Chapter 12: 012: Releasing a Single?
Contestant No. 07, Lin Shuang, was under immense pressure.
Zhang Liangying had just enjoyed the cheers of the entire audience… If she performed poorly after going on stage, the contrast would be too stark.
But there was no choice; she had to brace herself and go on.
Lin Shuang sang Sandy Lam’s 《The Night is Too Dark》. Shen Qing felt her understanding of the song’s mood wasn’t quite there.
It could also be said that Lin Shuang’s singing technique had no major issues, but that was all there was to it.
She was merely mechanically imitating Sandy Lam—Sandy Lam sang it this way, so she sang it this way too, without her own interpretation.
In the original recording, Sandy Lam, in this song, pushed the use of breathy vocals, weak mix, vocalization, and emotional control to the extreme.
The moment she opened her mouth, she could captivate people.
But the moment Lin Shuang opened her mouth, it was all superficial, ordinary technique.
If she wanted to understand this song, she first had to grasp who wrote it? Under what circumstances was it written?
Many people don’t know that 《The Night is Too Dark》 is a love song written by Jonathan Lee for Sandy Lam, and Jonathan Lee had a secret crush on Sandy Lam.
For example, the lyrics: ‘Even the darkest night cannot hide the unspoken pain,’ actually express Jonathan Lee’s pain of unrequited love for Sandy Lam.
If Lin Shuang could sing with the broken beauty of unrequited love, she might be able to move the judges.
But she didn’t.
Therefore.
Hei Nan also pointed out her flaws without mercy: “The technical issues aren’t major, but there’s a lack of personality and understanding.”
…
After the last group finished singing, contestant No. 18, Da Huan, was eliminated.
Immediately after.
It was time for a commercial break.
The remaining 16 contestants had to go backstage to change clothes. Soon, the judges would select 6 people to advance directly to the division’s Top Ten.
Then.
The remaining 10 people would PK, with 6 being eliminated.
Shen Qing had already arrived at the backstage dressing room. Zhang Liangying excitedly ran over, “Shen Qing, how was it? Was my singing okay?”
Shen Qing put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her onto a chair. “Stop the nonsense and hurry up with your makeup and hairstyle.”
Zhang Liangying immediately sat down obediently.
Meanwhile, other contestants were doing their own makeup.
Zhang Liangying naturally became the focus of envy for all the girls, and correspondingly, quite a few people were jealous of her.
In less than 2 minutes, her makeup was done.
Zhang Liangying rushed off to change clothes without delay.
At this moment, Ye Yiqian had just finished changing and asked shyly, “Shen Qing, could you trouble yourself to do my makeup too?”
Shen Qing nodded. “No problem, have a seat.”
As Shen Qing’s slender fingers touched her face, Ye Yiqian’s heart fluttered. Especially when Shen Qing examined her makeup up close, facing each other, it made her even more nervous.
After the makeup was done, Ye Yiqian’s face was flushed red.
“Quick, quick, everyone, hurry into the venue.”
“Hurry up, the commercial break is almost over…”
Zhang Liangying didn’t even have time to speak to Shen Qing and ran onto the stage with everyone else, waiting for the judges to announce the advancing contestants.
Unsurprisingly.
Zhang Liangying passed with four votes, becoming the first to advance to the Hangzhou Division’s Top Ten, drawing the No. 07 identity card.
In the subsequent competitions, viewers could text ’07’ to vote for her.
In addition, the others who advanced early were Ye Yiqian, Zhu Wenyue, Zheng Jingwen, Lin Shuang, and Shen Pinpin, five people.
Those who advanced were beaming with joy.
Those continuing to PK forced smiles.
A world of ice and fire.
The next round of competition was no longer relevant to Zhang Liangying and the others; they just needed to sit on the side and wait for the show to end.
However, her fan base was growing rapidly.
The audience watching the Super Girl live broadcast today numbered in the tens of millions. Zhang Liangying had captured a significant number of fans.
On Tieba, forums, and other platforms, people were already discussing.
【Who is Shen Qing?】
【Zhang Liangying’s exclusive stylist, Shen Qing, is actually a hidden music genius?】
【Hangzhou Division Champion Prediction: Zhang Liangying leads by a landslide!】
【Please release 《Thing》 on Kugou Music and QQ Music!】
【Baidu’s Annual Music Chart will definitely feature 《Thing》, I’m posting this as proof.】
…
At the same time.
Many fans who weren’t short on money had already voted for her via their phones, and they were mobilizing their relatives and friends to vote as well.
It’s important to remember that from this point on, every vote cast by fans would affect the rankings in the 10-to-7 competition and the Hangzhou Division finals.
As long as their idol advanced, they would feel incredibly satisfied.
This is the fan economy.
After this night’s show, this nationwide carnival singing competition was spreading at an unimaginable speed, creating waves from south to north.
From those born in the 1950s to those born in the 1990s, everyone was paying attention to Super Girl.
…
During this period, the five groups of contestants finished their PKs, and five people had been eliminated. The remaining five people, only four could advance.
Hei Nan and Ke Yimin, among others, directly sent three people who weren’t skilled enough into the Top Ten. It was utterly ridiculous.
Because the two people waiting were: Ji Minjia and Han Zhenzhen.
Although their skills weren’t particularly outstanding, they could easily crush the three people who had just advanced.
As for why they did this?
The reason was simple.
They wanted to use Ji Minjia to eliminate Han Zhenzhen.
Because Han Zhenzhen had refuted Ke Yimin’s critique during the 50-to-20 competition. Who was Ke Yimin? Could she let it go?
Coincidentally, during the recent one-on-one PKs, Ke Yimin was critiquing Han Zhenzhen, and Han Zhenzhen, before Ke Yimin could finish, interrupted her critique again.
This infuriated Ke Yimin.
In fact, Ke Yimin had wanted to eliminate Han Zhenzhen at that very moment.
But the contestant No. 10, Yao Ying, who was PKing with Han Zhenzhen, was too weak. If they had forcibly eliminated Han Zhenzhen, it would have seemed too targeted.
So, they used this method.
Finally.
The judges found a plausible excuse: “The three of them are idol types （They look good, and the audience likes them ）, while you two are powerhouses. Only one of the same type can remain.”
Ridiculous, right?
Are talent shows complaining about having too many powerhouses?
The judges simply felt that Han Zhenzhen was too individualistic, a personality that always argued back.
Indeed, personality determines destiny.
Han Zhenzhen’s behavior of constantly interrupting critiques was indeed somewhat impolite and largely determined her current fate.
Finally, after the judges eliminated Han Zhenzhen, all the matches concluded.
The five judges took the stage, symbolically embracing all the eliminated contestants. The live broadcast ended with a sense of reluctance.
…
Half an hour later.
The production team held a short meeting for the Top Ten contestants. Shen Qing also gave the four university students 100 yuan each for a late-night snack.
The next round, the 10-to-7 competition, would be in 7 days.
Time was still tight.
Moreover, with the addition of text message votes, the one with the lowest score would be PK’d and eliminated.
To maintain Zhang Liangying’s vote count, these seven days would require not only sustained popularity but also the release of another original song.
Only then.
Could the audience’s emotions be elevated, leading them to wholeheartedly support Zhang Liangying.
Furthermore, and more crucially—as Shen Qing continuously released new songs, his reputation as a 【music genius】 could be established.
At that point, it would be killing three birds with one stone.
First, Zhang Liangying wins the championship!
Second, Shen Qing gains the title of music genius!
Third, Shen Qing becomes Zhang Liangying’s manager, with a terrifying 50% profit share.
No matter how you calculate it, it’s more worthwhile than venturing into Hengdian alone.
No loss!
…
Outside the auditorium.
Shen Qing and host You Weiwei agreed on a time for styling, and then prepared to go to a food stall with Zhang Liangying to celebrate.
“Zhang Liangying, Shen Qing, wait a moment.”
“Ah? Teacher Zhang…”
Turning around.
Zhang Liangying saw President Zhang from Taihe Rye Music, along with Hei Nan and Wang Han, walking over, chatting and laughing.
Zhang Lu looked at Zhang Liangying and asked with a smile, “Your song was very good. Do you want to release it? We at Taihe Rye Music have the best channels nationwide…”
Zhang Liangying was very surprised.
Releasing a song!
What a distant prospect, and now it could actually be realized!
But she suppressed her excitement and didn’t agree directly with Zhang Lu. Instead, she looked up at Shen Qing and asked softly with pleading eyes, “Shen Qing, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
