The Power of Music

From the end of 2019 until now, the world suffered from the outbreak of COVID-19. Because of the coronavirus, people are not allowed to leave their houses, to meet others and to participate in large-scale activities. My hometown Wuhan was the first city which experienced the spread of the virus, so I had a long-time quarantine. During the quarantine, I had a new understanding of the power of music, and I was more determined to work in the music industry in the future.

For the first several weeks after the official announcement about the pandemic, people were all scared by the situation. I remembered that during those days, every time I opened my social media, the only thing I could see was the new releases about the increasing confirmed cases. Since all the news was so passive, all people around me were frightened by the news, and they felt so hopeless and helpless.

The situation has changed until the release of a song called “The Children of Wuhan”. The lyrics of the song contained many places and food that represented Wuhan, and the main idea of the song was that Wuhan would be healthy again in the soon future. After the release of this song, many famous Chinese singers such as JJ Lin and G.E.M. published their own songs about the pandemic, which aimed to convey hope to the public and also gratefulness to people who work at the frontline.

Those songs had been streamed on social media and music apps for millions of times，and they showed the role of social solidarity in fighting against the pandemic. People who listened to the songs leaved comments about their confidence about getting through the tough time. When listening to the songs and viewing the comments, I was so touched, not only be the songs but the power of music. Music is invisible, but it can convey energy to people, and it has the power to smooth people’s stress and fear. When people listen to a song, they can resonate with the artist and also other people who listen to the song, which is why music can create social solidarity.

What I learned during the pandemic gives me more reasons to work in the music industry. I aspire to help artists create more encouraging and inspiring music, passing hope and energy to the listeners and making the world a better place.