Music Obsessions- July 2020

Welcome to the next Music Obsessions! We’re in a new month and as things seem to be heading in a better direction, music that I’ve has been fairly fun and matching the season to build up some nice energy!

Timelapse – Corsak

I can’t remember if I used Corsak’s song last month but this one was changed up to a band format in Chinese variety show Me To Us and it was so good that I had to hunt down the original. Its a very motivating song with a rather good message about growing up and dreams and such. Its been quite impressive to catch up with his music and definitely feel like he has some great potential to get bigger as he is a well-rounded musician. I’m definitely looking forward to see more of his music..actually…you’ll be seeing another selection of his later this post 😉

Ice Cream – ZTao

I’ve definitely shared Z.Tao’s music before but I’m also a little on and off with his songs. This one is a change in a style (from the music I’ve heard of his) and goes in a happy, summer and cute sort of song. I mean, its called Ice Cream so its a very sweet song and you don’t really need to know the lyrics and can hear it in the melody.

曜 – R1SE

After Nine Percent disbanded, the next boy group that I’ve been most interested in their progress is R1SE. Its a bit sad that these groups coming out of these competition shows are limited contracts since this group definitely jives well together and has some unique views on how they do their shows and you can see when they have a lot more control in the variety show We Are Blazing just like when they were in Produce Camp 2019. This song is for their one year group anniversary and it really does show their capability in both their vocals and dance performance plus I like the beat a lot.

Chasing – Corsak

I told you that there was another Corsak song! This is a very different song but its an uplifting song that has really grown on me over repeat listens.

元气畅想 – EzGoin乐队
(Me to Us Finale – Special Performance)

Big fan of Me to Us! This band-focused competition show was a ton of fun to watch. Although, this group ended up losing before the big finale, they obviously had enough popularity to get them back for the sponsor song that they wrote which is also very fun and positive. Its all about the happy and no pressure mood and they really do deliver especially bringing in elements of sound effects for the zero calorie carbonated water brand. Very clever and definitely a nice one. Sure, I could go with the final performance or the collab performance with Nicholas Tse of the winning band (which I had originally wanted) but this song goes a little better with the theme of this month’s music obsessions.

As an extra:

Of course, I won’t give up a chance to share anything with Nicholas Tse so here is a snippet of the performance (since I’m pretty sure the full performance has some kind of copyright claim that they can’t release on Youtube). Sad because the whole performance would have the really great part where he shows off his electric guitar skills. I would say that this song definitely defined Nicholas Tse in his early days in the music business but also gave him the bad boy Canto-rock music edge that not a lot of people were doing so this was a highlight point (when is it not when it comes to Nicholas Tse for me…) when he chose this one as a collab song with Tarzan band. The lyrics are fast so I can understand why the lead singer of Tarzan had issues with learning Cantonese lyrics. Still a great performance. Man, Nicholas Tse is awesome! Its been 20 years and he is still fantastic.

That’s it for this Music Obsessions!
What have you been listening to?

TV Binge: The Brightest Star in the Sky (夜空中最闪亮的星, 2019)

The Brightest Star in the Sky (夜空中最闪亮的星, 2019)

Cast: Z. Tao, Janice Wu, Jun Feng Niu, Xi Yue Cao, Jin Song Wang, Lan Qin, Chloe Zhao, David Chen, Yi Ling Li, Jin Cheng Zhang, Ji Jia Liu

As singer-songwriter C-POP star, Huang Zitao plays a role of a recalcitrant idol who debuted and become famous since he was young. He deeply likes music and keeps persistent, that is similar with Huang Zi Tao. This time Yang Zhen Zhen is a newbie manager who just starts the work. Being a newbie staff, she faces various obstacles but she never gives up her music dreams. – MyDramaList

Where to watch it with English subtitles

QUOTE/SCENE

STORY

The best stories in dramas are those where both of the characters are made better because of the things they go through while they are pursuing their own dreams. The Brightest Star in the Sky is one of the few Chinese TV dramas that remember that the story is about two young adults who are pursuing their dreams and helping each other in the process. Their meeting was unexpected and it does feel like there is a certain coincidence to it but the central story is about the idol star Boxu Zheng (Z.Tao) trying to achieve his dream of making C-pop music so that the world can see the talent in Chinese music but his company always trying to sculpt him into something else and his struggle to find his footing and his way in the entertainment industry. At the same time, he ends up having Zhenzhen Yang (Janice Wu) as his assistant who turns to work in the music industry to find another option to still work in music while not having enough talent to perform music or become a singer.

Their love story grows because of working together and understanding each other throughout the series. The love story is never a focal point while there are some cute moments between the two, its focus isn’t that and its what gives this story its unique angle, making it less of a forced situation but one with  more depth to grow both of these characters (as well as the supporting characters), making them easier to connect with.

LENGTH/PACING

Episodes: 44
Length of Episodes: 40 minutes

44 episodes definitely ranges on the higher end of TV series and will also suffer a little bit of dragging on. Fortunately, The Brightest Star in the Sky overcomes this for the most part. It still has some parts that linger such as a good chunk in the first quarter which is just struggling through the very frustrating love interest with Zhenzhen and Zhirui as they both tiptoe around the situation until fate just passes them by in some ways. For the most part, the drama does keep fresh new struggles and dilemmas to show up to play around with the characters and set loyalties. The most annoying bits might actually go to the actual management of the Star Entertainment with the CEO, his wife and the new VP that comes into the office and creates a somewhat fake love triangle. There are some issues here and there but luckily it remembers its focus on its two main leads and their story so when they are in the scenes, it always has a nice feeling to the scene especially as the characters develop.

CHARACTER/CHEMISTRY

With that said, the characters in this series, whether its the main leads or the supporting characters are done fairly well. There are some typical roles like Boxu Zheng is the son of a rich businessman so his father has the typical role of being against his dreams and wants him to take over the family business while the sister stands by his side. The main family drama occurs in this level and actually is pretty fun at times to watch and also some of the more predictable elements of the story. Another element here is the character that plays a good friend of Zhenzhen, Gu Ye who ends up being the mentor to Boxu and sends him into a better training for his dreams. Gu Ye, played by Hong Kong actor Jin Cheng Zhang, is actually one of the best segments of the series throughout as it has both comedic moments but also inspirational and guidance to the younger characters.

The second story line is the second male lead Zhirui Yu, played by Junfeng Niu who is the love interest of Zhenzhen at the beginning but also makes his sacrifices for his success in becoming a music. His character is one that is actually a bit frustrating as he always falls into this circle of bad things and of making decisions that he later seems to regrets. However, his character works best at the beginning and the ending episodes. The same goes for the girl playing Zhenzhen’s roommate and best friend, Xia Yuan (Xi Yue Cao) who ends up being quite the positive character until one little section nearing the end that makes her a bit more frustrating to watch.

Finally, the main couple is the final one that probably the one that I’ve talked about the most as to how I feel about it. Boxu and Zhenzhen actually works really well together. While the series doesn’t the love in the forefront, they give it enough room to feel their natural connection to each other as soulmates and partners and lovers as their romance grows through their understanding and eventually has some really fun chemistry between the two people. Its a very positive relationship.

OVERALL

The Brightest Star in the Sky is a really well done TV series. Its plot is well-executed with its main plot being about following dreams intertwined with a romance between two young adults. Its done in a fun and comedic way for the most part but with some drama and struggle. It shows the difficulty of stardom and being an idol while in the entertainment business. At the same time, it tries to be a positive type of relationship as the two characters grow together. At the same time, where there are some by the numbers plot points, the characters are done rather well whether its the main leads or the supporting ones. The only elements that might be lacking are some of the not so well done visual effects.

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