Phoenix Legend, reversed
In 2014, Xu Mingchao, who was in charge of publicizing the Phoenix Legend, talked about his dream.
He imagined the Phoenix Legend concert 10 years from now, and most of the people sitting in the audience were young people aged 15-25. "I hope Phoenix will also influence a generation. What I'm going to do is I'm going to be able to sing it until 10 years from now. ”
Time has confirmed the realization of this dream.
In 2023, a music festival opened on the grassland, and the Phoenix Legend was invited to appear, and the atmosphere tumbled and even boiled.
Click on the relevant videos of the scene, Linghua and Zeng Yi on the stage are dressed casually and casually, and the audience is hoarse and even divided into male and female voices to sing.
Netizens play memes: "When Chinese reach a certain age, certain things awaken: gold, opera, drinking tea, autumn pants, and the legend of the phoenix." ”
Looking back, The Phoenix Legend seems to have spent a lifetime telling a rather legendary story, with themes of choice, compromise, invective, persistence, and dramatic reversals.
More importantly, the wisp of vitality close to the crowd in the theme song of the story slips into the gap of memory and takes root.
When Legend of the Phoenix performs at the festival, the protagonist may not be the person on stage.
At the end of June 2023, the Chifeng Music Festival was held as scheduled. On the evening of the 30th, Phoenix Legend appeared and sang 8 songs.
There are many live videos uploaded by netizens on the Internet, and in one video, the two sang "Mrs. Luxury".
The prelude sounded, the audience was still calm and quiet, and Linghua and Zeng Yi on the stage sang leisurely until the climax part arrived——
"I can't sing it before, but it doesn't affect me! Cover! Mountain! Join! Make move! Mountain! Outside! Mountain! ”
Similar videos flooded social platforms, and when you opened the comment area, netizens who did not attend the scene in person played hotly.
Someone is quiking about Zeng Yi's presence:
"The woman's name is Linghua, what is Zeng Yi's name?"
"Zeng Yi called a man."
Some people lamented that the audience sang neatly and uniformly:
"90% of the people in the country will sing the legend of the phoenix, and 10% will be tough-mouthed."
"So why do I sing! I don't even know the title of the song! ”
Others simply ridiculed the enthusiasm in the audience:
"It is recommended to install a teleprompter for fans next time."
The atmosphere is peaceful and joyful. There is no fan sweeping the screen, no black powder and black miasma abuse attacks, what comes into view is the sincere jokes of netizens, even if they don't know each other.
"Please try to shoot clearly, don't shake your hands, try to use a mobile phone of more than 5,000 yuan to shoot, thank you very much!" Although I can't afford tickets, it doesn't mean that there are no standards and pursuits. ”
Previously, some netizens uploaded the scene of a stage of the Phoenix Legend, and they almost sang along with the whole process in the video. Her singing was so imposing that Zeng Yi on the stage couldn't help but laugh.
Some netizens commented to her: "For a ticket of 200 yuan, you sing 199 yuan alone." ”
In recent years, the Phoenix legend, which originally dominated the square, has become more and more sought after by young netizens.
Those catchy lyrics are rooted in the depths of memory with the brainwashing of previous years, and the straightforward and popular affection in the songs has also spread outward from the middle-aged and elderly groups.
Falling in love with the Phoenix Legend is like a helpless fate: "Question your parents, understand your parents, become parents, and surpass your parents." ”
The influence of the Phoenix Legend needs no elaboration today. They stand on the top of a high mountain, but those valleys they have traversed should not be ignored.
Around 2000, a large number of young people flocked to Shenzhen with only one guitar in their luggage.
They are on the fringes of society, shuttling through bars, dance halls, and struggling to support their teetering musical dreams with their meager income. Linghua is one of them.
Linghua's full name is Yang Weilinghua, born in the Ordos grassland, a woman who grew up on horseback.
In 1998, 18-year-old Linghua graduated from Ordos Art School and decided to go south to find opportunities. She begged her parents for days, and finally sold a few sheep to scrape together the money for the ticket.
At that time, 25-year-old Zeng Yi had been in Shenzhen for five years.
Early photographs of Linghua
Before going to Shenzhen, Zeng Yi was a welder at the Yiyang Applied TV Equipment Factory in Hunan Province, and later a maintenance worker. He has only a secondary school degree, but he thinks he has some cultural genes—Mr. Zeng and Mr. Liu worked in a propaganda team.
During the day, Zeng Yi worked in the factory. In the evening, he would go to the performing arts center to sing, running a venue to earn one or twenty yuan.
A few years later, hearing that the salary of southern performances was higher, he quit his job and came to Shenzhen, where he was introduced by a friend and entered a dance hall called "Golden Age". When he met Linghua, Zeng Yi had already reached the position of music director.
Linghua still remembers the first meeting between the two, Zeng Yi dyed yellow hair and hung long earrings. Linghua secretly complained to her friend: "This person is also too ugly. ”
At that time, she did not expect that she would have more involvement with this strange man.
Early Zeng Yi and Linghua
In 1999, Zeng Yi formed the FSJ group with his colleague Linghua and another girl named Zhang Jie - Linghua explained that the name is an abbreviation for "nerve", in order to attract attention, but also to mean refreshed.
A year later, teammate Zhang Jie quit, Linghua and Zeng Yiyi combined, imitated the idol "Cool Dragon", changed their name to "Cool Fire", sang half-baked Korean songs, and continued to cooperate to make a living.
It is worth mentioning that there is a member of the "Cool Dragon" group named Gu Junye, who is now the husband of Big S.
Early Zeng Yi and Linghua
Looking back on that time, the two of them did not have an easy time.
"Golden Age" is performed every night for four hours, from nine-thirty to one-thirty in the morning. After the performance, the entertainers rehearse from two o'clock and rehearse until six in the morning, then go home to sleep and rehearse at two o'clock in the afternoon.
After dawn, Zeng Yi, as the music director, will continue to rehearse and arrange music, and Linghua immediately rushed to the Internet café to open the game "Legend".
This life passed for 6 years. In 2003, producer He Muyang cooperated with Shenzhen TV to write an inspirational song to fight SARS. But Shenzhen lacks female singers with high-pitched voices and giving people strength, and He Muyang can't find them everywhere, and he is very worried.
One night, he went home and turned on the TV, and suddenly heard a female voice flashing inside, and he was amazed.
He followed the cast list to find Linghua, and Linghua readily agreed, and spent one night to help He Muyang finish recording the song.
During the process, Linghua introduced that she was from Inner Mongolia, and He Muyang was polite, saying that she had some Inner Mongolian music, and if she needed it, she would find her.
Linghua was honest and immediately followed: "If there is a suitable song, you can also write one for me." ”
He Muyang later recalled that Linghua very much hoped that an original musician could help her write a song, even if it was at her own expense. He Muyang believes: "Linghua is an idealistic person, which should be a very important reason for their success. ”
So, He Muyang gave her a song he had sung.
Early stills of Linghua (right).
The song was originally called "The Man Who Missed You" and is a lyrical slow song.
Linghua told He Muyang that she also had a male partner, and she couldn't perform independently. He Muyang added rap elements on the basis of the initial version to form today's style, which is "Above the Moon".
Later, a director of Guangdong TV saw the performance and felt that their strength was good, so he recommended Linghua and Zeng Yi to represent Guangdong in the Young Singer Grand Prix (referred to as the Youth Song Competition).
In July 2004, the 11th Youth Song Contest was held as scheduled. The "Cool Fire Group" made it all the way to the final.
Unexpectedly, on the night of the final, as soon as Linghua spoke, she realized that it was bad, "I felt it was already two beats late."
Entering the wrong beat, Linghua's brain was blank, and she could only sing hard. After stepping off the stage, Linghua asked Zeng Yi how he behaved, and Zeng Yi had a solemn expression.
At the end of the competition, they finished seventh, a place just after the third prize. The plot that stands out, it didn't happen to them.
Linghua Zeng Yi who participated in the Youth Song Competition
Back in Shenzhen, Linghua was depressed for a while.
Seeing this, He Muyang may want to inspire his spirit, so he suggested that the two change their names: "The name Phoenix is especially suitable for you, and the cool fire is the rebirth of Nirvana." Only the word "phoenix" is a little abrupt, and simply adds the name of Linghua's favorite game.
In 2005, "Legend of the Phoenix" appeared on the inaugural "Avenue of Stars", and finally, the stars are coming.
Time went back to before participating in "Avenue of Stars", Chen Rentai, the boss of Peacock Records, also heard the song "Above the Moon".
He took a fancy to the loud-voiced girl in the group and asked someone to inform Linghua and ask her to meet her in Guangzhou. He told Linghua that he wanted to give out 5 million and use one year to make her a "male version of Dao Lang".
Luck fell from the sky, and cruel news followed.
Chen Rentai only wanted to sign Linghua, and Zeng Yi was not on his radar. Linghua was not happy: "We are a group, if you want to sign, we will sign together." ”
Later, Chen Rentai told Zeng Yi bluntly: in fact, he is the "giveaway" of "buy one get one free".
Early Phoenix Legend
Chen Rentai's words became Zeng Yi's heart demon for a long time.
As early as when signing the contract, Zeng Yi told Linghua about his concerns: "Signing a contract is equivalent to selling yourself, as a signed singer, you (although you have) too many opinions, the boss does not listen to you." ”
More importantly, after 7 years of hard work in Shenzhen, the Cool Fire Group has become famous. The two people bought a house and a car with years of income, and the monthly payment was still on their backs, and signing a record company meant that everything started anew, and the income would no longer be stable.
The two discussed for a long time, and Linghua felt that she still had to seize the opportunity. Zeng Yi said: "Linghua, whatever you want, I will accompany you to the end." ”
The difficulties came as expected.
In the first year of signing with a record label, the two participated in "Avenue of Stars" and ended the competition as runners-up, and the aura was dim. After the competition, they joined the national college tour and were active on college campuses, with an average of one performance every three days, without pay.
In June 2006, they had a special performance, paid 8,000 yuan a game, and there were very few performances.
For more than two years, the two had no stable income. At that time, Zeng Yi still had to support his parents, and after his savings were spent, Zeng Yi went to borrow money and borrowed it back to split half with Linghua.
Many years later, Linghua was interviewed and mentioned the embarrassment of the year and the future share: "When borrowing money, it is half a point, of course, it is half a point when you make money, the phoenix legend is a combination, and you can't have today without each other." ”
Xu Mingchao, who later became Linghua's husband, also remembers the immature Phoenix legend at that time.
On the 2005 national college tour, Xu Mingchao was the editor-in-chief of the music channel of the organizer at that time. Among the casual dressed singers, Linghua and Zeng Yi wore the national costumes when shooting the MV, and they were so serious that they were a little out of place.
The costume of the two in "Above the Moon"
Although "Above the Moon" had become a hit by then, few people knew that the original song was a phoenix legend. More people know this song because of the competition scene of "Super Girl" and the singing of contestant Ji Minjia.
"Super Girl" ignited enthusiasm throughout the summer, Xu Mingchao recalled the scene at that time, the Phoenix Legend and Ji Minjia participated in the commercial performance at the same time, and Ji Minjia's scene was "10 times more popular" than the Phoenix Legend.
As if drowning at the bottom of the sea, the Phoenix Legend looked at the scenery on the shore and gasped with difficulty, and they were only one breath away.
Linghua Zeng Yi on the stage of "Avenue of Stars"
In 2006, China Mobile first tendered for CRBT TV patch advertising, two wireless value-added service operators declared "Above the Moon" at the same time, and were also selected at the same time, more than 20 satellite TVs across the country took turns to play the voice of the Phoenix legend, and almost everyone would receive a text message on their mobile phones:
"Reply to DY (subscription) to use Above the Moon as the default RBT on your phone."
The name Phoenix Legend is finally lined up with "Above the Moon". In 2007, Phoenix Legend received an invitation to sing this song at the Spring Festival Gala.
The two prepared carefully, the song passed layers of review, and they also participated in the last rehearsal. On February 12, some media reported that "Above the Moon" was suspected of plagiarizing British songs, and more than 20 media followed up and reported it, and public opinion was in an uproar.
Subsequently, several professional musicians organized experts to firmly adhere to the two songs in all aspects, and concluded that "Above the Moon" is an original pop song with a national style, and there is no plagiarism.
The misunderstanding was solved, but the director of the Spring Festival Gala called the agent of the Phoenix Legend and decided to remove the song: "I don't care if your song is plagiarism or not, the argument is too big." ”
The agent hung up the phone and said the news to Linghua. Linghua was silent for two minutes, she didn't know what she was thinking, she only remembered tears rolling in her eyes.
The overwhelming discussion pressed on the two people, and being rejected by the Spring Festival Gala was more like pulling the oxygen tube suspended by the two in the deep sea. Fortunately, as long as the upward paw does not stop swinging, the story will not end.
In 2008, the same invitation was handed to the two, and Chinese New Year's Eve night, Linghua and Zeng Yi appeared in the air on their bicycles, and the melody of "Above the Moon" fluttered.
After singing a song, Linghua and Zeng Yi returned to the backstage and clapped each other's hands, only then did they let go of their hearts: "Finally it's the Spring Festival Gala." ”
In 2008, the Legend of the Phoenix appeared on the Spring Festival Gala
In 2010, a domestic mobile phone brand cooperated with Phoenix Legend to launch the "Lotus Pond" series of music mobile phones, and the song "Lotus Pond Moonlight" created by Phoenix Legend once again conquered the CRBT market.
After that, some language test papers even appeared with such a question: Who is the author of "Lotus Pond Moonlight"? A. Zhu Ziqing; B. Phoenix Legend.
In April 2012, "The Most Dazzling National Style" appeared on the NBA scene. This is the first Chinese pop music to sound in the NBA arena in addition to the "Yao Song" customized by fans for Yao Ming.
For a long time afterwards, "The Most Dazzling National Style" spread in large and small squares, accompanied by the shaking of middle-aged and elderly people's limbs, and this brainwashed and loud voice provoked everyone's nerves.
The Phoenix Legend finally got rid of the bottom of the sea and swam to the shore, but only Linghua was on the shore, and Zeng Yi was not seen.
Because of the positioning given to the team by the company, Zeng Yi's assigned roles are usually rap or harmony with a very low sense of existence, and his name has also become an adjunct to the lyrics.
After "Above the Moon" became popular, he called "Oh Yego"; After "Free Flight", he was called "Youyou Brother": after "The Most Dazzling National Style", he was "Stay Brother".
More often, he is called "the man next to Linghua". Ma Dong ridiculed the two of them: "The Spring Festival Gala is not good, Linghua is considered a song and dance group, and Zeng Yi is still in the language program." ”
Zeng Yi was also in pain, and even complained. He described himself as "punching into the air with a punch that didn't work."
In 2008, he approached Xu Mingchao and asked if he could go to the boss together and let himself sing more.
Xu Mingchao told Zeng Yi: "You only have one word now: endure. ”
How long will it endure? Xu Mingchao drew a pie: "When the time is ripe, you will definitely show your things and add points." ”
It's just that the time has not come for a long time, and Zeng Yi seems to have gotten used to it. In 2017, when Phoenix Legend participated in "Spit Conference", Zeng Yi laughed at himself with this:
"What does Goto have to do with me? I'm only a few words! ”
For a long time, Phoenix Legends was shielded from the mainstream market.
In 2014, some media interviewed some musicians to talk about their views on the group. Several declined interviews on the following ground: "Can we talk about some serious music?" ”
Since becoming famous, Phoenix Legend has had several labels attached to him.
At first, they were called "Internet singers", and the subtext extended was "difficult to climb the hall of elegance". In 2006, "Above the Moon" dominated the CRBT market, and the label on the Phoenix Legend became "CRBT Singer" again.
Later, they were known as "square dance singers" and "agricultural heavy metal singers" — one news story told of wild boars ruining crops, villagers playing "Fly Free" on loudspeakers, and wild boars fled in fright.
In those years, many people used their songs as color bells. Once at the airport, Linghua heard the voice of "Above the Moon" from the mobile phone of her eldest brother next to her. But the eldest brother picked up the phone, glanced at Linghua, and walked away silently.
Few people will admit that they love Phoenix Legends.
Linghua told that story countless times. In the subway, a white-collar headphone cable accidentally dropped, and the legendary song of the phoenix resounded throughout the carriage, and the white-collar worker himself was ashamed.
At the beginning, Linghua was worried: "I think we are powerful singers, and we are the singers who compete in the competition." ”
After a long time, Linghua herself turned a corner. "If this label disappears one day, it only means that people are not interested in our songs."
However, no matter how Linghua unravages herself, her low opinion of the Phoenix Legend is still impossible to ignore.
In 2021, Phoenix Legend participated in a music variety show and covered an online song "Under the Sea".
After singing, a boy in the judges' bench stood up and said that he didn't like the song, citing "too much of a phoenix legend".
Another boy picked up the conversation, and the evaluation was even harsher: "Your works are very popular, but in fact, the songs of the two will not appear in my song list." ”
He complained that every time he went out, there were songs of the Phoenix legend everywhere, and he did not take the initiative to listen to them.
Linghua asked him, "Is this a conflict (between active listening and passive listening)?" The boy gave his own opinion and used one word: small profits and quick turnover.
In the end, Phoenix Legend received 45 votes, the lowest score of the game. It's just that no matter how high-profile the so-called judge's bias is, more people's ears are honest.
The show is live
After the variety show was launched, within three days, "Under the Sea" dominated almost all music and video platforms.
Through the interpretation of the legend of the phoenix, this originally decadent song comes to life. Countless netizens all had the same feeling after listening to it: they are saving me.
"It turns out that the phoenix chirping can also be heard at the bottom of the sea."
"They sang 'too late, too late,' but what I heard was 'too late,'
"Although she doesn't know me, I think she loves me."
What is surprising is Zeng Yi's performance in this song. The interlude sounded, and Zeng Yi's rap like Sanskrit sounded hitting his eardrums, like a beam of light straight to the bottom of the sea.
He sang: "You are an important being, someone's star." "The voice is strong enough to convince desperate people that the world is still good.
People suddenly found that not only how high and bright Linghua's voice was, but Zeng Yi's voice could come out of the horns and scratch his ears.
A video platform, under "Under the Sea"
What made Zeng Yi sweep away the haze of the past was the song "Mountains and Rivers" that was covered by major variety shows.
The song breaks the established impression of the Phoenix legend and designs a lot of rap, and Reihua is only divided into a few repetitive lyrics. CCTV commented on Zeng Yi's performance in this song:
Zeng Yi is full of aura, and the narration ability of rap is vividly played in this song. One sentence after another, like a Danqing brush, a song is sung, the motherland's splendid mountains and rivers, thousands of valleys and thousands of rocks leap in front of you, unfolding the long scroll of mountains and rivers. ”
No one expected that when time came to this day, Zeng Yi's detonation of the topic even exceeded that of Linghua.
"Ground Rap Emperor", "CCTV label AKA (aka) Prairie Bandits", "Baron Phoenix"... Countless titles were crowned on Zeng Yi's head.
People joked: this is a combination that implements a rotation system, and the two people in the group take turns on fire.
But what people don't realize is that it is actually the vitality of those songs that is close to the crowd, slipping into the gaps of memory and taking root.
In 2004, Linghua and Zeng Yi came to the grassland of Ba Shang to shoot the MV.
In the minus 30 degrees temperature, Linghua wore a skirt of her own design, with chicken feathers from the market on her head, and Zeng Yi next to her was wearing a leather vest and showing her two arms. Two people facing the wind and singing.
At that time, the two of them were cold, but their dreams were very hot.
Producer He Muyang wrote on the title page of the album "Above the Moon": More than ten years ago, I had a dream of how meaningful it would be to be able to create a song with representative music elements from different regions of China and publish it together.
In 2023, Linghua and Zeng Yi will recreate the look of that year in promotional photos again. This look is also Linghua's favorite outfit so far - "because it is very national, very bold, very avant-garde, very earthy, very rare." ”
20 years is long enough to confirm whether the group has achieved popular success. Speaking of these 20 years of struggle, persistence, misunderstanding and ups and downs, Sabine once summed it up:
People who have dreams in their hearts will always have a better life than those who do not dream.
Back in 2018, before "Wild Wolf Disco" was sung, Dong Baobao received an invitation to write a song that reflected the theme of mountains and rivers.
He spent the whole night thinking about the theme of the song, decided to add the thinking of the question, but also the combination of spatial geography and millennia of humanities, and finally, he wrote in the lyrics:
"Look at that phoenix will eventually fly out of a legend."
The Phoenix Legend is like dirt on the prairie, and hundreds of millions of viewers are the weeds that grow on it.
They may not have the height of trees or the richness of flowers, but without green grass, all glorious pictures are an illusion of fragility.