pjbooks Chapter 434 Opening Performance
Chapter 434 Opening Performance
Lu Ran arrived home close to nine o'clock in the evening.
Shen Yuege was watching TV in the living room when she heard the door open. She turned around and glanced at it with a mysterious expression and a mischievous smile on her lips.
Lu Ran changed his shoes, put his bag on the sofa, and sat down next to her. "What's wrong? Why are you smiling so strangely?"
"you guess."
"You've learned another new dish?"
"no."
"The game is released?"
"no."
"Did you find some money?"
"Can't you be serious for once?"
Lu Ran thought for a while, but couldn't figure out what Shen Yuege wanted to say.
She never interfered in the company's affairs, and he never worried about the studio's affairs.
Their interactions consisted mainly of life and music. Nothing major happened in their personal lives, but musically—
"About the Golden Melody Awards?" he asked tentatively.
Shen Yuege's expression told him that he guessed correctly, but not entirely.
"You already know about the Golden Melody Awards. I'm talking about something else."
"What is it?"
Shen Yuege pulled out an email from her phone and handed the phone to him.
Lu Ran took the email and glanced at it. The sender was the Golden Melody Awards Organizing Committee, and the recipient was Shen Yuege.
The email's subject was "Invitation - 33rd Golden Melody Awards Ceremony".
He already knew the content beforehand: the time, place, and invitees were similar to what he had received.
He turned down a page and saw a passage—
"Given your close collaboration with Mr. Lu Ran in music composition, the organizing committee has specially invited you both to be the opening performance guests for this year's Golden Melody Awards. The performance will last approximately six minutes, and the songs are of your choice. Please confirm whether you accept the invitation."
After reading this, Lu Ran looked up at Shen Yuege.
Shen Yuege was leaning back on the sofa with her arms crossed over her chest, and the smile on her lips had changed from "I have a secret" to "Will you agree or not?"
"The opening performance? The two of us?" Lu Ran pointed to himself and then to her.
"Yes. The two of us."
The opening performance of the Golden Melody Awards lasted six minutes.
This is a significant event; the opening performance is the first segment of the entire awards ceremony, watched by everyone, and has the highest viewership of the entire night.
Those who can perform during this time slot are either superstars or superstars, or both.
He and Shen Yuege, a superstar and a superstar, that's enough.
"What are you singing?" Lu Ran asked.
Shen Yuege did not answer immediately. Instead, she stood up from the sofa, walked to the TV cabinet, and took out a CD from the drawer.
The cover features a photo of the two people: Shen Yuege in a white dress and Lu Ran in a black suit. They are looking at each other in front of the camera, creating a beautiful scene.
"Which song from this album do you think would be most suitable to sing at an awards ceremony?" She held up the CD and waved it around.
Lu Ran glanced at the cover and remembered.
This album mostly contains songs from early collaborations.
"The opening performance won't be a full song, but a medley. It'll be six minutes long, enough to sing the chorus of two or three songs. If we choose songs that are too long, we won't be able to finish them; if we choose songs that are too short, we won't be able to fill the time. We need to find a compromise."
Shen Yuege put the CD back in the drawer, walked back and sat down next to Lu Ran: "I've decided. I'll sing 'The Rose in My Palm.' One song is enough, no need for a medley. Six minutes is enough for two repetitions, the first in the original key, the second in a different key, with an interlude in between. That's just the right amount of time."
Lu Ran thought about it and felt that the plan was feasible.
"The Rose in the Palm" is one of the more popular duets between the two, with a beautiful melody and touching lyrics. It was also the first time they publicly sang a duet together.
Singing this song on the Golden Melody Awards stage is both commemorative and evokes memories for the audience.
"Okay. Let's sing this one."
Shen Yuege nodded in satisfaction, leaned back on the sofa, and put her feet up on the coffee table.
She wore white cotton socks with a bear pattern today, which didn't seem like the diva's taste.
"Have you ever gone on stage to receive an award before?" Lu Ran suddenly asked.
Shen Yuege turned her head to look at him, her expression somewhat subtle: "Are you mocking me?"
"No. I was just asking. I've never received an award before, and I don't know what to say. I wanted to learn from you."
Shen Yuege put her feet off the coffee table, sat cross-legged on the sofa, hugged a cushion, and began to reminisce.
"The year I debuted, I won the Best New Artist award with the song 'Rebirth.' That was my first and only time attending the Golden Melody Awards. I wore a white dress, stood on the stage for three minutes, and said a lot of thank-you notes, thanking the company, the producer, my family, and my fans. After I finished, I bowed, walked off the stage, and sat down in my seat. My heart was pounding like it was going to explode."
She paused here, and the smile on her lips turned slightly self-deprecating.
"And then?" Lu Ran asked.
"I never went up there again. The second year, my album didn't even get a nomination. The third year, I did get a nomination for Best Female Singer, but someone else won. I sat in the audience all night, watching others go up to receive their awards, clapping until my palms were red. The fourth year was even worse; I didn't even get a nomination. After that, I got used to it and just sat in the audience watching others receive their awards."
Lu Ran was deeply moved after listening to Shen Yuege's words.
When he met Shen Yuege, she was already a big star. People would ask for her autograph wherever she went, and any song she released would trend on social media.
He thought she had always had such a smooth career, starting at her peak and continuing to this day.
I never expected there would be such a low period in the middle.
Of course, compared to other singers, this low point wasn't that low.
Ultimately, his father-in-law was quietly supporting him behind the scenes. Although it wasn't made public, he must have put in a lot of effort.
"So you haven't won any more awards since then?" Lu Ran continued to ask.
Shen Yuege shook her head: "I've been nominated a few times, but I haven't won. The competition for Best Female Singer is too fierce. So many people release albums every year, and there are too many good singers. They don't need me. I'm already being given face by the judges for being nominated."
Lu Ran leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.
He mentally calculated this year's nomination situation.
Five actresses were nominated for Best Female Singer, and Shen Yuege was one of them.
He had also heard the other four singers, and they all sang quite well, but compared to Shen Yuege's album, they were a level below.
Only Liu Siqi's songs are somewhat decent, but those songs were all written by Lu Ran.
And to be honest, Liu Siqi is somewhat inferior to Shen Yuege.
It's not that he's biased; it's an objective fact.
Furthermore, with Lu Ran focusing on writing songs for Shen Yuege alone in the second half of the year, Liu Siqi definitely can't compare to Shen Yuege.
As for the other singers, needless to say.
Every song on Shen Yuege's album is a classic he brought from his past life, and every song has been tested by the market.
This kind of overwhelming advantage cannot be achieved through hard work alone.
"This year is different," Lu Ran said.
Shen Yuege glanced at him: "How is it different?"
"I'll write a song for you this year."
Shen Yuege was amused by his words, but her laughter suddenly stopped, and her expression turned serious as she looked at Lu Ran: "You mean... I really might?"
"It's not just possible. It's highly probable." Lu Ran turned to look at her. "Think about it, every single song on your album could be a hit single. You've seen the music critics' reviews, like 'the most mature vocal control since your debut,' and 'every word sung perfectly.' These kinds of reviews aren't given lightly."
Shen Yuege didn't speak, but she tightened her grip on the cushion a little.
Lu Ran continued, "And you weren't nominated alone. For the Best Female Singer award, the judges consider the overall quality of the album, the difficulty of the performance, and the emotional investment when voting. Your album excels in all of these aspects. The album quality goes without saying; every song is a masterpiece. The performance difficulty is also quite high, especially 'A Thousand Songs,' where the breath control in the chorus is something not everyone can do. And the emotional investment goes without saying; I saw you cry three times while recording that song."
Shen Yuege's ears turned red after he said that.
It wasn't because she was shy, but because she felt that what Lu Ran said made sense.
She herself could feel that this album was different from her previous albums.
In the past, albums were released simply for the sake of releasing them. The company was urging her, the market was waiting, and the fans were looking forward to them, so she had no choice but to release them.
But this album was something she wanted to make herself. She put 100% of her energy into every song, and after recording it, she felt completely drained.
"So you think I can win the award?" she asked.
"It's not just about winning awards, it's about winning many awards. Best Female Singer is just one of them. There might also be Best Album, Best Vocal Performance, Best Producer. Your name might be called out on stage many times."
Shen Yuege's heart raced at his use of the phrase "several times".
She buried her face in the cushions, her voice muffled: "Stop talking. If you keep talking, I won't be able to sleep tonight."
Lu Ran laughed and reached out to ruffle her hair: "That's right, you can't sleep."
...