I Was Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years

"Boss An, I think the musicians back then were outstanding, but times have changed. Audiences have completely different tastes now. The path newcomers take today isn't entirely wrong. Things really are different."

Wu Chen chatted with An Huaiguo about the circumstances musicians faced in different eras and the merits of each.

An Huaiguo had not expected Wu Chen to speak up for today's pretty-boy performers. Was the young man so confident that he did not care about siding with idols who relied on their popularity?

An Huaiguo knew popularity could make money. But when it came to right and wrong, he and Wu Chen saw things differently. Having lived through that glorious era, he could not help feeling nostalgic.

"Those pretty boys have no real work to show for themselves. They rely on their looks and showing off. To put it bluntly, they rely on marketing and management to fleece people."

That was An Huaiguo's view. Wu Chen saw it as a matter of the times.

"At the end of the last century," Wu Chen said, "people had too few ways to entertain themselves. There were very few things they could talk about or connect over: television, variety shows, films, and music."

"Back then, a dance hall could play a hit song, and people dancing to it would be enjoying the trendiest entertainment around."

"But now?"

"The internet is everywhere, and everyone has a smartphone. Mobile games alone take up a huge share of young people's leisure time."

"Boss An, if you did a survey, you'd find that fewer people actually listen to music now. A song can be sung everywhere and become a sensation, but what happens?"

"People in the industry dismiss it as nothing more than a viral song from a short-video platform."

"No matter how popular it