The Road to Superstardom: Starting as a Singer

Five thousand years of wind and rain, how many dreams have they held?

Yellow face, black eyes, but a constant smile.

Eight thousand miles of mountains and rivers, like a song

No matter where you come from or where you are going...

"Grandpa, I want to learn to sing too!"

Huang Weijie pointed at Liu Dehua, who was singing "Chinese" on TV, and said loudly.

Huang Shengchang was taken aback, then put down the newspaper, and a genuine smile, the first one he had shown in days, bloomed on his face.

Over the past few days, he has watched his grandson gradually become silent and no longer as lively and adorable as before, and he is worried sick.

Now that his grandson has finally shown interest and hobbies, he naturally wants to support him.

"Great! Our Jie wants to learn to sing, so Grandpa will find you the best teacher!"

Huang Weijie grinned, revealing a few small, white baby teeth.

In the past few days, through his continuous attempts, Huang Weijie has realized that although he has the double buff of being a time traveler and having both parents dead, he does not have the so-called system found in online novels.

After much research, Huang Weijie could only come to a conclusion that he believed his memory was fairly good.

Moreover, this result is unbalanced in terms of subjects!

He doesn't remember things like the World Cup or stocks very clearly, but he can recite songs and movies by heart.

Now Huang Weijie naturally knew which path he should take in the future.

In his past life, he was an orphan who worked desperately just to have food to eat and a place to live.

That profound sense of loneliness and longing for stability was etched into his very bones.

So when he first transmigrated, he thought: Now that I have a family, I must cherish them. When I grow up, I will find a stable job, get married, have children, and live a peaceful and happy life.

But after realizing that he had become an orphan again, Huang Weijie's thoughts changed.

Since I'm going to have a second chance anyway, I might as well live a more exciting life. Entering the glamorous and decadent entertainment industry wouldn't be bad either.

I used to only watch them shine through my phone screen, but now that I have the chance, I naturally want to experience what it's like to be a big star.

Huang Weijie decided to pursue a career as a singer in the last few days. He lives in Guangzhou, and his family's business has absolutely nothing to do with the entertainment industry.

The safest way to enter the industry is through the art exams and get into schools like Beijing Film Academy, Central Academy of Drama, or Shanghai Theatre Academy.

However, Huang Weijie is not certain that he will be able to pass the exam.

Secondly, even if you pass the exam, why would they give you resources? A student with no background will have to fight tooth and nail to get ahead in that kind of place.

But what if we take a different approach?

These past few days, the whole country has been immersed in the joy of Hong Kong's return to China.

1997...

For the next decade or so, Hong Kong and Taiwanese artists were considered superior in the Chinese entertainment industry.

But what if... you were an "international superstar" who returned from Europe and America?

Let's start with the music.

Take advantage of your young age to build a solid foundation.

When the time is right, I'll go abroad to get a gold plating.

Based on the songs I remember, as long as I can make a name for myself in the European and American markets and then return to the domestic market, my status will be completely different!

I'll promote myself then, and I'll be an international superstar in the Chinese entertainment industry!

Aside from Jackie Chan, other Hong Kong and Taiwanese artists are nothing!

......

Huang Shengchang is decisive and efficient in his work.

The doorbell rang the next morning.

Huang Weijie and Huang Shengchang were having breakfast when their nanny, Aunt Liang, led someone in.

The man walking behind Aunt Liang was about forty years old, slender, wearing a neatly ironed light gray shirt, thin-rimmed glasses, and carrying a large violin case. He had a gentle and refined demeanor.

"Jay," Huang Shengchang gestured, "this is Teacher Chen, your singing teacher from now on."

"Hello, Teacher Chen." Huang Weijie greeted him obediently.

Chen Jingming crouched down, looked Huang Weijie in the eye, and smiled slightly: "You must be Xiao Jie? I heard you want to learn to sing?"

"Yes! I want to learn!"

"Haha, okay~" Chen Jingming rubbed his head. "Then you eat first, the teacher will wait for you."

"it is good."

Chen Jingming graduated from the vocal music department of Xinghai Conservatory of Music. He visited Hong Kong in the late 1980s and worked as a producer at PolyGram Records for several years, where he met many singers and producers from the golden age of Hong Kong music.

Later, due to family reasons, he returned to Guangzhou and taught part-time at Xinghai College, occasionally also taking on some private tutoring.

Highly skilled, with a broad perspective, and most importantly, upright and not frivolous.

Huang Shengchang went through several connections to finally invite this teacher who doesn't easily accept private students.

......

In the first lesson, Chen Jingming didn't let Huang Weijie sing any songs.

Becoming his student isn't easy; it depends on his talent. If he's not talented, then he'll teach normally, but the child might not be able to stick with it for long.

If you have good talent, well... we'll see!

Chen Jingming took a small Casio electronic keyboard out of its case and placed it in front of Huang Weijie.

"Xiao Jie, now let's listen to a sound. Listen to this sound, what does it sound like?"

He pressed middle C on the keyboard.

"Ding—" A crisp, single sound.

Huang Weijie thought for a moment: "Like... a small drop of water falling into a bowl?"

Chen Jingming's eyes lit up: "Great! What about this one?"

He pressed C an octave higher.

"Like a bird chirping!"

"this?"

low C

"Like... Grandpa snoring!" Huang Weijie subconsciously looked at Huang Shengchang beside him, which made the latter wave his hand and laugh.

Chen Jingming smiled too.

He felt that the child had a good sense of music and a rich imagination.

Five years old is when a person's voice is most delicate.

Whether you're learning to sing or to learn vocal music, the biggest taboo is to start practicing your voice and techniques right away.

If you ruin your voice, your whole life will be ruined!

Learning to sing at this stage isn't about singing well or hitting high notes, but about cultivating the right habits, musicality, and interest. If you build a solid foundation in these three areas, you'll have a strong foundation for singing for the rest of your life.

In addition, there are some basic training exercises, such as breathing exercises, pitch training, and rhythm training, which are essential to practice every day.

......

Life flows on steadily and continuously, like the waters of the Pearl River.

Huang Shengchang specially converted a well-lit guest room on the first floor into a music room, soundproofed it, and placed a black Yamaha upright piano inside.

Besides music, Huang Weijie also kept up with his other studies.

Huang Shengchang knew the importance of knowledge, so he hired tutors for him, covering Chinese, mathematics, and English.

Especially in English, Huang Shengchang consciously encouraged him to listen and read more, and invited students from a foreign language university to come and play oral games with him every week.

This led Huang Weijie to discover that he also had a talent for languages.

So I also started learning Korean and Japanese.

Years passed.

When Huang Weijie was eight years old, Chen Jingming took him to participate in a children's singing competition.

That was his first time on stage, where he sang a rearranged version of "Little Boy".

The stage was large, the lights were bright, and the audience was packed with people.

He was a little nervous, but remembering that he was still a child, Huang Weijie quickly calmed down.

In the end, I won a silver medal and brought home a sparkling trophy.

Huang Shengchang keeps the trophy in the most conspicuous cabinet in the living room, and he will "casually" pick it up whenever someone comes over.

At the age of ten, Huang Weijie passed the sixth grade piano exam and began to systematically learn scientific vocal techniques.

Chen Jingming began to analyze the musical structure and lyrics of some classic Chinese songs for him, guiding him to understand that "singing is not just about making sounds, but also about telling stories."

Eleven years old, the last stable period before voice change.

Chen Jingming introduced him to more complex musical styles and even had him try simple songwriting.

Huang Weijie "wrote" his first original song, "My Paper Airplane".

This is a campus folk song, which is also suitable for his current age.

Chen Jingming was amazed by his talent for melody, and helped him polish it carefully, recording a simple demo.

That same year, Chen Jingming and Huang Shengchang had a long talk.

"Xiao Jie has a very solid foundation. His musicality, pitch, and sense of rhythm are all top-notch. Most importantly, he has an understanding of music and a desire to express it that is beyond his age."

Chen Jingming said very seriously, "The music education in China is quite good at the basic level. But if you want to go further... Mr. Huang, I suggest you consider sending him abroad to see the world."

Chen Jingming's experience at PolyGram in Hong Kong made him keenly aware of the gap between Chinese pop music and the industrial system in Europe and America.

He cherished the opportunity to meet such a promising talent as Huang Weijie, and he also had connections with some music academies abroad that he could help with.

If possible, Chen Jingming wanted to help this kid; it would be a shame to leave such top-notch talent in China.

Huang Shengchang remained silent for a long time.

His grandson is his only hope now.

Sending him abroad, so far away, he couldn't bear to part with him.

But looking at the profile of the boy immersed in the piano melody in the music room, he remembered what his son had once said: "Dad, whatever Jie likes in the future, I will support him!"

A few days later, Huang Shengchang asked Huang Weijie, "Jie, if Grandpa sends you abroad to study music, will you go?"

Huang Weijie was playing a Chopin nocturne when he heard this, and his fingers stopped on the keys.

He turned his head and looked at his grandfather's temples, where the white hair was already quite noticeable, and at the complex emotions in his grandfather's eyes, a mixture of reluctance and anticipation.

He knew that the time he had been waiting for had come.

"go!"

Huang Weijie nodded, his voice clear and firm, "Grandpa, I want to learn more."

......

In the summer of 2004, twelve-year-old Huang Weijie boarded a flight to the United States.

Huang Shengchang and Chen Jingming accompanied him.

Thanks to his early connections and his strong admiration for Huang Weijie's talent, Chen Jingming successfully secured an audition for Huang Weijie for the Curtis Institute of Music's gifted youth program, one of the world's top music schools.

After rigorous evaluation, Huang Weijie was exceptionally admitted due to his outstanding perfect pitch, solid piano skills, and musical understanding beyond his years.

Huang Shengchang rented a safe and comfortable apartment near the school and hired a reliable Chinese nanny to take care of his daily life, while he traveled back and forth between China and the United States.

Huang Weijie thrived at Curtis, but his ambitions extended beyond the classical.

In 2005, when YouTube was just emerging, he astutely seized this stage for ordinary people.

Thirteen-year-old Huang Weijie, using the name "Jace Huang," uploaded his first video.

He plays and sings "One Time" at the piano in his own apartment.

The melody is simple and catchy, perfectly suited to his clear, youthful voice.

Without professional equipment, only a DV camera, the picture was a bit dark and the sound recording was not perfect.

But the boy's focused face, clean voice, and catchy melody in the video quickly spread among early YouTube users, accumulating the first batch of international fans.

That same year, at a youth music festival between Philadelphia and New York, a video clip of him performing "One Time" was recorded and circulated by the audience, attracting the attention of record companies.

This time, the company extending the olive branch is Jive Records, which is known in the industry for creating teen pop idols.

Jive Records, or JIVE for short, represents superstars such as the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Britney Spears.

Contact, sound check, negotiation.

This time, Huang Shengchang demonstrated the shrewdness and decisiveness of a seasoned businessman.

He hired a team of lawyers to handle the relevant matters at great expense.

The core of the negotiations was extremely clear: the song copyrights had to be retained!

This also protects Huang Weijie's creative essence and long-term value to the greatest extent possible.

Jive valued Huang Weijie's idol potential, Curtis background, and creative abilities, but initially found his strong copyright demands unacceptable.

However, negotiations are inherently a process of mutual compromise, with both sides testing each other's bottom lines and gradually seeking consensus.

After negotiations, Jive Records made some concessions, and Huang Weijie also adjusted his terms accordingly, giving up some profits. The two parties then reached a contract.

1. Copyright of lyrics and music: belongs entirely to Huang Weijie. Jive Company only obtains the exclusive agency and distribution rights for the works recorded during his record contract period.

2. Recording copyright: During the recording contract period, Jive and Huang Weijie will share the recording copyright at a ratio of 70%:30%.

However, the contract clearly stipulates that after the contract period expires, the recording copyright can be repurchased through negotiation or automatically returned (depending on the circumstances).

3. Performer's rights: naturally belong to Huang Weijie.

4. Revenue Sharing: After deducting production, marketing and other costs, the revenue from the recording copyright will be shared on a tiered basis. The higher the sales volume, the higher Huang Weijie's personal share will be.

However, the company had the advantage in the initial proportion.

5. Image and Creative Control: The contract clearly stipulates that Huang Weijie has the "right to make suggestions and the right to veto major matters" regarding his personal image, musical style, and publicity direction. In particular, during his minor years, his guardian Huang Shengchang has the final decision-making power.

6. Educational Safeguards: Performing arts activities must not interfere with their primary academic studies at Curtis.

7. Contract Term: Huang Weijie signed a 5-year record contract, which included a mandatory release option for only 2 studio albums.

This contract term is extremely short for a newcomer, giving Huang Weijie great flexibility for the future.

Upon contract expiration, Jive has the right of first refusal to negotiate renewal, rather than automatic renewal.

In this contract, Huang Weijie's side made concessions on short-term economic benefits, but in return, they gained the most valuable creative sovereignty and a short contract period.

From Jive Records' perspective, they secured a promising artist with a relatively short but controllable contract, and controlled the majority of his record revenue in the early stages of his fame, making the risk manageable.

In Huang Weijie and Huang Shengchang's view, they traded their initial money and time for future freedom and the lifelong wealth of all their works.

Both sides were very happy!

Signing with Jive Records means that Huang Weijie has officially entered the mainstream global pop music industry.

Over the next few years, while completing intensive music studies at Curtis and participating in performance opportunities provided by the academy, he used his holidays to hone his pop music works, quietly preparing for the upcoming breakout day.

During this period, based on his memory, he successively "created" several high-quality demos, which further solidified the company's high regard for him.

At the same time, I also met many people.

Fellow trainees, an ambitious producer, a seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted manager, and several young actors who would later make their mark in Hollywood...