Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

"Well, I'm looking forward to it."

Suo Fang followed the young man into the recording studio.

"Just like the competition between the size of fists in the Yakuza, the competition in the Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards is about music. As long as the goods are pure, there is no such thing as not being able to sell at a high price."

"Once you join my 'burning department', you have to fight for your life in everything. You two, where did your fearlessness go?"

Before closing the door, he turned around and said this to Dongye and the others.

Watching Zhou Lao disappear behind the recording studio door, the disheveled Higashino Yoshihide and Tachibana Ryoko looked at each other in bewilderment.

"If I'm not mistaken, that person just now was Sakamoto Hide?"

"He's also going to participate in the Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards? What kind of newcomer is he? Isn't this cheating?"

"No wonder Mr. Zhou took it so seriously and came to the recording department to monitor the samples in person."

The young man just now was named Sakamoto Hide. A few years ago, he was hailed as a popular new generation actor for his outstanding performances in musicals, Taiga dramas and stage plays.

But after becoming a little famous, he announced his retirement on the grounds of "pursuing his musical dream" and went to the Juilliard School on the other side of the ocean to study, and then disappeared.

Judging from the situation, Hideo Sakamoto is planning to participate in this year's "Tokyo Newcomer Music Award" as a newcomer and return to the entertainment industry as an "original singer."

"A retired actor who participates in a singing competition can be considered a newcomer, right? How can he be so cunning?"

Xia Fan, who had been eating melons in the corner, touched his chin curiously.

Both Suho and Sakamoto Shu were public figures that he could only see on the Internet media. He never expected that he would have the chance to meet them in person.

"Mr. Xia, the ranking of the music awards is divided into two parts: professional ratings for live performances and rankings of paid download popularity. Contestants who have a popularity base in other fields often have a considerable advantage in the paid download rankings."

Hoshina Hanami explained to him in a low voice.

"Now, what should I do..."

"Now that I'm here, let me listen to your crappy song first."

After being interrupted like this, Higashino and Tachibana Ryoko lost their temper and walked into the scheduled recording studio side by side in angrily.

In the recording studio divided into two parts by soundproof glass, the corresponding staff were already waiting there.

"I am confident that this song written by Xia Fan is definitely better than the work of that awful old man Kishimoto!"

Dongye took out the USB flash drive containing the accompaniment and handed it to the sound engineer.

"What? The song you asked us to record is actually the song written by Brother Xia Fan?!"

"Asshole Dongye, I thought you were looking for other musicians' works to help you out, but you were so stingy as to let your nephew fool me with his 'homework'?"

"Do you know how important a debut song is to an artist? If this grand prize is delayed, this kid's debut will be delayed until autumn. How many half-years can an artist waste in his career?"

Hearing his words, Tachibana Ryoko felt her fists harden again.

At the same time, as the recording engineer played the music, a clear rhythmic accompaniment filled with a feeling of farewell sounded in the room, interrupting his words.

Chapter 5 Xia Fan's Bad Review

2024-07-13

In the entire recording studio, everyone fell silent and listened to the accompaniment quietly.

"..."

Three minutes later, the song ended, but no one spoke. Everyone was immersed in the melody.

"What do you think? Xia Fan is a top student in the music department of Tokyo University of the Arts. This song isn't too bad, right?"

Higashino Yoshihide broke the silence with a rascally smile.

"Although I haven't seen the lyrics, just listening to the song, the rhythm is brisk, the melody is full of twists and turns, and the emotions are sincere. It's simply superb... Can this really be created by a college student?"

Tachibana Ryoko wiped her wet eyes and looked at Hoshina Hanami: "Hanami, you must sing this song well and crush the cheater Sakamoto Shu!"

"I...I will try my best! Xia Jun, please give me your guidance for the next recording!"

Hoshina Hanami clenched her fists in front of her chest and nodded weakly.

"Of course, I will do my best to assist you."

Xia Fan took out the prepared lyrics and music score book, and entered the recording studio behind the glass with Hoshina Hanami.

"Next, I will introduce this song from four aspects: melody, lyrics, singing skills and emotional core..."

Knowing everything about the song, he began to explain it with all his heart.

After all, the better Hoshina Hanami performs, the better the exposure and performance of the song will be, and the more commission and faith he will get from the profits.

Higashino and Tachibana Ryoko, who had nothing to do, took out their cigarettes and lighters and went to the smoking area outside the corridor.

……

"These are basically the points you need to pay attention to. If you have memorized them well, you can try singing them with accompaniment. I will give you further feedback based on the actual situation."

Half an hour later, Xia Fan finished explaining the key points and precautions of singing the entire song.

"No problem. I have a pretty good memory and I have basically memorized the lyrics. I just need Mr. Xia's guidance on the actual singing."

Hoshina Hanami took out a pink thermos from her bag and took a sip.

Xia Fan's "one-on-one teaching" of this song just now was so detailed that it was outrageous, showing his top-level understanding of the song itself, which made her subconsciously change her name.

Anyone who can create songs of this level independently can definitely be considered a "teacher" in music.

"We are about the same age, so you should just call me Xia Jun, it will make you feel more comfortable."

Xia Fan also opened a bottle of mineral water to moisten his dry throat, and then placed the music score with lyrics on the shelf.

"Okay, Xia, Xia Jun...beep, beep, beep..."

After moistening her throat, the girl puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish and pursed her lips to exhale to warm her throat.

“I started.”

After finishing her preparations, Hoshina Hanami pushed her hair behind her ears, revealing her slender white neck, and gently opened her red lips to the microphone.

"I have been waiting for the day when I can meet you again..."

"The beginning should be slow, and the ending should have a melodious feeling."

"Okay, I'll try again."

"In the middle part, the pronunciation can be clearer and the pauses should be in rhythm."

"Sorry, come again."

"At the climax, can you go up one more pitch and then switch to falsetto?"

"no problem."

Wearing headphones and carefully listening to the girl's singing, Xia Fan gave timely feedback and suggestions for adjustments based on his understanding of the song.

……

"That's all for today. The studio demo will be ready soon."

After stumbling for an hour, the sound engineer on the other side of the glass wall finally made an "OK" gesture.

“This song sounds simple, but it’s not easy to sing it well.”

Xing Minghua took off her headphones with a sense of relief, tidied her bangs that were wet with sweat, and stuck out her pink tongue like a puppy.

"But if Xia Jun is also a trainee, why didn't he keep this song as his debut song?"

She looked at Xia Fan with some curiosity.

After mastering "Sakura" sentence by sentence, she could feel that this song was probably written for a male singer with a higher vocal range.

"My voice is not naturally good, my vocal range is very narrow, and I haven't received any special singing training, so I can't sing. Besides, isn't Uncle Dongye waiting for a song called 'Jiang Hu Jiu Ji'?"

Xia Fan, who has been tone-deaf since childhood, smiled bitterly and waved his hand.

Even at the Department of Music at Tokyo University of the Arts, open singing courses are limited to singing theory classes in the lecture hall.

Truly professional one-on-one singing training is prepared for debuting artists, and the cost is very high, which is beyond his reach.

“Is the DEMO finally recorded? Then listen to it now!”

"Asshole, you saw this hand as a bad one and threw it away on purpose, right?"

Yoshihide Higashino and Ryoko Tachibana, who had been playing poker outside the cubicle at some point, stood up impatiently.

"I have been waiting for the day when I can meet you again."

"On the road where the cherry blossoms are dancing, I wave to you and call out your name."

"Because, no matter how painful it is, you always smile like that."

"It makes me feel that no matter what setbacks I encounter, I can keep working hard."

The sound engineer adjusted the mixer slightly, and Hoshina Hanami's voice began to echo in the recording studio...

"The voice of a real person is much more emotional than that of a virtual singer. Perfect absolute pitch and singing skills are sometimes the biggest disadvantages..."

"This song, whether in terms of arrangement or lyrics, is a very mature and complete first-class commercial work, and Xiao Huajian's singing skills are also good enough to handle it!"

Listening to the sweet and clear voice of the girl singing "Sakura", Higashino and Tachibana Ryoko's eyes were slightly wet, and goose bumps appeared on the surface of their skin along with the feeling of electricity...

The two seemed to have returned to the year they graduated from high school. At the school gate where cherry blossoms were blooming like rain, they vaguely remembered a young figure asking them for the second button of their uniform.

“It’s just a first version of the demo without any sound editing, but it has such a great effect…”

"There is still a lot of room for improvement in the singer's performance. It all depends on the quality of the song itself. Where did this young man come from to write the lyrics and compose the music all by himself? The music department has never heard of such a person before."

Even the recording engineer who had "seen countless songs" opened his mouth slightly in surprise, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Xia Fan changed.

"..."

But Xia Fan didn't care about everyone's reactions, he just frowned slightly.

"Xia Jun, what do you think?"

Noticing his expression, Hoshina Hanami asked seriously.

"Technically, this song is not complicated, and Ms. Xingming has basically mastered it. But I always feel that this performance lacks a little confidence, and more importantly, she failed to really get into the song and fully convey the emotions in it."

After thinking about it, he sincerely gave a "bad review".

Hoshina Hanami's voice is very pure, revealing a tender and sweet girlish feeling.

He is also very skilled in techniques such as pronunciation, breathing, and switching between true and false voice, and it is obvious that he has received professional training.

What’s more appropriate is that her vocal range is relatively high, which fits well with the song “Sakura”.

But perhaps because she was too young and lacked life experience, she was not very confident when singing and was unable to interpret the emotions that matched the song.

After all, in this age of advanced electronic technology, the "imperfections" that humans show when singing due to emotional outbursts are the key to surpassing virtual singers and singing AI.

Chapter 6 Do You Need Paper?

2024-07-13

"I'm sorry, I'm too harsh. After all, this is Ms. Xingming's first trial recording, and the result is already very good. If you just spend a little more time..."

Noticing that there seemed to be sparkling light in Hoshina Hanami's eyes, Xia Fan hurriedly comforted her.

"No, what we lack most now is time."

“The Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards will close this week and will officially begin next week. In addition to posting songs online, there will also be a live performance and scoring session.”

"That is to say, I have to completely master this song within this week. President, please send me back to pack my luggage. I will live in the recording studio for the next few days."

Unlike her weak appearance, Hoshina Hanami is actually very strict with herself and firmly requests Tachibana Ryoko to "grind the shed".

If the studio version cannot gain initial approval from the original author, there is no chance that the live performance will be able to win over the professional judges.

"Xia Jun, please exchange phone numbers and LINE with me. I will continue to send you the demos we recorded in the next few days. Please be sure to guide me strictly."

After hurriedly touching the phone with Xia Fan and exchanging contact information, Hoshina Hanami hurriedly pulled Tachibana Ryoko away.

"Um, Uncle Dongye, are my standards too high?"

Xia Fan scratched the back of his head in distress.

"The entertainment industry is like a rough sea. If you don't swim upstream, you will lose the chance to breathe forever. Even if you are lucky enough to get out of the water, if you don't have the ability to hold on, you will be swallowed up by the sea again."