Fei Xiang: Even if he is not an artist, he will still infect many people in his life
In this era, mature humans or elites worship fewer and fewer idols, but Fei Xiang is an exception.
"Disassemble" this idol, any of his "sections" is enough to be lovely.
a face from 22 to 62 years old;
"Gentle loyalty" to traditional Chinese culture.
I love "stray cats" as much as "giant pandas".
At 62 years old, he still retains the simplicity, youthfulness and fashion sense of 22 years old.
And his sheer love and pursuit of art.
Everything about him makes people feel real and intimate. Especially after archematizing his past, you will be even more amazed by his charm.
Fei Xiang = flying, his wings have never been broken by fame and fortune
The name Fei Xiang means "flying".
Judging from the old photos, his mother Bi Lina was one of the most confident Chinese women of that era. In 1949, she was an announcer for Taipei Radio Station, and on the street, an American soldier, attracted by her slim figure and confident temperament, took pictures of her. She asked angrily, did not fight or acquaintance, and achieved a marriage.
Growing up in a romantic and culturally rich family, Fei Xiang loved art and culture, and he was first admitted to the medical department of Stanford University in the United States, and then transferred to the drama department with his hobby, and found the New York Community Drama School for further study.
More than 30 years later, Fei Xiang's name is listed in the school's alumni list with Hollywood superstar Gerry Goley Peck (winner of the Cannes International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award and the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award).
However, the 22-year-old Fei Xiang did not become an actor as soon as he graduated, but was discovered by the record company by mistake and released the music album "Lingering".
After singing songs for 5 years, the times create heroes, and Fei Xiang became the first Taiwanese singer to return to the mainland of the motherland - that is, "A Fire in Winter" that we saw on CCTV Spring Evening when we were children.
It is said that it was also the first time Fei Xiang wore big red clothes, because he had always been a little fat man in middle school, so he was used to wearing black.
Haha, no one cares that he was a little fat man, Fei Xiang quickly "handsome" all over the motherland with the image of a beautiful man, conquering tens of thousands of "mother fans" who are still loyal to him.
With Fei Xiang in 1987 as the boundary monument, pop music officially appeared on the historical stage of the mainland.
"How much blessing does a person have to be able to become like Fei Xiang?"
But this is not what Fei Xiang wants, he knows very clearly: the "handsome guy" that the public is crazy and obsessed with is not his real self. The hot record market is not an artistic ideal he wants to pursue.
Sometimes, the faster people go, the farther away they are from their ideals. Fei Xiang already knew at this time that he was going in the "opposite direction". So, after completing 89 concert tours, at the age of 29, at the peak of his life, Fei Xiang resolutely and stubbornly said "bye" to fans.
He spread his hidden, ideal wings, returned to Broadway to find a job, and began a new pursuit of life.
In 1996, he spent tens of millions to play art, and he played himself as a little transparent
When he arrived in the United States, no one knew Fei Xiang. He needed to start from scratch and find a chance to perform on an unfamiliar Broadway.
For this opportunity, he prepared for a year in advance and asked the teacher to study musicals. In the past year, he has changed from "everyone's attention" to a small transparent, but he enjoys it.
"I don't have to groom my appearance, and after wearing a T-shirt on the street, I hang my clothes in a ventilated position, smell nothing, and can continue to wear them."
A year later, Xiao Transparent came to Broadway for an audition and stood out from thousands of interviewees, and he successfully became a supporting actor in "Miss Saigon".
Until now, Fei Xiang is still proud to mention that interview:
"It can be said that one of my dreams has come true."
What he wants to experience is an artistic creation that blends music, lines, dance and performance:
"I especially envy the actors of the musical, in addition to using scripts and lines, they can also use singing or dancing to bring the audience to the limit of emotion."
Three years later, the talented Fei Xiang was discovered by Andrew Lloyd Webb and became one of the four leading singers of Broadway in his "royal" position, and also became the first Chinese lead singer in Broadway history.
However, Fei Xiang did not forget that he was a Chinese, and he knew that the stage on Broadway was not his ultimate stage.
In 1997, he released an album translating all the Broadway musicals he had sung into English.
Previously, Chinese musicals were not widely circulated, only the traditional play "Meng Jiangnu" in 1949 and "La Traviata" starring Anita Mui. It was not until 2002 that the first musical production company appeared on the mainland.
And Fei Xiang is precisely because of this that he spent tens of millions to record this album in 1996, he hopes that more Chinese people will hear Broadway music and "throw bricks and jade" to let domestic musicals germinate. He invited a symphony orchestra of 36 top Broadway musicians to travel across New York, London and Beijing for several years, and the album was finally completed.
However, after all, musicals are a niche field, and Fei Xiang after completing all this has been forgotten by the Chinese market.
When he returned to China, he could only receive third- and fourth-tier commercial performances - "Play Art" successfully played himself off.
He is a star who never divides the audience into three, six and nine
For many years, people defined the behavior of celebrities performing in third- and fourth-tier cities as "outdated".
There are also many agencies who would rather not make money than let their artists perform in third- and fourth-tier cities, because that is "too cheap".
But when Fei Xiang was asked this question ten years ago, he answered it like this:
"China's audience is not only in first- and second-tier cities."
Netizens said that the moment I heard this, I was immediately ashamed, it was me who waited too snobbishly, and Fei Xiang never divided the audience into three, six, nine and so on.
Sometimes he goes to the third and fourth lines to perform, some companies can't give too good accommodation, even feet full of mud, Fei Xiang will not mind, but will comfort others: It's good to live here.
Fei Xiang even has such an "ideal":
"I want to sing in every corner of China, but the motherland is too big to go through in a lifetime... I don't care about the stage size... The live performance is the most authentic performance of the singer and the most cherished moment in my profession. ”
In the most impetuous years of domestic entertainment, his agency also wanted to pick a picker because "the labor fee before the performance was not paid".
But Fei Xiang was jealous:
"I don't care what you think, I will perform when the audience enters."
Over time, everyone also knew his habit, and the whole team became "very large".
Mr. Fei returned to China in 2000 without starting a new "business" or publicizing it with fanfare.
He also specializes in the combination of musicals and traditional Chinese culture, occasionally making "Buddha" guest appearances in some roles, and participating in some nostalgic variety shows.
But everyone knows that nostalgia cannot make a "passing star" popular again, and for this, Fei Xiang is as happy as a glutton, not in a hurry.
He just wants to enjoy the feast of art, and whether he is sought after by the market in reality is not his main concern.
In 2012, he welcomed the first invitation of director Wuershan, a "Sirius wizard" who could not be seen as him at all, he thought it was very funny, and begged the director to make his image a little more detailed and ugly, and he wanted to play "the first powerful villain in his life".
Fei Xiang was 52 years old at the time, and his passion, imagination and mystery after makeup impressed director Wuershan.
In the script of "Fengsheng", King Shun is a mysterious, tall, handsome, determined and evil monarch, and after understanding Fei Xiang's performance state and the painting-like stop-motion photos, Wuershan "sees" Fei Xiang's "phenomenal" potential.
Sure enough, Fei Xiang became the most handsome, charismatic, and most worthy king in history.
Why can Fei Xiang subvert the version of the king? Netizen: What he does is a high match
Looking back on Fei Xiang's life, there is no doubt that he lived a "high-quality" version of himself.
First of all, he has never "got carried away" because of fame and fortune, and he has always been very firm about his "flying direction"!
At that time, he could have become a little fresh meat who lived for ten years and then "faded and loved".
But he only stayed in that "traffic star" atmosphere for 5 years, and then left to find his opera ideals.
Second, adhere to the quality of "products" and do not stop without creating legends
He may not like the hustle and bustle, but he still finished 89 concerts.
Of course, he couldn't have liked mud, but stepping on a simple stage of three or four lines, he sang as seriously as he stood on a luxurious stage on Broadway.
The Chinese of Broadway opera is still a "money-losing business", and he is still doing it.
In order to "seal the gods", this 62-year-old "old man" and protons in their 20s, together exercised, ridden horses, and learned martial arts...
In the past, he has created many legends with talent, hard work, research spirit and persistence, and he is still on the road to creating legends.
Third, continuously improve the comprehensive cultivation of culture and art, and achieve the "charm king"
The rhythm and charm of the drumming is not accidental. That is Fei Xiang's comprehensive understanding of rhythm and performance.
As soon as the king appeared, it was no accident that the "human emperor" who controlled the world was impressed. That's the control he developed on the Broadway stage.
The "sense of aristocracy" of King Shun is also not accidental... If you look at his Weibo, you will know that his pattern is the whole world, and he pursues classic art. His level and style in aesthetics have long exceeded the average of the times.
Fourth, use achievements and virtues to let the characters eat their own dividends.
Fei Xiang is not only "the most handsome fire of the Spring Festival Gala", "the first Chinese lead singer on Broadway", "the most subversive king in film and television history", "the first singer to translate Broadway opera into Chinese", "the first Chinese international star to perform in third- and fourth-tier cities", he is also "the first artist to embrace AIDS patients" and "the first star to adopt a giant panda".
No wonder some people say: even if Fei Xiang is not an artist, his life will still infect many people.