In the past week, Ronaldo was a little busy. After the street performance in Jing'an Park, I was invited to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Find an open space, a set of instruments, microphones and other equipment, and after singing a few songs, the audience will be crowded around you.
has been in the music industry on and off for more than 20 years. In 2019, Luo Xiaoluo started from Jing'an Park as a "certified" street singer and began to be active on every street corner in Shanghai. On
Douyin, the account "Luo Xiaoluo who loves to sing" also records many of his performances starting in 2020, such as "Annie", "Looking Back Again", "Moonlight in the City"... one classic old song after another His singing and playing of the song has earned him more than 1.2 million fans so far.
This weekend, he will have his own New Year concert at Yihai Theater. We connected remotely with Luo Xiaoluo to listen to this "certified street singer" born in the 1980s talk about his musical journey.
From bar singer to street performer
Before taking to the streets to perform, Ronaldinho worked as a singer on various stages such as bars and livehouses. Born in Guilin, Guangxi in 1984, he originally majored in art education. However, after graduation, he did not return to his hometown to work quietly as a teacher. Instead, he continued the music dream planted in middle school and became a freelance musician.
Recalling that he was obsessed with music and taught himself guitar in high school, Luo Xiaoluo now feels very magical. In that era when the Internet was not yet developed, books were his only music teachers. A boy who had never been exposed to music suddenly learned an instrument with enthusiasm.
"There was a guitar next to my desk at that time, and I would take it out and play it even if it was only ten minutes between classes. Later, all the boys in the class were led by me to start learning. But most of them didn't Keep going, I am the only one who loves it all the time."
In 2002, Luo Xiaoluo started singing in a friend's coffee shop. He received a salary of 300 yuan a month, and his life was very difficult. Three years later, he came to Shanghai and started to become a Hu Piao, and voluntarily gave up the road of music.
"Resident singing is not only low-income but also not very stable, and the career of music may be unreliable." In order to pursue a more sustainable career, Luo Xiaoluo came to Shanghai to open a photography studio and prepared to return to his old art career.
However, he was not good at management and suffered frequent setbacks during the six or seven years of starting his business. At the lowest point, he was in debt and was depressed all day long. During that time, he chose to go to Xitang Ancient Town to relax. In a cafe, as a guest, he picked up the microphone again and sang a few words casually. "Before that, I had not sung for six or seven years, even as a hobby." This singing surprised the shop owner, who expressed his willingness to pay a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan and invited Luo Xiaoluo comes to sing. The boss's appreciation became Luo Xiaoluo's only hope during that bleak time, "It turns out that I can still sing, it turns out that I am not useless."
So, during the day, Luo Xiaoluo was busy dealing with many issues that the company was facing closure. In the evening, he drove a van to a small shop to sing, and slowly found himself again. "Since then, my work has gradually been on the right track. I have had more performance opportunities, written my own songs, and worked part-time as a street singer. Life finally got better."
Can street artists still be certified?
In 2019, Luo Xiaoluo participated in the street artist qualification examination organized by the Shanghai Performance Industry Association and became a certified street singer. Together with Xiao Liao, a post-90s musician, he formed the "8090 Group", a street singer. One plays the guitar and the other plays the keyboard, performing singing and playing performances for the public outdoors. The content of the
exam is not complicated. It mainly examines the performance level of the artist, supplemented by the etiquette of words and deeds on the job. Luo Xiaoluo relied on his many years of singing skills to quickly get a certificate.
"Getting a license means giving you a chance to work. Although the association does not have a rigid attendance rule, you must perform at least once or twice a month, and it will be reviewed every three months. The number of each performance The content, time and location must also be submitted for approval." Luo Xiaoluo introduced to reporters the ins and outs of the street artist's examination, and specifically emphasized that this is still somewhat different from the driver's license examination."You can get a driver's license and not drive for a day, but you can't become a licensed street performer and not perform for a day."
In Luo Xiaoluo's view, street performance is slightly different from singing in bars and restaurants in the past. . "People who go to bars and restaurants may have people they want to meet and chat with, and the singing is often just the background sound there. But in street performances, everyone who is willing to stop for you will only do it because of the music. This kind of The feedback is purer and more immediate."
If the singer's ability is online, the audience on the roadside can send small gifts such as flowers or even directly reward them, which is also the main source of income for street artists. A bouquet of flowers, a bottle of good wine, a denim jacket customized by fans, etc. are all gifts that Ronaldinho has received. At most, he has received a single reward of more than a thousand yuan. "It can be said that this is the most true moment to test your strength. You can only rely on your true ability to earn money."
Fans spent two days personally sewing decorative diamonds on denim jackets and gave them to Ronaldinho
Of course, at the beginning He doesn't have much fame. If he sets up the equipment and picks up the microphone, it would be good if 2 out of 10 passers-by are willing to stop. Later, as he performed more and more, he also tried to upload his own performance videos on self-media platforms, and his popularity gradually accumulated. "In the beginning, you really need to overcome the loneliness and embarrassment of no one listening to your singing." So Luo Xiaoluo also summed up a set of "practical experience" of street singers: "There are more audiences on weekends, in some open areas such as Jing'an Park or Lujiazui Fudu Riverside has a greater flow of people."
More importantly, in his view, street performances are also part of urban culture. Choosing a performance that can represent Shanghai can also give foreign tourists passing by a better understanding. and reasons to fall in love with Shanghai.
In October 2014, Shanghai became the first city in the country where street artists were licensed to work. In 2015, the street performance spot in front of the big copper bull sculpture in Jing'an Park Plaza was named the "Birthplace of Shanghai Street Art". In the same year, the Municipal Performance Industry Association launched the Shanghai Street Art Festival, the first in the country. The assessment system and exit mechanism for street artists have continued to this day. Currently, there are about a hundred licensed street performers like Luo Xiaoluo in Shanghai, working part-time or full-time, using music to soothe people's hearts in every corner of the city.
"The current street performance ecosystem is much better than when I was young, and full-time artists can fully support their lives." Performing solo, solo or forming a band, the performance forms of licensed artists are becoming more and more diverse. Most of
’s fans are uncles and aunts. Why does he only like to sing old songs?
Looking through the song list that Ronaldinho loves to sing, you will find that most of them are old songs: "So Many People in the World", "Hemerocallis", "Thousands of Que Songs"... The classic melodies have attracted many Aunts and uncles all became his fans. "You really sang it into my heart." This is the "confession" Luo Xiaoluo hears most often.
"These old songs can best arouse the resonance of the audience in the 50+ and 60+ age groups. They were young when they were popular." Luo Xiaoluo was also a child who grew up in that era, and these melodies are also his childhood memories. .
has been singing songs for everyone on the streets for four years. Luo Xiaoluo discovered that most Shanghai residents have a high level of musical appreciation. "Especially the audience of the parents' generation, they are the generation that has witnessed the development of Chinese pop music, and their aesthetic appreciation of music is very online. They know best what kind of music is good music, and they also pursue high-quality spiritual and cultural life."
Street performances are often subject to the weather because they are outdoors. Extreme heat or severe cold will affect performance and viewing conditions. "Especially, most of my audience are elderly people, some of whom are even over 80 years old. Standing outdoors in the winter is really not an option."
More importantly, he also hopes more and more to let high-quality music A fuller form is heard by the audience. "When performing on the street, we have limited manpower and equipment, and the songs we play are relatively simple in musicality. If we go to the theater and have a band accompaniment and beautiful stage sound, the experience will definitely be better."
Everyone who loves music may dream of a special concert of his own. Luo Xiaoluo said that of course this is also his dream. For this New Year performance, Luo Xiaoluo walked from the street into the Yihai Theater, In addition, a total of 8 members took to the stage and performed about 30 songs for thousands of audiences. Luo Xiaoluo also specially responded to the recent popular topic of "Flowers" and added "Annie" and "Looking Back" to the playlist .
The number of Douyin fans is considerable. Is there any possibility other than music?
During this period, Ronaldinho's Douyin account has gained popularity rapidly. However, the format of the videos on the homepage has not changed much, one for each song. The short videos record the scenes of street performances. Ronaldo has not signed with MCN, nor does he have a professional agent. His wife is mostly in charge of daily video shooting and account operations, as well as all business performance matters.
I don’t want to The reason for signing a contract with any agency is because Luo Xiaoluo hopes to strive for the greatest freedom for the things he likes. He will never consider the live broadcast of goods that is currently popular on the Internet. "If I wanted to bring goods, I could have done so long ago. But that's not me anymore. "Luo Xiaoluo said that as a musician, music creation and singing will always be his main job.
Currently, he has participated in the creation or singing of more than a dozen singles. You can hear his name by searching for it on music software. Sound source. This year, he also plans to write a few more songs, focusing on people over 40. "I happen to be 40 years old this year. Most people of this age have rich life experiences and will have many real insights. I also slowly started to feel nostalgic. I hope to share with you the feelings of middle age. "
Looking forward to the future, Luo Xiaoluo hopes to go out more. Go to more cities and even the streets around the world, join like-minded people, and sing to people who love music. "If possible, I also hope to do theater performances every year A few performances, no need to be too frequent, no need to overexert yourself, I still want to continue walking with music slowly and for a long time. "
