They’re all reborn, what’s wrong with being a little more almighty?

Chapter 301 Foul
For the theme of "Being Grateful to Parents", there are indeed not many songs to choose from, and most of them are songs that are relatively familiar to everyone. For the contestants, there is not much room for self-expression, and most of the performances are just to avoid mistakes without seeking credit.

It is also for this reason that this competition seems a bit dull compared to the previous ones. Even the judges' comments are just a few repetitive sentences without any shocking comments.

The judges were also restricted by the topic and could only make conventional comments, for fear that they would be criticized by the audience if they said something wrong.

The key point is that the talent shows at that time simply consisted of three parts: singing, commentary, and voting, without the storytelling segment.

According to this theme, it would be most appropriate to add a storytelling session. After the contestants sing the song, they will make up a story, a touching one, and try their best to act pitiful and cry their hearts out. Then, there will be a few shots of the audience members who are also crying their hearts out. Then, the show effect will be perfect!

However, in 2007, domestic talent shows did not yet know how to use the trick of telling stories to gain sympathy.

There is no storytelling to gain sympathy, so the only way to create topics is through the performance of the contestants and the sharp tongues of the judges.

As for this competition with the theme of "Gratitude to Parents", the judges could not be harsh in their comments, and the performances of the contestants alone could not hold up the show.

Entering the second round of PK, the contestants still sang songs that are well-known to everyone, and after the experience of the first round, many audience members cried and missed the past. They were obviously much stronger in their hearts and were not as easily moved as in the first round.

The production crew backstage also clearly noticed that the atmosphere of the second round of PK not only did not improve, but was worse than the contestants' first round performances.

The program planner couldn't help but frown. There were few songs to choose from for this theme, which naturally affected the program effect. The ratings for this episode probably wouldn't be refreshed.

At this time, the program planners even hoped that Zhang Wei would appear on stage soon. In this case, perhaps only original singers could save the ratings.

"Pfft, what am I thinking! I'm trying to find a way to eliminate Zhang Wei, why am I still expecting him to save the day! I should be hoping that he'll perform poorly."

Amid the program planner's mumbling, Zhang Wei also appeared on stage for the second time and began his singing in the second round of PK.

This time, Zhang Wei picked up the guitar again, sat in the center of the stage, and looked like he was going to play and sing by himself.

"When you are old, your hair is white, and you are sleepy. When you are old and can no longer walk, you take a nap by the fire and recall your youth. How many people have loved your youthful moments and admired your charm, whether they were sincere or not. Only one person still loves your pious soul and the wrinkles on your old face..."

A very gentle melody, smooth and natural, without any stiffness or abruptness. This smoothness is not only reflected in the natural transition between notes, but also in the harmonious atmosphere created by the melody as a whole.

This song gives people the feeling of a slowly flowing stream, gently brushing your heart, making you feel comfortable and peaceful, while quickly catching your ears and making you unconsciously immersed in it.

The melody doesn't have a hurried rhythm, nor is it too slow and tedious. It has a very moderate rhythm that runs through the entire song and sounds very comfortable.

"This time it's a folk style! Zhang Wei can write pop songs, rock songs, and folk songs. He's truly a musical all-rounder!" The musicians at the scene couldn't help but praise him in their hearts.

As the song progressed, the audience gradually immersed themselves in it.

This song is not grand, nor does it have a strong progressive emotion, but it is very comfortable to listen to. This melodious and soothing melody is like the breeze blowing, which makes people immersed in a peaceful world.

And when your heart calms down and you start to listen carefully to the lyrics, you will feel that every note touches your heartstrings just right. The infectiousness of the lyrics will move you inadvertently.

This is "When You Are Old", a very simple song with plain arrangement and no climax. The lyrics are like a poetry recitation, describing a simple picture.

However, this song is full of sincerity, slowly telling the story of youth and old age as time passes by. What comes to the face is the sadness, sedimentation and quietness of folk songs.

It is this unique charm that made this song win the award of QQ Music's Top Ten Hot Songs of the Year in 2016.

This song was first known to the public when the original singer Zhao Zhao participated in the first season of "The Singer of China", but it became popular after Karen Mok sang a cover on CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

The influence of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala is still huge, making the song "When You Are Old" popular all over the country overnight, and later even became popular in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Probably because people in Indochina like this folk style very much, many Vietnamese music editors or UP hosts covered this song at that time.

In Cambodia, this song has even become a wedding march. It is played at every wedding. Its status is equivalent to the fact that "Marry Me Today" was always played at Chinese weddings before 2010.

……

As the song progressed, the audience was already immersed in the song "When You Are Old".

The song is neither impassioned nor passionate, but that does not affect the audience's attraction to the song.

No one's expression was exaggerated or fluctuating. Most of them looked calm. They stared at the stage, staring at Zhang Wei intently.

But in this ordinary situation, there is a sense of concentration and immersion. There is no passion or enthusiasm on their faces, but a kind of respect and appreciation for the music.

For a folk song, the audience's performance was a perfect score. Backstage, the program planner saw the audience's expressions through the cameras.

"The audience has already listened to it. If this is the case, how can we eliminate Zhang Wei later? But then again, although the lyrics of this song are a bit plain, it is really comfortable to listen to."

The planner didn't know much about music, but he had to admit at this time that the song "When You Are Old" was indeed very good. Coupled with the aura of the original song, Zhang Wei almost secured a spot in the top 6 directly.

"That won't work." The planner frowned, then asked, "Does Zhang Wei's song have lyrics?"

"Yes, we have the lyrics because we need to record the subtitles in advance. Xiao Zhang, go to the subtitles department and get the lyrics." The director said, and immediately ordered one of his men to go to the subtitle teacher and get the lyrics.

A moment later, the lyrics were delivered to the planner.

"When you are old, your hair is white and you are drowsy. When you are old and can no longer walk, you doze off by the fire and reminisce about your youth... Why do I feel that the lyrics sound familiar, as if I have heard them somewhere before?" the planner muttered to himself.

"I think the lyrics are written more like poetry recitation." The director next to him interjected.

"Poetry recitation?" The planner seemed to have remembered something. After a few seconds of hesitation, he immediately said, "Find me a computer with internet access. I need to check something."

"I have a laptop here, and there's an internet cable in the office next door."

The planner took his laptop and ran to the next office. After plugging in the Internet cable, he started searching quickly and found the answer after a while.

"Sure enough, I was wondering why the lyrics of this song sound so familiar. The lyrics are similar to the poem by Yeats, and the poem is called "When You Are Old". The first line of the poem is also "When You Are Old, Your Hair Is Gray, and You Are Drowsy."

The planner immediately picked up the lyrics and compared them with the poem.

"The lyrics say napping by the fire, and the poem says that, too. The lyrics say loving the wrinkles on your old face, and the poem says loving the sadness on your old face. These two lines are similar!"

At this moment, the planner suddenly stood up from his chair, rushed back to the backstage studio, and said excitedly: "Zhang Wei's lyrics of "When You Are Old" are plagiarized from William Butler Yeats's poems!"

"Plagiarism of poetry?" Everyone was slightly stunned, and subconsciously felt that this was a big melon.

But if you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem to be a big deal. Isn't it normal to copy poems in lyrics? There are many lyrics that are directly copied from ancient poems!
This is not a big deal!
Unless it involves copyright infringement.

If it involves infringement of intellectual property rights, the program will also have to bear the brunt of the consequences.

So the director on the scene asked first: "Who is this William something you are talking about?"

"William Butler Yeats is a famous Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature," the planner replied immediately.

"He also won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is a great writer! How old is he? What famous works has he written?" the director asked.

"Well, I can't remember his exact age, but it seems he has been dead for more than 60 years!" the planner replied.

"He's been dead for sixty years, so the copyright protection period has expired. So there shouldn't be any copyright issues involved!" said the director.

Another person nearby also reminded: "Besides, this person is an Irish poet, he should speak Irish or English, so the poems he wrote should also be in Irish or English. But Zhang Wei sang a Chinese song, at most he translated someone else's poem and used it as the lyrics, this shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

After these two people sang in unison, everyone backstage lost interest.

The original author has been dead for 60 years and was a foreigner. So there is no problem for Zhang Wei to use this poem as lyrics.

Many famous foreign songs are translated into Chinese and sung as covers, which is nothing new. For newer songs, you may even get a copyright fee, but for older songs, you don't have to pay a penny.

What's more, Zhang Wei's song is not just a cover or translation, his music is original!

Moreover, Zhang Wei's lyrics were not copied 100%, but were improved on the basis of the original poem. It would be a stretch to say that they were plagiarism, and at most they could be considered references.

When I saw the planner was so excited, I thought there would be some shocking news, but I didn’t expect there was nothing at all!

The spectators looked at the planner with disappointment, and some even showed a bit of contempt, as if to say, what are you so excited about?

However, the planner still looked confident and continued, “You guys don’t usually read, so you don’t know what Yeats’ poem is about!
This poem by Yeats was written to a young and beautiful lady. He fell in love with her at first sight, so he wrote this poem. It is a love poem!
What is our theme today? It is to be grateful to parents! However, Zhang Wei sang a love poem, which is inconsistent with our theme. He broke the rules! "

(End of this chapter)