In 2001, a group that sang "How many people once admired your appearance when you were young, who knows who is willing to endure ruthless changes" was born.
After 19 years, their words came true and they stood on the stage again. However, they were dismissed by music critics as "middle-aged and greasy" and "people in their 40s still sang "Goodbye to Youth"... ...
This group that is not bought into by young audiences and professional music fans is Shuimu Nianhua.
In the extremely volatile entertainment industry, it is not uncommon for combinations like this to go from being a hit to being lonely and silent.
No matter how prosperous they once were, with the changes in the entertainment industry or various reasons among their members, many groups have become "passed-up artists".
This time, we will take stock of 7 singing groups that are no longer in glory and see what stories they have experienced.
1. Supreme League: Debuted in 2008
In 2007, "Happy Boys" set off a wave of talent shows in China.
With the success of the talent show and the rise of the Korean Wave, Tianyu Company struck while the iron was hot and launched a domestic idol group - Supreme Lihe.
This group is composed of Zhang Yuan, who ranked ninth in the country on Kuaiman, Li Mao, Ma Xueyang, Liu Zhoucheng, who failed to enter the finals, and trainee Wu Jin Ensheng from South Korea.
On September 28, 2008, Supreme Lihe officially debuted with their first single "Arrival".
Subsequently, Supreme Lihe successively recorded the then-mainland's top variety shows "Tian Tian Shang Shang" and "Happy Camp".
The first EP "Arrival" was loved by the audience, and "Marshmallow" included in it became a popular song that year because of its catchy tune and lively tune.
With great exposure and highly popular works, The Supremes have lived up to expectations and become the most popular boy band in mainland China.
But not long after their debut, they were questioned by the outside world for plagiarizing TVXQ, and the war between fans of both sides ignited.
In the third year of his debut, member Li Mao was exposed as a gambling addict and owed huge debts. Not long after, Li Mao announced his resignation in public during the recording of the show.
Continuous negative news has turned Supreme Lihe into a large-scale rollover scene, and it has naturally become outdated.
In 2019, 34-year-old Zhang Yuan and 33-year-old Ma Xueyang participated in the talent show "Creation Camp". Although they worked hard, they did not escape the fate of being eliminated.
Zhang Yuan, who failed to make a comeback, was once reduced to performing on the streets of a small county town. The stage was simple and there were only a few fans, which looked a bit desolate.
After quitting the group, Li Mao married singer Xianzi and took care of his children at home. At the age of 35, he has not had any new works broadcast for a long time.
Xiaowu temporarily retired from "Tiantian Shang Shang" because he returned to South Korea to perform military service. After returning, there was no place for him in the program. Now he is following Daliu and Zhang Meng to promote live broadcasts.
2. Hua'er Band: debuted in 1998
Hua'er Band is a childhood memory for many people, especially the cheerful and brainwashing "Hee Swah Swish" that was popular in the streets .
The Huaer Band was established in February 1998, consisting of 14-year-old vocalist Da Zhangwei, 15-year-old drummer Wang Wenbo, and 19-year-old bassist Guo Yang. Guitarist Shi Xingyu was later added.
In 1999, the first album "Next to Happiness" was released. The lively and lovely image and refreshing and powerful music won the recognition of young audiences and sold more than 500,000 copies.
In addition, the overseas influence of the Huaer Band cannot be underestimated. The two songs "Broken" and "Still" helped them gain popularity in Southeast Asia.
In 2002, Huaer Band also appeared in the American "TIME" magazine, with the theme of "Young Chinese", and was widely reported.
Two years later, they signed a contract with a new company and transformed into a pop music band. "Just Right" won many awards, and "Hee Swah Swish" became a popular ringtone and became a hit.
Just when their career was booming, the Huaer Band fell into the "plagiarism scandal" and "fight scandal", and various controversies arose.
Soon after, Shi Xingyu retired from the band, Guo Yang got married and had a child, Wang Wenbo wanted to start a business, and the Huaer band broke up.
After singing the last song "Can We Not Break Up" at the concert, the Huaer Band bowed to thank their fans and went their separate ways.
In 2014, Wang Wenbo and Guo Yang reunited, and also added Xiao Ai, a mixed-race beauty born in the 1990s, as the lead singer. "Hua'er Band" was renamed "Xiao Ai and Hua'er Band".
This attempt did not bring much splash, and Xiao Ai withdrew soon after. In 2020, they changed their name back to resume activities and added new member Zhu Lijie.
Regarding the reorganization of the Huaer Band, many netizens said that the Huaer Band without Da Zhangwei has lost its soul and suggested that they change the band name.
In November last year, the music platform showed that the group was renamed Huaer Huaer Band, but still no one cared about it.
3. Shuimu Nianhua: Debuted in 2001
Speaking of the singing group with the highest academic qualifications in China, I believe many people will think of Shuimu Nianhua.
The name of the group is taken from "Shui Mu Tsinghua" because the four members are all top students of Tsinghua University.
This group, which some music critics believe does not meet the aesthetics of today's young people, was once a generation's youth memories. Songs such as "I Will Have You in My Life" and "In Another Country" were very popular in the streets at that time.
In April 2001, Shuimunianhua was established. The founding members were the soul figure Lu Gengxu and Li Jian, who is now known as the "musical poet".
Their first album "With You in My Life" was a great success, winning almost all the Newcomer Awards at that year's music awards ceremony. The title song of the same name even "earned money for service providers who provide ringtone downloads" 1.4 million."
However, in just one year, Lu Gengxu and Li Jian parted ways due to different musical concepts.
Li Jian, who chose to quit, was determined to go his own way, while Lu Gengxu recruited Yao Yong and Miao Jie to form New Water and Wood Nianhua, but not long after, Yao Yong also went solo.
With the fermentation of these works, Shuimunianhua became popular, appearing on 3 Spring Festival Galas, participating in more than 20 satellite TV shows, and holding more than 50 large-scale concerts...
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It is a pity that their fame and status did not last long. In the past ten years, Shuimu Nianhua has slowly faded out of the public's musical horizons, just like Lu Gengxu mocked himself.
The emergence of Shuimunianhua was once considered the hope of campus folk songs. Their bleakness has both personal and contemporary factors.
After this commercial dispute, Lu Gengxu went to make a movie, but the splash was still not big; while Miao Jie went to the countryside to help farmers, and he persisted for five years.
In addition, the two also joined the army of live broadcasting to bring goods to make a living.
Although they have faced many controversies, they have never given up making music. In April last year, they also added Chen Qiuhua, a new member born in 1995.
4. Fei'er Band: Debuted in 2004
Like Hua'er Band, Fei'er Band has no lead singer Zhan Wenting but still uses the name "Fei'er Band".
In 2004, Douyu, a Taiwanese idol drama about gang struggles, became a hit. An Yixuan, Guo Pinchao, Lan Zhenglong and others became popular.
In the same year, Feier Band, composed of Chen Jianning, Zhan Wenting and Ah Qin, sang the theme song "Lydia" for them, which also made this new group famous.
"Lydia" is included in Feier's first album "F.I.R". The quality of the entire album is very high, and the hit songs "Our Love" and "Your Smile" are also included.
This album sold 280,000 copies in Taiwan, while Jay Chou, the sales champion at the time, only sold 320,000 copies. It is really remarkable that it can be close to the performance of the king.
The Fei'er band, which was a hit since their debut, was able to stand out in that era of fighting between gods and gods. In addition to their excellent business capabilities, they also had the mutual cooperation of their members.
Their future was originally promising, but two years later, lead singer Zhan Wenting and Ah Qin made their relationship public.
During the period of their passionate love, Ah Qin proposed to Zhan Wenting directly at Feier Band's concert. She originally thought that the two of them would get along, but they ended up breaking up.
The quality of the albums released after the breakup was not as good as before. Coupled with the decline of the record industry year by year, the glory of Feier Band was gone forever.
In 2018, Zhan Wenting was removed from the management group without her knowledge. The day after she left, Feier Band welcomed a new lead singer.
Many fans are very dissatisfied with Lydia Han Rui taking over as the lead singer. Without Zhan Wenting, Feier Band's development is not as good as before.
After quitting the group, Zhan Wenting had to take on commercial performances in order to make a living. Even though the equipment was rudimentary and the clothes were casual, she still sang hard.
Now her condition is gradually improving, and she has begun to release new songs and participate in New Year's Eve parties, making fans sigh: Youth is back.
5. By2: Debuted in 2008
The recent divorce between Wang Leehom and Li Jinglei has involved many celebrities, and the first one to bear the brunt is By2.
Speaking of this group, I believe many people born in the 90s are familiar with it. Their songs "Ai Ya Ai Ya" and "I Know" are impressive.
The By2 group consists of elder sister Sun Han and younger sister Sun Yu. They are twin sisters who were born in Singapore in 1992.
The sisters have been good at singing and dancing since childhood. They released their first album "16 Years Old Minor" when they were only 16 years old.
By2, who looks innocent, well-behaved and cute, has been very popular with the audience since their debut. Not only that, they are also very capable in singing and dancing.
During that time, the sisters had a bright future due to the strong praise from their company Haidie Music and the cooperation with their senior brother JJ Lin.
Taking advantage of this popularity, By2 released several albums one after another, bringing many familiar songs.
However, By2’s subsequent series of operations ruined its popularity among passers-by and put itself in dire straits.
The first is plastic surgery. The once-recognizable innocent sisters have turned into standard Internet celebrity faces.
Some media once asked this question, but my sister Sun Yu did not respond. Instead, she asked my sister to show her nose.
After plastic surgery, By2’s career hit rock bottom.
At the same time, the two sisters successively had rumors about their boyfriends, each one more sensational than the other.
What has caused the biggest stir of public opinion is the recent incident of Sun Yu being exposed to meddling in other people's relationships, which has caused By2's popularity to drop again and again.
This storm has not yet passed. Some netizens broke the news that Sun Yu committed suicide by swallowing medicine and underwent gastric lavage in the hospital. The media asked By2 Studio to confirm the matter, but the other party did not respond.
Many netizens said it was difficult to believe Sun Yu’s approach of “death to make her ambition clear”. This was also due to the fact that they had betrayed the trust of netizens many times before.
By2 used to be the youthful memories of many people, but now it is frequently involved in various scandals, which is really sad.
6. Power Train: Debuted in 1994
In 1998, the Qiong Yao drama "My Fair Princess" became a hit, and Power Train, who sang the theme song "Dang" for it, also became famous from Taiwan. to the mainland.
Power Train was founded in 1994. It is a popular rock singing group in the Chinese music scene. It consists of two Taiwanese aboriginal singers, You Qiuxing and Yan Zhilin.
The two have known each other since childhood and became friends because of their love of singing. Before becoming famous, they tried jobs as cleaners and construction workers, but were once misunderstood as foreign labor.
Later, they worked as resident singers in bars. It was not until they were nearly 30 years old that they were appreciated by Bole and signed with Shanghua Records.
In 1997, Shanghua Records tailor-made the first album for Power Train - "Ruthless Love Letter".
The two people with unique voices and long shawl hair were unique in the music scene where sweet songs were prevalent at that time.
The sales volume of this album reached 700,000 copies, and the title songs "Ruthless Love Letter" and "Never Let Go" became popular KTV songs that year.
After that, Power Train also released best-selling albums such as "Tomorrow's Tomorrow's Tomorrow" and "Betrayal Love Song", held many concerts, and ushered in the peak of their music career.
In 2004, the tenth album "The Complete Records of Red Glory" won the Golden Melody Award for Best Duo Group the following year. After that, no new songs came out for four years.
In the cruel music industry environment, it is inevitable for Power Train's career and popularity to decline after a long period of silence.
In 2014, they participated in "I Am a Singer" to try to break the predicament, but unexpectedly they were eliminated in the first round.
With the changes of the times, its music style is difficult to attract young people, and their age and appearance are not advantageous, and they gradually become lonely.
You Qiuxing once suffered from depression. He could not even eat, lost weight to only 100 pounds, and even fainted in the worst case. This state lasted for several years until he got married in 2019. It just got better.
7. Xuri Yanggang: Debuted in 2010
In 2010, because of their cover of Wang Feng's "Spring", the grassroots group Xuri Yanggang became very popular and was not only invited to participate in Wang Feng's The concert also appeared on the Avenue of Stars and the Spring Festival Gala.
Xuri Yanggang is composed of two people, vocalist Wang Xu and guitarist Liu Gang. They became famous very quickly and fell silent just as quickly. In just two years, their popularity plummeted. This is inseparable from two reasons.
First, in 2012, Wang Feng banned Xuri Yanggang from singing "In Spring" in any form on the grounds of copyright protection.
After they could no longer sing this famous song, the two had no choice but to find another way out, but the popularity and discussion of the new work were average.
Second, as Rising Sun Yanggang became popular, problems began to arise within the group.
First of all, the account sharing is uneven. There are two agents in one group, and they have different pursuits in their careers.
Secondly, there are negative rumors. They were first rumored to be famous and then dissipated: earning millions a month, driving expensive cars, and living in luxury houses.
After that, Gang Liu had two consecutive scandals, one was driving a luxury car and running a red light, the other was driving a luxury car and had a dispute with an old man.
Whether the incident is true or not is another matter. It is an indisputable fact that the public's favorability towards Xuri Yanggang has seriously declined.
Having lost the support of the audience, the once popular grassroots group gradually became unpopular.
Although the disbandment was not announced, the development of the two was very different.
Wang Xu has transformed into an Internet celebrity and makes a living by live broadcasting, singing, and commercial performances. In a previous interview, he said that appearance fees start in double digits.
Liu Gang is also a singer. The song "Missing Youth" he sang won the Top Ten Hot Single Award at the 2018 Asian Music Festival.
In April last year, some netizens photographed Xuri Yanggang setting up a street stall again. The equipment was very simple. The two were dressed normally and looked weathered.
At the scene, they sang Wang Feng's "In Spring" again, but the response was average. There were not many audience members and only a few middle-aged people were taking photos.
As a smash hit singing group, they have been in decline and faded. Now they have undergone a huge change that is surprising.
It is undeniable that these groups have brought many classic songs to the audience and have become unforgettable memories in the hearts of a generation.
It’s just that time is not forgiving. Some people withdraw from the circle and enjoy the ordinary life, some people still work hard for their careers, and some people play good cards to pieces.
Of course, time is always moving forward. Even if the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, I believe they can all find new ways that suit them in the future and continue to ride the waves in the new era.
Qingshi Film | Mei Liqing