HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 18 [018] The Star-Studded Chinese Music Scene
Today, Qi Yuan came to the wheat field to record a song, accompanied by a girl with delicate and elegant features.

Qi Yuan was talking with Song Ke and Gao Xiaosong. She stood quietly beside Qi Yuan and, apart from a brief self-introduction at the beginning, did not interrupt any of the topics.

"Ah Yuan, have you heard the news about Zhang Yusheng's car accident in Taiwan? Besides that, two high-quality albums were released in the Chinese music scene this month."

On the 1st, Magic Stone Records' Chang Chen-yue released the album "This Afternoon is Boring", and the title track "First Experience of Love" quickly became a hit in Taiwan.

Karen Mok, who signed with Rock Records, released her Mandarin album "Be Yourself," which includes three hit songs: "He Doesn't Love Me," "Hiroshima Mon Amour," and "Radio Love Song."

These songs immediately topped the charts in Taiwan and Hong Kong upon their release.

Song Ke worriedly analyzed the current situation for Qi Yuan.

Why did Song Ke emphasize Zhang Zhenyue's rise to fame and Karen Mok's powerful new album? The answer is simple.

The record markets in Taiwan and Hong Kong are declining, while the rapidly rising mainland market is becoming increasingly important.

Don't underestimate the mainland market; with the rise of the mainland economy, the record market is growing larger and larger.

Yes, it is undeniable that most of the products sold in mainland China are pirated.

But there are so many people in mainland China, so pirated copies sell a lot, and so do legitimate copies.

For example, Karen Mok's "Be Yourself" only achieved its annual sales of 800,000 copies thanks to its huge success in both Taiwan and mainland China.

Including Richie Jen's "Too Softhearted" at the end of last year, the album's signing and sales performance in Taipei was mediocre, and it did not become a hit overnight.

This album became a hit in Beijing first, and then its popularity spread back to Taiwan.

Moving forward a year or two, with the further decline of the Hong Kong record market, singers in Hong Kong had to rely on the massive mainland market to achieve album sales of one million copies.

In short, the mainland market has become a new arena for Hong Kong singers to compete in.

In this new arena, the production concepts and quality of works from the mainland are often inferior to those from the other side, so they are often overwhelmed by the albums from the other side.

It seems to be a consensus among industry insiders that mainland singers are not as good as Hong Kong and Taiwan singers, at least in terms of the record market.

Qi Yuan is also from mainland China. His debut album will be released in December. At that time, facing the competition from albums by artists such as Karen Mok, it is very likely that his debut album sales will be affected.

By the way, last month, EMI Records, the label the "Princess" is signed to, released her self-titled album, "Princess." Songs like "You're Happy So I'm Happy" and "Human World" became incredibly popular, topping various music charts in mainland China.

The month before last, PolyGram Records, the record label of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Zhang Xueyou, released "I Want to Go for a Breeze with You".

In addition, another of the Four Heavenly Kings, Andy Lau, plans to release a new album at the end of the year.

After listening to Song Ke's words, Qi Yuan couldn't help but sigh that this was truly the golden age of Chinese pop music, a time of dazzling stars.

One strong contender after another took the stage, and each of the aforementioned albums featured a hit song with extremely high popularity.

These are just established singers. Qi Yuan himself also knows that new monsters like Shun Zi and Tao Ze will emerge at the end of the year.

With so many monsters in the market, it's no wonder Song Kexin was worried.

Na Ying and other top mainland singers have been overshadowed by Hong Kong and Taiwan singers, let alone Qi Yuan, a newcomer.

Today's recording went exceptionally smoothly; the song "Love at the Corner" was recorded in just over two hours.

This is related to Qi Yuan's good condition today, and also to Qi Yuan's increasing proficiency in recording songs.

"All the songs have been recorded, and the album will now enter the post-production process. Your song 'You'll Be With Me All My Life' has been very well received in Beijing. We have reached cooperation agreements with several radio stations in other regions to strive to gain a certain level of recognition nationwide with the release of your first album."

When Qi Yuan was about to leave, Song Ke called him back. "Wait a minute."

Qi Yuan turned back, and Song Ke glanced at Zhang Tong, who was waiting at the company entrance, and reminded him, "Don't let your relationship interfere with your work. I've staked everything on you. Come to the company more often and keep an eye on the post-production. Also, I'll let you know later when you shoot the MV cover and promotional posters."

Even before her debut album was released, Qi Yuan clearly felt her workload increasing.

He wants to cherish this precious time from now until December.

After his debut album was released, he wouldn't have the leisure he has now.

Who knows, I might get recognized just by going out.

He didn't say it out loud, but deep down he was very confident about his debut album.

As I said before, even if that Taiwanese boy who loves milk tea debuts this year, he'll still have to admit defeat in front of this first album.

At this point, Zhou Jielun should have signed with Wu Zhongxian's Alfa, but she'll probably still be a junior employee at the company, far from her debut.

……

A Western restaurant near a wheat field.

Qi Yuan put a slice of steak into his mouth and chewed. It was juicy and tasted pretty good.

In this day and age, Western food symbolizes high-class living, so it's better to choose a Western restaurant when taking a girl out for the first time.

There are even more outrageous cases where people simply hold their wedding banquet at KFC.

Years later, this would be a laughing stock, but now it's considered a trendy and even prestigious thing. Can you believe it?

Qi Yuan could only comment that reality is more fantastical than fiction, since reality doesn't require logic.

"Getting a meal from the talented Qi is harder than climbing to heaven." Zhang Tong dabbed the grease from his lips with a napkin.

"This is just the beginning. We'll be even busier after the album is released, and I might not even have much time to go back to school then." Qi Yuan chuckled softly.

As he was leaving home in the morning, he received a debt collection call from Zhang Tong, demanding that he fulfill his promise to have that meal with Zhang Tong.

He was busy recording songs at the company, but Zhang Tong didn't mind at all. He sat in the wheat field for more than two hours.

Zhang Tong is a very smart person. She secretly applied to become a member of the performing arts troupe and easily passed the exam. She also ranked first in the entrance exam for the Central Academy of Drama. These achievements prove that she is very intelligent.

She sensed another layer of meaning in Qi Yuan's words: "It seems you are very confident in your album. Do you think your album will be a bestseller?"

They're not just confident, they're overconfident.

With little time left before he could return to school, Zhang Tong couldn't even imagine how famous he would become.
"It's possible, it might really sell out." Qi Yuan said his true feelings in a joking tone.

Saying such things in front of Song Ke, the record company boss, is immature.

It's fine to say it in front of Zhang Tong, especially since the atmosphere is right. He said it as a joke, so no one will take it seriously.

Zhang Tong didn't take it seriously. She pretended to admire him and flattered him, saying, "Then I, a humble woman, wish in advance that the talented Qi will become famous throughout the country with his first major, defeat Zhang Xueyou and Liu Dehua, and become the brightest star in the sky."

"Thank you for your kind words!" Qi Yuan raised her glass and clinked glasses with Zhang Tong.

(End of this chapter)