I am a Singer

There is a show in China called ‘I am a Singer’. My family watches every episode each Friday and it was time for the finals. We each made tiny bets on who will become the Music King. We watched the singers enter the stadium with high hopes on winning the trophy. And the judges? The audience. Their job was to punch in their favourite singer’s name into a device similar to a credit card terminal after all the singers sang. The singer with the most votes becomes the winner accordingly.

My favourite singer was Pung Gia Hwai, the youngest female singer in the group of 7. She entered stage with a flourish with the people cheering loudly after a brief silence at her first impression. She wore a short mid-thigh black dress with tufts of fur at the thick straps. Her long heeled black boots of fine leather made a clack-clack when she walked down the aisle. Her hair was bundled up in a wig─ a Mohawk wig. There were splashes of lavender and violet which blended together as it shook with each step. With her walked another lady similar to Pung Gia Hwai’s age and shimmer. A few minutes later, the crowd silenced and they were ready to begin. The song that they chose was the well-known song from the movie, ‘Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing?’ (《搭错车》Boarding the wrong bus). It was about a mute man who found a baby in his neighbourhood and took care of her until she grew up. She became famous and she hardly had any time to spend with her ‘dad’. In the end, the dad died of over happiness and disbelief when he watched his daughter on T.V. and that was when the girl sang the song ‘Gio Gan Tang Mwai Mo’ (《酒干倘卖无》) Pung Gia Hwai started the song with a light, yet powerful voice, then passed it over to her partner who sang with equal brilliance. The crowd seemed to like it since they cheered at every pause in the song, but to them, this was just another song sang, and with no distinguishable twist that might pronounce them winner─ yet. Suddenly, at the chorus, Pung Gia Hwai was singing the lyrics, but her partner … her partner began to sing another song! It was obviously deliberate, for the beats matched up and it sounded beautiful. Usually, when 2 songs with different lyrics are mingled together, it sounds like a mess with a jumble of words. Yet theirs sounded as if the original singer intended to sing it that way. Also, they didn’t just merge 2 songs together just because they could; the 2 songs together meant something. Pung Gia Hwai was singing about wanting a home, while her partner sang of having nothing (no home). More surprising was that it seemed as if they did it with great ease, like it was a simple task. When they had finished, there was silence, then thunderous applause that shook the stadium. They exited with hundreds of people all wondering, “Should I vote for her?”

The winner turned out to be Yu Tran, 2 singers who always sing together. They sang pretty well, but not as good as some of the others. How did they become the Music King, when other singers sang better than them? While the rest of the singers relied on true talent, they relied on favouritism. Besides, the Music King is supposed to be the singer that the crowd liked best. Their tactic was to get everyone to like them therefore win the trophy. They invited a famous actor who was young and handsome, and basically won all the girls’ votes. Many normal people don’t have a singing talent, but can still sing rather well. That was the actor. He has a knack for acting, though an everyday singing voice. Their choice of song was an upbeat one and they got the crowd going wild by jumping up and down. They shouted to them, got close, waved their hands, everything! Everything a typical pop star would do. The audience roared tremendously as they finished with their ‘signature move’: the push-ups. One person from Yu Tran was the occasional host, but he couldn’t speak very fluently. Every time he said pronounced something wrong, he and his buddy would each do 10 push-ups. Obviously, the crowd loved it. For their second song, they got their fellow musicians and backup singers/dancers to come up, wearing a black and gold t-shirt which spells: Yu Tran. When they exited the stage, their foreheads were gleaming with sweat from all the singing and jumping. As they talked with the main host (the person backstage), the words came out in short bursts as they gasped for air. Even though they got the crowd to like them, should it be that they receive the title ‘Music King’?

The answer is yes. If they were to become the Music King, basically they turn into a superstar. Yu Tran knew exactly what to do, what to sing and how to act in order to get people to like them. Superstars are all loved by their fans, and not entirely on talent. Take Justin Beiber for example. He is a famous singer and all his fans are crazy about him. If they ever got a chance to interact with him, they’d be on cloud nine. Now, take a look at Bryan Adams. He’s also a good singer like Justin Beiber, and Adams has a great voice. However, he’s not that popular (maybe it’s his age) but he sings songs that the older people like so he doesn’t get shouted out to the youngsters and there’s not much to it. Who knows, maybe later on Yu Tran will become a hit sensation.