Huayu 1995

Chapter 12 "A Lifetime of Love"

While Wu Xiubo was pondering, the group had already arrived at the performance stage downstairs.

Su Chao selected two songs on the playlist, and Boss Yan also selected two. These four songs would be the test for today, determining whether Su Chao could stay at the karaoke bar and what status he would enjoy there.

Being able to sing and singing well are two different things.

With the music director present, the sound engineer didn't dare to act arrogantly and worked very diligently to prepare the setlist.

"Why are there new people again?"

As soon as Huang Bo arrived, he noticed a new face standing on the stage.

"New people have been coming in every few days lately."

Sha Baoliang and he are both dancers and both like Michael Jackson's dances, so they have a pretty good relationship.

Moreover, during their performances at the bar, the two often collaborated on elaborate stunts, their collaboration far exceeding that of ordinary colleagues, making them veritable "grassroots artistic conjoined twins" of Casablanca.

But Huang Bo didn't know that Sha Baoliang would become a household name across the country in a few years with his song "Dark Fragrance," and he could live off it for the rest of his life.

As for past experiences and friends, those naturally need to be severed.

Of course, a few years later, Huang Bo surpassed him, and it was Sha Bao Liang's turn to ride on his coattails, prompting him to sigh:
When you become famous, you're surrounded by kind people!

"I can't take it anymore, this guy who came this time is even more handsome than the last one..."

Huang Bo let out a wail.

There are so many handsome guys in the world, why can't there be one more like me?

why!
"Yes, we probably have no chance of ever getting ahead."

Sha Bao Liang sighed as well.

Wu Xiubo, who was standing clearly separated from them but not too far away, couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this.

Whether he's handsome or not, he's more handsome than you guys.

Who gave you two ugly bastards the courage to compare your looks with this kid?

He acts like a clown all the time.

Of course, Wu Xiubo didn't want Su Chao to perform too well either.

Otherwise, if he really leaves one day, even though he's successfully retiring and wants to go into business, people will still say that he was forced out by the new kid.

He has no shame.

The sound engineer gave an OK sign.

Su Chao held his guitar, waiting for the music to begin.

Some people have asked, "Does not holding a guitar affect singing?"

Of course, it won't have any impact.

But that's the kind of high-class image they wanted. In his early days, Wu Xiubo also presented himself as a guitar-playing rogue, and was known as a "dapper young man" or "dapper gentleman".

The karaoke bars are officially open from 6 PM to midnight, but in reality, the hours are not strictly regulated.

There were already some guests present.

Perhaps because they enjoy watching a good spectacle, the customers who come to the karaoke bar are happy to see the auditioning singers make fools of themselves.

These singers are actually not very talented. They only saw the survivor bias of Wu Xiubo, Sha Baoliang, and others, thinking that singing in bars was lucrative, so they carried a guitar and went around trying their luck.

"Wow, this test question is not easy!"

People who frequent karaoke bars can tell what song it is just by hearing the intro.

This is Priscilla Chan's "A Thousand Songs," a song that ranks among the top five most requested songs in mainland Chinese karaoke bars.

Although everyone can sing it, it's not easy to sing it well.

Su Chao's advantage lies in the fact that he has heard too many versions, including Leslie Cheung's version, Alan Tam's version, and even Zhou Chen's version...

Of course, Priscilla Chan's version is unsurpassable.

Even if Su Chao were to work himself to death, he still couldn't surpass him.

All he needs to do is avoid making mistakes.

Music director Yan Siyuan sat in a booth, along with his mother, Sister Sang Hong.

Since there's a top courtesan, it's not surprising that there's a madam as well.

However, their title is "cultural broker".

They have their own set of behavioral logic.

A guest touching a thigh is called physical art; sending prostitutes to Guanyuan is called humanistic care.

This madam in Casablanca is no ordinary person either. Not only is she a former ballet teacher, but she was also divorced during a special era, making her a very modern figure.

"This one should be able to stay... Just this image is enough. We have plenty of people here who can sing, but almost none of them are good-looking."

When Sister Hong said this, she glanced at Wu Xiubo.

This top star is truly unworthy of the title.

Sha Bao Liang is certainly energetic, but Wu Xiu Bo has already declared himself the top star before he even left. However, he doesn't seem to care about his appearance and is still going for the comedic route.

"Hmm, it's better than I expected."

Yan Siyuan nodded, somewhat satisfied with Su Chao's performance.

However, the second song he chose was also quite challenging.

Cui Jian's "Nothing to My Name"!
The difficulty for Su Chao in singing this song lies in the fact that he is just a kid and it's hard for him to capture the sense of vicissitude that Cui Jian sang.

However, if Su Chao's rendition of "A Thousand Songs" was just average, then his rendition of "Nothing to My Name" was truly outstanding.

I kept asking you, "When will you come with me?" But you always laughed at me, saying I had nothing...

The moment she opens her mouth, it causes excruciating pain, giving the illusion that her ex is dead.

Oh...when will you come with me!
Music director Yan Siyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that Su Chao's singing skills were exceptionally good; although his timbre was unique and his voice was quite captivating, his lack of skill was obvious.

But Su Chao is undeniably handsome.

Moreover, she can sing Cantonese and Cui Jian songs, which is enough for her to establish herself in the nightclub.

Last year's "Loneliness Makes Me So Beautiful" made Chen Ming famous, but then she passed away.

This year, the film "A Lian" made Dai Jun famous, but he has also passed away.

It was clear that Wu Xiubo was also considering backing down.

Casablanca, which relies heavily on resident singers, is facing a shortage of available performers.

Expecting a sandbag that's ugly but doesn't realize it to shine?

Or are they still hoping for Yang Kun, who gets fired every now and then?
The newcomer, Zhou Xun, sings only so-so, and she's a fiery little wildcat.

Huang Bo...hehe...

The only reason we let him stay was because we're both from Qingdao.

"Next up is 'When Love Has Become the Past,' the theme song that Lao Li composed for 'Farewell My Concubine.' It was a song that Director Chen almost rejected. Actually, Lao Li wrote this song for a girl. The two of them are really complicated, but the song is indeed a good one. Now I'm sharing it with you!"

Wu Xiubo is known as a dandy gentleman; his eyes are full of affection, and he occasionally displays a charming smile.

His entire demeanor exuded an air of ingratiation towards the wealthy women in the audience.

Unlike Wu Xiubo's typhoon style, Su Chao seemed particularly carefree.

He wasn't standing very straight, and his tone was lazy.

In this day and age, information is not readily available. Many people may have heard of "When Love Has Become the Past," but they know nothing about the story behind the song.

Su Chao conveyed a wealth of information in just a few words.

Unfortunately, he only spoke a few words during the gap between the two songs, leaving listeners wanting more but also feeling helpless.

Whether you're a man or a woman, who doesn't enjoy gossip?

When I sang this song, the karaoke bar had already opened for business, and people kept coming in.

Many people have seen the new singer today.

"Hey, a newcomer has arrived today, and she sings quite well."

"He's got more charisma, wow, he's even more handsome than celebrities."

"Don't you like people who are fair-skinned and clean-cut?"

"Oh dear, I used to like fair-skinned and clean-cut people, but now I suddenly feel that pretty boys are too unhealthy."

"Hehe, you just think the pretty boy is too fat, don't you?"

"Him? What kind of pretty boy is he? I bet the singer is no more than twenty years old, maybe even a virgin."

"Can you see this?"

……

Su Chao has already performed his fourth song, which is also the last song in his audition.

Yan Siyuan chose "A Thousand Songs" and "Nothing to My Name", while Su Chao chose "When Love Has Become the Past" and "A Lifetime of Love".

Finally, this song is the ending theme of "A Chinese Odyssey".

"A Chinese Odyssey" was released in two parts in Hong Kong at the beginning of the year.

"A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box" barely grossed over HK$2500 million, while "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella" fared slightly better at less than HK$2900 million. These figures seem substantial, but compared to their HK$6000 million production cost, the box office results can only be described as utterly dismal.

The situation was so dire that Star Overseas Film Company, which Stephen Chow had just founded last year, went bankrupt.

In a fit of anger, director Liu Zhenwei left for abroad, vowing never to touch the film industry again.

Most importantly, there was a barrage of criticism from the public.

Have you ever seen a Sun Wukong who wanted to kill Tang Sanzang and was also having a romantic relationship with a demon?
Have you ever seen a movie where someone can travel through time and space in a box, creating chaos?
The most outrageous thing is Stephen Chow's nonsensical lines, comical actions, and exaggerated props. What kind of "rubbish" is this?
Actually, the criticism didn't start after the film was released; there were already many questions during the process of co-producing the film with Xi'an Film Studio.

For example, the director of "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo," Zhang Zien, who was the deputy artistic director of Xi'an Film Studio, felt that the film did not represent the artistic pursuit of Xi'an Film Studio after watching the finished product, and could even be considered cultural garbage.

Zhao Jiping, who was in charge of the music, also shook his head at the pile of "internal organs" in the studio after watching the scene of Chun Shisan Niang fighting the Bull Demon King. Afterwards, Zhao Jiping specifically instructed that his name should not be mentioned at the end of the film, as he did not want his lifelong reputation to be ruined.

There's no way around it; the story of Journey to the West is just too familiar to everyone.

Who hasn't read "Journey to the West" seven or eight times?

Such subversion is generally unacceptable to the public.

As a result, the total box office in mainland China was only 40 yuan, which can be described as "the most devastating Waterloo in the history of cultural dissemination".

Su Chao was very surprised to find this song on the playlist.

So I chose it without hesitation.

This song is very difficult to sing, but Su Chao loved it in his past life and practiced it a lot. He sang it at every event, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it his signature song.

At the same time, his peak guitar skills are also reflected in this song.

Perhaps there really is a Moonlight Box in this world.

Because Su Chao's voice also traveled through time and space.

The sea of ​​suffering churns with love and hate; in this world, fate is inescapable…

The setting sun cast long shadows on the city wall, and the wind and sand swept over the lonely figure of Supreme Treasure. In the ethereal Cantonese melody, the regret of unrequited love turned into countless whispers in the wind.

"Thank you~"

As the music gradually stopped, Su Chao, holding his guitar, bowed to thank the audience.

Too much praise can easily lead to mediocrity.

However, Su Chao still considers this movie and this song to be masterpieces.

(End of this chapter)