Huayu 2009: Who should we call the Heavenly King?

Six months have passed, and Shen Yan is no longer the same person he used to be.

The title track, "Life Is More Than Just the Present Misery," immediately entered the Baidu MP3 New Song TOP100 on its second day of release.

It surpassed Qi Qin's cover of "Your Appearance" and Mo Wenwei's new album's pre-release track "Holding Hands" to firmly climb to the top of the charts.

The title track of Li Xiaoyun's new album, "The Blue You See," which was the runner-up of the 2009 Super Girl competition, was even squeezed out of the top ten.

……

EE-Media.

"Depend on!"

Upon seeing the latest briefing in his office, Song Yubin couldn't help but swear.

He was previously the production director of Zhang Yadong's record company, and joined Tianyu Media in 08 as the music director.

Zhang Jie's "Never Forget Peace of Mind", Li Yuchun's "Shu Embroidery", Li Xiaoyun's album "The Blue You See" and Wei Chen's new album "By All Means" were all produced under his leadership.

but.

As 2010 arrived, all the limelight from all the artists under EE-Media was stolen by one person.

Shen Yan suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Although Song Yubin privately admired Shen Yan's talent, private matters are private matters, and public matters are public matters.

After pondering the briefing for a long time, Song Yubin could only sigh.

No solution!

Gold Typhoon has spent tens of millions on promotion to fully support Shen Yan's new album, while Sony is also heavily promoting the "W20 Shen Yan Travel Music Festival".

With a two-pronged approach, the hype is soaring!

Moreover, Shen Yan's works are of excellent quality; he is handsome, and he can write, compose, and sing—he has virtually no weaknesses.

If we had to nitpick, the only thing we'd find fault with is his extensive romantic history and numerous ex-girlfriends.

Apart from that, there's nothing to criticize.

Garlic bird, garlic bird.

The gap is too big; they simply can't compete. Even with Hunan TV as a powerful backer, it's all in vain.

Besides, he's not the only one having a headache.

With such a formidable opponent looming over them, this newcomer who debuted in 2010 is doomed.

Meanwhile, Song Ke of Taihe Rye Music and Yuan Tao of Huayi Music, seeing the momentum of this hit song, also sighed in vain.

Yuan Tao, in particular, felt very aggrieved.

The headquarters is really unhelpful!

Pah!

If, if we could recruit Shen Yan...

Garlic bird, garlic bird.

Halfway through his thought, Yuan Tao sighed.

Although he was in charge of the music company, he had heard about the situation at the head office. Perhaps due to its poor reputation, Shen Yan was too worried.

Even with such generous terms, no one else would agree; Shen Yan was destined to be a singer he could never have.

"Achoo!"

"Achoo!"

"Achoo!"

"Brother Yan, are you alright?"

Seeing Shen Yan sneeze three times in a row, Zhang Dandan couldn't help but ask with concern.

"It's nothing, my nose is just a little itchy." Shen Yan waved his hand and said with a smile, "Maybe it's because too many people are talking about me?"

"Haha, definitely."

Zhang Dandan offered a flattering compliment with a grin.

"Han Geng, Mo Wenwei, Wei Chen, and Li Xiaoyun, who have recently released songs, all have to mention you, as well as your fans. Yan-ge, look at these comments, they're all praising you."

"Let's watch it tonight."

Shen Yan waved his hand, not taking the laptop, but instead taking out the interview outline sent by Sina.

"Let me familiarize myself with the questions first."

He's going to be a guest in Sina's chat room later. It's an online live broadcast room officially opened by Sina, which can be considered an "interview" in a way.

but.

Sina lacks the necessary qualifications and can only use "chat rooms" as a front; in reality, it's no different from those TV interviews.

Shortly after, the van drove into the underground parking garage of the Sina building.

"hello."

After getting off the bus, a young woman wearing a white floral dress and with her hair in a bun greeted me with a smile.

"Shen Yan, welcome to Sina."

"Sister Ning, I've heard so much about you."

Shen Yan stepped forward and shook hands with her, skillfully switching to his hometown dialect.

The two were barely considered fellow townsmen; Zhao Ning's ancestral home was Yinchuan, but he grew up and went to school in Luzhou.

I attended Luzhou No. 1 High School and later got into Communication University of China.

A true academic high-achiever.

"Haha, same to you, same to you."

Hearing the familiar local accent, Zhao Ning's smile warmed up even more.

"Why don't we go up first? There are a lot of people waiting for you on the 20th floor."

"Oh, have any fans arrived?"

Shen Yan was quite surprised, as his itinerary had not been made public this time.

"No, they are all employees of Sina."

Zhao Ning said as he walked.

"You're very popular in our company. A few days ago, one of our leaders made a phone call, and the song 'Orange Ocean' rang in the office on the 20th floor. As a result, seven or eight people picked up their phones."

"Haha, really?"

Shen Yan chuckled, saying that such things should be taken with a grain of salt and not taken seriously.

"Then I'll record a few more ringtone versions later."

soon.

The two arrived at the elevator lobby and went up to the 20th floor.

Ding!

When the elevator doors opened and Shen Yan saw the person standing outside, he was surprised.

so many people.

There must have been thirty to fifty of them, blocking the way from the elevator to the office. However, they were all Sina employees, and everyone was quite rational.

Most people just took photos with their phones, while some employees brought unopened copies of the first album, waiting for Shen Yan to sign them.

After signing their names one by one, Shen Yan took a group photo with them.

The background is an LED scrolling screen on the 20th floor of Sina, with a line of text clearly displayed on it.

[A warm welcome to Shen Yan on Sina.com]

After taking the photos, Shen Yan followed Zhao Ning into the recording studio.

The recording studio was very simple, with no unnecessary decorations. There were only two sofas, a background LED screen, a small round coffee table, and a few dolls with Sina-themed elements.

This interview was divided into four sections, and the process was not complicated.

In order: [New Album], [Actor Career], [Responding to Gossip], [Questions from Netizens].

The first three sections were very official and bland, mainly discussing the style of the new album, the inspiration behind the creation, and the upcoming filming plans.

The gossip segment was only touched upon briefly.

It wasn't until the "online Q&A session" that a truly explosive moment finally occurred.

Looking at the questions from netizens on the screen, Zhao Ning read them aloud softly.

A netizen with the ID "Tilapia" asked, "Many people say you've had too many relationships and are too unfaithful. How do you respond?"

"I think being devoted means being wholeheartedly and without reservation when you like someone."

Shen Yan said calmly.

"When you're with someone, you should give them 100% sincerity and responsibility, and make them feel secure. That's what I mean by being devoted."

Upon hearing this answer, the director behind the camera almost spat out the water in his mouth.

What?

Is this what you call being devoted?

Worth.

To actually argue—no, to explain—is so refreshingly unconventional.

Cattle!

Awesome!

Zhao Ning is a professional host with professional training. Even though her lips twitched involuntarily, she held it in and continued to choose the next question.

"Some netizens are also asking, what are your criteria for choosing a partner?"

"Values ​​are more important than physical appearance."

This time, Shen Yan's answer was very official.

"If your values ​​don't align, no matter how good-looking or how much attraction you have, the relationship is destined to not go far from the start."

"There's another question. Some people say that as an idol, it's irresponsible of you to be in a relationship, and that you're letting your fans down. What's your opinion on that?"

"First of all, I don't consider myself an idol; secondly, that statement is fundamentally flawed."

Shen Yan laughed heartily.

"I am a living, breathing human being. As a human being, I have emotions and desires, and the right to love. Besides, if I don't even dare to be my true self, wouldn't that be deceiving my fans?"

"How is this any different from a scumbag who deceives others' feelings?"

If it were a more incisive host, they would definitely press for more questions, but this is a Sina chat room, and the atmosphere is relatively relaxed. Zhao Ning just smiled and continued to move forward with the process.

offstage.

Zhang Dandan secretly gave Shen Yan a thumbs up.

Brother Yan is awesome!

He said it with such confidence and self-assurance.

Meanwhile, the chat room users were frantically sending messages.

Holy crap, that's awesome! He's really nailed the new definition of faithfulness, I've got it!

I didn't have any feelings for him at first, but now I suddenly like him a little. At least he's not pretending; he's genuine!

[So honest, bro, I admire you!]

of course.

As a rising star, Shen Yan has offended many people, with no shortage of haters and a lot of noise in the chat rooms.

[Ugh! A scumbag's comments can be praised as morally upright? That's outrageous!]

[What kind of twisted logic is this? So you think it's okay to change girlfriends so often? And your fans are blindly praising you?]

I used to think his songs were good, but now that I see his character, it's really hard to describe. I've gone from being a neutral observer to a hater.

【…】

soon.

Haters took Shen Yan's words out of context and forwarded them to various online communities such as Tianya, Tieba, and Weibo.

black!

Go all out and blacken it!

However, the results were not quite what the critics had expected.

I think what he said makes sense. It's better than those celebrities who secretly get married and cultivate a perfect idol image, right?

At least honest enough.

[Hahaha, that explanation is so refreshing and unconventional, but I can't seem to find a point to refute it? So embarrassing!]

[A talented man can be a womanizer, no doubt about it]

The saying "Different circles, no need to force yourself" was so insightful; it really resonated with me!

[I watched the original live stream. Shen Yan is really talented! Look at this line: "A beautiful appearance is a dime a dozen, but an interesting soul is one in a million." It's a perfect summary!]

[And then there's the line, "I'm in charge of my own life, and it's nobody else's place to tell me what to do!"—that's incredibly powerful!]

[A true talent indeed, no wonder he could write lines like "Life is not just about the present hardships, but also about poetry and distant places."]

【…】

Because of the widespread sharing by these haters, many of Shen Yan's remarks spread rapidly.

then.

Many people have changed their QQ signatures and Renren signatures.

A slightly more dramatic take would be "I am the master of my own life..."

For a more artsy look, try "Life is more than just the present hardships..."

Those who are a little cheeky might choose "A pretty face is a dime a dozen..."

They are clear-headed, or consciously clear-headed, and have adopted the attitude of "different circles, no need to force ourselves to fit in."

Seeing this scene, many haters broke down on the spot.

Malice!

They felt a deep sense of malice, as if the whole world was their enemy!

Meanwhile, Shen Yan's widely circulated catchphrases have also gained him a lot of casual fans.

Casual fans also have another name.

The more casual fans a celebrity has, the broader their base of support and the higher their national recognition. These fans may not necessarily participate in online rankings or follow celebrities.

but.

If they think the work is good, they might spend money.

If even one out of a hundred casual fans is willing to spend money, and the base is large enough, the cumulative effect can be quite substantial.

Especially tours.

A tour isn't about the number of die-hard fans.

How many die-hard fans does Iron Man have?

Despite dozens of tour shows, whether tickets sell well or not, the audience is still mostly casual fans.