The theme song of the TV series Red Sorghum is Jiu'er.
"Red Sorghum" is adapted from China's first Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan's "The Family of Red Sorghum", which tells the story of Jiu'er, a modern legendary epic masterpiece about love and hate, conquering and being conquered, full of vitality, written with her life on the life-affirming land of Gaomi in Shandong Province in the early 1930s. Jiu'er" is the theme song of the drama, with lyrics by He Qiling and Akun, music by Akun, and four versions sung by Han Hong, Hu Shasha, Tan Jing, and Sa Dingding respectively.
The song is sung in the first person by the heroine "Jiu'er", and through Han Hong's storytelling high-pitched voice and repetitive but powerful lyrics, it expresses Jiu'er's strong and stoic character, her lifelong love-hate relationship, and the ups and downs of the plot in the most vivid way.
Background of the song "Jiu'er"
When Akun was composing the music for Red Sorghum, he listened to Mo Yan's Red Sorghum Family as well as the movie version of the music over and over again, communicated with the director, Mr. Zheng Xiaolong, and came to the filming location, Gao Mi's sorghum field, to pick up the wind. In Akun's mind, Jiu'er is headstrong, daring to love and hate, just like sorghum, with exuberant life. In addition to this, Zhou Xun's shadow appeared in Akun's mind, and this character, this actor, somehow fit with his music.
In Akun's opinion, Han Hong's range is so wide that she can sing at even higher pitches, and the song is all about constantly raising the pitch and going to the high register.