Chapter Twelve: Singing on the Street

  In Japan, the social status of comedians is also good, but it cannot be denied that the vast majority of comedians do not necessarily want to do this job in their hearts. The reason is simple: being a comedian is not easy, and it can even be said that being a comedian is much harder than other artists! Don't think that Japanese comedians just stand on stage and talk casually, this industry is also very hard work.

  For example, Japan has a very famous and very poisonous comedy method. It's to wear a glass cover with an open top on the head, and then pour various crawling creatures into this glass cover! Especially frogs and snakes! The scene is both shocking and hilarious, and the snakes that are poured in must have had their venom removed. However, singers won't do this, actors won't do this, and idols definitely won't do this - only comedians will do it! And don't think that only young comedians will do it, some comedians who have been in the business for over 10 years still do it! When Zhou Xiao first saw such a segment, when she saw the comedians surrounded by various crawling creatures on their heads and still trying to be funny, what arose in her heart was not laughter but admiration!

  The work of singers and songwriters is relatively simple, does not require too much physical strength, nor is it a particularly dangerous or difficult job. However, this industry requires genius creation and innate vocal talent; without these two points, it is very difficult to make a name for oneself in the Japanese entertainment circle through music.

  Actors also need talent, either you have acting skills that can be seen through to the bone, and then start from small roles and work your way up for decades, maybe you'll become a somewhat famous... supporting actor. Or you're handsome to the point of being inhumane and beautiful to the point of shocking heaven and earth, maybe you'll grab the opportunity and be discovered by some company, but even if you're the latter, it's still necessary to work hard and have talent, because when you enter this industry, you'll find that there are handsome guys everywhere, and relying solely on looks won't necessarily put food on the table.

  So, being a comedian or something, may not be their initial goal. To verify the authenticity of this statement, just ask how many comedians can play the guitar.

  Koichi Goto of Football Hour, Akihiro Kakuta of Tokyo 03, Hirohiko Katori and many other male comedians are skilled guitar players, while many female comedians also have great singing voices, such as Naomi Watanabe.

  They can only play the guitar, but not necessarily have a talent for music. There are countless singers with good voices who can't make a name for themselves, and their appearance is really not that great. But this kind of appearance is relatively more suitable for being a comedian, so they had to enter this line of work.

  Otherwise, if there is a choice, I'm afraid very few people would voluntarily choose to be a comedian.

  "Go out and sing... " Zhou Xiao picked up his guitar, with some sighs in his heart. Is this the toil of one's mind and body before greatness is bestowed upon them?

  Zhou Xiao casually hummed two melodies and began considering which songs she could choose for her next street performance.

  The sound of the wooden guitar is relatively more suitable for Chinese folk songs, but he is now in Japan, and especially in the Japanese entertainment industry over a decade later, there aren't many popular songs that are suitable for playing on the wooden guitar. Or rather, Zhou Xiao's mind doesn't have that many. No way around it, the files in his mind were mostly the most popular music and TV shows from each season of Japan every year, as for those that weren't so popular, the more niche ones didn't have much presence.

  "So...first, I need to re-compose some popular songs that will be hits later and make them suitable for the ukulele, then I can take them out to sing." Zhou Xiao thought while strumming the strings.

  The first thing he searched for in his mind was a show that Sato Natsuki had participated in.

  Satou Natsuki is a 2nd generation member of AKB48. Compared to the senior members, Satou Natsuki is an almost completely unknown ordinary member. However, what really caught Zhou Xiao's attention was that Satou Natsuki had once participated in a program called "Delicate" where she was asked to sell songs on the street and receive at least 5,000 yuan within five hours.

  Then, after studying guitar scores for a while, the girl set out with her guitar. Five hours of time, 5,000 yuan in income was already considered not bad for Zhou Xiao, and the TV station's production staff and Sato Natsuki also seemed to think so, perhaps everyone would still be a little worried about whether they could earn enough money. But when the show started, the situation that appeared made everyone a bit stunned.

  Sato Natsuki performed three songs, one of which was the very simple "GIVEMEFIVE", the second being the very famous in Japan "Heavy Rotation", and the last one being "Become a Cherry Blossom Tree" released on February 2011.

  Zhou Xiao thought that if they went out to sing, they couldn't just sing one song, so the three AKB songs sung by Sato Natsuki could be used as a backup.

  However, these three songs are not possible as the main song, although each of the three songs is a million singles, but AKB's songs are at most just "easy to sing along" only. If we really talk about music, there isn't much, so Zhou Xiao still needs to prepare several winning songs. These winning songs must be the type that can make the audience go crazy on the spot as soon as they come out!

  The last bit of time on the first day after Zhou Xiao's transmigration was spent listening to and writing down Sato Natsuki's three songs, as well as adapting two more songs. What would tomorrow bring for him?

  The next morning, Zhou Xiao got up from bed early.

  In his previous life in China, he was a stinky otaku and his life wasn't great either. But compared to now, it's much better. At that time, he had sufficient "spiritual nourishment". Okay, actually there were many things to pursue: the latest Japanese dramas, American TV series, anime, Chinese websites, and playing games casually. Although his grades weren't good, at least life was fulfilling.

  But now? The things on TV are not good to watch, the room is small and it's a bit cramped to sleep, this kind of day is just one day, Zhou Xiao already feels a bit suffocated.

  Zhou Xiao picked up her mobile phone and took a look, the small black and white screen displayed 5:30.

  After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Xiao still got up. Originally, he thought that even if he went out to sing, it wouldn't be earlier than this. Even if he rushed to arrive on time for work, with the busy pace of Tokyo people, probably no one would stop to listen to him sing.

  But thinking carefully, I have nothing to do during the day anyway, so why waste time at home being bored? Since I've already decided to go out and sing, don't worry about losing face or having other lazy thoughts.

  She tidied up her appearance, rented such a small house, and naturally wouldn't prepare a place for her to take a bath, so before going out, Zhou Xiao had no choice but to carefully wipe her body clean, at least not letting herself have any strange smells. Then she combed a relatively ordinary hairstyle, found a relatively normal, yet not too formal casual outfit to wear, and with her guitar on her back, Zhou Xiao walked out of her room.

  Tokyo is indeed a city with a very fast pace. Before, when I heard such an introduction, Zhou Xiao didn't have a deep feeling about it, until now that he is in the midst of it, he has truly felt Tokyo's rhythm in 2000.

  "Thud, thud, thud..." Beside him, men and women in formal attire kept walking by, each moving at a rapid pace without so much as a sideways glance. In contrast, his own casual clothes and guitar-laden back made him look like an out-of-place hippie.

  But Zhou Xiao's heart was at peace, and after making up his mind, Zhou Xiao understood that whether it was a comedian, singer or actor, they all had to abandon their shame. If he couldn't even bear to carry a guitar on the road, how could he sing in front of everyone?

  "After all, it seems I can only choose here." He finally decided on the place where he would perform today.