Divine Melodies

By+yuan+yuan

I rub it， rub it， rub it on the smooth floor...one step， two steps， one step， two steps， like the steps of devil. These are some of the lyrics from the song My Skating Shoes， describing a young man finally getting his hands on his dream footwear. Clearly sung without any professional music training， frequently out of time， as well as sung with a thick accent， it blew up on the Internet， garnering over half a million views within three days and even gaining the attention of famous professional musicians from China.

Twenty-four year-old Pang Mingtao， who claims to be from Taiwan， but whom many suspect to actually be from Shaanxi Province， has carved an unlikely niche for himself.

To pay homage to the tunes， netizens have made various parodies including My Excavator， My Apartment and My Restaurant.

Ear worms

The song Little Apple， which ranked No. 1 on the recently released 2014 Divine Comedy List， has also enjoyed a similar level of viral success. With more than 1 billion hits online， the song was used as promotional material for the film Old Boys： The Way of the Dragon， a movie directed by a duo known as the Chopstick Brothers， who also wrote and sang the song. Formed in 2007， the Chopstick Brothers first became popular online in 2010 with a similarly titled short movie Old Boys.

The song became a nearly inescapable hit in China in 2014. It was played nearly everywhere and was enjoyed by Chinese citizens of all generations. Even soldiers from Peoples Liberation Army have made videos of themselves dancing along to the song.

“It is only once easy to hum along after listening to it，” said a netizen using the handle hahajing.

Zhang Weis Hulu Hulu Piaoer， which ranked the fifth on the list， was also made as promotion for a film—My Girlfriend Is Sick. In the video， Zhang， a 31-year old male singer， dresses up in a short， pink skirt and dances together with 48 girls dressed like Barbie dolls.

Zhang used to be the lead singer for the pop-punk band Flowers， which was formed in 1998 in Beijing when the band members were still in school. In the early years of the band， their lyrics focused more on facets of teenage life.

In 2005， the band caused a huge sensation in China with the song Xishuashua and made it onto Tv as part of China Central Televisions Lantern Festival Gala.

The term “divine melody” was first used to refer the song Tante， which means “uneasy” in English by a female singer Gong Linna in 2010.endprint

Gong sang the song at the 2010 New year Concert of Hunan Satellite Tv， a local Tv channel in Hunan Province. The fast-paced fusion piece soon swept China. The song possesses no lyrics， just vowel sounds. It became best known for Gongs facial expression and movements while singing the song， as she mimicked what people look like when they feel uneasy. It also combined a wide variety of traditional Chinese opera singing styles along with vocal imitations of traditional Chinese instruments.

So how did the term shenqu， or divine melody， come about in the Chinese language？ Online， some have described the tones of the song reminding them of religious music.

Gongs Tante performance has sparkled debates among listeners. As a graduate from China Conservatory who specialized in folk music， Gong was derided for being unprofessional and stepping outside of her limits. “Singing Tante demands technical prowess and understanding of Chinese opera，” said Gong. “I dont need people to understand me. I believe they will in the future.”

In 2013， Gong released a new song Jingubang， named after the magical weapon used by the immortal Monkey King in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. People jokingly called the song Tante 2 and this once again cast Gong into the critical spotlight.

“It is natural to hear different ideas but this wont change my intention of making innovations in Chinese folk music in order to make it more accessible to many people，” said Gong.“My plan is to make more music out of ancient Chinese poems and mix Chinese folk music with modern elements and spread it around the world.”

Way out

Wang Rong， 36， another professional singer who released her first album in 2000， has since tried to create her own divine melodies in a bid to become a viral success herself.

While studying at the Communication University of China， Wang won the universitys annual singing competition twice. In 2004， the album I Am Not Huang Rong was a roaring success all across China. After remaining inactive for a number of years， in 2013， Wang released her new single， Haole Day， which enjoyed more than 10 million hits within days， though its popularity stemmed from a perception of the song as being utterly bizarre.

This year， the video for Wangs song Chick Chick even enjoyed success overseas. The video was posted onto youTube on October 22 and quickly received millions of views and a significant number of mixed responses.endprint

It features the Chinese singer dressed up in white attired in a low-cut chicken corset and shirtless male dancers in animal masks. The lyrics strongly resemble barnyard noises.

“Some singers make such videos in the hope they can become popular again，” said singer Zhang Wei. “There is no right or wrong in such choices. At least they are putting the effort in.”

Zhang Hongliang， a 55-year-old singer from Taiwan， also released his new album this year after a quiet period of more than a decade. One song in the album， which is titled Divine Melody， is actually a spoken word performance over the top of the sounds of the guzheng， a traditional Chinese musical instrument.

On the track， he shares all the love stories of his life over the past few years. “It is like a long poem recording my life，” said Zhang. “I involve some of my thoughts of life in the song as well.”

Zhang said the title Divine Melody came out of respect for Dante Alighieri， whose Divine Comedy is translated as shenqu in Chinese， the word meaning “divine melody.”However， many online commented that they didnt buy Zhangs explanation. “This song is off its rocker，” said a netizen using the screen name Xiangjiu. “He sounds like a sick man that cant even breathe well in the song. Who cares about his love stories？”

“I dont care what people think of my music. The reason for me to take up writing again was to help Chinese folk music to go farther，” said Zhang. “There is no uniform standard for good music， Im just trying something new.”

Zhang also released an instrumental version of Divine Melody. “Everybody can tell their own stories together with this music. It is an open song.”

“I dont think people should be so strict with music，” said Wang Hongzhi， a sociologist from Zhejiang Wanli University. “These divine melodies are just passing fads. One genre gets popular， reaches critical mass， and dies and another emerges.”

Professional musician Wang Dawei agrees with Wang Hongzhi. “Many of these divine melodies are just attention seeking and it is hard to say they are good music. It is easy to make a song with fast beats and bizarre lyrics but such songs never stand the test of time and I bet Little Apple will be soon forgotten next year.”endprint