Little Antlers Think Tank
essentials:
1. Inspired by the movie of the same name, Begin Again invites mature Korean musicians to perform street performances, and the Douban score has been above 9 points for four consecutive seasons.
2. The production of "Begin Again" is clearly divided into priorities, taking the musician's journey to find the heart as the main story line, and constantly exploring and improving the guest lineup, recording location and performance form of the program.
3. The musicians participating in the program complete one musical journey after another with the audience through the form of street roadshows, and also help themselves get rid of the music creation burnout period.
In recent years, domestic music slow variety shows have gradually emerged, and programs such as "Time Concert", "China Is So Beautiful" and "All the Way to Sing" have emerged, allowing the audience to see another possibility of music variety shows. (Review: In addition to the draft and competition, what are the possibilities of music variety shows? ）
In terms of music slow variety shows, South Korea, which is very mature in variety production, has also made many attempts, especially the healing music travel reality show "Begin Again", which has been broadcast for four seasons, and the Douban score of each season is above 9 points.
Cure Music Travel Reality Show Begin Again
Produced by South Korea's JTBC television station and directed by Oh Yoon-hwan PD, the show is named after the 2014 musical romance film Begin Again(Chinese the new York Meets You Again").
Compared to other reality shows, Begin Again has no so-called competition rules and tasks, nor does it maliciously edit in order to create a topic conflict. On the contrary, it is more like a "travel + music" growth documentary, inviting mature Korean musicians to form a band and perform on the streets while traveling around the world, allowing music and culture to collide freely.
In the first three seasons, musicians have traveled to Ireland, The United Kingdom, Hungary, Italy and other European countries to record. However, due to the epidemic, the fourth season can only launch a "distance to the streets of the music tour" in various cities in South Korea.
Even so, the fourth season of "Begin Again" still scored a 9.6 rating on Douban. In South Korea, this variety show has also received a good response. In July 2021, the full series of Begin Again was selected as one of the top 10 favorite shows voted by JTBC's 10th Anniversary Audience.
How did such a seemingly "unremarkable" show break through the fiercely competitive Korean variety market? What enlightenment has its success brought to the recent prosaic music variety shows in China?
Inspired by the film of the same name,
With street roadshows at its core
"I love music because it makes every ordinary moment full of meaning. Many details of life have become shining pearls because of music. ”
This classic line in the movie "Begin Again" is a good embodiment of director John Carney's original intention of irish production, that is, to show the immediacy of music, and the roadshow is undoubtedly the best carrier to show this musical spirit.
In this film, frustrated male and female protagonists form a band after meeting in a bar. When their music was rejected by the big record labels, they decided to use New York as an open-air recording studio, recording music in subway stations, under the roofs of the Empire State Building, under the bridge, and Chinatown, and also recorded the breath and pulse of the city.
Musical Love Movie "Begin Again"
Begin Again captures the idea of the film of the same name. But this program model is actually not original to South Korea. As early as October 2016, Hong Kong ViuTV broadcast a variety show called "Begin Again: Debut in a Foreign Land". The show has a total of 20 episodes, each of which is about 23-25 minutes long.
The guests of the program are RTHK host Luo Zhenwei and model Chan Yu-hee. They have completed street performances, record label auditions, local music supervisor assessments, and modeling agency interviews in London, Copenhagen and Rotterdam.
However, although the show also has the core of "starting again", it focuses on debuting in a foreign country, so it is more like a small travel reality show. Moreover, within the already small program volume, a large number of character interviews, fashion wear and local food content are interspersed, resulting in very few music performances.
Hong Kong show "Begin Again: Debut in a Foreign Land"
In contrast, South Korea's Begin Again focuses on the music itself, inviting musicians of different styles, personalities, and different instruments to different cities in foreign countries, performing casually on the side of the road, in squares, around the subway, in restaurants or bars. In this process, musicians return to the purest world of music and gradually find their truest selves.
In particular, in the first season, the first stop was in Dublin, Ireland, which was also the main filming location for director John Carney's musical films "Once Upon a Time" and "Singing Street", each street full of musicians, known as the "mecca of street performance". It can be seen that "Begin Again" follows the core concept of the film's own performance in the production of the program.
Content production is clearly prioritized,
The program model is innovative
The producer of this program, South Korea's JTBC Television, is one of the tv series television stations that have been broadcast since December 1, 2011, and has produced many popular variety shows such as "Brother I Know", "Non-Summit Talks", "Where Is My Friend's Home", "Please Ask the Refrigerator" and so on.
But apart from Begin Again, the tv station doesn't produce many musical variety shows. The relatively good response to "Singer Gain: Anonymous Singer Battle", which has been introduced by the domestic video website Youku and renamed "Give Me a Wheat", will be broadcast in 2022.
As a tv station's attempt at music travel variety shows, the production of "Begin Again" is very clear. "Lord" is reflected in the interpretation of the musical language, and the program group has retained the street roadshow process more completely, and some works are accompanied by the performers themselves. Through the lens screen, the live reaction of the ordinary people and the performance process are switched back and forth, presenting the overall atmosphere of the small concert.
The "second" is reflected in the fascinating local landscape and the interesting interaction between guests. The natural landscape of each stop of the show is interspersed with the singers during rehearsals, and the other is presented in the form of guests visiting attractions. For example, in the first season of Liverpool, England, the guests of the show first visited the Beatles Museum, and then completed a performance at the Cavern Club where the Beatles performed.
In addition to the high-quality live music, the ambient sound in the show is also a plus. There is not only the sound of a band, but also the sound of passers-by talking. During the roadshow at the entrance of the restaurant, there will be the sound of knives and forks rubbing against plates. When it rains, there are still the sound of fine wind and rain. These sounds do not affect the music at all, but instead merge with the singing, adding a bit of pyrotechnics to the show.
The intention of this show is also reflected in the Korean variety show's design of the guest "human setting" and the interestingness of the program. For example, in the first season, the band's lead singer Yoon Do-hyun carried a guitar skateboard in the morning, accidentally fell and broke the guitar, so he was named "ROCK Fool". In addition, the accommodation of the three male guests was decided in the form of kicking shuttlecocks, throwing water bottles or bouncing bottle caps, which also added a touch of tension to the show.
Another reason why this show has been able to maintain a high standard for four consecutive seasons is that it has continuously explored and improved the guest lineup, recording location and performance form around the core of "street roadshow".
The guests of the first season of Begin Again are three Korean musicians Yoon Do-hyun, Yoo Hee-yeol, Lee So-roh and funny entertainer Roh Hong-chul. The four formed a band called Begin Us and traveled to Ireland, England, Switzerland and France to perform street performances.
The transformation of big stars and the performance of hidden in the streets of foreign countries are the logical core of the first season. This task is mainly completed by three musicians, while funny artist Lu Hongzhe plays the role of observer. This may be the consideration of the program group to enliven the atmosphere of the program, but to a certain extent, it has damaged the point of view of the inspiration collision between the music peers.
From the second season onwards, the show was starred entirely by powerful musicians and set up two story lines. The first seven episodes are the first musical story, starring Roy Kim, Kim Young-ah, Lee Sun-gyu and Yoon Kin.
At the end of the seventh episode, the first group of musicians completed the final performance on the shores of the sea of Queen Cascais in Portugal. Subsequently, the "Family Band" composed of Park Jeong-hyun, Ha Lin, Yoo Hyun-hwa and Lee So-hyun appeared.
The daily atmosphere of this group of musicians is very family-oriented, with Liu Xianhua and Lee So-hyun forming a vitamin brother and sister, and Ha Lin and Park Jeong-hyun are old friends who have known since their debut. "Making a sense of family" is also one of the characteristics of Korean variety shows, and the domestic variety show "Longing for Life" also draws on this.
In addition, compared with the first season, the logical motivation of "Begin Again 2" is more reasonable, under the storyline of musicians who are depressed and eager to embark on a journey to find their hearts, many people team up for music convergence, and have a richer expression in inspiration collision and life feelings.
By the third season, the program team retained the "Family band" with a high voice and added new members Jin Bi and Lin Xianri. The second group consists of Lee Di, Kim Tae-yeon, Paul Kim, Jeong Jae-won and Kim Hyun-woo. This season is also a welfare time for fans of the TV series "Please Answer 1988", Jin Bi is the singer of the interlude "Youth", and Li Di is the singer of the interlude "Don't Worry".
The first group of musicians for the third season of Begin Again
At the urging of the audience and musicians, this season also added a section of Korean street performances. The previous experience of performing street performances abroad made this performance even more special, and at the same time gave the new members the opportunity to introduce themselves to music. And even in Korean performances, the "celebrity" status of musicians is still not emphasized, which is very much in line with the tone that Begin Again has always had.
The six musicians divided into three groups of people and brought different music to different groups of people. Park Jeong-hyun and Lim Hyun-il took to the streets to bring warm music to passers-by; Yoo Hyun-hwa and Lee So-hyun went to the company in the afternoon to cheer up the employees; Kim Bi and Ha Lin found a roadside stall in the evening to perform for the night returnees.
Finally, six musicians sang the song "Youth" from the second season of Begin Again on the streets of South Korea, making a perfect opening to the upcoming third season.
The fourth season was recorded during the global common fight against the epidemic. Affected by the epidemic, the show can only be filmed in South Korea. In this case, the program team will choose to go to different cities across the country to carry out a "distance to the street performance music tour" and use music as a gift to comfort the people under the epidemic.
The location of the roadshow is also full of sincerity of the program team. At Incheon Airport, it was sung to the airport staff on the first line of defense; at the Daegu Hospital, where the epidemic was severe, it was sung to the medical staff who had worked hard for a long time; on the university campus, it was sung to the graduates with unknown future; and it was modeled on the car theater and sung to ordinary people who longed for a joy.
Although forced to return to the original point, the program truly realized the original intention of "starting again", and in the process of re-examining the essence of music, people saw the precious healing power of music.
In the fourth season of "Begin Again", singer Lee Su Luo performs
At the end of 2020, the program team also produced a year-end reunion special "Begin Again Reunion". The production team said they hope the show can serve as a gift to comfort those who have encountered difficulties this year, working hard to present touching performances for audiences who are eager for year-end concerts and stages. One of the episodes was an online show for test takers, singing songs such as "Dynamite", "For You", "I Write to You" and "Love Poem".
In addition, the TV station also produced a healing variety show "Longing for the Sea" last year, featuring selected music and home cooking, telling the story of celebrities and guests watching the mysterious and beautiful sea, and was also appreciated by the United Nations for the concept of environmental protection conveyed by the program. From this point of view, the success of "Begin Again" has provided the TV station with a new idea of music healing variety.
Musicians fall into burnout,
Embark on a musical journey
From the first season onwards, Begin Again guests are usually grouped with four or six musicians, including top singers with excellent singing skills, musicians who are good at many instruments, that is, young singers who are good at Korean songs and English songs. This can not only highlight the characteristics of each guest, but also ensure the quality of street performances.
The guests participating in the show are basically musicians who have been in the music world for many years and have strong strength. Some of them have been recognized by music competition programs, such as Park Jeong-hyun, the "Queen of Korean LIVE" who debuted for 24 years. Some have been popular but have been silent for many years, such as Yoon Jian, a member of the Korean band "Brown Eyes". What they all have in common, though, is a love of music.
But many musicians revealed in interviews that their music was in a burnout period. After standing on the stage for a long time, it was like being put in the air by applause. Who exactly are you singing for? To get noticed, or to get ahead?
For example, the "Purple Rainforest" group, which has been debuting for 20 years, is a legendary band with a high reputation in South Korea, which is good at using music to allude to social reality, and has written many songs for the Sewol incident, but now it has encountered a bottleneck in expression. Another example is roy Kim, the new generation of popular king, although he is fanatically sought after, he is very scared and urgently needs a period of precipitation to replenish himself.
Liu Xianhua, who debuted as a member of Super Junior-M, is the most familiar guest for domestic audiences, and many people know him through "Longing for Life". However, this time, Liu Xianhua is no longer a "funny person" in the eyes of the public, but a real musician.
He starred in Begin Again for three consecutive seasons, preparing hundreds of titles for rehearsals. Someone once asked, why didn't Liu Xianhua participate in "The Longing Life"? After watching this show, you will understand that he is living his "longing life".
Lee So-hyun, a member of the Music Kids Musicians Group, embarked on his own musical journey alone after his brother joined the army. I felt unprecedented pressure when preparing my solo album and wanted to grow through this show.
With all kinds of confusion, they hope to start again with the help of music, and they also perform their duties in the program, contributing a wonderful performance to the audience. For example, in the fourth season of "Car Performance", Liu Xianhua opened with the song "Young Blood", showing a completely different color from the original song. He played 4 instruments alone and sang gripping high notes.
In the fourth season of "Begin Again", Liu Xianhua interacts with the audience of the car performance
Musicians from the band are a good hand to drive the atmosphere of the performance. The first official roadshow, in Place Libera on the Douro River, was performed by "Purple Rainforest" band member Jin Runya, who sang a song called "Fly me to the moon". The song was written to commemorate the shipwreck in South Korea. Because she broke out of the underground band, she controlled the interactive atmosphere of the scene very well.
Even in the face of unexpected situations, musicians can adapt to them. One of the performances of the second season coincided with a rainy day, and the musicians insisted on finishing the singing while the piano keyboard was wet. The third season is in the San Rucia performance venue, and the performance time is not yet complete. The last six musicians played a song called "Despacito" on a bridge in the harbor.
Moreover, the selection of songs in each season is very careful, not only through the representative works of each singer to export local music, but also to sing classic songs in order to be close to local characteristics. In the second season, "Family Band" came to the Danube to perform. On one of the embankments along the river are statues of shoes commemorating Jews killed during World War II. They sang "Angel" and "BREATHE" here to show their remembrance and respect for the deceased.
And between trips, musicians can also sing anytime, anywhere. On the bus to dinner, He Lin and Liu Xianhua came to an ensemble, and the small space did not hinder the play at all. On the way to ravello, there was a traffic jam, so the 6 people sang a cheerful song in the car. When we eat freshly squeezed lemon juice in Italy, we all sing "Lemon Tree" together.
From the first season to the fourth season, you can intuitively see that the musicians continue to let go of themselves, in the first season, they will be nervous or embarrassed by the street performance; in the second season, their street performance is to alleviate their professional difficulties and have a strong utilitarianism; and in the third season, they are more enjoying the street singing itself, where to sing, touching the scene and sending from the heart.
The first season guest performed at the Liverpool Cavern Club in the United Kingdom
This kind of improvisation is very happy for musicians, and singer Park Jeong-hyun said that we ourselves are particularly interesting compared to showing it to others. That's why Begin Again has been able to get so high acclaim, in a form that respects music with great respect for music, allowing musicians and audiences to embark on a purely musical journey together.
At the same time, it is precisely because of the love and desire for music that these singers are willing to drop everything and re-examine their musical attitudes. They play music with like-minded friends, sing what they think from the bottom of their hearts, and in the process gradually find the original intention of making music, that is, to use music to heal people's hearts and give others the strength to move forward.
brief summary
In this era of reality TV variety shows, there are fewer and fewer music that can truly convey emotions, which can't help but make people wonder: When we listen to music, what exactly do we listen to?
"Begin Again", a music healing program, gives its own answer, that is, to leave the greatest space for musicians, restore the most free and pure side of music, and also let the audience get comfort and encouragement from music. The music in the show, mainly in the form of street performances, does not have a sense of urgency to face elimination without poor performance, and there is no intricate character conflict.
In the past, street music was often associated with "selling art". Compared with the gorgeous stage and top equipment in most variety shows, it is really a bit rudimentary. But for the musicians on the show, the purpose of "street performance" is not to get paid, but to enjoy the process of sharing music while also being able to delight others.
And, since the singers are almost unknown in Europe, the applause they receive when they sing in the streets is all due to the appeal of the music. The enthusiastic audience on the streets of Europe, the children who mistakenly entered the performance venue and the people who danced to the music also proved the appeal of music.
The most similar domestic variety show to this show is "Singing in the World", broadcast in 2015, in which six singers went to six cities to collide with well-known local musicians and perform on stage. However, its biggest problem is that the proportion of singing and swimming is not reasonable enough, it is not separated from the form of "music competition", and the overall musical attribute is not strong except for the final stage.
"Begin Again" is handled more properly, taking the musician's journey to find the heart as the main story line, and all the content plots are unfolded from this, and the audience can quietly enjoy the music itself through the program screen, which may be the most important place for domestic programs to learn from.
Recommended to follow
The music variety collectively pounced on the street, and 22 years of various platforms entered a cooling off period
In 2021, we will enter the small year of music synthesis, neither the birth of popular songs, nor the launch of people, and it is no longer the main force of the platform to create explosive models.
In addition to the draft and competition, what are the possibilities of music variety shows?
Music slow variety shows may become a key part of the reform of the music variety show model in 2022.