Chapter 1: Let Your Dreams Soar
Hello
The awards ceremony is about to start. Where are you guys?
Relax. We're not the stars of the show anyway
Got to go
You're late
I was so worried. Where's Chufan?
Move over
Where's Yafang?
She's unwell. She's not coming
She can't be absent on such an important day
Hello, everyone. Welcome to...
the Top Ten Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs Awards Ceremony
We'll be handing out the award...
to a young entrepreneur...
who has been working tirelessly...
to promote and popularise local music overseas
Let's put our hands together...
for the winner of this year's Top Ten Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs Awards,
Mr Yang Yiwei
Mr Yang Yiwei set up Crescendo Music...
with his partners in 1996
He's now the CEO of the company
He has written many popular songs
He's also actively discovering and nurturing home-grown talent...
who are passionate about local music
Thank you
Thank you, everyone
When we were setting up Crescendo Music,
many people mocked us for being starry-eyed
They said we were too ambitious,
and that we were trying to fulfil an impossible dream
But many great successes...
originate from a small dream
If you don't even have the courage to dream,
you'll never fulfil your dream
Thank you for giving me this award
I want to thank someone
That is my wife,
Wang Yafang
I can't be with you anymore
You're no longer the man I know
Let's get a divorce
Besides my wife,
I also want to share this award with two good friends of mine
They are...
Jiang Chufan and Luo Dawei
Thank you
He didn't forget to thank us
He still cares about us
A shame he doesn't care about music anymore
Congratulations on winning the award
Hello. Mummy?
Yup
He's back. Bye
Chengye, look at... -I'm turning in
Chengye
Daddy and Mummy...
Do as you please
You've the freedom to do that
Do not doubt what destiny has in store for you
Life is a theatre
Be it a sad or happy ending
Everything will work out in the end
Every sunrise brings new hope
Time and tide wait for no man
When you see the stars and moon in your dream
Life will get better
When work troubles you
Let tomorrow take your troubles away
The path ahead is fraught with difficulties
When they become memories
Put them behind you and move on
I can't forget my sorrowful past
But I have to face up to it
I have to work hard to survive
I won't hesitate anymore
I can't get over my lost love
But I have to face up to it
Where will I go from here
I will just do my utmost
Don't play the guitar if you're tone-deaf!
You interrupted our singing
What are you staring at? Not happy I scolded you?
Don't try to show off if you haven't got what it takes
Genius Fan, I've driven that pest away
Let's continue
I can't get over my lost love
But I have to face up to it
Where will I go from here
I will just do my utmost
How many people
Become lost in the bright lights of the city
The night is still young
So let us talk through the night
Chufan, you two sang really well
All the way
Thank you
Yafang
Want to have ice kacang? My treat
No, thanks
Chufan wants you to join us
All right, then
Do not doubt what destiny has in store for you
Did you just transfer here this school term?
Hi, I'm Wang Yafang
Wang as in wang zi,
ya as in you ya, and fang as in fen fang
Hi, I'm Yang Yiwei
Yang as in yang tao,
yi as in yi li, and wei as in wei da
Yang Yiwei...
I'll remember your name
Do you know how you looked when you played the guitar?
No
You looked miserable
If the performer is unhappy,
the audience will feel it
I wish I could play the guitar well so I could make people happy
Join our singing club
Many seniors who didn't know how to play instruments joined our club,
and went on to perform on stage and win awards
Here
What is this?
Don't waste your time trying to learn by peeking at others
Practise on your own
Thank you
Remember to join our club
I'll be waiting
Do not doubt what destiny has in store for you
Life is a theatre
What horrible singing!
Genius Fan, not only did he try to learn playing the guitar from you,
but he also tried to get close to Yafang
You attracted her attention by pretending to be a loser
Time and tide...
Give it back to me
Give it back to you?
And let you ruin a great song?
Your guitar isn't tuned properly
Even if he tunes this lousy guitar,
it'll still sound awful
Stop playing it
Don't take my guitar! Give it back to me!
You OK?
Come -I'm OK
Mr Jiang
Shall we begin?
Alixia, you ready?
I toss out my hesitation
And the sky clears up
My world is beginning to awaken
I take all the well wishes with me
As I get closer to fulfilling
The promise I made to myself
My heart is ready to soar
To begin a new chapter in my life
I will use my youth
To face the uncertain future
I won't hesitate to follow the wind
I won't ever give up
Even if I'm lost in the throng
I won't lose sight of my faith
Even if I'm in a strange new place
The tears I cry when I feel lost and alone
Help me see who I am
My tears remind me of who I am
My dreams make me who I am
She sang really well
She rushed through a few notes
Is that so?
A few notes were too high
Oh?
She also needs to improve on her articulation
How could that be?
That should be my question to you
You're the sound engineer. Were you distracted?
Didn't you notice the problems?
These problems can be fine-tuned
I'm good at post production
Which celebrity or singer these days...
doesn't require the help of post production?
That's why you end up with a bunch of singers that are like robots
Well, there is market demand. Otherwise, I'll be jobless
Listen
If you make any changes to this demo, you'll really be jobless
But you pointed out so many problems
You weren't listening to the song with your heart
The demo is good to go
Really? It's good to go?
She's the best person for this song
Yes!
Wenjie, how did I do?
Have a seat
You rushed through a few notes
A few notes were too high
You need to improve on your articulation
No wonder Mr Jiang seemed displeased
I'm doomed
That's right
You sang so badly
Yet Mr Jiang said...
the demo is good to go
It is?
He also said...
you were the best person for this song
Wenjie, you jerk! How could you tease me?
Have faith in yourself
The top producer of Crescendo Music,
Jiang Chufan, is personally training you to be the next big thing
Mr Yang will be pleased with your demo
How is it, Xiao-yang?
My god-daughter Lin Na has a nice voice, doesn't she?
Ms Lin Na's voice...
is unique
Not only is her voice unique, but she also sings like an angel
Such a lovely voice...
shouldn't stay hidden
Don't you agree?
That's right
Mr Mei
Why did you approach Crescendo Music?
Two years ago,
a female singer from your label...
held a concert in our country
What was her name?
It's Fang Xinyi
Right, Fang Xinyi
After my god-daughter went to her concert,
she was determined to sign on with your record label
She wants you to produce her album
What an honour
She admires this Jiang fella from your company
Jiang Chufan
That's him
I know nuts about the music industry,
not to mention this Jiang fella
That Jiang...
Jiang Chufan
That's the name
I'll call him Xiao-jiang
In order to fulfil my god-daughter's dream,
you've to let Xiao-jiang produce her album
Well...
It cannot be done?
If it weren't for my god-daughter's dream,
I would've gone to Hong Kong and got the top producers there...
to produce her album
I wouldn't even have come to Singapore
Mr Mei, you may not know this,
but people in the music industry...
tend to have an artistic temperament
I've to let Xiao-jiang listen to Ms Lin Na's demo...
before I can discuss anything further with you
How much does it cost...
to produce an album in Singapore?
100K?
200K?
Is $10 million enough?
Release three albums for my god-daughter in two years
I'll invest $10 million in your company
Three albums in two years?
$10 million?
That's right. Any problem with that?
This is a good song
The lyrics and melody are perfect
Good songs are worth waiting for
We should release this song...
in a bigger market
That is my wish, too
But it's not really feasible at this moment
We can make it work
Build up the popularity of...
the singer overseas...
before launching her career here
It's worth considering
No need to consider. It's settled
What's the hurry?
The timing is perfect
This song came at the right time
There's an overseas singer...
who's perfect for this song
An overseas singer?
She's Lin Na, the god-daughter of Mei Qi Xin Xin International Group's
boss from Sichuan
She's a fan of your works
She wants you to produce her album
You wasted so much time just to tell me...
you're letting someone else sing my song
Lin Na is no outsider
Crescendo will be signing her on
We signed on Alixia over a year ago
She hasn't even cut an album...
and you're signing on another singer?
When will you release an album for Alixia?
I'm her teacher. I've to answer to her
When we signed her on,
I was eager to cut an album for her
But you said there were no suitable songs for her
We have one now, but you're giving it to someone else
We don't have sufficient funds to release an album for her
Lin Na is different
She has the financial backing of a big organisation
All of us will stand to benefit
All right, then
Get someone else to write another song for her
This song is written for Alixia
She's the only person who can sing it
OK
I'll let you listen to Lin Na's singing
Then we'll discuss this again
No need
I'm busy. You may go
$10 million for three albums in two years?
Don't hesitate, then. Sign her on
Chufan wouldn't hear of it. You try convincing him
How come?
Lin Na doesn't have the looks?
Just send her to Korea to get work done on her face
I wish I could
She wants Chufan to produce her album
But he doesn't even want to listen to her demo
Crescendo doesn't lack anything but money
Desperate times call for desperate measures
We shall take matters into our own hands
If I do that,
he'll never produce her album
Then we'll be breaching the contract
We'll be goners
You're right. We'll be dead meat
Time for me, Luo Dawei, to take action
You seemed engrossed
Lin Na has a unique voice
You're a musical genius
I'm sure you can market her...
using her Sichuan background
Since you like her,
you can be her producer
I'd love to, but she only wants you
I'll only produce Alixia's album
It won't kill you to take on another student
You don't want to put Yiwei on the spot, do you?
He reached an agreement with them without my consent
So that's his problem
But...
Any idea how long Alixia has been with us?
She's been waiting to release an album for the past year
Any idea how life has been like for her?
She's recorded the demo
You want me to tell her she can't cut an album...
because she doesn't have financial backing,
and we're giving her song to someone else?
Well...
OK. It is a difficult subject to broach
Let me be the bad guy. I'll talk to her
Don't you get it?
If we do this,
Alixia will be devastated
She'll lose faith in music,
and her dreams will be destroyed
You've got a point there
But if we don't cut an album for Lin Na,
Crescendo's dreams will also go up in smoke
There will be no Alixia without Crescendo
It's $10 million for three albums in two years
Won't you go see Mr Mei?
Accede to his requests for the time being
We'll talk about who's going to produce...
Lin Na's album at a later time
You want me to mislead them?
Don't put it that way
It's challenging to produce an album
Problems can arise anytime
Don't you agree?
It's settled, then
You can't reach him?
You said he'd come
What? He didn't say he wouldn't come?
Luo Dawei, you said you'd settle this
You'd better get it done
Bye
Xiao-yang
Where's that Jiang fella?
Have you "card" him?
Excuse me?
Have you "card" him?
Oh, call him?
I'm trying to reach him
Hurry up
OK
Hello. Wenjie?
Find Mr Jiang
Go to his usual haunts
Get him to come to Happy 3.30 once you find him
It's a KTV lounge
OK. Bye
When are you going to stop avoiding Yiwei?
I don't know
Until he signs the divorce papers, I suppose
Must things come to this?
For the past two years,
this matter has been haunting me
As a result, my family has fallen apart
My relationship with Yiwei has also soured
I'm facing up to the problem now
Are you facing up to the problem,
or are you running away from it?
Let's drop the subject
Sure
Want to listen to a new song?
Sure
She has a nice voice
She's called Alixia
The girl Crescendo signed on...
after she won the talent show last year?
You remember that?
I remember Crescendo signed her on
She's finally getting an album released?
What's wrong?
Yiwei is cutting an album...
for an investor's god-daughter instead
He's giving this song to her
Won't Alixia be upset?
She's waited for so long,
but she's going to lose the opportunity
What is music?
Does it come down to...
singing and drinking at a KTV lounge?
(Found him)
Yes!
Where is Xiao-jiang?
I've been waiting for a long time
He won't be coming
Come again?
I've waited for such a long time
Yet you're telling me he's not coming? You're making a fool out of me
No, Mr Mei
Xiao-jiang has fallen ill
He's fallen ill?
You think I'll buy it?
Mr Mei
Xiao-jiang is really sincere about working with you
Look, he's already got a song ready for Ms Lin Na
This song Let Your Dreams Soar is written by him
Ms Lin Na will be pleased with it
Mr Mei
We're sincere about working with you
Tell you what -
I'll down three glasses of liquor by way of punishment
Three glasses?
That doesn't show your sincerity
OK
I'll finish the whole bottle
All right?
It's my fault...
for making you wait such a long time
I'll apologise to you on behalf of Xiao-jiang
I'm sorry
I'll finish this bottle of liquor
I'll finish it
OK... I'm fine
Mr Mei just called
I've good news to announce
Ms Lin Na has listened to the demo of Let Your Dreams Soar
She likes the song
She's decided to work with us
I didn't say you could give Alixia's demo to Mr Mei
Mr Mei has requested us to hold a press conference
We'll sign Lin Na on there and then,
and make the announcement to the media at the same time
You think you can make me comply with you?
Come on. They've already reached an agreement
You didn't turn up last night,
but Mr Mei is still willing to work with us
That shows how sincere he is
We can't turn down someone who's passionate about music
He stole my song for the sake of money
He's no different from a thief
A thief? More like a clown
Like a clown, I had to entertain a boor who knows nuts about music...
with a smile on my face
What do I get in the end?
We know how hard it is for you
Does he know?
He doesn't
I had kaoliang wine every day when I went on business trips to China...
while he had red wine in the recording studio
I was entertaining Mr Mei last night...
while he was having coffee with my wife at a cafe
Don't involve Yafang in our affairs
I couldn't reach Yafang...
after she initiated a divorce
Yet you could meet her for coffee
Why didn't you tell me where she was?
Hold on
You and Yafang are getting a divorce? What's going on?
What aren't you telling me?
Am I your buddy or not?
Keep your personal matters and work separate
Fine. Let's talk about work
We're working with Mr Mei whether you like it or not
I'll inform you of the day, time and venue of the press conference
Don't bother
I won't be there
If you don't want Crescendo to fall apart, talk him round
Sometimes, music serves as an outlet for you to vent your frustrations
But if Crescendo falls apart,
our hard work will go up in smoke
When we signed Alixia on,
our wish was to popularise local music overseas
The song is ready,
but he gave it to someone else without asking me
He even wants me to package an overseas singer
He's forgotten why we set up Crescendo
He's doing this for Crescendo
Will anything bad happen to Crescendo if Alixia sings the song?
Of course not
Xinyi was a newcomer ten years ago
We were also facing financial difficulties
But we persevered and made a name for ourselves...
with our own compositions
We had nothing to lose back then,
so we could go all the way
Why can't we do the same now?
Competition wasn't as intense back then
You don't trust local music, do you?
You claim that you want to popularise local music overseas
But you're betraying yourselves for money
Don't put it that way
If we work our guts out to launch Alixia's music career...
and she doesn't succeed, Crescendo will suffer huge losses
The entertainment industry is unpredictable
You'll never know if we'll succeed if we don't give it a try
But with Lin Na, we don't have to take such risks
Even if her album is a flop, we can still make millions...
after deducting the production fees
It's still about the money, isn't it?
We're running a record label, not a charity
We need to be realistic
I don't get it
I used to find Yiwei annoying
But now, it's you who finds him irksome
Put my guitar down. Don't you dare
Stop being so obstinate
Have you forgotten...
how our friendship started with a guitar?
Don't bring up the past
You vent your frustrations through music - so can I
Do not doubt what destiny has in store for you
Life is a theatre
Be it a sad or happy ending
Aren't you shameless
Why are you singing Genius Fan's song?
Everything will work out in the end
Not only are you ruining a great song,
but you're also grating on our nerves
You're too much
Why do you keep picking on Yiwei?
We were chatting with him
Right, Chufan?
You're close to him?
Is he your boyfriend?
Don't talk nonsense
Don't criticise him when you don't know his difficulties
What difficulties does he have?
You even know what difficulties he has
Just admit you're going out with him
Luo Dawei!
Hi, sir
Here to visit your mum again?
I heard from the nurses that...
you help with the cleaning around here
You should go home after school to do your homework
You let my mum stay here...
and only charge me a nominal fee
I can only help out with the cleaning to repay your kindness
If you wish to repay me,
focus on your studies
When you succeed in future,
you can repay me by helping others
Go home earlier
Sir
Can I sing for the patients here?
Why do you want to sing?
My dad said music made people happy
When I was little, whenever Dad played the guitar and sang,
Mum would have a smile on her face
The patients here must be unhappy like my mum
I want to cheer them up
It's rare for a boy at your age to be so thoughtful
But music cannot guarantee a promising future
Your studies should take priority over music
But if I sing well,
I can make singing my career
I can even become a busker and make money
You needn't come tomorrow
I'll get someone else to do the cleaning
Sir
Did I do a bad job?
Is that why you don't want my help?
It's not that
Sometimes, there's a limit to...
what one person can do
I got you drinks
Thanks
I'll help you tune your guitar
The first string
Second string
It's done
Try playing it
OK
Do not doubt what destiny has in store for you
Life is a theatre
Be it a sad or happy ending
Everything will work out in the end
So let us talk through the night
We became good friends because of music
I hope...
we won't fall out with one another because of music
If that happens, I'd rather we were never friends
I hope you'll attend the press conference tomorrow
You know I have...
a happy-go-lucky attitude to life
But I'm serious this time round
Not only is Crescendo our business,
but it also represents the dreams we had when we were young
The three of us...
should be present at the press conference tomorrow
Where's Master Jiang?
Don't worry, he'll be here...
for the sake of Crescendo
He's a habitual latecomer
I'll call him
How did it go?
He didn't answer his phone. Perhaps he's driving
He's never punctual
Forget it. We'll start without him
Hi, everyone. Welcome to...
Crescendo Music's press conference
The CEO of Crescendo, Mr Yang Yiwei,
will be making a special announcement
Hi, everyone. Thank you for attending this press conference
Crescendo has reached a milestone
Two years ago, our music made its way to China
This time, our music shall once again...
be heard in foreign lands
I hereby announce...
Crescendo will be working with...
Mei Qi International Group from Sichuan...
to break into the Chinese music industry
Let's put our hands together...
for the newcomer Crescendo has just signed on -
Ms Lin Na from China
Let's start the Q&A session
Mr Yang
Will this album be produced by your top producer Jiang Chufan?
Of course
Why isn't he present today?
He's been held up by some matters,
so he'll be here later
Are you sure Jiang Chufan will be here?
Of course
We're holding this press conference...
to introduce Lin Na's new song
It's a song written by Jiang Chufan,
Let Your Dreams Soar
But we received news...
the song would be sung by Alixia,
the local newcomer that Crescendo had signed on
I'm sure it's just a rumour
It's not a rumour
It's the latest news
My colleague just sent me this video...
from Crescendo's press conference
Mr Yang
What do you have to say about the twin press conferences?
Any comments?
Sorry, no photos
Do you have anything to say?
Any comments?
See Mr Mei out
Please give us your comments, Mr Yang
I hereby announce...
I'll be producing an album for the newcomer we signed on,
Alixia Ong
The title track of her new album is called Let Your Dreams Soar
Please support...
our home-grown talent and local music
Let her dreams soar
Thank you
Subtitles: Youshi, MediaCorp TV