Are you trying to force me to become a star?

Chapter 14: Huo Yuanjia

The stage was still in darkness when the song information appeared on the big screen.

Song: Huo Yuanjia

Singer: Xu Jinyan

……

The five judges on the panel stared in disbelief at the contents of the document. They weren't surprised that the songwriting and arrangement were handled by the same person again, since the semi-finals were the same.

They weren't surprised by the large number of musical instruments and even the accompanying dancers; they had seen even more complex ones before.

They just stared at the song's title: Huo Yuanjia.

If I remember correctly, they were just talking about this name in the lounge. It's an S-level project that Sun Dakang is currently in charge of.

Before the song even started, the judges' expressions were somewhat subtle.

Nanfeng recalled that the message she sent to Xu Jinyan seemed to contain this song, but this was an S-level project.

She thought Xu Jinyan would only choose a B-level project, or at most an A-level, but she never expected him to go straight for an S-level project. If he wins, Fengtai Company might not care too much, but what about producer Sun Dakang...?

I can't think about it anymore, the more I think about her, the happier she gets...

Ms. Sun is usually a very polite person, but I still noticed the sense of superiority behind that politeness. And this is only because she can make a living through acting; if she were just a singer, how stifled she would be.

The other judges also had their own thoughts, but they were all more focused than ever before, waiting for the song to begin and what kind of "Huo Yuanjia" Xu Jinyan, the author of "Anhe Bridge," would bring.

"Thump~thump thump~thump, thump thump thump thump thump"

"Thump~thump thump~thump, thump thump thump thump thump"

A spotlight first shone on the stage, illuminating only Li Yan, who was playing the drum. Li Yan was wearing a white jacket with the three large characters "Xu Yunge" written in yellow thread on the left side of his chest.

Like the beginning of "Anhe Bridge", the beginning of "Huo Yuanjia" also uses a large drum, but the drum sound is more powerful and majestic.

Sure enough, a loud gong rang out.

The drumbeats grew increasingly intense, making the scene even more tense.

"Clang"

As the second gong sounded, another spotlight shone on, and Han Shuying, dressed in white, plucked the strings of a zither, filling the room with its sound.

The sound of the guzheng brought a rich Chinese flavor, as well as melody and layers, as if a duel was about to take place.

Then, the third light came on, and Grandpa Xu appeared on stage with his erhu, bringing his soul to the stage.

Then, the entire stage lit up, and the pipa, bass, electric guitar, drum kit, and flute all joined in, creating a complex yet harmonious and incredibly powerful musical performance.

The prelude lasted a full fifty seconds, but Shen Nan didn't find it long at all. The opening drum was passionate and surging, followed by the guzheng setting the atmosphere of the kung fu duel, and the erhu melody added a touch of delicacy to the heroic spirit of the kung fu, like the tenderness of a chivalrous knight.

At that moment, he knew that the song had been completed.

He stared intently at Xu Jinyan, who was exuding confidence on the stage, and began to sing:

"Ha! You only have a few rounds left. The arena awaits."

"A life-or-death contract? What did you win?" he sneered.

"Who owns the world, and what does it matter who's number one?"

"To stop war, we uphold martial virtue."

"My fists and feet are skilled, but what can I do?"

"It only adds to one's empty reputation; the martial world is unpredictable, who is truly the strong one?"

"Who will claim the right to unify the martial arts world?"

On stage, musicians dressed in white played their instruments, while dancers dressed in black held fans in their right hands and made rhythmic movements centered around Xu Jinyan, who was also dressed in black.

Xu Jinyan held a microphone in her left hand and a fan in her right. While singing, she occasionally made some movements, trying to be as synchronized as possible with the backup dancers.

Completely different from the ballad "Anhe Bridge," this time the style is surprisingly upbeat.

Yan Zhi, sitting in the audience, watched the young man on stage with excitement, patting Xu Wenqing's arm vigorously and exclaiming repeatedly, "So handsome! So handsome!"

Xu Wenqing nodded in agreement, adding, "It's all thanks to your good parenting; the child takes after you."

Sure enough, Yan Zhi became even more excited, her face beaming with pride.

Nanfeng, watching her junior brother's unrestrained performance on stage, felt it was all a bit unreal. Was he really this good right after his debut? Then, she heard something even more impressive:

"In this small town, as time flows by, a clear courage remains."

"Memories washed clean, I remember you, live on with pride."

When the song, sung in a style reminiscent of traditional Chinese opera, was performed, all the audience members felt a chill run down their spines.

Why is there a Peking Opera tune coming from here?

Why is it opera singing?

Yes, that's exactly it, the Peking Opera style is fantastic!

"Ho ho, ho ho ho, ho ho ho"

"The Huo Family Boxing style features flexible and agile techniques."

"Living, living, living!"

"Life should be lived to the fullest."

"Pass, pass, pass, pass"

"Faults and weaknesses have never been my faults."

"Me, me, me, me!"

"When our Jingwu martial arts team strikes, no one can dodge."

The crowd watched as the conjoined calligraphy character "霍" appeared in the center of the large screen, then quickly moved to the left, and seven more identical "霍" characters appeared behind it, before immediately jumping to the next sentence, "The Huo family boxing routines and moves are flexible."

Then, the same pattern appeared again with the next three sentences, one after another.

The audience felt their hearts pounding and their blood boiling; how could there be such an amazing song? Does the Chinese music scene even allow someone this amazing to exist?

Most of them started paying attention to the competition because of "Anhe Bridge". Unexpectedly, the person who wrote the song that made them cry has now set them on fire with another song.

They watched as Xu Jinyan, dressed in black, wore a serious and earnest expression. She and her backup dancers lifted their legs, took steps, and swayed their bodies rhythmically. Then, everyone suddenly opened their right-hand folding fans. They felt they had reached a climax, as if they had reached the pinnacle of their lives.

After one verse and chorus, another verse and chorus are played.

After the two repetitions, the interlude begins.

As Han Shuying played the guzheng, she carefully plucked the strings while inwardly admiring Xu Jinyan, wondering how he came up with this interlude.

The strings go from slow to fast, and the drum kit and electric guitar join in, pushing the melody and rhythm higher and higher.

As the melody quickens, more and more instruments join in, and the overall atmosphere becomes increasingly intense. Just as it's about to reach its climax, the urgent sound of the pipa ignites everything.

"Ho ho, ho ho ho, ho ho ho (In the small town, time flows by)"

"The Huo Family Boxing style features flexible and agile techniques."

"Live, live, live (clear courage)"

"Life should be lived to the fullest."

"Past, past, past (washed-away memories, I remember you)"

"Faults and weaknesses have never been my faults."

"Me, me, me, me (live on proudly)"

"When our Jingwu martial arts team strikes, no one can dodge."

Gradually, the instrumental music faded, and the song ended.

One after another, the audience members stood up and applauded, their hands turning red from clapping, expressing their sincere gratitude to the people on stage who had brought them such a visual and auditory feast.

The crowd bowed to the audience on stage, their hearts pounding with excitement. Just by looking at the audience's reaction, they knew they had won, even though the audience did not have the right to vote.

The host went on stage and began the proceedings.

Li Aizhou spoke first: "Xu Jinyan, last time I said I remembered you. This time, I want to say, let's exchange contact information later, so we can have the opportunity to cooperate in the future." Hearing such high praise, the whole room burst into enthusiastic applause.

Xu Jinyan bowed.

Then Zhao Ming raised the microphone: "Your arrangement is incredibly imaginative. You've really brought out the best in traditional Chinese musical instruments. I still remember the morin khuur from last time, and this time you've combined the drum, erhu, pipa, guzheng, and so on, all so cleverly. The intro and interlude are both excellent. You're really amazing."

Hearing the applause erupt again, he quickly added, "By the way, let's exchange contact information later."

"Hahahaha," the audience burst into even louder laughter.

Xu Jinyan bowed twice.

Then Nanfeng smiled and raised the microphone, saying, "Xu Jinyan, I happened to receive an invitation from the organizers to be a judge for your two competitions. I just want to ask: Teacher Xu, may I request a song from you?"

"Great!" The atmosphere in the stadium became even more enthusiastic, and the young audience cheered excitedly.

Xu Jinyan smiled and nodded, saying, "As long as Teacher Nan appreciates what I write, that's fine."

Next, it was Shen Nan's turn to speak. He took a deep breath and said, "Jinyan, I really want to open your head and see what's inside. How old are you? You're already so talented and skilled. You know, when you sang that opera tune, I got goosebumps all over."

"Although there's a slight deficiency in your breath control, it doesn't detract from your overall excellence. Really, you're amazing, I give you a thumbs up." As he said this, he actually gave a thumbs up.

Regarding breath control, that was indeed one of his relatively weak points. This song combines rap, Peking opera singing, and some dance moves, which would have been noticeable to professional judges.

Finally, only Sun Dakang of Fengtai Group remained silent.

The other four judges were all focused on him. If they wanted to, they could praise him for an hour without repeating themselves, but at this moment they all tacitly refrained from speaking and looked at him.

Old Sun, can you stop this twenty-year-old?

Sun Dakang smiled as he raised the microphone, inwardly cursing the guys around him, telling them to stop staring at him like that.

He said, "Xu Jinyan, the judges' evaluations of you just now were quite comprehensive, and even Teacher Shen Nan pointed out your shortcomings in breath control. I have nothing more to say."

Shen Nan smiled, but in his heart he thought: Why did you bring me up, you bastard? I brought it up beforehand to prevent you from holding onto this point, but you still brought it up again.

Sun Dakang then smiled and said, "Then let's talk about other things. Why did you choose this theme for your work?"

coming.

Several judges realized that the main topic had arrived, and they were also curious about why the song was created, except for one female judge who wished to remain anonymous.

Shen Nan had some suspicions: was it really because of that incident?

Xu Jinyan also realized that the real issue was approaching. One of the judges on stage was a senior music producer from Fengtai Group, so he would naturally have to face this question.

He glanced at the system interface instinctively and thought, "Holy crap, Sun Dakang has given me over two thousand negative emotion points in this short time."

Could it be that bad luck? He was in charge of that project.