I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 165 The First PK

Out of professional instinct, the vinyl expert's first reaction was: Could this be auto-tuned?

But the thought was quickly extinguished.

As a professional music critic who makes a living by listening, if he can't even tell whether a song has been edited or not, he should just switch careers and not bother staying in the music industry.

Admittedly, with the advanced music industry today, audio editing in recording studios has long been an indispensable process. Even for powerful national team singers releasing singles, some audio editing will be done in the later stages of production.

Of course, these are all permitted, or rather, they are the inevitable requirements of the market as the music industry develops to a certain stage.

This is similar to how top fashion magazines invite world-renowned supermodels to shoot their covers. After the photographer takes the photos, they will use software to fine-tune and retouch them in post-production. They cannot simply use the original photos directly.

The goal is to ultimately present a perfect work of art.

The same principle applies to tone correction.

However, in music production, pitch correction can only fix the accuracy of pitch, intonation, rhythm, and duration.

If the producer is willing, they can completely edit a tone-deaf person to the point of having a top-notch singing ability. However, the final result will look like an overly filtered photo with a plastic-like quality, which is very unnatural.

Excessive audio editing can result in a mechanical, electronic-sounding voice, almost like an AI voice, lacking any distinctiveness.

Moreover, audio editing is not a panacea; it cannot correct emotions or breathy sounds.

Now, Yang Du's performance of "Life is Like Summer Flowers" is so coherent and natural in its expression of emotion and breath, it is in no way inferior to any top-tier singer.

The authentic singing style and rich emotions almost overflow from the music, making it impossible to fake.

In other words, this is Yang Du's true singing ability.

Not only is it good, it's extremely good.

"Yang Du's singing is amazing!"

The vinyl record expert was completely baffled. He had naturally seen Yang Du's live performance of "Birthday Blessing Song" on Lao Yi Lao, or rather, there were very few people in the entire Chinese music scene who hadn't seen that video, since it was the only legitimate way to understand Yang Du's singing skills.

To be honest, he was completely different from how he is now.

"Is it really true that if you understand one method, you understand all methods, and a producer who can't write lyrics can't be a good singer?"

"Never mind, never mind, let's listen to the song first."

The vinyl record expert felt that his usual listening habits had completely broken down in the face of Yang Du's "Life is Like a Summer Flower." He scratched his few remaining hairs and continued to listen attentively.

The song continues.

"I've come from afar, and it just so happens that you're here too—"

"Obsessed with wandering the mortal world, I go wild for her—"

Upon hearing this, the vinyl record expert felt a chill run down his spine.

Admittedly, before clicking on "Life is Like Summer Flowers," Yang Du had set extremely high expectations in his mind because of his past achievements, but now he found that he was still too conservative.

Not only is the singing excellent, but even the lyrics are poetic.

"I'm here, right here—"

"Fleeting as a glimpse of beauty, as dazzling as summer flowers—"

This unexpected sense of satisfaction brought the vinyl expert an extreme sense of pleasure and enjoyment.

This is what listening to music should be like!

"Yang Du, Yang Du, is this your true strength? How many more surprises do you have in store for me?!"

Yang Du didn't see the vinyl record expert's review until the next morning.

Because of work, he got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Chen Chen had already driven the car downstairs and brought breakfast.

Yang Du was browsing Weibo while eating breakfast.

"The arrangement is based on folk music, with electronic and rock elements added."

This combination could easily become a hodgepodge in other songs, but it is surprisingly harmonious in "Life is Like Summer Flowers".

The reason is simple: they serve the same theme, a raw, primal, and surging life impulse.

Even if it withers in the next second, it is a magnificent act of burning all its colors to the fullest in this moment!

This music critic, whom Yang Du had met once at Tao Cheng's "Swallowtail Butterfly" audition, was lavish in his praise.

"Speaking of this, we have to mention the poetic lyrics of 'Life is Like Summer Flowers,' which completely break away from the love and sentimentalism common in pop music."

The brevity, fragility, and ultimate brilliance of life—this poignant and romantic spirit of knowing life is as fleeting as a shooting star, yet still burning brightly until the very last moment—is deeply moving.

"———— Surprisingly, Yang Du's singing skills are the biggest surprise in the song 'Life is Like Summer Flowers'."

I wonder how many people, like me, were most worried about Yang Du's voice before clicking play.

But now, we can say that Yang Du has filled his last gap in talent; this young and gifted producer is now an excellent singer-songwriter.

Finally, the vinyl expert gave a specific score of 9.1/10, which is quite good.

"No wonder he's a music critic, he knows how to talk," Yang Du thought. "And he makes the person he's praising feel very comfortable."

[The teacher's words are so true! After listening to the Governor's "Life is Like a Summer Flower," all I can say is that it's beautiful, but I can't explain why!]

【Ahhh—!!! Unbelievable! Yang Du's first time as a singer and he actually delivered such a satisfactory performance! I'm so awesome!】

"Right? Being a fan of a celebrity like this is so effortless, it really boosts the morale of the fans."

—"We will support Yang Du as the new king!"

The opening humming was absolutely amazing! After listening to "Moonlight," I felt it was ethereal and beautiful, but after listening to "Life is Like a Summer Flower," all I wanted to do was run ten laps around the track and unleash my boundless vitality.

—"You'd better be right about vitality (laughs)."

"It's just vitality, what did you think it was? (Squinting)"

The lyrics are so beautiful; they evoke a feeling similar to when I first heard "Red Rose," but one is a sobering helplessness, while the other is a dazzling impulsiveness—two completely different moods.

[Moonlight Sonata is good, but Life is Like a Summer Flower is even better!]

—"But from what I've read in music reviews, it seems that 'Life is Like Summer Flowers' is only slightly better."

"—Okay, okay, so this is just wishful thinking, a slightly better redefinition."

"Slightly better? The reviews for 'Life is Like Summer Flowers' are amazing! Almost all of them are 7 or higher on a 10-point scale."

—"Anyway, I've already seen several negative reviews of Yang Du."

Someone mentioned the ratings, and I did a count. As of 8 a.m., there were a total of 27 music critics who posted reviews for both "Life is Like Summer Flowers" and "Moonlight".

Among them, the reviews for "Life is Like Summer Flowers" and "Moonlight" were concentrated in the 7-8 point range, but "Life is Like Summer Flowers" clearly had more reviews above 8 points. Interestingly, "Life is Like Summer Flowers" also had more reviews below 6 points.

— "Hmm, something feels off."

—"I went to read those negative reviews, and they were all talking about empty concepts. After reading them, I still didn't know what was wrong with them. In short, they were just trying to smear me."

—"It must have affected the interests of capital."

The biological characteristic of summer flowers is their short blooming period; they bloom in the hottest summer and wither immediately afterward. "Life is Like a Summer Flower" truly reflects this pattern, which is why there is a world that is both beautiful and tragic.

Life is fleeting, like a blade of grass in autumn. Brief as a glimpse of a swan, brilliant as a summer flower!