Follow your Feelings: The Start to Xiao Zhan’s Journey of Feeling “High”

Original Article:https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404478702686699641#_0
Original Author: 花非花2218

This child, his eyes sparkles!

Xiao Zhan loves to use the word “high”. (TN: To describe the feeling of euphoria, not that he’s on any drugs okay?)

In the Portrait Magazine interview, he chose to use the word “high” to describe how he felt about impromptu acting performances.

I really want to act, I don’t know why I am so obsessed with this right now. I want to meet another good character again, and I want to be blend into that character’s life, I feel so high from this…

Xiao Zhan, in Portrait Magazine interview

In fact, he was “high” when he just joined “Our Song”. This was how he described his feelings on the show:

To me, these mentors are the best of their generation who we look up to when we were young, being able to perform with them on the same stage – this makes me very “high”, like a dream come true.

Xiao Zhan, in Our Song

During his conversation with his teammates in Group B, they spoke about how they stressful it was that there was no time for rehearsals, and his reaction was: “Aha, it’s this high?”

I can especially empathize with the feeling of “high” – firstly, the task itself has to be especially attractive and desirable to you, and gives you the urge to do it. Secondly, you need know that you could finish the task, e.g. at least a 7/10 possibility. Knowing that you could complete it will give you confidence and the uncertainly (that comes from the remaining 3/10) will give you an adrenaline rush from the challenge – these two emotions together will give you a good dose of endorphins. Thirdly, there will be great satisfaction from completing the task. Lastly, but most importantly, you will enjoy the entire process much more than the result from completing the task.

Xiao Zhan is person with great desire to create. He had stated this repeatedly – he does not like to work in a 9 to 5 job and perform repetitive tasks everyday. The phrase “To create is to live” suits him very well – in order to truly live, you have to create.

For the next 3 months, Xiao Zhan’s journey of “high” has just begun.

The first stop of this journey is the 1980s Chinese Pop classic “Follow your Feelings” 《跟着感觉走》.

In picking this song, Na Ying said “This is a song from my youth that accompanied me as I grew up, sung by my idol Su Rui. At that point in time, the record label named me Su Bing (TN: Rui 芮 and 丙 Bing looks very similar)… I felt these are all my memories from my youthful days. This time, I bring this out, to sing with a younger singer who is passionate about music – I hope I can hear new voices, and how a singer of this generation will expresses how he follows his feelings.”

In 1988, the release of this song “Follow you Feelings” swept up the entire China, and it could be heard from everywhere, households, shops, alleys and lanes. It was not just simply any Chinese Pop classic, but it also represented a generation’s youth and an era’s memories.

This also meant that there was higher difficulty in covering the song – how to move contemporary audiences with a classic song with its era etched into its very soul?

After hearing the prelude, he smiled innocently like a child, his starry eyes twinkling, peering around the stage curiously. Na Ying sang first, and after hearing 2 verse, he shook his head and tossed his hand away in excitement – “I guessed the mentor correctly!”

It is then his turn to sing. Just after 4 verses, the experience mentor pressed the “Y” button decisively. The match was a result that everyone hoped for. Personally, I hoped that he would match with Na Ying, as this would be very helpful for his future developments.

The Xiao Zhan on stage is glamorous; he emanates star quality, as he immerses himself onstage. I He nicknamed himself “Ice Soda” during the introduction, and I thought that reason might come from the verse “I suddenly found a different me” – in contrast to nicknaming himself “Hot Soda” his first competition “X-Fire” 《燃烧吧少年》, he said “After returning (to the stage) 4 years later, I wanted to show everyone a different me”.

This version truly represented the Our Song slogan – Sing youthfully. Xiao Zhan, who is born in the 1990s, brought his sunny and youthful disposition into the song, giving it a new life – much like a youngster who is excited about the world and wants to try everything. In comparison, Su Rui’s strong vocals made the song sound proud and rebelious; Na Ying sang it breezily, with the calmness of someone who has been through everything.

Singing live is a combined form of performance art. In the first episode, Xiao Zhan started to show his deadly capabilities.

I have a friend, who never heard of Xiao Zhan or watched the Untamed before, said that she was attracted by his clear gaze and bright smiles as he sang “Follow your Feelings”. She exclaimed, “This child, his eyes sparkles!”

Another friend of mine, after watching this episode, secretly changed her screen protector to the picture of Xiao Zhan wearing that green Balmain suit. She was worried that others may see it while she was at work, and she kept extra notice of the expressions of those who did, called herself an old auntie, “Aiya, it’s the first time I’m doing something like this my lifetime!”

Whereas for me, I am deeply touched by the way he smiles every time I watch it.

A few months later, in Dragon TV’s New Year Eve show, he and Na Ying sang this for the second time. This time round, the atmosphere was more lively, the two of them had better camaraderie, and he was more relaxed. What remained unchanged was still the sparkling eyes and his smile.

The host, Lin Hai, asked him “We know that you are very busy now, why did you agree to join when the program invited you?”
He replied “When I first came to the stage, singing was my original intention. This time round, after 4 years, I returned to this stage, just like the song, I followed my feelings.”

This journey of “high” had just begun. More surprises and excitement awaits us.