National Tide 1980

In the afternoon of December 29, 1986, the door of Tokyo Broadcasting Station was closed in the conference room.

A voting meeting to determine the top prize at the Record Awards will be held here soon.

The brand-new conference room, which is made up of huge glass windows and light yellow walls, is filled with a tense atmosphere that has never been seen in previous years.

Who allowed Teresa Teng, a foreigner, to be selected for the selection this year?

She has broken through the record award's selection threshold for the second time with her strength.

This is an unprecedented event in the history of the Record Awards.

The tables indoors are arranged in a U shape.

Before 1:50, everyone was already here.

In the center sat the three people with the most respected status in this selection.

They are Masahiro Mihara, the executive director of the Composers Association, Shinichiro Kaga, the deputy director of TBS, and Danharu Ohga, the representative of the Japan Television Bureau as a notary.

As for the judges from the other two organizers, as well as the public judges who are representatives of the media and cultural circles, they will sit on both sides of the table in the order of the seating chart.

Not long after, when the time reached two o'clock, Shinichiro Kaga, the person in charge of TBS, immediately stood up and made a solemn announcement.

"The final voting for the major awards of the 28th All Japan Record Awards will now be held. I believe that in the recent period, everyone should have fully referred to the recent deliberations and the information on hand, and after careful consideration, based on strict , the principle of justice will cast a sacred vote in today’s meeting.”

Following Kaga Shinichiro's speech, the atmosphere at the scene immediately became much more solemn.

The employees of TBS TV station standing behind Shinichiro Kaga took a step forward and prepared to distribute the ballots.

At this time, Kagami Shinichiro looked around everyone, and after confirming that all the judges were present, he coughed loudly.

"Please be patient. Because this time the situation is really special, a foreign artist has once again participated in our selection with his extraordinary ability. And this matter is also attracting attention from the people and various media. So Before the voting officially begins, we first invite the special representative from the Television Bureau, Mr. Dahe Shanharu, to explain to everyone the precautions for this selection."

After hearing this, the notary stood up with his slender body like a crane and said to everyone, "Hello fellow judges, I am Dahe Danchun sent by the TV Bureau. Because there is a foreign artist in the selection of this year's Record Awards The support of the public has led to the special attention of this year's selection. Moreover, among viewers and listeners, there seem to have been rumors that are not conducive to the Record Awards formulation committee, suggesting that the committee deliberately ignores foreign artists in the selection of music. There are many unreasonable and rule-breaking problems. Therefore, in order to ensure the fairness and fairness of this year's Record Awards selection and safeguard the reputation of all judges, as the competent department of private television stations, we accepted the entrustment of the Composers Association and TBS TV station to specially Send me to prove your innocence.”

"First of all, let me report to you the method of this selection. In order to select artists and music products that have made profound contributions to the Japanese recording industry this year, this music event adopts the form of a nationwide open recruitment of candidates. Recommended by major record companies and artist agencies. Then, fifteen candidates were obtained based on record sales performance and fan feedback data. Then, five candidates who were lacking in originality and culture were eliminated. , the remaining ten candidates are all indistinguishable outstanding musical talents. As for the repertoire information and record sales data of these ten candidates, you should be able to know it by referring to the copy of the candidate information at hand."

"Next, as a notary public, I would like to announce here that the remaining four key awards except the gold medal will be announced today through your votes. If you have any questions or comments about the candidates, please feel free to comment now Speak. Especially the public judges, please take this opportunity to express your opinions bluntly."

After Dahe Shanharu finished speaking in his extremely concise style, the judges from all walks of life looked down at the candidate information in each person's hand.

At this time, thanks to Dahe Danharu's words of encouragement, the reporter of "Weekly Bunshun", one of the public judges this year, immediately stood up and responded by setting an example and expressing his personal opinions.

"I don't have much to say. These ten candidates are all outstanding figures selected by the committee after rigorous discussions to represent the power of Japanese music. Therefore, I only hope that through a more fair voting method, the most capable people can be selected. Outstanding talents who promote the prosperity and development of Japanese pop music. So before voting, I would like to remind everyone that the Record Awards is a music competition, which should focus on the quality of music and the level of works, and expand the influence of Japanese pop music in the world. I hope you will not ignore the opinions of the people and respect the choices of the people."

As soon as he finished speaking, another public judge responded.

"Yes, this is absolutely correct. It's time for all of us to take a long-term view and abandon the so-called sectarian opinions. As long as the musical work is excellent, it should win a big award. No matter whether she is Japanese or not , and only in this way can it be possible for the Record Awards to become an international event. Do you think you are right?"

Obviously, these two people are both media professionals and supporters of Teresa Teng.

From their words, one can completely hear their goodwill and support for Teresa Teng.

However, this move is undoubtedly an eye-opener to the organizers in public.

Therefore, tit-for-tat voices also emerged from the organizers.

"I'm sorry, but I don't agree with the comments of the two public judges. And I also think that they have a lot of prejudices about the selection method of the Record Awards."

A judge from the Composers Guild speaks out. "You know, the Record Awards, as the highest award in the Japanese music industry, are already influential enough to lead the Asian music scene. From the beginning to the end, they have been providing a better showcase for excellent works, and they have always been the key to the Japanese music industry. Orientation. And we, professional judges, always judge awards only from the perspective of whether the work is excellent. Fairness and impartiality have always been our creed, and it will still be the case in the future! In other words, we will only give honors to outstanding works, and everything will be based on seniority. The judgment of professionals shall prevail!”

To put it bluntly, this judge simply refused to admit that the professional judges of the Record Awards would deliberately exclude foreign artists because of their nationality, and denied that they were unwilling to let Teresa Teng win the award.

Moreover, there is a sense in the words that professionals think more comprehensively, have a broader perspective, and make judgments that are normal for ordinary people to understand.

Such arrogance undoubtedly angered the public judges of the two media professionals.

asshole! In the past, you could say whatever you wanted. The works were pretty much the same anyway, so no one dared to question you.

But now that there is such an outstanding work that the public generally thinks should win the award, how can you still be so arrogant?

As soon as he finished speaking, the reporter from "Weekly Bunshun" couldn't help but stand up and expressed his doubts sharply.

"Then what you're saying is that even if nearly 50 million listeners and fans across the country collectively think it's an excellent work, as long as the professionals here don't recognize it, it's not a good work, right?"

This question hit the nail on the head, but the musician from the Composers Guild was even less polite and immediately said coldly.

"The large number of people does not mean that the Correct Record Awards are never kitsch! Our main focus is to consider the style and artistry of the work, otherwise, why would we evaluate it? We might as well just look at the record sales data like a limited broadcast..."

Well, just this sentence choked the two public judges.

But it is true that the winner of the Record Awards every year is not necessarily the one who sells the best records.

In this regard, the enka school always suffers more than the idol school.

Due to the different groups of fans, young star-chasers are more emotional than middle-aged people and don't care about money at all.

Although Teresa Teng's records sold 2.75 million copies this year, they still cannot compare with the sales of another candidate, Akina Nakamori.

But then again, it would be another matter if we were to compare within the Enka sect.

Even Hibari Misora, a recognized national treasure singer in Japan, only sold 600,000 records this year.

From another perspective, she is much worse than Teresa Teng.

This is enough to show that Teresa Teng, as a singer from the singing school, can catch up with the singers from the idol school in terms of sales, and has achieved unprecedented success.

If we use an analogy, this is equivalent to the popularity of a folk song in China. The sales volume of the tape has basically caught up with Zhang Qiang's tape. Would you say it is magical?

In short, these two public judges from the media are a bit pitiful because of their lack of professional knowledge.

For a moment, they were fooled by this brainteaser. It was quite embarrassing that they clearly made sense but couldn't explain it.

And just when they were scratching their heads and couldn't figure out how to respond, Mihara Masahashi, the top leader of the Composers Association, also spoke.

He, who had never made a statement, now stretched out his rich body, knocked on the table with a serious attitude, and gave a righteous warning.

"Judges, please pay attention to your words. Please don't make the kind of canvassing speech you just made again. I'm sorry to say that you have all violated the rules and have touched the boundary of fairness. If you still If you want to speak, I hope you will only provide opinions on the candidates’ resumes and achievements, as well as their artistic style.”

The notary Dahe Danchun responded immediately and positively like a judge.

"Yes, Executive Director Mihara is right. Judges, your speech just now has been suspected of canvassing activities and has a very clear direction. I must warn you here. In order to ensure the objectivity and fairness of the Grand Award, Please refrain from any further comments that clearly favor a particular candidate."

In this way, it was like a final conclusion, which directly shocked the public judges to death.

So much so that the few people who just spoke could no longer argue, so they had no choice but to bow their heads and admit their mistakes, and responded perfunctorily.

But that's not all. Then Mihara Masahashi made another emphatically statement in an unusually low voice.

"Everyone, I would like to venture to say a few words. There is always some secret manipulation behind the annual Record Awards. These dark-style things cannot be completely avoided. After all, we do not live in a vacuum. As long as the Record Awards can promote The sales of records will increase the singer's worth, and those with interests will be tempted to make small moves."

"But I also want to remind you that this year is different. Every vote you cast will be discussed and scrutinized repeatedly by the public. Our voting results may lead to unprecedented results. Even selflessness will be criticized. , I personally have such psychological preparation. Therefore, for the honor of our artists and personal innocence, we should never mix anything other than art when voting, but should fully abide by the voting process and rules. , treat each other with a more professional attitude.”

"Yes. Since just now, I have been listening to everyone's heated discussions. In fact, I am also very contradictory. No matter in terms of emotions or preferences, I have singers and songs that I admire. However, if I look at professionalism and Looking at it objectively in terms of artistic style and other aspects, I know very well that I should support another singer. How to balance this trade-off and vote for the right person? In fact, there is only one way, which is to uphold our artistic conscience and look at our Artistic instrument.”

"Although I am not talented, as a member of the Japanese musicians, in order to maintain the dignity of the Record Awards, I have made clear the position of the awards committee members. As the executive director of the committee, I still want to speak out and ask the judges to vote. You must uphold your conscience and reason, and cast your vote from a fair standpoint. Let us work together to make this year's Grand Prize selection a truly fair election."

These words were echoed throughout the conference room by Masahiro Mihara's sonorous and powerful voice.

Not only did it fill the entire conference room with a touching atmosphere, but it also made the judges present whisper to each other and express their deep admiration.

Not to mention that the public judges just now completely stopped and did not dare to protest out loud to avoid suspicion. Even Taiga Danharu, a notary public, couldn't help but sigh.

"Okay, okay, Executive Director Mihara, don't be so excited. Please trust the judges and me as the notary. Everyone, we will start the serious and serious work as planned according to the solemn instructions given by Executive Director Mihara just now. A fair runoff vote. Don’t be afraid of differences, but I hope you will adhere to fairness and justice and uphold your artistic conscience.”

In short, Mihara Masahiro's words have won him a very high moral evaluation, and almost everyone here regards him as a spokesperson for fairness and justice.

Even though the voting was about to begin, when Shinichiro Kaga asked his subordinates to send the ballots stamped with the "Record Awards 28th" watermark to the thirty-one judges present, everyone in the room was still immersed in deep emotions.

Most of the judges present had expressions of admiration on their faces.

The entire conference room was so quiet that people forgot that some of them were still engaged in fierce debates about the candidates they supported.

But to be honest, in the eyes of Kaga Shinichiro, this scene is really ironic.

He had to endure it with all his strength in order not to show any strangeness in his expression.

Because as another insider of the cooperation, he certainly knew that Masahiro Mihara, who spoke upright and righteously, was actually one of the biggest cheaters in this selection.

As for Miyuan's words and actions, he was not only calling for the thief to catch the thief, but also to clear himself up first to minimize other people's suspicion afterwards.

At the same time, it is also to further stimulate the public judges so that they will unswervingly vote for Teresa Teng to ensure that Teresa Teng wins.

To put it bluntly, the professional judge who was arguing with the public judges was actually Mihara's confidant, and the fight with the public judges was probably arranged by Mihara.

And this is definitely beyond the imagination of those public judges and judges who have other choices.

Shinichiro Kaga cannot be dissatisfied with this wonderful performance.

Through this incident, he discovered that Masahiro Mihara's thoughtfulness and acting skills were more intense than his. No wonder he was always suppressed.

He could only say to himself - Old fox! That's really nice to say. But your artistic conscience, God knows what price it was sold for! (End of chapter)