Two weeks ago, Gin Lee stumbled upon a post online about a 16-year-old cat that had been abandoned because its owner had decided to emigrate. She looked at the old cat in the post, remembered the cat sesame paste that had been with her for 7 years, and cried with emotion. Back then, Li Xingni went to Hong Kong from Malaysia alone to develop her career, and her two cats were like family, accompanying her through the days of working alone in a foreign land. In 2020, 15-year-old Sesame Paste left Li Xingni forever, and she felt "that pain is like losing a loved one".
Li Xingni cried well. For her, crying is a way to cut through numbness and keep the truth in her busy work schedule. Recently, Li Xingni launched this year's finale song "Crying Health Guide", which is to transform her voice into a reminder: Don't let the turbulent life wear out your personal touch, you might as well find a free time to cry loudly and find back the sense of being a human being.
2023 is the year when Li Xingni starts a new chapter in her career. She joined the new owner, launched 5 new songs intensively as never before, and also stocked up on some "songs that have been recorded, but have not yet been heard by everyone". The new songs have been well received, and two of the songs, "Dum Dum" and "Enterprise", have won the first song of the five stations (note: the song has won the top position in the song charts of three local radio stations and two television stations in Hong Kong), making her the first singer in the Hong Kong music scene to have two five song champion songs this year.
Starting from Malaysia, Li Xingni has traveled to many places to participate in singing talent shows, including going to the mainland in 2015 to participate in the fourth season of "The Voice of China", and won the third place in Jay Chou's group and the ninth place in the national finals. Later, she gradually became famous in the Greater Bay Area with songs such as "Shuangshuang" and "Man Under the Moon", and then held a solo concert in the Red Pavilion and became a mentor in the talent show.
Before the year-end awards season is approaching, Li Xingni was interviewed by Nandu Entertainment in Hong Kong. She looked back on the harvest of this year's new journey, admitted that she "has to sprint in the past few years", and responded to the concerns of mainland fans.
1
Start over: After listening to 100 demos, you can pick a new song
Nandu Entertainment: After joining the new club, what is your idea or preference for choosing songs? The first two new songs "Dum Dum" and "Unrequited Love" are both styles that you have rarely performed in the past?
Li Xingni: This year, I started again with a new company, hoping to give people a bright feeling and tell everyone that I am ready for the next new stage, so I want to make a completely different style of music than before. The easiest way to do this is to sing and dance, because I used to sing and dance a lot, and I had never tried a genre like "Dum Dum" before, and I chose this song after listening to 100 demos.
The R&B of the second song, "Unrequited Love", was the type of music I listened to most often when I was in school, and it influenced me a lot. I often see messages from fans asking me to sing more R&B, and I remember what everyone expects from me, and this is the type of music I really want to do.
Nandu Entertainment: The third song "Enterprise Good" returns to the familiar Gin Lee love song style. After trying both the breakthrough and the return to being good at singing, which style do you prefer?
Li Xingni: I hope to be diversified, because when I do every song now, I will consider what role the song can play in the concert when I start singing in the future, so I don't say which one I particularly like, and each song has its mission and function.
Nandu Entertainment: In the process of creating and recording "The Beauty and Sorrow of Posthumans", what communication did you have with Lin Jiaqian?
Li Xingni: At the beginning of this year, I invited Lin Jiaqian to sing and sent him a message saying that I hoped that this year could have a different style of music than before, and Lin Jiaqian chose three demos for me. I remember the demo of "The Beauty and Sorrow of Posthumans" was the third song, and I was immediately attracted by the only lyric in the demo, "In the end, in the end, it is better to step back". One is that this melody is very memorable, and the other is that it arouses my curiosity: what kind of situation does a person have to go to to say this sentence?
Listening to it, I felt like I could connect with the whole song. I think of my own experience, when faced with a big decision, should I muster up the courage to take a big step forward, or should I retreat into my comfort zone and forget about it, and don't do so much? I believe this is also a struggle that many people need to face, so this song hopes to discuss with you the psychological state of struggle before making a big decision.
Nandu Entertainment: How should the concept of "posthuman" be understood?
Li Xingni: It's an interesting process. When I saw the title of this song, I thought wow, it's cool! But what does it mean? I searched on the Internet, read a lot of information, and still didn't understand after reading it, so I went directly to ask the lyricist Zhou Yaohui. He explained that AI is a popular topic right now, so he uses the concept to tell a story. Post-human beings are a bit like new humans, and modern new humans will always have endless troubles, including beauty and sorrow, so I use such a song title to describe the struggles that urban people face every day. He said, "I don't care if you don't understand the meaning, because I like the title of the song so much!"
Nandu Entertainment: Speaking of AI, now that AI technology has developed, the voices of many well-known singers can be easily imitated by AI. As a singer, have you ever thought about AI technology?
Li Xingni: If I can make good use of AI, it can provide a lot of convenience for humans, for example, if I go on a trip but don't have time to do a strategy, then I will find AI to help me plan my trip. Or maybe suddenly I am asked to write a proposal, which I am not good at, but with the help of the AI I can do it very quickly.
In terms of music, my own opinion is that because music and singing are both artistic creations, every time I sing live, I will have different feelings and different presentations. I'm standing in front of you and singing, we have eye contact, we have impromptu expressions, and truth is the most precious thing for human beings, so I'm not worried that AI can replace me.
2
Looking back on 2023: Everything is a trade-off
Nandu Entertainment: Sum up this year in three words?
Li Xingni: Fulfilling, wonderful, breakthrough.
Nandu Entertainment: What are your expectations for the upcoming awards ceremony at the end of the year?
Li Xingni: I try to be as calm as possible, and I think everything I can do is done this year. I've released 5 songs, and every time I make a song, I give 100% sincerity and creativity, and I have also stepped out of my comfort zone and made a lot of different attempts, so this year has been very fulfilling. If there is a good result in the award ceremony, it will definitely be very happy. I want to win the award not for myself, but for all the people who support me, whether it is my colleagues, the production team or the fans, so that everyone who has worked hard for me all year this year can also be encouraged and affirmed.
Nandu Entertainment: In 2023, what is the most memorable thing or moment for you?
Li Xingni: What comes to my mind now is the time when I came out of "Dum Dum", I stepped out of my comfort zone to do singing and dancing, I had to complete the line dance and shoot the MV in a very short time, and I practiced dancing for four or five hours every day with a very tired body, until my whole body was sore. At that time, I didn't know if this change was good or not, whether people would like my change, and there were a lot of small theaters in my heart, and I was trembling, and I could only keep cheering myself up, and it was a very memorable process. I'm glad that after the release of this first song, I saw that most of the people had positive comments about my transformation, so I was really happy!
Nandu Entertainment: Do you have any regrets in 2023?
Li Xingni: Actually, I can't say regret, it seems very serious, everything is a trade-off. I don't think I've done well enough this year because I haven't spent a lot of time with my family because I've spent 90% of my time on music and my career this year. I'm looking forward to the Lunar New Year holiday right now, and I hope to travel with my family when the time comes.
3
Mainland plan: Both the Red Pavilion and the Mainland are in the works
Nandu Entertainment: What are your wishes and plans for 2024?
Li Xingni: Many people ask me if I will hold a concert, in fact, I and the company have been working hard to apply for the schedule of the Red Pavilion, but the schedule of the Red Pavilion is very full, so this plan will be a bit passive.
There will be a lot of new songs coming out next year, and I'm talking about a lot of different job opportunities. One of them was talking about a fun, large-scale show that I had never tried before in Hong Kong. If it can be done then, it will be a very shocking thing, and I am looking forward to it!
Nandu Entertainment: Do you have any plans to come to the mainland to sing?
Li Xingni: I think, I think. My own idea is that there will be a lot of songs this year and next year, because I want to stock up on more new songs and then have a big concert. I started in Hong Kong, then I went to the mainland, and there were other places in the world where people wanted to hear me sing. So why do you see that I keep recording songs this year, in addition to the 5 songs that have been released, in fact, there are many songs that everyone hasn't heard that I have already recorded and played. I'm really sorry for the fans in the mainland, I haven't shown up for too long. It seems that the last time I went to the mainland was a concert in Guangzhou in 2019?
Nandu Entertainment: You went to the mainland in 2015 to participate in music variety shows, and in recent years, there have been many different ways of playing and themes in the mainland music variety, have you noticed any music comprehensives?
Li Xingni: I've been watching it all the time, and I'll pay attention to the changes in the current music variety gameplay. I was also wondering if I would have the opportunity to go to the mainland again one day, so I would do my homework. My colleagues also went to participate in "Sister" and "Brother", and I have been following the show to support them, and at the same time, I will also see how the whole operation of the show is now, which I find very interesting.
Nandu Entertainment: In the past two years, you have served as a mentor in the Hong Kong music variety "The Legend of Sound Dreams", from the former contestant to the current mentor, which identity do you think is more challenging?
Li Xingni: I think being a mentor is more challenging. As a player, I just need to be myself, but as a mentor, I have an additional responsibility to understand the mentality of the students, and then choose different ways to help them according to the person. For example, I would chase students to hand in their homework every day and record what they wanted to sing for me, but some students were only 15 years old, and she had to do her homework before she could practice singing, and it was often two o'clock in the morning when she replied to my messages. At this time, I can only encourage her, not push her too hard. There are a lot of situations like this, and I have to learn how to put them away, which is also a big challenge for me.
So a lot of people ask me if I'll be a guru again, and I think I'd better not (laughs). It's not that I don't like being a mentor, it's that once I say yes, I'm 100% committed to it. I will put the students first, and my own affairs second, and it will become my own affairs, which will definitely be affected. In the past few years, I have been sprinting, and I still want to do my own things first, so even if there is another invitation, I may not be able to accept it.
Written by: Nandu reporter Zhong Xin
Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee