EFB Chapter 122 Outstanding Young Musicians
Chapter 122 Outstanding Young Musicians
Chapter 122 Outstanding Young Musicians
【? ? ? 】
[Is this real? Or is it photoshopped?]
[It's true. I checked the Weibo verification center, and Yang Du's verification type has indeed changed.]
I checked the official website of the Music Association, but there was no relevant announcement. However, Yang Du's name can indeed be found in the list of association members.
Holy crap! How come someone who writes for a personal journal is so sophisticated? I'm not convinced, sob sob.
After the message was confirmed to be true, the group chat exploded.
What is the Music Association?
The full name is the Chinese Musicians Association. It is a national first-class music organization established in 49. It is affiliated with the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and is responsible for implementing the higher-level literary and artistic policies. Its functions include organizing music competitions, conducting international music exchanges, and carrying out music grading examinations.
This is not some amateur club that you can join just by paying membership fees; you can tell just by looking at its membership composition.
Most of them are professors, associate professors, experts and scholars from major music academies, key members of various troupes, singers, composers, conductors, etc., and only the top pop musicians are included at the end.
In the mainstream music scene, which is characterized by a strict hierarchy of disdain, those who work in classical or folk music naturally look down on those who work in pop music. Pop musicians who can join the China Musicians Association have all worked their way up through seniority and doing charity work, and it is only when they are in their thirties or forties that they can barely get an entry ticket.
In contrast, consider Yang Du.
Born in 2005, she is only 21 years old this year.
A senior college student, less than a year into the profession, has become one of the youngest members in the history of the Music Association.
"Xiaoxiao, did you see that? You haven't even joined the association yet, but Yang Du has already gone in." Qi Qiao looked at Yang Du's newly verified Weibo account, her mind filled with thoughts.
"That's normal. Although he's in the pop music scene, he's a well-educated academic with a solid academic background. He's talented, accomplished, and still a student. If I were a leader at the Beijing Conservatory of Music, I would also strongly support him."
Although the Beijing Conservatory of Music is not as pure as the Central Conservatory of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music, it is still an academic institution.
"Tsk tsk, luckily we turned enemies into friends before, otherwise what would we have done later?" Qi Qiao felt fortunate for her and Xu Xiao's foresight.
Then, remembering the functions of the Music Association, she said enviously, "Once someone joins the Music Association, they'll have a voice in the future."
This sounds somewhat flattering, but it's not entirely wrong.
After all, China has a long tradition of soliciting opinions widely when drafting industry regulations and revising policies, and the drafts related to the music industry naturally take into account the opinions of associations, leading companies, and relevant practitioners.
Among them, the Music Association undoubtedly carries the most weight in its voice, and it's quite possible that some future industry policies will be improved based on Yang Du's suggestions.
It wasn't just Chengzi and Xu Xiao who discovered Yang Du's additional identity; various netizens also joined in.
[A 21-year-old member of the music association, is there no justice left? Is there no law? I want to eat 100 lemons! Ugh!]
!! I'm so jealous! I failed the exam twice, while Yang Du is already a member of the Music Association before even graduating. Jealousy has turned me beyond recognition (dark, twisted, crawling).
—"Wake up, bro, the Music Association isn't part of the system, is it? (laughing and crying)"
—"Though not perfect, it's not far off."
Yang Du is amazing! He writes the most melodramatic romance novel and gets the most hardcore official certification.
No way, we're both 21, why am I still taking the CET-4? (Abandon, abandon, a, b, a, n)
d、o、n】
"Sister, at least memorize one word. You'll never pass the CET-4 if you keep doing this."
"Give up."
—"Haha, that's a brilliant reply from upstairs."
Just as everyone was shocked that Yang Du had become a member of the Music Association at the age of 21, a list published on the Music Association's official website added fuel to the fire, and the public opinion became even more intense.
List of Outstanding Young Musicians of the Chinese Musicians Association in 2026
Yang Du's name was prominently listed.
It is worth mentioning that in official competitions and institutional evaluations in China, the meaning of the word "youth" is completely different from the public's perception of youth.
In the eyes of ordinary people, youth refers to young people in their teens and twenties, as opposed to children and teenagers.
However, in practice, the standard for youth is usually set at 35 years old.
This led to a situation where, when netizens searched for other young musicians on the list, they found that besides Yang Du, who is 21 years old...
Apart from the standard young people in the prime of their youth, the other selected individuals were all over thirty and past their prime.
In fact, according to photos found online, several of them already have the "Mediterranean strongman" hairstyle.
Placing Yang Du in the group makes them appear at first glance to be from two completely different generations of musicians.
Yang Du's leap in status quickly boosted his popularity and online traffic, which in turn benefited his album "Swallowtail Butterfly" and even Tao Cheng.
Some netizens have started chanting a brand new slogan—Little Queen Tao Orange!
If it were earlier this year, even when "Flammable and Explosive" had just been released, if Chengzi had called Tao Cheng a pop diva on Weibo, she would have been ridiculed to death by fans of rival groups and casual viewers.
The barrage of insults, such as blatant attempts to piggyback on Tao Cheng's popularity and comparing her to the "Big Four and Three Small Ones," has completely destroyed Tao Cheng's fan page.
Therefore, when the fans saw this term online, they immediately became alert and quickly organized to control the comments.
However, after working hard for most of the day, they were surprised to find that the title of "Little Queen" had surprisingly gained some support from netizens.
The reason is simple: Tao Cheng has been in the industry for more than two years and has six number-one singles, including an album that sold more than two million copies in its first week and received a 91% rating on Lemon.com. Even if she is not a pop diva now, she is not far from it.
Some even said that emperors take turns ruling, and this year it's their turn. Since the four major and three minor emperors formed in 18 and 19, the situation has remained unchanged for a long time, and now it's time for a newcomer to take the throne.
For a moment, the fans in the group were all bewildered.
Is he normal in this script?
You're using words that we want to say but dare not say.
【No, I thought some hater was deliberately messing with us, and we were all ready to have a real showdown, but it turns out some random people actually think Orange is a pop star?】
Counterfeiting and trolling is a common practice in fan circles.
[Yeah, it's ridiculous that an outsider had to bring this up. Aren't we fans a bit incompetent? (flips fingers)]
Calm down, everyone. Others can talk, but we can't, lest we give them something to gossip about.
However, the opposition from the outside world was surprisingly unanimous, sticking to a single standard and refusing to budge.
She wasn't a pop diva until she won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Yes, I acknowledge the sales and critical acclaim of "Swallowtail Butterfly." But look at the three rising stars: Xu Xiao, Qian Wancheng, and Zhu Pingting. Each of them became a pop diva after winning the Golden Chart Music Award for Best Female Pop Singer, with Xu Xiao even winning two. Otherwise, including Tuya and Gao Zhuo, why call them the "Three Little Pop Divas"? They should just go back to the top five.
In this eerie atmosphere, two days later, on December 10th, the Golden Chart Music Awards announced its nominations.