Karaoke emerged in Japan in the 1960s, spread to Hong Kong and Taiwan in the late 1970s, and then to coastal areas such as Shenzhen in 1988. It began to spread in major cities in the early 1990s, and by 1995 it had swept across the entire mainland with overwhelming force, changing the nightlife of Chinese people overnight. Wen Liang often heard the aunties of the neighborhood committee nagging in his previous life, saying that before the 1990s, those little hooligans had long hair, wore flowery shirts and bell-bottom pants, with long flowing hair, and powerful frog-eye glasses. They carried a four-speaker tape recorder, and at night they would turn on the lights on the streets or in the yards and start dancing disco. Men and women would hug each other, and decent people would be afraid of them. Now it's good, at night they all go into their rooms to sing karaoke, and no one knows they are being hooligans.
This was the first time Wen Liang walked into a karaoke room in 1995. With his later experience, he was still shocked by the decoration of the Plum Hall. Not to mention the others, they all opened their mouths wide. Only by being there can you experience the true strength of Dandelion hidden under its ordinary appearance. The dark tone, exquisite style, solemnity with luxury, warmth with atmosphere, porous wall lamps and glass crystal lamps overflowing with soft light, constructing a world full of brilliance and fantasy.
The circular leather sofa was spacious and comfortable, and the handmade silk carpet was embroidered with dozens of plum blossoms in full bloom, which looked like a relief sculpture with a real three-dimensional sense, making people want to reach out and pick a petal. A group of girls cheered and scattered, and there was no distinction between the first and second classes. Some of the girls who often sang went to fiddle with the TV and karaoke machine, some of the bold and naughty ones went to the cupboard on the wall to get drinks and red wine, and a few girls threw themselves on the sofa like moths to a flame, sat hard for a few times, and giggled.
Actually, this is understandable. How many girls who have the leisure to chase stars and compete with others can be good people
Tan Yu, on the other hand, had never experienced such a scene before. Although he was not timid, he followed Wen Liang closely, looking at the rich atmosphere around him with a surprised look. Bai Huan was stepped on hard by Wen Liang in the hall just now, and the anger accumulated in his heart was almost out of control, but he could not do anything to Wen Liang, and his sinister eyes stayed on Xie Yan's delicate face and slender figure.
Bai Huan didn't know how many women he had played with, but the thought of stripping this pure girl naked tonight and ruthlessly pressing her down made his whole body tremble slightly. Xie Yan sat on a single sofa in the corner, his hands flat on his knees, his head lowered, and he remained silent.
After a lively discussion, the marble coffee table in the middle was used as a dividing line, and the two classes sat on each side. At this point, the protagonists changed from Bai Huan and Wen Liang to Pei Min and Xu Yao. Although Pei Min was shocked by Wen Liang's successive stunning performances, she still spoke rudely because Bai Huan was there: "Xu Yao, you guys decided the location, so it's our turn to decide how to compete, right?"
"How else can we compete? Everyone send someone to sing, and the one with the strongest talent wins!"
Pei Min curled his lips and sneered, "How do you define strength? Who has the final say? You or me?"
Wen Liang then realized a serious problem. There was no scoring machine in the country, and this was not a karaoke competition organized by the Qingzhou Propaganda Department where the winner would be decided just by the judges' lips.
Xu Yao smiled coldly: "We all have ears. We can tell who sings well or not just by listening! If I had known you would do this, tell me, what are you going to do?"
"If you ask me, everyone vote, whoever gets the most votes wins!"
Before Xu Yao could say anything, several girls from Class 1 started shouting, "Do you think we are stupid? You have more people than us, so shouldn't you win the vote?"
"Pei Min, you just play tricks, we won't be fooled!"
Pei Min knew they would not agree, so she asked, "Then what do you say we should do?"
Everyone looked at each other, unable to come up with a solution that both sides could accept. Pei Min stood up, walked to the TV, picked up the microphone, and said, "Since no one has a good solution, let's do this. I propose..."
Wen Liang suddenly said, "I have a plan. Let me tell you all about it. Does it work?"
Xu Yao said happily: "Of course it will work, you tell me!"
"Just randomly pick ten waiters from Dandelion, have them come to the private room with their backs to the TV, and then give scores to the singers. You all know what to do with the rest, right? Remove the one with the highest score..."
The girls in Class 1 laughed collectively and said, "Except for the lowest score..." The sound of birds singing and flowers blooming was indescribably clear and beautiful.
This was the best solution that could be thought of at the moment. Pei Min looked at Bai Huan in embarrassment, and Bai Huan nodded and agreed to this plan. He was very confident in his singing and didn't care about the method at all. He was determined to show off his singing skills in the competition, firstly to destroy Wen Liang's prestige, and secondly to show off in front of Xie Yan.
In order to avoid suspicion, Wen Liang specifically asked Pei Min to go out and find someone. Seeing that it was the request of the guests of the Mei Hall, the lobby manager picked out ten people and sent them in in less than three minutes, five men and five women, without any bias.
After the three-vs-two rule was determined, the first match was between Xu Yao and Pei Min!
Karaoke in the early 1990s was relatively primitive, with a thick song catalog in each room. Guests wrote their own song orders and handed them to the waitress, who then sent them to a professional DJ to play the songs. A group of people took turns singing with microphones. By 1995, it had changed greatly. Although computer-controlled song ordering had not yet been achieved, it was at least much more advanced than before. Songs could be manually selected with a remote control, and then musical accompaniment or original vocals could be selected. The music was also synchronized with the subtitles on the screen, and the color would change instantly to prompt the singers of the lyrics.
Xu Yao first chose a classic song by Jacky Cheung, "Kiss Goodbye". To be honest, when Jacky Cheung first debuted, his voice was a bit soft, his vibrato was loud when he sang, and his technique was relatively rough. It was only when he sang "Kiss Goodbye" that he made great progress, with a pure tone, bright high notes, and extremely textured. Therefore, although most people can sing this song "Kiss Goodbye", not many can really sing it with feeling. Of course, compared with the peak period of "Fatal Fury" and "Snow Wolf Lake", the difficulty of performing this "Kiss Goodbye" is undoubtedly much smaller.
Xu Yao's voice was clear but not bold enough. She was young and innocent but lacked experience, so she couldn't sing out the heart-wrenching pain. But she was better than Pei Min in singing "I Can't Stop Loving You" in terms of emotion and technique. Ten waiters stood in a row and showed the white paper in their hands. Xu Yao won with a comprehensive score of 85 points to Pei Min's 79 points. All the girls in the class gave warm applause, cheered, and hugged Xu Yao like a queen, jumping and dancing.
Although the girls in Class 2 were angry, they could do nothing about it. No one could say no to such a standard of judging. In the second round, Pei Min had originally designated a tall girl to perform. Bai Huan suddenly said, "Xie Yan, you come and sing. I've heard you sing. You are definitely a star."
Xie Yan raised his head and wanted to refuse, but Bai Huan smiled and said, "Consider it as a favor to you. If we lose, I may not be in the mood to meddle in other people's business." These words were suggestive. Xie Yan was silent for a moment, then stood up and walked to the TV.
This girl has the appearance of a lady from a rich family, but also has the temperament of a girl next door. When she stands there, she looks like an orchid in a valley, with a unique flavor. But what is surprising is that she actually chose a Cantonese fast song "Legend of Innocence", which was Aaron Kwok's comeback song in 1995. The pitch is high and dynamic. The wild and rough singing voice matches her soft appearance, which has a strange appeal.
The whole song flowed smoothly, expressing the reluctance and attachment to the innocent era. Bai Huan's eyes flashed with desire, and he led the applause. Hou Qiang and others cheered loudly. The girls in Class 2 also forgot their resistance to outsiders and looked at the gloomy faces of the group with pride.
Xu Yao looked at her comrades, and the lolita who were waving their fists in the Lincoln car shook their heads and backed out. Helplessly, she turned her gaze to Wen Liang, and after a difficult decision, she whispered, "Why don't you go?"
Wen Liang shrugged, saying that it didn't matter, he was going to lose anyway, cleared his throat and sang a random song "You Are With Me All the Way", the tune was at least right, and the emotions were in place, but compared to Xie Yan's performance just now, it was like heaven and earth. When he came back, the other girls all looked regretful, only Xu Yao smiled happily, she knew that Wen Liang didn't put his heart into it, no matter what, his singing still belonged to her alone.
Wen Liang looked at Xu Yao and remembered what Ning Xiaoning said that day, "Xu Yao likes you." It was also at that moment that he suddenly understood why Xu Yao didn't want him to sing for others - that was the secret hidden in the little girl's heart: if you like him, you have everything about him!
Wen Liang would certainly not refuse such a small wish.
After the scoring, Wen Liang scored 75 points, and Xie Yan scored 90 points. After winning the first round, the morale of Class 2 was greatly boosted. Bai Huan smiled and said, "Okay, let me tell you in the third round, it doesn't matter whose song is sung, the person who sings is the most important!"
He picked up the microphone, stared at Xie Yan, and sang Aaron Kwok's classic song "Should I Go Away Quietly" with great affection. Bai Huan had an excellent timbre, a deep and powerful voice, and almost flawless transitions. Not to mention Class 2, even the little girls in Class 1 listened attentively with their chins in their hands. In terms of singing skills alone, he was considered to be at the top level among amateur singers, but he had a fatal flaw, that is, the object of his singing was Xie Yan, a girl who was about to be forcibly possessed by him with despicable means. How much real emotion could he evoke
So he sang this song very well, but it lacked vitality. Even so, most people might not be able to compare with him, but Tan Yuzheng was an exception.
Tan Yu chose "Love Net". He held the microphone, raised his head, and his eyes passed through the thick soundproof wall, slid across the night sky of Qingzhou, and quietly fell in the direction of the girl's home.
"Please light another candle for me, because I have already lost my way."
Your figure is shaking, and my eyes are full of panic.
"And you are a boundless net, easily trapping me in the middle of it."
How can I lock my gaze with you
"I would rather stay by your side like this, and never forget you for the rest of my life..."
Bemi, would you be willing to let me feel sad