The richest person in Chinese entertainment

Chapter 144 The Dark Cloud Over the Golden Melody Awards

"Brother Chen."

"Zhang Chen."

"Teacher Zhang Chen."

"Leon."

When Zhang Chen heard the princess calling him, he turned around and said to Jay Chou, "I'll go over and say hello, and I'll come see you later."

After saying this, he walked down the stairs along the aisle of the auditorium.

Zhang Chen has many acquaintances today, but there are even more people he doesn’t know.

As he walked along, all the singers standing on both sides of the road respectfully called him "Brother Chen" or "Teacher Zhang Chen".

This is the result of Zhang Chen's works in recent years, as well as the honor he has brought to Chinese people abroad and the status he has gained in the industry.

Each circle has its own circles, and the older generation usually controls the upward channel. If you don’t join their so-called "mainstream circle", you will be collectively excluded or suppressed by them.

But Zhang Chen did not follow the beaten path. He made his debut with a Grammy and returned to China with an international music award, which overwhelmed many singers.

What's more, last year, he proved his global influence with one concert after another, proved his music with international awards, and proved his popularity with album sales.

Coupled with this year's 100 million US dollar endorsement contract, Zhang Chen's commercial value has been raised to the international top-tier level, making all domestic stars look up to him.

If this is just a common idea among the Cenozoic or Mesozoic generations.

Well-informed people among the older generation of singers already know that perhaps in the near future they will have to rely on Zhang Chen for their livelihood, and the gap between them has suddenly widened a lot.

All these reasons came together to form the current scene - all the stars gathered in Jinqu Hall to welcome Zhang Chen when he came.

Zhang Chen greeted the people around him with a smile. These people would be his potential cash cows in the future, and he couldn't let anyone's work go unnoticed due to his negligence.

Especially Xiao Zhou who was still waiting for him at the door.

I don’t know if he will be able to write more good songs after he is plucked bald in the future.

"Sister Fei, Yadong, we meet again."

"Didn't you say you couldn't come?"

If Zhang Chen were to come, Zhang Yadong would definitely go with him.

"Yeah, I didn't nominate you, and I really didn't intend to come here."

"So now?"

“Maybe I’ll give you an award?”

"Then I don't want this award." Zhang Yadong looked constipated.

"Don't be ungrateful. I'm giving you an award, but many people want it but can't get it." Zhang Chen glanced at Zhang Yadong unhappily.

"You might as well submit the songs I composed for you for the Golden Melody Awards. That way I'll have a better chance of winning."

"Take a long-term view. Next time I'll let you arrange my English album, and we can go to the Grammys together."

As for Zhang Yadong, as long as we ignore his love history and only talk about his musical attainments, he is definitely one of the top figures in the domestic music circle.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have collaborated so many times with a diva like the princess.

Of course, Zhang Chen and Zhang Yadong get along well. In addition to their exchanges on music, what is more important is that this tool man is very useful and has saved him a lot of trouble in arranging music.

"Zhang Chen, you're only thinking about Yadong. Why didn't you respond to my invitation to sing a song? I also want to go to the Grammys." The princess listened to the conversation between Zhang Chen and Zhang Yadong. Although she knew that Zhang Chen's words were a joke, what if they were true?
Which singer in China or internationally does not aspire to win a Grammy?

"How about you put more water in the mahjong game for my mom?"

"I can not go to the Grammys, but I can not lose at mahjong!"

The topic ended here. When the princess heard Zhang Chen's irrelevant answer, she knew that Zhang Chen was tactfully refusing her, and there was no need for her to keep dwelling on this topic.

"Hello, Senior Brother. I'm Sun Yanzi."

After Zhang Chen finished greeting the princess and Zhang Yadong, a woman in her early twenties came.

Sun Yanzi, born in 1978, is 6 years older than Zhang Chen.

But they both belong to Warner Records, and Zhang Chen debuted earlier than him and signed with Warner earlier, so it was not wrong for her to call him senior brother.

"Don't call me senior brother, it's quite weird." Not to mention how weird the title of senior brother is, just the fact that a girl who is obviously older than him calls him senior brother will make people have some unnecessary associations.

"Then I see many artists call you boss, how about I call you boss too?"

After hearing this, Zhang Chen began to take a new look at the newcomer in front of him who had become popular in the Chinese music scene right after his debut.

When we say there are many artists, they are actually the group under Morning Light. Although there are a large number of people, if we really put them in the entire entertainment industry, not to mention the tip of the iceberg, they only occupy a very small part.

Then Sun Yanzi's test is very interesting.

If Zhang Chen remembers correctly, the current president of Warner Greater China is Zhou Jianhui, and the music director is Chen Zeshan, who has created many superstars?
New generation divas such as Sun Yanzi and Zhang Huimei were all brought to the fore by Chen Zeshan during his tenure as Warner's domestic vice president and music director.

And Chen Zeshan is a person.
Zhang Chen remembers that the Golden Melody Awards declined because of this person.

It was also this person who fabricated the "Zhou Cai scandal."

The specific details are unknown, but his say in Taiwan is extremely large.

"Come to the mainland when you have time, I'll treat you to tea." Zhang Chen thought about it and didn't say much. He just wanted to see what Sun Yanzi wanted to say to him when there was no one else around.

"Okay, I'll make an appointment with you then." Sun Yanzi politely declined and walked away.

The princess and Zhang Yadong both saw the conversation between the two.

"Zhang Chen, do you think she is promising?" Zhang Yadong looked at Sun Yanzi's back as she left and asked Zhang Chen a question.

"It's not that I think highly of her, it's just that she seems to have something to say." Zhang Chen shook his head, "I'm leaving now. I won't sit with you big shots anymore. I'll wait for you to receive your awards in the back."

After Zhang Chen finished speaking, without waiting for the two to respond, he turned his back to them, waved, and walked back to the seat he came from.

Zhang Chen received waves of flattery along the way, but this time he didn't respond much and went straight to sit next to Zhou Jielun.

"Brother Chen is so awesome!" Jay Chou gave Zhang Chen the most sincere compliment in his unique way of speaking.

Zhang Chen was thinking whether he should reply to him, “Oh, that’s not bad.”

But considering the atmosphere that everyone had created for him just now, it seemed a bit inappropriate, so he gave up the idea.

"Well, do you want to be treated like this yourself in the future?"

"Oh, that's a good idea." Jay Chou raised his eyebrows, thinking that the proposal was very tempting. "Keep going, I'm rooting for you!"

Under Zhang Chen's instigation and Jay Chou's vision for the future, the 12th Golden Melody Awards ceremony began to proceed in an orderly manner.

“First, we will present the Best Newcomer Award. The nominees are:

Jay Chou／〔Jay Chou〕／Boardman Co., Ltd.

Sun Yanzi／〔Sun Yanzi Album〕／Warner Music International Inc.
Penny Tai／〔PENNY〕／EMI Technology Co., Ltd.
Lin Fan／〔FREYA〕／Shanghua International Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Fan Weiqi / [Fan Fan's World] / Fumao Records Music Co., Ltd.

After the award presenters announced the shortlist, the album MVs of these singers were played one by one on the big screen.

Zhang Chen could clearly feel that Jay Chou beside him was starting to get nervous.

If nothing unexpected happened.
"The winner is Sun Yanzi, congratulations!"

The moment the award was announced, Jay Chou collapsed in his seat like a deflated ball.

"Don't be discouraged. I've never won the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist. There's nothing to be sad about."

"Brother Chen, you don't want to take it, but I do." After listening to Zhang Chen's speech, Zhou Jielun almost vomited blood.

Look, this is what people say.

"Xiao Zhou, count all the famous singers, how many of them have won the Best New Artist Award?"

"Brother Chen, you've won the Best New Artist award at the Grammy Awards." Jay Chou didn't care about anyone else. He had been following Zhang Chen since his debut and felt that his music was chasing Zhang Chen's back.

So he knew everything about Zhang Chen.

"Well, besides me, think about other big-name singers."

"It seems, not many?" Jay Chou answered hesitantly.

Of course there are not many. These current big and veteran singers did not win these singing awards when they debuted.

By the time they participate in these awards, they are no longer suitable to receive the Best Newcomer award.

"So remember, only singers who have never won the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist are the coolest!"

Zhang Chen continued to fool around, saying that the award ceremony was so boring, they had to find something fun to do.

"Yes! Only singers who have never won the Best Newcomer Award are the coolest!" As if he had touched upon some difficulty, Zhang Chen repeated what he had said, and his eyes became much more determined.

Zhang Chen was a little worried. Could he have been fooled?
He also didn't expect that a joke of his would actually make Jay Chou more determined in his "Taoism"?
Zhang Chen looked at Zhou Jielun with a confused face, wondering whether he should say a little more to trick Xiao Zhou into his pocket.

Just as he was thinking about the feasibility of this plan, awards were announced one after another on the stage.

The Best Duet Group Award this year went to "Beiyuan Mountain Cats";
The Best Band Award was won by Mayday;
Na Ying defeated Wang Fei, Mo Wenwei, Zhang Huimei and Sun Yanzi to win the Best Mandarin Female Singer Award.

The Best Mandarin Singer Award was won by A-Di Zai. To be honest, Zhang Chen didn't know this singer at all and didn't have the slightest impression of him. However, he defeated several powerful singers such as William So, Yuan Weiren, Wang Lihong and Harlem Yu at this Golden Melody Awards.

"Thank you for your love, and thank you to the Golden Melody Awards organizing committee for their recognition of me. I am also very honored to receive the 'Best Mandarin Male Singer Award'."

When this guy was speaking, many people turned their eyes to Zhang Chen who was sitting at the back.

In fact, if Zhang Chen participated in this year's Golden Melody Awards, many of them would most likely be there to accompany him.

I can only say that the person on the stage was lucky that Zhang Chen did not get involved and disrupt the situation.

At the same time, they were also thankful for their good luck. If Zhang Chen had gotten involved, perhaps there would have been no suspense about the awards they were nominated for.

This phenomenon has become more and more obvious as more and more awards are given out.

So much so that many award-winning singers began to add this sentence involuntarily after thanking the organizers.

"Thank you Zhang Chen."

No one said thank you for anything, everyone just said thank you to Zhang Chen.

Just like in some large-scale evening parties when thanking the leaders, everyone will add a sentence "Thank you leader so-and-so".

This made Zhang Chen feel like he was a big devil looming over the entire venue.

"Why are all these people thanking me?" Zhang Chen listened to another award winner thanking him on the stage and finally couldn't help but complain.

"Need I say more? If you, Brother Chen, had participated, they wouldn't have anything to do. Of course they have to thank you very much." Zhou Jielun said as a matter of course.

"Hey, why do I sound like there's a mixture of relief and a bit of gloating?" Zhang Chen touched his chin, recalling the tone of the people on the stage thoughtfully.

"Probably not, right? At least I think it's lucky for us singers that Brother Chen is not participating." Jay Chou hesitated.

As Zhang Chen stared at the stage, the winners spoke more cautiously and became more formal when thanking him.

"Sure enough, the people in front are gloating." Zhang Chen used an affirmative tone this time.

"The next award is for Best Album Producer."

This is another award that Jay Chou was nominated for.

However, his competitors include the album of A Di Zai, who just won the Best Mandarin Male Singer Award, the album "Fable" jointly created by Zhang Yadong and Wang Fei, and the album "Mo Wenwei on the 12th Floor" created by the music industry giant Li Zongsheng for Mo Wenwei.

"The winner is Li Zongsheng's "Mo Wenwei on the 12th Floor", congratulations!"

"Brother Chen, you're not going to say this time that no big-name singer has ever won the 'Best Album Producer Award'?" Jay Chou complained in a resentful tone before Zhang Chen could even open his mouth.

"That's not the case. However, this is also an award for those working behind the scenes. However, for a singer-songwriter, this award is the greatest compliment."

If a singer participates in the composition, lyrics, arrangement, mixing, recording, etc. of an album from beginning to end, then he or she may win this award.

But many big-name singers do not have the ability or energy to complete such complicated work.

Just like Zhang Chen has now handed over the album production work to Zhang Yadong, and he is only responsible for writing lyrics and composing music.

However, for a singer like Jay Chou who has just debuted and participated in the entire album production process, winning or not winning this award has completely different meanings.

"Don't be discouraged. If you can't do it this year, try again next year." This time he didn't fool Jay Chou. This award is very important for a singer-songwriter, as it is a recognition of his creative ability.

"Well! Come again next year!"

".You all thanked Zhang Chen just now, so I won't thank him, right?"

At the end of his acceptance speech, Li Zongsheng mentioned Zhang Chen, who had just been thanked by many people.

So what did Li Zongsheng mean by this specific sentence?
　The previous chapter is 3000 words, this chapter is 4000 words

　　I still have 3000 words to go today, and I should be able to finish it before 9 o'clock.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)