HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 11 [011] Setting the Tone for the Debut Album

An album needs a main concept, or a theme.

Then, the songs on the entire album are created around the theme, which creates a greater sense of unity and provides listeners with a better musical experience.

Without a unified concept, cramming in any kind of song can easily create a sense of disconnect for the listener.

For example, if an album has two sad love songs in the first two tracks, then a few slightly risqué songs like "Quickly into my quilt" in the middle, and then a wild folk song like "Twist your hips" at the end, will the listener be able to stay immersed in the song?

Qi Yuan has a clear vision for his album.

R&B music is about to rise, which will bring about a revolution in the Chinese music scene and have a profound impact on subsequent music styles.

He has to catch up with this trend.

But he won't make a pure R&B album like Tao Ze.

While that might sound sophisticated, it's not conducive to widespread popularity.

Strictly speaking, R&B has never really been a huge hit in the Chinese music scene, at least not in mainland China.

Even at his peak, Tao Ze wasn't considered a true superstar in mainland China.

The music that truly became popular in the Chinese music scene was R&B style music, which was later adapted to local tastes by Jay Chou and Wong Kar-wai.

Authentic R&B and R&B style are similar to beef noodles and beef-flavored noodles, but the differences are significant, making them more suitable for Chinese tastes.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Qi Yuan will include two relatively pure R&B songs in this album to elevate its sophistication and solidify his title as the godfather of R&B in mainland China, and will also include a few popular R&B songs to increase its popularity.

This means that songs related to R&B make up half of the album.

For the remaining half, he will arrange some lyrical pop music to further increase its popularity.

In fact, from Qi Yuan's perspective, the main concept of this album is himself, a musical prodigy who graduated from Beijing Film Academy.

Because of his ingenious ideas and his love for music, this album, which mainly consists of R&B and lyrical pop music, was born.

Having determined her direction, Qi Yuan began writing songs.

The first song, the title track of the entire album, he plans to use "Small Town Girl".

The second song is "Everyday", the third song is "Starry Sky", the fourth song is "Simple Love", the fifth song is "Love Turns the Corner", the sixth song is "Still Love You", and the seventh song is "The First Time".

We already have Guanglang, let's add another one, Pin Guan's "I Thought".

Next up is Xie Biwang's "Because of Love, So I Love," and the last one is "You'll Be With Me All My Life."

This album revolves around the themes of R&B and ballads.

……

In the afternoon, Qi Yuan took some time to visit Wheatfield Music.

This time, Qi Yuan felt different entering the company through the main gate than last time.

The last time he came here, he was a newly signed newcomer, and Gao Xiaosong and others didn't have much trust in him as a newcomer.

This time, his debut single, "You'll Be With Me All My Life," has been gaining popularity on Beijing's music radio stations.

If his previous success was due to riding the coattails of celebrities, such as writing songs for Jeff Chang to sing, Jeff Chang is so famous that as long as the song wasn't bad, it was bound to become popular.

This time, Qi Yuan proved that his own songs have a market just as well as his own singing, which is quite different.

"Qi Yuan, congratulations! The listener feedback for your song 'You'll Be With Me All My Life' is excellent. The radio station receives many requests every day. By the way, some citizens have also written you letters, which have all been sent to the radio station. I just picked them up for you this morning."

Song Ke came out to greet them with a big smile, as if she had seen a rising star and the hope for Wheatfield Music's continued success.

After taking their seats, Song Ke asked Qi Yuan for his opinion and had someone make him a cup of hot tea.

Qi Yuan took out a stack of letters from listeners from the bag.

Qi Yuan:
My classmates and I listened to your song "You'll Be With Me All My Life" at least thirty times. During our free time, we would sit on the radio and copy your lyrics into our notebooks whenever the station played "You'll Be With Me All My Life." It was the first song our class fell in love with.

Looking forward to your reply!
Your fan, An Hui from Class 2, Grade 3 of Haidian Middle School. "Little Qi Brother:
We are workers at a lumber mill. Last night, the radio in our dormitory played "You'll Be With Me All My Life," and it reminded me of my girlfriend who ran away with someone else.

Your song touched my heart. During my day at work, I called to request this song and recommended it to my coworkers.

But the factory was too noisy, and no one could hear anything.

Anyway, I wish you great success and popularity.

Li Dachun, from the XX Timber Factory in Beijing.

……

We received many letters from listeners, including students, white-collar workers, factory workers, and civil engineers working on construction sites.

Qi Yuan felt a sense of accomplishment upon receiving these letters.

He selected several replies.

Next, the meeting room began to discuss Qi Yuan's debut album.

"I promised you that if your first single does well in the market, I will hand over control of the album to you."

You did it, I kept my promise, so now a new question arises: what are your plans for your first album?

Song Ke's smile faded, and her expression turned serious.

For a single album, the company needs to invest hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

That amount of money could buy two apartments in Beijing; it's not a small sum.

"I've thought about it. The main concept for my first album is myself, a talented student from Beijing Film Academy who loves music. As for the specific musical style, I've chosen R&B with ballads." Qi Yuan tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table as he explained his thoughts.

"r&b?"

Song Ke and Gao Xiaosong were both taken aback.

R&B is not a new thing in the Chinese music scene. In 1987, Alex To tried to incorporate R&B vocals and rhythms into his songs, and Harlem Yu also tried it, but neither of them achieved much success.

To date, there are no successful examples of R&B in the Chinese music scene.

That's why the two of them were stunned, wondering if Qi Yuan had taken a bit too big a step and wasn't afraid of accidentally tearing his balls.
Song Ke looked at the young man opposite her, a bitter smile appearing on her lips.

No wonder this kid is so determined to keep control of the album.

Without the previous promise, let alone Gao Xiaosong, he would have opposed Qi Yuan; it was simply too risky.

Song Ke guessed that this might be one of the reasons why Qi was unwilling to accept recruitment from large companies.

In a powerful, large company, Qi Yuan, as a newcomer, wouldn't have much autonomy. Want to play R&B? No way, go play your ballads.

"I've written a few songs these past few days. Why don't you two take a look? There's R&B and pop ballads." Qi Yuan was quite cunning.

Among R&B songs, he first presented "Starry Sky" and "Love at the Corner," which were localized and thus more widely accepted.

Among popular ballads, he chose the catchy "The First Time" and "I Thought".

The purpose of the last two songs was to show the two men that he could write popular songs that conformed to the current market aesthetics.

The first two are less radical in R&B and are easier for the two to accept.

To put it bluntly, it's about taking things step by step, like boiling a frog in lukewarm water.

Once they accept pop ballads, they will accept R&B-style pop music, and eventually they will accept purer R&B.

Song Ke and Gao Xiaosong exchanged a glance, then turned their gaze to the four songs Qi Yuan had brought today.

They were very curious about what kind of music this ambitious young man could bring.

(End of this chapter)