I became financially independent right after entering college.

Chapter 15 Popular Singing
"'Sadly', are you sure?" Bai Chou suddenly laughed. The song Li Xue chose completely hit his advantage.

"Sadly" is included in Guo Ding's third album "The Execution Cycle of Aircraft", which was released at the end of 16. He won multiple awards the following year with this album.

The song "Sadly" in this album has always been lukewarm in mainland China, because the singing difficulty of this song is indeed higher than those slow-paced lyrical ballads that are flooding the Chinese music scene.

Bai Chou doesn't look down on guava love songs. He is not averse to guava. His favorite singers, Taylor Swift, Jay Chou, and the biology section chief have all sung many guava songs.

But the singing threshold is indeed there.

There are many lyrical ballads with high production levels. Even if some of the notes are simply beyond the reach of ordinary people, the worst that can happen is that they can just sing in a lowered key.

Because the rhythm is relatively slow, it can always stay in tune as a whole. At best, because there is no transition between pitch ranges throughout the whole process, it sounds bland and lacks rich emotions.

However, it is really difficult for ordinary people to sing songs with fast tempo and many changes of pitch. Their throats become tight halfway through the song and they can't breathe.

Being difficult to sing means that it is not widely sung and is even less likely to become popular among ordinary listeners.

But it is not well-known among ordinary listeners, so why does Guan Bai worry about this vocal performance?

The chorus of the song "Sadly" has relatively many transitions between true and false voices, and some small inflections in certain words. Most importantly, Guo Ding and Bai Chou both have medium-low voices, and their comfortable vocal ranges are similar.

There was no reason for Bai Chou not to practice this song. He had practiced it at least thirty times.

"I'm sure!" Li Xue nodded. Apart from this song, she couldn't think of any other difficult pop songs at the moment.

You can't just click "Tentative", because it would be too obvious that it's trying to embarrass people.

After a pause, Li Xue looked at Bai Chou provocatively again: "You don't think this song is too difficult to sing, do you?"

"In that case, I'll just sing "Sadly." Since he could sing "Sadly" perfectly, Bai Chou naturally wouldn't choose "Our Love" or "Insomnia."

JJ Lin's voice is higher than his. If he wants to sing "Our Love", he either has to lower the key or use more falsetto and pharyngeal sounds, and the singing effect is difficult to guarantee.

He had never sung "Insomnia" before and was not very familiar with the breathing points of this song.

Shan Meng and Kim Hyo Joo both felt a little disappointed that the song they requested was not selected.

Standing up and walking around the coffee table, Bai Chou took the microphone from the expectant Li Xue and tested the sound. It was okay, with relatively low distortion, better than most mass-market KTVs.

"Do you want to play the original version first to familiarize yourself with it?" Li Xue was afraid that Bai Chou would make excuses by saying that he had never heard of it or was not familiar with it.

"No, just sit there and listen."

Did I practice so many times in vain?

"Do you mind if I take a picture of it for you?"

"Whatever." Bai Chou waved his hand again.

When he was performing at a school party in high school, someone filmed him and posted the video online. You can still find videos of him singing online, but they don't get many hits.

"Then I'll see how well you can sing."

Li Xue was very considerate and helped Bai Chou turn off the original singer. She sat between Kim Hyo Joo and Shan Meng, took out her mobile phone, opened the native camera and aimed it at Bai Chou.

Damn, how come he is still so handsome?

Li Xue was wondering in her heart, don’t people look uglier in photos taken with Apple’s native camera?
After humming a few notes and warming up his voice, Bai Chou pressed the play button on the karaoke machine.

Dong!

It couldn't be shorter. After Dong's prelude, Bai Chou looked at Kim Hyo-joo behind the coffee table, added a little nasal sound and oral resonance, and started singing along with the accompaniment.

"I used to be the restless river water

Walking through the forest and straying into your heart
I didn’t plan to set up camp and put aside the right and wrong.
Once you go, you won't come back~ (small inflection)

......"

Whether it was Li Xue, who had heard the original version many times, or a few people who had only heard it a few times or had never heard it at all, they were all stunned when Bai Chou opened his mouth.

Such a short prelude?

"Fuck, it turns out to be this song. What's the fucking difference between this and the original?" Zhou Haoyu exclaimed with his eyes wide open, brother, it turns out you really have the talent.

"Stop yelling, it's being recorded!"

Li Xue, who was holding up her mobile phone to record Bai Chou, was very dissatisfied with Zhou Haoyu. She said, "Such a good performance was ruined by you."

As soon as Bai Chou opened his mouth, Li Xue knew that he was really capable. Even if Bai Chou was a scumbag, he was a capable scumbag.

Moreover, in Li Xue's opinion, Bai Chou's singing was even better than the original singer Guo Ding. The perfect lowness and frosted graininess of his voice when he sang really added points.

Bai Chou's vocal characteristics are indeed better than Guo Ding's. Even though his singing skills are still far behind Guo Ding's, his unique voice can make most listeners think that Bai Chou's singing skills are better than Guo Ding's.

This is the idol among the talented. No matter how Zhou Haoyu yelled, Bai Chou's breath and rhythm remained steady, his eyes fixed on Kim Hyo Joo, singing according to his own rhythm.

His stage presence is also very good, very live.

Many singers in China, especially in mainland China, share a common shortcoming: they are very reserved during live performances, completely refusing to interact with the audience. They simply stand there like wooden stakes, or sit behind a microphone with a guitar in hand, singing in a muffled voice.

He sang his own song and didn't even make eye contact with the audience.

If this kind of singer were to perform in a bar, he would definitely be fired within three days.

Those mainstream singers who are well-known at home and abroad and hold concerts frequently are all masters of sketches. They can use just the right body movements and eye expressions to mobilize the emotions of the audience and bring the audience a better live experience.

He just stands there like a wooden stake without even raising his head. What's the difference between that and listening to a CD?
Bai Chou, who mainly studies modern pop music, has been deliberately practicing his stage presence and live performance since he first started learning vocal music.

Taking into account the possibility of overdoing it, Bai Chou's body movements and eye expressions are definitely not as many as those of the truly top sketch masters, but his overall style can still beat quite a few wooden stakes in the country.

The atmosphere was confident, lively, and felt like a pop king's concert.

"Wait till I find you (falsetto)
Test your eyes (falsetto)

Without distraction (falsetto)

(Switch to real voice) Hug
That's me (real voice)

(Switching to falsetto) Your only tenderness is also the reason why I (Switching to real voice) love you

In this poignant place, Yeah

By this point in the song, Bai Chou had already gotten into the groove and had made some adjustments to his singing style based on the characteristics of his voice.

The original singer of "Sadly" switches between true and false voice more frequently. For example, in Guo Ding's CD, he uses falsetto for the first two words of "Wait for me to find you" and real voice for the last three words.

The singing styles of live performances and CDs are different. In order to be safe, most singers will simplify their singing styles or lower the key, so that they can sing more easily and safely.

Bai Chou simply sang the short section of fifteen words using mixing techniques, that is, a small part of falsetto without vibrating the vocal cords.

Reduce the frequency of switching between true and false voices to ensure that you can be more comfortable in a small range of voice changes.

His singing skills are still a little behind that of veteran singer Guo Ding, but in terms of timbre, Bai Chou still maintains a high degree of unity between true and false voices.

This is also the difference between modern pop singing and popular singing at the end of the 20th century.

Many singers at the end of the last century, no matter how wide their vocal range was, whether they used real voice or falsetto, did not pursue the unity of timbre when singing songs with large fluctuations in the vocal range.

The high and low notes sound like they are sung by two different people.

Bai Chou still maintained his rhythm and stage presence, using some subtle body language and eye contact to "communicate" with the people on the sofa, mainly Kim Hyo Joo.

While doing all this, Bai Chou also managed to maintain a tight expression and smile throughout. Good facial management is also the key point for singers when performing live.

Although singing mainly relies on the vocal cords, it also requires a lot of resonance in the chest and head cavities. Many singers who have no live experience will not deliberately adjust their expressions.

This results in them having a lot of ugly facial expressions when they sing.

As an idol among talented singers, Bai Chou cannot tolerate his own ugly singing. What's the point of singing if he is not handsome?

His vocal techniques and methods were specially adjusted by his vocal teacher while ensuring his stage presence and facial expressions.

The top-notch tone, top-notch appearance, coupled with qualified singing skills and live performance, naturally bring a very excellent listening experience.

Especially Kim Hyo-joo, who interacted the most with Bai Chou, had her cheeks flushed and her heart pounding because of Bai Chou's occasional gaze.

He really sings well and is very handsome, just like the real Leon. If he debuts as a singer, he will definitely become a big star like Leon.

"Look at the camera, look at the camera!"

Li Xue, holding a cell phone, urged Bai Chou dissatisfiedly, and moved the phone closer to Kim Hyo Joo, almost blocking half of Kim Hyo Joo's face.

Kim Hyo Joo subconsciously raised her hand and pulled away the phone and Li Xue's hand that were blocking her view, feeling a little dissatisfied. If you want to take a video, just take a video. Why are you blocking me?
Ok?
Li Xue was slightly startled when her phone was pried open. Before she could react what was happening, she saw Bai Chou looking at her after hearing her urging. She quickly raised her phone to face Bai Chou and continued recording.

Ah ah ah ah ah!
Damn, you sing really well, and you’re so handsome, the kind of handsomeness that even Apple’s native camera can’t hide!

Li Xue felt that Bai Chou's voice and eyes were so charming that she knew that Bai Chou was a scumbag, otherwise her heart would have been seduced away.

However, it's not bad to have such a handsome and talented friend. It's so face-saving to take him out, and the emotional value is full. Just be careful to keep a distance and don't get dumped by him accidentally.

Shan Meng, who was completely forgotten in the corner, felt more and more lost. When Bai Chou was singing, he had almost no eye contact with her. His eyes were basically focused on Kim Hyo Joo and Li Xue, and he hardly looked at her.

There was nothing Bai Chou could do. Kim Hyo Joo was chatting with him quite well. Li Xue held up the camera. Who else could she look at but the two of them?

Are you going to watch Zhou Haoyu and Chen Guangzhi?

(End of this chapter)