Chapter 694: Zhou Danian! Zhou Danian!
Chapter 694: Zhou Danian! Zhou Danian!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The contestant's intro clip played:
A 60-year-old grandpa appeared onscreen.
"My name is Zhou Danian, everyone just calls me Old Zhou. About my life, I've really been a failure. When I was young, my dream was to be a singer. Even after many decades, my dream never changed. Many of my friends say that I must be mad, criticizing that I'm not mature and even my spouse who had been part of my life for many years filed for a divorce seven, eight years ago over my pursuit of my dream. She said that I couldn't recognize what was real and what was a dream. She said that people our age shouldn't be qualified to dream anymore. But I will never believe that, why is it that only young people have the right to pursue their dreams? Why can't we old people also have a lifetime dream that we've been working with determination toward? I came to this stage today in hopes that my ex-wife and son can see me, that my ex-bandmates whom I had been playing music together with for so many years but given up now can see me, that those who tell me that I should not have such dreams can see me. I want to tell them that even though I might not turn out to be a capable singer, and I may have been wrong all my life, but I, Zhou Danian, have never given up. From my twenties to my sixties, I've been pushing forward for 40 years, working hard for 40 years, but I have never given up!"
The audience was taken by surprise.
"60 years old?"
"He's really that old?"
"F**k, I just thought this man looked old."
"This is making me dizzy. He's already 60?"
Even the industry insiders who were watching The Voice were feeling a genuine sense of powerlessness. They could not understand what Zhang Ye was trying to do. How did he even manage to get an old man like this from the preliminary auditions?
The four coaches appeared onscreen looking a little lost, unsure of why the audience was so surprised. As only the four of them had their backs facing to the stage, they couldn't see the contestants or know if they were a man or a woman, how tall they were, their looks, or age. They were totally clueless.
……
At Grandma Wang's house.
Mr. Zhou drew a deep breath. "Mother, my father, he…"
Grandma Wang stayed silent.
In the past, Mr. Zhou also could not understand his father. He felt that the reason why his family had come to this point was due to his parents' unrealistic dreams and aspirations. HIs parents argued very often and even ended up divorcing. Although he did not say it explicitly, he had always blamed his father for this, thinking that it was because his father had handled everything wrong. But now, after listening to his father's intro clip, Mr Zhou was suddenly at a loss for words.
……
On screen.
Under the gaze of the countless TV viewers, Zhou Danian stepped up onto the stage. He held the microphone in his hand and walked up in a slow manner. He even had to climb the stairs one step at a time, unable to go two steps at once. From this, it could be seen that Zhou Danian was really getting old and no longer as strong as a younger person.
Can this grandpa really do it?
This old man could really sing?
Everyone had the same question on their mind.
The lights dimmed. 3, 2, 1… the music blared!
It was the strumming of guitars. Even though the melody sounded a little different, it was still very familiar. Those who heard it immediately knew that this was the tune of an early rock song by Zhang Yuanqi that was very popular. A lot of people had sung it before, but never had they heard an old man singing it!
"It's 'I Don't Believe'?"
"Rock?"
"Heavens! The grandpa is going to sing a rock song?"
"What is this, just what is going on here?"
"I was expecting a song from the '70s, how did it turn out to be a rock song? A person that age can also sing such a mainstream pop song?"
"Will that work?"
"It's definitely not going to be good on the ears! I have no clue what to say!"
"It can't possibly be good, can it?"
"He even got divorced because of this? That's really not worth it!"
"If he sang an old song, it would be fine. But a rock song? You were already on the wrong path in the first place, yet you persisted for 40 years? What's the point of that?"
"Rock essentially belongs to the younger people!"
On screen, Zhou Danian was faced with the doubtful looks of the audience but did not seem to care. He had already long since gotten used to it, as he had been through all this countless times. Under the gaze of all these doubtful looks, he raised the microphone to his mouth and expressed all his experiences and emotions into the singing of the song. This was a song that he wanted to sing for himself!
He opened his mouth.
His voice came out.
"After all the effort, all I could do was return in failure.
"After all the fighting, all I could do was cry wishing for my dreams.
"After all the thinking, why is my life so lowly?
"After all the lamenting, why is my voice turning haggard!"
One year…
After another…
Yet another year…
Year by year, he grew older. Year by year, he became more bleary-eyed. Zhou Danian was just like how the lyrics were written—he had never had any success in his lifetime before!
The television audience suddenly fell silent!
At the live venue of The Voice, it also suddenly became quiet!
Many people were so surprised that their mouths could not stay closed. They were all shocked by that mature and gravelly bass voice. They simply could not believe their hearing, that this voice was coming out from the mouth of a 60-year-old man!
Likewise, Zhou Danian's son was also shocked at this. Both his eyes were staring wide at the television and he could not even speak coherently anymore. "This, my dad…this…"
Grandma Wang was looking at her ex-husband on TV, as memories flashed in front of her eyes.
"How old are you already!"
"I don't want to just give up like that."
"What's wrong with you! Can't you just accept your fate?"
"I won't give in!"
"Even if you don't accept, you still have to accept! Just spend our days peacefully and stop harping about your dreams!"
"I've only had this one dream in my lifetime, can't you just support me for once?"
"I've had enough! We're going to get a divorce!"
"Xiaoyun! Let me try again! Let me try it for the last time! I can do it for sure!"
"Don't say any more. It doesn't matter how many times you try it! That is not the life you were meant for!"
Suddenly, right after Zhou Danian's bassy voice took a breath, he screamed in a high-pitched voice, with the power of a bomb exploding!
"I don't believe that my life is worse than others!
"I don't believe that my luck is worse than others!
"I don't believe that my path is always tough!
"I don't believe that my dreams will never come true!"
The screaming got higher and higher pitched, inflaming every household that was tuned in on their televisions! It was too explosive!
"I don't believe that my life is worse than others!
"I don't believe that I have no talent!
"I don't believe that I'm destined to be a lowly person!
"I don't believe that my songs will be left unanswered forever!!!"
The coaches could not longer hold themselves back anymore!
Zhang Yuanqi turned!
Zhang Xia turned!
Chen Guang turned!
Fan Wenli turned!
The four coaches all hit their buttons and turned around within one second of each other. If a voice like that could not earn their approval, then nothing would!
However, when they saw the contestant, the four coaches all broke down!
Fan Wenli screamed, "Ah!"
Zhang Xia also had a fright. "Aiyo, my god!"
Zhang Yuanqi said, "It's a grandpa?"
Chen Guang held his head in his hands, looking like he couldn't accept it. "Holy shit!"
When they were listening to this voice with the backs facing the stage, they could hear that the contestant had some age and life experience from the way he sang with his mature and gravelly voice. But even so, it only sounded like a 40-year-old or so, not 60 or above. Who would have thought that it would be an old man! What they saw had truly given the four coaches a shock. This was really just too surprising! This person sang so well! If anyone told them that they were listening to a 60-year-old grandpa perform when their backs were turned, they would never have believed it! Besides, this was a rock song!!
The power required in a rock song, the soul and emotions, all of these were expressed fully by the old man. Everyone who heard it could feel their blood boiling with excitement!
"Heavens! Heavens! Heavens!"
"Holy shit!"
"How awesome! "That was such a strong performance!"
"This grandpa is so damn cool!"
"Ahhh! I've got goosebumps all over my body!"
"How cool! This grandpa is really too awesome!"
"F*ck me, how did he sing it so well! HIs vocals seem to be even more aggressive than a young man! Is he really a 60-year-old grandpa? Now it feels more like he's just 16!"
"Awesome!"
"The Voice is awesome!"
"This stage is too attractive! This is what music is about! This is what you call singing!"
The audience cheered!
Everyone was shouting excitedly. On screen, many of the audience members could be seen standing up and holding up their hands, waving them around crazily, feeling very pumped up from the performance!
At this moment, the music slowed down as the drum kicks faded away.
When the audience was thinking that Zhou Danian would repeat the chorus and let the rhythm pump up the audience again, the music began to slow instead. The original version of Zhang Yuanqi's "I Don't Believe" arrangement and lyrics were changed by Zhou Danian. He added in a conclusion, a type of response lyrics into the ending.
Zhou Danian's face looked a little haggard, his voice sounding very light yet deep. Compared to his screaming earlier, it sounded like he was mumbling to himself as he sang:
"Perhaps my life is worse than others."
"Perhaps I really have no talent."
"Perhaps I'm destined to be a lowly person."
"Perhaps songs will be left unanswered forever."
It was the end of the song!
The music slowly came to an end as well!
Zhang Yuanqi was already leading everyone to stand up and giving her sincerest applause!
Everyone in the studio also stood up with warm applause for him!
……
Hearing her ex-husband screaming on the show, Grandma Wang did not seem to have much of a reaction. But when he starting singing the parts of his rhetorical answers of "perhaps," Grandma Wang immediately held her face in her hands and unexpectedly started crying. She was crying so hard that it sounded like she would not stop at anytime soon.
Her son said, "Mother! So…my father sings this well!"
Grandma Wang pressed her hands against her eyes, unable to stop crying. "Old Zhou! Wu wu wu wu!"
The feud between his parents, the complex relationship between them. As their son, he might not ever fully understand all of it, but when he saw his mother at this moment, he could guess that, perhaps she had already forgiven his father. Perhaps she already understood his father!
Dong dong dong!
The door was being knocked on.
When Mr. Zhou went to open the door, he saw his old neighbor excitedly shouting, "Little Zhou, your father's on TV! Your father's on TV!"
Mr. Zhou said, "I saw it!"
The old neighbor said, "Did your mother see it as well?"
"We're both watching," Mr. Zhou replied. "My mother is feeling a little emotional right now!"
Then some footsteps came thumping from the stairwell. Another old neighbor who looked to be past 50 years old came over, shouting, "Sister Wang! Your spouse's on TV! He sang really well! He sang really well!! I never knew my Brother Zhou had such a hidden talent! So his singing is actually this good! Did you see it, Sister Wang? The four coaches all turned around for Brother Zhou! You have a star in your family! Brother Zhou's really great!"
When the other neighbors heard the commotion, they too came out into the corridor.
"What's happening?"
"What happened?"
"Quickly go and watch Central TV Department 1! Old Zhou's on a TV show!"
"What?"
"Are you sure?"
"Central TV Department 1? Isn't that The Voice?"
"Yeah, Old Zhou went and performed a song! He sang great!"
"Really? Aiyo!"
"I must go and watch the rerun!"
The phone in their house started to constantly ringing. Many of their relatives and friends were all calling Grandma Wang, and even an ex-bandmate of Zhou Danian from his younger days called. They had not expected that, years after they had given up, Zhou Danian had actually continued with determination to sing and perform. They spoke to Grandma Wang for a very long time, saddened by what had happened but also feeling happy at the same time for Zhou Danian!
40 years!
After 40 years of determination, Zhou Danian had finally proven himself on the stage of The Voice. He had finally fulfilled that long-awaited dream, so what else could he be happier about than this?
On TV, the coaches' arguing segment finished. The coaches were all fighting over the contestant, but it ended up with the original singer of "I Don't Believe," Zhang Yuanqi, successfully pulling Zhou Danian over to her team!
Chen Guang felt so regretful about this that he slammed his hand onto the table, but still ended up raising both his arms to lead the audience to shout for Zhou Danian. "Let us all show our respect to the man who has not given up on his dreams of being a musician after years and years! He sang very well! This is the first time I've heard a rock song that moved me so much! It's also the voice that touched me the most! No matter what happens from here, Grandpa Zhou, you'll always be the champion of The Voice in my heart!"
"Zhou Danian!"
"Zhou Danian!"
"Zhou Danian!"
"Zhou Danian!"
The entire studio audience's blood was boiling passionately. They hailed him in unison, creating an extremely impressive atmosphere in the venue!