FWTS Chapter 106: King of Songs
"Love of a Lifetime" was co-created by the renowned musician couple, Lu Guanting and his wife Tang Shuchen. When they were creating it, the filming of "A Chinese Odyssey" had already been completed, and the director informed them of this love story, describing it as one that remained unresolved for five hundred years. Lu Guanting was deeply moved, and the melody came to him when he returned home.
Tang Shuchen was deeply touched by this "love story of five hundred years without resolution" when she was writing the lyrics. She completed the composition in just two hours.
Although the creation time was short, it has remained a classic for over twenty years!
Whether it's the mood expressed in the lyrics or the melody of the song itself, "Love of a Lifetime" is undoubtedly an unsurpassable classic, full of helplessness and sadness, with a profound longing. There's nothing to say, and nothing needs to be said; just quietly listen to this song. Some say that when you truly understand "A Chinese Odyssey," you understand love; then, when you understand "Love of a Lifetime," you truly understand sorrow and helplessness.
Shi Shiwu's performance of "Love of a Lifetime" was the original version, modified according to Lu Guanting and Karen's interpretation. Shi Shiwu and Hou Muyun replaced all the accompaniment of the entire melody with a guitar, using different playing techniques. In other words, this song was entirely sung and played by Shi Shiwu himself, without any other accompaniment.
What about Hou Muyun?
After Shi Shiwu finished playing the prelude, he quickly entered the song. His singing was extremely quiet and sad, yet it seemed like his voice was floating above the sadness, as if overlooking the sorrow and helplessness from a god's perspective, but unable to detach from it. It was like a singer lamenting on the vast desert, unable to escape the sweeping sands.
【The past is gone and will never return,
Red leaves lie buried in the dust,
...
Should I believe it's fate?】
After Shi Shiwu finished singing a section, Hou Muyun sat there, indifferent, without playing the erhu or providing any harmony.
At this point, many people were immersed in Shi Shiwu's singing and couldn't extricate themselves, but some were wondering what was wrong with Hou Muyun. What happened to the accompaniment?
However, when Shi Shiwu's self-played section ended and entered the interlude, Hou Muyun's erhu suddenly sounded in addition to Shi Shiwu's guitar, with a faint lament and sadness, sending shivers down everyone's spine!
A faint sorrow, a deep sadness.
Who is asking the flowers with tearful eyes, why they remain silent, while the chaotic red flies over the swing, drifting in a kind of lovesickness and idle sorrow, where everything changes, and everything rests, sitting alone in tears first, without speaking of much sorrow, unable to move the thousand miles of smoke and waves, just clearing the brows, yet the heart is burdened!
When the interlude ended and Shi Shiwu started singing "Lovers parting never to return," the faint lament appeared again, repeating the last few words, as if responding to or explaining this sentence.
The following lines also continued to have such a faint lament or sigh, forming a more profound atmosphere with Shi Shiwu's singing.
When Shi Shiwu sang "The bitter sea churns with love and hate" again, this time the faint lament and sigh appeared simultaneously with Shi Shiwu's singing, harmonizing with his voice, immersing everyone completely in the song and melody. Whether in the audience or in front of the TV, many people couldn't help but shed tears.
As the song ended, countless audience members were moved to tears, while others were immersed in the atmosphere and couldn't break free.
Suddenly, they realized and understood the faint lament and sigh that had just appeared—it was all from the erhu!
So, this was Hou Muyun's erhu performance, or rather, many people felt it was more like harmony!
For those familiar with the original version of "Love of a Lifetime," they knew that in the original version, Karen's singing was entirely replaced by the erhu!
For such a conception, idea, and the atmosphere presented afterward, they were deeply impressed!
The sound of the erhu seemed like music and also like genuine language, creating a very strange feeling, giving people a lot of space, and everyone seemed to be able to read different languages in those erhu sounds.
The music ended.
Shi Shiwu stood up with his guitar, and Hou Muyun stood up with his erhu, walking forward side by side. They stood shoulder to shoulder, bowing to the audience as a sign of respect.
The audience stood up as if awakening from a dream, applauding and cheering. Some had smiles on their faces, while others had tears in their eyes. It was less excitement and more emotion.
Wang Han stepped onto the stage, watching the two leave, couldn't help but sigh and say, "With just a guitar, an erhu, and a voice, it's hard to imagine that something so simple could interpret 'Love of a Lifetime' with such profound meaning! They say the lingering sound lasts three days in the beams; this song, 'Love of a Lifetime,' is engraved in the heart like a mountain stream!"
Shi Shiwu and Hou Muyun left the studio and headed towards the "Singer's Home." Shi Shiwu's expression became much more relaxed. Finally, he had completed all his performances, both in the first round and with "Love of a Lifetime." Shi Shiwu was very satisfied with both performances, and it could even be said that they were among his most satisfying performances of the year.
Feeling elated, Shi Shiwu glanced at the erhu Hou Muyun was holding and couldn't help but smile. "Monkey, is my cousin's erhu still in good condition?"
"Of course, it's still in good condition..."
Hou Muyun casually replied, but his expression suddenly changed. "What did you just say? Your cousin?!"
Shi Shiwu chuckled when he saw Hou Muyun's expression change. "I was planning to tell you later, but since I'm so happy today, I'll just tell you now."
Hou Muyun frowned. "You mean the boss of Ting Song you mentioned is your sister?"
Shi Shiwu nodded. "Yes. Do you remember what I said when I first invited you to accompany me? Didn't I say I found you after watching your live broadcast videos online for inspiration? I even mentioned that a master erhu player recommended you to me. That person was my cousin!"
Hou Muyun was taken aback again. After a moment of thought, he remembered that Shi Shiwu had indeed said that, and it happened right after he went to Ting Song to repair his guitar.
Thinking about it, Hou Muyun smiled knowingly. "No wonder. At that time, I was just an unknown streamer, and a big star like you found me. I thought you had some ulterior motive!"
Suddenly, he shook his head again. "Wait a minute, I remember I saved the phone number of that boss. Her surname was Lin! She surnamed Lin, and she's your cousin, shouldn't she have the same surname as you? Also, isn't your family in Lion City?"
Shi Shiwu was speechless. "Are you stupid? 'Shi Shiwu' is my stage name; my real surname is Lin! Besides, my sister's family settled in China a long time ago. What's so strange about that?"
"... If you hadn't told me, I would have never guessed it in my life." Suddenly, Hou Muyun remembered something and widened his eyes. "Did your cousin really say this erhu in my hand is worth three million US dollars?"
Before, Hou Muyun didn't believe this claim at all, but hearing that the boss of Ting Song was Shi Shiwu's cousin... Hou Muyun thought of Shi Shiwu's background as a rich second generation in Southeast Asia. Although he didn't know how close of a cousin she was, he couldn't help but believe it a bit. His hand holding the erhu even shook a bit.
Three million US dollars, nearly twenty million Chinese yuan. It was more than he could earn in two months... The thought of possibly earning this much in just two months made him feel a bit calmer.
Shi Shiwu shrugged and smiled. "You'll have to ask my sister about that!"
Hou Muyun: "..."
Shi Shiwu: "And I don't even know how much the wooden guitar I'm going to give you next is worth."
Back in the "Singer's Home" lounge, Shi Shiwu took out a guitar case that had been prepared long ago. Hou Muyun saw the brand "LeeGuitars" on the case and his eyes lit up. It was indeed the guitar brand created by Li Zongsan. Remembering that Shi Shiwu said he didn't know how much this guitar was worth, Hou Muyun looked at him with suspicion.
Shi Shiwu said, "This guitar was ordered a long time ago. When I picked it up before, Brother Zongsan said it was a gift for you."
Hou Muyun was filled with respect.
Soon, the results of the second round, second group showdown were announced. Shi Shiwu won and entered the final battle for the Song King, accepting the audience's vote. Tang Weiwei was eliminated and became one of the top six singers of "Singer."
Subsequently, the third group of the second round, namely the first and sixth place showdown, began. The first place, "Dai Shu," undoubtedly won.
In the end, the Song King of this season was, as many had predicted, "Dai Shu," with a 41% vote.
Shi Shiwu came in second, with a 36% vote.
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