On the Spring Evening of the Year of the Dragon in 2024 of China Central Radio and Television, Mao Buyi and the teachers and students of the "Field Poetry Class" of Suyu Hope Primary School in Huitong County, Hunan Province performed the warm song "If I Want to Write a New Year".
The children in the "Field Poetry Troupe" come from deep in the mountains of western Hunan, and most of them are left-behind children. Since 2017, Li Bolin, a teacher born after 1995, has guided them to create nearly two thousand children's poems. In this Spring Festival Gala, Mao Buyi's singing was combined with the children's poetry recitation to jointly depict the warm moment of reunion during the New Year.
reporter: There will be a moment when you look at them, what do you want to convey to them, what do you want to tell them?
Mao Buyi: In fact, when I was writing this song, it had a little bit of sadness on top of the warm tone. I think it is rare for occasions like the Chinese New Year that are overly reunion or lively. Because they are still children now. So I hope they can understand it, but I don’t want them to understand it too quickly.
A year ago, during the Year of the Rabbit, Mao Buyi appeared on the Spring Festival Gala stage for the first time, and this year is his second time on the stage. Reporter
: In fact, every singer who stands on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala hopes in his heart that the song he sang will spread throughout the country after the Spring Festival Gala is over.
Mao Buyi: I don’t dare to think about it. I don’t dare to think about it. It conveys that touching atmosphere. In fact, it would be better if everyone can remember the song, but if you don’t remember it, it will be precious to stay on this special night today.
Since his debut, Mao Buyi has always been a singer-songwriter. His songs capture ordinary and common fragments of life. Their emotions are delicate and restrained, but they can reach the ears and hearts, leaving the listener touched. In May 2017, Mao Buyi participated in an online talent show and sang "Feeling Like a Superstar", which he wrote and composed himself. This was his first appearance in the public eye as a singer.
reporter: How do you imagine that you are a superstar, but you are just pretending to be a civilian and living your life.
Mao Buyi: I wrote it with a bit of a joking mentality. My family used to joke with my brothers and sisters. When they were young, they loved literature, art and singing, and imitated the stars on TV. On the one hand, it is to cheer myself up, and on the other hand, it is to comfort myself, because there are many words to comfort myself in the lyrics.
At that time, 22-year-old Mao Buyi was wandering at a crossroads in life. His original name was Wang Weijia, and he was born in 1994 in an ordinary family in Qiqihar County, Northeast China. When he graduated from high school, because he wanted to study far away from home, he was admitted to Hangzhou Normal University to study nursing. Compared with professional studies, he prefers to participate in campus singing competitions.
In 2016, Mao Buyi started an internship in a hospital in Hangzhou. Once the six-month internship is over, he will become a male nurse.
Reporter: So after you went to the hospital for internship, what was your state like?
Mao Buyi: My performance was indeed average. I was very clumsy when I was studying. When I was in the hospital, I felt that my personality was not suitable for me.
reporter: When did you feel that it was not suitable for you?
Mao Buyi: After a while, I found that I became very insensitive, that is, I became less and less concerned about other people's emotions. When I see a person who is angry or sad, I am not affected by him, but some people may be pursuing this, which for me made me wary.
reporter: Why does it make you wary?
Mao Buyi: I don’t know why, because I like this. I like that I can be a little pretentious sometimes, and I like that I have the urge to express myself.
Inwardly rejecting the career he was about to pursue, but having no other choice, Mao Buyi fell into confusion for a time.
Mao Buyi: After work, you go back to the rented house alone, and then go to work the next day. That’s it, no one talks to you. Reporter
: I have seen media reports that always emphasize one detail when describing your period, saying that you will turn on all the TVs in your home and everything that can make sound.
Mao Buyi: I am still like this because I find it lively.
Reporter: Create excitement.
Mao Buyi: Yes. Maybe it has something to do with my family environment since I was a child. There have always been a lot of people in my house, and the TV is always on, so I'm used to it, so I'm not particularly able to accept a completely quiet environment.
It was during those confused and lonely youth years that music became Mao Buyi’s spiritual sustenance. He learned to play the guitar and songwriting became possible. Reporter
: Do you still remember the melody and lyrics you hummed for the first time?
Mao Buyi: Very shameful, not very good. Because I have just started doing this, it is full of freshness. No matter whether it is good or not, I will write as long as I can, and I will play and hum by myself if nothing happens.
reporter: Where does the inspiration come from?
Mao Buyi: I always had it back then. I could write a little bit when I came back from home, but it’s gone now.
reporter: This is a kind of talent. What other ways can it be expressed?
Mao Buyi: I think it may be because in your first few years, your entire previous life can become your material, and you just wrote them out at that point.
There are many self-composed songs, and Mao Buyi posted his playing and singing on the Internet. "Mao Buyi" was the stage name he gave himself at this time, because his nickname was Maomao, and "Buyi" did not want to change. mean. When the internship was about to end, Mao Buyi was noticed by a music talent show due to the songs he posted online, and he received an invitation to participate. In a later interview with the media, Mao Buyi confessed that the reason why he participated in the competition was actually to avoid work.
Reporter: Can it give you a beam of light and lead you forward?
Mao Buyi: At the beginning, I thought the light might be relatively small.
Reporter: How small is it?
Mao Buyi: Because there are too many people, and everyone has to choose, I think it would be overwhelming, but when it comes to meeting singers and celebrities, I think it’s okay to see celebrities.
After going through rounds of knockout rounds, Mao Buyi became the champion as expected. "Relieve Sorrow" was the song that opened up a winning situation for him at that time. At that time, he was called "Young Li Zongsheng" by those who liked him.
reporter: Did your mentality change during this process?
Mao Buyi: Because you will face the audience who have expectations for you. On the one hand, that expectation will bring you a lot of energy, but on the other hand, it will also make you feel a little nervous.
reporter: What should you do?
Mao Buyi: You can never tell whether the audience will like this song, so you can only like it yourself, move yourself or the song is meaningful to you.
"One Meat and One Vegetable" is a song written by Mao Buyi to his mother. When his mother passed away when he was a sophomore in college, he will always remember what his mother often said before she left, "My son must eat one meat dish and one vegetarian dish for every meal. Who will take care of him in the future?”
Mao Buyi: I feel that as I grow older, I will become more and more like my parents. This is what I have realized in recent years.
Reporter: You find that you are more and more like your parents. In what way are you like them?
Mao Buyi: My mother is the kind of hostess who entertains her younger brothers and sisters every day, including relatives from my father’s family who often gather at our house. I also like to bring friends together. , the festival is also a time for everyone to get together and enjoy the excitement.
Today, Maomao, who never grows up in the eyes of his mother, is about to enter his thirties. He has been walking on his music road for 7 years. The increase in popularity has brought frequent event invitations, requiring him to constantly travel to various places. Reporter
: But in fact, you said in the past that many of your songs were based on your experience in daily life, the little things in those ordinary days, but now everyone feels that Mao Buyi, who has become famous, is far away from ordinary.
Mao Buyi: Actually, it’s not that far away. My life is still like this over and over again.
Reporter: Do you still live in a rental house alone?
Mao Buyi: Let’s rent a house.You are still very lonely, very lonely, but it may be better. Including how you deal with emotions as you grow older may be different from that time, and your way of expression will be relatively restrained.
Reporter: What music creation are you firmly committed to and will not change now?
Mao Buyi: I still hope to bring something comforting to everyone. Although this song may be a little sad, the sadness is definitely not the bottom layer of it. It still has warmth and a feeling of support. Reporter
: Do you still want to write songs and speak for those young people who are working hard like you?
Mao Buyi: Of course, and it’s not just for them. I think it’s for all those who live seriously at any time and at any age, and who still value their own feelings.
Producers丨Liu Bin Wang Huidong Shen Gongfu
Reporters丨Wang Ning
Planner丨Huang Ying
Editor and Director丨Wang Huidong
Camera丨Liu Hongbo Yang Fan Gao Zhong
