With more than 70 million followers on Weibo, Jackson Yee is one of C-pop’s biggest stars, and considered ideal to crack the Western market. Others believe C-pop stars are all about the packaging and don’t have the musical ability to compete with Western stars.
易烊千璽在微博上擁有超過(guò)7000萬(wàn)的粉絲，是中國(guó)流行音樂(lè)中最大的明星之一，被認(rèn)為是打入西方市場(chǎng)的理想人選。其他人則認(rèn)為中國(guó)流行音樂(lè)明星只注重包裝，沒(méi)有與西方明星抗衡的音樂(lè)能力。

At the United Nations Economic and Social Council Youth Forum in New York last month, a young Chinese man gave an impassioned speech about the concerns of young people. He asked policymakers to consider the real needs of the next generation and provide them with the skills needed to change the world. The young man calling for youth empowerment was neither an activist nor a member of a high-profile concern group. He was Jackson Yee, 18, currently one of the biggest pop stars in China.
上個(gè)月在紐約舉行的聯(lián)合國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)及社會(huì)理事會(huì)青年論壇上，一位中國(guó)年輕人就年輕人關(guān)心的問(wèn)題發(fā)表了熱情洋溢的演講。他要求政策制定者考慮下一代的真正需求，并為他們提供改變世界所需的技能，呼吁賦予青年權(quán)力的年輕人既不是活動(dòng)家，也不是一個(gè)備受關(guān)注團(tuán)體的成員。他是18歲的易烊千璽，目前是中國(guó)最大的流行歌星之一。

“Young people should not just be job seekers but also job creators,” said Yee, who was representing China at the forum and gave his speech in English. “We stand ready to make sure we play our part. Let’s all come together. Let’s go.”
“年輕人不應(yīng)該僅僅是求職者，也應(yīng)該是創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)的人，”在論壇上代表中國(guó)的易烊千璽用英語(yǔ)發(fā)言?！拔覀冸S時(shí)準(zhǔn)備確保發(fā)揮我們的作用。我們聚集起來(lái)。我們一起創(chuàng)造吧。”

Yee’s appearance at the forum came just six months after K-pop supergroup BTS appeared at the United Nations for the launch of Generation Unlimited, where group leader RM also called for youth empowerment.
就在易烊千璽出席論壇的六個(gè)月前，韓國(guó)人氣組合防彈少年團(tuán)在聯(lián)合國(guó)發(fā)起了“無(wú)限一代”的活動(dòng)，該組織領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人RM也呼吁賦予青年權(quán)力。

One of the three members of Chinese boy band TFBoys, Yee is a singer, dancer, musician and actor. The 18-year-old represents a new generation of Chinese pop idols who are not only talented behind the microphone and on stage, but also speak up on behalf of young people.
易烊千璽是中國(guó)男聲樂(lè)隊(duì)TFBoys的三名成員之一，是一名歌手、舞蹈者、音樂(lè)家和演員。這位18歲的年輕人代表了新一代的中國(guó)流行偶像，他們不僅在麥克風(fēng)后面和舞臺(tái)上有才華，而且也能代表年輕人說(shuō)話。

Chinese media reports have described Yee as the most valuable star in China – together the TFBoys are said to be worth US$4 billion – and he has amassed more than 70 million followers on Chinese social media network Weibo, more than the population of the UK. After years of operating in the shadow of K-pop, C-pop is ready to take on the West, some industry insiders believe. And Yee is seen as one of China’s best candidates for achieving crossover international success, a dream that has yet to be realised.
中國(guó)媒體報(bào)道稱，易烊千璽是中國(guó)最有價(jià)值的明星——據(jù)說(shuō)TFBoys的總價(jià)值高達(dá)40億美元——他在中國(guó)社交媒體網(wǎng)絡(luò)微博上積累了7000多萬(wàn)粉絲，超過(guò)了英國(guó)的總?cè)丝凇Ｒ恍I(yè)內(nèi)人士認(rèn)為，中國(guó)流行音樂(lè)在韓國(guó)流行文化的影響下經(jīng)營(yíng)多年，準(zhǔn)備迎戰(zhàn)西方。而易烊千璽被視為中國(guó)成功跨國(guó)這一尚未實(shí)現(xiàn)的夢(mèng)想的最佳人選之一。

“The success of K-pop has turned more Western eyes to Asia, looking for the next big thing from the region,” says Jonathan Serbin, head of Asia for Billboard. “Jackson is definitely multi-talented. He sings and dances extremely well. He also made the effort early in his career to sing in English and work with top international producers, which has helped him reach a wider audience.”
“韓國(guó)流行文化的成功讓更多的西方國(guó)家把目光轉(zhuǎn)向了亞洲，希望從該地區(qū)看到下一件大事，”Billboard亞洲區(qū)負(fù)責(zé)人喬納森塞賓表示?！耙嘴惹Лt絕對(duì)是多才多藝的。他唱歌跳舞跳得非常好。他在職業(yè)生涯早期還努力用英語(yǔ)演唱，并與國(guó)際頂級(jí)制作人合作，這幫助他贏得了更廣泛的觀眾?！?/div>

Serbin – who is also CEO of B2 Music, a Hong Kong-based label that has done A&R and production work for Yee in the West – adds that being tech-savvy is one advantage that Yee has over idols from previous generations.
瑟賓也是B2音樂(lè)的首席執(zhí)行官，B2音樂(lè)是一家總部位于香港的唱片公司，他在西方做了一項(xiàng)關(guān)于易烊千璽的研究和制作工作。他補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，數(shù)字科技利用是易烊千璽超過(guò)上一代偶像的一個(gè)優(yōu)勢(shì)。

“He’s been able to harness the power of digital media to achieve wider exposure. The technology just wasn’t available to idols from past generations,” he says. And Yee is aware of this advantage, pointing out the importance of using social media to reach youngsters during his speech at the United Nations Youth Forum.
“他能夠利用數(shù)字媒體的力量實(shí)現(xiàn)更廣泛的曝光，”他說(shuō)：“過(guò)去幾代的偶像根本無(wú)法使用這項(xiàng)技術(shù)。”。而易烊千璽也意識(shí)到了這一優(yōu)勢(shì)，他在聯(lián)合國(guó)青年論壇的演講中指出了利用社交媒體接觸年輕人的重要性。

Born on November 28, 2000, Yee is a native of Hunan province and has an unusual four-character Chinese name, Yi Yangqianxi. He started out as a child performer in 2005 and was discovered by Chinese entertainment company TF Entertainment while taking part in the Hunan reality TV show Up Young in 2012. The next year Yee made his debut as the youngest member of TFBoys, who have grown into one of the most successful pop groups China has ever seen, earning fans all across Asia. Overall, the group have more than 200 million followers on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.
2000年11月28日出生于湖南省，易烊千璽有一個(gè)不同尋常的四字中文名字。2005年，他從一名兒童演員起步，2012年參加湖南真人秀《青春起來(lái)》時(shí)被中國(guó)娛樂(lè)公司TF娛樂(lè)發(fā)現(xiàn)。第二年，易烊千璽作為T(mén)FBoys最年輕的成員首次亮相，TFBoys已經(jīng)成長(zhǎng)為中國(guó)有史以來(lái)最成功的流行樂(lè)團(tuán)之一，贏得了全亞洲的歌迷?？偟膩?lái)說(shuō)，該組織在中國(guó)版的推特——微博上擁有超過(guò)2億的粉絲。

The TFBoys have released five albums since their debut in 2013, while Yee has released a string of solo singles. His first solo EP came out in November last year.
自2013年首次亮相以來(lái)，TFBoys已經(jīng)發(fā)行了5張專輯，而易烊千璽則發(fā)行了一系列單曲。他的第一張個(gè)人EP于去年11月問(wèn)世。

“Jackson seems approachable and instantly likeable – he comes across as clean-cut and somewhat innocent. It’s easy for fans in China and around the world to root for his success. Jackson is different from K-pop stars – he’s not as slick and untouchable. He’s more human. I think fans across the world can connect with him pretty easily,” Serbin says.
“易烊千璽看起來(lái)平易近人，而且很討人喜歡——他看起來(lái)清白無(wú)邪。中國(guó)和世界各地的粉絲很容易為他的成功歡呼。易烊千璽不同于韓國(guó)流行明星——他沒(méi)有那么圓滑，不可觸碰。他更人性化。我認(rèn)為全世界的粉絲都可以很容易地和他聯(lián)系起來(lái)。

Unlike his C-pop predecessors, Yee’s music contains a heavy Western influence which sits well with his hip-hop-influenced choreography, providing a stark contrast to the melodic love songs that has driven the success of Canto-pop and Mando-pop. He is also releasing English-language songs, starting with Nothing to Lose and Unpredictable in 2017. However, some Chinese music critics believe the success of Yee and the TFBoys is due to the “fan economy”, rather than the quality of their music.
與他的中國(guó)流行音樂(lè)前輩不同，易烊千璽的音樂(lè)包含了強(qiáng)烈的西方影響，與他受嘻哈影響的編舞很好地契合在一起，與粵語(yǔ)流行音樂(lè)和華語(yǔ)樂(lè)壇成功的旋律情歌形成鮮明對(duì)比。他從2017年開(kāi)始便發(fā)發(fā)行了Nothing to Lose和Unpredictable這些英文歌曲。然而，一些中國(guó)音樂(lè)評(píng)論家認(rèn)為，易烊千璽和TFBoys的成功是由于“粉絲經(jīng)濟(jì)”，而不是他們的音樂(lè)質(zhì)量。

“The entire music industry has become an entertainment industry driven by profits from fans,” says John Fei, a veteran music critic based in Shanghai. “Idols dominate 70 to 80 per cent of the industry. There are fewer real music fans these days – they just follow idols.
在上海的資深音樂(lè)評(píng)論家約翰·費(fèi)表示：“整個(gè)音樂(lè)行業(yè)已經(jīng)成為一個(gè)由粉絲利潤(rùn)驅(qū)動(dòng)的娛樂(lè)行業(yè)。“偶像在行業(yè)中占據(jù)了70%到80%?，F(xiàn)在真正的音樂(lè)迷越來(lái)越少了——他們只關(guān)注偶像。

“Do they like their music? Not necessarily. These fans, especially teenage girls, are always looking for ‘little fresh meat’, the cute, good-looking guys. They like the personality, not the music. And following idols helps them socialise with like-minded fans.”
“他們喜歡他們的音樂(lè)嗎？不一定。這些粉絲，尤其是十幾歲的女孩，總是在尋找“小鮮肉”，那些可愛(ài)、帥氣的男生。她們喜歡個(gè)性，不喜歡音樂(lè)。追隨偶像有助于她們與志同道合的粉絲進(jìn)行社交?！?/div>

And Li Dalong, director of Shanghai live music venue Mao Livehouse, says the internet may have helped boost the popularity of young idols, but it hasn’t helped youngsters develop an appreciation for music.“The post-2000 generation has grown up with cultural products made in China, while my generation grew up with music from the West, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The internet is flooded with entertainment products and so much is made available to young people before they can learn to distinguish quality material from commercial rubbish,” Li says.
而上海現(xiàn)場(chǎng)音樂(lè)場(chǎng)Mao Livehouse總監(jiān)李大龍表示，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)或許有助于提升年輕偶像的人氣，但并沒(méi)有幫助年輕人培養(yǎng)對(duì)音樂(lè)的欣賞力。他說(shuō)：“2000年后的一代人成長(zhǎng)于中國(guó)制造的文化產(chǎn)品，而我們這一代人則是成長(zhǎng)于歐美地區(qū)、香港和臺(tái)灣的音樂(lè)?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)上充斥著娛樂(lè)產(chǎn)品，而這些在年輕人學(xué)會(huì)區(qū)分優(yōu)質(zhì)產(chǎn)品和商業(yè)垃圾之前就已經(jīng)受到了很多洗禮?！?/div>

Like Yee, other young Chinese pop stars such as Kris Wu and Hong Kong-born Jackson Wang, a member of K-pop group GOT7, are attempting to make a name for themselves in the West by releasing English-language songs. But Fei says Asian musicians still struggle to find equal footing with Western stars on the global stage.
像易烊千璽一樣，其他年輕的中國(guó)流行歌星，如吳亦凡和香港出生的王嘉爾，韓國(guó)流行音樂(lè)團(tuán)體GOT7的一員，正試圖通過(guò)發(fā)行英文歌曲來(lái)為自己在歐美地區(qū)正名。但費(fèi)說(shuō)，亞洲音樂(lè)家仍然難以在全球舞臺(tái)上找到與西方明星平等的地位。

“There could be a one-off phenomenon, but it is almost impossible to challenge the domination of the West in the music industry,” Fei says.“The Chinese stars are being packaged as idols – it’s not about their music. Even if they are talented musicians, today it’s all about the packaging and profits, and the music is only a by-product created to satisfy the needs of the market. So we can expect to see a lot more idols produced by China’s pop industry."
“這可能是曇花一現(xiàn)，但幾乎不可能挑戰(zhàn)西方在音樂(lè)行業(yè)的統(tǒng)治地位，”費(fèi)說(shuō)?！爸袊?guó)明星被包裝成偶像——這與他們的音樂(lè)無(wú)關(guān)。即使他們是有才華的音樂(lè)家，今天的一切都是包裝和利潤(rùn)，而音樂(lè)只是為滿足市場(chǎng)需求而創(chuàng)造的副產(chǎn)品。所以我們可以期待看到更多的偶像是由中國(guó)的流行音樂(lè)產(chǎn)業(yè)來(lái)生產(chǎn)?！?/div>

“As an idol, you have to give the fans what they need. And Jackson Yee is successful in that regard,” said Fei.
“作為一個(gè)偶像，你必須給粉絲他們所需要的。而在這方面，易烊千璽是成功的，”費(fèi)說(shuō)。

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