The bet came quickly and urgently.
Only to see 45-year-old Wang Lihong, pulling out an electric razor from behind, is scraping off the beard that has grown to the throat knot one by one.
During the period, do not forget to turn their heads to the 680,000 people in the live broadcast room at the right time to publicize, let them order the online singing course produced by their app "Yuexue", a class time of 30 days, a total of 1699 yuan.
"I'll shave while you go shopping."
This was originally a normal live broadcast with goods, but with Wang Lihong's sentence "the marketing amount reached 3,000 on the spot to shave" and instantly white-hot, the passers-by who were attracted into the live broadcast room were instantly blinded, and the Zhang Jizhong who looked like Keanu Reeves in front of him was still the Wang Lihong I knew?
But I have to say that this trick works.
In the one-hour live broadcast, the cumulative number of viewers was 12.32 million, and the total sales were 1.17 million yuan.
Wang Lihong, who is well versed in the live broadcast business, dedicates various fan benefits to the camera, compares the heart, sings, and is very hard, treating those viewers who do not discuss the course and chatting, and occasionally coldly replying: "If you don't buy my course, don't come to Lianmai." ”
The crowd passed Wang Lihong's confused behavior in a single sentence of midlife crisis.
But in my opinion, behind the move of a talented musician who learned violin at the age of 6, piano at the age of 8, and composed lyrics and music at the age of 13, who also had a double honorary doctorate from Williamsum University and the Berkeley School of Music, there are deeper reasons than the mid-life crisis.
A live broadcast that unravels the wounds of the musician
Everything seems to have already begun.
As early as December 2020, Wang Lihong frequently proposed his entrepreneurial project "Monthly Learning" on variety shows such as "Every Day Upward" and "Hundred Changes Big Coffee Show".
He spent a lot of time, and even taught himself programming for this purpose, independently writing 87 pages of course textbooks, and the first edition of "Monthly Learning" was written by him.
Wang Lihong in front of the screen, without trimming, beard pulling, but somewhat similar to the stereotype of programmers.
When he first entered the Apple Store, he audited the card for several days, and he personally called CEO Tim Cook to get the app on the shelves.
The evaluation of this course on the Internet was mixed, and those who recognized it said that they could learn a good way to speak, and the knowledge of vocalization.
Critics say Wang Lihong is "cutting leeks." Because although the course is divided into 30 days, but there are 3 hours of practice courses, the total teaching time adds up to only 6 hours and 15 minutes, the average one-hour lesson costs nearly 300 yuan, and this is still an online course.
"They're all down to selling classes?" A netizen sent out a question in the hearts of everyone.
Aren't musicians immune? Also come to live the dividend mouth to get a piece of the pie?
What has Wang Lihong been doing all these years?
In fact, the last time I saw Wang Lihong on the screen was in the variety show "Pick Up the Recruits and Predecessors", the form of the program was to invite various "seniors" in the industry to discuss with the Times Youth League, and Wang Lihong was the first senior.
However, just after the official announcement, some Douban netizens commented: "Judging from the guests in the first issue, it will be boring." Although when Wang Lihong debuted, the members of the Times Youth League had not yet been born.
This is not the first time that Wang Lihong has been "disliked".
In 2020, in the music variety show "The Voice of Heavenly Gifts", because of the epidemic, Wang Lihong was in isolation at the time, and could only participate in the recording through the internet, he found out early that there would be a delay in video recording, so he tried his best to avoid it when singing "No Questions Asked" with Chen Chusheng, and the effect shown was perfect.
But Ding Wei, a music critic present, said: "I look forward to the next time you can show the 'subversion' in the arrangement." ”
Wang Lihong realized that everyone preferred "spicy dishes".
What he had advocated before: music is a way of life, and you can sit down and talk sincerely like a friend. It is no longer used in variety shows.
In the era when traffic is king, the older generation of musicians are forced to squeeze into this super-fast-growing, fast-flowing intersection, and urgently need to find a new way out.
As Wang Lihong experienced, from debuting as a cassette, later to a CD, and then to the development of streaming media, young people came to a wave, left a few songs, and went to a wave, it is difficult to stand.
This is also the dilemma of today's musicians, after the traffic is realized, it quickly disappears in the public's vision, and only Jay Chou, a singer who has debuted for more than 15 years, has dominated the list for a long time in major types of music software.
And these "old" people, who still insist on making music, are also racking their brains to please the younger ears.
After being questioned in "The Voice of Heavenly Gifts", Wang Lihong did bring a "spicy" song, "Drifting to the North" cooperated with Nawu Kere, a fast-talking chinese-English mix, with an average of 8 words per second and clear words, raw and compared nawu Kere, a professional rapper, which stunned the singers and judges present, called "god-level performance".
Such a change cannot all be said to be a compromise, but also has the meaning of "declaration of war".
As Wang Lihong once reminded young singers in an interview: "Learning music is a marathon for a lifetime, not just a sprint race." ”
The annual harvest is over 100 million, and the family is surrounded by four walls
People seem to be about to forget that before Wang Lihong became a "sharp brother", he was the object of pursuit in the entire entertainment industry, the idol of the idol.
Li Yifeng is his super fan brother, Deng Chao said in "Run Brothers" that the favorite singer is Wang Lihong, and even Jackie Chan's big brother once openly said at the press conference: "Wang Lihong would be good if he were my son." ”
Indeed, when he was young, Wang Lihong was a typical child of other people's families, always a positive teaching material.
Born in a Kochi family, from wang Lihong's great-grandfather's generation, the whole family has been elite.
His maternal great-grandfather Xu Fengzao was a former admiral, and his grandmother Xu Liufen graduated from Tsinghua University and published the book Principles of Accounting. His father, Wang Dazhong, graduated from National Taiwan University and served as the director of pediatrics in the United States, and his elder brother Wang Lide received a congratulatory message from President Bush for his first college entrance examination results, and was admitted to Harvard but went to Yale to study medicine, and his younger brother Wang Likai was directly admitted to MIT.
Looking at Wang Lihong, he began to contact music at the age of 3, composed his own lyrics and compositions at the age of 13, mastered nearly 10 kinds of instruments such as piano, violin, drum kit, erhu, xun, yangqin, liuqin, etc., speaks Chinese, English and French, including a little Cantonese and Japanese, and in 2016 won the double honorary doctorate degree from Williams University and Berkeley College of Music, and even the level of sports is often praised as an athlete.
But even so, Wang Lihong still joked that he was the weakest in the family.
When he was young, the three brothers of the Wang family, (from left to right) younger brothers Wang Likai, Wang Lihong, and the eldest brother Wang Lide
On the road of singers, Wang Lihong walked quite smoothly.
At the age of 19, he debuted with "Love Enemy Beethoven", won the Best Male Singer and Best Producer Award at the age of 22, and became the first pop musician to hold a concert at the Beijing Bird's Nest at the age of 36, not to mention the basic operations of often showing his face at the Spring Festival Gala and New Year's Eve party.
Debuted a quarter of a century ago, he wrote more than 100 songs, appeared in more than 20 movies, and rarely had scandals.
In this era of mass production of idols in this 101 system, high-quality idols are like the pyramids of the eight wonders of the world, often heard of, but few people have really seen it, and Wang Lihong at that time was absolutely outstanding if placed at this moment.
I thought that with Wang Lihong's experience, he should have made a lot of money in the entertainment industry, but in fact, he often "enjoyed" the music circle with his door.
Before he got married, in addition to a piano in his family, he could even be described as "four walls of the family".
Clothes are basically not bought, they are all borrowed. When Wang Lihong was a child, he always picked up the clothes of his brother and brother to wear, and when he became a star, he borrowed brand clothes to attend events, and then returned them after the activities were over.
Customized a fiery red performance suit, sewed and patched dozens of times, wore a full 57 concerts, not to mention, sharp-eyed fans also found that the striped shirt wang Lihong wore during the Dragon Boat Festival in 2015 was actually worn when singing "The Only" in 2001.
The 2015 Dragon Boat Festival tweeted, and the styling in the 2001 "The Only" album
But these things are too commonplace in Wang Lihong, and it is common to wear a dress for 5 years, and it is not accidental to wear it for 10 years.
In 2018, when recording the "Spit Conference", his friend Tao Zhe unveiled Wang Lihong's old bottom, saying that he did not even have a pair of good socks at home, all of which were broken, and the talk show actor Chi Zi who was present did not believe it, took off Wang Lihong's shoes in public, leaked two large holes in the soles of the socks, laughed straight to the thighs, and looked at Wang Lihong on the side, embarrassed to laugh.
"I hate waste, and as long as the clothes aren't so bad that I can't wear them, I won't throw them away."
Wang Lihong once said in an interview that he has a very clear plan for income, 10% is used to make music, and the remaining 90% is used for public welfare.
In the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, he called for the cure of the disease with his songs, sang many public welfare propaganda songs, and invested a lot of manpower and material resources into action, and served as an international youth ambassador.
In order to appeal to fans to protect animals, he practiced it, and in 2020, ate a vegetarian diet for a whole year.
Some people may not know that today, he and his wife have adopted 22 orphans in Africa.
In people's impressions, Wang Lihong is an idol, but he has never been a traffic idol.
In addition to traffic, excellent strength and social responsibility are the real meanings of the word "idol".
Two cross-borders, two controversies
In Wang Lihong's career, there have been two crossovers, the first time was as an actor, And Zhang Guorong led him to the door.
In 2000, Zhang Guorong directed and acted in a non-smoking public welfare film "Smoke And Smoke", Wang Lihong served as the second male, playing his nephew, green and melancholy, but also appropriate, that year, he was 24 years old.
Later, on the 25th anniversary of the release of "Farewell to the King", Wang Lihong took his wife to see it, and in an interview, he also talked about interesting things with Zhang Guorong, because of that cooperation, Zhang Guorong gave him a kind nickname "kid", his name was Zhang Guorong "Uncle Leslie".
The introduction is the blessing of the emperor of the film, and the representative works have the guidance of the famous guide. Kwong Yu-min in Ang Lee's director "Color Ring" can be regarded as officially introducing actor Wang Lihong to the public.
In fact, this role was originally scheduled to be Chen Bailin, as early as two years before the filming of "Color Ring", Ang Lee threw an olive branch to Chen Bailin. However, due to the female protagonist Wang Jiazhi's appointment of Tang Wei, the age of the overall college student actors must be slightly increased by a few years, Andang Lee found Wang Lihong, who had just won the Taiwan Golden Melody Award, and added a play to him, from a soy sauce role to a male second.
The assassination of Lao Cao and the emotional drama with Tang Wei in the movie are the growth points of the role of Kwong Yumin, the role has become more, and the cooperation with Liang Chaowei-level actors, Wang Lihong's pressure can be imagined, and at the beginning of filming, he could not enter the role well, which caused the dissatisfaction of director Ang Lee.
But Wang Lihong humbly asked for advice, often staring at the tea in the cup to train the concentration of the eyes, a stare is a few hours, the film was filmed in the second half, Wang Lihong's faith in the actor deepened, can quickly enter the role in the moment when the camera is set up, and later, he was called "the biggest surprise of this film" by Ang Lee.
After three years of dormancy, actor Wang Lihong launched his directorial debut "Love Notice", with a mediocre reputation, a Douban score of 5.9, and failed to pass the line.
Wang Lihong did not fail to work hard, the script was changed 53 drafts, and the storyboard was stacked two fists high.
At that time, Wang Lihong ate, wore and slept, and was in the crew.
Winter filming spring scenes, he in order to ensure that thousands of crew members can be warmer, each meal will add a bowl of soup, warm everyone's body, in the filming of a 12-hour long scene, he is afraid that the extras have been standing will be cold, but also improvised a small concert on the spot, with everyone singing and dancing, dispelling the chill.
In fact, "Love Notice" is a sincere work, the film quotes a lot of Chinese folk music and allusions, the covenant of the Boyazi period, the good fortune of the mountain flowing water to find the sound, all through liu Yifei who plays the kite, And Wang Lihong who plays the piano. The song "The Thing You Don't Know" also became a hit song, and was nominated for the best original song at the 47th Taiwan Golden Horse Awards.
Only from the perspective of the movie, the story is thin and the idol is sweet, which is really not an excellent work.
A musician wants to be a director, and he is determined to have it, but it is not enough to work hard.
However, Wang Lihong did not lose heart, insisting on making some achievements in film and television, and successively filmed "Very Lucky", "Big Soldier And Little General", "Ancient Sword Qitan Zhiming Liuyue Zhaoming", etc., but the average score was not more than 5 points.
The most brilliant role is Shen Guangyao in "No Questions Asked", Shen Guangyao in the film is from a famous family, handsome in appearance, but he has no hesitation in devoting himself to the cause of protecting the motherland, and Wang Lihong himself has a high degree of compatibility, he also won the best actor of the 10th Macao International Film Festival with this film that was released 7 years overdue, and has since disappeared on the big screen.
In the many years of filming, Wang Lihong has experienced same-sex scandals, marriage, and children, and from the beginning of "Wang Yuzhi" slowly became a musical predecessor who loves his family and children.
Staying unsteadily in the field that has already flourished, with the tenacity of a newborn calf, turning to another field and touching a nose of ash, a "movie heart" gradually calmed down.
But Wang Lihong was idle, and the second time he crossed the border was to become a programmer in 2020 and found "Yuexue".
I went back to my old business and looked forward to winning again in the field I was familiar with.
There is also a precedent for musicians to change knowledge payment, such as Hu Haiquan's investment in the establishment of "Xueyinyue Online School", and Hu Yanbin has also tried to launch a music education product "Niuban".
epilogue
Li Shi once said in that issue of the "Spit Conference":
"Who was the strongest of the three kings of rhythm and blues in the Chinese music scene that year? Time will give you the answer, no, two wrong answers came today. ”
Sitting under the stage were Tao Zhe and Wang Lihong.
This evaluation is not heartbroken, when the golden age of records is gone, followed by the times and the unquestionable status of powerful singers.
The green tree that always stands on the music scene has been abandoned and no one cares.
When Jay Chou needs to use milk tea, little princess and other words on the hot search, Wang Lihong needs to shave in the live broadcast room to win traffic, and in contrast, the batch idols of the 101 series, casually sending a single is tens of millions of sales, it is inevitable that it will not make people feel cold.
But fortunately, the "decadent" Wang Lihong shaved off his beard is still a handsome face, in this era of information-like attention, with his own unique way, to find a way, to seek development, it seems to have changed, but it has not changed.
However, the words of a Douban netizen are also very alert:
Instead of letting Wang Lihong shave live, it is better to attract user attention and enhance user stickiness through high-quality content, from playing in the fan circle to deeply cultivating vertical fields, while horizontally breaking the circle, which is the long-term solution.
Maybe this is also a long-term solution for the entire music industry.
After all, the Red Sea, where knowledge is paid, also hides the shadow of the sword and light sword.
Resources:
Beiqingtian Supplement "Dialogue with Wang Lihong: Learning Music is a Marathon for a Lifetime, Not a Long-Distance Running Race"
Talking about "Born Jay Chou, Why Not Be Late to Wang Lihong and Tao Zhe"
Box lunch finance "Wang Lihong completed the KPI with goods by relying on his beard"
Sina Entertainment "Exclusive Dialogue with Wang Lihong: "Love Announcement" is my sincere work"