Chapter 165: Guest Performer

Pine Stone Records held a meeting to discuss the matter of inviting guest performers for the show.

"Caiwei, which singer would you like to invite as your guest performer? If you don't have anyone specific in mind, we can look within the company. Asking Yao Liying to assist you is also a possibility," Liang Yusong actively suggested Yao Liying.

Yao Liying was Pine Stone's top artist and a reigning first-tier female singer. Having her as a guest performer certainly wouldn't cause any loss of prestige.

Moreover, as a fellow singer within the same company, it would be impossible for Yao Liying to refuse if Liang Yusong made the request personally.

However, Li Caiwei had once competed with Yao Liying for the title of Pine Stone's top artist. Asking Yao Liying to support her now still felt somewhat awkward in her heart.

Li Caiwei neither agreed nor opposed, instead expressing her wish to discuss other potential candidates.

After some thought, Fang Xing said, "Actually, the song request from Zhang Huiying's side has been pending for a long time. If we perform this song as a duet with Zhang Huiying, we could perhaps try inviting her to be the guest performer."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yinghong immediately sensed potential. She looked at Li Caiwei and agreed, "This is a great idea. Duet this theme song with Zhang Huiying, and then ask her to be your guest performer. I think she should agree."

Zhang Huiying was a reigning diva currently at the peak of her career, and her popularity and strength were beyond question.

If they could invite Zhang Huiying to assist, it would undoubtedly add more winning odds.

After a moment of consideration, Li Caiwei agreed, "That works too."

In fact, inviting Zhang Huiying as a guest performer would virtually elevate her status.

It would be considered Zhang Huiying carrying her along—a rare opportunity to boost her public recognition and make a push toward the first tier.

Liang Yusong also felt this plan was quite good and concurred, "If Zhang Huiying is willing to assist, this is indeed a fine idea."

Qiao Yinghong began arranging the workflow: "I will contact Zhang Huiying's manager tomorrow to inquire about their opinion. If her side agrees, then the matter is settled."

Having determined the guest performer for Li Caiwei, Liang Yusong turned his attention to Fang Xing and asked, "What about you? Whom are you planning to invite as your guest performer? There aren't many singers in the music industry suited for your song."

The historical song Fang Xing intended to sing this time was actually scored for a baritone.

In the pop music scene, male singers almost exclusively competed in hitting high notes.

It seemed as though one wasn't considered a professional singer unless they could hit A4 or B4.

Yet, within vocal music, besides tenors, there were also baritones.

However, baritones in the pop music scene were indeed relatively scarce.

Furthermore, famous baritones were mostly veteran national-level artists; they were truly rare in the commercial pop sphere.

Fang Xing had already contemplated this issue beforehand.

This baritone-range Three Kingdoms theme song required supreme vocal mastery to perform; anything less simply wouldn't suffice.

"My idea is to invite Professor Chen Chaonan, a doctoral advisor at the Eastern Conservatory of Music, to assist. I just don't know if we can manage to secure him," Fang Xing stated his thoughts.

Chen Chaonan was a doctoral advisor at the Eastern Conservatory of Music and a renowned academic baritone vocalist.

If he were invited to sing this Three Kingdoms theme song, it would indeed be exceptionally fitting.

However, Chen Chaonan was, after all, a doctoral advisor at the conservatory. Persuading him to assist as a guest performer would be somewhat more difficult than inviting other pop singers.

Hearing this proposal, Liang Yusong nodded and said, "Professor Chen is indeed an excellent candidate. Besides, you already share a teacher-student bond from your time on *Tomorrow's Star*. Asking him to assist now should give us some hope.

"Let me contact Chen Chaonan first, and then we'll find a time to visit him together and talk face-to-face."

Fang Xing nodded in agreement, "That would certainly be better."

If Fang Xing were to invite him alone, it always felt like his personal weight might not be quite enough.

Although on *Tomorrow's Star*, Chen Chaonan had repeatedly suggested that Fang Xing apply for the graduate program at the Eastern Conservatory,

Fang Xing hadn't actually taken the exams yet, and strictly speaking, he wasn't Chen Chaonan's student just yet.

Therefore, this teacher-student bond wasn't all that solid in reality.

With the preliminary candidates for guest performers chosen, the company's management teams split into two groups to begin approaching Zhang Huiying and Chen Chaonan.

The next day.

Liang Yusong made an appointment with Chen Chaonan to meet at the latter's office in the Eastern Conservatory of Music.

Fang Xing and Liang Yusong arrived punctually at the conservatory's vocal music building to pay a visit to Chen Chaonan's office.

"Please sit, please sit. Freshly brewed tea, have a taste," Chen Chaonan personally picked up the teapot and poured a cup for each of them.

"Professor Chen, please don't be so formal. We can serve ourselves, we can do it," Liang Yusong hurriedly took over the teapot.

"I already knew what this was about from our phone call yesterday. I also watched the two episodes of *The Voice* where Fang Xing performed, and he has improved yet again. Not bad," Chen Chaonan offered two words of praise first.

"It is all thanks to the wonderful teaching of my alma mater."

Fang Xing hurriedly offered a modest reply before steering the conversation to the main point: "For the first round of the finals on *The Voice* this time, we need to invite guest performers. The song I've prepared is rather suited for a baritone, which is why I presumptuously came for a visit."

Chen Chaonan didn't rush to give an answer, instead asking, "What kind of song is it?"

"The competition theme is 'Dust of History.' The song I've prepared has already been signed as the opening drama theme song for CCTV's blockbuster next year, and CCTV has very high requirements for the vocalist, which naturally made me think of you, Teacher." Fang Xing directly used the honorific "Teacher."

This instantly narrowed the distance between their relationships significantly.

"So that's how it is. Could I listen to the song first?" Chen Chaonan grew interested, but for matters of this nature, he had to hear the track before making a decision.

An academic vocalist like him cherished his reputation dearly. If the song wasn't up to par, he wouldn't agree even if invited by a friend.

Fang Xing took out his phone and said, "Let me send a copy to you, Teacher. How about listening to it now?"

"Go ahead."

With that, Chen Chaonan had Fang Xing transfer the demo file via WeChat and opened it on his computer.

The audio equipment in the office possessed exceptional sound quality.

As the prelude of the song rang out, the magnificent and sweeping orchestral accompaniment rolled forward, instantly pulling listeners into a boundless battlefield where a legendary war unfolded before their eyes.

After carefully listening to the entire song, Chen Chaonan praised admiringly, "These are the lyrics of Yang Shen, right?"

"Yes, Yang Shen's lyrics," Fang Xing answered with a nod.

"Indeed magnificent and grandiose; this song is quite extraordinary. Leaving everything else aside, based purely on this song, I am willing to assist as a guest performer—it just depends on whether we can coordinate our schedules." Having heard the piece, Chen Chaonan was deeply intrigued.

Although he hadn't given a definitive promise, the smile on his face clearly indicated his strong desire to sing this track.

Chen Chaonan didn't take on many commercial performances and usually spent his time teaching at the school, making schedule coordination relatively easy.

Next, they discussed the timeline and arrangements, and Chen Chaonan formally agreed to act as the guest performer.

...

On the other side.

Qiao Yinghong took Li Caiwei to negotiate with Zhang Huiying's management team.

Given Zhang Huiying's current status in the music industry, she didn't actually need to appear as a guest performer on *The Voice*.

Her popularity didn't require *The Voice* to elevate it, so under normal circumstances, inviting her to be a guest performer wouldn't be an easy task.

Li Caiwei shared no personal friendship with Zhang Huiying, so if Li Caiwei had gone alone, she probably wouldn't even have gotten to see Zhang Huiying before being blocked by her manager.

However, this time Qiao Yinghong went into the negotiations carrying another Three Kingdoms theme song, which granted her an audience with Zhang Huiying and led to a small meeting.

After listening to the Three Kingdoms theme song, Zhang Huiying frowned and said, "Fang Xing is really throwing a difficult problem at me. And after doing so, he didn't even come over in person."

Qiao Yinghong quickly explained, "Fang Xing also made it to the finals of *The Voice*, and he's busy looking for his own guest performer as well, so we could only come first. Once he sorts out his end, he can also come over to talk face-to-face."

Zhang Huiying feigned anger and said, "I've been waiting for a song request from him for nearly half a year. Now that the song is finally out, he even expects me to be a guest performer."

Qiao Yinghong hurriedly accompanied her with a smile, "We just hope that Sister Huiying can help pull Caiwei along."

Zhang Huiying then continued to ask, "You mentioned earlier that this song has already been secured as the opening theme for CCTV's blockbuster drama next year?"

"Yes, but the official version hasn't been recorded yet, so we'd love to invite Sister Huiying to sing it," Qiao Yinghong explained.

After some consideration, Zhang Huiying replied, "How about this. I will go to *The Voice* to assist as a guest performer. However, I will sing this theme song alone—no payment, and no royalty split."

Hearing this condition, Qiao Yinghong wasn't surprised; in fact, she had anticipated it from the beginning.

A reigning diva like Zhang Huiying would not casually carry newcomers.

It was also rare for a television drama theme song to be performed as a duet by two female singers.

Therefore, Zhang Huiying's proposal was actually the collaboration method that best served both parties' interests.

In other words,

This Three Kingdoms theme song would have only one original singer: Zhang Huiying.

However, she would appear on *The Voice* to act as Li Caiwei's guest performer.

From this perspective, it might seem Li Caiwei suffered a slight loss, since the song was originally meant for her.

Of course, since the song was destined to be the theme for a CCTV blockbuster, the production team of the Three Kingdoms drama also held a say in who would ultimately perform it.

Thus, whether Li Caiwei would ultimately sing this track remained an unknown variable.

Zhang Huiying knew that doing this might somewhat resemble seizing Li Caiwei's song, but as compensation, going to *The Voice* to assist Li Caiwei as a guest performer would settle this human favor.

As for the personal favor between herself and Fang Xing, that was a matter strictly between the two of them and had nothing to do with Li Caiwei.

Zhang Huiying had this logic sorted out very clearly.

Qiao Yinghong glanced at Li Caiwei to consult her opinion.

Li Caiwei was no longer a greenhorn; she knew very well that in the music industry, one could not monopolize everything. To gain something, one had to pay a corresponding price.

Besides, she hadn't really paid anything at all.

Strictly speaking, this Three Kingdoms theme song didn't belong to her yet.

Even if the company had helped her invite Yao Liying as a guest, the song would most likely have been given to Yao Liying to sing anyway.

Zhang Huiying wanted to sing this song and felt she owed Li Caiwei a favor, so she agreed to be her guest performer and give her a boost.

This was an exchange: Li Caiwei traded an empty promise for the support of a reigning diva.

Had it not been for this, given Li Caiwei's current standing, she wouldn't have been able to invite Zhang Huiying.

After pondering for a moment, she agreed, "Then thank you, Sister Huiying."

Seeing how reasonable Li Caiwei was, Zhang Huiying smiled as well and said, "Alright, then it's settled. Just notify my manager whenever you want to start rehearsals."

"Thank you again, Sister Huiying. It's settled then, we won't take up any more of your time," Qiao Yinghong hurriedly stood up to shake hands.