"Singer 2025" has started airing. The shock and joy after last year's transformation (live broadcast) are still there. The stage is set up with real open microphones, and hundreds of millions of viewers around the world are watching. Those who dare to go on stage this year are all super confident masters.
The first round of lineup was jokingly called "Brother Pi" + Shan Yichun. No one wanted to pick up old favorites, so the producer hit back, "The eight singers on the stage and the singers who will be on the stage soon are the best lineup we can invite, have the courage to come, and can sing!"
Calling on soldiers and generals, whoever is called will go up, throwing handkerchiefs is of course fun, and it can bring about a real reshuffle in the industry. Here's my wish, I hope the show will become more and more popular, and after years, children on the streets will sing: Only shameless people can edit the sound, it's better to go home and sell sweet potatoes than to edit the sound when singing!
Last night, one person was eliminated in the first round, and the trending search has exploded. Thinking back to the director Hong Tao who drank the first sip of water that year, is this grand occasion what you wished for?
BENI (Anliangcheng Red)
BENI
She is truly a modern girl of the Heisei era.
Both her person and voice are so sexy, such a voice is really record-level. But she was too nervous when she sang the first song "LA·LA·LA LOVE SONG". There were obvious flaws in her pitch and breath. In fact, every sentence she picked up can extend her charming textured timbre. I have listened to many of her songs. The slow songs have the delicate and moving emotional processing of ALin. Although there were flaws in her voice on the "Singer" stage, she is an experienced singer after all, and her expression management and stage presence are still perfect.
Those who know her know that BENI is a technically well-rounded "studio singer" who has the ability to adapt to different styles and a high-end voice. Her Japanese-American mixed-race background gives her a wide range of singing options.
The reason for choosing this Japanese drama OST, which is particularly familiar to Chinese audiences, is to please Chinese audiences, but the original version has long been popular among the people. If the adaptation cannot be better, it will only add to the stiffness and politeness of paying respects. It's a pity that they were eliminated in the first round!
Just choose "Kiss Kiss Kiss", and first freely kill a bunch of people who love beauty with the rhythm of the movements.
Chen Chusheng
Chen Chusheng
Chen Chusheng was in peak form. I am not usually a fan of Chen Chusheng. I have always remembered him as a big boy holding a guitar and singing lyrical folk songs, gentle and kind. From a passerby's perspective, the performance that night was indeed a good singer who was not afraid of live performances.
At the beginning of "Song of the Wine", the interweaving of guitar and drums makes it have a strong sense of narrative and substitution. The properties of Chinese and Western instruments are interchanged, and the artistic conception and atmosphere complement each other. I have to say that this arrangement is particularly responsible and strong. When "five-colored horses, fur coats worth thousands of gold" are forced to rise, it is not abrupt, but the intonation and pronunciation are clean and neat, with both the elegance of literati and the free and easy style of knights. His wanton control and release are very suitable for this song "Song of the Wine". He has skills but is not in a hurry to show off his skills. He takes his time. The rough singing method of "getting drunk" at the climax has greatly changed my opinion of it as a small passerby.
He must be an extremely introverted singer who always sticks to himself in the face of storms. This is extremely rare. You will believe that every song he sings is an honest expression of his inner heart.
Chen Chusheng's "Song of the Wine" blooms like a flower.
Mickey Guyton
Mickey Guyton
A soul singer who lost his soul right at the start. Everyone is too familiar with Beyonce's version. This time, the adaptation of "If I Were a Boy" seemed quite conventional. The car could have been galloping through the countryside, so why did it break down halfway?
I had high expectations for Mickey before, after all, she is the first black female country singer to win a Grammy. There were really no surprises or touching moments in this performance. Her sudden emotion at the end was strange and out of nowhere, and it seemed like she was trying to cover up the embarrassment of not singing well.
Shan Yichun
Shan Yichun
Shan Yichun, born in the 2000s, said something at this year’s singer launch conference: “Keep a normal mind!” The little girl’s mental state is indeed ahead of the times.
"Pearls and Jade" uses medieval modes (such as the Dorian mode) to weave the melody. Songs like "Jiuer" and "Juanzhulian" that we are familiar with are both in the Dorian mode of the Qi Tou Lian, and are also common in songs from the 1990s.
The complexity of "Pearls" tests the singer's skills very much. The song contains intensive voice transitions, switching between true and false voices, and jumps across the range of D5-E6. The 14-second D6 whistle in the chorus part is regarded as a "challenge to the vocal ceiling."
I still remember when Shan Yichun appeared on the stage of "The Voice of China", a bunch of judges around her were saying "God is chasing her to give her food to eat". Her voice is clear and bright, with a natural sense of narrative, and she is especially good at delicate expression in the middle and high pitches. Although her range is not extremely wide, her vocal position is stable, the middle pitch is full and soft, and the high pitch is transparent and not harsh. Technically speaking, it really requires strong control to be not harsh. Shan Yichun's core advantage lies in "sounding with emotion". She is best at conveying emotions through details such as breath, vibrato and tail sound.
She is indeed a class leader among the eight singers. However, her performance is somewhat "machine-like". Others need "control", but she may need a little "loss of control" to break the routine.
Grace Kinstler
Grace Kinstler
Some people find singing as easy as eating and sleeping. Post-00s singer Grace Kinstler rushed in like a truck. She did a great job in controlling her voice, her stage presence, and her integration with the band. Although young, Grace Kinstler can seamlessly switch between whispering and roaring in "River". Her stage experience is amazing.
She received classical piano training at a young age, joined a jazz band in high school, and covered soul music legends such as Etta James and Aretha Franklin. In 2020, she was admitted to Berklee College of Music, majoring in vocal performance, and became famous on American Idol.
The sixth place in the first round is regrettable but understandable. When Chinese people are confident, they will be disenchanted with foreign monks.
Lin Chi Hsuan
Lin Chi Hsuan
I want to ask first, is the Peking Opera teacher that Teacher Lin hired a copper hammer painted face? I almost jumped up from the sofa and sang along with him!
The lyrics of "Wukong" originally sung by Dai Quan are full of Zen, with ups and downs in the melody, and the sense of proportion, layered advancement, and the timing of the explosion are all very well grasped. From the Western arpeggio texture of the prelude, to the foreshadowing of the main song, to the introduction of the bamboo flute and the integration of opera singing in the back, the song shows his unique style. I talked to him before, and he denied that this is a very exciting song. Using "exciting" to describe "Wukong", I think this is what the original author did not want to be interpreted in this way. The lyrics of "Wukong" are also very artistic, with extremely complex emotions. The whole song does not directly mention Wukong, but every sentence reflects Wukong's inner world.
The song "Wukong" sung by Mr. Lin Zhixuan embodied the World of Warcraft and was very exciting... Mr. Lin sang out the devilish nature of Sun Wukong seriously. Under the restraint of the tight hoop, he shivered in pain. It can be heard that Wukong really couldn't choose between saving his master and killing his master.
The songs that I like and the songs that I can sing are indeed a barrier that even professional singers cannot break through.
Lin himself seems to have explained the "cocktail singing method" that he is proud of. When exceeding his falsetto range, he can mix his falsetto with his real voice, which makes it sound powerful. The proportions are like mixing a cocktail. Some people even say that the key to Lin Zhixuan's transformation from a mediocre level to the unbreathing Lin Daxian is the "cocktail singing method".
But, the special cocktail "Wukong" should not be added with Lao Baigan! It is very spicy.
GAI Zhou Yan
GAI Zhou Yan
I was nervous when I sang "Qi" by Brother Gai. However, hip-hop singers can find opportunities to lecture the audience at any time, so this little hurdle was covered up without anyone noticing. This song has a lot of opening and closing sounds, and uses many folk instruments. This kind of song should become smoother and more exciting as you sing it, and there is no such thing as nervousness.
GAI's songs are the most acceptable to the public, just like Nezha's "My fate is determined by me, not by God". This is nothing special. In fact, the most rare thing about GAI is that he can be both delicate and rough, and can switch between hip-hop and pop freely. In the next few shows, I hope to see a unique GAI-style expression. It can't always be the same as the pre-war mobilization meeting.
Bai Jugang
Bai Jugang
The song "River" has a strong sense of art. It starts with a nursery rhyme, and the narrative and visual sense come to the fore. The climax is rock and roll again. The overall integrity is good. Bai Jugang is like a barefoot wandering artist on the stage, very simple and innocent. Although I still think that "But Mom, did I lose everything" can be turned to show weakness, the effect will be better.
I admire Xiao Bai. His self-improvement is consistent with the outward emotional expansion of the song. Bai Jugang is a singer with strong plasticity and aesthetic taste. It's just that the outside world always has a vague impression of him. They may think he is ordinary, but this often arouses his desire to win, and he will express himself unexpectedly from time to time. His voice is not that of a talented player. What he needs to do is to make an extreme breakthrough in style and find a way that suits him without risking his life. He is not going to run on the same path until the end, like a cow plowing the land, working hard without complaint.
It's time to wrap up again. Even with a concert-like opening, "Singer" is still a variety show. In a music variety show, I still want to see the overthrow of the altar, the dark horse that emerges from the mud, the super singer who sings whatever the audience wants, and of course the gods have to come to dominate the show, so that I can have a chance to criticize the unfair results in the end. I don't ask for much, just authenticity.
