It was like being ported to another world. I was mesmerised by the unmatched beautiful vocals of Zhou Shen.
Zhou Shen (周深), also known as Charlie Zhou, is someone I’ve always known about in passing. I’ve known about his angelic voice and his out of this world high notes after his participation on The Voice of China. On Saturday the 29th of March, Zhou Shen‘s concert finally made its way to our city, and I was very excited to experience his magic firsthand at Rod Laver Arena for his sold out Melbourne concert as part of his 9.29Hz World Concert Tour.
Once I got to my seat, I saw that each attendee was gifted with not only a lightstick, but a little take home kit with a handwritten printed letter, bookmark and a souvenir strap. This heartwarming gesture really had me excited for what was to come.
With an angelic entrance complete with a cape and wings, Zhou Shen took to the Melbourne stage with ‘Move Aside (借过一下)’. ‘Monsters’ was a great surprise as I didn’t expect this fully English song to be performed, which he originally performed on Singer 2020. ‘The Whale Who Became An Island (化身孤岛的鯨)’ was also beautiful, this performance may have been my favourite of the night. The combination of how the screens were utilised, his outfit, the loud singalong that accompanied the beloved track, only helped to enhance the experience and emphasise my love for live music.
Zhou Shen greeted Melbourne fans and explained his tour concept in English. He explained that people usually hear frequencies between 20Hz and 20,000Hz. That means 9.29Hz is an existence that is barely noticeable or heard, like himself. But thanks to his fans, his existence is now meaningful. It was a clever and well thought out theme! The concept of sound tying together, hearing and understanding.
One thing that really impressed me with Zhou Shen’s concert was the presence of Chattie, his real time translator that provided subtitles as he spoke. As someone who has been to plenty of Chinese live music concerts, I have never experienced anything like this before! Some may occasionally add English translations of lyrics, but expect the audience to know Chinese, and thus, would not require a translator. I personally have no difficulty understanding at these concerts, but at times, when I brought along friends that did not speak the language, it occurred to me how inconvenient and left out they might have felt. Zhou Shen’s concert not only had real time subtitles but also English lyrics for every song that was performed. This highlighted the keen intent for Zhou Shen’s concert to be fully inclusive to everyone in attendance.
‘Brighten Up Your Life (光亮)’ showcased Zhou Shen’s varying style covering Chinese Opera as well as his remarkable high notes. Another crowd favourite ‘Like A Dream (若梦)’ brought upon an exquisitely loud singalong before things slowed down with the visually stunning ‘Fleeting Light (浮光)’.
A change of clothes brought Zhou Shen back with a whole new vibe. The energy was pumping as he displayed his pop and dance tracks. ‘Brave Heart (请我不改)’, ‘Mirage (瘙梭)’ and ‘The Giver (警报)’ showed off a refreshing side of Zhou Shen that I hadn’t experienced before.
The charm of live music is each show is unique and not everything can be predictable. In this case, we had an audio mishap during ‘The Song of Heaven Island (天堂岛之歌)’ where the entire left side of the arena has the speakers suspended. As expected, Zhou Shen handled the situation very well and even joked that the audio on that side went to 9.29Hz mode, tying it into his tour name.
The song was performed again, but at this stage, the dancers had already left the stage and were already changing out of their previous outfit. Zhou Shen professionally took the stage without them, and the dancers scurried on one by one as the song played, creating an extremely memorable moment. Unfortunately, the audio did malfunction a second time during the number and in true professionalism, Zhou Shen instead completed the song acapella style with the help of his backup singers.
It was no surprise that ‘Dala Bengba (达拉崩吧)’ was heavily requested as Zhou Shen blew the Melbourne away with how broad his vocal range is. This song incorporates various characters such as a princess, dragon, knight and king; but Zhou Shen flawlessly changed between these characters as he sang.
Zhou Shen then serenaded the audience with a piano rendition of ‘My Only’ and ‘Rubia’. I also got the chance to make a wish during a concert for the first time ever thanks to ‘Little Beauty (小美満)’ and ‘Living Well is a Beautiful Life (好好生活就是美好生活)’.
He also mentioned the first singer he was exposed to was Teresa Teng and shared that he hoped he’d be able to leave music behind like a time capsule, so that his music would accompany more people as they grow up. This was followed by a heartwarming medley of Teresa Teng’s ‘Thousands of Words (千言万语)’, ‘(On the Other Side Of The River 在水一方)’, ‘Don’t Pick the Roadside Flowers (路边的野花不要采)’ and ‘I Only Care About You (我只在乎你)’.
‘Expectation (望)’ and ‘The Lights of China (灯火里的中国)’ had some of the most gorgeous imagery shown on the big screens on stage, followed by a fun jazzy ‘Miracle Moment (奇迹时刻)’ that also had a magic trick thrown in. The colourful lightsticks and fan interactions for ‘Wala Li Longla’ was contrasted against the emotional ‘Brilliant Adventurer (璀璨冒隘人)’.
I was stunned by the song request segment, with songs being chosen at random. Often at concerts, the song requests come from fans who are over enthusiastically jumping about for attention, or those who have come prepared in advance with a sign. To my shock, it seemed this was a random selection made by the cameraman. The first lucky fan was an introvert that Zhou Shen found entertainment in teasing. Him and his partner chose the song ‘Too Late to be Brave (来不及勇敢)’. Our second lucky fan for the night requested ‘The Lonely Goatherd (孤独的牧羊人)’ which caught me by surprise when he began to yodel.
A starry ocean was created alongside ‘Don’t Wanna Sleep (不想睡)’ before a touching homage of his 10-year career through ‘Love You with Humbleness (我以渺小爱你)’. At this point, we were almost 3 hours into the concert, and I did not expect another outfit change. Zhou Shen returned to the stag, this time in a sparkly blue outfit and with one of my favourite songs, ‘The Wind Rises (起风了)’. His iconic hit, ‘Big Fish (大鱼)’ had breaths hitched as the Melbourne audience was mesmerized by both Zhou Shen’s amazing vocals and the captivating visuals. The night came to an end with songs ‘Good Fortune is Coming (好运来)’ and ‘Watch Ur Manners (少管我)’, both of which had the crowd bopping along till the very end.
It felt like a lot of care was invested into this show. From the stage set up, the lighting, live translations, English lyrics; it all displayed a high level of immersion and inclusion. Like the concept of the concert, the work behind everything demonstrated a desire to be heard. The stylists did an amazing job and blew me away with every outfit change which suited Zhou Shen and made him shine. Absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking, Zhou Shen’s impeccable vocal range and vast music genre took us on an incredible mystical adventure.
Over three hours of performing for his loving Melbourne audience, Zhou Shen truly showed his talent and love for his craft.
Proudly presented by Live Nation Australia, Zhou Shen performed in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday the 29th March as part of his 9.29Hz World Concert Tour. He will be in Sydney on the 6th of April at ICC Sydney Theatre.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.livenation.com.au/zhou-shen-tickets-adp1568044
https://www.weibo.com/charlieper
Photography by Zhou Shen Studio.
