Chapter 459: "Dreaming of"

Chapter 459: "Dreaming"

Even after Shi Shiwu departed, Meng Fan lingered instead of leaving, dragging Jin Xiaowen into remaining to continue tracking songs. It was not for the already finished "Dreaming," but rather because they had recently acquired a cache of songs. A few had been distributed, but several still lacked the right voices, so Meng Fan figured he might as well sing them himself.

"To be honest, I really hate tracking songs for you!"

"Why's that?"

"Recording you is just too demoralizing! You make it sound more professional than we professional singers do!"

"Look at you, Brother Wen, how can your words sound so utterly delightful!"

"...Then just keep delighting in them! Oh, right, regarding the remaining three unassigned songs, we changed the arrangement on one yesterday and the backing track is still being made, while another is suited for a female voice, so we can only record one today."

"One it is then; even the smallest fly has meat."

"Why does that phrasing sound so wrong to my ears!"

"Is that so? Hahaha!"

The recording session for this next song took considerably longer than the previous one. Since Meng Fan had never heard it before, he had to study the demo first. Matching the melody, memorizing the lyrics, running through it once, rehearsing it again, and listening to Jin Xiaowen break it down consumed quite a chunk of time. The official recording took only three takes; the first felt off, the second was passable, and by the third, everything clicked, prompting Jin Xiaowen to tell Meng Fan to stop right there.

Jin Xiaowen's musical talent was highly acclaimed within the industry, though his reputation outside it was modest, making him a severely underrated singer-songwriter. He could compose, write lyrics, arrange, produce, and sing, and he could handle a multitude of musical styles. Among China's current mid-generation singers, he was one of immense potential.

Comparatively, his arranging and producing capabilities were more famous, having seen him participate in the behind-the-scenes arrangement and production for various music programs, concerts, and galas. For instance, during the first and second seasons of "I Am a Singer," he served as the arranger and producer for vocalists like Chen Riyue and Han Sanshi, and he had also rearranged and performed Milk Tea’s "Crazy for Love" on "The Voice of China" to widespread acclaim.

His songwriting skills were less renowned but still formidable, his most famous piece undoubtedly being the song "Fly Far Away," which had exploded in popularity due to a certain short-video app.

Thus, when Jin Xiaowen said it was enough, Meng Fan accepted the professional advice. As for Jin Xiaowen's suggestion to grab skewers later, Meng Fan could only decline through unshed tears. He hadn't even dared to eat much at the barbecue in his own "home" the previous night, let alone outside. It was true that this was the off-season, but as an Olympic champion, he still faced the constant threat of sudden doping tests. Although one could now appeal a positive urine test caused by clenbuterol, it was better to avoid trouble whenever possible.

When Meng Fan stepped out of the recording studio again, staff members from Shi Shiwu's side arrived. Two authorization forms were signed—one granting Meng Fan permission from Shi Shiwu to perform the song, and another authorizing Shi Shiwu's studio to release the single on Meng Fan's behalf—before they left. Jin Xiaowen, however, had to stay behind to organize the songs related to the animation "Spirits Underground" and pull the score together one last time. This commission would basically wrap up after recording just one more song.

Jin Xiaowen was highly satisfied with this collaboration. First, Meng Fan had not driven down the price on the spot but had paid a very generous remuneration. Second, everyone involved was a big name. Third, further contact with the animation industry made him feel he could take on more such jobs in the future. Fourth, being credited as the music director for "Spirits Underground" would certainly boost his popularity.

The most crucial factor, of course, remained working with Meng Fan. Others might not know, but Jin Xiaowen was well aware of how many musicians in the industry wanted to collaborate with Meng Fan. Especially after the CCTV National Day Gala broadcast, many were envious to learn he had become the music director for "Spirits Underground," even if most people might not hold high hopes for animation, or simply had no idea what "Spirits Underground" even was.

Naturally, because of this, he had to execute "Spirits Underground" flawlessly. He spared no effort, spending money and trading favors alike to invite numerous musicians to help out. Particularly for the instrumentalists, he had cashed in personal favors to hire the finest group in the country on a shoestring budget. For example, for this recording session tied to the Blue Whale TV program, he had invited the show's music director, Liu Zhuo, to help with the piano accompaniment, and had also secured Jin Haiyin for the strings, showing immense dedication.

After Meng Fan left, Jin Xiaowen finished a phone call with his wife, downed a cup of coffee, and roared a rallying cry to get back to work.

The people from Shi Shiwu's studio returned with the authorizations and quickly contacted Penguin Music, a frequent collaborator of theirs. Since Meng Fan only had the audio track for this digital release, it was pushed directly onto the music platforms as a single. Additionally, the studio launched various promotions and chart-topping campaigns; radio broadcasts were indispensable, and a presence on Weibo was an absolute must.

"Dreaming" was released precisely at 10:00 AM on October 3rd on Penguin Music. Upon its release, Penguin Music gave it a massive promotional push. Whether opening the website or the app, one could see Meng Fan's song on the homepage, accompanied by a simple tagline—"Dreaming": The debut single of the five-time Olympic gold medalist!

Just past ten o'clock, Meng Fan also posted a Weibo: My confidence exploded after collaborating with @Tan Jing Jacqueline, so I got @Shi Shiwu and @Jin Xiaowen-GT to make a song. Just asking you all, is it fat or not! (Attached with the Penguin Music song link)

Below was a photo of the three of them eating skewers together, which was quite capricious indeed.

Wu Tong knew Meng Fan had gone to record a song last night, and she knew what song it was, she just hadn't heard it. When she had asked Meng Fan, he had acted all mysterious, telling her to contribute to his click-through rate on Penguin Music tomorrow, leaving Wu Tong quite helpless.

Meng Fan was right beside her when he updated his Weibo. She immediately refreshed the page, commented the word "fat" below his post, clicked the link, put on her headphones, and began to listen.

If you won't let me listen beforehand, then I won't let you listen either.

Seeing her put on the headphones, Meng Fan snatched one side away and leaned against her shoulder to listen along, both of them acting quite childishly.

After finishing the song, Wu Tong naturally didn't shed any tears, as it wasn't a miserable sort of track to begin with. The content was roughly about a dream Meng Fan had, depicting dreams and love within that dream, as well as how Meng Fan viewed both. The words and music were written by Shi Shiwu, but to Wu Tong's ears, quite a lot of it hit remarkably close to home.

Well—the neural pathways of girls are sometimes very peculiar, and Wu Tong was no exception.

Originally, many points in the lyrics had touched Wu Tong, but the moment she remembered these lyrics were actually written by Shi Shiwu, she immediately reached out and pinched Meng Fan's ear: "Why does he know you so well?"

Ding!

Roughly forty minutes after "Dreaming" went live on Penguin Music, the prompt tone echoed in Meng Fan's mind.

"Ding! The single has obtained 100,000 positive reviews, fulfilling [Singer] Sub-quest One; Reward: Singing Skills +1, Points +100."

Within a mere forty minutes, a typical hit song gaining one hundred thousand plays wouldn't be considered small, so one hundred thousand positive reviews was truly an extraordinary feat.

Of course, these one hundred thousand positive reviews were not the likes and comments on Penguin Music, but were automatically calculated by the system, which was undoubtedly much harder than standard likes and comments.

Another thing to note was the word "fat" that Wu Tong had commented under Meng Fan's Weibo, which garnered over 200,000 likes in just forty minutes!

(End of Chapter)