bookmarkrole Chapter 113: Hilarious Recording - Everyone Lets Go!
Chapter 113: Hilarious Recording - Everyone Lets Go!
July 15, a top-notch recording studio in Sanlitun, Beijing.
The moment the soundproof door was pushed open, all seven people fell silent.
The studio was lined with thick sound-absorbing cotton, a floor microphone was placed in the center, and a row of silver monitoring headphones were neatly hung.
Mo Yanlin and a recording engineer were sitting behind the mixing console.
In the waiting area outside the glass window, Chen Yang leaned against the sofa, holding a lyrics distribution sheet in his hand.
Deng Chao was the first to enter the studio and circled the microphone once.
"This thing is much more refined than the Boom microphone I use for filming."
Chen He leaned over and flicked the blowout shield.
"Brother Chao, after you finish singing, I'll take over. Let everyone hear what a genius voice looks like."
Zheng Kai rolled his eyes.
"Don't break the microphone with that awful voice of yours."
"What did you say?" Chen He turned his head.
"I'm telling you, you have a good voice, really." Zheng Kai said without changing his expression.
Li Chen stood at the very back, unsure of what to do with his hands, and rubbed his palms together.
Wang Baoqiang peeked at the densely packed knobs on the mixing console, then shrank back.
"I told you, this is even more tense than going to war."
Shen Teng leaned against the wall with a smile, his arms crossed.
"Now I understand why some people would rather go to the execution ground than go to a karaoke bar."
Baby stood next to Shen Teng, clutching the lyrics sheet in both hands, looking very nervous.
Mo Yanlin peeked out from behind the mixing console.
"Let's start with Deng Chao, recording the first solo part of the verse."
Deng Chao waved his hand, put on his monitoring headphones, and cleared his throat into the microphone.
"Come on, I'll set an example for you."
The prelude begins.
Deng opened his mouth and sang the first line, "How strong is the taste of black coffee?" He kept his pitch steady and his breath even.
Although it's not at the level of a professional singer, it has the advantage of being emotional and rhythmic.
After recording a verse, Mo Yanlin gave a thumbs-up behind the mixing console.
"Passed, next one."
Chen He immediately raised his hand.
"I'll do it! I'll do it!"
He rushed into the shed and pushed Deng Chao out.
"Brother Chao, you can rest now and watch the genius's performance."
Chen He recorded the second verse.
To be honest, his voice is not bad, and his pitch is acceptable.
The only problem is... it's too over-the-top.
Mo Yanlin pressed pause.
"Chen He, don't use falsetto, sing with your real voice."
"Huh? I thought it sounded nice."
"It doesn't sound good," Mo Yanlin said bluntly. "It sounds like air leaking out."
Outside the shed, Zheng Kai laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.
"The genius has deflated!"
Chen He turned around and glared at him, then obediently did it all over again.
This time it's a sure thing.
Zheng Kai followed closely into the studio and recorded a segment.
He has a good foundation; his tone is clean and bright, and he can sing it in one take.
When she came out, her chin was slightly raised.
"How is it?"
Chen He was stubborn.
"So-so, only slightly worse than me."
After the first three people finished recording, the atmosphere was relatively relaxed.
But then things started to go wrong.
Li Chen put on his headphones, and as soon as the intro started, he opened his mouth—
Ran.
It's not just a little bit off; the entire melody line is completely off track.
Mo Yanlin called a halt.
"Li Chen, listen to the original song again."
Li Chen nodded and listened attentively.
The second time I sang it.
Still, run.
The direction has changed, but we're still running.
Mo Yanlin pressed pause, her expression somewhat subtle.
Outside the shed, Shen Teng shook his head with a smile.
"Brother Chen's ears have a built-in noise reduction function; he only hears his own tone."
Li Chen came out of the shed with his ears red.
"Can I try again?"
"Brother Chen, don't rush." Chen Yang stood up from the sofa, patted him on the shoulder, "Rest for a while. When we record the chorus part later, everyone will sing together, and you can just follow along."
Li Chen nodded sheepishly.
"Um... I'm really tone-deaf."
Deng Chao put his arm around his shoulder and laughed.
"It's alright, Chen'er. Let's combine our strength and our voices, and we'll be invincible."
Next up is Wang Baoqiang.
He rubbed his hands together for a long time before entering the shed.
"Director Chen, I really can't sing."
"Brother Qiang, just sing loudly, just think of it as calling out to people in the village."
Wang Baoqiang nodded and took a deep breath.
The prelude begins.
The moment he opened his mouth—
"I have an urge to run away..."
A strong Xingtai accent blared from the monitor speakers.
The entire waiting area burst into laughter.
Chen He squatted down on the ground, his shoulders shaking.
Zheng Kai laughed so hard he had to lean against the wall.
Even the usually quiet baby covered her mouth and laughed out loud.
Wang Baoqiang poked his head out of the shed, scratching his head.
"What's wrong? Did I sing it wrong?"
Shen Teng smiled and waved his hand.
"Brother Qiang, yes, absolutely right. A dialect version of superheroes, one of a kind."
"Why do you all keep laughing at me?" Wang Baoqiang said helplessly.
Mo Yanlin suppressed a laugh and patiently guided him three times.
The final version still had an accent, but at least the word "I" was corrected.
Mo Yanlin promptly shouted "Yes!"
"Alright, this version works."
Next up is Shen Teng.
He was still smiling when he entered the shed.
But as soon as he stood in front of the microphone, his smile froze a bit.
The prelude begins.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Mo Yanlin waited for three seconds.
"Shen Teng?"
"Wait a minute, let me think about it."
Five more seconds passed.
He finally spoke.
The sound was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum.
Mo Yanlin called for a halt again.
"Shen Teng, turn your voice up, the microphone can't pick it up."
Shen Teng peeked out from under his headphones, looking towards the mixing console.
"I've never sung in such a quiet place in my entire life."
He paused, then added a sentence.
"I can recite lines on stage easily, but I'm really bad at singing. Can you let me recite a crosstalk routine for the audience?"
Laughter erupted again outside the shed.
Chen He shouted.
"Brother Teng, your main appeal is authenticity, and being off-key is also a unique characteristic!"
Shen Teng turned around and glanced at him.
"Shut up, I haven't even mentioned your leaky air earlier."
After four stumbling takes, Shen Teng finally delivered a barely usable version.
Her face was red when she came out.
"Please work hard on this part in post-production, don't hold back."
Lastly, baby.
She stood at the entrance of the shed, the lyrics sheet in her hand already crumpled from being gripped so tightly.
"Can...can I sing last?"
"Xiaoying, it's your turn." Chen Yang nodded to her, his tone gentle. "Don't worry, everyone's doing this, just sing normally."
Baby took small steps into the studio, stood in front of the microphone, and hunched her shoulders.
The prelude begins.
Her voice was soft, visibly tense, and her breath was unsteady; she trembled at the end of her sentence.
I didn't pass the first time.
It still didn't work the second time.
She heard her own voice through the earphones and blushed all the way to the roots of her neck.
"I'm sorry, I'll try again..."
The recording engineer glanced at Mo Yanlin.
The atmosphere outside the shed also became a bit somber.
Li Chen whispered, "Maybe we shouldn't make things difficult for her."
At this moment, Chen Yang pressed the intercom button.
"Alright, everyone stop for a moment."
All seven people turned their gazes toward him.
Chen Yang stood in front of the glass window, hands in his pockets, his tone relaxed.
"Don't be nervous, everyone. I'll tell you the truth."
"We're not here to release a professional record."
"Once this song is released, no audience member will compare your singing skills with Jay Chou's."
"What do they want to hear? The voices of the seven of you."
"Whether it's singing off-key or having an accent, that's what makes it real."
He glanced at the baby.
"Just sing it out loud, and don't go too far off-key. We have a million-dollar sound engineer to back us up in post-production; if it can't be fixed, it's on me."
Shen Teng chimed in from the side.
"So all my worrying was for nothing?"
"You've really been worrying for nothing." Chen Yang chuckled. "Think about it, in the future, this song will be played at the beginning of every episode. The audience will hear your own voices singing 'You are my superhero.' That feeling is something that ten professional singers can't replace."
"What we want is authenticity."
"Imperfections make things real."
"Just treat singing like you're recording a TV show, or like you're having a blast with your friends at karaoke."
Deng was the first to respond, clapping his hands.
"Yes! Let's treat this like a karaoke session! Come on, everyone, let's get in the studio and sing together!"
Mo Yanlin glanced at Chen Yang and nodded.
"Let's record the chorus together first."
Seven people squeezed into the recording studio.
The space was small, and the seven people stood together, shoulder to shoulder.
I wasn't so nervous anymore.
As soon as the intro started, Deng Chao took the lead and sang.
"Go go go, let's go!"
How strong is the flavor of black coffee?
Li Chen followed closely behind, and this time, with someone leading the way, he didn't go too far.
Wang Baoqiang sang at the top of his lungs; his accent was still there, but his voice was loud and powerful.
Shen Teng finally let go, a smile on his face as he sang.
Baby was sandwiched between Deng Chao and Zheng Kai, singing along with everyone. Her voice was drowned out by the chorus, but she didn't seem intimidated at all.
As Chen He sang, he started to add his own dramatic touches, gesturing wildly.
Zheng Kai gave him a hard push.
Sing it honestly! Don't add ad-libs!
"That's called expressing my emotions!"
When the seven people sang "Be your proudest hero," Deng Chao suddenly raised the pitch by an octave.
The voice cracked.
The whole audience burst into laughter.
The recording engineer took off his headphones and rubbed his ears.
Mo Yanlin smiled and shook her head.
"Let's start over."
Second time, third time, fourth time.
Every time there's a new situation.
On the third take, Li Chen suddenly found the right tune and was as excited as a big black ox that had been praised.
Wang Baoqiang still retains the Hebei flavor in his use of the word "I".
Shen Teng became more and more uninhibited as he sang, and even started to add sarcastic remarks during the interlude.
"I've sung this song five times, my throat is burning. Does the production team care about providing me with tea?"
Chen Yang was outside, smiling as he pressed the intercom.
"I'll treat everyone to KFC after I finish recording."
"Then we have to sing our hearts out!" Shen Teng immediately perked up.
The cameraman next to Chen Yangchong gave him a wink.
The camera was on the whole time.
These are the most precious materials: seven people crammed into the recording studio, teasing each other, laughing, singing off-key, and starting over.
It will be more effective than any promotional video if it's edited into the program's behind-the-scenes footage in the future.
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
Four whole hours.
The final version of the chorus recording is complete.
Mo Yanlin laid out the finished products one by one.
The voices of seven people flowed from the monitor speakers.
Imperfect.
But it makes you want to laugh and sing along.
After listening, Deng clapped enthusiastically.
"Oh my god! I think this is so good! So awesome!"
Chen He has already started arguing with Zheng Kai about who sings better.
Baby stood in the corner, humming the melody of the chorus softly, a smile playing on her lips.
Chen Yang walked into the shed and looked at the seven people.
"You've all worked hard, go and rest. There's KFC on the table, help yourselves."
Deng Chaochong gave him a thumbs up.
"Director Chen, you did a great job."
"Since you're treating, I'll be responsible for recording it."
"Then I'll treat you to Peking duck next time."
"Remember that."