The Avant-garde Singer from Mars: Hua Chenyu
Written by Snowie Ku
WHERE YOU MAY HAVE SEEN HIM
Hua Chenyu, also known as Hua Hua, is now famous for his incredible vocal abilities, intense stage performances, and genre-defying musical composition and arrangement skills. His two-day “Mars” concert in 2018 held at the Beijing National Stadium (capable of seating 90,000 people) sold out in under two minutes. He is also the youngest solo artist to ever hold a concert at the Olympic stadium.
Since winning the Super Boy contest in 2013, Hua’s talents continue to shine, as seen in reality music competitions such as Singer (歌手) where he was the runner-up in 2018 (despite being in competition against established musicians like Jessie J and Wang Feng) and returned again to the show to win in 2020. In the music variety show The Next, Hua went viral after rewriting “My Skateboard Shoes,” a well-known parody song, in merely 24 hours. Although usually carefree and full of smiles, Hua’s perfectionist approach to music is apparent when mentoring young and upcoming musicians in the TV program, The Coming One.
THE MARTIAN LANGUAGE
Hua loves to experiment with a wide variety of styles and musical elements. His songs have ranged in styles, from rap, rock, pop, reggae, musical theatre, heavy metal, classical, Chinese opera, folk, indie, to ballads, and occasionally even using multiple styles in one song, such as in “Nunchucks.” While he composes most of his own songs, almost all of them are lyricless and often sung in gibberish, or “the Martian language.” Hua believes that the melody alone is sufficient in expressing his ideas and that the voice is nothing but another instrument. This concept is explored in the experimental piece “Cancer” where he breaks conventional singing style to emphasize the complicated emotions of desperation and fear cancer patients feel and the rapid reproduction of cancer cells.
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A master at creatively conveying messages and emotions, Hua dramatically transforms into the characters of his songs during his performances. His willingness to ignore mainstream cultural conventions of creating and performing music, and his deep connection to his songs, in turn evokes the listener’s own feelings. “Cancer” is difficult to listen to and causes discomfort and fear; “Aliens” and “I Don’t Care” stir up feelings of strength and rebellion; and in “For Forever,” hope.
Hua highlights challenging topics by singing about them in an unapologetic manner. Here are four examples:
His rearrangement of Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou’s rap song “Dad, I’m Home” into a dramatic monologue brings a new focus to the lyrics about domestic violence.
Hua’s voice breaks in the middle of “I Really Want to Love This World,” calling to attention the hidden battle many people experience with depression and how listeners should provide more love and care to those affected.
Diving into his own personal experiences and psyche, Hua’s rearrangement of “Fake Monk” reflects his own childhood darkness of being lonely without a parent’s love.
Revealed for the first time on the show Singer 2020, Hua wrote the emotional song “You Have To Believe This Is Not The Last Day” to encourage medical staff and people who have suffered from COVID-19.
“Maybe the music industry needs more avant-garde artists like Hua Chenyu, a singer who is willing to bring himself pain to address difficult topics, in order to help reflect on one’s own personal feelings. And perhaps once in a while, it might be good to step back and view the world through the eyes of a Martian.”
Many Chinese-Canadians may have the preconception that modern Chinese music consists mostly of pop and ballads about love. Hua Chenyu reveals a unique side of Chinese music and proves that artists are becoming more experimental and diverging from the genres that were easily accepted by the public in the past. Unlike other Sinophone artists, Hua is willing to go above and beyond to emphasize his messages, not limiting the sound, genre, or style in order to match the song’s concept. Because he is willing to talk openingly about previously taboo subjects like mental illnesses, listeners are able to relate and find comfort in his songs. In return, global audiences are interested in learning Chinese to better understand the poetic lyrics that sometimes lose their meaning in translation.
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Hua Chenyu doesn’t believe himself to be a singer, an idol or even an artist, as he does not want to limit himself with these labels. He does not listen to people’s scorn or praises, as he does not make music for others but for himself. Hua mentions that when people hear him sing, they are reflecting. Whether the listener likes the song or not, the music alters their mood, and therefore proves his creation affects them. And perhaps the listener may be able to see the world differently afterwards. Maybe the music industry needs more avant-garde artists like Hua Chenyu, a singer who is willing to bring himself pain to address difficult topics, in order to help reflect on one’s own personal feelings. And perhaps once in a while, it might be good to step back and view the world through the eyes of a Martian.
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