Huang Pin-yuan (left) and Victor Wong Pin-kuan perform in the reality show Join Our Concert.
Singers Jeff Chang (left) and Sky Wu have been close friends for three decades and perform as a duo in the show.
Zhang Bichen (left) and Wang Linkai also perform in the show.
A poster of the reality show Join Our Concert.
As the countdown on the LED screen reaches zero, singers appear under the spotlight at the first strum of the guitar, igniting the excitement of concertgoers who immediately break into rapturous applause and screams.
Live concerts are coming back, at least in a compromised way.
A music show to evoke memories of attending a live concert has been recently aired on Tencent's video-sharing platform.
It's a rare chance for music lovers to enjoy the immersive viewing experience and interactions in a live concert amid the pandemic when people have to obey social distancing rules.
The show, titled Join Our Concert, invites vocalists of various ages to perform in groups for several concerts held in a packed venue.
It also records the behind-the-scenes stories of the production of each concert.
For each episode, singers, including Victor Wong Pin-kuan, Chen Chusheng, Lu Hu and Wang Yuexin, are required to plan out a concert revolving around a certain theme.
In the second episode, the given theme is a graduation ceremony.
The show has gathered an audience of university graduates who failed to have their own graduation ceremony during the pandemic.
Singers choose proper songs that can help them deliver messages to those young people.
"Each of us might once be afraid of the uncertainties in the future. Yet after stumbling all along the way, we can finally embrace a better life," says singer Chiang Mei-chi, who performs with her confidantes, Penny Tai and Chou Huei.
They choose two expressive songs to inspire young people who feel at a loss to find a way out.
The show has attained 8.4 out of 10 on the review site Douban with many viewers regarding it as an audiovisual feast.
"Nothing will ever replace live music. We've been looking forward to a live concert for so long. We look forward to these giddy moments when music brings us together and gives a full vent to our complicated feelings in recent years," comments a viewer.
What's special about the show is that singers who perform in groups are actual friends and are more likely to be relaxed and click well onstage.
For instance, Taiwan singers Jeff Chang and Sky Wu have been close friends for three decades and perform as a duo in the show.
Similarly, another male group in the show comprises performers who met in the national singing competition Super Boy on Hunan TV in 2007. They were among the top 13 winners at the competition and became friends who have been supporting each other through life's ups and downs for the past 15 years.
Yu Haoming, a singer-turned-actor, has joined the group.
"I haven't sung onstage for a long time," he says.
After he ranked sixth in the competition 15 years ago, he broke into the entertaining circles and released some musical works which, however, failed to attract the public's attention. That frustrated him, and he stopped pursuing a career in the music industry.
He later tried to make a living by acting and being a variety-show host. This time, he got to collaborate with his friends onstage as a singer.
He says the cohesion in the group enables him to enjoy singing onstage again.
"I became fearless with them standing by my side. Singing with them summoned up memories of our youth," he adds.
Tang Yuan, producer of the reality show, says the show also aims to present the diversity of friendship.
"People long for others' company, particularly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. And friendship is a kind of relation that empowers us," she says.
She hopes that the show could remind viewers of their happy time spending with their friends at concerts, to heal them emotionally.
Contact the writer at xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn
