books44 Chapter 648, Issue 1, Page 1
Chapter 648, Issue 1, Page 1
The topic of Cleifia is gaining more and more attention.
Even Cyril, who is currently very popular, has to take a step back due to his huge fan base.
However, Cleefia's appearance has led many to believe that Richard's so-called changes to the competition rules are likely just a publicity stunt, and that there will be no real changes.
Because they felt that Cleefia's return to the stage would make it impossible for her to compete with singers much younger than her; at most, she could appear as a judge or a mentor like those in "West Continent Singer".
Given this, Richard's claim of a 'major rule change' is likely nonsense.
Even before the show aired, several media outlets were rushing to write articles, trying to satirize or criticize the young director's blatant lies.
----
eight pm.
"Voice of the West" has officially premiered.
The stage lights gradually came on.
The program logo appeared in mid-air.
The flashing logo bounced a few times, as if it had automatically jumped into the large screen in the background of the stage.
Immediately afterwards, the stage rose higher and higher, from near to far.
The band members, carrying their instruments, walked onto the stage from both entrances and took their seats one by one on the tiered stage.
They sat on either side, forming a semi-circular shape.
Then, the central circular lifting platform slowly rose.
The conductor and the pianist both made an appearance.
The stage lighting changed again.
As the conductor's baton moved, the music began to play.
The program logo on the screen has now become a word from a Western common language.
——Start
This is clearly the name of the symphony being played on stage.
It means 'opening'.
The music on stage gradually became more stirring and passionate.
Lu Wantang can hear the fusion of various musical melodies and styles.
For example, styles such as religious worship music and folk music from certain districts of Xizhou.
It sounds a lot like Anton Leopold Dvořák's Ninth Symphony, "From the New World," in a parallel universe.
However, "From the New World" expresses longing for one's hometown, and when emotions surge, a deep homesickness is inevitable.
At this point, the melody of "Start" is much more uplifting.
The person who wrote this piece must be quite remarkable.
Lu Wantang immediately picked up her phone and searched for the song.
As she expected, it was a newly released instrumental piece.
The composer's name is listed as Alder.
Chang Yun turned his head to look and was astonished:
"It was this person who composed the music? It seems Richard's connections are much better than I imagined!"
Alder, a famous composer from the West, is on par with Zhou Ming. Most of his representative works are symphonies, and the few pop songs he occasionally wrote are all classics.
Lu Wantang was familiar with this person's information.
Now look again -
"He has a middle name that is the same as Richard's."
In many parts of the West, people's names are quite long, and most people will choose a middle name from their given name.
A middle name may represent family tradition, or it may simply be used to distinguish someone or to keep someone else's name as a memento.
In most people, the middle name is the one used at the end.
Richard's middle name comes from his mother's surname.
This suggests that Ald and Richard are likely related.
Chang Yun immediately understood.
"No wonder they were able to invite Alder to write an opening song; these two are actually family."
He clicked his tongue in amazement, "Richard is quite composed. Before the show started, I had never heard anyone mention that there would be an opening song. The opening song was written by Ald!"
"Didn't Sifas tell you this?"
Chang Yun thought for a moment, "No, he only said that the production team did a very good job of keeping things confidential this time, and there were many procedures that he didn't know."
"You've been keeping it so secret, just to make a splash, right? Quick, check what's going on online right now..."
Chang Yun placed the tablet he had prepared earlier on the table next to him. The page was already on Weibo's trending topics list, and he only needed to refresh it to see the latest updates.
Scroll down to refresh.
A quick glance swept over it.
Alder's new work
Alder's "Voice of the West" opening song
Two new topics came into view.
It was located at the bottom of the trending search list.
The rankings refreshed again, with both topics jumping five or six places in a row.
Based on this situation, it should take less than half an hour to reach the summit.
This is even without specifically crediting the composer for "Start".
There are far more than just one or two people who share the same thoughts and actions as these two.
At least, many people from the neighboring program team are paying attention to the premiere of this program.
When the logo for "Voice of the West" appeared, their reaction was lukewarm.
They weren't surprised that "Voice of the West" had an opening theme.
They were slightly surprised that the opening piece was a symphony.
"Not everyone can appreciate symphonic music, otherwise what would be the point of pop music?"
"Are they trying to raise the bar for the show? That's not a good idea. We're an entertainment program, not a documentary!"
"As expected, the director next door is still too young."
"This piece is quite good, a plus, but it's just an opening piece—"
Just as the several managers were whispering among themselves, someone suddenly said:
"This piece is Mr. Alder's new composition."
One sentence immediately chilled the atmosphere.
Everyone suddenly fell silent, then looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Did I... hear that right? Who wrote this piece?"
A look of astonishment flashed across everyone's faces.
Only the person who had just spoken, who had brought 'utter silence', spoke again:
"You heard right, the composer of this opening piece is Alder."
After a few seconds of silence, a series of questions arose from the crowd.
"How is that possible? Mr. Alder is a big shot in the music industry. Why would he write the opening song for a small program? His studio said that he is not energetic enough and may not be able to write a song well even once a year!"
Even if this 'small show' is of a similar level to their show.
"Yes! Could it be a composer with the same name?"
These words silenced the group even more.
The idea that someone would deliberately choose the exact same name is utter nonsense and would never be approved by the music association.
"Could it be that the new director over there has some connection with Mr. Alder?"
For example, illegitimate children?
This speculation caused everyone's eyes to dart around.
Just then, the director, who had finally managed to find some free time, opened the door and came in, his voice chilling:
"What illegitimate child? You don't actually think that the kid next door is Ald's illegitimate child, do you?"
"You can tell from their middle names that they are just from the same family, but they are not necessarily very close."
"Besides, do you think you can outdo us with just an opening song?"
The group shook their heads, no longer daring to speculate wildly.
The director, whose hair was half-gray, glanced at the opening performance they were discussing so enthusiastically, his expression shifting from gloomy to disdain.