In 1981, the Hong Kong film industry was in turmoil. New Arts City stole the limelight with "The Best Partner", even surpassing Kang Jianfei's Oriental DreamWorks. Hung Kam-bo's Bao Wo and Cheng Long's Quanwei Film Company, in the summer
After the movie ended, two low-budget movies were released one after another.
However, Shaw Brothers is going downhill more and more. Before November, it has already produced 23 movies, but only 5 of them have a box office of more than 2 million. Under such circumstances, the theaters under Shaw Brothers Cinemas have been selling for several months in a row.
After suffering losses, one franchise theater finally announced that it would withdraw from Shaw Brothers Cinemas and switch to Golden Harvest Cinemas.
As for those who did not quit, it was not because they did not want to leave, but because the theater owner had already rented the theater to Shao Yifu. Whether the theater lost money or made a profit was all Shao Yifu's business. The theater owner was only responsible for collecting fixed rents.
There are also many changes in the Hong Kong music scene this year. First of all, China Star, the music arm of TVB, held a popular Chinese rookie singing competition and officially transformed into a real record company.
Then came the sudden emergence of Fengxing Records, whose subsidiary Anita Mui became popular in Hong Kong with her album "A Thousand Thousand Que Songs", establishing her position in the Hong Kong music scene.
In addition, PolyGram Hong Kong continues to be prosperous. Not only the records of Xu Guanjie and Teresa Teng are selling well. The sales volume of its singer Alan Tam's personal records has soared from 50,000 last year to 200,000 this year.
As for Columbia Records, it controls Xu Xiaofeng, a top singer in the music industry, as well as a large number of first- and second-tier singers, who are also making huge profits.
The entertainment record company, which owns singers such as Zheng Shaoqiu and Luo Wen, has been severely damaged because its singers have switched to China Star Records.
Just when the craze caused by Anita Mui had not completely passed, the popular record company suddenly began to promote the album of Happy Girls.
When promoting the album, the singer of the song is not the focus. The key words are "Kang Jianfei composed all the lyrics and music" and "the world's first full MV album". Kang Jianfei now also bears the title of the creator of Anita Mui. This promotion
After the advertisement came out, it attracted countless eyeballs. Everyone wanted to know what classic lyrics Kang Jianfei would write this time.
Just when reporters didn't fully understand what "the world's first all-MV album" meant, LiTV suddenly broadcast the music video for "Love Is Too Big" on a music program.
"Study is important/I will be careful/He who I like is approaching,
Chatting is actually more focused than taking an exam,
Will I love myself more without him/When can I fall in love?
Why is the theory not recorded/what should be done?
Classmates love novelty/love is overwhelming,
I miss it day and night even if I don’t think about it/Even sweet dreams are not sweet enough.
Of course/Now that I am underage/It makes me superficial/I only know that love is bigger than the sky,
Forgetting the helpful maxims / automatically passing before his eyes
…”
Five young and beautiful girls, with fresh, cute and avant-garde styles, singing and dancing in the MV with their thighs exposed is enough to attract attention.
But this MV also has a complete story, including failing to complete homework, failing exams, being scolded by teachers and parents, having a crush on seniors, happy camping, friendship among classmates, etc. The MV fully demonstrates
Every bit of student life.
For the students, this is an unprecedented experience. They watch the MV and listen to the song. As the plot and lyrics are interpreted, it is no longer just a song. It is a song that comes from their hearts.
Confess, the lyrics sing their hearts.
LiTV plays a different music video every day, a junk music program. After a few days, the ratings unexpectedly increased to 18%. Not only students like to watch it, but even some middle-aged people in their thirties and forties will watch it. After all,
MV is still a fairly new thing.
Wen Bixia's singing skills have been much better than last year, reaching a level that she can barely sing on stage. Among the five girls in the Happy Girls group, only Xie Ning, who has played musical instruments and sang since elementary school, sings best, but the overall situation is still the same.
Much inferior to powerful singers.
But just five girls with mediocre singing skills caused a whirlwind in the Hong Kong campus.
The female students began to imitate their clothes and releases. They would not do their homework when they went home at night, but would stand in front of the TV and learn to dance from the happy girl group in the music video.
When Radio Hong Kong and commercial radio stations started broadcasting these songs, each song was a hit. Countless students stayed up late at night, hiding under the covers with radios in their hands to listen to the songs.
When Happy Girls' "Big Red Big Purple" was released, sales exceeded 10,000 on the first day. Especially in the video stores near the school, the inventory was sold out in a short period of time, and there were even queues to buy the record.
"Haowai" magazine can be said to be the first fashion magazine in Hong Kong. However, compared with "Oriental Fashion" written by Kang Jianfei for Ma Chengkun, this magazine is actually very unprofessional and not avant-garde. Before the 1980s, this magazine
It is more similar to a comprehensive entertainment-oriented magazine.
"Outside" commented in this issue: "Happy Girls' "Big Red" is a completely subversive record. It perfectly combines music and pictures. It can be said to be a miniature version of a song and dance movie. No one has ever done it like this."
I have done it before, and actually made the MV into a story with a complete plot. This is a pioneering work in the world..."
"Oriental Daily" boasted: "No one could predict what Kang Jianfei would do next. When everyone thought he would continue to make movies after Anita Mui became famous, he actually created a unique picture for several girls.
records..."
Although the record "Red Big Purple" is far inferior to "A Thousand Thousand Que Songs" in terms of popularity, its sensational effect is far greater than Anita Mui's record.
Then the complete MV video appeared in the karaoke hall, which caused many students who did not have video recorders at home to collect money in groups to sing in karaoke halls. The songs in "Red Big Purple" also became a must-have for a long time.
Click on the track.
In the hearts of many students, the five girls of the Happy Girls Group have become goddess-like existences. Every move they make will be noticed, and even the hairpins they wear will be noticed every time their photos appear in newspapers and magazines.
Sales will increase significantly.
This is the advantage of being ahead of the curve. When an unprecedented new thing appears, it will inevitably attract attention. The music video Kang Jianfei presented is still a mature product, so it would be strange if it did not cause a sensation.
Michael Jackson's first MV caused a sensation all over the world. Madonna's MV was played on TV stations and became a super idol. Although Kang Jianfei's MV is not as good as Michael Jackson's next year, it is definitely of a higher standard.
More than Madonna.
When the Hong Kong sales statistics of the album "Big Red and Big Purple" were released, all colleagues were stunned - there were a full 370,000 copies, which was already more than the record sales of Xu Xiaofeng, the first lady in the music industry.
An article in the entertainment section of "Sing Tao Daily" commented: "The name of the album "Big Red and Big Purple" is so good, it simply means what it says. The sales volume of 370,000 records is already second only to Xu Guanjie's "Half a Catty Eight Liang"
, becoming the second best-selling album in Hong Kong music history.”
When "Big Red Big Purple" was released in other regions, the same method was used as in Hong Kong. The music video was first played on TV stations, and then it was officially sold after it became popular. After this record was released to various countries in Southeast Asia, it also caused a stir among student groups.
It was a sensation and sold 680,000 copies at once. Taiwan, which thought it would have few sales, actually sold more than 300,000 copies - this is a Cantonese song!
Of course, "Big Red" didn't receive all the praise.
Compared with the fanatical pursuit of the student group, many parents of students deeply hate this record. Students steal money to buy records, listen to the music under the covers, skip school to sing in karaoke, fall in love early due to the influence of the music video, etc. There are endless cases, and some parents even call on the authorities to ban it.
Drop this record.
Professionals criticized the singing skills of the five girls, believing that their level was only at the stage level in a karaoke hall, and they were simply not qualified to release records.
Regarding the complaints made by professionals, Kang Jianfei just wanted to say, you go home and play with it.
Of course, this can only be said quietly. Kang Jianfei had another way of saying it when facing reporters: "Who needs top-notch rap skills to make a record? What I created is an idol group."
…………
…………
China Star Records.
Fang Yihua looked at the MV on the TV and asked Chen Shufen: "China Star Company is still very weak now and cannot compare with Columbia and PolyGram. I think the situation of this MV is good. Can we also form a beautiful girl group?"
Release a record?”
Chen Shufen hesitantly advised: "Ms. Fang, the record "Big Red and Purple" cost 1.5 million just to shoot the music video, which is equivalent to the price of 50,000 records. If the sales are not good..."
Fang Yihua was hesitant. She was thinking about the pros and cons of making the MV. After a long time, she said: "We don't need to shoot the MV for the main album. We only need to shoot the MV for the title song, and then it will be played on TVB for a long time."
Chen Shufen was surprised and said: "This is a good idea."
Before Christmas, Huaxing Company launched a girl group called "In the Mood for Love" and followed the trend by filming a music video that was played continuously on TVB's music program for more than half a month. However, because the album was similar in style to the Happy Girls group, Xiao He's success
Xiao He was defeated, some students loved the house and others looked down upon it, but the record sold more than 20,000 copies.
The sales volume of 20,000 copies is already pretty good for a new group. After excluding the tens of thousands of MV production fees, plus the fact that they can still make a fortune in Nanyang, Huaxing Company has achieved a small success by following the trend.
.
However, many newspapers said that Huaxing Company's behavior was an imitation of others.
After all, home video recorders have not yet become popular, so the success of Happy Girls and "Big Red" can only be regarded as exceptions.
First of all, all the members of the Happy Girls group are famous actors in the "Happy Ghost" series. Secondly, their MV is the first of its kind and can bring unlimited surprises and freshness to the audience.
If someone wants to imitate it later, it will be difficult to successfully copy it at least at this stage. 8
