Chapter 49: Zhengzhou Region Wiped Out
“When did Xia Qing’s critiques become so professional?”
“At first, I thought Xia Qing only said meaningless things, but I have to praise her today.”
“Haha, that’s so true. Her evaluation of Zhang Liangying was spot on. 《Warmth》 is the best song I’ve heard this year, hands down.”
“One sentence changed Xia Qing’s unprofessional image in my mind.”
“……”
Zhang Liangying’s fans once again found satisfaction in the judges’ critiques. Xia Qing’s approval was exactly what they wanted to hear.
Xia Qing continued speaking.
“I’ve always believed that to judge whether a song is excellent, the first thing is whether it sounds good, and then comes the lyrics, emotion, and technique.”
“The song ‘Warmth’ undoubtedly excels in all these aspects.”
“Furthermore, Liangying, your singing was also excellent. Whether it was your breath control, pronunciation, or vocal runs, every point was hit perfectly, fully conveying the song’s intended meaning.”
“Keep up the good work…”
Zhang Liangying nodded like a pecking chicken. Xia Qing’s evaluation indeed made her feel very comfortable.
Next.
Hei Nan’s critique.
He first offered some praise, then began to analyze 《Warmth》 from a professional perspective, speaking for two minutes straight.
“Oh my god, was that the first time Hei Nan spoke for so long?”
“I haven’t missed a single episode of Super Girl. This is the first time I’ve seen Hei Nan give such high praise. Zhang Liangying is the first person!!”
“Honestly, with the release of the song 《Warmth》, among the new generation of singers, only Liang Jingru’s 《Courage》 and Stefanie Sun’s 《Sky Dark Dark》 can compete.”
“I’ll make a statement today: in the future Chinese pop music scene, Zhang Liangying will definitely carry the banner for mainland China.”
“Was this song written by Shen Qing? They didn’t introduce it earlier. If Shen Qing wrote the lyrics and composed the music, that would be amazing, fully solidifying Shen Qing’s title as a music genius.”
“Right, four consecutive astonishing songs, that’s too difficult.”
……
Finally.
Even the usually harsh Ke Yimin couldn’t find fault.
She gave a very thorough evaluation from four aspects: singing, emotion, lyrics, and composition.
However, her critique focused more on the lyrics and composition.
She gave the producer of the song 《Warmth》 a very high score.
Actually.
She knew Shen Qing wrote the song, and was deliberately praising Shen Qing~
As for Zhang Liangying’s performance, she also commented on it, but only briefly.
Finally, she didn’t forget to promote her upcoming ‘singing training class’.
She said to Zhang Liangying: “You are great, but if you take my training class, you’ll be even better. I’m not kidding, I can help you improve your high notes.”
High notes?
I’ll let you hear what a dolphin sound is later!
……
Wang Han: “Wow, after hosting Super Girl for so long, this is the first time I’ve seen the judges critique a contestant like this.”
Li Xiang: “It’s truly because today’s original songs were so good.”
Wang Han: “Yes!”
Li Xiang: “Next, we invite the three judges to continue critiquing the other four contestants. Let’s start with Teacher Xia Qing!”
The time spent critiquing the other four was very short, about the same as for Zhang Liangying alone.
Because of the comparison with Zhang Liangying, the other four were somewhat lacking, but the judges didn’t say much.
Anyway, they had to choose the worst contestant later, and they already had someone in mind.
The answer was about to be revealed, and the live broadcast went into a commercial break.
At the same time, a prop was brought onto the stage by the staff.
This prop had ten letters on it, which were the ‘farewell messages’ written by each of the ten contestants two days ago, to be opened when they leave the stage.
Li Xiang looked at the prop and gave a brief introduction, then turned and said: “I believe whether they stay or go, they are all girls who sing with their hearts.”
Wang Han nodded: “Yes, now, let’s see the contestant with the lowest text message votes so far.”
Li Xiang: “Please welcome the notary from the CS City Notary Office to present the text message vote count.”
Wang Han announced the vote results.
The one with the lowest text message votes was surprisingly Ji Minjia.
Ji Minjia’s popularity had always been low. The reason was ultimately her looks.
She wasn’t pretty and didn’t look cool. If it weren’t for her good singing skills, she would have been eliminated much earlier.
She went to the PK Stage.
At the same time, the three judges selected the worst contestant.
As expected, this person was Zhu Yan.
She was going to PK with Ji Minjia.
After they sang acapella to campaign for votes, the 35 public judges cast their votes one by one.
In the end.
Ji Minjia completely defeated Zhu Yan with 27 votes to 8.
Zhu Yan was eliminated.
By the third round of the finals, all Top 3 contestants from the Zhengzhou Division had left the stage, a complete wipeout.
There was a collective sigh of regret, both in the studio and in front of the televisions.
Zhengzhou, the heartland of the Central Plains, how could the first wave be completely wiped out!?
“Damn it, are there no singers in Henan?”
“It’s the fault of the idiotic judges for putting up three people who can’t sing. What the hell are they doing?”
“Now I can only support Li Yuchun.”
“I support Zhang Liangying!”
……
The complete elimination of the Zhengzhou singing region was actually predictable.
The first to leave, Song Lin, was only 16 years old this year and not yet an adult.
She had to be the first to leave.
Because the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television had received complaints for the past two years, their attention to Super Girl had significantly increased recently. The production team, possibly for safety reasons, set up a situation to eliminate Song Lin first.
As for Zhu Yan and Guo Huimin, compared to the remaining 9 contestants, both of them were contestants without distinct characteristics.
Lack of characteristics means mediocrity.
It didn’t meet the program’s requirements, so their departure was inevitable.
However, their departure only caused a brief emotional fluctuation among the other contestants; everyone would forget them within a few minutes.
Next.
One more person had to leave.
The competition format for the second round was much crueler than the first. The remaining nine contestants would be divided into three groups for PK, and the differences would be more apparent.
Zhang Liangying was No. 06 and was placed in the second group.
Her opponents were No. 04 Ji Minjia and No. 07 Zhou Bichang.
Shen Qing didn’t know if Zhou Bichang was nervous, but Ji Minjia definitely was. The fear of being dominated by Zhang Liangying in the Hangzhou Division had returned.
……
Executive Director: “Please welcome No. 01 Ye Yiqian!”
As she walked onto the stage, the live broadcast switched to a video of judges Hei Nan and Ke Yimin’s critiques.
This was a new segment added to the 10-to-8 stage.
In the video.
Ke Yimin and Hei Nan each expressed their views.
Hei Nan: “I think she is gradually forming her own musical style. Her handling of songs is very delicate, and her appearance is beautiful and generous, which is quite pleasing – a sense of tranquility amidst the clamor.”
Ke Yimin: “Yes, go Ye Yiqian.”
From the beginning of the competition, Hei Nan had paid a lot of attention to Ye Yiqian.
Could it be that he liked Ye Yiqian’s type?
In this round, Ye Yiqian’s song was 《Suddenly Want to Love You》 by Stefanie Sun.
Shen Qing felt she had taken Hei Nan’s advice: to be a sense of tranquility amidst the clamor.
Because this song was gentle and soothing, it matched her persona well. Singing dance music would have been somewhat out of place for her.
However, there were pros and cons.
Gentle and soothing songs would inevitably expose her singing deficiencies.
This song relied heavily on chest voice, so the breath sounds were prominent, and it sounded deep and full… Contestants with less technical skill would have unstable breath control.
After she finished singing, Hei Nan commented again.
Hei Nan: “I feel Ye Yiqian is constantly improving, improving with every performance. Moreover, her handling of this song was very delicate and perfectly matched her beautiful appearance.”
Good heavens, are they not even pretending anymore?
The critique made Ye Yiqian beam with joy, and she repeatedly expressed her thanks.
Ke Yimin’s evaluation was thought-provoking: “Hmm~ I think your singing was indeed very beautiful.”
If Shen Qing remembered correctly, this was the second time Ke Yimin had evaluated Ye Yiqian this way.
It could only be said that Ye Yiqian’s singing skills really couldn’t pique Ke Yimin’s interest.
Xia Qing: “I think you should sing this type of song. The 《Title Song》 you sang in the first round wasn’t really suitable for you…”
……
Wang Han: “Next, please welcome He Jie.”
In the short video, Hei Nan and Ke Yimin’s critiques of her were: explosive, radiant, and excellent stage presence.
In this round, she brought Li Wen’s 《Beautiful Foolish Woman》.
Li Wen’s songs, needless to say, were all quite dynamic, making them very suitable for He Jie to perform.
Moreover, she incorporated many body movements during her performance, which was very pleasing visually, far surpassing Ye Yiqian’s stage presence.
The third performer, Yi Hui, brought Stefanie Sun’s 《Moonlight》, also a soothing and quiet song.
Even though she was dressed in a very ‘hip-hop’ style, she interpreted the ballad prince’s song very accurately.
Shen Qing applauded.
Not because her technique was particularly impressive, but because her emotions were in place, and she understood what the song was trying to convey.
A singer with proper emotions will never sound too bad, no matter how they sing.
……
However.
No contestants advanced in this round. The three judges selected three people, so they were all put on standby.
The second group came up.
This group consisted of No. 04 Ji Minjia, No. 06 Zhang Liangying, and No. 07 Zhou Bichang.
The competition was the most intense.
