Can and Gao Xiaosong in the recording studio. &Nbsp; Zeng Yike hugging a lamb. "Sheep sound" is this fast girl's label. Zeng Yike's problem, which sounds big but is very easy to fix, is shortness of breath. Our industry has not regarded Zeng Yike as a monster or an experiment subject. We should not keep the out-of-tune singing just for keeping the sheep sound. Actually, the sheep sound is still there; it's just that she no longer sings off-key. According to our newspaper (reporter Huang Ruihai and Lu Xin), "Zeng Yike's formal version of 'Leo' is actually very nice. The 'sheep sound' is gone, and it feels a bit like Chen Qi-zhen!" The always controversial "fast girl" Zeng Yike, recently released her representative work "Leo" on the Internet, once again causing heated discussion. Many people who listened to this song were surprised by Zeng Yike's great transformation. Not only did her singing improve, but also after formal arrangement, the whole song became more full and touching. But at the same time, netizens also had controversies about Zeng Yike's transformation. First, was her improvement real or "fixed" during post-production? Some netizens raised questions: "Will there be a big difference between Zeng Yike's live performance and her record?" On the other hand, some music fans expressed disappointment with this song, thinking that without the "sheep sound," Zeng Yike abandoned her biggest feature - "Then Zeng Yike will no longer be Zeng Yike." With all these questions, our reporter interviewed Gao Xiaosong, who was responsible for producing this song yesterday. Gao Xiaosong said, actually there was no special training, just let her keep running, and practice breathing enough. As for the statement of changing the "sheep sound," Gao Xiaosong expressed disagreement, "Actually, the sheep sound is still there; it's just that she no longer sings off-key." In addition, Zeng Yike's album will officially be released on the 18th of this month.
Producer Gao Xiaosong answers questions:
How to train Zeng Yike?
Run an hour every day, the new version needs to sing two and a half tones higher, and live experience needs to accumulate for a year...
Since the end of "Fast Girl" until now, it has been only a few months. Zeng Yike quickly grew from a sheep sound singer who sang off-key during the competition to the high-quality female voice presented in the current recording works, completely different before and after. Such a big change cannot help but thank Gao Xiaosong, who worked hard behind the scenes to create her. However, Gao Xiaosong said that he did not arrange any music training courses for Zeng Yike, nor did he have any unique training methods. "Zeng Yike's problem, which sounds big, but is very easy to fix, is shortness of breath, I heard it during the competition."
Therefore, the only requirement Gao Xiaosong had for Zeng Yike was to insist on long-distance running every day to practice breathing. "The fundamental reason why she sang off-key during the competition was that she lacked breath. She didn't practice before, nor did she know how to control her breathing. Then there was also the fact that she was too nervous at the time, so she started trembling while singing. But actually, her voice foundation is good, so I gave her advice to run and stick to running an hour every day. Now, she has clearly improved in controlling her breathing, so she can sing more freely."
Gao Xiaosong also revealed that the formal version of "Leo" we hear now is actually two and a half tones higher than the previous live version. On the one hand, Zeng Yike made great progress in these few months, expanding her vocal range. On the other hand, it was also because the tone she originally chose was not suitable for her voice. "We all have the same feeling when we go to KTV. If the tone of a song is too low, it feels like you can't use your strength, and the voice is flat. So everyone felt that her singing at the time was not quite right."
Doubt A
Is the singing style "fixed" in post-production?
Recording technology is not that magical, it can only make fine adjustments.
Netizens: The difference between the recording version and the live version is too big, obviously it's fixed in post-production. Many singers need technical adjustment to their voices, and then those songs can be shown to the public. Any part that was sung off-key can be adjusted through the computer, but once they perform live, the truth comes out. Zeng Yike must be one of these singers, you'll know when you listen to her live performance.
Gao Xiaosong: Recording technology is not that magical. If it really was that magical, anyone could be a pop star. Let me give you a simple example. Pop stars don't look as good as movie stars, which shows that they still rely on singing. If recording could do everything, then we would just find the prettiest person to sing. So, basically, such technology does not exist, never will.
Why am I more willing to give interviews this time? It's because I want to tell everyone that our industry hasn't treated Zeng Yike as a monster or an experiment subject. It seems like everyone thinks it's incredible, what kind of high-tech, magical wizardry was used to record her album? Actually, there was nothing. Recording technology can only make subtle adjustments to the work. This is post-production, something all singers have to do, but the most basic thing still relies on the singer themselves. Zeng Yike doesn't have more advanced equipment than other singers. It's all the same recording studio, the same environment, the same microphone, everyone sings like this.
As for live performances, she definitely won't be as good as the record. In the recording studio, if the lights are turned off and there's interference, you can redo if you don't sing well. But live performances require singers to have enough experience, which takes time to accumulate. The more you sing, the better you get. I think within a year, her live performances will be pretty much fine.
Doubt B
Did Zeng Yike abandon the sheep sound?
The sheep sound is very distinctive and must be kept.
Netizens: Still feel that the previous version of "Leo" is better. That feeling is more real. Brother Zeng is not the traditional type of singer. People like her because of her sheep sound, even a little off-key. Those singing techniques and tricks are useless for her. The new version of "Leo", the sheep sound is changed, is it still Zeng Yike?
Gao Xiaosong: If the sheep sound is really gone, could you still recognize it as Zeng Yike's voice? I think as long as you've heard her sing, you can tell the song is hers. If I could make her sound like someone else, that would be too amazing. Do you know how many people want to be MJ? It's not that magical, impossible to make another MJ, another Jay Chou.
In fact, regarding her sheep sound, I agree with it. A person's voice being named a certain way means they are very unique and easily recognizable. But being off-key is definitely not a feature. We can't keep the off-key singing just to keep the sheep sound. In this song, the sheep sound is still there, it's just that she no longer sings off-key.
New Version of "Leo" Evaluation
Usually, when we say a singer's singing skills have significantly improved in the recording work, it's not due to using particularly advanced recording technology to repair the vocal cords, but more often it's with the help of advanced equipment, such as microphones, mixing consoles, etc., even including the spatial setup of the recording studio, etc., to amplify the most charming side of the singer's voice. Just like when we go to karaoke, if the sound equipment of that karaoke TV is better, you will also feel that you sing particularly well there.
Strictly speaking, the recording of the song "Leo" is not very good, even a bit rough. You can hear that it was not recorded in a very good studio or with equipment, so saying that Zeng Yike uses recording technology to smooth her singing is a bit far-fetched. But because the previous live version was too bad, compared to this so-called formal version, it appears more refined. However, if compared with the recording works of other powerful singers, whether in terms of sound quality or Zeng Yike's performance skills, this song temporarily does not measure up.
Evaluator: Huang Ruihai
Overview of the New Album
Includes two new songs, lyrics of old songs have been greatly revised
Media reports stated that the previously involved in the "plagiarism controversy" and once "halted" "Leo" has been confirmed to be included in the album officially released on the 18th of this month, and the copyright issues seem to have been resolved through the senior management of the record company.
Gao Xiaosong said that most of the songs included in the album were old works she sang live before, with only two new songs. Besides re-arranging the old works, the lyrics also underwent significant changes, such as "Tram Plan" and "Visual System". Gao Xiaosong said that the lyrics of "Visual System" were more than doubled compared to the original version.
As for the new songs, one is called "Forever Road", written by Zeng Yike about walking on a completely new road she has never walked before. The other song is about her story of finding a house in Beijing, called "New Home", created after the competition. "It's about that house, the old tenant left and the new tenant came, who will sit on this sofa, who will enter this kitchen, who cried softly in this bathroom... It's this kind of relatively sentimental small mood." Gao Xiaosong indicated.