In Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Masaharu Fukuyama's music studio.

Looking at Uncle Fukuyama who was seriously reading the score, Sakamoto Kiyoshi felt very empty, after all, this was a copy of someone else's song.

The song "Close Your Eyes" is a single released by Ken Hirai in May 2004, and it is also the theme song of the movie "Calling Love in the Center of the World", and it is the single sales champion in 2004.

Ken Hirai also won the RB Gold Disc Award in 2005 with this song. You can imagine the popularity of this song.

"Hmmm... Very good, I can't imagine that you have learned so much in two years and created such a good song!!" Fukuyama raised his head and looked at his disciple with complicated eyes.

Originally, when I accepted this disciple, I never thought about how talented he was. However, in the process of teaching, Fukuyama discovered that Kiyoshi Sakamoto was simply a genius.

In terms of musical instruments, you can teach it once you can do it, and you can also draw inferences in one fell swoop. In terms of music style and music theory, they have their own unique opinions (after all, they are ahead of the current music industry for more than ten years. After a year of studying, you can start writing your own lyrics and music. This talent,Masaharu Fukuyama thinks,Unprecedented.。。

It may be because of rebirth, Sakamoto Kiyoshi felt that his memory was stronger than one or two points when he was a child, so he was able to complete all the courses of junior high and high school by himself in his teens. This is partly due to the rapid progress of learning music, which is also due to a strong memory.

In the second year of studying under Masaharu Fukuyama, Fukuyama deliberately assigned some composition and lyric homework to Kiyoshi Sakamoto, wanting to see how far this disciple could go.

As a result, today, Kiyoshi Sakamoto gave him a big surprise. I came up with a song that can be said to be on a par with my single "Sakurasaka" released in 2000. As a singer-songwriter, Masaharu Fukuyama's eyesight is enough to see that this is a song that will be a hit once it is released.

Therefore, while Masaharu Fukuyama is proud of the talent of his disciple, he is also glad that he has such a disciple.

"I think, you're going to make your debut!!" Masaharu Fukuyama put away his smile and said to Kiyoshi Sakamoto seriously.

"Eh, eh, eh, debut, I'm a teacher??" but Sakamoto Kiyoshi didn't expect his teacher to say that.

After studying for almost two years at Masaharu Fukuyama, Kiyoshi Sakamoto never thought that he would be able to become a teacher so soon, after all, in his opinion, he still has a lot to learn. Whether it's music or the way you treat people in the entertainment industry, as a layman, there is still a lot to learn.

"Smack!"

"Ouch, uncle, why are you beating me??" Touching his head, Kiyoshi Sakamoto felt inexplicable.

"You're going to make your debut, and your debut doesn't mean you're going to be a teacher, understand? Or do you want to learn from me, you've been thinking about it for a long time, huh?" Masaharu Fukuyama said, touching his hand.

This kid has a really hard head.

"Oh, that's it. No, I never thought about being a teacher, wronged, my lord!!" Kiyoshi Sakamoto took the opportunity to sell cute, and wanted to mix up.

"Hmph, forgive me for not daring. Okay, come, I'll help you record a demo first, and see how you sing it. Seeing Kiyoshi Sakamoto pretending to be crazy and stupid, Masaharu Fukuyama forgave him a lot.

"OKAY, OKAY, TEACHER SAMA. ”

June 20, 2002, Masaharu Fukuyama's music studio in Meguro-ku, Tokyo.

This is the first time Kiyoshi Sakamoto has been here.

This is where Masaharu Fukuyama makes music, and outside is the conference room, and the lounge, and inside, it's a small recording studio.

When he walked into the recording studio, through the mirror, Kiyoshi Sakamoto saw his teacher, who was recording in the recording studio, so he stupidly waved to Uncle Fukuyama inside and said hello.

This fool ...

The sound engineers outside the studio laughed. Even Masaharu Fukuyama, who saw Kiyoshi Sakamoto beckoning inside, smiled.

Kiyoshi Sakamoto, who was still wondering what they were laughing at, knew he was ugly when he saw the recording engineer communicating with Fukuyama inside through the talking microphone.

The inside of the recording studio is soundproofed, and only through the intercom microphone on the table outside can you communicate with the people inside, and you can't hear the outside sound inside without turning on the microphone.

So when Sakamoto Kiyoshi greeted Masaharu Fukuyama inside just now, Fukuyama didn't hear it at all, he just happened to see him waving.

In this way, the recording engineer's first impression of Kiyoshi Sakamoto was only the word cute (fool).

Kiyoshi Sakamoto waited outside for about ten minutes, and Masaharu Fukuyama finished the recording and came out of it.

"YO, coming?!"

Sakamoto Kiyoshi's clear character, the romanization is KIYO, so when Fukuyama calls him jokingly, he will call him YO.

"Yes, teacher, I'm looking for you to learn music. Please advise me in the future. Because of the presence of the recording engineer and agent, Sakamoto Kiyoshi did not open his mouth to call Fukuyama "uncle", so as not to be considered a person who does not know how to be polite, after all, Sakamoto Kiyoshi is now a disciple of Fukuyama.

"Well, okay. Well, you go in first and sing a song, and let me hear it. ”

Faced with Masaharu Fukuyama's sudden "exam", Kiyoshi Sakamoto was pushed into the studio before he could react.

After teaching Kiyoshi Sakamoto how to operate, Fukuyama came out and put on headphones, ready to listen to Sakamoto sing.

Kiyoshi Sakamoto can't help it, so he's going to go on it. In fact, Sakamoto also wants to know that in the eyes of professionals, his singing level is dominated by KTV, or he can become a professional singer.

After putting on his headphones and calming his mind, Kiyoshi Sakamoto began to sing. Sakamoto's song selection is his teacher's famous song "Sakurasaka".

Always make you happy

I sang softly in the wind

Love hasn't changed now

Sunlight shines through the treetops

The small slope covered with cherry blossoms exudes a fragrance

Like a sorrowful pale red

It is you and I who fall in love

It's just you, but I can't be with you

I know it's love

It's clear that spring has arrived

But dreams are still dreams

Soon, the song "Sakurasaka" was sung.

Masaharu Fukuyama and the recording engineer suddenly lit up as soon as they listened to the first line of Sakamoto's cappella.

Kiyoshi Sakamoto's voice, compared to Masaharu Fukuyama's voice, is more vibrant, more fresh, a warm and beautiful tone like sunshine, like a person holding a guitar and telling a story in his ear, maybe in the treble and transposition still need to be strengthened, but such a voice is very discernible and easy to recognize who it is.

It can be said that as long as you get rid of the small flaws through professional training, basically, you are already at the level of a professional singer!!

Masaharu Fukuyama doesn't know what to say, Kiyoshi Sakamoto's voice can be said to be perfect, and now it's okay to make a singer's debut right away. Unexpectedly, Kiyoshi Sakamoto is a natural singer with a voice.

So, after singing, Sakamoto Kiyoshi came out and saw Fukuyama's constipated expression, and wondered if he was singing too scum.

As a result, Masaharu Fukuyama's first sentence startled him, "Perfect, this version of "Sakurasaka" has a different flavor." ”

"Is that good?? You don't have to comfort me, just tell me the truth, teacher. Kiyoshi Sakamoto couldn't believe that he could sing so well, and even began to wonder if Fukuyama was comforting him.

", why am I lying to you, your singing voice has reached the standard of being able to debut, you just need to polish it again. Fukuyama came to this conclusion after discussing it with the recording engineer next to him.

Am I really a genius at singing?

"Smack!"

"Ouch, it hurts, Mr. (teacher), why are you hitting me?" The narcissistic Sakamoto was woken up by a slap from Fukuyama.

"Don't think that you are a genius, just because you sing well doesn't mean you can become a great singer, it's not enough to have a singing voice, you also have to have other things. Masaharu Fukuyama said with a frown as he touched his palms.

The head is so hard!!

"Huh, what else is there, please tell me, sir!!" Sakamoto asked, bowing to Masaharu Fukuyama.

"There is also talent, creative talent, only talent, can make you stand firm in this competitive music circle. Being able to create good songs can make you go further in the future. Just like me!" Fukuyama secretly praised himself.

When he heard this, a thought immediately flashed through Sakamoto Kiyoshi's mind, that is: I know which song will be popular in the future! Which song will be a good song! Which song will be a big hit!

It's developed!!

Thinking of this, Kiyoshi Sakamoto immediately said, "Sir, please teach me how to compose, I want to create many, many good songs!"

"Well, that's. All right. Then you can study under me in the future, and learn how to compose lyrics and music. ”

"Hey, sir, I will definitely study hard and make progress every day!" Sakamoto Kiyoshi replied jokingly.

Looking at such a handsome and funny, funny and cute disciple, Masaharu Fukuyama felt a lot better.

"Mingjun, you have sent me a good disciple, I don't know his limit, but I'm looking forward to it, what kind of point will he reach?"

In this way, Kiyoshi Sakamoto began his own musical learning journey.

In July 2002, Kiyoshi Sakamoto began learning guitar.

In September 2002, Kiyoshi Sakamoto began learning piano.

In October 2002, I went out with Nanami Hashimoto's family who visited Beijing.

In December 2002, Kiyoshi Sakamoto's voice entered a period of voice change.

In January 2003, Kiyoshi Sakamoto began to compose lyrics and music.

In June 2003, Kiyoshi Sakamoto composed more than 100 songs.

In July 2003, Kiyoshi Sakamoto passed the period of voice change and began to practice restorative singing.

In November 2003, Kiyoshi Sakamoto took out the song "Close Your Eyes Lightly" and recorded a demo.

In December 2003, Kiyoshi Sakamoto and Masaharu Fukuyama took the just-released DEMO and went to Universal Music together to recommend themselves.