Two years after completing six Ugly Beauty concerts, Cai launched Sweet Secrets MV on the evening of December 16, 2020.

MV immediately received a wide range of responses, in addition to the plot full of novelty, challenging the cross-species "human love", in the visual effects also have a surprising breakthrough. MV at first, please come to the well-known YouTuber "Old High and Little Jasmine" in the way of a book to bring out the story of mermaid love, before officially entering the main axis of the plot.

Editor's note (2020.12.17 Update): Cai Yilin's "Sweet Secrets" on the "Stranger Things" album is a music piece related to lust, the lyrics have a lot of space to describe the feelings and feelings of love with lovers, Cai Yilin has mentioned in past interviews: "Knowing your own body is also the desire to know." This society needs to tell people that you can't hurt people because you're too curious.

This "Sweet Secret" with the plot thriller bizarre video narrative, but also bring out the song's fascinating magic charm. Recently, Cai Yilin broke through the previous labels, in songs, album design and MV to add a strong story and ideas, in addition to emphasizing the value of women, breaking the boundaries of beauty and ugliness, but also shaped Cai Yilin's personal three-dimensional image.

Next, let's reflect on the growth and transformation of singer Cai Yilin, starting with the album "Yi".


Photo | A screenshot of MV's Sweet Secrets

Looking at Cai Yilin's 2018 album, many people's first thoughts are: What is "weird beauty"?

In 2014, Cai Yilin released an album, "The Swast down," which upends the style of pop music and discusses a variety of contemporary social issues, including "Play I'm A" MV, which presents satirical current affairs, and "What's Different?" song, which discusses marriage equity. In 2016, Cai Yilin and music producer Chen Xinghan collaborated on the song "The Fetish" to convey the idea that "everyone should love me and love the true inner self" . In 2018, Cai's album UGLY BEAUTY carries Cai's own life story, allowing more female experiences to be seen, told, and even understood.

The main song "Strange Beauty" first want to discuss, is a lifetime with women, lingering appearance oppression. (Recommended reading: The shackles named Tsit: Do you love me or my appearance?) ）

Who defines "good-looking", which one we are pursuing?

There is a popular adjective word: "God beautiful / God ugly", such a language makes it easier for us to use a stronger tone to judge the beauty of a person or article, but what is the criterion for this assessment? Who else can take responsibility for the individuals who have been judged?

Many times, the "good-looking" that we strive to pursue and strive to achieve may be so-called "god ugly" to some people. So is this painstakingly laborious us worthless? Whose standards of beauty and ugliness are in the hands of? A series of questions have surfaced, and we find that there is no answer at all. Because good-looking there is no standard, with people's preferences, each has its own autumn.

And Cai Yilin's song "Strange Beauty" gives the "aesthetic" this explanation:

Aesthetic world Who has the guts to say so absolutely
I'm a fake self Look at me today
want which one I am

Cai Yilin, when she first came out, was often verbally attacked by malicious words, an unnamed voice, in the invisible distance said her sausage mouth, said she could not dance, said her baby fat. After a day of attack, she now uses songs to tell us, "Aesthetic world, who has the guts to say so absolutely?" There are several people on earth, beauty has several distinct patterns, to believe in their own unique and irreplaceable, you can decide for yourself.

If one day you feel bad and want to go plastic surgery, it's okay, but don't take someone's picture and say to the plastic surgeon, "I'm going to have a nose like her." Because you know, no effort, you will be the same as her. Don't put the outside world's standards back into your own hands, let the decision back in their own hands. Besides, how boring is it? And how unique and beautiful you are.

The pursuit of perfection is Bullshit, I will never pursue the end

In the album "UGLY BEAUTY", Cai Yilin, in addition to wanting to discuss the diversity of beauty, also reviewed the self-denial, contradictions and unknown vulnerability experienced since the debut. On the day the album concept became public, she wrote on Facebook, "This time, what I'm going to lift is all the ugliness hidden behind the perfect surface." Spy on the emotions that I've tried my best to bury. Horror, true and fragile story.

What's the story behind perfection? What's wrong with perfection?

Cai Yilin's efforts, which are well known to all, are often described as the pursuit of perfection, but such a single-minded pursuit, so that her body is overwhelmed, and in February 2018 in the hospital rest and recuperation, as if warned, she found herself because of the pursuit of perfection and live like a person, and even more said: "I will feel the pursuit of perfection is a, I just can never catch up!"

Perfection is like never going to go to the last level of the game, breaking a pass and a pass, eliminating obstacles and monsters waiting. Perhaps to the end, found only a mirror, the original has been pursuing is their own.

Cai Yilin also wrote on Facebook:

「 Who's guilty?! On the way to creation, the most terrible judge is always himself."


A screenshot of the MV of "Stranger Things."

In the chaos, if you can not accept the real self, and the net army stand on the same front self-criticism, then, such a beautiful self, may eventually fall in this scolding ocean, by the cannibals who simply can't call out the name to eat. Learn to accept their own shortcomings and dark side, is really able to drive their own powerful force, is to catch piranha nets.

Wounded words, stacked out of the base

Ugly BEAUTY's album cover, conspicuous is the almost full face of the "mouth of truth", the first time we see want to speak but can not speak Cai Yilin, carefully look up, only to find hiding behind the mouth of truth, that understanding of the fragile look.

Want to say but can not say, there is invisible pressure to block the mouth, is every bully to share the memory, Cai Yilin with eyes to tell you: "You are not a person, I understand you, understand your vulnerability, understand your fear, understand all of you."


UGLY BEAUTY album cover. Photo | Cai Yilin facebook

More than 20 years after her debut, Cai Yilin has been subjected to verbal violence in the minority, and from last year, in collaboration with producer Chen Xinghan, the single "The Fetish" was not difficult to see that she wanted to discuss bullying through songs. Cai Yilin, who admitted in a media interview that she had survived verbal violence, wanted to use her own life story to write the album, hoping to hear more women with the same experience come forward to share their experiences.

From being bullied to being able to face it, Cai Yilin spent 20 years, using time to prove hurtful words, entering her body and turning it into a solid base under her feet. But is it possible that the souls, who are also under attack, have not been able to get through this? Is it possible that they have been burned out by the red-hot eyes of society before they can figure it out?

How to hope that the stabbing statement can stay in the mouth, or stop in the hand that is about to press the enter key. Let us stop using "all the way up and down" to introduce good people. (Recommended reading: When there are too many hate bullying in the world, let's practice speaking the language of love)


Photo | Cai Yilin facebook

In 2014, we saw Cai Yilin, who used her influence to care about a variety of issues; in 2018, we saw Cai Yilin, who dissected the dark side of her heart, and we saw her desperate pursuit of perfection, charming, very distressed; and we saw her reconcile with herself, admitting that perfection doesn't exist, real, beautiful.

Such a real Cai Yilin, even if already an international superstar, has never forgotten the supporters, saw the emotional message of the fans, she also sincerely responded and confessed that "his instant turn into a wave at sea, arrived at the shore, but also thought that he was alone, looking back only to find that I am not lonely, because I understand that without that endless ocean of push, I can not reach the shore after all!"

At the same time, we're actually on the same path as her - on the path of reacquainting ourselves, redefining ourselves, and falling in love with ourselves. Occasionally, when we are influenced by our own rich emotions, we should affirm our emotions, hold our hearts down and say to ourselves again and again, "Because we have emotions, we can produce more interesting and unique looks than perfection, and we are all strangely beautiful."

Cai Yilin's "Strange Beauty" Full Lyrics:

Coveted evil grow up with me
Grow social nutrition in soft rot
The scars of the past have made me stand still
Those gods and ugly comments who are in a mess
Oh, I laughed and cried

What criteria is this, anxious to determine the survival of the fittest
Love me, hate me, not me
There's something outside of me coming from within me

Listen to who's wrong, right
Say beauty is ugly
If you ask me I see what I say
I blame beauty

I can't see my beauty. You're blind
The complimentary face turned and spat
Aesthetic world Who has the guts to say so absolutely
I'm a fake self Look at me today
want which one I am

Listen to who's wrong, right
Say beauty is ugly
If you ask me I see what I say
I blame beauty

Who's going to push me a handful of On to the next one
It's breathless to live with too much morality on your back all the way
Whoever goes to injury wants to talk irrelevant just leave it alone
Too gentle to get along with soul pull dilemma

All the positive and negative energy is eaten
Beauty's ugliness has its own necessity for his existence
Love hates as you like
Reject your hypocritical embrace and want to live brightly respond to the need for evil in your heart

Who said it was wrong, right?
Say beauty is ugly
If you ask me, what am I? It's weird

Cai Yilin's "Sweet Secrets" Full Lyrics:

I think I miss you, I think I miss you
Although we dressed up very well together

Inside, all kinds of clouds and rain I know you can do it anytime, anywhere
I enjoy every detail you desire

Like your secretly swallowing throat knot
I'm not doubting. Don't ask not to give it to you

I'm not tired of playing yet. Please don't be in a hurry
The beast's heart, which opens the human face, tames it in my hand

Stand upright and behave
How naughty are you? How naughty are you? You're being teased by me. Isn't that super happy?

You've been brought in, you're willing to be superb, sweet secret
baby it's a piece of cake

Patience, anxious limbs. It's so funny
The whisper of the request helpless moaning, so pityful

You twist and deform. It's amazing
I'm like a snake girl hypnotizing controls you

Call and call You let me control let me control
Finally finally I can't resist, I can't resist