"Are you free these two days? Do you want to go to dinner together?"
At noon the next day, Chi Jingyuan found a moment and took the initiative to call Pei Zhuxuan on his mobile phone.
"Ah, you..." The voice of the young lady who avoided the members and came out to answer the phone was obviously surprised. It was obvious that Chi Jingyuan's invitation was a bit sudden.
Moreover, he was not particularly accustomed to Chi Jingyuan's proactive behavior, but a sense of expectation suddenly surged in his heart.
"You have given me so many gifts, and I haven't been able to find time to buy any gifts in return recently. I can only treat you to dinner first to express my gratitude..."
Chi Jingyuan smiled and spoke naturally in a tone that sounded normal, but Pei Zhuxuan somewhat understood what the other party meant. His body suddenly felt warm, and his face couldn't help but spread. smile.
This was a wonderful feeling of receiving feedback and response to her thoughts and enthusiasm, which made her eyelashes tremble slightly and her eyes and mouth corners curved into a beautiful arc.
Chi Jingyuan's voice suddenly became a little strange and complained from the call summary: "Actually, when we met yesterday, I was embarrassed to say that the patterns on several souvenirs you gave me were a bit strange. These Nordic-style things are In this way, sometimes at night when the lighting is not very good, it suddenly looks really scary..."
"After I went back yesterday, I searched for a long time, and finally found the astronomical clock and button hairpins to be the most interesting. I pinned that hairpin to my bag as a decoration... By the way, you don't know, I was looking at those gifts in the dormitory yesterday. At that time, Wu Shixun wanted the two of them to go back and play, but I scolded them directly."
"Pfft..." Pei Zhuhyun, who was already in a very good mood, couldn't help laughing when she heard this, as sweet as an oriole's twittering, and then said in a scolding tone with a smile: "Why are you scolding the members? I bought a lot this time, and I will give you some remedies when the time comes..."
"It's either that I can't bear it, or I simply don't want to give it to him." Chi Jingyuan snorted, his tone sounding a little childish.
"You, haha..." Yingying laughed twice at first, but then Pei Zhuxuan's tone became slightly lower: "Of course it's okay to eat... but our schedule is a bit full these days, maybe... "
After the return of "Dumb Dumb", Red Velvet can already be regarded as a first-line girl group. It is one of the best among the new generation girl groups that have debuted in the past two years. By the end of the year, even if they are not in the comeback period, they are still very busy. They almost get off work every day. It was already very late.
But before she could finish her regretful voice, she was interrupted by the other party. Chi Jingyuan said casually on the phone: "It'll be in a few days."
"..."
Hearing the other party's tone, Pei Zhuxuan immediately understood, and responded with a gentle but powerful voice: "Okay!"
She paused for a second, then her tone rose, her voice became clear due to her excellent mood, and her tone actually sounded a little delicate: "You also said that the things I bought looked scary, but actually I The ones I bought are all very cute. I have been choosing them for a long time. Let me tell you, the ones I bought are weird. She put a very abstract doll on her bedside yesterday. I gave it to her when I got up at night. I was shocked when I saw it, and my head even hit the railing..."
"Then... did you scold her hard?" Chi Jingyuan stood near the window on the top floor of the TV station, looking at the sun hanging in the sky that was blooming outside, but it was not dazzling but rather warm, and asked with a smile. .
"Well, I said a few words about her...hahaha."
…
The end of every year is the busiest time for idols except for their comeback period. If they are not participating in the same event, it is difficult for even artists from the same company to meet each other.
Red Velvet's schedule is very full, and EXO will certainly be busier than them. In addition, their comeback is approaching. In order to prepare for the stage and showcase, Chi Jingyuan and the others often have to go back to the company to practice overtime after finishing their schedule in the past two days, and practice until very late. I couldn't go back until I was so busy that I didn't have time to make phone calls. I could only send occasional text messages with a few close friends.
But even so, judging from the information Chi Jingyuan received from Mingjing Nan and Zhou Ziyu, Twice's schedule seems to be a bit busier than EXO's. Various schedule activities during the day can't stop at all. Many campuses Small cases like Raid that XO wouldn't even take a look at, JYP has been busy with twice, running from one school to another, and at night, they often doze off in the early hours and still have to record the show. It's morning as soon as I record.
From this point of view, the meaning of the group name Twice is not so much 'a double touch for the eyes and a double touch for the ears', but rather 'double work day and night, double hard work. '
But the income is indeed doubled, and the rookie period is when the popularity grows the fastest, and it is also the time to work hard. It is impossible to wait until seven or eight years after debuting like a group before working hard... Many small company groups want to They are so busy that the company does not have the resources to arrange events for them.
On December 9th, the first episode of "Idol of the Week" recorded by Chi Jingyuan was officially broadcast.
Two days before the broadcast of this episode, the "Zhou Ou" program team announced that Yuan would replace Zheng Hengdon as the temporary MC of "Zhou Ou", which immediately attracted a lot of attention.
When Jung Hyung Don announced his break, it actually had a great impact on "Zhou Ou". He has always been the core of this show. The other MC Defconn is actually relatively supportive. This time the core is gone, and many People immediately expressed their disdain for "Zhou Ou".
But after the identity of the substitute MC was announced, it immediately aroused strong interest from the audience. The main audience for this show itself is some fans in the Kpop circle, who come to see idols specifically, and Chi Jingyuan is one of the top boy groups nowadays. TOP idol, it can be said that he is well-known among this audience group. Except for Heizi, most passers-by actually have a good impression of him.
As soon as the news came out, the reputation of the show was suddenly reversed a lot. The negative comments were squeezed out, and the rest were all about expectations for Chi Jingyuan's replacement as MC.
However, it was also stated that he would only be filling in for three periods. After three periods, Chi Jingyuan would get off the job, and "Zhou Ou" would have a new fixed MC.
But that is what happened later. Now the audience wants to see what Chi Jingyuan is like hosting.
On the 9th, "Weekly Idol" was broadcast on time. Many viewers who had been looking forward to it for several days, as well as a large number of XO fans, stuck to the broadcast and watched it from beginning to end.
In terms of the naturalness and effect of comedy, Chi Jingyuan is certainly not as good as Zheng Hengdon. After all, he is a professional and has been doing it for so long, but he also has his own characteristics as an MC.
The first thing that bears the brunt is to be good-looking. Wherever you go, it is pleasing to the eye. Appearing in front of the camera can make many female fans' eyes light up, and they may even focus directly on the person instead of watching the show. This effect is far from that of Jung Hyung-don. Brother can compare.
Then the huge popularity he carries will make him interesting. Many people like to watch some interactions between male and female idols, and they will naturally like these top male idols even more.
In this way, even though it is a somewhat green hosting style, it seems to have a contrasting sense of humor unexpectedly.
In the first episode, Twice was a guest. Compared to EXO and Chi Jingyuan, the popularity of the new girl group Twice is much lower. After seeing them, many people posted on the Internet, "Who is this?"
Looking at the whole process, there are actually not many jokes. The main focus is on Chi Jingyuan. The rest are relatively ordinary introductions and presentations to the guest Twice, but the final effect is very good. After the show was broadcast, Caused extensive discussion.
"Yuan is really interesting. His style is actually quite suitable for hosting "Zhou Ou"."
"Indeed, the interaction between popular male idols and girl groups is really good to see. But the popularity of Twice is a little bit weaker. I don't know them at all, so there is a lot of missing feeling. Can Girls' Generation or Red Velvet be in the last issue? I really want to look!"
"No matter what I want to watch or not, I just want to watch Yuan standing there. Others are not important at all."
"This girl group called Twice looks so tacky. Is it JYP's new girl group? The make-up is ugly and they look average. Looking at the whole thing, the member named Nayeon is very cute and very recognizable. "
"This girl group is actually pretty good. "Sixteen" is quite popular, and their debut performance was pretty good. As for the members, Nayeon, Sana, and Tzuyu are pretty good-looking. Mina is actually pretty good too. She was very impressive in "Sixteen." But her makeup in this issue is too weird, so it looks a bit ordinary..."
The ratings of this episode have a very obvious increase. The ratings of the previous episode with the boy band VIXX as guests were 0.7%, but this episode directly rushed to 2.6%, a gap of several times. It highlights the general trend and popularity of this substitute MC. The characteristic of "Zhou Ou" is that the ratings are not high, but the popularity and discussion are very high. This time, the ratings have doubled, and other data have naturally increased.
This reaction greatly alleviated the impact of Zheng Hengdon's rest, and made the program team feel deeply relieved while being excited.
But what came immediately was regret and reluctance. After all, Chi Jingyuan will only record three episodes, and after three episodes, the show will probably be revealed in its true form.
While the program was being broadcast, Chi Jingyuan came to MBC again and recorded the next episode of Zhou Ou.
By the time he finished work and returned to his dormitory, it was already past ten o'clock, and at exactly eleven o'clock in the evening, SM also officially released all the sound sources and the title song MV of EXO's winter special "Sing for You".
At the same time, countless long-awaited Aili, as well as passers-by who came here to admire her, as well as many practitioners in the industry and even other idols, all opened the YouTube channel on time and skillfully clicked into the "sing for you" that was just uploaded. "page.
The snowflakes all over the sky were particularly dazzling in the dark night, and the white mist covered the world with a layer of sadness and desolation.
The astronaut who lost contact was floating helplessly and dazedly in the universe. At this moment, he was the loneliest person in the world.
The guitar sound in the prelude is melodious, low and sad, and just a few chords pull everyone into a lonely world.
"Pick up my old guitar, the unspoken confession..."
"And the words that are stuck in my throat but not spoken."
"Pretend I wrote a song and now I want to tell it to you."
The next second the singing voice emerged, Chi Jingyuan's opening introduction seemed uneventful and unremarkable. The tone was bland, the accompaniment was bland, and the emotion seemed to be very calm. However, many people who listened to it could feel a deep feeling lingering around them. of loneliness.
Immediately afterwards, other singers sang one after another, and the members in the MV gathered together happily, whether driving, having dinner, or playing. Everyone seemed to be laughing happily.
But the color of the background is extremely deserted, and there is always heavy snow falling outside the window.
The entire MV, which is only in black and white, looks very high-quality and high-definition, but the mime-like shot amidst the eloquent singing makes people feel even more lonely and alone.
"Now to speak out, all you have to do is listen."
"I will sing for you, sing for you."
"Just listen to it and laugh."
The melody of the chorus is more subtle and convoluted than before. In the simple and low accompaniment of piano and guitar, the vocals are made clearer. Several lead singers sing one after another. Chi Jingyuan's voice is better than the one introduced at the beginning. There are some obvious emotional fluctuations when it comes to the song, and the harmony that follows is just right.
But with the MV with black borders, many people feel that it doesn't sound like a song, but rather like a boy confiding or praying to the empty snowy sky.
One of the themes of this song is loneliness.
There is a very impressive scene in the MV. In the deep space of the universe, an astronaut and a whale look at each other calmly.
And these are the two core concepts of this MV. One is a whale, it is called Alice, because its communication frequency is 52 Hz, while the frequency of normal whales is only 12 Hz, so no one of the same kind communicates with her, so she is called 'The world's loneliest whale'.
The other represents astronaut Michael Collins. When he was orbiting the moon and drifting to the back of the moon, all communication equipment was interrupted and he was disconnected from the entire earth for 48 minutes. Within these 48 minutes, he became the world's most famous person. The loneliest person.
These two not-so-well-known animals and people together form the core elements of this shocking picture. Although many fans actually don't understand it when they see this picture, they can still feel it. The loneliness and sadness hit me.
The black and white picture is deep and fascinating, and the scene in the second half of the MV where the members are alone is in sharp contrast with the previous shots of them laughing together. EXO's winter special, the song "Sing for You" is really fascinating. It's an eye-opener. It doesn't use the pop style like other idols, nor does it express its feelings directly like ordinary ballads. Instead, it uses the theme of "loneliness and isolation" to express many, many feelings. Different people use the MV and this song. Songs can have different feelings.
I can only say that the planning team is really amazing, and EXO is indeed not an ordinary boy band.
Although the background, melody, picture and even style seem a bit lonely and sad, many people can still feel a clear and extremely precious warmth from the singing, which adds to the somewhat cold pictures and music. It brought out a bright color and made many listeners breathe a sigh of relief.
"ah……"
After listening to the song "Sing for You" and watching the MV, some fans couldn't help but sigh with emotion as they looked at the black screen, their thoughts racing in their hearts.
This kind of style is obviously higher than many other boy bands by more than one level, and songs of this style always feel like they are not very suitable for boy bands. .
It’s really amazing, whether it’s the core and picture quality of the MV, the theme conveyed by the song, or the melody and lyrics of the song.
Although some fans may not like this somewhat sad style of songs, songs of this style are actually not very popular in the Peninsula music industry.
But to be honest, it does sound pretty good.
It can only be said that the winter special is special to EXO. It is not entirely for the pursuit of music sales and other achievements. At the same time, it seems to express something else, more things, from some other aspects to fans and audiences. Showing XO's side that is different from ordinary boy bands, whether it was last year's "Let It Be" or this year's "Sing for You".
But of course SM company also understands that the song "Sing for You" is a bit low-pitched and not in line with the mainstream, so it set up a double hit song in this winter special. Many viewers felt sad after listening to the first hit song and clicked on the second one. After the second hit song "Eccentric", the style immediately became completely different...
…………
The whole album was airborne, and the dual-master package took the top two of the 8 music charts. The sales volume of the Chinese and Korean versions of the album also occupied the top two of the G chart.
Even if the song released is a ballad for the winter album and the title song does not conform to the mainstream style, it is still not difficult to achieve this step with EXO's current fan base and popularity.
To be honest, if this song "Sing for You", which is so sad to listen to, had been sung by another boy group, or even a girl group, like Girls' Generation or Red Velvet, I would have instantly fallen in love with it.
Although it sounds pretty good, everyone is happy at the end of the New Year. Who likes to listen to such a sad song? Aren’t you making yourself uncomfortable?
The style of "Sing for You" has naturally caused some controversy on the Internet. People who like it like it very much, but there are also many who can't get it. Many passers-by actually prefer more upbeat songs, such as the double hit "Eccentric" .
After the sound source was released on the night of the 9th, EXO officially returned with the winter special on the 10th the next day. After recording a few programs in the morning and accepting a few interviews for promotion, Chi Jingyuan followed the group in the afternoon. Arrived at Lotte World in Jamsil-dong, Seoul.
As the sky darkened and everything was ready, with the audience cheering and the host shouting loudly, the winter professional return showcase officially began.
"EXO!"
