In 2007, he participated in Hunan Satellite TV’s “Happy Boys” and won the championship in Nanjing singing area and the fifth place in the country; in November, he tried to host for the first time, and partnered with Li Xiang and Li Weijia to host Hunan Satellite TV’s song competition program “Famous” in a bilingual live broadcast.
On August 23, 2009, the film “Le Huo Boy” premiered in Beijing; on August 25, the film was released nationwide
In 2011, on April 6, the solo album “Red and Black” was released; on July 28, the “Jijie and his friends” concert was held in Xichang, Sichuan
On February 22, 2013, he released his personal album “Deep From the Deep”.The album won four awards for Best Male Singer, Best Producer, Best R&B Soul Singer, and Best Arranger at the Chinese Music Media Awards; the album’s title song “Hua’er” won the first place in the Beijing People’s Broadcasting China Song Chart; the album songs “Heart Stealer” won the top ranking of the Central People’s Broadcasting Station
In February 2014, he participated in Hunan Satellite TV’s “I Am a Singer 2” program; in May, he hosted China’s first star love reality show “If Love”, which was created by Hubei Satellite TV and CJE&M, a top entertainment media company in Asia; in July, joined hands with NetEase Cloud Music launches the first domestic reality music show “Jeffrey’s Musical Life” to travel with you in the world of music
In 2016, as a guest speaker on the broadcast of the 58th Grammy Awards Ceremony of CCTV, he introduced the history and trends of European and American pop music to the national audience.
Now, he occasionally runs in Beijing’s park with Tan Weiwei, and fans can call out Jijie’s name immediately. Because his appearance is so recognizable.
At that time, Ji Jie, who was tall, mature in appearance, unique in temperament and singing, was particularly noticeable among a group of boys in their early 20s.
Looking back at the past, on June 21, Ji Jie told the cover news reporter: “I miss the self who loves music without reservation.”
It is said that the return is still a teenager. Today, 15 years later, Ji Jie is no longer a teenager. He is very direct: “I am 46 years old.”
But the young man’s heart is still there. The years of experience have given him enough ambition to let himself go.
Jijie is working on a brand new album with British producer TIM HUTTON, a producer recommended by British singer Jessie J and a Danish musician. In the album, the musical instruments and musical elements of the Yi people will be integrated. He expects that the voice of his hometown will gain widespread international attention.
He said: “Leaving some voice in the world through music is probably the most important thing for me right now.”
15 years ago, I made a decision that I don’t regret
Jijie felt that it was time to do something of his own.
Now archaeology is popular in the entertainment industry. The high-definition short video of the 2007 fast boy competition was also dug up like a treasure, triggering the memories of old fans to kill, and harvesting the screams of new fans.
Many friends around were retweeting and reading it, and Ji Jie couldn’t help but read it. The floodgates of memory 15 years ago opened instantly.
That year, 30-year-old Ji Jie already had a very good job in Shanghai, but he gave up everything and went to participate in the fast male draft, and has been “not doing his job” until now.
He is still grateful for his choice back then: “I really did something that I won’t regret.”
The boys in the competition sang their favorite songs for the final struggle, and regarded every appearance as their last chance; for the elimination of their friends, tears and snot were flowing freely, but they still raised their stubborn heads and tried to keep smiling.
“At that time, because I liked music, I had a lot of energy, that is, I rushed forward. It was very pure. We didn’t have the so-called script, character design… We didn’t have too much arrangement or recording, all of which were real singing.”
This makes Jijie very proud, and may also be the reason for his popularity on the Internet again.
Every PK is bloody, and the friendship is pure.
On May 8, 2007, Ji Jie won the first place in the “Happy Boys” Nanjing Singing Area Final, and directly entered the “Happy Boys” national top ten competition.
That night, Jijie will never forget.
The “Happy Boys” Nanjing singing area gathered 14,000 people in 9 days, but no candidate for the top 50 was born. The appearance of Ji Jie broke this situation.
“It was very late when I signed up for the competition. At that time, not a single ‘red scarf’ was given out in the competition area. The judges were Mr. Cheng Fangyuan and Mr. Wu Zhoutong. As soon as I went, I got the first red scarf and went straight through customs.”
Sturdy life without explanation.
Jijie finally became the champion of Nanjing Division. “Although I was very confident before I went, I really didn’t think about it at the time.”
Jijie still remembers how he held the trophy that night, “I feel very proud, and I will never forget that incident in my life.”
Because the games are real, and the feelings between them are very real.
“We (players) are like family when we meet anyone on any occasion. There is no politeness. No matter who encounters difficulties, others will help without reservation. This friendship is also a good gift for me in my life. reward.”
After 15 years of struggling, his obsession has not changed
Regarding the new album, Jijie will follow the traditional singing form of the Yi people, and the presentation method is very popular.
Jijie’s dream when he was a child was to have his own tapes or CDs. Today, this dream has not changed.
Debut is the pinnacle, this sentence can’t be more suitable to describe him.
It is not that he is not avant-garde, but that he is too avant-garde, so avant-garde to many people at the time could not accept it.
“Nobody sang jazz or soul on TV in 2007, so my style at that time was different from others.”
His 2011 album “Red and Black” has entered Apple Music and Spotify for global paid downloads before iPhones became popular.
Entering the entertainment industry turned Jijie into a singer, had the opportunity to make music, and released 3 albums.
Remembering this, he is still grateful.
In the 14th Chinese Music Media Awards, Zhou Huajian and Li Zongsheng won many awards, but the singer gave it to Jijie. He released two albums with different styles, “From the Deep” and “Yi Ke”, which integrated Yi elements into modern pop music and won praise in the industry.
That year, Ji Jie won the “Best Mandarin Male Singer” for the first time in one fell swoop, and also won two technical awards with his behind-the-scenes partners for Best Producer, Best Arranger, and Best R&B/Soul Artist. A total of 4 awards, become one of the big winners, the limelight is the same.
But the entertainment industry also made Ji Jie confused. “I personally think it’s still a relatively complex industry.”
Jijie described that various external reasons have caused him to encounter many difficulties and at the same time, he has entered a low point in his life. In the past 15 years, he has been in a period of confusion for three or four years.
He had to admit: “Just relying on a heart that loves music and my own understanding of music to break through in the circle, sometimes the resistance is quite big.”
But Jijie did not sink in confusion, but worked hard to change the track.
In 2019, Jijie began to do live broadcasts, from only 25 viewers in the first show to tens of thousands of fans online. “Back then, I did live broadcasts for music. I think if the live broadcasts are done well, it will become more popular, and more people will like me, and I can make my fourth and fifth albums again.”
Jijie will sell tickets for some albums and concerts during the live broadcast. On the first anniversary of the live broadcast, he also holds an online concert.
After becoming the head anchor, in early 2022, Ji Jie resolutely chose to return to music. All the e-commerce and brand parties felt that Jijie was “crazy”, and even asked whether they could arrange for an assistant to broadcast on behalf of him. Ji Jie still said goodbye to the past decisively, leaving no one else’s thoughts.
In 2013, Ji Jie’s “In the Deep” and “Yiske” were produced by British producer TIMHUTTON. When Hunan Satellite TV participated in the variety show “I Am a Singer”, he acted as the agent of British female singer Jessie J. The two became good friends. In addition, he represented Sichuan Satellite TV at the 59th Grammy Awards and interviewed many foreign stars and musicians. These accumulated international first-line music resources made Ji Jie feel that it was time to do his own thing.
“Although I was really successful in doing live broadcasts, I always thought in my heart that one day I would be more powerful, and I would still want to make music. Because for people like me, living at this age and having experienced so much A lot, money really isn’t that important. But leaving some voice in the world through music is probably the most important thing to me.”
He hopes that the millions of fans he has through live broadcasts can become a channel for him to inherit Yi music.
“Musicians of my age don’t pursue a famous song or the price of commercial performances, but express what they want to express.”
Today, 15 years later, he wants to sing Yi music to the world
Jijie wants to convey the voice of the nation to the world.
Jijie is good at using his own style to interpret the artistic essence and spiritual verve of each song into personalized low-pitched chants, and is known as “the soul singer of the mainland”.
As a teenager, he was listening to Whitney Houston, Mary Kelly, Michael Jackson, and imitating their vocals. Many foreign friends said, “Jijie, you sing better than our singers.”
But in Jijie’s view, “it’s useless, that’s imitation.” He has to find his own way.
The music culture of the Yi nationality has a long history. The ancient Yi poetry and rap art meet, and splendid flowers will surely bloom.
“Flowers bloom and fall, spring, summer, autumn and winter are waiting for me…” Ji Jie’s song “Flowers” in 2013 combines the unique unity of Yi youth with electronic style, making people return to Daliangshan in a trance.
This is Jijie’s first Yi song written on Mount Zhaojue, “I’ve never written a Yi song, but it’s in my blood, and it explodes when I squeeze it.”
This song also made Jijie the champion of the Chinese song chart that year.
Once at a relative’s funeral, Jijie remembers it clearly: “My mother sang at the funeral for a whole day. Although there are only two melody, but one is excited, the other is sad, and the other is happy. The lyrics are descriptive and situational. Strong, as your mood ebbs and flows, the song is ever-changing on a very simple melody.”
Hook is a key element in popular music. The original meaning is “hook”. In music, Hook refers to the most engaging part of a song, also known as the memory point of the song.
Jijie found that Yi songs are very similar to many popular songs of the moment. “Every song has a hook, the same piece of melody, you sing the first one calmly, the next sings agitatedly, and then you sing it lightly. You remember it, it’s catchy, but its lyrics Very emotional, full of emotions.”
Jijie has been collecting Yi music materials.
In 2019, Jijie participated in Sony Records’ global creative camp and wrote songs with several musicians from South Africa and the United Kingdom. Jijie wrote a song “Azhi”. When he wrote the Yi melody live, other musicians screamed. “They haven’t heard this kind of music.”
This makes Jijie more confident: as a Yi singer, in addition to inheriting the things of the Yi nationality and making them heard by friends in China, he also needs to let people in other parts of the world hear them. “To show our confidence, that’s something I’m particularly willing to do.”
For the new album planned to be released at the end of the year, Jijie will follow the traditional singing form of the Yi people, and the presentation method is very popular.
The most important thing for Jijie this year is to make the new album well.
Every year, he would go back to his hometown, go to a high mountain, and listen to the old people sing. If you can’t record it with a pen, you can record it.
The biggest gain of Jijie’s three years of live broadcast is to pave the way for the future: “I have three years of experience in live broadcast operation, and even a lot of experience in commercial cooperation. Now I can continue to create art sincerely and without profit.”
Due to the epidemic, communication with international producers is only possible by video and email. Jijie can’t remember how many emails he sent. Because of the time difference, Jijie can only call and send emails to musicians in the UK, Denmark, and the US in the middle of the night. “Every day is fascinated.”
But these international musicians were amazed when they heard Yi music. “They all said, how can there be such a sound? Putting this oldest sound in electronic music has a magical chemistry.”
Jijie is very confident: “I think many people will like it.”
He felt that it was time for him at this age to need a little “ambition”: “I also hope that after we have finished the works quietly, we can put the music of the Yi nationality in all parts of the world.”Return to Sohu, see more