2011年6月14日，央視《我要上春晚》錄制了今年第一期節(jié)目“開(kāi)播盛典”，第一位登臺(tái)的草根明星，剛開(kāi)唱就把評(píng)委們驚呆了：這位樸實(shí)而又土氣的農(nóng)民，竟擁有一副渾厚、華麗的嗓音，把一曲《滾滾長(zhǎng)江東逝水》演繹得大氣磅礴！他正是今年爆紅網(wǎng)絡(luò)的“大衣哥”，小學(xué)沒(méi)畢業(yè)卻識(shí)五線(xiàn)譜，懂樂(lè)理，精通美聲唱法。他是誰(shuí)？有著怎樣的人生故事？

草根“大衣哥”一炮走紅

2011年2月13日，天剛蒙蒙亮，家住山東菏澤市單縣郭村鎮(zhèn)朱樓村的朱之文就起床了，他對(duì)妻子說(shuō)：“今天早點(diǎn)做飯，我要到臨沂市參加比賽去?！背赃^(guò)飯，妻子李玉華把僅有的200元錢(qián)遞給朱之文，默默干起了家務(wù)。這位溫厚賢良的農(nóng)村女子知道，唱歌是丈夫唯一的愛(ài)好及狂熱追求，結(jié)婚12年來(lái)她從無(wú)怨言，一直默默支持著丈夫。

天上大雪飛舞，格外寒冷，出門(mén)前，妻子把一件軍大衣披在了朱之文身上。這件大衣是朱之文3年前在河北打工時(shí)花70元錢(qián)買(mǎi)的，至今仍是他冬天最好的衣服。朱之文要參加山東電視臺(tái)綜藝頻道《我是大明星》的選秀比賽，坐大巴趕往附近的臨沂市參賽。

到了人頭攢動(dòng)的海選現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，只見(jiàn)黑壓壓的報(bào)名者多達(dá)兩三千人，朱之文苦等兩小時(shí)后產(chǎn)生了放棄比賽的念頭。他跺著腳在電視臺(tái)大門(mén)口轉(zhuǎn)了好幾圈，心里想：“如果就這樣回去，往返90塊錢(qián)的車(chē)費(fèi)不是白扔了嗎？”正當(dāng)他內(nèi)心糾結(jié)時(shí)，海選導(dǎo)演從朱之文身邊經(jīng)過(guò)，他當(dāng)即迎上去壯著膽子說(shuō)：“我給你唱幾句歌吧，行就行，不行我就回家，再晚些我就趕不上回去的車(chē)了?！?/p>

聽(tīng)朱之文清唱了兩句后，導(dǎo)演讓他提前上臺(tái)比賽。前奏響起，朱之文緊張地直用手搓話(huà)筒，腳步左右挪動(dòng)，反復(fù)檢查自己是否站到了舞臺(tái)中央。然而，當(dāng)他開(kāi)始唱“滾滾長(zhǎng)江東逝水，浪花淘盡英雄”的時(shí)候，卻迅速進(jìn)入了狀態(tài)，昂首挺胸，精神飽滿(mǎn)，每一句都唱得字正腔圓。他嗓音磅礴、雄渾、悠揚(yáng)，且高低音兼?zhèn)?，是業(yè)余選手中難得一見(jiàn)的美聲歌者。主持人和評(píng)委也都聽(tīng)得目瞪口呆。

一曲唱完，一位評(píng)委問(wèn)道：“你是哪個(gè)歌舞團(tuán)的吧？”朱之文說(shuō)：“不是不是，我只是一個(gè)普通農(nóng)民?！痹u(píng)委還是懷疑他的真實(shí)身份，便當(dāng)場(chǎng)考驗(yàn)他種田知識(shí)，見(jiàn)朱之文對(duì)答如流，主持人又親自檢驗(yàn)了他那雙布滿(mǎn)老繭的粗糙大手。

接下來(lái)，在朱之文演唱《駝鈴》時(shí)，評(píng)委突然掐掉音樂(lè)，聽(tīng)他清唱。在確定不是音響師“錯(cuò)放了原聲帶”后，評(píng)委們面露喜色，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀眾也都激動(dòng)地站了起來(lái)，報(bào)以雷鳴般的掌聲。

2011年3月5日，當(dāng)這期節(jié)目在山東衛(wèi)視播出后，迅速引起了極大反響。一個(gè)地地道道的農(nóng)民，外表樸實(shí)，打扮土氣，一開(kāi)口唱歌，卻是優(yōu)美的男中音，很多觀眾都被這種強(qiáng)烈反差深深地震撼了。因演唱時(shí)身著軍大衣，人們稱(chēng)朱之文“大衣哥”。很快，就有網(wǎng)友把他參賽的那段視頻傳到了網(wǎng)上。沒(méi)想到，短短幾天時(shí)間，這個(gè)名為《山東大衣哥，真正的歌手》的視頻，網(wǎng)上點(diǎn)擊率就突破了10萬(wàn)，留言上萬(wàn)條。

樸實(shí)農(nóng)民奪冠《星光大道》

著名歌唱家于文華看到微博上的視頻后，也被朱之文真誠(chéng)的歌聲所吸引，同時(shí)感動(dòng)于一個(gè)農(nóng)民對(duì)歌唱的執(zhí)著，決定去看望朱之文。

3月18日，于文華帶著《星光大道》欄目的美女導(dǎo)演王愛(ài)華，專(zhuān)程從北京趕赴山東。聽(tīng)說(shuō)大明星于文華要來(lái)朱樓村看望自己，朱之文激動(dòng)得不知說(shuō)什么好。

于文華在朱之文的帶領(lǐng)下參觀了簡(jiǎn)陋的“練歌房”，這是一間不足10平方米的泥筑小屋，里面放著舊電子琴。當(dāng)大家讓朱之文現(xiàn)場(chǎng)彈奏時(shí)，“大衣哥”難為情地說(shuō)，琴上的電線(xiàn)已經(jīng)被家里的羊給咬斷了。于文華感慨地說(shuō)：“雖然這個(gè)琴房很簡(jiǎn)陋，條件十分艱苦，但他仍然每天堅(jiān)持練聲三個(gè)小時(shí)以上，這種執(zhí)著精神，讓我感到汗顏。尤其能通過(guò)自學(xué)，達(dá)到如此高的水平，太了不起了！”

隨后，朱之文找出在舊書(shū)攤上買(mǎi)來(lái)的一本樂(lè)理方面的書(shū)，向于文華請(qǐng)教發(fā)聲技巧，并幾近完美地清唱了《草原上升起不落的太陽(yáng)》。王愛(ài)華導(dǎo)演聽(tīng)后問(wèn)他是否想過(guò)上星光大道？朱之文坦言，想過(guò)，不過(guò)他只是一個(gè)普普通通的農(nóng)民，星光大道匯集了全國(guó)各地的高手，“天外有天，人外有人，我一個(gè)農(nóng)民沒(méi)有信心?！庇谖娜A當(dāng)即鼓勵(lì)他：“你擁有一副金嗓子，并掌握了一定的發(fā)音技巧，絕不比別人差！”

更讓大家驚奇的是，朱之文抱著自家的雞高歌時(shí)，雞像是能聽(tīng)懂似的，居然一動(dòng)不動(dòng)地站在他的肩頭。 原來(lái)，朱之文對(duì)小動(dòng)物很有感情，常常對(duì)著自家的雞、鴨、鵝放聲歌唱，久而久之，拉近了人與動(dòng)物之間的距離。

于文華和朱之文互留了聯(lián)系方式臨行前真誠(chéng)地說(shuō)：“如果我這位農(nóng)民兄弟能成為央視舞臺(tái)上的‘紅花’，我甘為‘綠葉’，一定會(huì)盡力幫助他！”

幾天后的一個(gè)清晨，朱之文打電話(huà)把于文華從睡夢(mèng)中喚醒?！坝诶蠋?，我是之文，我在去濟(jì)南比賽的路上?！庇谖娜A說(shuō)：“之文，要相信自己，你是最好的！另外，讓你參加《星光大道》的事已經(jīng)定下來(lái)了，導(dǎo)演還建議，由我客串你的搭檔呢，你覺(jué)得怎么樣？”朱之文受寵若驚，感動(dòng)不已。事后朱之文感慨地說(shuō)，熱心的于文華不僅是自己的“伯樂(lè)”，更像他的親人。

4月上旬，朱之文受《星光大道》欄目組邀請(qǐng)來(lái)到北京。為了給他籌備參賽的新歌，于文華特意邀請(qǐng)朱之文和著名作曲家孟文豪到家中做客，為《駝鈴》重新編曲，并為朱之文精心打造了多首伴奏帶。

于文華除了音樂(lè)上的追求外，生活中也別有情趣。她家的后院有一塊菜地。這讓農(nóng)民出身的朱之文有了用武之地，利用現(xiàn)成的磚頭給于文華家砌了一個(gè)花壇，展示了自己的泥瓦匠手藝，讓“搭檔”吃驚不小。在于文華家的后院里，還有朱之文家的一只雞、一只鴨子和一只鵝，它們就是曾多次在電視上亮相的“小黃”、“小花”和“小白”，正是它們?cè)黾恿宋枧_(tái)的視覺(jué)效果和表演氣氛，是于文華特意讓朱之文帶到北京參賽的。于文華還開(kāi)心地說(shuō)：“今天它們?nèi)齻€(gè)都給我下一個(gè)蛋，樂(lè)壞我了……”離開(kāi)北京時(shí)，朱之文就把這些小動(dòng)物送給了于老師。

4月中旬，朱之文第一次登上了央視《星光大道》的舞臺(tái)，出場(chǎng)曲目仍是那首氣壯山河的《滾滾長(zhǎng)江東逝水》，身上穿的依然是那件半舊大衣。畢福劍笑稱(chēng)：“大衣哥的行頭該換換了。”說(shuō)著，他將自己的紅色中國(guó)風(fēng)衣當(dāng)場(chǎng)脫下，送給朱之文，并表示：“希望周賽時(shí)，你還能穿上這件衣服回到《星光大道》?！?/p>

評(píng)委席上的男中音歌唱家楊洪基，正是朱之文的“成名曲”《滾滾長(zhǎng)江東逝水》的原唱者，在聽(tīng)完朱之文的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演繹之后，楊老師贊嘆不已，大方地表示：“這首歌以后你來(lái)唱吧，我贈(zèng)送給你”。

4月20日，朱之文以過(guò)人的演唱實(shí)力，獲得《星光大道》周冠軍。5月12日，這位農(nóng)民歌手又憑借《彈起我心愛(ài)的土琵琶》，以及同于文華合演的《纖夫的愛(ài)》《泰坦尼克號(hào)》《龍船調(diào)》，加上一錘定音的《滾滾長(zhǎng)江東逝水》，奪得了《星光大道》月賽冠軍。當(dāng)月，他還成了山東電視臺(tái)《我是大明星》賽場(chǎng)上的年度總冠軍。至此，“大衣哥”徹底紅遍全國(guó)。

苦難歌王“星”途燦爛

朱之文一夜躥紅，令許多人充滿(mǎn)好奇，一個(gè)地地道道的農(nóng)民，怎么就擁有一副金嗓子并掌握了美聲唱法呢？事實(shí)上，朱之文并非傳說(shuō)中的“神農(nóng)”，他的成功離不開(kāi)30年如一日的堅(jiān)持和付出。

30多年來(lái)，朱之文不僅守著錄音機(jī)學(xué)唱歌，還研究樂(lè)理知識(shí)，遇到不認(rèn)識(shí)的字，他就抱著字典邊查邊自學(xué)。掌握了一些練聲理論后，朱之文開(kāi)始認(rèn)真實(shí)踐，每天凌晨4點(diǎn)就起床，為了不影響鄰居休息，到離家1公里的河堤上、樹(shù)林里練聲。時(shí)至今日，“大衣哥”每天依然早起晚睡，風(fēng)雨無(wú)阻地堅(jiān)持練嗓子。

對(duì)于丈夫的成名，李玉華始終面帶著樸實(shí)的笑容。她說(shuō)：“當(dāng)初嫁給他，就是沖著人老實(shí)、心眼好，歌不歌的不重要?！北M管如此，前不久當(dāng)她帶著兩個(gè)孩子，隨朱之文一起到山東電視臺(tái)領(lǐng)大獎(jiǎng)時(shí)，看到老實(shí)巴交的丈夫被人眾星捧月般簇?fù)碇?，儼然是個(gè)“大明星”，李玉華還是流下了激動(dòng)的淚水。更令她感動(dòng)的是，當(dāng)主持人問(wèn)“大衣哥”出名后的打算時(shí)，一向靦腆的朱之文竟然幽了一默，說(shuō)：“出名，不出軌?！?/p>

日前于文華已邀請(qǐng)著名作曲家趙季平和詞作家車(chē)行和，為朱之文創(chuàng)作《一畝三分地》，這位農(nóng)民歌手即將擁有自己的第一首原創(chuàng)歌曲。更讓朱之文驚喜的是，由于很欣賞他的唱功，前不久，著名男高音歌唱家喬軍正式收其為徒，并特意把他帶到自己的錄音棚，這也是“大衣哥”首次在錄音棚聽(tīng)到自己的歌聲。他決心唱出更多好聽(tīng)的歌，以此回報(bào)幫助過(guò)他的人和廣大聽(tīng)眾。

A Rural Singer Considered National Phenomenon

By Wang Li

Zhu Zhiwen， a villager from Shandong Province， got up early on February 13， 2011. That day the 44-year-old singing enthusiast planned to go to Linyi City and compete in a grassroots reality show titled “I am a Star” hosted by the Shandong Television Network. With 200 yuan in cash in his pocket and tightly wrapped up in a second-hand military overcoat， he set out， without knowing that he was going to open a new chapter in his life.

Upon his arrival， Zhu was surprised to find that there were about 3，000 enthusiastic artists of all kinds waiting outside the television building to sign up with the show. Zhu registered and waited for his time to show. Two hours later， he began to wonder whether he should go home or wait for his turn patiently. If he chose to go home now， the 90 yuan he spent for the two-way bus travel would be a waste. No sooner had he had this idea than he ran into the program director. He approached the director and said， “Please allow me to sing a few lines now and here. If I am not good enough， just tell me so and I will go home immediately. Stay longer here and I will miss the bus for home today.”

Zhu sang a few bars. The director was so impressed that he requested Zhu to come to the stage immediately. Wearing the second-hand overcoat and a wool hat， Zhu looked different from all the other competitors dressed in fancy dresses， but as soon as he stood in the center of the stage and waited for the music， confidence came back to him. He sang “Yangtze River Flows Eastward Forever”， the theme song of “The Romances of the Three Kingdoms”， a television series adapted from the namesake classic novel of about 600 years ago.

The three jurors were too amazed to believe their ears. They had never expected to encounter such an opera-singing baritone at this level of the reality show. Their mouths all hang in perfect “O”. A juror asked Zhu if he was from a professional troupe. Zhu replied he was a farmer. Still incredulous， a juror quizzed the singer about farming. Zhu gave all the right answers. The jurors examined his hands: the hands were full of calluses. When Zhu was about to sing his second song “Camel Bells”， the jurors requested the music technician to switch off the music and asked Zhu to sing without the accompaniment because they wanted to make sure that it was really his singing. His voice was stunningly beautiful. The jurors were convinced and the audience burst into roaring approval and excitement.

The program was screened on Shandong Satellite Television on March 5， 2011， causing huge sensations across the province. An extraordinarily normal-looking farmer with an exceptional opera voice wowed the audience. Shortly afterwards， a video clip of Zhu’s performance was uploaded to a video website and within days the video clip became viral. It received more than 100，000 hits and about 10，000 comments， all praising the beauty of Zhu’s singing. On the internet， Zhu is endearingly nicknamed Brother Overcoat.

Yu Wenhua， a Beijing-based prominent singer， watched the video clip at the website. Deeply impressed by Zhu’s rare talent， she decided to do something for the man and to make sure more people could hear his singing.

On March 18， Yu Wenhua and Wang Aihua， a woman director of Starlight Boulevard， a popular CCTV reality show， came with some colleagues all the way to visit Zhu at his home. They had to see the musical miracle with their own eyes. Zhu was just back home from his appearance as a guest at an entertainment show at Hunan Satellite Television.

Zhu Ziwen was speechless when he actually saw Yu and her friends from Beijing. Zhu showed the visitors a less-than-10-square-meter adobe studio where he spends three hours practicing and singing every day. Inside his studio stood a keyboard in a sorry-looking condition， a gift from a granny in Beijing who liked his singing. When the visitors wanted Zhu to play a song on the keyboard， Zhu was embarrassed to explain that the electric cord had been gnawed into pieces by his sheep.

Director Wang Aihua asked if Zhu Zhiwen had ever considered appearing in Starlight Boulevard. Zhu confessed that he had never dared to dream of such a big show. The show was full of talents from all of the country and he was nothing but nobody. He was invited to sing at the show.

On March 20， 2011， Yu Wenhua and Zhu Zhiwen said goodbye to each other. A few days later， Zhu called Yu Wenhua， notifying her that he was on the way to Jinan， the capital city of Shandong Province. Yu said arrangements had been made for him to appear at the Starlight Boulevard.

Zhu came to Beijing in early April at an invitation of the program. Yu Wenhua invited Zhu and the songwriter Meng Wenhao who wrote the melody of “Camel Bells” to her home. Meng Wenhao later rewrote the orchestration for Zhu and prepared all the tape music for the village singer’s songs.

In mid April， Zhu Zhiwen appeared at the Starlight Boulevard. The first song he sang was still “Yangtze River Flows Eastward Forever”， the song that catapulted him to national stardom. Bi Fujian， the star presenter， joked about Zhu’s signature military overcoat， saying that it was time he had changed his costume. Bi took off his red suit and gave it to Zhu， hoping Zhu would come back wearing the red coat to compete in the weekly championship final.

Yang Hongji， a juror for the competition that day， was the original singer of the television theme song. After hearing Zhu’s singing， Yang expressed his appreciation and said he would let Zhu Zhiwen sing the song in the future and he himself would never sing it.

April 20 saw Zhu Zhiwen win the weekly championship and May 12 saw him win the monthly championship. Winning the two championships means that he will come back in the yearend championship final. It was also in May that he became the 2011 champion of “I am a Star” held by Shandong Satellite Television.

Zhu’s miraculous stardom makes people curious: how could a commonplace farmer become a national singing phenomenon? He is by no means a genius. He has worked hard every day of the past 30 years to be a good singer.

If he has talent， he has a greater zeal. Though a primary school dropout， he has learned to sing by singing after his cassette recorder. He studied singing theories and practiced hard. For years， he got up at four o’clock every morning， walked a kilometer to a river dike， and practiced singing there. He still practices hard every day.

His success opens doors to prominent singers and songwriters. With the help of Yu Wenhua， songwriters Zhao Jiping and Che Hanghe will write a song for Zhu Zhiwen. Soprano Qiao Jun has taken Zhu under his wing. From now on， Zhu will study under the guidance of Qiao. Zhu Zhiwen has visited the master’s recording studio where for the first time in his life， he heard himself singing.

Now Zhu Zhiwen is ambitious enough to try to enter the most important gala: the Spring Festival Variety Show for next year. On June 14， 2011， he appeared at “I Want to Get My Show in the Spring Festival Gala”， a selection show of the CCTV. With no exception， he amazed the jurors as well as audiences. Now he is looking forward to the yearend finals at Starlight Boulevard.