What many fast men and women lack is not strength and works, but a good era that suits them.
Author | Cold
Edit | Iron Forest
There is a question that Li Xingliang has been confused for many years: "Why do I sing better than them, but I don't have their fire?" ”
In the summer of 2010, after winning the national top six of "Happy Male Voice", Li Xingliang was idle at home for nearly two years.
In the past two years, Li Wei of the same year has participated in the variety show of CCTV, Chen Xiang and Wu Yi starred in the network drama, Liu Xin launched a personal EP album, and even the players who ranked worse than him have more or less the opportunity to sing and act. And he can only run some insignificant business performances, attend some unpopular activities, and unwillingly accept this "unfair treatment".
In recent years, Li Xingliang has figured out this truth: at the end of the day, he participates in talent shows, not music competitions. It is not only Li Xingliang who unties this knot.
Super Girl (2005)
A song called "Sing When You Want" ran through the summer of 2004 and 2006. In 2005, "Super Girl", because of the appearance of Li Yuchun, Zhou Bichang and Zhang Liangying, became the first batch of phenomenon-level talent shows in China. 2007's "Happy Male Voice" once again expanded the audience of this series of TV variety shows.
Countless young people hope to become famous overnight through this show and change their lives. Some are purely hilarious and have become the audience's laughing stock during the audition; some have been eliminated in the promotion round and regrettably left the game; a small number of people have passed the hurdles and stood on the stage of the finals, becoming the lucky one in the world.
These lucky people are full of joy that what lies in front of them will be a flower road to success. But the harsh reality tells them that "this road is not going"
2007 Happy Male Voice
Back to the pot meat, as an Internet celebrity, do micro-business, open a rental... Regarding the current situation after the fast men and fast women were "pasted", bad rumors flew all over the place. Enter their names on Baidu, and the related search is always "XXX why not red".
For fast men and fast women, there is too much helplessness in "not red". Looks, company, family, and even sudden accidents can cut off their path to fame. In that era of lack of entertainment methods and single program types, what many fast men and women lack is just an opportunity to be seen by more audiences.
From Li Yuchun's 3.52 million votes to Cai Xukun's 47.64 million votes. The draft mode of using text messages to play the world for favorite contestants has become a thing of the past; "Happy Male Voice" and "Happy Female Voice" have also become a legend in the history of Chinese idols. Fast men and women gradually understand the operation mode of this circle, and they can also laugh and say that they are "not red". Time allows them to learn to reconcile with themselves and embrace the new era with their most comfortable state.
<h1>"When was the last time you worked?" </h1>
"The non-red artist prays every day that his talent can be seen; the non-red artist worries every day and how much is left after paying the rent."
Tan Jiexi's song "Artists Who Are Not Red" sang the voices of many "artists who are not red".
After the 10th "Happy Boy" won the national top four, Tan Jiexi released his personal single "Girlfriend to Take Home". This song is his original work and one of the most sung songs on the fast male stage. The days that followed, as he sang in the song: "Red too fast, then in general, green is also fast." ”
Later Tan Jiexi, who changed his name to Tan Youming, served as Han Hong's agent in "I Am a Singer Season 3", and participated in many movies such as "The Whole City College Entrance Examination", "Sea and Sky", "Stud Life" and so on, and has maintained a tepid state. Now, he has broken away from his original black-rimmed glasses and metal braces, and changed his name from Tan Youming back to Tan Jiexi.
In 2018, he created "The Artist Who Is Not Red", singing the mental journey of these years in a self-deprecating way: "I also wandered, did not change my dead nature, and fell in love with the stage." ”
Now and fast man period Tan Jiexi
The rookies who came out of "Happy Boy" and "Happy Girl" are mostly "unpopular artists" like Tan Jiexi.
In 2018, Wuyi participated in Hunan Satellite TV's observational reality show "My Boy", exposing his solitary life to the public. When he won the runner-up of "Happy Boy" in 2010, He was only 20 years old. In the past 9 years, in addition to some web dramas and singles without splashes, "Falling Sweetheart" and "Traveling with Parents" are his most capable works.
Today, the scenery of the fast male period has long faded, and there are few artists in the life of martial arts, which seems a bit bland.
In one episode, Chen Xiang traveled to Ningxia with Wu Yi as a flying guest. In a humble room, the two recalled the gap between when they first participated in "Happy Boys" and now, and the scene was once a little awkward.
"I thought when I started the game, there would be five or six hundred people coming to pick me up. Now, there are only a dozen of them..." Speaking of this, the two smiled helplessly, and Chen Xiang lowered his head and played with the guitar in his hand.
In the last episode of the second season, at the invitation of martial arts, the 10th Fast Men National Top 12 reunited, which was also the first time they gathered after the competition.
Time passed, and the twelve people took different paths, experiencing peaks and lows. At the dinner table, while recalling their youth, everyone joked with each other and calmly faced the fact of "passing". Tan Jiexi ridiculed champion Li Wei for "wiping trophies at home every day", and Liu Xin laughed at himself for cleaning up at home every day, which is much busier than everyone's work.
Because of "Willing to Win the Heart of One", Li Xingliang became the only singer with representative works in the 10th Fast Men. Liu Xin laughed and said that "Willing to Win the Heart of One" was "hotter than "My Stage" (the theme song of the 10th Fast Man)", and Wu Yi also continued to say that "(Top 12) In addition to Xingliang, everyone forgot what commercial performances are." ”
A similar conversation took place between the 07th fast men.
In the first issue of "Chorus Bar 300", the 07th fast man and the 9th fast woman reunited on the stage and sang "I am the brightest" and "Sing loudly". Time seems to have returned to those summers when voting for fast men and fast women, earning enough tears from the audience.
Compared with the 10th fast man, the 07th fast man is much more well-known, and the names of Chen Chusheng, Wang Quexin, Su Xing, Lu Rover and Zhang Yuan are not unfamiliar. But when it comes to daily workload, they are not much better than the fast men of the 10th class.
Take the Land Rover, for example. He was 13th in that year and was the first to leave the Finals stage.
Last year, Land Rover sang the ending song "The Sound of Snow Falling" from the hit drama "Yanxi Raiders". This song is the original of Lu Rover, which won the Annual Golden Melody Award of iQiyi Scream Night that year, and also brought him back to the public's vision.
Speaking about this in the show, Lu Rover modestly said that as the first person to leave the finals, he always wanted to catch up with everyone. Su Woke up and said, "You can catch up, why do you want to surpass it?" I've been thrown out of the door, and you're kind enough to catch up. After saying that, everyone laughed together, and Zhang Yuan did not forget to tease and wake up: "When did you come to work last time?" ”
Among the five people, Su Xing and Wang Quexin are perhaps the most frequently searched people. However, even if the self-deprecating "past" is on the hot search, there are still no brands and events to come to them. On the other hand, Land Rover is also complaining that although there are big hit singles, there is still no traffic. After the show, the three of them sent a Weibo with the topic of "Awakening Wang Quexin Land Rover wants to be on the hot search", which was funny and sad.
From the first "Super Girl" in 2004 to the last "Happy Male Voice" in 2013, a total of eight sessions, nearly 100 fast men and women who debuted in the national finals, in addition to Li Yuchun, Zhang Jie, Hua Chenyu, etc. can be regarded as "popular artists", most of them have not been favored by the entertainment industry, and they are short-lived in the spotlight.
The draft put them on the altar overnight, filling them with hope and fantasy. But what they don't know is that everything is just an instant. After reaching the top, how to face the next downhill road is far more brutal than the game.
This gap, even if it has become the inspiration for creation, the stem of hot search and the talking point in variety shows, it is difficult to hide the sadness in it.
<h1>Fifteen minutes of eternity</h1>
"Debut is the peak", used to describe most fast men and fast women is the most appropriate.
In 2009, Huang Ying participated in "Happy Girl". This little girl who came out of the countryside was known as the "Little Diva of New Folk Songs" with her unique "British singing voice". A song "Ying Shan Hong" sent her to sit on the throne of the national third place.
After the game, Huang Ying's life changed dramatically. In addition to preparing for the tour, the company arranged a lot of commercial performances for her, with almost no private time. Walking down the street, more and more people can recognize her.
2009 "Happy Girl" Source: verycd
Huang Ying told hedgehog commune (ID: ciweigongshe) that the heat had completely disappeared after two years. What makes Huang Ying feel the most regrettable is that when the popularity of "Happy Girl" was at its highest, she was not sensitive to everything in the entertainment industry.
In "Chorus Bar 300", Huang Ying and 09 fast girls Jiang Yingrong, Li Xiaoyun and Liu Xijun reunited on the stage and sang the cheering song "Baby Sister" of "Happy Girl" in 2011. Looking at the fans in the audience and the former opponents around her, Huang Ying seems to have returned to the summer of ten years ago, back to her girlhood.
Ten years after her debut, Huang Ying's participation in the entertainment industry is not low, and she has dabbled in music, performance, variety shows and other aspects. Now, Huang Ying has two cute babies and a happy family. When asked about the relationship between career and family, Huang Ying said very frankly that she is not a first-line artist, and now work and family can be taken into account, which is the best state. "If every day is a trip, running from morning to night, it's terrible," Mr. Huang said.
Source: Weibo @ Huang Ying'er
Huang Ying belongs to the middle range artists in the fast men and fast women, although there is no big hit, but there is also a stable itinerary. Others have slowly faded out of the entertainment industry, or helpless moves, or personal choices.
The 10th fast male corn ti returned to his hometown and lived an ordinary life; Li Xiaoyun, the runner-up of the 09th fast woman, terminated his contract with the company, with musical instruments and paintings, and single-handedly walked through 36 cities to hold a wandering exhibition; the 09th fast girl Pan Hongyu was doing music-related work and had her own new circle; some people completely disappeared, leaving only a name in Baidu Encyclopedia.
Artist Andy Warhol once said, "Tomorrow, everyone can be famous for fifteen minutes." "It indicates that in the era when FMCG has become the mainstream, everyone has a brief moment of fame, just like this group of rookies who came out of the popular show."
Every player used to have so many possibilities. Nowadays, it is only occasionally remembered, and it is a pity to say: "It's a pity."
Yu Haoming must be the most regrettable one.
After winning the sixth place in "Happy Male Voice" in 2007, Yu Haoming became one of the objects of Tianyu's popularity, launched his first EP "If, Can Love You" at the end of the year, won the champion dance king in the second season of Hunan Satellite TV's "Dancing Miracle", and served as the host of Hunan Satellite TV's home program "Every Day Upward".
In 2009, Yu Haoming starred in the idol drama "Let's See the Meteor Shower", which has soared in ratings and topics since its inception, and in the following year, a sequel "Watch the Meteor Shower Together", Yu Haoming also became the hottest idol star at that time.
Image source: Gale
A series of top resources make everyone look forward to his future.
Just when his career was booming, an accident made his future unclear. In 2010, Yu Haoming accidentally burned a 35% burn during a blast scene filming the new drama "I Have a Date with Spring". After two years of treatment, Yu Haoming returned to the stage.
His most recent topic came from the 2017 star "That Year the Flowers Bloomed and the Moon Was Round". Yu Haoming first challenged to play the villain, but was scolded by the audience along with the role. In response to some malicious comments, Yu Haoming also angrily tweeted: "I am willing to accept all voices, but I am not used to these ugly hearts." ”
With his wonderful performance in "That Year the Flowers Bloomed and the Moon Was Round", Yu Haoming was nominated for the Magnolia Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Breakthrough Actor of the Year at today's Headlines Annual Festival.
Source: Weibo @ Yu Haoming
Although he became an actor, Yu Haoming would occasionally sing the theme song of film and television dramas. When he came back, Yu Haoming published his self-composed "Actually I'm Fine", in which he sang: "Too much insincerity is just the content of the years, sigh and then continue to move forward." ”
Now Yu Haoming rarely mentions the original accident, and is down-to-earth in the film and television industry, as if nothing has happened.
No matter what kind of noise and snub they have experienced, most people have found the best way to reconcile with themselves in the passage of time. Chen Chusheng said in an interview with "The Boy in My Family": "No matter what the outside world thinks, everyone tends to be in a more and more comfortable state, which is enough." ”
Sing on stage, enjoy the applause of the audience, accept the praise of the judges, win from the PK... For most fast men and women, the highlight moments in these races are just their "fifteen minutes of eternity".
After the prosperity is over, the plainness and stability found in the heart are far more real than countless commercial performances and rushes.
<h1>"I deserve it" </h1>
When he met Li Xingliang, he wore a beanie hat, representative black-rimmed glasses, and a regular T-shirt and slacks, looking thinner than when he competed nine years ago.
I handed the business card to Li Xingliang's agent, and he smiled and said, "Yo, and the business card, I haven't received the business card for a long time." ”
Li Xingliang during the "Happy Male Voice" and "The Voice of China" period
In 2010, Li Xingliang was a resident singer in a bar in Shenzhen, and when he saw the audition information of the Guangzhou singing area of "Happy Male Voice", he and a group of brothers planned to try it out. At that time, his mentality was particularly simple, singing a night before the game to earn 100, after the game can rise to 150 is also good.
What Li Xingliang did not expect was that with a natural good voice, he had reached the finals. In the game where six into five was eliminated, the other players shed tears for Li Xingliang's departure, but Li Xingliang himself did not cry. He said: "Sixth place is a start for me, and then I will go better and further on the road of music. ”
After the game, Li Xingliang "floated", he felt that he would soon become a star in the eyes of the world, fame and fortune, and a rich life.
Two months later, Li Xingliang knew that things were not as simple as he thought.
After a two-year blank period, Li Xingliang joined the current company Huayin Dingtian and found a new opportunity on "The Voice of China". With a song called "The Sound of the Waves Is Still There", Li Xingliang won the turn of Liu Huan and Yu Chengqing, and eventually joined Liu Huan's student team. After the show was broadcast, Li Xingliang finally released his first album "Willing to Win a Heart".
The title song "Willing to Win the Heart of One" is a turning point for Li Xingliang. This song won the 2013 QQ Music Mainland Chart Golden Melody Award, and has been popular all over the country, and has been listed on music platforms and KTV so far. The agent revealed that when performing commercially, "Willing to Win the Heart of one" is also a must-have track for event organizers.
Since 2012, Li Xingliang's work has alternated frequently between new song recordings and performances.
In view of the success of "Wish one heart", the team has continued to cater to the popular music style of the market, releasing more than 50 works for him in three years. But these songs do not really conform to Li Xingliang's musical aesthetic and pursuit: "I actually don't want to always maintain this slightly bitter musical image. ”
In 2015, Li Xingliang became a father, and the role of father also made him think about whether he should be satisfied with this "OKAY" state, and what kind of image he should use to set an example for his daughter's growth. He decided to regain his musical ideals when he participated in Happy Boys and produce an album he produced.
Album style became an issue. For a long time, Li Xingliang almost passively accepted the company's planning leadership, and how to dig out the music genre he liked and was suitable for him was very distressing. It was then that a friend came up with the concept of city pop that touched him. Li Xingliang, a former designer and band member, was very fond of this musical style with a sense of design and band style, and he "got excited at once".
In 2018, Li Xingliang overturned his previous idea of the album, soaked in his studio day and night, spent eight months polishing three new songs, and formed a new album "L'uggage". In order to match the new style, Li Xingliang also returned to his old business and personally set up the logo of the album.
Source: Weibo @ Li Xingliang
The new songs are young and energetic, full of summer atmosphere, which is very different from the previous bitter love songs such as "Willing to Win a Heart" and "The Man in the Memory". In the second half of the 30th generation to make such an attempt, Li Xingliang did not seem to be distressed, "Fang Wenshan is still writing "Sweet" in his 40s, and I am still young. ”
Now Li Xingliang's work-life ratio is about 8:2, 20% of the time at work is running performances, and the remaining 80% is all written in the studio. When mentioning the motivation to persevere, Li Xingliang smiled: "It can also be said that I deserve it." In the early years, it was not good to do what they should do, and they could only put the pressure on these years. ”
In the new song "Sugar Water Island", Li Xingliang especially thanked The Land Rover. When conceiving a new album, Li Xingliang approached Land Rover and asked for his opinion, and trying out the band style was also Land Rover's suggestion.
Referring to those super women and fast men of that year, Li Xingliang told the Hedgehog Commune that on the surface, everyone tried different fields, but music was something that no one gave up. In addition to Wei Chen, Zhang Jie, Hua Chenyu, etc., who are active in front of the stage, there are also some people who have transformed into producers behind the scenes, such as Yao Zheng.
Chen Xiang, Su Xing, Wang Lixin and Li Wei are also still singing, but there are far more people who pay attention to their private lives than to their works. Huang Di, Liu Xin, Wu Junyu, Jiang Yingrong, Duan Linxi... Whether people can call them by name or not, they deny what they look like, and they never stop making music.
The most recent topics of conversation are Zhang Yuan and Ma Xueyang, who participated in "Creation Camp 2019". The former is the ninth national leader of the 2007 "Happy Male Voice" and the captain of the supreme Lihe; the latter is the top ten in the Chengdu Division and the creator of "Marshmallow".
Image source: Weibo @ Tencent Video Creation Camp 2019
The two idol predecessors who have debuted for 12 years have experienced the extreme popularity of the supreme alliance, and once again stood on the stage of "Creation Camp" with the post-00s, and the conflict collision between the new and old generations made people sigh.
Seeing that their former opponents once again embarked on a journey to pursue their dreams, Chen Chusheng, Zhang Jie, Wei Chen, and Wang Lixin also sent Weibo to express their support for them. Wang Quexin wrote on Weibo: "He (Zhang Yuan) is like a veteran, carrying his only weapon, on the battlefield of music, for his dreams, fighting!" No matter what they have been, they still want to believe: if they remember, there will be an echo.
<h1>"Hope this era does not miss me" </h1>
Speaking of supreme cooperation, Zhang Yuan could not hide his regrets. In his view, as a representative of Chinese idol groups, the gap between Supreme Lihe and other countries is not in looks and strength, "but we really don't have such a system." ”
Just as many fast men and women lack not strength and works, but a good era that suits them.
It is no exaggeration to say that 2007 was the peak of Chen Chusheng. This beautiful teenager who plays the guitar and sings love songs defeats Su Xing and Wei Chen in "Happy Male Voice" and wins the national championship. His original song "Did Anyone Tell You" in the competition won the annual golden song and best song award that year, and became popular all over the country.
On December 30, 2008, Chen Chusheng was absent from Hunan Satellite TV's New Year's Eve party and was banned by Hunan Satellite TV. From then on, Chen Chusheng began the battle to terminate the contract with Tianyu. This battle, which lasted for four years, also exhausted the popularity he had accumulated so hard.
Since then, Chen Chusheng has transformed into a music creator, but he can never return to his original popularity.
In a recent interview, Chen Chusheng revealed his heart: "Later I also wanted to understand, in fact, 07 "Fast Man" is the earliest reality show, music is only part of the show, at that time, many fans gathered were just interested in you as a person, he may not completely like your music. ”
The draft does not choose songs, this phenomenon is more obvious in the era of traffic.
"Whether it is a talented singer or other singers, the most important thing is the work, only good works can maintain the heat." Huang Ying said so to the Hedgehog Commune. The reason is right, but unfortunately, in the face of emerging resources and channels, works become worthless.
The domestic idol system is becoming more and more mature, and a new generation of idol trainees are enjoying the dividends of the traffic era. This shortcut is also the first generation of draft picks after taking countless detours.
Li Xingliang recalled the dilemma faced by the talent show star that year, and he told the Hedgehog Commune that the people who came out of the draft were called "popular stars", at the bottom of the entertainment industry's contempt chain, and could not be compared with the "strength stars" who had climbed up. Many program groups and brands are very reluctant to use "popular stars", believing that this will pull them down. This is also the reason why many fast men and fast women lack exposure opportunities.
Fast women may encounter more challenges. They not only carry the label of a draft star, but also bear the malice of people's female stars. An Youqi, 06 champion Shang Wenjie, 09 champion Jiang Yingrong, 09th li yuanxi, etc. have all fallen into the storm of plastic surgery, and after the big waves, age has become a difficult obstacle for female idols to cross the past.
2009 champion Jiang Yingrong and 06 champion Shang Wenjie Source: Weibo @ Jiang Yingrong and @ Shang Wenjie
The entertainment industry is now very different, and "traffic stars" are still scorned by a considerable number of people, but they are most favored by capital and resources. The attraction of artists to fans lies not only in their works, but also in diversified variety shows and film and television dramas, and the latter two are precisely the things that are easiest to get out of the circle. If there is activity, there will be exposure, and it is more likely to be loved by more people.
After putting the cart before the horse, music has become the added value of the singer. Counting today's music idols, there are fewer and fewer regular albums of twelve songs, more and more artists who only produce one or two singles a year, and capital and the market are always flocking to them.
Another big advantage is the channel of interaction. The early communication method was single, and if you wanted to see the face of the star, in addition to going to the scene, it was to keep the TV. Without faceless events and lack of interaction with fans, the enthusiasm of fans quickly faded. With the spread of the Internet and social networks, it is easier for fans to get information about celebrities. Even in the blank period, celebrities can also solve the pain of fans' lovesickness by sending Weibo, which greatly increases the stickiness of fans.
There are also people trying new ways of performing. At the end of 2017, Liu Xin registered a Kuaishou account, and in addition to uploading singing videos and musical works, he occasionally broadcast live. Many people praised his strength after watching his video, and also expressed regret that he did not have a big hit.
Liu Xin now has more than 960,000 fans on Kuaishou, his musical work "Lover of a Lifetime" is used by more than 440,000 works, and the hottest video "Wild Waves" has more than 2.4 million views. This makes people wonder what their future would be if there were platforms such as Weibo, Douyin and Kuaishou, so that fast men and fast women had a more diversified stage.
After kicking the pavilion successfully into the A class, Zhang Yuan said emotionally in front of the camera: "I missed the era of missing me, and I hope that this era will not miss the era of me." ”
The years have taken away their heat, smoothed out their edges and corners, consumed their momentum, but they can't stop their dreams.
Whether what was missed can be made up for in the new era, they are still looking for answers.