Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 951 The Many Facets of Summer Music

This part will definitely be cut during the editing process; at least in this year's version, Liu Ziyang's words will not appear.

But those present tonight all felt that it made a lot of sense.

From a technical standpoint, Guo Sichu's singing skills are flawless. Any issues with her singing style and habits can be completely changed through practice.

As for the subjective matter of voice, that's not an issue at all at Rolling Stone. Given the vastness of their music library, from Avril Lavigne to The Cranberries, from Cobra to Nightwish, with so many female lead singer bands, they could easily find the optimal fit for Guo Sichu's voice.

Similarly, with Bian Lang, the strongest songwriter, the Rolling Stones would never lack material. Add to that the Rolling Stones' current stellar lineup of musicians, and how could they possibly fail?

Given Guo Sichu's own influence, it's really hard to say in China whether the Rolling Stones of this artist or the Rolling Stones of the artist Bian Lang is more famous.

Hearing this comment, Liu Yao, who was waiting to go on stage, could only smile bitterly at her brothers and say, "It seems that my title as the number one female rock vocalist in China will soon change hands!"

After listening, Qiu Long patted Liu Yao on the shoulder and said, "Bian Lang will come back sooner or later. Your best friend may not be able to accumulate as much work as you have in a year. Besides, are we definitely worse than Rolling Stone?"

Upon hearing this, the slightest trace of worry on Liu Yao's face vanished completely: "You're right, we're no worse than the Rolling Stones. Let the fans see if we veteran bands are up to the task!"

"Why not? It's just a bit of a shame that Bian Lang isn't here!"

"What's there to regret? It's not like Bian Lang isn't coming back. When he gets back, we'll go to Beijing TV and have an underground show with Jingwei..."

"This is acceptable."

"Ah Yao, is there still no change to the Rolling Stones Music Festival?"

"What could possibly go wrong? Are you suggesting we be moved to the last day to save the day? Don't be ridiculous. Even without Guo Sichu, let alone Guo Sichu filling in, the performance by Zhili and the rest of the cast wouldn't be any worse, believe it or not?"

"Well, it depends on the situation on the ground, it's hard to say..."

After a few more casual words, it was their turn to perform. Although they were following Rolling Stones, as Liu Yao himself said, the veteran band's skill and audience base were just as strong. Add to that Bian Lang's new song, and it was a winning combination!

Especially the professional music fans, they were all amazed by what they saw.

Commander: "It seems that Anxiang Road has been reorganized?"

Rafter: "It's great that we've come together again after all this time!"

Pan Jianhu: "It should have been done a long time ago, how wonderful!"

"Boundless waves, who knows how many years it will be before we see this scene again..."

"This song is really catchy! Will it be broadcast?"

Pan Jianhu: "Let's broadcast it first, and we'll see if it works..."

The biggest highlight of the first day of recording was the performance of these two bands. The bands that officially participated later were also in good form, but they were still a bit lacking compared to these two.

With only five bands left in the finals, the rankings of New Pants, Hedgehog, Control Stick, Face, and Pastoral Song in the first half of today's performance were completely different from what music fans had expected.

Hedgehog, with Xia Yuxi as the lead singer, is the least favored. After all, with the former Bian Lang, the "big devil," still around, even if it weren't for Xia Yuxi, who came from the pop scene, her past impression on rock music fans wasn't very good, so rock music fans wouldn't be very optimistic about her.

Therefore, before the competition, everyone thought that the Hedgehogs would be at the bottom of the rankings.

But who knew that a song called "Hoping for a Warm Spring" would make music fans discover that this pop singer, whom they didn't think much of before, and who even had worked with Bian Lang on "The One and Only Band," actually had a voice that seemed to suit Hedgehog even better than Bian Lang's!

Indeed, Xia Yuxi's youthful voice was a better fit for Hedgehog's teen rock style than Bian Lang's. Therefore, based on the fair judgment of the fans, Hedgehog ultimately secured second place. Meanwhile, New Pants, who were universally praised for their good looks before the competition, unexpectedly faltered.

The Goat was clearly out of sorts. Although he didn't sing off-key or crack his voice, his emotional delivery was a world apart from his previous performance that had captivated the audience. Compared to Hedgehog, who performed earlier, he was naturally less popular with the fans, so his last-place ranking wasn't entirely unexpected.

As for the top-ranked team, it was Face Band, which no one expected before the competition. Control Stick and Pastoral Song finished third and fourth respectively.

When Little Witch left, she went out with Landmine Guy. When they talked about today's rankings, Landmine Guy bluntly said, "It feels like Goat just didn't put his heart into it. If Bian Lang were here, let's see how he would face that guy. Such a good band."

The Little Witch was among the first to watch Bian Lang and Rolling Stone rise to prominence, and seeing New Pants' performance now, she felt uneasy: "Who knows? Maybe they got it too easily and didn't know how to cherish it? I originally thought Xia Yuxi would need a long time to adjust, but who would have thought the results would be so good."

"Yeah, today's performance made Xia Yuxi seem more like a lead singer with a rock background, while Goat was just dabbling in it... Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Shall we go to Sigu or LAB?"

Faced with the invitation from the landmine guy, the little witch hesitated for a few seconds before making a decision: "Let's go to the LAB. Tonight it's a women's medley by Nuozhen and Compass. I want to go and check out the footage."

Landmine Guy didn't argue, but just joked, "You still have to gather your own material now? Doesn't the production team provide it all? By the way, where's your husband, Lao Zheng?"

"Hehe, he said it's no fun without boundless fun. He's at LAB waiting for Nuozhen. He said those triplets are so talented, they are the future of independent music in China!"

Landmine Guy actually had high hopes for Nuozhen. If you disregard the fact that Bian Lang wrote their songs, he felt these three sisters had a unique and irreplaceable future in the domestic independent music scene: "Hopefully, if Bian Lang mentors them, he can really make them successful. Look at someone like Goat, they won't even eat properly when fed, it's such a shame..."

The Little Witch, however, didn't see it that way: "If Bian Lang's creative ability can remain at its peak for another 10 years, then these bands really don't need to think about anything else. Surpassing or even matching him will be extremely difficult. I just hope that the new bands that come out later can ride this wave and expand the vast territory of China even further!"

As they talked, the two walked out of the park. The little witch took out her phone and logged into a ride-hailing app. Seeing that there were still more than 50 people ahead of her in the queue, she couldn't help but recall her first meeting with Bian Lang: "Landmine, you know what? The first time I met the great Bian was in a ride-hailing car..." As she was speaking, a car suddenly stopped in front of them, and a familiar voice came from behind the back window: "Where are you going, witch? Want a ride?"

The little witch turned her head and saw that it was Chen Shuting. She immediately smiled and said, "Sister Shuting, is it convenient for us to go to the LAB?"

"Let's go together!"

Landmine Guy nodded and smiled, then got into the passenger seat. After Little Witch got into the back seat and settled in, she asked Chen Shuting, "Sister Chen, aren't you going to stay here and do some kind of summary?"

"What use am I here? Tiger and the others will handle the rock music, and Liang Kuan will take care of the business. I'll go back and keep an eye on Nuozhen and Compass. Bian Lang has given the three sisters a big mission this time..."

Meanwhile, in another car heading to Rolling Stones LAB, several female musicians from Compass were comforting Mu Mian and Su Kan: "Come on, think positively. He might not just be throwing a tantrum. He might really have been scared by Brother Lang and just not in the right state of mind!"

Yang Meng's words were rather mild, but Ding Ding was much less polite: "Now that Lang Ge and our Rock Records have such a reputation, finding a lead singer is a piece of cake. If he continues like this, we can just find someone new after this competition!"

Strauss could only catch the gist of what was going on, so she just watched without interrupting. She understood what was happening, but didn't feel comfortable offering any comment.

She was skeptical when Xia Yuxi was chosen to be the lead singer of Hedgehog, but after two or three rehearsals, she felt that Xia Yuxi's skills and attitude were quite good, even better than some of the rock musicians in the company.

According to Strauss, given how Bian Lang treated them, no amount of repayment would be too much. She had even casually mentioned this to Dili, whose reply was: "Perhaps this is the difference between men and women? You women are more loyal, while men are always thinking about fighting for something for themselves!"

Are you like that too?

When Strauss asked the question, Tirion laughed and said, "If I were the same age as the Goat, I might have wanted to compete, but I think it's good as it is now."

Dili said the same words to the goat again.

After the recording ended, Dili and the others didn't think about going to the lab, where they would have to continue rehearsing after the people came back. Instead, they opened a table at Sigu, which was nearby, to relax a bit. Kong Liang then brought Goat and Ouyang to join them.

Goat, who was in a really bad state today, asked a question similar to Strauss's when Xia Yuxi wasn't around.

He actually regretted saying those things to Bian Lang in Europe, but he couldn't hold it in—that's just his personality. Since returning, his performance has been inconsistent. Rehearsals were alright, not as amazing as his debut, but definitely much better than today's.

What he was thinking at the time was, "Let's see how much better Xia Yuxi can be than me."

But Xia Yuxi, who went on stage first, completely blew the audience away. It has to be said, the way top stars who have been in the pop music scene manipulate fans' emotions and interact with them is simply incomparable to these rock newbies. Then, overthinking things led to their performance on stage naturally falling short.

There's no need to argue about this. In his past life, Bian Lang attended a music festival where he shared the stage with a very popular male singer. The music was indeed mediocre, but after watching it, Bian Lang simply said, "No wonder he's a star, living a life of luxury, while we stubborn folks are left eating meager rations!"

That's what they say, but it's definitely impossible to change it.

Kong Liang and Ouyang had seen too much of this, so they naturally felt that it was nothing. Some things can't be changed just because others say them; you have to suffer the consequences yourself to realize them.

However, the older members of the group, including Dili, didn't want New Pants' new lead singer to be ruined by this kind of thing so soon after changing singers, so they said a few more words. Besides, both the Rolling Stone Music Festival and the Blueberry Music Festival are during New Pants' time slots. If things are still like this by then, people will say that Rolling Stone started internal strife after Bian Lang was banned.

"By the way, Goat, drink less. We still have to rehearse after that. What song is Bian Lang suggesting you guys use tomorrow?"

Da Yong wanted to change the subject and move on from it. He genuinely didn't know either; after all, he'd been rehearsing with Guo Sichu and Lianmian since returning, and hadn't had the time or inclination to worry about anything else.

"Summer Finale, the new song Lang gave me..." After a pause, he added, "Lang said that if we can't even compete with Hedgehog with this song, then I can leave!"

Da Yong had never heard of this song title before, but if Bian Lang said it so highly, then the song itself must be pretty good. And if you think about the title in conjunction with the show "The Big Band," it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the closing song for that variety show.

What will the hedgehog sing about tomorrow?

After taking a sip of soda water, Huang Kai said directly, "Time, Years, Summer Love!"

"It's a new song too! That makes for a good fight!"

On Earth, these two songs were the ones New Pants and Hedgehog performed in the finals. Both are among the most classic performances from the first season of "The Big Band," and Bian Lang originally intended them to be a tribute.

If things had gone according to plan, he would definitely have no problem singing "Time, Years, Summer Love" on his own, and if Goat's condition remained unchanged, "Summer Finale" would also be a great live performance. But now the situation has changed. Hedgehog's problem isn't too big, but it's hard to say about Goat.

Da Yong was definitely the best friend of Bian Lang among this group, and he could guess Bian Lang's thoughts pretty accurately.

So after hearing this, he asked the goat, "So how are your preparations going? Are you confident?"

Goat sighed and said nothing, but those present already knew what was going on. Then Dili spoke up directly: "Then why are you resting? We'll walk and train with you. Since Mumian and Su Kan aren't here, Kai and Huayan will fill in. We'll all go and check if there are any problems."

This immediately rekindled the goat's spirits, which had already waned considerably: "Well, then I'll thank you all in advance!"

But just as she got up to deal with her fans, Xia Yuxi returned. Seeing this competitor, Goat felt a surge of irritation again…

But Xia Yuxi smiled and asked where they were going. After receiving the answer, she smiled and said, "Do you need any harmonies? I'll come help too..."

(End of this chapter)