nucmednet Chapter 012 1 Let's Listen to Music
Chapter 012 1 Let's Listen to Music
On May 14th, at 5 PM, Tao Cheng's Weibo account suddenly updated with a message and pinned it to the top.
[@是陶橙呀V: The emotions are in the air, let's sing "Flammable and Explosive" together! (Tencent Music link) (NetEase Cloud Music link)]
The Weibo post, like the stunned Sun Qingning and Yuan Cheng in the meeting room, left the entire internet completely bewildered and disoriented by this sudden appearance.
Whether they were Tao Cheng's die-hard fans, casual fans, onlookers, or even professional trolls and paid commentators ready to continue posting announcements, they only realized what was happening after seeing Tao Cheng's latest Weibo post, or after opening Tencent Music or NetEase Cloud Music and being bombarded with that visually striking giant banner saying "GG" on the homepage.
Tao Cheng has released a song!
There was no advance notice, no fancy countdown posters, no other promotional hype, and not even any pre-purchased trending topics.
It just landed on the entire internet in such a simple and brutal way!
After a brief moment of surprise, posts about Tao Cheng releasing a song sprang up like mushrooms after rain on Weibo's live feed and various music forums.
[Holy crap, parachuted in?!?]
[Are you kidding me? The "like" incident broke out the night before last, and the new song is released today. Is this incredible efficiency or just a case of giving up?]
[No, thinking about it carefully, there was actually some pre-event hype. Tao Cheng responded on Weibo that she was reading articles to get a feel for the text; wasn't that pre-event hype?]
[Do you believe her or me, Qin Shi Huang? Who's so kind as to release a song in just 72 hours after the initial hype? This must be something hastily composed and performed on the spot. Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't do this!]
With a variety of emotions—expectation, shock, doubt, anticipation of a joke, and nitpicking—people from all walks of life clicked on the play link.
……
Century Music, Conference Room.
Yuan Cheng frowned deeply; the wrinkles on his forehead could trap a fly.
He didn't say anything, just crossed his arms and watched his assistant connect his phone to the speakers in the conference room via Bluetooth.
For some reason, he had a bad feeling. After being in this circle for a long time, anything unusual must be suspicious.
buy.
download.
play.
As one of the three major music companies in China, the speaker equipment in Century Music's conference room is naturally not ordinary. They are all top-of-the-line monitoring equipment costing hundreds of thousands of yuan, which can amplify even the faintest breathing sounds and saliva sounds in the dry audio.
When the first note came from these expensive speakers, Sun Qingning realized that this was not a normal pop song.
It's a bit strange, with a dark, oppressive, and gloomy feel to it.
Yuan Cheng's brow twitched suddenly: "Gothic style? Dark style?"
Just as he finished speaking, Tao Cheng's voice came in.
The voice was very low and close, as if Tao Cheng was whispering into the microphone, with even a noticeable bubbly sound in it.
"They hope I go mad, and they also hope I won't live alone."
"You want me to be aloof and elegant, but you also want me to be frivolous and vulgar."
"I want to be sunny, and I also want to be charming without wavering."
"You mocked me, making me feel helpless and unable to control my emotions, and you even made me feel like my heart is as withered as a dead tree."
After hearing just two sentences, Sun Qingning got goosebumps.
These two lines of lyrics are absolutely brilliant.
What are the requirements for women in the entertainment industry?
You need to be a topic of conversation, yet maintain your beauty and innocence; you need to be elegant and glamorous on the red carpet, yet also be able to lower your standards and cater to the public on variety shows, and even create buzz by skirting the edges.
As a woman in the entertainment industry, a place of fame and fortune, Sun Qingning can feel the weight and impact of these lyrics more deeply than anyone else, naturally resonating with them.
As the verses progress, the instruments in the accompaniment begin to layer in a sense of depth, with the piano and bass playing steadily and rhythmically.
Sun Qingning, sitting in the main seat, also became increasingly solemn.
Although she may be sarcastic, she's not deaf. These contradictory and conflicting lyrics, paired with a gothic musical style, are simply a killer combination!
Soon, the drumbeats, violins, and cellos intertwined, and Tao Cheng's voice displayed terrifying explosiveness and infectiousness at this moment.
"Love me purely, and love me nakedly without decadence!"
"Watch me sing and play the guitar, watch me break down in heartbreak!"
"He flirted with me, and his eyes even glazed over because of me!"
"You're after my sincerity, and also my captivating gaze!"
This song is not the kind of strained vocals used in the traditional sense for the sake of high notes. Tao Cheng adopted a metallic pharyngeal tone in the chorus, and even a bit of a tearing, angry tone.
Her voice swirled and danced above the tight rhythm and strings, like a woman who had seen through the world and said, "I'm not going to serve you anymore."
"How did she do that? Tao Cheng's voice used to be more intellectual and lyrical, how could she suddenly pull off this dark gothic style?" Sun Qingning looked at the speaker, puzzled.
As a singer, she knew very well how difficult it was to sing this song well.
The difficulty lies not in how high the C5 or D5 note is, but in the neurotic feeling and the extremely intense emotions.
If the singing isn't up to par and the emotions aren't intense enough, the singer's voice will sound artificial, or even like pointless whining, against the backdrop of the lyrics and arrangement.
It simply can't hold up.
But Tao Cheng not only mastered it, but sang it with a superior and disdainful attitude.
Suddenly, Sun Qingning understood why Tao Cheng had liked that melodramatic article, "I Love...", in the middle of the night.
The core of this song is clearly the ultimate mockery and rebellion against the fate of women!
What made her even more desperate was that the song was released at the perfect time, precisely Tao Cheng's direct response to the online criticism she had faced over the past three days.
Their two meticulously planned sniping schemes were utterly laughable in the face of the song "Flammable and Explosive".
Is it not mocking an old lady who reads melodramatic articles late at night for having low taste and being disliked by brands?
Isn't it true that they're lying and trying to fool their fans with half-finished products?
Don't you think you should always maintain an intellectual persona and never change it?
Excuse me.
I'm not pretending anymore!
Century Music used all sorts of tactics to smear Tao Cheng, including hiring online trolls to criticize and praise him, but what was the result?
Directly labeled "Flammable and Explosive"!
The public opinion they spent real money to hire online trolls over the past three days not only failed to ruin Tao Cheng, but instead became the best publicity for her song, creating a stage for her to be the center of attention.
Spending your own money to promote your rival, how can you not be angry?
As the last note faded away, silence fell over the conference room.
After a long silence, the boy with glasses finally asked, "Brother Yuan... this... this kind of song can be finished in 72 hours?"
Although he doesn't work in music, he works in a music company, so his aesthetic sense is still quite good. He can tell whether a song is poorly made or exquisitely crafted just by listening to it.
Yuan Cheng did not answer. He slumped back in his chair, looking at the timeline he had just drawn on the whiteboard. Suddenly, he felt that every word on it was so glaring and so ridiculous.