The atmosphere in the recording studio changed subtly. Almost all the staff present were from Warner's team. They had worked with Akina Nakamori for a long time and were obedient. They guessed that she did not agree with Shinichi Iwahashi's opinion.
Everyone is already very aware of Akina Nakamori's stubborn personality, but when working with this young producer for the first time, they can't guess what his temperament is.
If a young producer has a hot temper, it will be quite a spectacle.
Iwahashi Shinichi looked at her appearance and explained to her in a leisurely manner, "There is no problem with this approach. As Akina-san said, this song is a song that pays attention to the atmosphere."
"However," he changed the subject, "the lyrics and music of this song already have a strong sense of atmosphere. This was fully taken into consideration when making the arrangement. Therefore, if the atmosphere is emphasized when singing,
, it’s a bit too much.”
Iwahashi Shinichi was business-like and gave his own thoughts and opinions. As he spoke, he raised his eyes to observe Nakamori Akina's reaction.
"..."
Akina Nakamori didn't answer.
"In addition, I would also like to ask you to consider that this song is to be released as a single, and it is also a collaborative single." Shinichi Iwahashi continued, "First of all, this kind of singing method is still good in the album.
To put it another way, it’s too weak for a single.”
"Secondly, we must also consider the role of ORIGINAL LOVE in it." He said.
It's right to focus on the atmosphere, but too erratic singing is not conducive to sales, and too strong a personal style also makes ORIGINAL LOVE's role difficult to arrange. It is not a suitable singing method after all.
When making a planned album and including this collaboration as a part of it, you have to ensure that ORIGINAL LOVE will not be reduced to a dispensable role because of Nakamori Akina's overly strong personal flavor. If so, the result will be a failure.
"For this reason, there shouldn't be such an erratic atmosphere when singing." Shinichi Iwahashi told her.
It is true that it is to fulfill Akina Nakamori's wish to produce a song for her, but the reason why this project can be continued is because there are more possibilities waiting to be realized.
Shinichi Iwahashi's top priority is how to make the limited collaboration group "Akina Nakamori × ORIGINAL LOVE" a success. She uses this song "Kiss" to restore her declining momentum and at the same time push up ORIGINAL LOVE, which is barely a breath away.
Iwahashi Shinichi is very confident about this song and feels that it has a high chance of becoming popular.
He looked at Akina Nakamori, waiting for her answer.
As a result, Nakamori Akina met his gaze and said without thinking, "I don't want it."
"..." He suddenly choked.
"It shouldn't be like that."
Akina Nakamori said, "If I sing it as you say, it will become a clichéd love song."
"Cliché?" Iwahashi Shinichi frowned.
She spoke straightforwardly and without mercy. The staff in the recording studio subconsciously looked at Iwahashi Shinichi. Next to him, Omoto also quietly prepared to apologize to Nakamori Akina if Iwahashi-san fell out.
Akina Nakamori has a strong personality and has always been self-centered in her work and always speaks her mind. In this way, she has offended many major producers, and her bosses have apologized to her many times.
Fortunately, looking at Shinichi Iwahashi's expression, he just frowned and didn't react too strongly.
"In short, I can't understand Iwahashi-san's thoughts." Nakamori Akina called "Iwahashi-san", remembering what the situation was at this moment.
But it was precisely because Iwahashi Shinichi was sitting across from him, and he had chosen this song to send, that she couldn't understand it even more.
"The song itself is unchanged." Shinichi Iwahashi tried to convince her, "It's not to eliminate the atmosphere in it, but not to overemphasize the atmosphere and make the song lose the impact of the title song."
"..." Akina Nakamori didn't answer his words.
Since her debut, she has been accustomed to self-centered work. Akina Nakamori is actually quite unfamiliar with collaborating with other singers, and she still needs to explore bit by bit.
If she can't find the situation to cooperate, she has to paint a song with her own style. To a certain extent, she really can't understand what Iwahashi Shinichi mentioned.
Collaborating on a single and then singing together is not the same thing as occasionally singing with other singers on a variety show.
In addition, she and Shinichi Iwahashi have different feelings about this song.
"Anyway, for the second recording, I would like to ask Akina-san to try what I just said." Shinichi Iwahashi told her. After finishing speaking, he felt that his tone was a bit stiff, so he asked again: "Is that okay?"
Akina Nakamori said "Oh". Looking at him like a big shot who always said what he said, he felt a little unhappy.
A person who looked so gentle on weekdays turned out to be like a villain in the recording studio. Akina Nakamori glanced at him, feeling like she had seen another hidden side of him.
Looking at this look, in the eyes of onlookers, I was secretly worried - Akina-san was beginning to feel unhappy.
Shinichi Iwahashi finished his tea and ordered the staff to prepare for the second round of recording. After giving the order, he looked at Akina Nakamori. She was sitting alone on the sofa, flipping through the music score, not knowing what she was thinking.
A small person looks like a small animal.
After getting out of the atmosphere of discussing song singing, looking at Akina Nakamori, and thinking about this song again, my heart softened. After all, it was the first time for the two of them to collaborate, and the first time for her to be a producer.
A memorable first time.
This warmth lasted until the second recording session began.
After singing only two lines, Shinichi Iwahashi shouted "stop" and told her, "That's not what happened."
Do it all over again.
Akina Nakamori looked across the glass at Shinichi Iwahashi, who was tinkering with the equipment with his head down. When he sang this song for the first time, the feeling of warmth and happiness that felt like chocolate flowing through his throat and swallowing a mouthful faded away.
Returning from imagination to reality, we are faced with a situation where a producer and his singer still cannot reach a consensus with each other, but each has his or her own reasons.
She felt somewhat anxious and had a feeling of being helpless.
"Pause."
Iwahashi Shinichi turned off the accompaniment again and said to her, "Please sing again."
"Hey." Akina Nakamori curled her lips.
Hearing a "bang" sound in the monitoring earphones, Shinichi Iwahashi was stunned for a moment and looked at Akina Nakamori's face across from him.
He sang a song that was as sticky as a love letter. He lowered his head to look at the music score, thinking of the lover in love. When he raised his head, he saw his stern face and the cold reality that they could not agree on the understanding of the song.
.
Akina Nakamori found this situation to be indescribably strange.
It would be better if the producer was not Shinichi Iwahashi. Then she would refuse it outright and not try singing again for him.
Akina Nakamori adjusted her state and sang again.
After finishing this recording, Nakamori Akina took off her headphones and walked out. The staff played back her previous recording. She stood in front of the console and listened silently, frowning.
"You can have as many songs as you want." She said without mercy.
Indeed, the singing was far worse than the first time. To be precise, the first time was not bad, it was just that the singing method was not in line with Iwahashi Shinichi’s ideas.
"There is no sense of atmosphere at all." Iwahashi Shinichi also frowned.
Akina Nakamori answered unceremoniously, "Because I followed what Iwahashi-san said and removed the erratic atmosphere."
"You said you shouldn't pay too much attention to the atmosphere, so you just removed them all?" Iwahashi Shinichi smiled bitterly.
Nakamori Akina herself felt that the recording just now was very poor. She didn't know whether she was angry with herself or because Iwahashi Shinichi was giving random instructions and contradicted him, "It was Iwahashi-san who said it, the atmosphere of the song itself is just...
It's enough."
"..." Iwahashi Shinichi was speechless.
Is this guy usually so domineering in the recording studio?
He raised his head and saw Akina Nakamori staring at him, as if waiting for his next words. With this look, she looked like she would start a quarrel in the recording studio if she continued talking.
"Forget it." Shinichi Iwahashi put down the headphones in his hand.
If he was really passionate, he wouldn't be able to continue the recording. He didn't intend to quarrel with her. It was better to discuss it again and find a suitable solution.
But Akina Nakamori refused to give up, "It would be too rash to say 'forget it', Iwahashi-san."
She showed off her producer style, "What kind of singing method should be used, how deep the atmosphere should be, what should be focused on... these should be made clear, rather than 'forget it'."
She is not necessarily competing, but must discuss and come up with a result.
Iwahashi Shinichi continued to explain to her, but for some reason, the more he went on, the more blunt he became, and the words did not add up to each other. They were talking about their own things. The discussion was obviously about the singing method of the song, and what they wanted was to find a balance point that was recognized by both parties.
But the further down the line, the more contradictory they become.
Nakamori Akina herself still couldn't explain the source of this energy - it was because she poured real warmth and joy into her singing. Being rejected coldly, it seemed that what was being rejected was not only the singing method of the song, but also the emotion poured into it.
emotion.
The staff who were watching could not say anything, and could only watch the two people talking to each other, and the more they talked, the more subtle the atmosphere became. Omoto sweated a lot and began to think about how to apologize to Shinichi Iwahashi later.
This is what an agent eats. No matter who is right or wrong, they have to smooth things over for her later.
The assistant looked at him in shock.
Akina-san, and Producer Iwahashi, had a quarrel?
"Are you kidding me?"
Nakamori Akina stared at him angrily.
"It's my turn to say this." Iwahashi Shinichi also felt angry.
"It's very strange to make such a request," Nakamori Akina said. "Please listen to that song again. Its charm lies in the dream, so the atmosphere must be emphasized."
"Please also consider the significance of the collaborative single." Iwahashi Shinichi mentioned, "If it is a song in an album with a complete concept, then I have no objection."
"But, with the current situation, if this single becomes your solo show, Akina-san, then the entire cooperation plan will be meaningless——"
Halfway through his words, he looked at Akina Nakamori's face and looked strange.
"It's so noisy!" she glared.
Iwahashi Shinichi was scolded and subconsciously stared at her. The two of them stared at each other like tit-for-tat.
During this time, the staff who had just watched the two people talking to each other and throwing words at each other finally had the time to break up the fight.
Omoto hurried over and bowed his head to Shinichi Iwahashi, "I'm so sorry, Iwahashi-san." After all, the person who scolded "It's so noisy!" was Akina Nakamori. Whoever swore first would be the loser.
Shinichi Iwahashi looked at Akina Nakamori. She had a straight face and widened her eyes, looking stubborn and aggrieved.
Daben straightened up and looked at her too. He was surprised when he saw the expression on her face.
Akina Nakamori has had many quarrels with the people behind the scenes, and she has been angry and refused to bow her head countless times. However, this is the first time I have seen her look like she is more aggrieved than angry.
Rather than saying she was angry, it was more like she had been wronged in some way.
How can you say something like that?
Iwahashi Shinichi looked at her expression and felt annoyed, feeling that quarreling with her would hurt her heart.
One sees this single as part of a collaborative project and is thinking about how to do it well. The other is thinking about the long-awaited collaboration with him coming true, and wants to complete this meaningful collaboration.
.
Shinichi Iwahashi said that if this single became Akina Nakamori's solo show, then the project would be meaningless.
From a planning point of view, this is indeed the case. But in Nakamori Akina's ears, she felt sad after all, as if she had been denied by him.
"Do you think of me as a product being produced?"
Such an idea came to Nakamori Akina's mind. Her eyes fell on Iwahashi Shinichi's face, and she stayed there for two or three seconds. Without saying anything, she sat back on the sofa.
Iwahashi Shinichi also felt bored, so he pulled out his chair, sat down, and began to wonder how he should conduct this recording, and whether he could find an idea that both parties could agree on.
The first recording session didn't go well.
The producer and the singer quarreled because they could not reach a consensus, and the atmosphere in the recording studio became strange. Under such a situation, there was no point in continuing to record.
Rather than singing or not singing, how you sing is the key.
As soon as the recording ended, Akina Nakamori had her work and Shinichi Iwahashi was ready to leave.
The assistant helped Akina Nakamori pack the things she had brought. Shinichi Iwahashi took a step away first and said to her, "Then I'll take the first step."
Akina Nakamori nodded slightly and politely said goodbye in social terms.
The angry and aggrieved expression she had during the quarrel just now disappeared from her face. She returned to her usual nonchalant look.
But now, Iwahashi Shinichi would never think of "pretending".
He paused, looked at Akina Nakamori's face, and said to her, "See you next time."
It's a common social statement. Next time the recording starts, we have to meet here. But this sentence is only known by the two of them. It is a code with special meaning because of their mutual agreement.
Nakamori Akina blinked and looked at Iwahashi Shinichi.
His expression was calm and natural, and his eyes were gentle.
He knows how to pretend to be garlic. He is really good at pretending to be garlic. He always pretends as if nothing has happened...
Nakamori Akina nodded and whispered back, "See you next time."
