I Became an All-round Artist

Before Leaving Work in the Evening.

Lin Yuan finally finished listening to the voices of 106 people.
After listening to these 106 voices, Lin Yuan gained a deeper understanding of why Qizhou is the most renowned music hub on Blue Star.
One after another, their singing skills were truly exceptional!
Even though the list of 106 singers Zhao Jue  sent over were all newcomers, with more than half not yet having debuted, their skill level far surpassed the average quality on Earth.
After going through all these voices, Lin Yuan managed to identify three potential candidates for singing "Big Fish."
This was something he hadn't anticipated at all.
That evening, Lin Yuan called Zhao Jue  and shared his initial choices.
"Ping Wang, Kui Jiang, Xiao Xin Wei..."
As Lin Yuan read out the names somewhat unskillfully, Zhao Jue  remarked, "It seems like you’ve picked all newbies who haven’t debuted yet?"
"Yes."
This kid, quite suspicious. Could it be that he's aiming for newbies because they’re cheaper?
Suppressing his doubts, Zhao Jue  said, "I’ll notify these three to wait for you in the recording studio tomorrow. You can test their voices and decide who will record the song. But remember, the final approval from the company is on you. If the company doesn’t approve, it’ll be a waste of effort."
"Alright."
Their call ended.

The Next Day, Ninth Floor Recording Studio at the Company.

Ping Wang, Kui Jiang, and Xiao Xin Wei, the three rookies, sat upright on the chairs by the door, as nervous as job applicants awaiting an interview.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp…”
To keep her voice in good condition, Kui Jiang had already downed more than half a bottle of water.
But drinking water couldn’t ease her nerves—
Last night, her agent suddenly informed her that she needed to come to the company for a voice test today because there was a chance Xianyu might choose her to sing his new song.
Upon hearing the news, Kui Jiang was so excited that she barely slept all night.
She hadn't expected that after less than a year in the company, her chance to debut would come so suddenly.
It felt like winning the lottery or receiving a gift from the heavens.
And the composer was none other than Xianyu!
November wasn’t even over yet, and Xianyu’s "Life Like Summer Flowers" was still at the top of the Newcomer Chart, with a lead of 30,000 downloads over the second place!
This alone demonstrated Xianyu's caliber.
To have the opportunity to debut with a song from Xianyu, how could Kui Jiang not be thrilled?
As a rookie, she didn’t yet understand that not every song from a composer reaches the same level; nor did she know about the crucial step of the company's song review process.
She only knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that she had to seize!
And she wasn’t alone.
Ping Wang and Xiao Xin Wei, who were also newcomers, felt the same way.
While the three of them were anxiously waiting,
Lin Yuan arrived on the ninth floor by elevator. The recording studio staff recognized him immediately and approached him with a warm smile. "Teacher Xianyu, you’re here."
"Xianyu?"
The three of them looked at Lin Yuan simultaneously, surprised at how young Xianyu appeared. Most successful composers were over thirty years old.
While there were some under thirty, they were quite rare.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Lin Yuan nodded to the staff, then said, "Who is Ping Wang? Come in, let’s test your voice first."
"That’s me!"
Ping Wang stood up immediately.
He was the only male among the three.
Lin Yuan nodded and entered the control room of the recording studio with the staff. He casually sat down on the chair by the mixing console and put on his headphones.
"Hello, Teacher Xianyu."
Ping Wang entered the recording room, took a deep breath, and introduced himself, "My vocal range is d1 to d3 in falsetto."
"Alright."
Lin Yuan instructed, "There’s a score and lyrics in front of you. Take three minutes to prepare, then sing a couple of lines from the chorus. I’m looking for a clean and pure ethereal feel."
"Got it."
After preparing for three minutes, Ping Wang began his test: "The silent waves slowly drown the night, engulfing the corner of the sky’s end..."
After two lines,
Lin Yuan said, "No need to continue the verse. Sing a couple of lines from the chorus as well, specifically the part 'Afraid you’ll fly far away, afraid you’ll leave me, more afraid you’ll stay here forever.'”
He demonstrated the lines himself.
Although the doctor had advised him not to sing, Lin Yuan could still handle a couple of lines in a lower key without any problem.
The restriction was that he couldn’t practice like professional singers daily or strain his voice with the high notes he used to excel at, as his vocal cords couldn’t bear such intense pressure anymore.
"Alright, Teacher Xianyu."
Following Lin Yuan's request, Ping Wang sang again.
Given that Ping Wang had been handpicked by Lin Yuan, his voice was indeed very pleasant, and he handled both the verse and chorus well.
Lin Yuan nodded, "Next, sing the humming part, which comes toward the end of the song, hitting the high notes."
In "Big Fish," there’s a beautiful section of humming that some call the "dolphin sound," though professionally, it’s not referred to as "dolphin."
The so-called "dolphin sound" is technically known as "whistle tone."
It’s a method of producing extremely high notes by forcing air through a small gap between the vocal cords and throat—a high-pitched embellishment technique—
It’s currently the highest pitch a human can achieve!
Except for "hyoid bone phonation," no vocal technique surpasses the whistle tone in pitch, so this part was the most challenging.
"Ah ah ahah ah ah"
Ping Wang’s attempt was noticeably strained, far from the dolphin sound, more like a bottlenose dolphin.
Lin Yuan stopped him immediately, "Your voice is too tight, it needs to be more relaxed. Also, this is all in falsetto; can you try singing this part without using falsetto?"
"Impossible..."
Ping Wang shook his head in disappointment. His vocal range was still a bit limited, making the whistle tone a stretch for him.
"Thank you."
Lin Yuan said, "Please ask Xiao Xin Wei to come in next."

"Thank you, Teacher Xianyu."

Wang Ping bowed his head and left the room.

Soon, Wei Xiaoxin entered the recording studio. After a brief self-introduction, the same audition process began.

From the level of performance this time, it was clear that Wei Xiaoxin was better than Wang Ping. She even hit the whistle notes effortlessly.

However, after listening to her audition, Lin Yuan still frowned slightly.

Wei Xiaoxin’s performance was just barely passable.

Hitting whistle notes and making them sound beautiful are two different things—

Many people can hit whistle notes, but why is Vitas from Earth praised by both professionals and amateurs alike?

One key reason is that Vitas's whistle notes have a beautiful tone.

Tone is something you're born with; it's very hard to change it through practice. While Wei Xiaoxin's tone was fine overall, her whistle notes didn’t quite meet Lin Yuan's expectations.

A non-professional might not notice the difference, but Lin Yuan’s keen ear immediately detected the gap between her performance and the original version. With a silent sigh, he said, "Thank you, please send in the next person."

In reality, Wei Xiaoxin’s performance could be improved with post-production editing.

She had reached the minimum standard Lin Yuan required for a "tool singer."

But Lin Yuan preferred to pick someone who wouldn't make the sound engineers work too hard in post-production.

"Thank you, Teacher."

Wei Xiaoxin left the room, slightly disappointed.

Next up was a girl named Jiang Kui.

She was a petite girl, who fumbled awkwardly with adjusting the microphone height as she entered, which made the staff chuckle.

"Hello, Teachers."

The petite girl said awkwardly, "My name is Jiang Kui, and my vocal range is G2 to C6."

"High C for a female voice?"

One of the sound engineers raised an eyebrow.

The other sound engineer beside him clicked his tongue, "That's a wide range, hitting the whistle notes shouldn't be a problem, but whether her tone will meet Teacher Xianyu's standards is another matter."

"Let's begin," Lin Yuan instructed, repeating the same process as with the previous two.

"Okay."

The petite girl cleared her throat and began her performance.

The initial parts were flawless, even better than the previous two. Her voice had not only clarity and brightness but also a slight touch of the timbre usually found in male singers, likely due to her natural vocal quality.

"Very good."

Lin Yuan praised her, "Now try the humming part. Remember, I want whistle notes, not falsetto."

After saying that, Lin Yuan felt a bit tense.

If this girl didn’t pass either, he would have to rely on post-production editing for Wei Xiaoxin, or select a proven singer who had already debuted—

But how much would that cut into his share?

Maybe post-production editing was more cost-effective after all?

Just as Lin Yuan was frowning and deep in thought, the girl began to hum. The clear and beautiful whistle notes echoed in his ears.

Lin Yuan's eyes lit up gradually.

He knew then that he wouldn't have to share his earnings with any established singers.

The third "tool singer" was qualified!

The two sound engineers beside him exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

In terms of overall vocal quality, this petite girl was the best. The previous two paled in comparison.

Lin Yuan asked, "Your name is Jiang…"

The girl quickly responded, "Jiang Kui, my name is Jiang Kui!"

Lin Yuan nodded and made his decision, "Alright, Jiang Kui, I’ll give you the full sheet music later. I hope you can familiarize yourself with the song as soon as possible. We’ll officially start recording next Saturday."

"Thank you so much, Teacher!"

Jiang Kui discreetly made a V-sign with her hand behind her back, her face barely able to contain her excitement and joy. "I’ll work really hard!"