1990: Starting from Baojia Street

The connections with the first two listeners were good, and the atmosphere in the radio room was getting better and better.

After hanging up the second call, Jennifer chatted with Zhou Yan about the concert for a while, and then started to answer the third call.

"Let's see who is the third lucky audience member today..."

Soon the call was connected and a boy's voice came from the other end.

"Y, I don't want to learn piano anymore."

Without any warning, the boy said this directly.

Zhou Yan and Jennifer were both a little confused when they heard what the little boy said.

Jennifer raised her eyebrows and smiled, "It looks like a teenager who is learning piano. Did he encounter difficulties while learning piano?"

"I feel like I don't have the talent for playing the piano, but my mother forces me to learn it. Sometimes I want to jump off the second floor like the protagonist in "Flying Piano Boy." The boy sounded frustrated.

Jennifer was startled by the boy's words. She quickly comforted him, "It will definitely be difficult to learn a musical instrument, but once you learn it, everything will be worth it."

She tried to comfort the boy with the gentlest tone, but Zhou Yan knew that her words would not have any effect.

Sure enough, after hearing what Jennifer said, the little boy became even more discouraged. "What you said is the same as what my mother said."

Just one sentence made Jennifer at a loss. She had a good professional level, but she had no experience in dealing with these children.

But in the current situation, she had no choice but to do something. If the little boy really did something stupid, she would blame herself for the rest of her life. And if something really happened, their radio station would definitely be criticized by public opinion.

The other people in the control room were also very nervous. The ratings of their program were very good right now. If anything unexpected happened, the consequences would be disastrous.

At this time, many listeners were also waiting in front of the radio with nervous faces. The boy's condition sounded very bad, and the key was that they could not do anything and could only rely on Jennifer and others.

No one expected that a good music exchange program would turn into a psychological counseling program.

Inside the broadcasting room, seeing Jennifer at a loss, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Hey, you haven't introduced yourself yet. Now you know my and Jennifer's names, but we don't know yours. Isn't that unfair?"

"Excuse me, my name is David."

"Well, hello David, are you in middle school now?"

"Yes, I'm in eighth grade."

"How many years have you been learning piano?"

"Nine years."

"Then you must be better at playing the piano than I am, but I have been learning bamboo flute since I was a child. Do you know what bamboo flute is?"

"Yeah, I know. I bought one, but I can't play it well."

"That's normal. When I first learned to play the bamboo flute, it also took me a long time to be able to produce the right sound."

"Yeah, it's really hard."

After hearing the conversation between Zhou Yan and David, Jennifer and the audience breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Zhou Yan was very good at chatting with teenagers.

David's tone also changed from being depressed at the beginning to becoming normal.

In fact, Zhou Yan didn't have any special skills. He was just very relaxed and not as nervous as Jennifer.

When people are talking, they are easily affected by each other's emotions. Moreover, David is a fan of Zhou Yan, so he will naturally give Zhou Yan face.

Zhou Yan also didn't think David would do anything stupid. Someone who really wanted to commit suicide wouldn't call the radio station on purpose. You have to know that there are a lot of people calling the radio station at this time, and they have to queue up.

David must be too tired of learning the piano and is in a bad mood. He needs someone to cheer him up.

This situation is very common among piano students. People who learn piano have different troubles at every stage.

David has persisted in learning piano for nine years, and his level should be pretty good. But at this time he has more troubles because he has to consider whether he should make a living by playing the piano.

If he gave up now, the previous nine years of persistence would seem to have been wasted, but if he wanted to continue, he had no confidence because there were too many geniuses and there must be people who were better than him.

Zhou Yan continued to laugh, "Yes, it's too difficult. I remember when I was in middle school, I also wanted to break or burn the bamboo flute. But in the end, I still couldn't bear to do it. After learning the bamboo flute for so many years, I have a deep affection for this instrument. Now if I ask you to smash the piano, are you willing?"

"Of course not." David said immediately.

"Yeah, you would rather jump off the building than smash the piano. Have you learned any other instruments besides the piano?"

"Well, I've learned both the violin and the oboe, but not in great depth. I'm not a genius, so it's hard for me to juggle multiple instruments."

It can be heard that David has little confidence in himself. This is also a problem faced by many piano students. Sometimes they will find that the more they learn the piano, the harder it becomes, because the more they learn, the higher their expectations of themselves will be.

"Being able to persist in learning piano for nine years is already better than most people. I think you can now step beyond the piano as an instrument and feel and think about music from a higher position. The piano is of course great, but it is just an instrument, a tool for expressing music. The ultimate goal of learning piano is to feel the world through music."

David remained silent, probably thinking about what Zhou Yan said. Zhou Yan turned around and asked Jennifer, "Do you have any musical instruments here?"

Jennifer nodded quickly, "Yes, violin, guitar, and keyboard."

There was a keyboard in the broadcasting room, and Zhou Yan saw it when he came.

Zhou Yan nodded and said to Mai, "David, do you want to listen to music?"

"Of course." David said excitedly.

He heard the conversation between Zhou Yan and Jennifer just now. From the sound of it, it seems that Zhou Yan wants to play music for him?

The audience in front of the radio were also excited. They didn't expect to encounter such a benefit.

Zhou Yan nodded, walked to the keyboard and sat down, then said to Jennifer, "Please go get a violin."

Jennifer didn't even have to move, and soon a staff member brought a violin over.

Zhou Yan simply tuned the piano, then started to fiddle with the keyboard. While tinkering, he said, "It may take a little time, so please be patient."

He then spent a few minutes recording a drum track on a keyboard.

After the drums were recorded, he picked up his violin and said, "This song is for David and for all the radio listeners."

After hearing what Zhou Yan said, Jennifer asked in surprise, "Is it a new song?"

Zhou Yan smiled and did not answer. Instead, he pressed the play button on the keyboard, and a rhythmic drum sound began to sound.

Then Zhou Yan drew his bow and played along with the drum beats. Actually, with a keyboard, they could play without a violin, but Zhou Yan felt that the keyboard's imitation of sound was far inferior to that of a violin, so since they had a violin, he just used it.

When Jennifer heard the drumbeat, she knew it must be a very lively piece of music, and when the violin sounded, her idea was confirmed.

The music is indeed lively and full of youthful energy.

When Jennifer thought back to her middle school days, many images came to her mind, one was her playing with her friends on the playground, the other was her chasing each other on her bicycle on the way home.

There was also the beach they often went to. The sun was shining brightly, and they walked barefoot on the beach. Looking back, the footprints and the sun were becoming smaller and smaller.

Just as Jennifer was immersed in her memories of high school, the melody suddenly changed, becoming high-pitched, as if cheering and shouting. The contrast between the two melodies was so great that it felt very abrupt.

But the two melodies are excellent, and the theme of the song is a bit abrupt, so this suddenness becomes reasonable, and it can even be said to be dramatic tension.

It has a strong auditory impact, making the whole song uplifting and passionate.

At this moment, Jennifer thought back to the graduation party, as if the cheers from the audience when she was performing on stage that year were ringing in her ears.

Jennifer realized that Zhou Yan played this song to inspire David.

Such a positive and uplifting song can easily infect the listeners with its positive energy.

Zhou Yan felt regretful while playing.

He is now playing the famous song "We Are Young" by the band Fun. The melody is positive and inspiring, and very infectious, especially the shouts in the chorus, which feels like a theme song for a sports event.

The reason why he felt regretful was that the song would sound better if sung. It was impossible to perfectly express its charm with drums and violin, but unfortunately, he could not sing.

Of course, only Zhou Yan himself could feel this shortcoming. Jennifer and the listeners in front of the radio were only shocked at this moment.

……

Jack Williams was talking about work with the district manager when the mobile phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He apologized to the manager and then answered the call.

The voice of my colleague Hardaman came from the other side, "Boss, do you have a radio with you?"

Hardaman's words startled Williams, "What's wrong?"

"Y participated in a radio program today. I was listening and Y played a piece of music."

Williams rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it normal for him to play music on the show?”

"It's a new song, and..."

"And what?"

"Boss, I suggest you listen to it yourself, the channel is..."

Williams thought Hardaman was making a fuss, but he saw a radio in the district manager's office and said, "Could you please turn on the radio and tune it to 102.7FM?"

The person in charge nodded: "Of course."

After saying that, the person in charge turned on the radio and tuned it to 102.7FM.

As soon as they tuned into this channel, they heard rhythmic drum beats and brisk violin music.

"What is this?" asked the person in charge.

Williams made a gesture to stop talking, and the person in charge immediately shut up, and then the two of them listened to the music quietly.

When they turned on the radio, a song had just been played three quarters of the way through, with another quarter to go, and they did not miss the climax.

When the climax part with a strong sense of contrast sounded, Williams' eyes lit up. Isn't this the theme song they wanted?

Young, vibrant and full of positive energy.

Even after hearing this song, Williams had already figured out how to shoot the commercial.

A group of young people wearing their brand of shoes, paired with this song, is really a perfect match.

After the music ended, the two heard clear applause from the radio, and then heard the host Jennifer excitedly said, "It's so beautiful, I'm completely immersed in the melody."

"Yes." Zhou Yan's voice came, "David, did you hear it?"

"I heard it. Thank you. I feel much better now. What's the name of this song and when will it be released?"

"The song is called "We Are Young". As for its release, there is no plan for now. Today's is just the first version, and I will improve the song later." Zhou Yan said.

……

After hearing the conversation between Zhou Yan and David, Williams roughly understood what had happened. It seemed that the boy was in a bad mood, and Zhou Yan played this song to motivate him.

“This song was actually written on the spot.” The area manager said in surprise.

Williams also nodded. He knew that Zhou Yan was talented, but he didn't expect him to be so amazing.

This is good news for them, because it means that the song "We Are Young" has not yet found a home, and we have hope of getting this song.

Thinking of this, Williams called Hardaman without any hesitation.

"Hadaman, wait until the show is over and contact Y as soon as possible."

Hearing Williams say this, Hardaman knew that he must have listened to the program, "Boss, is this song particularly suitable for our advertisement?"

"Yes, it's your credit."

"Haha, don't worry, boss. I'll contact Y after the show is over."

Williams thought for a moment and said, "Y is hard to contact, so I'll contact his agent Zhang Youan directly. You continue to listen to the show. If there are any special developments, please report to me at any time."

"Ok, no problem."

After hanging up the phone, Williams called Zhang Youan.

After the call was connected, Williams smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. Zhang, I am Williams from New Balance."

"Oh, hello Mr. Williams, I have already told Y about the theme song, and he said he would seriously consider it."

After receiving Williams' call, Zhang Youan thought that this guy was really anxious. He just called and now he is urging me again.

"Mr. Zhang, I'm calling this time because I want to buy "We Are Young"."

"we are young?"

Zhang Youan hadn't listened to "Music World" and had no idea what Williams was talking about.

“This is a song that Y performed live on Music World. I think it’s very suitable for our brand.”

Now Zhang Youan was even more confused. Why was Zhou Yan performing a new song live on a radio program?
And Williams, as the operations director of New Balance, was so concerned about Zhou Yan's movements that he even listened to the radio programs Zhou Yan participated in.

"This... I need to find out about the situation from Y first." Now he knew nothing, so naturally he couldn't talk to Williams.

Williams expressed his understanding. "Okay, then please go and find out about it first, and then we can talk. Please believe in our sincerity."

"Well, I certainly believe it."

After hanging up the phone with Williams, Zhang Youan turned on the radio and tuned to "Music World". David's phone had been hung up, and the host Jennifer was talking to Zhou Yan about the new song "We Are Young" he had just played. (End of this chapter)