Bianjie

[journey]

For the first time in almost four years, in an exclusive interview with the nation's largest culture newspaper, the pop queen of the Bianjian musical scene, Pinggu Shugiya, sits down with me to discuss her private life in detail and reflect on twenty years of her career. She says "I have nothing to hide" and reveals the hidden side of her life, including her upbringing, along with messages from people familiar with her childhood and current private life.

I have met Pinggu for an interview at Fetembi City Junior High School, our alma mater, with Madam Shugiya. "Looks exactly as I remember it", Pinggu began as we entered the building. I led our guest to the previously prepared place with two chairs, a set of cameras and lights. After a moment of preparation, I began with a question to Pinggu about the place we met at: her school. We talked to her former teachers and classmates to give a more detailed history of Shugiya's life in these walls. Shugiya's former teacher, who said her "expressive abilities were outstanding" even back then, shared memories of the first time they met and an episode in which she felt Shugiya's kindness remained unchanged even after graduation. Pinggu herself says that the teachers were a really big inspiration for her in those years of life and going forward, and that it was the teachers who pushed young Shiguya to pursue her dreams of becoming an artist. Her classmates share a similar story, saying that Pinggu was a quiet yet smart kid who changed a lot as she became older, but the change was rather positive, especially once she became a mother.

Talking about the early life, we slowly went into the career territory, but before that, I asked Madam Shugiya about her role as a mother, and the two kids that she gave birth to almost 17 and 14 years ago. When I asked her that, she smiled at me, taking a solid minute before answering. "They are my daily dose of happiness, inspiration and will to live", she replied with a wide grin across her face. She gave birth to her first son, Alin, when she was just 24, at the beginning of a sudden jump in her career, as she became a major star on the scene. "I would not call it an accident, but obviously, it changed things a bit for me back then", she reveals, adding that she had to learn how to be a mother-singer and combine her artistic and parent sides. "Luckily, I had the help of my husband, as well as the whole family", Pinggu added. "I was really lucky in how supportive my family was in my ambitions, my rights and wrongs. Had they rejected my wishes, or pushed me to do something I did not want to do, I would not be here today". Despite being open about her kids, in prior interviews and this one right here, Madam Shugiya barely ever mentions anything about her husband, and I was curious, so I asked Pinggu why. She looked at me for a moment, shrugged her hands, and said, "I love him as much as possible, but I know he wouldn't want me to talk about him" She laughed as she finished. "But truly, [Ebilun] has been nothing but a big support of mine, and he left his office job to be there for me at home, though I know he's full-on freelance there with Alin and Chu growing older and older", she laughs again.

Slowly, I pushed us to the career part. Though many have already asked Madam Shugiya a lot of repetitive questions about her career before, I decided to take a different, more philosophical approach to the career part of our interview. I asked Pinggu to look back at her twenty years on the stage and describe the feelings. Pinggu took a deep sigh, looking at the floor for a couple of seconds. "I am very happy to be where I am right now", she answered. "I am happy to be beloved by so many people, from north to south, even across the world. I am happy to be someone's relief, cure or simple answer to how to spend time. I am happy to make music after all, because it is my passion. I love experimenting with the sound, with the genres, with the beautiful artists I mean and work with", she took a long list of reasons for her happiness. Pinggu said that while she has some regret for the mistakes she has made in her life, she would still choose to remain and live this life. "Above all, I am barely 40, my career has only begun, and I am not going to stop, I still have more achievements to get, and awards to win", she laughs at me. Madam Shugiya said that just yesterday, she finished recording her new single, which is supposed to come out by the end of June, giving me the exclusive demo version of the song, which I will pin at the end of the article. At the same time, the pop queen says her team is working on the first major tour in almost 5 years, across the Bianjie, and possibly abroad, though she is not sure for a couple of reasons she wouldn't disclose to me.

With the interview coming to an end, I asked her a question about her sudden statement during the latest Festival of the Musical Arts in Terra edition, hosted in Niyalma, when she did not rule out a third take to win the international contest. "I still will not say I am definitely not going, or going. There is always time and a place for anything. If I get a proper song and the BHK's board decides to give me the chance yet again, I will go", Pinggu replied. "But there are a lot of ifs, so I wouldn't hope just yet". And on that note, I thanked Pinggu for agreeing to make this interview, thanking Madam Shiguya for her service, wishing her good luck in her private life, as well as the bigger growth of her popularity and musical career.

[Video: https://youtu.be/cNF_4jeH2ng]