Chapter 702
"Clouds and Smoke Turn into Rain"
Not only did she struggle to sing, but she also cracked her voice easily, completely lacking the gentle quality that a ballad should have.
Furthermore, the tone is stiff, the voice is overly plain, and there is a lack of emotional expression.
Yang Ying's voice is not bad in itself, it is a clear and bright tone, but when she sings, she does not use breath and resonance at all, she just shouts with her throat, which makes her tone very stiff, without any fluctuation or layering, which is what people in the industry often call a "plain voice".
Singing a healing song like "Clouds and Smoke Turn to Rain" requires a soft and delicate timbre that can convey the regret and tenderness in the song. However, Yang Ying's plain voice made all the lyrics sound dry and lifeless, without any emotional fluctuations. It was as if she was reciting lyrics instead of singing.
It should have carried a touch of sadness and nostalgia, but when Yang Ying sang it, it sounded like she was reciting ordinary text, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, completely failing to convey the song's emotional core. Even though Jiang Yang had repeatedly reminded her two months ago, when he gave her the sheet music and accompaniment, to put in the emotion and relax her voice, she still couldn't find the feeling. Either she tried too hard to be gentle, making it sound very stiff, or she still sang her usual plain voice, showing no improvement whatsoever.
Besides this, Yang Ying has another fatal problem.
The rhythm is terrible, and I can't keep up with the accompaniment.
The rhythm of "Clouds and Smoke Turn into Rain" is gentle and the beat is clear. The accompaniment is not fast, but Yang Ying always either rushes the beat or goes too slow, and can never perfectly match the accompaniment.
Sometimes, the accompaniment had already entered the chorus, but she was still stuck on the last line of the verse. Other times, she would start singing before the accompaniment even reached the next line, resulting in a chaotic and aesthetically unappealing performance. Moreover, she had difficulty grasping the dynamics of the song, singing both the verse and the chorus with the same intensity, lacking focus and layering, turning a ballad with its ups and downs into a flat and uninspiring performance.
Knowing full well that her singing skills were lacking, she didn't want to waste the good song Jiang Yang had given her.
After all, this is about whether she can consolidate her image, whether she can successfully complete the resource exchange with Jiang Yang, get Jiang Yang's artists on Running Man, and then use this song to get rid of the label of poor acting skills and no works. Yang Ying has really gone all out this time, and specially invited Wang Mingqi, the mainland pop vocal master, as her exclusive vocal coach.
Wang Mingqi holds a pivotal position in the industry and can be considered a talent scout in the vocal music world. He has not only taught top singers such as Wang Fei, Tan Jin, and Tu Honggang, but also cultivated a large number of outstanding vocal talents. His specialty is the "fuzzy singing method," which is not bound by traditional vocal techniques. It emphasizes using emotion to guide the voice and breath to nourish the voice. It is specifically designed for artists like Yang Ying who have poor pitch, weak breath, and a severe case of a "plain voice." It can help her improve her singing skills and find the feeling of singing in the shortest amount of time.
In addition to hiring Wang Mingqi as her vocal coach, Yang Ying also assembled a top-notch music production team with the help of Huang Xiaoming, striving to make "Clouds and Smoke Turn to Rain" the best it could be and ensure its huge success upon release. Among them, Chang Shilei, a top Chinese music producer, was responsible for vocal coaching, arrangement, and recording coordination.
Chang Shilei has an excellent reputation in the industry. He is skilled in vocal transformation, arrangement adaptation, and emotional expression. He can tailor arrangement solutions according to the singer's vocal characteristics and accurately capture the singer's emotional weaknesses, helping the singer quickly find the emotional core of the song.
More importantly, Chang Shilei and Huang Xiaoming have a close personal relationship and have collaborated many times. This time, Huang Xiaoming personally invited him, and Chang Shilei agreed without hesitation. He even turned down other work to devote himself to the production of Yang Ying's song.
For the arrangement, Yang Ying invited Zhao Zao, a well-known domestic arranger.
Zhao Zao excels at string arrangements and lyrical song arrangements. His arrangement style is gentle and delicate, and he is good at using strings to create a healing and affectionate atmosphere, which is very suitable for healing lyrical songs like "Clouds and Smoke Turn to Rain".
Moreover, Zhao Zao is not only good at arranging music, but also knows how to provide vocal instruction. During the arrangement process, he can combine Yang Ying's singing characteristics, adjust the rise and fall of the melody and the rhythm, make the arrangement more suitable for Yang Ying's voice, and at the same time take into account the difficulty of singing and the quality of the song, so as to ensure that Yang Ying can sing it, while also making the song sound more layered and infectious.
In addition, Huang Xiaoming also directly mobilized the entire team resources of Huayi Music to support Yang Ying's song.
Huayi Music, as one of the top music companies in China, possesses the industry's best recording studio resources, including Lejiaxuan, a top-tier recording studio widely recognized in the industry.
Lejiaxuan Recording Studio boasts advanced equipment and excellent soundproofing. Equipped with the most professional recording equipment and post-production team, it can capture the vocal details of singers to the greatest extent and restore the most authentic texture of songs.
Furthermore, Huayi Music provided Yang Ying with a dedicated post-production producer, copyright legal counsel, and distribution channels, offering all services free of charge. They also promised that once the song was recorded, it would be given priority for homepage recommendations on major music platforms, fully promoting its release and dissemination to ensure sufficient exposure.
At the same time, Yang Ying's former employer, the company of a Hong Kong music mogul, also extended a helping hand, providing Yang Ying with comprehensive support.
They not only arranged for top vocal coaches from Hong Kong to assist Wang Mingqi in providing guidance on Yang Ying's Cantonese pronunciation, but also planned to produce both Cantonese and Mandarin versions of "Clouds and Smoke Turn to Rain" to expand the song's audience.
Leveraging resources in Hong Kong, Yang Ying was arranged to appear on mainstream media outlets such as TVB and Hong Kong radio stations to promote her song, reaching a wider audience in Hong Kong and further enhancing the song's popularity and influence.
Yang Ying put in a lot of effort to sing this song well.
From the moment she received the song, she spent all her free time in the practice room, practicing vocal techniques with Wang Mingqi, starting with the most basic breath control exercises, practicing abdominal breathing again and again to strengthen her breath support.
Practice the emotional expression of the song with Chang Shilei, repeatedly ponder the meaning of the lyrics, try to put yourself in the context of the song, and learn to convey emotions with breath and timbre.
She learned about the arrangement from Zhao Zao, felt the rhythm and undulation of the song, tried her best to keep up with the rhythm of the accompaniment, and corrected her problems of rushing or lagging behind. Sometimes, she would practice for more than ten hours a day, her voice would become hoarse, and she would even be unable to speak, but she would only rest for a while and never give up.
Huang Xiaoming saw this and felt sorry for her. He would often visit her in the practice room to encourage her. He even specially hired a professional nutritionist to plan her diet and protect her voice.
Time flies, and it was already early December. Yang Ying's song recording work had entered its final stage.
That afternoon, Yang Ying was making her final recording at the Lejiaxuan Recording Studio. During a break, she called Jiang Yang and invited him to the studio to check on the recording. After all, Jiang Yang wrote the song and understood its core and the emotions it conveyed best. Moreover, Jiang Yang was the key figure in this resource exchange, and she hoped to gain his approval to ensure the song would achieve the desired effect and not disappoint his efforts.
Lejiaxuan Recording Studio is located in a high-end office building in the city center. It boasts a prime location and a quiet environment, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, making it ideal for recording songs.
Huang Xiaoming and Jiang Yang had arranged a time, and he arrived early to wait for Jiang Yang. In front of them was a spacious and bright hall. On the walls of the hall were the autographs and photos of many famous singers, all of whom had recorded songs here, showcasing the strength and heritage of the recording studio.
On one side of the hall, there are comfortable sofas and coffee tables for staff and artists to rest. Fresh fruit, warm water and throat lozenges are placed on the coffee tables, showing thoughtful details.
The core area of the recording studio is a closed recording booth. The walls and ceiling of the recording booth have been professionally soundproofed to ensure that there will be no external noise interference during the recording process.
Inside the recording studio, there is a professional recording microphone with an adjustable stand, and a monitoring headset for the singer to listen to their performance.
In a corner of the recording studio, there was a music stand with the sheet music for "Clouds and Smoke Turn to Rain" on it. Yang Ying had marked the key points and difficult parts of the sheet music with different colored pens, showing that she had indeed put in a lot of effort.
Outside was a post-production studio. Inside, there were several professional recording devices and computers, with various professional recording and post-production software installed on them. Chang Shilei and several professional recording engineers and post-production producers were sitting in front of the computers, intently staring at the screen, carefully listening to the recording clip that Yang Ying had just made, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones, and adjusting the recording parameters.
At this moment, Huang Xiaoming was also in the recording studio. He did not disturb Yang Ying's recording, nor did he disturb the post-production team. He just sat on the sofa in the lobby, holding his phone, glancing at the recording studio from time to time, his eyes full of expectation and tenderness.
He specially canceled all his work for today to come and accompany Yang Ying to record the song. On the one hand, he wanted to cheer Yang Ying on, and on the other hand, he wanted to hear the recording effect of the song himself. After all, this song is not only related to consolidating Yang Ying's image, but also to his cooperation with Jiang Yang, and even more so to whether he can use this song to alleviate his current public opinion predicament.
Not long after, Jiang Yang arrived at Lejiaxuan Recording Studio.
He was dressed in a simple black casual outfit and holding a notebook in his hand, on which he recorded some of his revisions and singing suggestions for the song "Clouds and Smoke Turn into Rain".
As soon as he entered the recording studio, Huang Xiaoming stood up immediately, a warm smile on his face. He quickly walked forward and took the initiative to greet Jiang Yang, his tone full of politeness and enthusiasm.
"Xiao Jiang, you've finally arrived! Please have a seat!" Huang Xiaoming said, gesturing for Jiang Yang to sit on the sofa. He also personally poured Jiang Yang a glass of warm water and handed it to him. "Was there any traffic?"
Jiang Yang took the water glass, smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Brother Xiaoming. The journey was smooth, not much traffic, just a few minutes late. Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's alright, it's not late at all," Huang Xiaoming waved his hand and said with a smile, "I just got here not long ago. BABY is still recording inside, so she probably won't be out for a while. By the way, Xiao Jiang, I really have to thank you. Thank you for giving BABY this song, 'Clouds and Smoke Turn to Rain.' It's a really great song. I asked many well-known musicians in the industry to listen to it, and they all gave it high praise. They all said that the melody is beautiful, the lyrics are delicate, and the emotions are sincere. It's definitely a song that will become a hit."
Jiang Yang smiled and said modestly, "Brother Xiaoming, you're too kind. I just wrote it casually. I'm very happy to receive recognition from all the musicians. Sister Baby has also worked very hard and has been practicing diligently during this time. I believe she will definitely be able to sing this song well."
"Yes, she has been working very hard lately, spending every day in the practice room, and her voice has become hoarse several times."
Huang Xiaoming said with emotion, his tone full of heartache.
"However, the effort was worthwhile, after all, this song is truly excellent. Let me tell you, the musicians I approached—Han Hong, Li Jian, and Li Ronghao—all raved about it. Han Hong said the melody is very evocative, and the lyrics are poetic, like a prose poem, making listeners think of their own youth and regrets, easily evoking resonance. Li Jian said the arrangement is delicate, the use of strings is just right, perfectly highlighting the song's emotions, and the melody is gentle, easy to sing along to, and very suitable for the general public. Li Ronghao said the song's positioning is very precise, its healing style perfectly matching the aesthetics of today's young people, and with BABY's popularity, it will definitely become a hit across the internet after its release, and may even become the year's blockbuster single."
Jiang Yang listened with a relieved smile and said, "I'm relieved to have the teachers' approval. Actually, when I wrote this song, I wanted to express a feeling of regret and tenderness, and I hope that everyone who hears this song can feel that delicate emotion."
Huang Xiaoming nodded and said in agreement, "You did it, Xiao Jiang. This song really expresses that regret and tenderness perfectly. By the way, Xiao Jiang, I also wanted to ask you, how is the filming of your movie 'New Life' going? Is there anything I can help you with? I know some people in the industry, so if you have any difficulties, just let me know. Don't be shy."
Mentioning the film "Rebirth," Jiang Yang smiled confidently and said, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Xiaoming. Filming is going very smoothly, and we're now in the final stages. Currently, the scenes for the main characters, Yang Chaoyue, Tian Xiwei, Huang Lei, Zhou Ye, and Zhao Lushi, have all been filmed." (End of Chapter)