介绍:
The US audience never saw the performance of "Little Apple" by Xiao Yang and Wang Taili, the two halves that make up the Chopsticks Brothers on the American Music Award, or AMA. They were taped during a commercial break and then released online on Chinese video-sharing websites.
Xiao Yang told the media.
"We didn't know that our performance was during the commercial break, we learned this later on. However, even if it was during the commercials, it is still the first time for a Chinese music group to hit the American Music Award stage, which is not a place just anyone can go."
The song snatched the Best International Song award, while Chinese singer Zhang Jie won the International Artist Award, two categories that didn't exist in past editions of the AMAs.
Liang Huan, a 26-year-old former basketball anchor who has now reinvented himself as a singer and as a commentator of the music industry, wrote in his popular blog that he doesn't believe any Chinese company is able to buy off the awards, but that it is normal for the AMAs to pay attention to the Chinese market. However, he did criticize the lip-synching during the duo's performance.
"Little Apple" has been viewed more than one billion times on China's popular video websites. Last week, the brothers launched a new version along with Tara, a South Korean girl band, which has remade the song with the synchronized choreographies that are often seen in K-pop and references to Asian youth culture.
"Little Apple" was once conceived as the theme for Old Boys, an online film on Youku and Tudou, the country's most popular video-sharing website. The repetitive tunes and lyrics became popular and ubiquitous in China, even among the infamous dancing grannies in public squares and shopping malls.
The controversy surrounded the recorded performance highlights the challenges for Chinese pop music to appeal to a broader, global audience.
Rollin Wang is another popular Chinese singer who is looking for success overseas. She is promoting her song "Chick Chick" via an online music video and is aiming for a "Gangnam-style" kind-of success.
But Wang admits that it's not an easy task.
"Now we need more bold music, extraordinary stuff, very special. This is one way to do that. For me, I am more of a gutsy person, someone who is willing to do experimental things. Then I and the Chinese music industry would have tried something different. No matter what the result is, we at least took the step. We have tried."
Her song "Chick Chick" features outlandish visuals and extended choruses of her clucking. The song has become very popular in China, and has amassed more than 10 million views on YouTube overseas.
Music commentator Liang Huan isn't surprised.
"From a certain point of view, it is very difficult for a singer to make it in the Western market with a non-viral song, a real pop song. Western audiences may have heard it ten years ago, and they wouldn't buy it. Also there is the language problem."
It seems despite the efforts made by singers like the Chopsticks Brothers and Rollin Wang to attract international attention, China's music industry is still looking for its first true global hit.
For Studio Plus, this is Liu Xiangwei.
