text | Linghu Boguang
Jay Chou's latest album "'s greatest work " is officially launched. 's new album only went online for an hour, and the total sales of a certain music platform exceeded 100 million yuan. As of the publication of this post The sales volume is not stopping, and it will explode again tonight and tomorrow. The hot search for on various social platforms has exploded. Various and second-generation are also overwhelming. The key is that it is not like "singing and dancing idols" who are only popular among fans. Jay Chou's songs are quite popular.
There are several songs in this album that still have the characteristics of "high popularity", such as the Chinese style "Beautiful Beauty as Frost", to "Still Wandering", "Reflection" and "Pink Ocean" are all okay. But after listening to the entire album, I personally found that the old songs are not mentioned in the entire album, and a few new songs are the same as the prelude music video of "The Greatest Work" that was just launched online.
is very popular, but it is difficult to match the popularity of classic songs. It is really difficult to reproduce the popularity of last year's Eason Chan "The Lonely Warrior". Before that song became a "children's song" this year, it was extremely popular on the Internet last year, and its popularity both online and offline was also at an all-time high.
The new songs in this new album are much better in terms of popularity than "Great Works", but the main problem is that the breakthrough is not big. At the same time, there is a gap between the melodies and the easy-to-understand lyrics, such as Chinese style. The lyrics of "Beauty Like Frost" are obviously difficult to compare with previous Chinese-style songs such as "Blue and White Porcelain" and "Red Dust Inn".
The other new songs "Still Wandering", "Reflection" and "Pink Ocean" all have shadows of classic songs from the past, and they are also quite popular and good to listen to. But is afraid that it will be difficult to reproduce the "popularity" of his previous classic songs. The reason is largely due to the fact that talents are exhausted. Of course, to be precise, it is difficult to break through after reaching the peak of creation.
Jay Chou , Xu Song , Daolang and Wang Feng have all released new albums? Why are their songs no longer popular
Jay Chou's new album is the biggest hit in the Chinese music scene in July, but the "popularity" that the audience demands from other musicians is really not good. The "popularity" of Jay Chou's previous songs is simply What's awesome, the key is that it's not just Chinese style slow love songs, but also complex rap songs like " nocturne " and " in the name of the father ".
In fact, Jay Chou is not the only one who encounters this problem. All famous musicians who have passed their peak period and later release albums will encounter this problem. There are many established national musicians who have released new albums in the past two or three years, such as Dao Lang, Wang Feng, Xu Song, etc.
In 2020, Daolang released a new album "Tanci Huaben", and in 2021 he released a new album "Everyone in the World". Wang Feng released a new album "2020" in 2020, and Xu Song released a new album " Breathing Wild " in 2021.
Many people don’t know that they have released a new album. I have personally heard that ’s new album music is very professional, even several levels better than previous albums. Professionals will also tell you which section is which music style. , which instrumental arrangement is very advanced, the lyrics are open to interpretation, etc.
However, most fans who have listened to the new album have the same feeling. These new songs do sound quite "high-end", but the melody, lyrics and singing style are not as good as before, especially they do not have the "singing ability" of previous songs. Spend".
So, you see, their new album has very high ratings among professionals. Because of their popularity and status, the ratings from listeners are also very high. But when it comes to the audience’s KTV, music platforms, and various covers, their old songs are the most popular.
I believe that people who often listen to music have discovered this situation, so what is the reason?
The answer is very simple. In fact, whether it’s Daolang Xu Song or Wang Feng Jay Chou, if we just talk about music professionalism, Daolang and Xu Song were a little worse at the beginning, while Wang Feng and Jay Chou were much higher.This professionalism refers to the use of basic music knowledge and the combination of modern music industrialization.
For example, the use of melody and chords, the level of lyrics, singing skills, especially the arrangement of instruments, the timbre of instruments, and the layering of the arrangement, which are very important in arrangement and music production.
Xu Song started out as an online singer in Yeluzi, so he downloaded his arrangements and instrument configuration from the Internet. Daolang was also one of the first folk groups in the mainland music market at that time. Their early albums were actually very rough in terms of arrangement, instrument configuration, timbre, etc.
Their songs rely on a chord that leads to the end, followed by pleasant melodies and rhythms, easy-to-understand and easy-to-sing lyrics, and finally, the musician's recognizable voice and the content that the audience can empathize with.. Of course Xu Song's voice is recognizable, but his singing skills are definitely not comparable to Daolang's.
Wang Feng was originally a band in No. 43 Baojia Street in his early days, and to be honest, because of Cui Jian, the Chinese rock started by Mo Yan Sanjie paid attention to the music, arrangement and instrument matching from the beginning. At the same time, the lyrics and singing also There is a spirit of "criticality of the times".
Therefore, although Wang Feng's songs tend to be " pop rock " later, although many songs have the same motive and chords to the end, the combination of instruments and timbre in the music and arrangement are indeed much better, and they are definitely not like Xu Song. , Daolang felt "cheap" in Yeluzi at first.
"The Lonely Warrior" has become a popular children's song, but "The Greatest Work" is not popular? Why
Jay Chou and Wang Feng are different. Behind Jay Chou is Taiwan's "Folk Song Movement" that began in the 1970s, and then from Luo Dayou to Taiwan's four kings who established a mature and complete record industry to protect them.
We all know that Jay Chou is great, but his greatest strength is actually melody creation, although he also has certain lyrics and arrangement abilities. But the lyrics were all handed over to Fang Wenshan , Huang Junlang , etc., and the arrangers were Zhong Xingmin , Hong Jingyao , Lin Michael and other professionals.
One song only has four lyrics, music, arrangement and singing. Jay Chou's singing style can only be said to be above average. Jay Chou's strongest point is always song creation. This song includes rhythm and melody. Jay Chou, who studied classical music and is extremely talented, can do it alone. The music is so moving when you put it out. Not to mention that
lyrics are handled by professionals, the arrangement and instrument configuration are also left to professional arrangers. Taiwan has a mature record industry for more than 30 years, and arrangers can enrich musical details and emotions in arrangement and instruments. and atmosphere (including the use of harmony, of course).
Therefore, if only the vocal track is removed from Jay Chou's previous songs, it is still a superior pure music , but if the harmony track is put in, it becomes a different and excellent piece of music. This is the support of professional arrangers and mature industries. In this aspect, the music industry was immature, and folk musicians such as Dao Lang and Xu Song were comparable, as were mainland musicians at the time such as Phoenix Legend, Zheng Yuan , Xu Liang and other online musicians.
Don’t believe it? Compare the pop music on bad streets in mainland China from 2000 to 2010 with the pop music on bad streets in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Obviously they are all popular in the mainstream, but we think that Hong Kong and Taiwan pop music is not so "saliva" (of course many people despise Hong Kong and Taiwan guava ).
Some people may be curious. What I have said above does not explain why Jay Chou's new song "The Greatest Work", including Daolang, Xu Song and Wang Feng's new albums are not "popular" enough.
Because in Chinese music, excellent arrangement, instrument configuration and timbre, and the use of harmony have never been the most important, never been the most important, never been the most important -
The arrangement and instrumentation The configuration of timbres and the use of advanced harmonies have not always been the most important thing in the Chinese music scene. The aesthetics of Chinese popular music rests on three levels: recognizable voices, lyrics that are easy to understand and sing, and pleasant and brainwashing melodies and rhythms . It would be better if the content expressed can arouse a wide range of empathy.
In the era of short videos and online digital music, some singers’ voices are electronic or computer-synthesized. In the past, singers did not have strict requirements for singing skills, but now they no longer even have a recognizable voice. What about the results of
? As long as the melody of the song is simple and brainwashing, and the lyrics are easy to understand and sing, this kind of saliva song can still become popular.
The answer is cruel but very realistic, otherwise it would be difficult for us to explain a large number of short video divine songs such as "Learning to Meow", Internet divine songs such as "Down the Mountain", and the top ten hot songs of 2021. The Chinese public's Musical aesthetics are not that high, and capital promotes these things, which eventually leads to the proliferation of divine songs.
"The Greatest Works" is far inferior to past albums? The answer is simpler than we think
Why are the new albums released by Jay Chou, Xu Song, Dao Lang, Wang Feng, and even a large number of veteran musicians in recent years not very popular? The reason is that their new albums pay more attention to music industrialization and music professionalism. Speaking individually, the arrangement, instrument configuration and timbre, harmony and musical style are far more complex and of a higher level than before.
But their new album has lost the lyrics that are easy to understand and sing, the melodies and rhythms that are catchy and brainwashing, the singing that is recognizable but not complicated, and finally the content expression that resonates with the audience.
Of course, their previous songs not only had this feature, but the music was much more professional. This is the biggest difference between mainstream pop musicians and slobbery songs. Believe me, listeners in China and even the world like this kind of pop music (it’s just that Chinese listeners have too long a relationship development front because of their age).
Today’s veteran musicians such as Jay Chou cannot be said to have lost this ability. To be precise, they have passed their peak creative period and now it is difficult for them to break through their previous mature style in terms of creation, singing and music style.
This creator's creative talent has a time limit. How many people can break through this mature music style? How else can you break through?
Here is a simple example: If a well-known musician’s new song has no breakthrough in singing and music style, then the audience will scold you for resting on your laurels; if there is a comprehensive breakthrough in singing and music style but it is not good enough, fans and audiences will It doesn't make sense to scold you anymore.
In other words, you must achieve a comprehensive breakthrough in singing, creation and music style, and this new style must not lose to your previous mature style (behind the scenes, you must ensure good listening, professional music expression, etc.) , does anyone know how difficult this is?
Creators from all walks of life around the world, those who can make breakthroughs after more than ten or twenty years are very rare.
Therefore, when we listen to the new albums of veteran musicians such as Jay Chou, we usually feel that the music arrangement, instrument configuration and other professional aspects are stronger, even much better than before, but the music style, singing, music and past songs It feels a bit familiar, especially since the gameplay is quite fancy in every aspect.
But what? Their melody and rhythm are not as melodious as the previous songs, the lyrics are not so easy to understand, and the content they express when combined is not down to earth. These things are precisely what affect the popularity of popular songs the most. of.
Because arrangement, instrument configuration and harmony have never been the most important in Chinese music.
"The Greatest Work" cannot save Jay Chou, nor can it save the "Chinese music scene"
I personally have written long ago that this album cannot save Jay Chou, nor can it save the Chinese music scene. Because Jay Chou has long passed his creative peak, and his breakthroughs during his peak period promoted the development of several Chinese music styles. Now, 20 years later, we still have to rely on Jay Chou, so everyone should let Jay Chou go.
As for the Chinese music scene that cannot be saved, it is even simpler. The Chinese music scene cannot survive because the record era has collapsed. In the era of short videos and online digital music, China is very lacking in musicians with good foundation and good music like Jay Chou (Europe, America and Japan are strong in this). this point).
has a strong musical theory foundation, musical talent, exploration of music style and content, and creates music with a distinctive style. This is the fundamental logic of pop music. In July 2022, Jay Chou's new album revived the craze, but the popularity of the songs was not so good. This is the dilemma behind it.
What the current Chinese music scene lacks is not Jay Chou, but a healthy, benign and mature pop music market!
