The first episode of "Singer 2024" featured a "non-mainstream" band called Secondhand Rose. They performed the song "Monkey Business" in the first round of the show. After the episode aired, there was intense discussion and questioning about whether they were "suitable for this show." I would like to share my thoughts on this.
Firstly, it is important to clarify that Secondhand Rose did not actively seek to participate in the show, nor did they apply to be on it. Instead, their appearance was undoubtedly an invitation from the show's production team. When the invitation was extended, I speculate that Secondhand Rose may have had concerns internally. As an experienced band, they must understand that their musical style may not be fully accepted by the mainstream audience. Even their fans might express opinions like "Who listens to Secondhand Rose?" or "Secondhand Rose is the biggest wedding band in China." Furthermore, as a band, their works emphasize the expression of emotions rather than the "showmanship" that Chinese TV viewers are accustomed to.
However, since they were invited by the production team, they willingly accepted the invitation. The invitation from the show's team was likely intended to showcase the inclusivity of the program and express concern for various audience preferences. Or, to put it pragmatically, it was to increase the popularity of the show.
But their performance on "Singer" received feedback from some people questioning, "Why does it sound so bad?" I believe this issue can actually be attributed to the production team. In popular songs, vocals usually dominate with the accompaniment providing background support in the mix. However, in band works or vocal-instrumental pieces, the vocals and instruments are more closely intertwined. These two different types of works have different aesthetic preferences in terms of mixing.
However, from the name "Singer," we can see that the focus is on the "singer" rather than the "band." This means that the mixing emphasis of the show is on the singer's vocals. Therefore, when the production team mixed Secondhand Rose's audio, they still followed the mixing rules of popular music, with the vocals mixed above the instruments and taking the dominant position. This may result in the percussion and guitar parts in the performance not being as prominent. In other words, this naturally cohesive piece of music was broken apart. It is understandable that online viewers made comments like "it sounds bad." Even as someone familiar with rock music, I also wanted to make such a comment, thinking that this performance was not as good as the interpretation of the same song in "Band of the Summer."
Why do I think the problem lies in the "mixing"? This is because the feedback from the live audience during their performance was actually positive, which suggests that there was natural mixing in the live setting, and when the sound pressure was sufficient, the listening experience of this song was good.
Now let's talk about my opinion of the band Secondhand Rose. The history of Chinese rock music is actually a combination of local creation and imitation of foreign bands. Some bands claiming to have an "international vision and fashionable style" have not presented any distinctive features. Many people still fail to realize that ethnic characteristics are what make something truly charming. When engaging in music creation, there should be at least some unique ideas. I hope to hear more music works that embody the unique cultural characteristics of our country because we have a unique cultural tradition that needs to be inherited and promoted. Over the years, a few bands with Chinese characteristics that I particularly like include Secondhand Rose, Jiubao, and Hanggai. They have incorporated traditional Chinese instruments (such as suona and big drums) into their performances, which not only adds depth to the music but also contributes to the "localized" development of Chinese rock.
I just discovered that EP2 of "Singer 2024" has already aired, and they chose the song "Sister-in-law's Eulogy." The original singer of this song is Li Na, and the song itself is very tragic. However, Secondhand Rose's interpretation of this song did not give a sense of strangeness (meaning that as a male singer, Liang Long did not show any greasiness or contrast in his singing).
Their song choices for this competition are unique. They did not choose songs that are relatively more popular, widely known, and easily accepted by others, such as "Fairy." Instead, they chose two songs with attitude and expression.
I believe this reflects their attitude towards participating in this show - Secondhand Rose does not try to cater to the audience, but rather expresses the deep things they truly want to express.
(This text has been translated from Chinese to English)