2023 can be said to be a fruitful year for Zhang Zhehan in music. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, he launched “Datura,” compiling the singles released in 2023 into an album, and the latest hit “No.1 Player” was also launched recently. The song has a light and lively melody. Zhang Zhehan, who is very good at ballads, tried some fast songs in this album. “No. 1 Player” creates a paradise where music, virtuality, and reality converge, taking the audience into different video game worlds, “Welcome everyone to the game party of the No.1  player.” It provides a chance to catch one’s breath in a life overloaded with stress, inspiring listeners in a lively way, and injecting the courage to dare to enjoy.

Although “No. 1 Player” brings listeners into the virtual world, Zhang Zhehan admits that he rarely spends time playing games.  But, he has played various kinds of games, and recently he just dug out the game console. He is unrestricted in the roles he plays at work in reality, and he is just as casual in the game world. When the staff asked him about his preference for characters, adventurers, mages, or swordsmen, he said he wanted to try all of them, “I feel there are no restrictions on myself.” Talking about the album, he also recommends fans to listen to his interpretation of fast songs: “Slow songs require more emotion, recording fast songs requires more rhythm of the body.” Recording was not a problem. A teacher was specially invited to choreograph the lively rhythm, which was unexpectedly more challenging, not only testing the singer’s physical coordination but also the tacit understanding with the dancers. Zhang Zhehan revealed his recent choreography experience: “This dance is a fat-burning exercise, not only are there many movements, but there are also many movements that need to be completed together with the dancers. The whole body and mind have to be very focused, and also develop a tacit understanding with the dancers, it feels like doing aerobics.” Recently, Zhang Zhehan has been practicing in the dance studio, looking forward to bringing fans a different surprise.

“No. 1 Player” is the last single released in the album “Datura,” symbolizing an end but also facing the beginning of another adventure. The light and jubilant mood unfolds with the music, which is also an outlook for the coming year. The name “Datura” has multiple meanings, symbolizing the energy from “circle.” The album divides the songs into four colored chapters— “Datura·Purple,” “Datura·Silver,” “Datura·Azure,” “Datura·Sunny,” making the music where the lyrics and melodies intersect appear more three-dimensional and multifaceted, and “No.1 Player,” representing “Sunny,” continues from the previous album, implying deep blue emerging from the sea surface and meeting with light, even more neat and dazzling.

Last year, he delivered impressive results in music, three concerts, two fan meetings, a photobook, and over ten singles. He was very fulfilling at work; if ten points were full marks, Zhang Zhehan gave himself eight points, he said with a laugh: “Leave a little room for improvement.” After the Chinese New Year, there will be more new plans to unfold in succession, and he is also very excited: “Everything is following the plan, please look forward to it.”

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