1. Phoenix takes off (1998-2005)
The story of Phoenix Legend originated in Shenzhen.
From 65438 to 0998, Ceng Yi, a young man from Yiyang, Hunan, gave up his regular job and went to a friend who opened a ballroom in Shenzhen.
At the end of 1998, Sene, a girl from Erdos, Inner Mongolia who worked hard in Shenzhen, applied for a job in Golden Age Song and Dance Hall and was admitted as a signing artist. She and Ceng Yi, the music director of this dance hall, became colleagues.
Out of their love for Korean singing group Cool Dragon, the two formed a group called Cool Fire. This group soon flourished in Shenzhen.
In 2003, He Muyang, a Hunan-born music producer who was in Shenzhen at that time, had just finished filming a public service song against SARS and wanted to find a female singer with a loud voice to sing. Sene caught his attention.
In 2004, Cool Fire officially signed a record company, successfully jumped out of the underground circle and changed its name to Phoenix Legend.
In 2005, he won the runner-up in CCTV's Avenue of Stars.
In the same year, Phoenix Legend released his first album "Above the Moon", whose title song "Above the Moon" was tailored by He Muyang, and Jay Chou imperial academy arranged and Zhong Xingmin participated in the production of this album.
Above the Moon was born, and its popularity was incredible. People have never seen such a high-pitched female voice, and the Mongolian background in Ling Hua has become a huge advantage, and the grassland customs are coming; As far as genre is concerned, this song created the "national popular style" that Phoenix Legend was best at in the later period, which matched Ling Hua's natural Mongolian voice. Ceng Yi, a male voice, shouldered the burden of "pop", and the interlude of crooning rap is still fashionable today after 14 years.
Since then, Phoenix Legend has embarked on a long journey with the attitude of being popular all over the country.
Second, break through the tight encirclement (2005-20 12)
The rise of Phoenix Legend in 2005 was the last heyday of Chinese music and the last peak of traditional physical recording industry.
In the traditional recording era, music companies and TV stations have absolute influence, in other words, this is an era when professional musicians control the right to speak. Take "In My Father's Name", the title song of Jay Chou's Ye Huimei album in 2003, as an example. At that time, because more than 50 radio stations in Asia started broadcasting simultaneously and 800 million people listened, July 16 every year was designated as "Jay Chou Day".
This shows the influence of radio at that time.
Phoenix Legend has a very amazing starting point, Above the Moon, but in the era when tapes and CDs are still the mainstream channels, we must continue to produce enough works to go on.
What's more, it was the heyday of the four heavenly kings in Hong Kong just after retirement. Male singers such as Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Tao Zhe, Wang Jie, Wang Leehom, Wu Bai and Eason Chan are in full swing, while female singers such as Faye Wong, Lin Yilian, Zhang Huimei, Xiao Yaxuan, Stefanie Sun, Liang Jingru, Jolin Tsai and Zhang Shaohan are in full bloom, and Hong Kong and Taiwan Mayday, Soda Green and She all have combined performances.
How does Phoenix Legend, a rising grassroots, break through the tight encirclement?
In 2007, Phoenix Legend released his second album Reunion. The whole album can be summed up in two words: "National" and "Popular".
As far as national music is concerned, the title song Reunion is a Tibetan style. Besides, there are many works with strong national elements, which shows Phoenix Legend's proficiency in this field.
But the player who really took over the banner of the first special edition "Above the Moon" was "Flying Free". This song almost completely inherited the characteristics of Above the Moon, with excellent arrangement, more open handling of Ceng Yi's rap, and even tried some male and female duets. Ling Hua's chorus is still nuclear weapons. Compared with Above the Moon, the artistic conception of the whole song began to approach the popularity of love songs.
Facts have proved that "freedom of flying" has almost completed the "take-all" of men, women and children.
It is worth noting that the rose of equal love, as Phoenix Legend's attempt at popular love songs, also has a unique charm. On the popular route, Phoenix Legend seems to have found his own pulse.
In 2009, Phoenix Legend released a new album "The Most Dazzling National Style". Phoenix Legend, who debuted for four years, made her most musical attempt.
The album of the same name "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" shows Phoenix Legend's music label: ethnic style without any cover. But the real peak of this song appeared in 20 12 three years later.
The real folk songs in the album are Blue Sky, bloom in the Mountain, Wandering Love Songs and Luxury Lady. Similar to the most dazzling national style, these songs are full of rhythm and cater to the market on the basis of national elements. Perhaps no one expected that the catchy sense of rhythm would give birth to the largest group fitness activity in contemporary China: square dance.
Phoenix Legend, as a group, also gave full play to the advantages of male and female duets and performed well in the field of popular love songs. The album "All Love" and "The Temptation of Lang" are all such attempts.
The lyrics of All Love are very popular, but they are better than other styles. Ling Hua, divorced from national customs, combines rigidity and softness in singing love songs, and even rap in the meantime, which shows that Ling Hua's voice is omnipotent.
The Temptation of Lang can be said that anyone outside Phoenix Legend would be embarrassed to sing it. But with Ceng Yi's passionate rap and Ling Hua's flexible tone sandhi, there is no sense of disobedience.
It is not difficult to find that Phoenix Legend's love song is definitely a string of firecrackers in China's love song. Listening to their songs, you won't feel "sad" or "depressed" at all, and even have a different sense of joy. Open-minded, open-minded, and daring to express may be the intangible implication of Ling Hua's Mongolian voice. People automatically acquiesce in her heroism, and in love songs, it is manifested as a female voice with an atmosphere rather than a whisper.
20 10 Phoenix Legend released the album "I come from the grassland". Besides some old songs, the new songs performed well.
The title song "I'm from the Grassland" of the album of the same name is the conclusion of Phoenix Legend's "Prairie Trilogy". Judging from the achievements of dominating squares all over the country, we can probably hum a few words along with the melody.
The song I want to highlight is Moonlight on the Lotus Pond, which was greatly underestimated by me before.
Suggestions for listening to music:
Night, quiet night, it is best to have moonlight outside the window. First find out Mr. Zhu Ziqing's essay "Moonlight on the Lotus Pond" and enjoy it. Then lie in bed, put on headphones, watch the moonlight outside the window and listen carefully, drunk as a dream.
Ling Hua, the lead singer, has almost no high notes. Who can say that Ling Hua can only howl? Ceng Yi's rap fully embodies the tenderness gene of Huxiang water town.
Moonlight on the Lotus Pond is Phoenix Legend's most important work in the field of classical Chinese. Although the lyrics are not presented in the form of traditional classical Chinese, they are interpreted in plain vernacular, but they are still full of classical charm, beautiful and natural, just like walking in a gentle and honest Jiangnan garden under the night.
In my mind, "Moonlight on the Lotus Pond" is completely superior to so-called "ancient costume school" music such as "Worrying about Leaving People" and "Stealing Generals". Stuffing a bunch of artistic conception words, is the ancient style full? We all graduated from nine-year compulsory education. If we don't learn classical Chinese well, do you really think others will just stare at us? Even if the song of porridge is still great, there is no room for such awkward words.
In contrast, I prefer Phoenix Legend's sincerity from the beginning to the present. Simple is simple, as long as everyone can understand what to sing.
Iii. Becoming a Legend (20 12- Up to now)
After the release of "The Most Dazzling National Style" in 2009, 20 12 became the annual divine comedy three years later, which greatly promoted the fitness exercise of middle-aged and elderly people in China and the utilization rate of urban and rural public space.
This is a sign of the times. It is also a watershed for Phoenix Legend.
Before the explosion of 20 12 "the most dazzling national style", many albums of Phoenix Legend undertook an important mission-to explore the genre that meets the needs of the group itself and the market.
Therefore, Phoenix Legend made a diversified attempt across the two categories of "pop" and "national" and developed a brand-new singing category of "national pop music".
It can be said that Phoenix Legend is supported by its own national characteristics and has a successful foothold; Try to expand the territory with pop music.
Early popular works such as Above the Moon, Fly Free, All Love and The Temptation of Lang greatly expanded the audience. Take my experience as an example. At that time, my friends and I were both in high school. We could listen to Jay Chou and like Avril Ramona Lavigne, and we could always circulate all our love.
But the most dazzling national style undoubtedly gives the strongest example-this is a song that is facing the pulse of the times.
Inspired by the success of The Most Dazzling National Style, Chopsticks Brothers, who were famous for their rich songs such as old boys and Father in the early days, quickly released Little Apple, with concise lyrics and full rhythm, which became an instant hit in the market.
After 20 12, New Year greetings such as Happy China and Happy Family appeared in Phoenix Legend, and the theme of family reunion runs through, harmonious and happy. This is basically consistent with the life rhythm of Ceng Yi and Ling Hua who have their own families and entered family life.
4. Why Phoenix Legend?
Phoenix Legend is the most successful music group in China, and now Mr. Hu Haiquan can only agree with this.
Phoenix Legend was born in the grass roots, and it took him more than ten years to sing from the dance halls in Shenzhen to the Bird's Nest of 100,000 people.
1 First of all, we must acknowledge Phoenix Legend's musical talent.
Before this group became famous, Ceng Yi was a lead singer. His solid singing skills, leading rap and grounded dancing skills all make Phoenix Legend's musicality full of diversity.
Sene, blessed with unique female voice, appeared in three places across the Taiwan Strait. The background of Mongolians has made the fact that folk songs are regarded as "base areas" in Phoenix Legend.
Ceng Yi and Ling Hua have worked hard underground for many years, and their rich singing experience has honed their solid basic skills. The scene in "Phoenix Legend" is not inferior to the studio version.
2. Adhere to the true colors in the tide of the times.
Phoenix Legend experienced the transformation of China music from the traditional record era to the digital music era.
Behind this is the general trend of China's rapid economic development, rising people's living standards, especially the obvious acceleration of urbanization.
When the Internet, especially free mp3, collapses the physical album industry, and portable music carried by smart phones is rapidly popularized, whoever can satisfy the public to the greatest extent will get the biggest piece of cake.
"The most dazzling national wind" made Phoenix Legend obviously taste the sweetness of the welfare of the times. In this way, Phoenix Legend has firmly grasped what he has laid, and there is no need to try to expand new audiences. It is enough to firmly grasp the middle-aged and elderly people, a core fan group of more than 300 million.
In the Chinese music scene, only Jay Chou can compare with the fans in Phoenix Legend. Even better than Jay, it was at a concert in his thirties that his fans suddenly discovered that they had been singing chorus with their babies in their arms from beginning to end-after 80s and 90s, they grew up and walked into the center of the era stage.
A great man once taught us, "A man's success depends on his own struggle, but it also depends on the course of history."
Phoenix has finally become a legend of an era. In the long journey of the last century, Ceng Yi and Ling Hua, two grass-roots athletes, always stuck to their true colors, stayed close to the ground and stayed away from the people in the secular fireworks.
They are never curious. Even with such unique musical conditions, I have never put on a "high-pressure" posture and never sang lyrics that I can't understand.
They never complain. This is a music group that even bitter love songs can make people feel decompressed. There is no sadness that can't be spilled on Hulunbeier grassland.
They love family reunion and a happy life. This wish is really tacky and old-fashioned, but what's the problem?
All beings in the world have this wish from generation to generation.
Faced with such a simple wish, Phoenix Legend sincerely blessed them with singing, and made his debut at 15 without any pride.