts and scholars were nowhere to be seen, some sensationalist marketing accounts had already begun criticizing the Rolling Stones.

"How did 'Believe in Yourself,' such a positive and inspiring rock song, become such an unbearable and disgusting piece when its English was changed? I think bands and musicians like Rolling Stones and Bianlang, who are so inexplicable, should be banned!"

"I really can't believe that Rolling Stones and Bian Lang would ruin such a good inspirational song like this! I personally think this kind of adaptation is just a groveling act to cater to foreign tastes, which is extremely damaging to the image of China!"

These are relatively mild; the other, more than half of the vulgar insults would probably be marked with asterisks.

Bian Lang is currently fast asleep, but the team at Rolling Stone Music in China is already closely monitoring the development of this matter.

With Chen Shuting gone, Liang Kuan was left to guard the main base. Her opinion was the same as Wu Yaoqing's. Facing the public opinion team, who were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, she calmly said:
"Keep a close eye on the official media's stance. As long as they don't intervene and define the issue, these marketing accounts won't be able to do anything, no matter how much trouble they cause. This song wasn't performed by Rolling Stones in China, so the higher-ups probably won't care! And who knows, someone from the foreign affairs department might even speak up for Rolling Stones and Bian Lang!"

The staff calmed down a bit after hearing this. After thinking for a moment, they paused and then asked Liang Kuan, "Sister Kuan, what can we do proactively? Keeping an eye on the official media is enough!"

After thinking for a moment, Liang Kuan said somewhat uncertainly, "If you have your own judgment, you can look for various literary and artistic works from recent years. See if there are any that are obscure or vulgar, and whose authors are quite famous..."

A whole host of conditions were set, making the staff feel that it might be a bit unnecessary.

But Liang Kuan felt it was always good to be prepared. The effect she wanted was not to prove how innocent Rolling Stone was, but simply to tell all netizens that there were many people in China who were more corrupt than Rolling Stone and were doing very well, when someone took sides.

Even without Jia Qianqian, there would definitely be a Zhen "Shen Shen"—it just depends on whether you can find her and whether others want to get to you. This is the advantage and disadvantage of not being able to obtain an official position without being recommended for one's own name…

As for Lao Pan, his sensitivity was entirely focused on the song "In My Life," and he didn't think much of the "Hurricane 2000" matter at all, until Boss Wu called him: "Mr. Pan, I have something to say..."

Pan Jianhu thought it was ridiculous after hearing this: "Will the Rolling Stones concerts need to include a notice on ticket sales stating that those under 18 are not allowed to enter? If you think this isn't for kids, that's your problem!"

Pan Jianhu's words were relatively polite, but what he really meant was much more interesting: "How old were you when you first saw an action movie? Do you even know what this song means without a translation? You don't know anything and you're just spouting nonsense!"

Wu Hao was also quite annoyed. He had heard early this morning that some bored people on a hotline had reported that Rock Records was morally corrupt and might negatively influence children, and they hoped that Rock Records would be shut down...

As the head of publicity, he had a good relationship with Rolling Stone Records, so he specifically called Pan Jianhu to discuss the matter: "President Pan, that's the gist of it. How to handle it depends on what the higher-ups want. It's really not easy for Yunnan Province to produce a musical genius like Bian Lang. We will do our best to help them from top to bottom!"

Hearing Wu Hao say that, Pan Jianhu realized that the matter might not be as simple as he thought.

Although it wasn't a performance in China and the lyrics weren't in Mandarin, the mere fact that public figures can't engage in unethical guidance is enough to ruin you! Even if you're not directly removed from the public eye, you'll definitely face various forms of voluntary or involuntary bans.

Whether Bian Lang believes in this evil thing or not, he has to make some plans!
Just before hanging up, Wu Hao gave him a hint: "They haven't come back yet, have them? If they can cause something earth-shattering, something that no one else would even dare to dream of, even the higher-ups will have to think twice."

Pan Jianhu thought it over and over. The Grammys were definitely one, but it was still early, and there was the variable of the CAA's influence, so it was uncertain and couldn't be used as a basis for making a fuss. Although in some parts of China, the prevailing attitude was that even unfounded rumors could be presented as fact.

But Bian Lang is someone who still wants to make it in the world music scene, how could he possibly engage in self-promotion and end up with something that doesn't even work out in the end! Especially with the Rolling Stones, who are on the rise!

If you're just in the rock scene, then it doesn't matter whether you pay attention to these things or not.

But right now, the entire Rolling Stones contingent revolves around the Rolling Stones flagship. If the Rolling Stones were to disappear, the cohesion of Rolling Stones would be shattered by at least half.

"What should we do? Bian Lang can really do whatever he wants when he's out there, but it's tough for us back home!" Old Pan said, but every difficulty has its own path, and he still had to grit his teeth and push forward.

Ignoring the fact that it was still early morning there, he called Chen Shuting directly.

After listening to Lao Pan's account, Chen Shuting first comforted Lao Pan, telling him not to worry, and then reassured him: "Bian Lang is going to participate in the theme song competition for next year's World Cup!"

At this point, Pan Jianhu perked up: "Is it true? How come there's been no news about it at all?"

"How far do you think this kind of thing will spread? It wasn't a fair competition or a pure pitch in the first place; they have to consider many factors. But I'm sure Bian Lang will definitely participate..."

Explaining Agnelli and such would be too lengthy, so Chen Shuting simply wanted to reassure Lao Pan that there wouldn't be any problems.

"Alright then, this is probably the first time a World Cup abroad has hosted a music composition competition like this..."

"Tiger, what are you saying? The World Cup can be held abroad but in China?"

"Alright, alright, then we'll wait for your news..."

Instead of receiving news from Bian Lang, they received a press release from the Chinese Embassy in Italy.

The content is brief, but the single sentence, "Congratulations to the Rolling Stones on their successful performance, which has contributed to promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries..." is enough to demonstrate their stance!

(End of this chapter)