In 1985, Jackie Chan nearly lost his life in Yugoslavia.
That year, he directed and starred in the film “Armour of God.” This movie not only had a huge investment but also required location shooting in Yugoslavia.
The Near-Fatal Accident
The film opens with an action sequence where Jackie Chan needs to grab a tree branch while escaping.
However, the branch suddenly snapped, and Jackie Chan fell heavily, with a sharp rock piercing the back of his head.
Fortunately, Jackie Chan snatched his life back from the clutches of death, but the cost was an 80% reduction in hearing in his right ear.
A Song of Friendship in the ICU
While this story has circulated in various forms, many lesser-known details remain untold.
When Jackie Chan was rushed to the local ICU, his partner, Alan Tam, was waiting anxiously outside.
After a long and anxious wait, Alan Tam was desperate to know his friend’s condition, but he was not allowed into the ICU.
In a moment of desperation, he began whistling the tune of “Peng You (Friends),” a song he and Jackie Chan had sung together for “Armour of God,” outside the door.
As he whistled, Jackie Chan, incredibly, began to sing along in a weak voice.
Hearing this, Alan Tam knew his good friend was awake, and the weight in his heart lifted.
From that moment on, the song “Peng You (Friends)” held a special significance for Alan Tam.
I first learned about this story while watching a music variety show on Hunan TV, where Alan Tam shared this touching anecdote.
This show is the recently popular “Time Concert.”
The Magic of Music and Stories
You might wonder why a music variety show includes storytelling segments.
Initially, I found it a bit odd too, but after watching it, I realized that music and stories are inseparable.
Airing weekly, “Time Concert” has only released two episodes so far, but its viewership numbers are already off the charts.
The combined viewership of the two episodes has exceeded 210 million.
Moreover, “Time Concert” achieved the top spot in viewership across all three major networks during its premiere.
This “three-network top spot” means it achieved the highest single-network viewership rate of 1.27%, ranked first with a peak share of 4.51%, and also secured the top spot in real-time viewership during the same time slot for reruns nationwide.
Why are music programs so popular these days?
The appeal lies not only in the music itself but also in the people and stories behind it.
“Time Concert” is not a traditional music or competition-based variety show. It doesn’t have a stage, rules, audition process, or even a group debut segment.
It’s more like an organizer of a friends’ gathering, inviting some of China’s most well-known singers and musicians to “have a meeting” together.
The theme of the “meeting” is to write a letter to their past selves.
The venue for the “meeting” is located in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie, a tranquil, open, and beautiful place.
The guests include “Principal” Alan Tam, Phoenix Legend, known for their “square dance anthems,” Zhang Jie, Mavis Hee, Hacken Lee, Liao Changyong, Terry Lin, Yisa Yu, and others, totaling eight groups of nine stars.
If you know a little about the backgrounds of these singers, you’ll realize that these participants are quite remarkable.
Ranging in age from 71 to 38, they represent three generations, spanning from mainland China to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, bringing together artists from across the region. There are both solo singers and groups, encompassing both folk and bel canto styles, covering almost everything related to music.
Of course, the most important aspect is the content of the meeting, which is what I want to focus on: music + stories.
We like a particular song partly because it reminds us of our own stories, past events, or memories.
Similarly, the creation and performance of a song represent a story in the heart of every singer.
Understanding these stories adds a new dimension to listening to the music.
It’s quite magical, isn’t it?
The story I shared at the beginning, about Jackie Chan and Alan Tam expressing themselves through song during the filming of “Armour of God,” is the story behind the song “Peng You (Friends).”
In the show, when Alan Tam finished telling this story in the form of a letter and then picked up the microphone to sing “Peng You (Friends)” live, I found myself deeply moved.
Beyond the song’s inherent appeal, the story resonated with me even more profoundly.
We may have heard many songs, but we don’t necessarily know the stories behind them. “Time Concert” provides us with this opportunity.
By selecting these famous singers and classic old songs that are sung in every street and alley, the show aims to share these untold stories with us.
When you discover that a song you constantly listen to has a hidden and winding history, you’ll rediscover the magic of music.
The Stories Behind the Songs
For example, consider Phoenix Legend’s “Above the Moon,” a square dance anthem that has swept across the country and even the world.
2004 was Phoenix Legend’s debut year, and they were fortunate enough to encounter “Above the Moon” that same year.
This song, a blend of ethnic style and rap music, became a national sensation upon its release, creating a “ringtone myth” of 79 million downloads.
It’s evident that singer Linghua and Zeng Yi have a special connection to this song. In their letter, they wrote: “‘Above the Moon’ is a friend who never abandons us and an indispensable member of our family.”
Because this song has accompanied Phoenix Legend through so much.
In 2007, “Above the Moon” had already been a hit for three years. That year, Phoenix Legend took the song to the recording studio for the Spring Festival Gala.
After six rehearsals, Linghua and Zeng Yi both called their families to tell them they were going to be on the Spring Festival Gala.
But at the last moment, the program was cut.
Having rehearsed six times for the Spring Festival Gala only to be cut at the last minute, you can imagine how devastating it was for the two of them.
When their families stayed up all night watching TV but couldn’t find “Above the Moon,” Linghua and Zeng Yi couldn’t hold back their emotions.
This was a major hurdle in their lives, and they still get emotional when they talk about it now.
Then, in 2008, Phoenix Legend suddenly received a notice: they were being invited back to perform. Zeng Yi finally smiled as he said this.
As a result, we saw the two of them riding flying bicycles and performing “Above the Moon” at the 2008 Spring Festival Gala.
This song has been a hit ever since.
On the “Time Concert” stage, when Phoenix Legend sang this song again, it felt less like a “divine song” and more like a mellow taste of time.
We can see their rare relaxation and feel the traces that time has left on the song and on them.
If “Above the Moon” only accompanied Phoenix Legend through a difficult period, then the song “This Is Love” saved Zhang Jie’s entire career.
Zhang Jie’s letter is addressed to his 2010 self.
As the champion of “My Show,” the fourth-place winner of “Super Boy,” and Xie Na’s husband, Zhang Jie has many dazzling halos, but behind these halos are many difficult stories.
These stories all began in 2010.
After experiencing the best years of his career, Zhang Jie’s mindset began to change that year. He became depressed and even suffered from depression.
Zhang Jie was so down at the time that, in the most severe cases, he could sit and stare at the clock for four hours.
He felt uncomfortable, self-denying, didn’t want to sing, and didn’t like himself.
When he sang on stage, he also felt that the audience didn’t like him. This was a big blow to Zhang Jie, and sometimes when he sang on stage, he even wanted to drop the microphone directly.
Psychological problems are sometimes difficult to heal on their own, and once a person has psychological problems, life can be very difficult for them. That’s how Zhang Jie felt at the time.
He rarely mentions this story, and no one knows that this sunny boy once had such a state.
He overcame this low point because of a “friend”: the song “This Is Love.”
When Zhang Jie created this song, his spirits were lifted.
On August 11, 2018, Zhang Jie held a concert at the Bird’s Nest, and more than 80,000 fans sang “This Is Love” together, which remains one of the most classic moments in Chinese pop music history.
This song allowed Zhang Jie to regain his confidence and find himself again.
Interestingly, on November 16, 2018, Zhang Jie’s daughter, Qiao Qiao, who was not yet one year old, cried when she heard this song.
Perhaps because Zhang Jie poured so much emotion into “This Is Love,” his own daughter could feel it even more deeply.
After telling the story behind the song, Zhang Jie, of course, picked up the microphone again and performed his classic song live.
When he took the stage, the audience could clearly feel that Zhang Jie was enjoying the moment. If you listen to the live version, you can also hear the strong emotions that Zhang Jie wants to express in his singing.
There are many similar stories in “Time Concert.”
For example, Hacken Lee’s popular inspirational song “Red Sun” was written during the filming of the TV series “He Comes from Paradise,” when he stayed up all night in the TVB parking lot and had a flash of inspiration.
For example, Yisa Yu’s “Passing Through the World” was an important source of strength and confidence for her when she was being cyberbullied and criticized.
For example, when Liao Changyong sang “The Good Old Days” in 2018, the song had already been written for five or six years, and there was a touching story behind it about Liao Changyong’s wife anonymously donating money to help his singing career.
After watching the first episode, “Time Concert” feels less like a music variety show and more like a private VIP radio station just for die-hard fans.
So many singers are quietly telling you the stories behind the songs.
So many well-known musicians are sitting together just to tell a romantic or touching story and then sing a song that they haven’t sung in a long time.
This takes us to find the “unfamiliar” in the “familiar,” and to feel the beauty of the world in the well-known pop songs.
Compared to the boisterous competition-based music variety shows, “Time Concert” is quiet and soothing, but it also has the power to strike people’s hearts. Although it returns to simplicity, it also has a timeless popularity.
Such a program is nothing short of an enjoyment for the audience.