That year, the summer in Taiwan was exceptionally hot and long. One evening in June 1969, a cry was born in a small, dilapidated house on the outskirts of Kaohsiung, and a poor aboriginal couple welcomed their second daughter, named "Gao Shengmei".
At that time, the family of four was already living on his father's meager monthly salary of 2,000 yuan. They had to huddle into a small house of only 20 square meters, with a neighbor's coffin as their companion.
Takatsumi also has two siblings, and can only lie with them on shabby tatami mats when she sleeps.
However, this difficult living environment did not dampen the enthusiasm for music in the young Gao Shengmei's heart. She inherited her mother's natural singing voice from the Bunun tribe, and she was very fond of singing from the moment she could speak.
When she was in elementary school, her music teacher discovered her amazing musical talent and encouraged her to actively participate in various competitions. In 1977, 8-year-old Gao Shengmei stood out in the Kaohsiung City Singing Contest and won the third place.
This brings a glimmer of good news to poor families. Parents and neighbors are looking forward to it, this is a sign that their family is going to have a big singer. In order to create more opportunities for their daughter, although her parents are living in poverty, they still try their best to support her to participate in various performances and hone her singing skills.
At a young age, Gao Shengmei felt the expectations of her family and sang harder, hoping to complete her dream of "helping her parents make money" as soon as possible.
At the age of 15, in order to give her child a better development, Gao Shengmei's parents encouraged her to leave Kaohsiung and go to Taipei for development. Under the recommendation of her sister Gao Qianping, Gao Shengmei entered the China Television singing training class and began a two-year professional training.
Under the influence of ears and eyes, Gao Shengmei's singing skills are becoming more and more perfect. On a summer afternoon in 1985, at the age of 16, she was spotted by a talent scout on Records and signed a 10-year contract with her.
For Gao Shengmei, who was still unknown at the time, it was tantamount to finally waiting for an opportunity in her life.
After the contract was signed, Gao Shengmei ushered in the first peak of her singing career. According to the contract, she can get a high remuneration of 100,000 yuan for each album released.
This is an astronomical amount for Gao Shengmei, who was born in the slums. In the 10 years from 1985 to 1999, Gao Shengmei worked as hard as an overworked bee, releasing a total of 59 solo albums, including 6 in 1988 alone.
The combination of talent and hard work soon made her accumulate popularity in the mainland. In 1989, Gao Shengmei began to cooperate with Qiong Yao and became a regular singer of many popular TV series, becoming famous.
Those popular classic theme songs can still evoke thousands of memories for post-80s listeners. After 10 years of cooperation, Gao Shengmei's contract with Shangge Records expired in 1999. The two sides have gained a lot during this time, but Gao Shengmei also feels that his physical strength and energy are not as good as before.
In exchange for higher returns, she decided not to renew her contract, leaving Shangge Records and joining another Qiwei record company.
But the good times didn't last long, and in Qiwei Records, Gao Shengmei only released a solo album "Unforgettable" and had no follow-up works. The market response to this album is also very mediocre, which shows that Gao Shengmei's peak has passed, and it is difficult to regain the previous popularity.
After discovering that there was no hope of reviving her career in the music industry, Gao Shengmei chose to turn her focus to the mainland market. She no longer released new albums, but used the popularity and fame accumulated over the years to start commercial performances in major cities in the mainland.
But the frequent "going to the hole" also made her gradually lose the style of the queen of songs in the past, and there was no longer any musical works to prove herself, and gradually there was a criticism of "sitting and eating empty".
For a while, the former superstar of the music industry has become Gao Shengmei in the mainland, and he no longer has the aura of the past, and the era of silence has begun. She can only continue her career by consuming old capital.
Seeing that her 51st birthday is approaching, Gao Shengmei's feeling of being gradually abandoned by the times is becoming more and more obvious.
The peak of the music world is no longer there, and her emotional life is also a blank in Gao Shengmei's life. Although her emotional world has always attracted attention from the outside world, until the age of 51, Gao Shengmei was still alone.
There was a scandal with Qiong Yao's son Chen Wei, the agent Mr. Xu, and the chef's boyfriend, and the longest relationship was the ambiguous relationship with Mr. Xu in those 10 years.
However, going around and around, she is still alone. For a woman, when her career and appearance are going downhill, how precious is a warm home and reliance.
But Gao Shengmei felt the loss of fruitless marriage again and again. Although she is unwilling to give up, and has said that she will remarry if she encounters a good opportunity, but at the age of 51, the possibility of marriage is decreasing day by day.
Faced with the loneliness around her and the decadence of her career, Gao Shengmei was already devastated. What's even more unbearable is that the outside world has all kinds of discussions about her aging appearance and frequent acupuncture points.
But she seems to be tough on the inside, always going her own way, ignoring the outside world. Perhaps it is this attitude that supports her not to collapse when her life is at a low point, and to still face the future calmly.
Life is so impermanent, the stars in someone's hands will always shine, and the meteors in someone's hands are just fleeting. But Gao Shengmei did not explain, and never regretted the original decision, and still lived in the moment in his own way, tenaciously and independently.
51-year-old Gao Shengmei is no longer the sensational diva-level singer she used to be, but her mental outlook still remains vividly in people's memories.
If you use one word to sum up Gao Shengmei over the years, then the word "arrogant" is very suitable. Whether it is in her relationship or career, she has never bowed her head, insisted on herself, and acted her own way.
In the face of the dissipation of the aura of the golden age, the criticism of aging, and the empty life, she never admits defeat and disdains to explain.
For Gao Shengmei, success and failure are just a short part of her life. She used to be a diva-level singer, standing at the pinnacle and making thousands of people envious; She has also struggled in the trough and has been criticized.
However, in her heart, she is the protagonist who is consistent and unmoved by the outside world.
This kind of attitude that borders on arrogance may be criticized by many people, but it is also moving. It is such a strong core that supports her to stand alone in this stormy showbiz and not be stained with dust.
For many artists, this arrogance is also commendable.