China Entertainment 1997

"The King of Masked Singer" was recorded at Fanxing Film and Television City, which has built a large number of professional variety show recording studios.

The equipment is professional, the logistics support is strong, and various other assistance are provided, which can meet more than 90% of the needs of indoor variety shows, and even outdoor variety shows can also satisfy a lot.

Over time, it is now not only the official recording location for Starry indoor variety shows.

Even in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, a large number of programs have their recording locations here.

You know, Gyeonggi is an area with a developed entertainment industry, especially due to the influence of the stars, it is even more prosperous than in the original time and space.

Several TV stations may have their own studios, but most of the programs produced by some entertainment companies or variety shows on online platforms are based on rented recording studios.

Even TV programs outside the Gyeonggi region are actually recorded in studios in the capital and Shanghai.

This not only saves costs, but is also convenient and fast, and being in a big city makes it easy for guests to come and go.

With the presence of a large number of variety show studios and the Fanxing Film and Television Base, it has become the largest film and television city in the north.

The variety show + filming model makes the Stars Film and Television City a star-studded place every day, and you can meet two or three well-known artists just by walking around.

Therefore, many reporters and paparazzi even live in Fanxing Film and Television City for a long time, squatting and keeping watch, and some even open their studios near Fanxing Film and Television City.

A large number of real estate and commercial properties in and around Fanxing Film and Television City are all under the name of the film and television base.

In other words, more than half of the landlords of this group of paparazzi reporters are named Cao.

Coupled with other basic necessities, food, housing and transportation operated by the base, Cao Xuan can make a lot of money from them.

There are countless artists in the entertainment industry who have been exploited by reporters and paparazzi, but in turn, Cao Xuan is the only one who can earn paparazzi money, but there are only a few who have this ability.

Cao Xuan came to the show today with Zeng Li and Huang Bo. These two creators of "Dear" are also professional singers, so they came together.

As soon as the car drove into the vicinity of Stars Studios, the first thing we saw was a giant statue towering into the sky.

That is the statue of Wu Zetian in the [Prosperous Tangcheng] section of Fanxing Film and Television Base.

This statue of Wu Zetian originated from the Tongtian Pagoda in the movie "Detective Dee: The Empire of Tongtian". The movie was synthesized with special effects and was not actually built.

But later, with the success of the movie, and the base's intention to create a landmark building, set up attractions, and attract tourism, a "spectacle" was created.

The Tongtian Pagoda in the movie is 66 feet high, which is almost 220 meters in today's measurement, which is higher than the 208-meter Central Plains Buddha, the tallest statue in China.

Fanxing Film and Television City is not that exaggerated, but it also has a 76-meter statue. It can be ranked among the top fifteen statues in the country and ranked high in the world.

The main body of the statue is made of copper, costing hundreds of millions, and is equipped with the Ming Palace complex, which was just completed last year.

"The Legend of Wu Mei Niang" independently produced by Fan Xiaopang was filmed here. If nothing unexpected happens, this statue will also become an important plot of the TV series.

However, in Cao Xuan's opinion, the most interesting thing about this statue is not the height and cost, but the shape of the face.

I don’t know which little clever guy suggested it, because the statue is taken from the movie "Detective Dee: The Empire of Heaven", so when designing, the face and appearance of the statue have some shadow of the movie.

The actor who plays Wu Zetian in "Detective Dee: The Tongtian Empire" is Zeng Li who is looking up at the statue next to her.

Of course, there is a huge gap between the statue and the real person, not to mention that it is just a few shadows of the movie.

Just looking at the statue, no one can tell at a glance that this statue has the shadow of the Empress of the West Palace.

However, if you know the answer and compare them carefully, you can still vaguely see that they are similar to each other.

That is to say, the person standing there is Wu Zetian, and there is no incense to worship. It is more of a tourist nature, and it looks specious. Otherwise, Cao Xuan would never nod, fearing that Zeng Li would not move away.

It is precisely because of this cause and effect that Zeng Li and Cao Xuan would look at this statue in a new light every time they came to Fanxing Film and Television City.

Hu Jing was also admired in a special way. Because of this statue, the Empress of the East Palace was quite jealous, so much so that Cao Xuan even thought about getting a statue of the Four Beauties or Hua Mulan one day, adding some of Hu Jing's personal items...

Although "The King of Masked Singer" is not a top program, it is still regarded as a new variety show, and the arrangement and quality of the recording studio are not bad.

Because they were hiding their identities, Cao Xuan and his party did not alert others. Under the guidance of the well-informed director, they went straight to the dressing room and then met the program director Su Wei.

"Boss, Teacher Zeng, Teacher Huang, everyone has worked hard along the way."

Su Wei greeted him warmly, his eyes couldn't stop being excited. If he wasn't still rational, he would have thrown his head back and laughed.

"Don't be polite. When we get to your territory, we will just listen to you and you can make arrangements."

Cao Xuan had some impression of this Su Wei, who was regarded as a director trained by Fanxing himself.

He has previously held important positions in "The Voice of China" and "I Am a Singer". This time, he is taking on the leading role in a new music variety show, "The Masked Singer".

As the director and person in charge of the program for the first time, Su Wei attaches great importance to "The King of Masked Singer" and wants to become famous instantly. The arrival of Cao Xuan and others is a good opportunity for him. He really wants to Play this card well.

"Let's rehearse the song first, and then change our costumes. By the way, have you thought of the nicknames for the three of you?"

"Get up, my name is always smiling."

Huang Bo was the first to say his name, and Zeng Li next to him followed closely: "My name will be Qing Yi."

Cao Xuan looked at the mask hanging next to him and smiled: "I am the only one in heaven and earth who can defeat the Great Demon King Dugu Qiu."

Su Wei: "..."

Say it again, I didn't remember it!

Zeng Li didn't hold back and was stunned: "Aren't you afraid of being beaten for your nickname?"

"Not afraid."

Cao Xuan was very calm, but he still explained: "The more this happens, the less likely you are to guess it's me. Think about it, if you heard this nickname, would you think it was me?"

Zeng Li was silent, but Huang Bo burst into laughter: "Don't mention it yet, this name sounds very domineering and it suits your situation, but if I listen to it, I probably won't guess it's you, because this name is not yours. style of."

Huang Bo's analysis did not forget to flatter him, but his words were not unreasonable. Cao Xuan had a low-key personality, was mature and stable, and held a high position of authority. He had a special aura in everyone's hearts.

Such a... funny nickname, 99% of people will never associate it with him.

Zeng Li also understood this routine. I couldn't help but complain: "Indeed, who would have thought that the majestic King Cao would be so stubborn that he would have such a bad nickname."

"Whether it is revealed or not is another matter. Since it is about guessing the identity, the deeper it is hidden, the more interesting it will be."

Cao Xuan is not one of those singers who are eager to be exposed. He wants to tell the audience his name.

On the contrary, he wished that no one could guess who he was. Before he came, he strictly ordered the program team not to reveal his identity, so that it would be interesting and have a good time.

If he could hide it till the end, Cao Xuan would have two more steamed buns for dinner tonight.

Seeing that Cao Xuan was so excited, the others didn't say anything. In fact, they were wondering whether the judges and the audience could guess it.

One party uses all his skills to hide, and the other racks his brains to guess riddles. This is the biggest highlight of this show...

………

After rehearsals and costume changes, it was almost time for the official recording.

"The King of Masked Singer" has its own competition system. In each episode, six singers compete in pairs. In the end, the loser is revealed and the winner advances to the next round.

This competition system is similar to the Korean original version, but it is very different from the domestic one.

In fact, Cao Xuan has always wanted to complain about "The Masked Singer" of the original time and space, but he couldn't understand it even if he copied it.

Regardless of the script or not, many singers' hiding methods are too perfunctory. You must know that every famous singer has his own characteristics. If he is more personal, he may be recognized by others as soon as he opens his mouth.

So if you want to hide your identity, you have to work hard. However, the singer was perfunctory and the judges in the audience knew it well and followed suit. The "King of Masked Singer" turned into a masked actor, which was completely fake.

It's not that Cao Xuan praises it, but the Korean original version was indeed produced with more care. Although there are some acting elements, the singer was hidden as much as possible.

Some people even disguise themselves and sing in a falsetto, so that people can't tell whether they are male or female.

Coupled with some other deception methods to confuse the video, it can greatly cause trouble to the judging panel and the audience.

This is the meaning of masking in "The King of Masked Singer". If it's half-clear, what's the point?

What is even more speechless is the competition system. The original "King of Masked Singer" in China has a so-called "Glory Unveiling", which is the winner's unveiling.

The original Korean version is where the loser reveals his face and is considered eliminated. The reveal shows his face, and it is not a loss if he has some buzz. The winner continues on, accumulates popularity, and finally the champion of the finals is revealed and reaps all the rewards. Glory and heat.

This is the normal logical flow of the competition system, but the results were messed up by domestic changes. The winners revealed their faces and left, and the losers continued to compare.

We don’t know if it’s to take care of the face of those who are eliminated, so we have a rule of [win means lose, lose means win].

The result is extremely inconsistent, making people laugh and laugh, making them incomprehensible, greatly reducing competitiveness, wasting a good selling point, and attracting countless complaints.

The Starry version of "The King of Masked Singer" will naturally not make this mistake. "I Am a Singer" will eliminate them head-on, and naturally it will not take into account the loser's face.

However, Fanxing and others are part of a special event today and will not be counted in the elimination and advancement. Naturally, it is somewhat different from the normal competition system.

The four masked singers use the ring system to perform and judge in turn. The winner defends the ring and the loser reveals his face. The decision continues until the end. The winner has a glorious reveal and receives some rewards.

There is no way, none of the four masked singers are regular guests, and they will not stay for a long time, so the winner must be decided in one go and all their faces revealed.

At the recording site, host Jia Ling was introducing today's special competition system to the audience and the jury.

This rising comedy star who has grown up since "Run" not only appeared on the Spring Festival Gala, but also developed quite well in the field of variety shows.

In the past two years, he started to get involved in the field of hosting. With his extremely high emotional intelligence and humorous eloquence, he quickly became another popular host in Fanxing.

If Jia Ling hadn't focused more on variety shows and performances, and was not particularly keen on the hosting career, I'm afraid that the first sister Malanpo, who is famous for her "humorous hosting", would have had a headache.

Because of its special format, "The King of Masked Singer" requires a smart and eloquent host to play a role in guessing the identity.

Liu Yan, Hua Shao, Meng Guangtou and other hosts were unavailable, so this task naturally fell to Jia Ling.

As soon as Jia Ling introduced the rules, the audience was okay. After all, most of them were trolls, and the show had just been broadcast, and many people didn't particularly understand the competition system.

But the five people on the judging panel who knew the inside story of the show were confused. Why did the competition system change so smoothly? What about the previous two episodes?

"Sister Ling, what's going on?"

The person asking the question was Wang Ya, an artist who was signed to Fanxing at the same time as Sun Yanyan, Dili Rouba, An Ze and others. However, her development is not as good as those of them at the same time, and now she is barely in the third tier.

This time, I also asked my manager to get acquainted with a person in charge of "The King of Masked Singer" and put her into the program to have her face scanned.

Wang Ya can also be said to be the least senior and least famous among the judges. Everyone she meets is her brother/sister/teacher.

"What the director told me will be treated as a special episode and will not count towards previous events."

The judges who knew a lot about variety shows immediately understood it, and they figured out that there might be some publicity needs. This is not a new thing in variety shows.

"Who is there? Let me know."

Qi Wei smiled and inquired, she was also one of the judges. Although her identity as a singer has been somewhat blurred in recent years and she is more active as an actor, her foundation is still there, and her lively and generous personality makes her very suitable for participating in such a show.

As for the others, they are variety show comedian Sha Yi, Sunshine Charming Da Zhang Wei and Taiwanese idol godmother Chen Qiaoen.

The number of judges is not fixed. Sometimes there are five people, sometimes seven people. The judges are not fixed either. Some are permanent, some are single-session, and there are even some who run both on and off the stage.

Da Zhangwei was the Masked Singer in the first episode, but was eliminated and directly became a member of the judging panel.

Most of the judges are singers and variety show stars. Since many Masked Singer are Hong Kong and Taiwan singers, there are often Hong Kong and Taiwan artists in each episode.

These judges don't have much power. They mainly interact with the singers, make jokes and make the scene more lively, so they find more variety stars.

People took turns asking questions, but Jia Ling was very tight-lipped, and everyone was not surprised.

The previous contestants also kept it a secret. Some of them guessed it, and some didn't. They kept fighting with the show crew. After two episodes, it even aroused a lot of competitiveness in them.

"I have to guess at least two of them today."

All the judges were gearing up, and various departments of the program team were also making final adjustments. After about ten minutes, they all took their places and started the official recording.

After the host Jia Ling opened the show, he quickly invited the first masked singer on stage.

There is nothing special about his clothes, except that he is a little fatter to cover his figure, but there is a round yellow emoticon smiley face on his head. It is Huang Bo who goes by the pseudonym [Smiling Mouth Always Open].

The song is "You Are My Eyes", originally sung by Xiao Huangqi, but the one who sang it out of the circle is singer Lin Youjia.

Compared with other singers, Huang Bo's voice is not disguised much, but he is not a singer after all. He doesn't have many opportunities to open his voice, and his voice is relatively unfamiliar to most people.

If you don't know him very well, you may not be able to discover him in a short time.

So when Huang Bo was singing, the judges and the audience were analyzing who this [laughter is always smiling] was.

"Zhang Yu?"

"The body shape is somewhat similar."

"But the voice is not the same. Zhang Yu's voice is a bit richer."

"Wu Qixian?"

"I think it's a bit like that."

"I think more like Yu Chengqing."

"It could also be Hu Haiquan."

"..."

We haven't heard any characteristics from the sounds for the time being. Let's distinguish them based on their body shape first, and then slowly eliminate them.

After singing the song, Huang Bo used a voice changer to turn his voice into electronic sounds and began to interact with the host and the judging panel, giving clues whether true or false, which led to various speculations by the judging panel.

Since it was not the unveiling stage yet, no matter how the judges guessed right or wrong, the program team did not reveal the answer. Instead, they invited the next masked singer - [Tsing Yi].

Compared to Huang Bo, who just wore a hood and wore an ordinary outfit, Zeng Li's [Tsing Yi] disguise was more gorgeous.

What she was wearing was a Tsing Yi costume, a sky blue dress with two water sleeves dancing around, and a female ink theatrical makeup mask on her face, which was charming and sad.

Wang Ya, who was born in the Opera Academy and is an expert, looked at it with a confused expression.

"I've never seen this look before."

While speaking, Zeng Li shook out a few of his sleeves, danced with the prelude for a few moments, stepped back, picked up the microphone hidden in his sleeve, and opened his red lips.

"Who is mocking to show off one's beauty?

How to match if you have no heart

The sound of ringing bells is crisp, and the lights are dimly lit between the curtains.

You and I are the perfect match

…”

The voice is clear and melancholy, and the melody is light and sad, as if the strings of a piano are plucked, drawing people in and slowly immersing them in the singing.

Several people on the judging panel were a little shocked, especially Da Zhang Wei. He was the only active professional singer among them, and he was also a singer-songwriter.

He asked himself that he was fairly familiar with the Chinese music scene, but he had never heard of this song... Looking back, he had any impression that it was called "Silk Opera" when it was announced just now.

This is most likely a new song, and judging from the melody and lyrics, the standard is quite good.

This made Da Zhangwei a little excited, and he couldn't wait to know who had written such a fine ancient poem again.

However, before he could start to think about it, he heard the lyrics and melody on the stage fall. Suddenly, the music changed, and [Qing Yi]'s voice rose, and a high note burst out, which was a dramatic tune.

"The orchid finger twists the red dust like water

Three feet of red platform, everything goes into song

Singing farewell for a long time will not make you sad, the very red spots will turn into ashes

May whoever remembers whom have the best years

…”

This scene was extremely stunning, and it was the finishing touch. The judges' eyes lit up, and they immediately selected the candidate [Tsing Yi].

"Li Yugang?"

"No, this drama is familiar to me. It's the same as "The Drunken Concubine". It should be Teacher Zeng Li Zeng."

In terms of performance, Zeng Li was very successful. Unfortunately, the personal characteristics of the song were too strong to hide his identity, and he was immediately recognized.