Why bother writing songs? Fast forward to the "Don't Laugh Challenge"

Chapter 114 I'm focused on internationalization; I don't understand counterfeit goods. [35 Updates]

You should know that the people who said that are all locals in the rap scene, and they are all rap listeners.

Back then, when his albums were selling like hotcakes overseas and he gained international recognition, they were all very proud.

They are the same group of people as the people we have now.

Even many rappers at the time acknowledged his contribution to the spread of rap in China.

How did it come to this, because of the so-called title of "God of Rap"?
They're all singers, yet they all seem to want to be gods?
Why bother? Why make things so chaotic with all the fighting? What good would that do?
Can't we all get along peacefully and make songs together happily?

I really don't understand.

Xia Shen shook his head; he didn't want to comment on it.

He didn't want to pay attention to this sudden malice.

First, get the song you're going to sing ready.

He looked at Zhou Yumeng beside him: "How are the preparations going?"

“Not very good.” Zhou Yumeng nodded with a wry smile: “I really can’t practice the rap part well. The main problem is that the singing styles are too different. If I have to switch between different singing styles in the same song, I definitely won’t be able to express the feeling you want through rap.”

“It’s okay,” Xia Shen said. “Then I’ll take care of all the rap parts. You can sing the hook. You’re just a guest vocalist anyway.”

"Thank you." Zhou Yumeng lowered her head and tugged at Xia Shen's sleeve.

"What are you doing?" Xia Shen smiled and squeezed her hand. "You're making such a fuss. Everyone has things they're not good at. Okay, I still have a lot of confidence in us. We can't lose."

As we were chatting, a staff member came backstage: "Teachers, please get ready, we're about to begin."

"it is good."

"Ah."

"OK."

Xia Shen and Zhou Yumeng nodded in agreement.

Then the staff member flipped through the folder in his hand and said, "Our first guest will be Teacher Zhang Hai. Teacher Zhang Hai, are you ready?"

"I'm the first one, okay? I'm ready." One of the guest contestants nodded.

"Okay." The staff member then looked at Liang Ziying and said, "The second person is Ms. Liang Ziying. Please prepare to take over. By the way, you have used one guest performance opportunity. Your guest singer has already entered and arrived at the second dressing room. Do you need to rehearse?"

“Okay.” Liang Ziying nodded as well: “There’s not much need for a rehearsal, I’ll get started.”

"Mmm." The staff member nodded again, then turned to a page in the folder in his hand.

This time, she looked at Xia Shen and Zhou Yumeng: "Teacher Xia Shen, Teacher Zhou Yumeng, it's your turn to do the live broadcast today. Please come with me."

Xia Shen and Zhou Yumeng exchanged a glance: "Let's go."

After saying that, they stood up and followed the staff out of the lounge and into a small studio in the backstage area.

Actually, it was the same place where Xia Shen was interviewed by the producer a week ago before Zhou Yumeng went on stage.

It still features the large program team logo and the sponsors' logos.

The staff member handed a sign to the two teachers: "Please take this sign."

"it is good."

Xia Shen and Zhou Yumeng nodded without saying anything and accepted the sign.

Staff members moved away and stood outside the yellow line.

At this moment, outside the yellow line, at a large group of filming equipment, in addition to the photographers and lighting technicians, the director was also on site.

As one of the staff members pressed a button on a machine.

A large screen suddenly lit up, revealing a teleprompter covered with words.

"Let's rehearse twice first, and then we'll switch broadcasts when the time is up," the director said.

The next moment, Xia Shen and Zhou Yumeng began to familiarize themselves with their spoken lines.

"By the way, Yumeng, how's the preparation for this episode going?"

"Great! Let me tell you, I've never been in such good form. I can learn all the words in one go. We're definitely going to get first place this time!"

"Oh? Why? You're in such great shape! Is there a secret?"

"Because I ate some throat lozenges, they kept me cool all summer long. I'm so touched."

Ten minutes later, Zhou Yumeng and Xia Shen left the control room and returned to the lounge.

At this moment, Zhang Hai had just finished his performance, and it was Liang Ziying's turn.

She started singing right after the director finished the commercials featuring Xia Shen and Zhou Yumeng, just in time for Xia Shen and the others to start.

This is the difference between live streaming and pre-recorded broadcasts. With pre-recorded broadcasts, a program can be recorded all at once and then broadcast gradually. Any issues can also be avoided through editing.

With live streaming, the scope for processing resources is correspondingly reduced significantly.

Xia Shen returned to her seat and watched Liang Ziying's performance.

It must be said that one good thing is that the guest singers and the singers who attempted to climb the charts were not in the same category as them before they successfully climbed the charts.

Otherwise, Xia Shen would still be speechless; he didn't want to be in the same place as that GTE.

They haven't even met yet, and they already have such a lot of hostility. I really don't know what will happen if they actually meet.

It was then that he remembered watching some variety shows before, where many rappers often showed great malice towards other singers.

For example, idols and pop singers.

They even publicly criticize others.

At the time, he only thought it was for the sake of the show, that the production team had deliberately arranged it, and he didn't think too deeply about it, didn't take it seriously, and didn't really think they were serious.

But now it seems that whether it's true or false is another matter entirely.

You never know, you really never know.

Let's watch the concert first.

After Liang Ziying came on stage, her backup singer also came on stage.

The guest singer she chose this time is also a well-known rapper, Hiz, a sunny boy from the coast.

The piece they presented was a song called "Midsummer".

It uses a very traditional old-school arrangement.

Well, judging from Xia Shen's words and evaluation, his own objective assessment was: average.

I can't say it's good, because it's really ordinary, and the theme feels forced, using a midsummer night and past memories to explore the theme of homesickness in distant places.

Ordinary.

Of course, it's not bad either, after all, the level of the gold medal producer is undeniable.

Well, it's neither good nor bad, better than nothing.

Then, a staff member approached Xia Shen and asked, "Mr. Xia Shen, as a professional music producer, what is your evaluation of Liang Ziying's performance?" "Very good, excellent," Xia Shen replied quickly, giving a thumbs up.

Just in case he seemed insincere, he added, "Yes, that's right."

Then the staff asked each producer one by one, and everyone gave similar answers.

However, just as the broadcast screen in their lounge switched to the second lounge,

GTE was also being interviewed, and he said, "In my opinion, Teacher Keqiao's song is a perfect production. With Teacher Liang Ziying's performance, it's an audio-visual enjoyment. You know what I mean? It's very good, and it gives people a feeling of sublimation. It's an excellent Chinese rap work."

Xia Shen: "."

No, buddy, I can accept my commercial praise, but isn't this just in line with my persona, Xia Shen?

I just hate trouble; I believe in making money through harmony.

But you... weren't you quite real before? You even mouthed words to me.

Why is it real to me, but not real to the diva?
Okay, okay, this is how you play, right?
Xia Shen was almost numb from the shock and nearly burst into applause.

show! What a show!
Next, the other contestants took the stage one after another.

Many contestants chose to use their guest performance opportunities in areas they were not good at during this round.

So this time, it actually gives people the illusion that the stage of "The Rap of China" has been moved here.

Almost all of the top rappers who came from that show came.

Until the two internationally acclaimed singers.

Instead of choosing to sing with a guest, they presented two songs created by the team's producer.

Mylis's songs, which incorporate rural elements and tell the story of her hometown, along with her clear and beautiful singing voice and international melodies, have attracted a lot of attention and applause.

Angelina sings about America's past in the last century, recounting events that happened in her hometown and her childhood environment.

It still can't do without the classic American rap trio.

Although it's formulaic and full of profanity, it doesn't need to be obscenity because it's in English; it just doesn't have subtitles.

But at the very least, they really put in a lot of effort. Although it's a bit formulaic, it has that quality when sung by an American.

Because they really grew up in that environment.

Next up is the segment featuring singers who challenge the charts.

Xia Shen and Zhou Yumeng didn't expect that their turn to appear would be so late this time, and that they would draw the last one.

After GTE came on stage, he performed a song that told the story of his growth.

The song describes his journey from leaving his hometown to building a successful business step by step.

However, it was written in English.
Entirely in English, not a single word of Chinese!
Although, in the eyes of an undergraduate like Xia Shen, there were many grammatical errors and many parts were Chinglish.

But it still received a standing ovation.

In fact, they could see the audience feedback in the broadcast studio.

He also saw some comments on the screen.

"Ahhh, so handsome!"

"This is so international! Isn't this much better than Xia Shen's poor guy back home?"

"This is the kind of rap that should truly represent China on the world stage! It's international!"

"."

Xia Shen shook his head.

Does being entirely in English equate to internationalization?

He's even been called one of the best Chinese rappers at localizing his music.

The result is a standard trap song, entirely in English, telling the story of a Chinese rapper's growth.

He made no comment on it, nor did he intend to.

Next up is the post-performance interview.

When asked by the host, "Why did you choose this song to hit the charts? A song entirely in English?" GTE replied...

His response was: "Fakes don't understand. This is what I'm doing for internationalization, to take Chinese rap abroad. I hope that after listening to my song, some people can seriously reflect on their own level, accept themselves, and realize their place. Hey! Time!"

Xia Shen: "."

Okay, okay, they're after him again.

He took a deep breath.

He was already a little angry.

However, he didn't say anything, but turned to look at Zhou Yumeng: "Let's go, it's our turn."

"Hmm." Zhou Yumeng was also angry, her face expressionless.

Next, it was their turn to take the stage.

This time, Xia Shen stood next to Zhou Yumeng for the first time, also holding a microphone.

Instantly, all eyes were on them.

The familiar four cymbal sounds set the rhythm, and then the music began.

Unlike the singers before him, he didn't rush to start the song or play the drums, or show off his flow skills.

There was no deep, booming bass either.

Instead, it is an ethereal, dreamlike effect melody.

Zhou Yumeng closed her eyes and slowly raised the microphone.

At this moment, during the live stream, a detailed table of song information appeared next to Zhou Yumeng.

【Drifting North】

Singer: Xia Shen/Zhou Yumeng

Lyrics by: Xia Shen

Composer: Xia Shen

Arrangement: Xia Shen

Mixing: Xia Shen

Master tape: Xia Shen

Released by: July Records / Visual Effects Culture / Xiangjiang TV Culture Development
"Drifting north, don't ask about my hometown; the towering, ancient city walls cannot hide my sorrow."

(This chapter is nearly 4000 words long, so consider it one update. Pretty generous, right?)

(End of this chapter)