Peking University, May 25, 2015:
While we’re young, let’s go all out.
While we’re young, we’ll never part.
While we’re young, I’ll sing for you.
While we’re young, I’ll light up this world.
The words are simple, but as they flash before the end of the opening trailer, the PKU audience erupts into cheers. There is a magnetic power behind these words, and it almost seems to carry the entire weight of PKU Idol in students’ hearts.
This power, surely, has evolved far past a karaoke singing competition.
PKU Idol is a school-wide singing competition established in 1986. It is organized annually by the PKU Student Union and is one of the largest, most anticipated events of the year. After rounds of eliminations during which over 400 contestants are eliminated, the final 15 perform on the largest stage PKU has to offer, the Peking University Khoo Teck Puat Gymnasium. Every year, the familiar sight of students queued around the block for several hours just for a single entrance ticket marks the onset of the PKU Idol buzz.
This is all for good reason. To some, PKU Idol may be considered the event that best exhibits the vocal talent of the Beida student body. In recent years, however, it has become more than just a karaoke competition - it is also a platform to debut original songs and compositions. In 2013, a group of four members known as 鸽子与大橡树 (pinyin: gezi yu daxiangshu; translation: The Pigeon and the Oak Tree) took everyone by surprise by being original in every sense, yet remaining very relatable, and becoming instantly popular. In 2014, another notable original song was Liu Nianhong’s ‘Old Buildings’, which reminisces on the older structures on campus. This year, half the contestants of PKU Idol 2015 had at least one original composition prepared, aiming to win the hearts of the student body and the star-studded panel of judges.
Thousands gather to watch the PKU Idol 2015 finals at the PKU Khoo Teck Puat Gymnasium
The Pigeon and the Oak Tree marked a turning point in the 2013 PKU Idol finals for original songwriting. Their signature song, 三角地是一片森林（pinyin: Sanjiaodi shi yipian senlin; translation: Sanjiaodi is a forest), sings of very prominent landmarks on campus, including the Sanjiaodi food street and the Weiming Lake. According to lead singer and songwriter Wang Liang, his inspiration for this song came from the excitement that accompanies the ever-bustling, boisterous area that is Sanjiaodi, a lively ‘triangle’ where students go to grab a quick shouzhuabing or a handful of baozi, and all its stories. What started as an unassuming lyric posted on social network Renren became a contemporary anthem of the student body. Their humorous yet nostalgic lyrics have started a kind of trend, and inspired many to pen their feelings of Beida life into lyrics.
This year, a PKU Idol contestant whose original works left a deep impression on the audience is An Tairan. An Tairan is a fifth year senior from the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences. His songs, two of which were campus-themed, were clever, witty, and entertaining. The audience was kept on the edge of their seats, carefully listening to every word and rippling with laughter at every punch line. A laidback style, coupled with charm and charisma, made An Tairan and his band a favorite at this year’s competition.
An Tairan and his band performing their first song of the evening
When asked about how his songs came together, An Tairan chalks it up to serendipity. ‘My inspiration mainly comes from thoughts and ideas that arise during my daily life, or from friends around me,’ he explains. To him, PKU Idol is a game, a chance to express yourself to your peers. ‘The kind of effect and impact this stage provides has far exceeded the kind of reach I anticipated,’ he adds.
But at Beida, originality doesn’t stop at clever lyrics and PKU-related inside jokes. Vocal Booth (VB), an acapella group comprised of students from all around the university, pushed the boundaries of original music with their self-composed acapella piece: MYGB. As a Mongolian folk music style composition complete with traditional Mongolian throat singing, MYGB is full of imagery. It tells a story of a band of horses journeying through the Gobi Desert, of their varying pace and high spirits – all without using a single verbal word. Conceptualized, composed, and arranged by VB themselves, the lyric-less MYGB brought a fresh, unique feel to the competition and to the acapella scene of PKU. When asked about the story behind the piece, VB described its creation as an evolutionary journey for both the song and the group. ‘We understood that the audience may not be able to grasp something so different in a matter of minutes,’ says Yang Sisi, the mastermind behind MYGB. ‘But ultimately, it was about leaving an impression. Perhaps a little ways down the road they will remember that they once heard this song, and that it was untraditional and it was progressive.’
Vocal Booth performing MYGB
To each of them, PKU Idol meant different things: a chance to take a larger stage, a challenge to be adventurous and unafraid, a form of motivation to refine their art and a chance to go out with a bang. ‘It’s about putting something out there that was truly our own,’ says Zhao Xueying, an early member of the group. ‘Just because one style had some success before doesn’t mean that all the original ideas that follow have to be defined by or restricted to that same style,’ she says. Their commitment to originality has added color and variety to the repertoire of original music created by students of Beida.
PKU Idol is one of the many large-scale events that exhibit the passion and talent of Beida’s youth. Students with expertise and interests that range from organizational skills to media coordination to performance art skills all work together to put together the biggest show of the year, a show that shows off the vibrant and spirited PKU community, making the PKU Idol competition an essential Beida tradition.
Background Info:
An Tairan(安太然)
Competed until the third round in the PKU Idol finals, finishing within the top six.
Vocal Booth
Competed up to the second round in the PKU Idol finals, finishing within the top ten.
A subgroup of the PKU Acapella Association.
VB Live Session: June 16th, 2015
Reported by: LIAO Candice, XU Karen
