AUGUSTMAN SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 101
ARTIST OF THE MONTH
JOKER XUE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 9
4
INTRODUCTION
UP AND COMING
INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT
CAREER IMPROVE
20 31
STYLE CHANGE
SOCIAL WELFARE
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24 37
INDUSTRY RESPONSE
SIDELINE DEVELOPMENT
“No matter how long, I will still use the song to tell me my story“
JOKER is extremely special, even is funny it
also take it with a serious attitude.
As his fans know, he it the guy that be patinet with others, but strict with himself. See mingly crazy, but inside full of serious and demanding about his music. Changing the screen name to JOKER is some kind of self deprecating
for those who seem to be fake.
“I’m the JOKER, I’m doing my best to show you what you want. But my world is still my own, no one can be invaded.”
INTRODUCTION
By the end of 2018, nine solo albums have been released, most of which are composed by their own lyrics, representing 《演员》, 《丑八怪》
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His name is
Joker Xue 薛之谦 a Chinese singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Shanghai, his mother died of a heart attack at the age when he was four. He studied art painting in early years and went to Switzerland to study hotel management at Glion Hotel Management School.
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UP AND COMING
The result of the indomitable spirit
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Joker Xue is a high-yielding original singer. His early music is mainly based on sad love songs. After that, both the subject matter and the style are constantly changing, becoming more and more realistic and profound, and the style is more diverse.
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Joker Xue has shown his grasp of the
but also shows a characteristic of Joker
is different from the company’s music
elements of pop music since his famous
Xue’s early words: full of picture and
philosophy, his music is not supported by
work 《认真的雪》” and set the tone
detail. The theme of the lyrics at this
the company.Therefore, although there
for his early “Xue’s Love Song” style.
stage is basically the thoughts of the
are many excellent works in the early six
《苏黎世的从前》 can also be regarded
lost lovers, and the whole is filled with
albums, the arrangement, production and
as an early masterpiece. This song not
the beautiful and unrelenting beauty
distribution are still weak.
only shows the aura of his composition,
of the young people. Just because it
6
s
2004
2008
He participated in the National Singer
Released the album “深深爱过你”.
Contest and retired. In 2005, he participated
in the competition again and entered the top four in the country. After the game, he
signed up in Tencent Company.
2006
2011 After hearing the “传说” of Joker
Xue’s own lyrics on this album, Tanimura said that he “likes it very much, is a rare and excellent creation”
The album of the same name, “Xue Zhi
and invites Joker Xue to participate
Qian” was released. In one and a half
in the Osaka Asian Music Festival
months, the physical sales exceeded
in Japan, which was planned by
200,000. At the beginning of his debut,
the new owner of Tanimura. On
he became famous in the album “认真
December 20th, he had his first
的雪” composed by his own lyrics. In
concert of “谦年传说” was held in
the sixth global Chinese language songs
Shanghai.
he get the most popular male newcomer
award in the song list.
2007 The album “你过得好吗”, the physical sales exceeded 150,000 in one month.
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INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT
the only artist to complete the entire contract
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In 2012, with the end of the seven-year contract with Tencent Entertainment, Joker Xue became the only artist to complete the entire contract.
In September of the same year, signed with Kunhong Media. In 2013, Joker Xue released his sixth album 《意外》after his music freedom, and won the 21st edition
of the Best of the East and the top ten golden songs. This album can be regarded as a tribute to the album,《方圆几里》,《你还要我怎样》 and so on to continue the smooth feeling of Joker Xue’s love song, and his lyrics skills are maturing. The
success of entrepreneurship has enabled him to invest in better production, so there is a qualitative leap in the composition and production of albums. This album can be regarded as the masterpiece of the mid-term “Xue’s Love Song”, which is the peak and summary of the expression of the pain and thought of breaking up.
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The next milestone is the release of the 《绅士》 EP after
This coincides with Joker Xue’s own life experience. Entrepreneurial
the signing of Ocean Butterflies Music in 2015. This EP contains
experience, emotional experience and ups and downs in more
three songs: 《演员》,《绅士》, 《下雨了》. It is also the death
than a decade have given him a deep and realistic understanding
and nostalgia of love. Although it is still full of picture and
of life. These accumulations have made his music creation mature,
detail, the style is beginning to mature and restrained, from
especially in terms of lyrics, which is more and more realistic and
ideal to reality. The transformation from juvenile to mature
deep. His music began to be widely broadcasted on major music
man has been completed, which reflects the young people’s
platforms, and his popularity has picked up, but it still belongs to
understanding, acceptance, letting and restraint from being
the situation where the song reds are not red. At the same time,
shouted, confided, demanded and entangled, and turned into
Joker Xue began to pay more attention on the Internet with his
adults. I once said that 《演员》 mixed eight editions in the
unique style of humor on Weibo. The production quality of this
production, and finally chose one version for distribution.
album has been further improved.
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CAREER IMPROVE
The key is that you must really have talent, be strong
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这个时代 根本没有怀才不遇 红就一定要红的有尊严 这个世界上的自媒体 已经足够承载任何一种形式的才华 但关键是 你必须真的具备才华 所以请你一定要强大自己 There is no such thing as a time in this era. Popular must be popular with dignity. This world’s self-media is enough to carry any kind of talent, but the key is that you must really have talent, so please be strong.
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In 2016, Joker Xue took over more than 40 variety shows and appeared on major TV and online platforms, which further increased his popularity to a wider audience, and his variety talents were also known to the public.
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In other areas of success, he launched his crucial seventh album, 《初学者》 in May, which broke the focus of his previous style and focused his attention on music. Together with the songs from
the previous six albums, Xue Zhiqian’s music began to be widely sung.This year, the seventh album 《初学者》 was released,
including three songs from the《绅士》 EP.
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The album was rated as the best album of 2016 in China by Apple Music, and gradually climbed to the top of the major music playback platforms, such as Kugoo music, QQ music, NetEase cloud music, etc. The album’s eponymous song 《初学者》 is the most breakthrough style. The songs are added to the rock and electronic
elements. The lyrics also tend to be abstract and intentional. The theme breaks through the range of love songs and adds to the thinking of life and society. Another song《我好像在哪见过你》 is a magnificent and rich picture, so it is used as a soundtrack . From April to July 2017, held the 《我好像在哪见过你》 personal
concert tour, and won the ninth place in the box office of the 2017 Chinese music concert. On June 20th, 2017, he entered the Madame Tussauds Shanghai and became the first star to enter the Shanghai Dusha Music DreamWorks.
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STYLE CHANGE
“摩天大楼” World Tour Concert
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Since 2018, Joker Xue has dramatically reduced the variety show and has been plagued by severe vocal cord disease for
several months. Fortunately, he was cured. From July 2018 to May 2019, the “摩天大楼” World Tour Concert was held, becoming the first mainland singer to open two games in Taipei.
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In 2018, Joker Xue’s ninth album 《怪咖》 was born. Compared with its previous works, the song’s songs are in a lot of sound zones, and the frequent switching of true and false sounds makes the singing more difficult, such
as 《摩天大楼》, 《那是你离开了北京的生 活》, 《狐狸》. In terms of music style, there
are both the rock style of 《违背的青春》 and the singer of 《天分》. The theme is also
diverse. 《醒来》 sings the hardships of small
people in the big city. 《怪咖》 describes the humbleness of passive pleasing people in love.
《违背的青春》 describes the unwillingness to give up the principle and struggle. In the
life of the past, 《摩天大楼》 criticized the alienation of greed for human nature, eager to return to innocence. Zhang Ya Dong commented: “Good to listen, good to listen, melody is so good, even so thought, is not unconventional... ... 《摩天大 楼》 basically I think it is Joker Xue’s urban symphony... This is a golden song for me.” The lyrics of this album generally continue
the trend of abstraction, deepening and ideology of Xue Zhiqian’s lyrics, but The lyrics
of 《那是你离开了北京的生活》returned to Joker Xue’s early figuration.
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INDUSTRY RESPONSE
Joker Xue works have won praise and recognition from predecessors
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Zhang Ya Dong said: “I think Xue Zhiqian
I especially hope to have the opportunity
Zhao handsome, who had worked with
is too good, very good, his lyrics are
to cooperate with Xue Zhiqian. Li Jian
Xue Zhiqian, said: “It’s a great original
written very well. You can understand
described him as “a true mainland flag,
singer, and he writes lyrics. His rumors
his special delicate thought through this
a great singer who can compete with
are seriously underestimated. He is one
lyrics, very very good... especially touched
any singer in Hong Kong and Taiwan.”
of the best lyricists in the music scene.”
me, I was His lyrics are particularly touching.” Yuan Wei Ren said, “I like Xue Zhiqian
Lee Jian bluntly admires Xue Zhiqian:
“Now a song is going to be popular. Xue Zhiqian is now on the way to the
very much. I think that a musician like
national singer. He has both a wide
Xue Zhiqian actually has the most
range of popularity and red songs.”
important piece of Chinese writing.
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In the music award of the 3rd China Record Industry Industry Association Awards Working Committee in 2019, Joker Xue won the “Men Singer of the Year”, and the a warding ceremony evaluated Joker Xue. “With the unrepeatable sound charm,
excellent singing level and on-the-spot performance, The skill is subtly transformed into the emotion in the song. The style is vivid and lively, which makes the audience
have a strong resonance and substitution. The works have a great market influence
and are driven by the aesthetic trend of their own characteristics.”
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Joker Xue’s influence is also reflected in various music broadcasting platforms. He is the most influential male singer of the Chinese music year of 2017 and the most popular male singer of the year, and the total number of
plays, downloads, hot searches, and heat are the first. The champion of Chinese male singers’ songs is heard in 2018. QQ Music’s annual Chinese songs in 2017 are
the first in total, and the annual Chinese songs in 2018 are the first. Netease Cloud Music is the most popular Chinese language in 2018. By the end of 2018,cumulative
number of official MV songs on YouTube was the first among mainland singers, and the official MV of Actors exceeded 150 million. The amount of songs played on Spotify is the first in the mainland.
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SOCIAL WELFARE
Tolerant of the world, one day the world will be more tolerant of you
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In August 2007 The album “How are you doing well” was added to the charity
event, some of the albums were auctioned online, and the proceeds were donated to deaf children. In the same year, Xue Zhiqian, as a representative of Chinese pop music, participated in the China Cultural Festival Key Project “Friendship Tour along
the Volga River” jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation Culture and Film Agency, and visited 11 cities along the river show.
On January 20th, 2008 He participated in the “Wings of Happiness” charity evening performance. In March of the same year, a new book conference was held in Shanghai, and some of the contributions were donated
and 10 photos were taken for auction. The proceeds were donated to the snow-stricken areas through the Shanghai Red
Cross to support the reconstruction of the disaster area. On
May 14th, the concert performance fee was donated in full to support the disaster relief work of the Wenchuan earthquake.
On July 25th, as the Olympic torchbearer, the Beijing Olympic torch was passed in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. In April
2010, he was responsible for attending the charity party “We
are in Action for Drought Relief” and volunteered to perform on stage for helping.
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In September 16, 2011 He participated in the performance of Mengniu’s “Eco-Action to Help China” Eco-Public Action.
In April 2012 He made a premiere ticket for the movie “Children of the Stars”.
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In January 2013 A charity dinner hosted by Fengshang was held at a price of 12,000 yuan, donated to
the Angels Children’s Fund, and participated in the “Young Volunteer Night” event, which will accompany the guitar for many years. Presented to a blind child who loves music; in the same year, he participated in the charity show “China Dream Show” to support families with serious illnesses.
In 2014 Once again participated in the charity show “China Dream Show” and took out all the notice fees to help the seriously ill families.
In March 2016 He participated in the launch of the “Beauty Sunshine Project” and called for caring for left-behind children. In July of the same year, as a member of the “Helping Gan”, he joined the “Han Hong Love, 100 People Assistance” large-scale charity activities,
and donated money to remote minority areas through the Han Hong Love Charity Foundation to help the poor and severely ill children in remote areas. On August 13th,
as the chief dream officer of the “Aifeixiang Rural Education Project”, he called on more people to pay attention to the rural teachers group and participated in the 10th “Aifeixiang Rural Education Project” rural teacher training public welfare activities.
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In June 2017 Participate in the “ONE NIGHT for Children” charity visit and enter the school to understand and interact with the daily learning and life of the mentally handicapped children. On July 20th, at the opening ceremony of Madame Tussauds in Chongqing, the non-profit public welfare agency Green Leaf Volunteer “Love to Fly Dreams, College Entrance Examination” project, funded 6 Chongqing poor students to complete university
studies, and assumed these students to participate. All tuition fees before work.
In June 2018 Xue Zhiqian served as the promotion ambassador of the “Running Beijing” public welfare project, popularizing the concept of health to the public, advocating the public to run for public welfare, and paying attention to the mental health problems of adults.
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SIDELINE DEVELOPMENT
I discovered that the world is unfair, but unfairness is a good thing. It will make you work harder. The harder, the more fortunate
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In 2010, when Joker Xue’s fifth album entered the preparatory stage, but due to the sluggish record industry, the company could not get too much money to promote his album. In order to support his dream of singing, Joker Xue began to have entrepreneurial ideas.
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Until 2011, Joker Xue sold his own house and packed up about 2 million yuan in cash. Xue Zhiqian and his good friend invested together. Since there was no string of incense
in Shanghai at the time, Joker Xue and his friends decided to open a string of hot pot restaurants after many considerations. He told Winner.com: “Artists are a double-edged
sword. Although the promotion period can be shortened at the beginning of the store opening, if the package can’t keep up, it will eventually affect the word of mouth.”
Therefore, “Desperate Saburo” Joker
Xue questioned Shang Shangqian string of incense hot pot, from chef to site selection to material ingredients
and so on. Among them, the chef of Shang Shangqian’s first store was also
Xue Zhiqian and his partner visited five times in a row, and finally moved Chongqing chef to go to Shanghai.
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What is the reason for Joker Xue to sing and start a business, how to allocate energy and time?
“I am studying hotel management abroad, because I like to sing. Others are tools for life skills. With money, you
can do what you like. I have to do things slowly and arrange time to come out. Actually, it’s very hard, I can only sleep for five or six hours a day.”
At the end of 2011, the hot pot restaurant earned 200,000 and
he took out 160,000 for his new song. ad. When Joker Xue was
interviewed and revealed that he decided to start a hot pot restaurant, he had more than 600,000 savings in his hands, sold
a house, and invested 4 million yuan with his partners to open a shop of Shang Shang Qiang Chuan Xiang Hot Pot. I personally
chose the chef to even personally serve the dishes. Currently,
I have expanded to 5 stores in Shanghai, each with an area of 600 square meters.
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Joker Xue’s sideline business is still quite smooth, and the “Xue Boss” chain hot pot restaurant and women’s brand store have achieved rapid expansion. Xue Zhiqian
also admitted that he did not make a lot
of business when he was interviewed. He did business to promote music.
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D A N G EROUS PEO PLE
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Regarding entrepreneurship, Joker Xue said:
“Don’t be blind, you have to understand your strengths. If you are prepared for a year and a half before opening the food store. And about the clothing store, I used to run by myself. A while ago, I also took a month to go to the factory
near Shanghai to run and learn.”
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While operating the hot pot restaurant, Joker Xue also aimed at another rapidly
developing industry. From the hot pot restaurant, he squeezed 500,000 yuan in Taobao to open the mid-end women’s
clothing store. Because the online sales were good, he later turned to the physical
store. Xue Zhiqian revealed his business plan when he was interviewed, expanding
the hot pot restaurant to 8-10, and the women’s physical store to 3.
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But no matter how successful in business, Xue Zhiqian thinks that he is still the “music paranoia” that will write a good song all night long, crazy to neurasthenia.
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如果有一天我在逛街，发现有人在哼我的歌。那一切都值了。
If one day I am shopping, I find someone singing my song. That's all worth it.