On August 22, the semi-final of the first "Star of Chinese-style Yage" Chinese Art Song Singing Competition kicked off in Chongqing, gathering outstanding singers from all parts of the country.

The singer performs on the stage. （Photo provided to iChongqing ）

In addition to promoting China's excellent traditional culture, the competition aims to continuously improve the singing level and international influence of Chinese art songs. The competition facilitates the establishment of international singing standards for Chinese art songs, promotes a new Chinese vocal music genre, and enables the modern transition of Chinese humanistic singing. 'Chinese-style Yage' is a Chinese singing art that combines Chinese history and culture with originality and intense expression, as well as integrating and dialogue with Western music. The competition requires contestants to sing authentic Chinese art songs uniquely called "Meige" (aesthetic singing).

The singer sings a Chinese art song. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

A tenor singer and director of the competition jury, Fan Jingma, describes the singing method of "Meige" as being applied to standard and contemporary Chinese art songs. Using the singing techniques of Western Bel Canto expands the dimension of Chinese singing, promotes the little-known skills of Chinese singing, and showcases the beauty of Chinese pronunciation. It prioritizes the correlation between Chinese and Western languages in terms of spelling and sets aesthetic standards for Chinese singing that are seamless with other internationally recognized genres.

On the day of the competition, contestants performed different styles of Chinese art songs. Among them were well-known songs like I Love This Land and Looking at My Hometown, as well as classic poems like Prelude to Water Melody · When Does the Bright Moon Come Up? The "Chinese-style Yage" echoed at the competition site with its haunting melody and ancient rhyme.

After the contestant's performance, the on-site judges scored on voice and singing techniques, language normalization, musicality and singing, intonation, integration of rhythm and accompaniment, temperament, and affinity.

The judges give their scores on performances. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

"When scoring, we prioritize how the singer makes a lively performance, accurately expresses the song's connotation in Chinese, and achieves the unity of movement, emotion, and artistic conception while maintaining the integrity of phrases and the work. Fan said this competition is not limited to voice, singing style, or age. In line with the principle of "a moving song is a good song," the competition minimizes the mental pressure and burden of singers in pursuit of "good voice" so that they can focus on the music and singing itself and fully express the connotation of singing.

With online channels, this competition is based in Chongqing and targets all over the world. The Chinese art song "Yage" will become a professional singing competition, which advances the high-quality development of Chongqing's culture and tourism, expedites the cultural progress in Chongqing, and enhances the popularity and reputation of Chongqing's culture and tourism.