HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 163 [163] The list of nominees for the Golden Melody Awards has been announced. What a musical genius!

"..."

Zhou Jielun was speechless.

He made that offhand remark back then, but now he realizes that for a singer-songwriter, releasing one high-quality album a year is already quite an achievement.

Many singer-songwriters are very successful in their first few years, releasing hit albums one after another. However, after a few years, their inspiration runs out, and each album is worse than the last. This is the norm in the music industry.

Chou Chieh-lun didn't stay in Taiwan for long. She treated Chi Yuan to a big meal, showed off the flashy motorcycle that Wu Chung-hsien had rewarded her with, and then flew off to work.

He's not Qi Yuan; he doesn't have that much autonomy. It's already quite difficult for him to take leave and go back to Taiwan.

These days, singers who become famous can't even get a few days off a year.

Record companies have to squeeze every last drop of value out of singers, so who can guarantee that the next album will be a hit?

Most singers and actors only have one or two years of prime earning time, and once that's over, it's gone. Very few can have a second spring in their careers, and even fewer can maintain their popularity for a long time.

Qi Yuan's leisurely lifestyle makes him an anomaly in the music scene.

After Jay Chou left, Chi Yuan recorded songs with Warner Music in Taiwan.

Zhou Jianhui remained magnanimous, patting Qi Yuan on the shoulder: "Use the budget for producing your EP."

Qi Yuan asked in a serious tone, "Can a Cantonese EP include Mandarin songs?"

The Mandarin version of "Next Year Today" is "Ten Years", the Mandarin version of "Next Stop, Superstar" is "Moscow Doesn't Have Tears", and the Mandarin version of "Mask" is "Superstar".

The melodies and arrangements are similar, so recording them together and putting them into the EP makes it easier.

If we include the Mandarin versions of the three songs in the album released in the second half of the year, listeners will not find them interesting.

Zhou Jianhui paused for a moment, glanced at Qi Yuan, and said, "Sure, many Hong Kong singers have done this before, adding one or two Mandarin songs to expand their audience and increase market coverage."

Qi Yuan believes that the market is larger for Mandarin albums than for Cantonese EPs. Adding a few high-quality Mandarin songs could attract fans who don't listen to Cantonese to buy the EP.

Zhou Jianhui thought of something and reminded him, "It's best to maintain a consistent style and avoid any sense of disjointedness."

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "I'm going to put in the Mandarin versions of these Cantonese songs."

"That's okay."

This wasn't the first time Zhou Jianhui had witnessed Qi Yuan's creative abilities, and he still admired him greatly.

Qi Yuan had another reason for wanting to put songs into the EP.

1999 was the last good year for legitimate Chinese-language records, and he wanted to release a top-quality Cantonese EP to boost sales and earn some recognition.

If you don't buy now, it will be harder to buy next year when MP3 players are more common.

Next year, no matter what superstar comes along, it won't work. Everyone's album sales, including Qi Yuan's, will drop, and may even be halved.

MP3s are so convenient; they can store dozens or even hundreds of songs, making them a generation ahead of physical records.

……

4 month 10 day.

The nominees for this year's Golden Melody Awards have been announced.

Qi Yuan's second album, "Qi Yuan," received nine nominations, making it the album with the most nominations at this year's Golden Melody Awards.

"Dong Feng Po" was nominated for both Best Composer and Best Lyricist, with the nominations going to Jay Chou and Fang Wenshan.

The announcement of these nominations caused a sensation both inside and outside the Taiwanese music scene.

What musical geniuses! His first album won Best Mandarin Male Vocalist, Best Album Producer, and Best New Artist. His second album is even better than the first. Does Qi Yuan treat the Golden Melody Awards like a purchasing channel? Does he come here every year to buy trophies in bulk?

Many Taiwanese singers have felt immense pressure.

Na Ying, the mainland singer who became a sensation last year, is also making waves.

Her song "Conquer" received three nominations: Best Composer, Best Lyricist, and Best Mandarin Female Singer.

Nayoung, who became famous throughout the country in just one year, had a very high opinion of herself and looked down on most people in the music industry.

After being nominated for Best Mandarin Female Singer, she became even more arrogant. She was the only female singer in mainland China to have been nominated like this once.

She is very confident in her work "Conquest" and believes she has a good chance of winning an award.

If she wins the award, she will become the first female singer in mainland China to win the Golden Melody Award.

At that time, she can say that apart from a handful of people like Qi Yuan and Liu Huan, the rest of the mainland are trash, including Sun Nan, who became popular quickly this year with "Be There or Be Square".

[Kee Won sweeps 9 Golden Melody Awards nominations, truly deserving the title of King of Pop]

[The biggest dark horse at the Golden Melody Awards! 9 nominations break records]

Qi Yuan's music has become a new benchmark for Chinese pop music, from R&B to Chinese style, and his nine nominations are well-deserved.

……

Rolling Stone felt a bit embarrassed seeing news like this.

It was said that the music scene was entering the era of Ren Xianqi, but Ren Xianqi's name was nowhere to be found on the Golden Melody Awards nomination list.

This shows that in the eyes of the Golden Melody Awards judges, Richie Jen's songs lack artistry and are too commercial (and superficial).

Unbeknownst to many, Richie Jen has quietly fallen behind; his only strength lies in popularity. Qi Yuan, on the other hand, enjoys even greater popularity and more awards, making the difference in their abilities quite clear.

"This kid is terrifying."

Li Zongsheng sighed, then continued to berate the production department with Lao Duan, yelling, "Open your eyes and see who you've missed! If it weren't for you idiots, would Qi Yuan have gone to Warner Music?"

At the height of its popularity, Warner Music announced Qi Yuan's new EP project: "Fans have been waiting for a long time. Qi Yuan has once again produced 8 songs, five Cantonese songs and three Mandarin songs, which will be included in the new EP 'Next Year Today' to be released soon."

Qi Yuan said that Cantonese songs are difficult to write because the pronunciation limits the creative space.

To bring better music to his fans, he put in a great deal of effort, finally composing elegant and flowing melodies using instruments such as the piano and guitar…

Warner Music issued this announcement simultaneously in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Fans in Hong Kong and Guangdong are the most excited. It's great that Qi Yuan is going to release another Cantonese EP.

Fans in Taiwan and other parts of mainland China are also very happy. It's great that Qi Yuan's Cantonese EP includes three brand new Mandarin songs. This is more for the same price.

Hong Kong music companies such as PolyGram, EMI, and Yinghuang are all cursing.

Are you trying to disrupt the market? Some foreign musicians do this: they can put eight songs on one EP.

However, in the Chinese music scene, almost no singers have ever done this, because adding two more songs would allow them to release an album, which would be priced significantly higher than an EP.

Qi Yuan, you good-for-nothing! Do you even know what you're doing? Who taught you to make EPs like this? Don't you know that EPs are something Hong Kong singers use to boost sales?
Mainland kids are just like mainland kids; they don't understand any rules.

Nicholas Tse, who is currently working on his first Mandarin album, is a little confused. Qi Yuan is incredibly prolific; he's releasing another EP so soon.

Could it be that he's run into Qi Yuan again? Qi Yuan truly is his nemesis.

However, he is no longer afraid of Qi Yuan, as his agent has just told him some very exciting news.

(End of this chapter)