HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 21 [021] Theme song of the 98 TV series "Water Margin"
Newcomer Qi Yuan from mainland China will release his self-titled debut album, "Qi Yuan," on December 10th, injecting a fresh wave of youthful energy into the mainland music scene.

Last year he was the lyricist and composer for Zhang Xinzhe and Tian Zhen. This year, he is fully prepared to step into the spotlight. He is Qi Yuan, the singer of the hit song "You'll Be With Me All My Life".

[At 18, he became a well-known songwriter in the industry; at 19, his song "You'll Be With Me All My Life" became a nationwide radio hit. How much of a surprise will this musical prodigy from the Beijing Film Academy bring to the Chinese music scene this year with his first album?]

……

Riding the wave of piracy sales and the nationwide radio popularity of "You'll Be With Me All My Life," Wheatfield took the opportunity to announce the release date of Qi Yuan's first album.

After the date was announced, it appeared in many newspapers in both the north and south, further expanding the influence of "You'll Be With Me All My Life".

"You'll Be With Me All My Life" continues to conquer various music charts in mainland China.

It surpassed a number of songs, including Karen Mok's "Radio Love Song," Zhuo Yiting's "Happy Birthday," and Liu Huan's "Starting Over," to climb to tenth place.

This has surprised industry insiders on the mainland.

Whose general is this? He's so valiant! He climbed to number ten on various music charts solely through radio requests and piracy, and he only has this one song.

Liu Huan, a big name in the mainland music scene, made a phone call to Song Ke, the head of Wheatfield: "Old Song, is 'You'll Be With Me All My Life' the song you signed when you went to Beijing Film Academy? It's made me lose everything."

"It's alright. Your song 'Starting Over' was released at the beginning of the year and has been popular for almost a year. It's time to make room for younger people," Song Ke joked.

Song dared to speak to Liu Huan like that because the two of them had a very good personal relationship.

More than a decade ago, they were both campus singers. Song Ke won the runner-up prize in the Capital University Foreign Language Song Competition, while Liu Huan won the championship.

However, the two later went down different paths; Liu Huan continued singing, while Song Ke became the owner of a record company.

In his previous life, Wheatfield encountered several crises during its development. Liu Huan lent Song Ke nearly a million yuan to keep the business afloat, which shows how deep their friendship was.

“You’ve really struck gold this time. This Qi Yuan is quite talented; he writes both the lyrics and the music himself. I’ve heard that he’s written songs for quite a few singers.” Liu Huan remembered that Song Ke had mentioned Qi Yuan to him before.

He was too busy at the time to pay attention to these things.

It wasn't until "You'll Be With Me All My Life" broke into the top ten of the music charts that he began to remember Qi Yuan, this young man.

"Old Liu, I'm not bragging, but 'You're With Me All My Life' and the songs Qi Yuan wrote for people like Zhang Xinzhe are nothing special."

The other nine new songs he prepared for his album are truly amazing.

Let me put it this way: no music scene in mainland China, or even in Hong Kong and Taiwan, has ever produced such innovative music.

Ah Yuan is truly an incredibly talented young man; his creative thinking can only be described as boundless and imaginative.

Song Ke made no secret of her admiration for Qi Yuan.

Liu Huan's interest was immediately piqued.

Half an hour later, Liu Huan, with his flowing long hair, arrived at Wheatfield Company.

"Old Liu, what brings you here?" Song Ke was startled.

“Didn’t you say that young Qi Yuan’s music is very innovative? You made it sound so impressive. I happen to have some free time today, so I came to see for myself,” Liu Huan said.

“Okay, okay, of course.” Song Ke nodded repeatedly.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Song Ke took a cassette tape, put it into the radio, and pressed play.

After a train whistle sounded, drumbeats and a young man's strange "Oh ah ah~" interrupted, leaving Liu Huan speechless with surprise.

Songs such as "Starry Sky", "Simple Love", "Everyday", and "Love Turns the Corner" were released one after another.

Liu Huan spent more than forty minutes listening to all ten songs on the cassette tape.

So shocking.

Song Ke, my old friend, wasn't exaggerating; Qi Yuan truly is a creative genius.

With Liu Huan's musical knowledge and experience, he certainly knew what style of music it was. He said with some excitement, "Ten years ago, some people in the Hong Kong and Taiwan music scene tried rhythm and blues, but they didn't blend it very well. This kid's rhythm and blues is the best I've ever heard."

He has strong creative abilities and may become a leading figure in Chinese R&B, pioneering a completely new musical style.

Liu Huan has never been one to stick to conventions; his songs encompass a variety of styles, including pop, rock, folk, and classical.

He also tried to combine traditional Chinese musical elements with Western modern musical techniques to create a unique musical style.

He hadn't achieved that yet, but a child who was still in school had, which impressed him greatly.

He was initially a little resentful that a newcomer had knocked him out of the top ten of the hit song charts, but now he had nothing to say.

“Old Song, you’ve really struck gold. You probably won’t need to borrow money from me anymore,” Liu Huan said.

Song Ke didn't expect Liu Huan to have such a high opinion of Qi Yuan's music: "Last time I approached you, intending to ask you to be the producer for A Yuan, you said you were busy working on the theme song for 'Water Margin', so I didn't dare mention it to you again."

A hint of regret flashed in Liu Huan's eyes: "If only I had come here to be the producer for this kid back then. It would have been so meaningful to witness the birth of a brand new musical style. The theme song still hasn't been completed, and I'm almost driven crazy with worry."

The CCTV version of "Water Margin," one of the Four Great Classical Novels, had very high requirements for its theme song.

The previous versions created by Liu Huan and some big-name composers and lyricists in the industry failed to satisfy the directing team.

Liu Huan came to Song Ke's place, perhaps with the intention of hiding away and getting some peace and quiet.

“Last year’s celebration song, ‘1997,’ was written by A-Yuan. The lyrics are grand and magnificent. Why don’t I call A-Yuan over and the three of us have a meal together? Maybe we can come up with some inspiration,” Song Ke suggested.

A young man composing music and writing lyrics for "Water Margin"? Is that plausible?
The next second, Liu Huan remembered a document he had just seen.

The document was filled with Qi Yuan's name.

Composer: Qi Yuan

Lyrics by: Qi Yuan

Although Qi Yuan doesn't have his own arrangement credit, his name still appears in the arrangement credits for every song.

This powerful creative ability is rare even in the entire mainland music scene.

Liu Huan nodded: "Okay, let's invite him. I'd like to see what this young man who has created his own unique musical style at such a young age looks like."

And so, Song Ke called Qi Yuan.

About twenty minutes later.

Fengzeyuan.

Qi Yuan met Song Ke and Liu Huan here.

Liu Huan is still quite chubby, just like later on, except that his hairstyle is now a bit trendy, the same as Chen Haonan's.

Perhaps influenced by rock bands, many musicians in mainland China have sported this hairstyle these days.

Qi Yuan himself was no exception. He didn't want to be the maverick. His hair was quite long, though not as long as Liu Huan's. His hairstyle was a bit like Hua Ze Lei's.

"Teacher Liu Huan, it's a pleasure to meet you." Qi Yuan had considerable respect for this big name in the mainland music scene.

Liu Huan is currently recognized as the top male singer in the mainland music scene.

Later, when Sun Nan became famous, Liu Huan semi-retired, and the title of the top male star in mainland China was handed over to Sun Nan.

"A handsome young man, quite dashing. Have a seat." Liu Huan patted Qi Yuan's arm, his first impression of the young man quite good.

At the dinner table, Liu Huan and Song Ke did most of the talking, with Qi Yuan occasionally chiming in.

It wasn't until Liu Huan mentioned the theme song of the 98 TV series "Water Margin" that Qi Yuan's eyes lit up and he became truly interested in participating in the discussion.

(End of this chapter)