Crescendo is a Singaporean musical drama produced by production company Wawa Pictures and telecast on MediaCorp Channel 8. The drama began production in May 2015 and will make its debut on 23 October 2015. The show aired at 9 pm on weekdays and had a repeat telecast at 8 am the following day. It stars Christopher Lee, Tay Ping Hui, Darren Lim, Jacelyn Tay, Cynthia Koh & Ann Kok in this series. The series is set against the backdrop of the Xinyao Movement, synonymous with the pursuit of dreams of a young generation of Singaporeans in the local music industry, and a part of Singapore culture many still hold dear.
Plot
In the late 80s, three Xinyao fans from junior college, Yang Yiwei, Jiang Chufan and Luo Dawei came together to form a group named "Crescendo". They were later joined by Wang Yafang and Irene Lin Meiling. Chufan and Yafang became a couple, not knowing that Yiwei also had a crush on Yafang, and Irene's admiration of Chufan. Eventually, Yiwei and Yafang got married; Chufan and Irene got married as well but divorced years later. After they graduated from university, the three men pooled their savings to fund a record company labelled "Crescendo". Chufan is the creative director and Yiwei is the chief executive officer. Whenever the both of them argued over clashes in business perspectives, Dawei have to step forward to mediate. Yiwei encountered operational and financial difficulties due to market competitions and change of trends. Just when all hope seems lost, Dawei found a venture-capital firm to invest in their record company. The trio met the managing director of the firm, and were surprised to see Chufan's ex-wife, Irene. Irene assured them that her decision to invest is purely based on the potential she saw in "Crescendo"; but to seal the deal, she wants 49% of the company's shares. Yiwei and Dawei were sceptical of Irene's intention but she managed to convince them that she will not interfere in the company's operations. They eventually agreed to let Irene come on board. Little did they know that she harbours evil intentions. She intends to take revenge. With the newly injected fund, the trio decided to start a music school. Dawei flew to Taiwan to invite Shirley Deng Xueli, an ex-xinyao singer whom he had a crush on for years, to join "Crescendo" as a singing teacher. Xueli had joined a Taiwan production company after her graduation in the early days, and had moved on to develop her singing career in Hong Kong and Taiwan. She experienced several setbacks so when Dawei finally found Xueli, she was performing in a small café in Taiwan. Initially, she rejected Dawei's offer but after much persuasion, she relented. The appearance of Xueli irked Irene as Shirley was attracted to the talented Chufan. This caused friction between the three men, leaving "Crescendo" in havoc. Amidst the chaos, Irene took the opportunity to activate her revenge plan. In the end, Irene sold "Crescendo" away and left for overseas. Whereas, Chufan continue his ambition by going to "Genesis". Yiwei received Irene's call one day, leaving the show in a cliffhanger.
''Crescendo'' Concert
As part of a holistic viewing experience, Ocean Butterflies, Wawa Pictures and MediaCorp Channel 8 have come together to present a ticketed concert. This is the first such tripartite collaboration in history and is unique on its own with it being an extension from Crescendo. The theme of the concert is LEGACY, showing the evolution of Singapore music from Xinyao to S-Pop. Besides those by local Xinyao pioneers, there will be performances by local rising stars such as Ling Kai and Bonnie Loo, as well as by cast members of Crescendo, including Christopher Lee, Ann Kok and Darren Lim. As part of a transmedia campaign to create a timely reel to real engaging experience, they will appear in characters at the concert. The concert will be filmed and snippets of it will be shown in the series finale of the show, which airs on 3 December 2015. "Crescendo Concert" was held at The Max Pavilion – Singapore Expo on 14 November 2015, 8pm. This is after episode 16 of the drama so viewers would be familiarised with the leads.
A compilation album showcasing songs from Crescendo will be pre-released during the Crescendo Concert on 14 November 2015, and was subsequently released in CD-Rama stores on 16 November. It comprises 3 original songs, as well as 19 remakes of Xinyao songs.
Trivia
This will be Ann Kok's comeback drama following her departure from MediaCorp. It will also be Jacelyn Tay and Zen Chong's 2015 drama.
This is the eleventh series to have no commentaries for News Tonight as the creators of the song featured in each episode will be sharing their experiences in making it. If there is no featurette, snippets of that episode are shown during the ending credits.
Originally, the show title was going to be "Our Story". The title was changed during pre-production, possibly to avoid confusion with the movie Long Long Time Ago, which has the same Chinese title.
Jacelyn Tay's second villainous role after Game Plan.
Zen Chong's second villainous role after The Little Nyonya.
Guo Liang's second villainous role after Breakout.
The series is the 5th Wawa production to be aired on Channel 8, following the 2014 top-rated drama series Three Wishes, and will have 30 episodes.
In 2016, it was announced that a musical based on the series, titled Crescendo the Musical, would be presented at Kallang Theatre.
Crescendo is nominated for six award categories in Star Awards 2016. The series, along with 118, The Dream Makers II, and Tiger Mum, is one of the five dramas to be nominated for both the Best Drama Serial and Best Theme Song.
