463 10 songs, let the American diva cry and be my apprentice
February 12, 2006, Sunday
After nearly a month of fermentation and the promotion of 6 chart-topping songs, Cao Xuan's new album "legend" was finally officially released worldwide on this day.
Domestic fans who are celebrating the Lantern Festival were the first to hear it, and the American side didn’t have to wait long, and it went on sale in a few hours.
United States, Tennessee, Nashville
Wang Mei came to the recording studio with several cups of coffee. When the girl who was practicing singing saw her, she walked out of the room without hesitation and asked anxiously.
"Did you buy it?"
"bought."
Wang Mei put down her coffee, took out two records from her bag, and complained: "I have been in the United States for several years and bought many albums. This is the first time I have to wait in line."
She said she was complaining, but Wang Mei couldn't hide her pride because the man who asked her to line up was her compatriot and boss.
Around 2004, Cao Xuan's shares in Warner Music Group stabilized, and he was able to borrow some resources to establish a small record company [Mars Records] in the United States, relying on Warner's money to make a living.
In addition, this record company will also use the channels of Warner Music Group to help some domestic singers sell their albums overseas. Although the response is mediocre, they can sell one album.
However, the real and most important business of Mars Records is to discover and cultivate new singers.
Look for some good ideas, help tailor the album, and then sell it through Warner's channels. If you can find a good idea, you will make a direct profit.
This is also the routine of many small and medium-sized independent record companies in the United States. Some are lucky enough to even take the opportunity to attract capital and become bigger and stronger.
However, unlike many record companies that cast a wide net and catch as many fish as possible, Mars Records takes an elite route with extremely high barriers to entry and only has one signed singer so far.
Wang Mei glanced at the blond girl with fox eyes who was unpacking the album.
Taylor Swift
Rumor has it that the big boss Cao Xuan saw this little girl performing on TV and thought she was very energetic, so he instructed the person in charge of the company to contact her.
This little girl's father is a stockbroker. Although he is not a big shot, he is quite discerning.
He doesn't care that Mars Records has just been established and is small in scale. Those are just appearances. Behind him is Cao Xuan, a first-line superstar and Warner Music Group. Mars Records has more resources than many medium-sized record companies.
His only worry is whether the company pays enough attention to his daughter. After all, no matter how many resources there are, it is useless if they are not used.
At that time, Taylor had already joined a record company, learning and polishing her professional skills. However, the company felt that Taylor was too young and wanted to give her no records until she turned 18.
Regardless of whether it is a pie-in-the-sky rhetoric or it is true, this condition is not something that Taylor, who feels mature, can endure.
So she left her previous company, and two companies approached Taylor at that time.
One is Mars Records, and the other is also a new company whose boss is a manager who has worked for several record companies.
Comparing the two, Mars Records completely crushes the other. The only weakness is that the company is willing to accept an investment from Taylor's father and control 5% of the shares.
But the shares of a newly established small company are of no use at all. The most important thing is the various resources of the record company, which is related to the future of a singer.
Unless Taylor has opened God's eyes and knows that she will be the most popular female singer in the United States in the future, she will choose shares.
But if she really knows this, there is no need to join other companies. She can just let her father sell everything for her own benefit.
Cao Tianwang is a poor peasant of the eighth generation. If he wants to rise, he has to work hard to earn his first pot of gold.
The Taylor family is middle-class. As long as they are willing to spare their money, there are many ways to set up a small record company...
Unfortunately, Taylor didn't have God's Eyes open, so after a series of discussions, he still chose Mars Records.
Mars Records will create an album tailor-made for Taylor and then sell it through Warner channels, using sufficient resources to promote Taylor to the top.
The price is a multi-year long-term contract with each party's right of priority to renew, as well as high liquidated damages.
This kind of artist who has been raised since childhood is most afraid of being picked off. Boss Cao doesn't care about being permanently bound, but he must squeeze out as much value as possible before terminating the contract.
At home, he is still afraid of hanging street lights and scruples about his reputation, and pays attention to keeping a tightrope in everything. However, when he is influenced by the corrupt atmosphere of capital society abroad, Cao Bapi's nature becomes a bit uncontrollable...
After Taylor signed with Mars Records, he basically spent more than half a year honing his singing skills and preparing for his first album.
Now that I have almost finished composing the songs for the album, the next step is to record the songs, which is expected to be officially completed in the second half of this year.
Wang Mei is Taylor's personal assistant. Overseas Chinese immigrated to the United States in the past few years. There are almost a dozen employees at Mars Records, and nearly 40% are overseas Chinese.
Wang Mei, who had been engaged in related professions in China, after joining Mars Records, was designated as an assistant to Taylor, the company's only singer, and was responsible for some executive management work.
Before Taylor became famous, the job was very simple.
Today is the day when Big Boss Cao Xuan’s new album is released. After a series of previous preparations, this album has already become a huge hit.
Taylor also specifically asked Wang Mei to buy one for her, saying it was a way to watch her boss's grace and learn from her.
But in his heart, Taylor had completely different ideas.
Taylor, who was born in 1989, only turned 17 in December this year. Although she is not the age of a middle school girl, she is not much better.
She has shown artistic talent since she was a child, and has been praised by many people since then. She has even been trained and competed by many professionals, which makes this 28-year-old girl have her own pride.
Taylor was very happy to be chosen by Cao Xuan's company. Although she was not a fan of Cao Xuan, she also recognized Cao Xuan's talent.
Therefore, when he was valued and signed by this oriental music magician who is recognized as the world's top singer-songwriter in the industry, Taylor was excited and even felt like a hero and a confidant.
After joining Mars Records, Taylor fantasized about meeting Cao Xuan more than once.
He showed his talent and shocked the crowd. Cao Xuan himself took several breaths of cold air and exclaimed repeatedly.
"This woman is so terrifying, she has the talent to be the queen of the world!"
Then he fell to the ground in admiration, cried and shouted on the spot, and wanted to accept her as his apprentice. He even decided to marry Jin Lan as his disciple. After much hesitation, he reluctantly agreed, and then with Cao Xuan's reckless support and help, he reached the pinnacle of his life.
, starting a journey to become a legendary queen...
Taylor thought very well and even rehearsed her lines several times in private. Afterwards, she also thought about how to talk about this past event calmly when participating in a talk show.
But it's a pity that after more than half a year after she joined Mars Records, Cao Xuan didn't even meet her, and didn't even make a phone call.
This result made Taylor extremely frustrated and had to accept that he was just a newbie. He might be able to attract Cao Xuan's attention, but he was far from being taken seriously.
Taylor was frustrated and a little unhappy at the same time. She felt that Cao Xuan had an eye for gold and jade, and had far underestimated her talent. The so-called oriental magician did not live up to her name.
The little girl became more and more stubborn as she thought about it. She didn't dare to say anything, but she kept holding her breath in her heart.
I asked Wang Mei to buy Cao Xuan's album today just to find out something wrong with him and prove that Cao is just a mortal with mediocre musical abilities, so he didn't realize his amazing talent that he couldn't hide.
A professional recording studio naturally has audio and video equipment. Taylor opened the album and played it directly without paying attention to other peripherals.
Wang Mei also came over with coffee, and there were two staff members. One of them was a fan and two were industry practitioners. They were all very curious about this album that was making a lot of noise.
The first song is "apologize" which was just performed at the Grammys two days ago.
The extreme sadness of light rock and the delicate falsetto high notes make people feel the sensitivity and sadness in the songs and melodies, as well as the determination and toughness in response to the past.
The story that goes along with the MV is actually very clear. In a couple, the girlfriend proposed to break up, but the man was unwilling to accept it. Then the man asked to get back together, but the girlfriend hesitated, causing secondary harm.
So after repeated pulling and pulling, the man gave up completely, accepted his girlfriend's "I'm sorry", and let go of the relationship completely.
Although the story is a bit humble, it is essentially a rare anti-dog-licking song.
It's a pity that many people use this song as a love song to lick...
This song was an astonishing success at the Grammys and spread quickly. Although the Billboard singles chart for the new week has not yet been announced, many people believe that this song is expected to hit the Billboard top ten.
Taylor listened to the song quietly and then was silent for a few seconds.
Frankly speaking, if you were to pick an egg, she could find a lot of faults with this song.
But it makes no sense. No song in the world is perfect. Even if you take some of the classics that have been handed down from generation to generation, some people will still dislike them.
Therefore, when analyzing the quality of a song, you should not just find faults, but look at the various advantages of the song.
When a song, especially a pop song, has enough advantages and even excellent overall quality, then some shortcomings will not affect the spread of the song at all.
And this song "apologize" is a very mature and distinctive excellent pop song, with very obvious advantages and selling points.
At least Taylor himself objectively compared this song with his new album. Except for the title song, which he still has some confidence in, the quality of other songs is obviously much inferior.
Taylor's blue fox eyes kept flashing.
Cao Xuan's album is a famous singer's, so it's normal to have a few top-notch songs, and she is mentally prepared for it, but she doesn't believe that the entire album is top-notch.
She had watched the last song "Release", and only half of it was truly remarkable. There were still a few songs that were slightly better than ordinary songs.
However, Cao Xuan soon told her a cruel fact. Geniuses are very powerful, but the most powerful ones in the world are idiots...
"we don't talk anymore"
《monsters》
"something just like this"
《roar》
"rolling in the deep"
Even though Taylor had heard this before, seeing it with his own eyes
Five consecutive top-10 songs on the Billboard singles chart appeared on the same album, which still shocked her heart.
Is this really just an ordinary album, rather than a collection of classics from the singer's entire career?
Moreover, even many big names in the music industry may not be able to put together so many high-quality songs in their lifetime.
Taylor complained crazily in his heart, and his previously vowed mentality of finding trouble became much weaker without realizing it.
No matter how conceited she is in the second grade, she is not arrogant and ignorant. Even the more genius she is, the more she can feel the ultra-high difficulty of this rare specialization that is rare in ten years.
It's too difficult for Taylor to find fault with this kind of album.
Or to put it bluntly, Taylor, who has not yet debuted, has no qualifications to criticize Cao Xuan.
However, it is not easy to get a arrogant and talented girl of this age to surrender obediently.
Taylor continued to look at the album with a critical eye, vowing to find a loophole that could slap "Cao Xuan" in the face.
Then contact Cao Xuan and let her see her amazing talent.
Thinking about these excellent songs before, Taylor felt that he should give in.
Cao Xuan doesn't have to cry, shout, and act recklessly to accept her as his disciple. As long as he opens his mouth, she can immediately give Cao Xuan face and "reluctantly" become his student.
While Taylor was having a war between heaven and man in his heart, the new album finally reached the last four new songs that had not been released yet.
"legends never die"
The passionate melody and the soul-trembling high-pitched roar sounded, which made several people in front of the TV get goosebumps.
Taylor himself prefers natural and gentle country music, but he was still warmed up by this passionate rock song.
The previous few new songs did not have a strong rock color, which disappointed many Cao Xuan's rock fans. However, the appearance of this song may comfort many rock fans.
However, Taylor was a little confused as to why Cao Xuan, such a popular song, was not performed at the Super Bowl. The live performance must have been great.
However, when she remembered Cao Xuan's amazing performance of the three songs in the Super Bowl, Taylor suddenly understood Cao Xuan's thoughts.
If you have a good hand, you will win anyway, it doesn't matter which card you play first.
Cao Xuanran's arrogance in showing off two new songs vaguely reappeared in his mind, and Taylor couldn't help gritting his teeth.
Could it be that there is (kai) talent (gua) responsibility (wu) sex (di)......
《skin》
The mv is quite similar to the original version. After obtaining the approval of the prototype, I found a child to film according to the original story of the Chernobyl incident. At the same time, at the end of the mv, I expressed my condolences to all the victims and the heroes who participated in the rescue.
Respect.
The sad melody and Cao Xuan's vicissitudes of life and perseverance in singing not only make people feel a deep loneliness, but also vividly express the pain and strength of the protagonist in the MV story, just like the lyrics sing.
"when the walls came down
when everything collapses
i was thinking about you
All I think about is you
about you
It's all you
…”
This song may not necessarily be the most profound song in Cao Xuan's album, but it is definitely the song with the strongest humanistic care, and it is also a song that can make people silent and moved.
The previous songs were mostly love and inspirational songs, but this song "Skin" shows the great love in the world, allowing people to instantly see the pattern of King Cao.
Such songs are highly rated no matter which country in the world they are in, and they have more advantages than ordinary songs when competing for honors.
Taylor had little experience, but the two studio staff immediately concluded after listening to the song that "Skin" was an absolute top single.
It is also expected to win awards and many international social awards. Unfortunately, this is Chernobyl. If a commemorative song similar to the 911 incident reaches this depth and quality, I am afraid it will directly win the Grammy.
"let her go"
The only song that has not been introduced so far, the Chinese translation is called "Let Go of Love", a British folk song.
It was launched in 2014 and became a huge hit in the UK. It has been ranked first in the British music charts for a long time and won multiple nominations at the Brit Awards that year.
The single sales data of this song are also good. The UK album sales exceeded one million, and the US sales exceeded 4 million. It broke several records of British singers. The results are also very impressive.
In fact, Cao Xuan initially wanted to create another championship single, but found that it was unnecessary because the album "Legend" was too powerful.
There are at least 5 songs that are expected to reach the top spot, and several other songs are not without hope.
Under such circumstances, strong dominance can be achieved to the greatest extent, and many songs may even fail to achieve their original results due to internal friction.
After all, if some songs were released alone, they would probably dominate the charts for several weeks. Now, internal coordination to compete for the top spot means that some songs will be sacrificed.
When the water is full, it will overflow; when the moon is full, it will be weak!
Nothing is too much, and 10 excellent songs are already a masterpiece. They are enough for Cao Xuan to become the world's top superstar. He has plenty of cards, so play slowly and don't be in a hurry.
Taylor is a fan of country music. She moved to Nashville because it is one of the bases of country music in the United States. She has received guidance from many big shots in the country music industry here.
A large branch of country music is country folk, and Taylor's new album has several songs in the country folk style.
Although Cao Xuan's song was a British-style ballad, the lyrical and gentle music style still made her fascinated when listening to it. She wished she could take a small notebook to record it and study it.
But thinking that there was still one last song, Taylor suppressed her thoughts and silently waited for the tenth song of the "legend" album.
"what are words"
The elegant and sad prelude instantly hooks the listener's ears, and the slightly hoarse and sad singing voice has a magical power that makes people want to cry, pulling people into the story.
However, for many people who have watched "Fairy Tale", this MV is a bit out of place, because in a sense, it is a replica of "Fairy Tale".
It's just that the male protagonist has changed from a pianist to an ordinary bartender. The female protagonist is not terminally ill, but a car accident, but she is not dead and paralyzed. The male protagonist has been staying and taking care of her.
What is different from reality is that the male and female protagonists in the MV story were together until the female protagonist passed away. The male protagonist appeared in front of the grave with flowers, stood silently with tears in his eyes for a long time, and then left in desolation at dusk.
Although it's a bit unlucky and out of place, I have to say that the total number of times Hu Jing and Zeng Li died in Cao Xuan's MV story is almost double digits.
That is to say, the East and West Palaces have not been exposed, otherwise the outside world may suspect that Cao Xuan is addicted to killing his wife.
In fact, the original version of the English version of the "Fairy Tale" MV was not to let the heroine die, but to let the heroine recover and live a sweet life together.
But Cao Xuan felt that the song was too sad, and sprinkling sugar at the end went against the tone of the music video, so not only could it not be sweet, but he also had to use knives and even torture her to death.
In fact, the prototype heroine of the story is not dead, she seems to have recovered a lot, but she broke up with the prototype hero, the singer.
But Cao Xuan felt that the female protagonist in the music video story should die. How could the male protagonist's pain be reflected if she didn't die?
When the firm infatuation waits and does not receive the ending it deserves, it will become more desperate and heartbreaking...
With the combined impact of the singing and the music video story, the little girl Taylor burst into tears, and some of the two staff members also had tears in their eyes.
Even though Wang Mei had watched the "Fairy Tale" MV more than once, and even watched the "Fairy Tale" movie, she still couldn't hold back her emotions when facing this MV, and couldn't help but have red eyes.
After relaxing for a few minutes, the staff and Wang Mei were full of praise for the album and praised it repeatedly.
The previous 6 songs are already relatively unfamiliar, but these 4 new songs are also very good, and even in the eyes of the three of them, they have the potential to reach the top spot.
Especially "skin" and "what are words" are amazing and emotional. I am afraid that the results will not be inferior to "roar" and "rolling in the deep". The two songs have too many hits.
Taylor himself fell completely silent.
She thought about these 10 songs over and over again, and finally came to the conclusion that she could not find anything to refute the question that shocked Cao Xuan.
And most importantly, Taylor has very little willingness to find fault at this time.
This arrogant and talented girl is now completely impressed by Cao Xuan's musical talent displayed in "Legend", and even has some admiration for Cao Xuan.
In a true sense, I know what is meant by "There are people outside people, and there is (gua) outside (wai) outside heaven (gua) and there is (you) heaven (gua)".
Looking at the album cover in his hand, Taylor couldn't help but wonder if Cao Xuan would accept him if he cried, shouted, and rolled around begging Cao Xuan to become his disciple.
I heard from Sister Mei that Chinese people respect their teachers, and they seem to have to kowtow to become a teacher. Do you want to kowtow?
That night, under Taylor's persuasion, Wang Mei finally agreed to ask the leader for instructions to see if she could contact Cao Xuan.
In fact, what Taylor didn't know was that Cao Xuan had always been paying close attention to her.
After all, after the first day in the United States, it will be a living cash cow. Every 15 to 20 days, Mars Records will report the progress to Cao Xuan.
Cao Xuan had actually wanted to meet her for a long time, but his schedule in the United States was tight and he was always in a hurry, so he didn't have much time.
As for making phone calls, he had never met her, and he didn't know what to talk about with a 16-year-old American girl, so if he really couldn't meet her, he would wait for Taylor to release an album before calling her to encourage her.
Because of this, it is easier for Taylor to contact Cao Xuan than for many people.
After Cao Xuan got the call for instructions, he called Taylor directly.
After a brief silence and half a minute of the girl screaming, Cao Xuan rubbed his ears, and then listened to Taylor's excitement about learning to compose music with him.
When King Cao Tian heard this, he couldn't help but look weird on his face, but others could do it. Taylor still needs teaching to create, and he can do it with the twenty-eight-character mantra.
Fall in love more and break up more,
Don’t worry about writing song material.
If inspiration is still exhausted,
Let’s talk about a new boyfriend.
Hey, I am indeed a descendant of the orthodox Wei Wu family, and I have the style of my ancestor Jian'an Sancao. I can be said to be Jian, the kid in the entertainment industry, and Cao Badou of the new century...
————
ps: I had a party last night, so I didn’t have time to type, so I had to go home and stay up late to write. I have time on the road, and it shouldn’t be a problem if I take the time to read a few chapters and catch up. There’s no need to go to other people’s comment sections to arrest me (=°w°
