Chapter 93: The First Battle is Already a Gathering of Heroes!
“Impressive, right?”
“That kid can write two songs like this.”
Hubei Satellite TV, Studio No. 5.
Long Danni, like a liangfen who had never seen the world, was promoting the idol’s new songs to the newcomer Elva Hsiao, with a look that said, “Hurry up and praise me.”
Elva Hsiao: “The song titles and lyrics are written very well, ‘My Sky’ and ‘Chase the Dream’… they both fit the theme of 《Come On! Boys》, but I don’t think they’ll be very popular…”
Long Danni: “No way?! I heard Shen Qing sing acapella, and I thought it was okay.”
Elva Hsiao: “Danni, it’s too hard for a song to become popular. The melodies of these two songs don’t seem very brilliant…”
Long Danni felt her resolve shatter a bit from her words…
Yes, whether a song can become popular depends not only on the quality of the lyrics but also on the melody; neither can be lacking.
Although Shen Qing’s acapella after getting off the plane felt okay, Long Danni now felt that these two songs really didn’t make her eyes light up.
Was it because of the acapella?
Her newly built confidence wavered a bit. She sighed, “Alas, indeed! Anyway, the songs are written, and I can report to the Station Director. Whether they become popular or not is beyond my control.”
After Long Danni left, Elva Hsiao sat at the judges’ table with the lyrics and music score, tapping her fingers to the beat on the table, her brows furrowing.
…
Ten minutes later~
Elva Hsiao put down the lyrics and chuckled to herself, “Oh, talented Shen! I admit you’re very talented, and these two lyrics are well-written, but I’m conservative about the melodies…”
Indeed!
The melodies of these two songs are not particularly amazing.
But why are they so widely sung? Why can many teenagers recall their high school days of diligent studying just by hearing the melody?
Shen Qing felt it was still the charm of the singer themselves.
Those who cover these two songs find it hard to capture the original singer’s damn, unique show-off and conflicted vibe—cracked notes, shouting, raspy voice, hoarse cries.
Without these flavors, it’s meaningless.
In her past life, even a top singer like Angela Chang faltered when covering 《Chase the Dream》, and Elva Hsiao also couldn’t handle it.
So it’s normal that she’s not optimistic.
…
Meanwhile.
Shen Qing and Zhang Liangying finished their makeup backstage and entered the studio.
Elva Hsiao stood up without a moment’s delay.
After all, the man walking towards her was the music producer known as a little genius in the industry!
To exaggerate, Elva Hsiao, who hadn’t released new songs for almost two years, was practically unknown. Now, seeing someone like Shen Qing, a ‘godfather-level’ figure, she definitely wanted to curry favor.
It was highly possible that Shen Qing could make her popular again with just one song.
But Zhang Liangying didn’t have so many thoughts. Seeing the more senior Elva Hsiao not putting on airs, she was filled with admiration, “Sister Yaxuan is such a nice person!”
Not long after,
Elva Hsiao discussed the lyrics and music score of 《Chase the Dream》 and 《My Sky》 with Shen Qing for a while. She originally wanted to praise Shen Qing heavily to gain some favor.
But the straightforward Elva Hsiao, in just a few sentences, was tricked by Shen Qing into revealing her true thoughts.
Realizing she had spoken incorrectly, Elva Hsiao quickly explained, “Little brother Shen Qing, I didn’t mean that. I just think these two songs might not become popular… Ugh, what did I say…”
Shen Qing smiled, “You’re absolutely right. If the right person isn’t found to sing them, they might flop!”
Zhang Liangying said dejectedly, “I tried a few times just now, and I can’t sing with the flavor Shen Qing is looking for. How about you try, Sister Yaxuan?”
Then…
Elva Hsiao sang it with anticipation, originally fantasizing that she could unexpectedly handle one of the songs and impress Shen Qing…
But after singing for a while, she couldn’t stand it herself.
Ordinary!
Extremely ordinary!
It lacked the uplifting, addictive quality.
…
She had no choice but to sit on the judges’ table and chat aimlessly with Zhang Liangying, talking about makeup, food, bags, and other things, trying to get closer to Shen Qing through a diversionary tactic.
Soon, the competition began.
The stage lit up.
Shen Qing finally saw the full view of the studio. It wasn’t large, similar to the studio for the Super Girl Hangzhou Division.
Originally, he was indifferent, but seeing a ‘seated chest press machine’ on stage, he instantly felt awkwarded out by the production team.
No way~
Long Danni, are you choosing singers or strongmen?
No wonder Come On! Boys was completely left behind by Super Boy in its previous life and was canceled in 2008. It’s no wonder it failed with such a competition format.
For a talent show to be memorable and lasting, it must not have too many gimmicks. It should honestly focus on one theme—singing.
Shen Qing suddenly remembered the proposal Long Danni had shown him, which stated: Come On! Boys not only focuses on singing but determines rankings based on the contestants’ overall qualities, including singing, physical fitness, physique, acting, wit, and popularity.
Damn it!
Shen Qing had wondered about the physical fitness aspect back then, but now he understood…
Such comprehensive standards would actually lead to a serious problem—excessive pursuit of all-around ability, resulting in a group of relatively mediocre contestants with no distinct characteristics.
Mediocre contestants are the biggest failure of a talent show.
Shen Qing didn’t believe that a “six-sided warrior” could appear on this stage. Such people, let alone in Come On! Boys, were few even in the entire country.
Therefore, selecting people with such standards would ultimately result in contestants who are “balanced” in all aspects.
The audience would have no memorable points, other than knowing the contestant was tall and handsome, and that’s it…
After all, they haven’t officially debuted yet and don’t have supporting popular works like songs or TV dramas. They will be forgotten in a few days.
But audience members find it hard to forget someone like Li Yuchun, who is a tomboy, or Zhang Liangying, a powerful singer.
…
Some might say that Li Yifeng and Jing Boran are also quite popular, but apart from the initial pursuit by a small number of female fans, they didn’t have much influence.
They both became popular many years after the competition.
For example, Li Yifeng truly rose to stardom with 《Swords of Legends》 in 2014, where he played Baili Tusu.
This was seven years after the Come On! Boys competition ended.
Jing Boran was the same.
After the competition that year, he signed with Huayi with Fu Xinbo and formed a group called “BoBo.” However, he didn’t become a big hit until the movie 《Monster Hunt》 in 2015.
The only contestant who rapidly became popular within a year after the Come On! Boys competition was Ma Tianyu.
Because he released 《Damn Gentle》!
You see, it’s clearly a talent show leaning towards singers, yet two of the people who became hugely popular relied on film and television dramas, and only became famous many years later. This sufficiently proves that the competition format is flawed.
But Super Girl and Super Boy are different. Many contestants gained recognition during the competition.
Its success lies in emphasizing the theme of ‘singing,’ not paying much attention to other aspects of the contestants, as long as they don’t look like freaks.
This led to a hundred flowers blooming, with all sorts of types of contestants: tomboys, powerful singers, abstract artists, and those with good looks, each with their own unique characteristics.
But as things stood, Shen Qing couldn’t ask them to remove the equipment now, nor could he immediately ask Long Danni to change her creative ideas.
He could only temporarily suppress the urge to find Long Danni.
Let’s compete first~
He’ll talk to her about it another day.
Today’s schedule is 30 into 10, eliminating 20 people at once. The contestants who advance to the top ten of the division will move to Shanghai for the 10-into-5 competition.
It will be broadcast live then.
Shen Qing hasn’t seen the list of the top 30 contestants yet and doesn’t know who is in it.
But that’s good.
It will add a bit of anticipation during the competition later.
…
Hosts Cao Kefan and Chen Chen took the stage.
Cao Kefan: “Hello everyone! This is the 30-into-10 preliminary round of 《Come On! Boys》 Wuhan Division, brought to you by Leica, Dragon TV, and Hubei Satellite TV.”
Chen Chen: “Everything is ready, and the competition is about to begin. Let’s first introduce our three judges!”
Since it was a pre-recorded broadcast, the hosts did not introduce Shen Qing and the other two. They would be grandly introduced one by one through short videos on the official broadcast day.
Soon, the competition began.
The 30 contestants were divided into 5 groups, with 6 people in each group. Each person had to complete a physical display, self-introduction, talent show, and a photo booth session within 2 minutes.
The judges would give scores based on each person’s performance. One person from each group would be directly advanced, one eliminated, and the remaining four would be put on hold.
Shen Qing had a competition rule introduction in front of him. After reading it, he silently raised a question mark.
Still plenty of points to criticize!
He would have to discuss it properly with Long Danni later.
…
In the first group of contestants, Shen Qing only recognized No. 28 Wei Bin, a student from Hubei Police Academy. In his previous life, he ranked fifth nationally. He sang David Tao’s 《Love is Simple》.
This song is a typical Tao R&B.
If listeners were to choose one song to represent David Tao, many would likely choose this 1993 release, 《Love is Simple》. Its singing style is sophisticated, and the emotion is sincere; it never goes out of style.
However, Wei Bin’s musical talent was not outstanding.
Shen Qing gave him a low score.
As for Zhang Liangying, she had high standards and was even stricter than Shen Qing, giving Wei Bin only 5.5 points.
Meanwhile, Elva Hsiao gave him 8 points~
This woman…
Seeing a handsome guy, she didn’t hold back on her score.
She hadn’t given such high scores to the first three contestants.
The next contestant was a 21-year-old young man who was 190 cm tall. His talent show was taekwondo, which Shen Qing watched with a frown.
It wasn’t that he kicked poorly, but it was too out of place.
Displaying such talents on a stage that primarily selects singers felt disconnected from the theme. Would the audience really enjoy watching it?
Finally.
All the contestants in the first group had performed. Shen Qing, Zhang Liangying, and Elva Hsiao had to choose the best among the mediocre and decided to let Wei Bin advance to the top ten.
…
Second group.
Shen Qing’s spirits lifted.
Ma Tianyu!
At 20 years old, he was quite shy and not the most handsome, but he sang the best. The three unanimously gave him the advancement spot.
The third group was also interesting; it actually had Yu Haoming!
He didn’t go to Super Boy and came to Come On! Boys!?
As soon as Yu Haoming appeared on stage, he stared at Shen Qing and said excitedly, “Teacher Shen Qing, I finally get to see you. I came all the way from Guangzhou to participate in this competition, hoping for your guidance. I’ll be singing 《It’s Blowing》…”
Yu Haoming’s overall conditions were very good.
He was also articulate.
He was 19 years old this year, the same age as Shen Qing, and 180 cm tall. Among the many shorter contestants in Super Boy that year, he was considered quite tall.
In this group, without a doubt, Shen Qing and the other two judges chose him.
In the fourth group, there were no famous contestants. Shen Qing chose Chen Yichuan, who was relatively good. He is currently a student at the First Aviation Institute of Harbin.
In the last group, Shen Qing was very expectant.
He hoped to see some familiar faces.
The first two contestants were unremarkable, both over 180 cm tall and with strong physiques. Their bulging chest muscles gleamed, captivating the eyes of Long Danni and Elva Hsiao.
When Shen Qing saw the third person to appear, his expression was priceless, “Who do I see? Liangying actually managed to attract Xu Song?”
On stage, Xu Song, with a slender build and delicate features, appeared to be a reserved male voice. He politely said, “Hello everyone, I am contestant No. 04, Xu Song. My English name is Vae. I am 20 years old and a student at Anhui Medical University. Today, I’ll be performing my original song 《Rose Funeral》.”
This was the first original song of the day, and everyone became interested.
The music started, and Xu Song began to sing.
However, his live performance level was quite average. Liangying and Elva Hsiao started frowning after listening for just over ten seconds, labeling him as having ordinary singing skills.
Fortunately, the song was decent; the studio version should be quite good.
It just had a bit of a 《Wilderness Area》 vibe!
After finishing, Xu Song nervously walked off stage, waiting for the last three contestants to perform.
The next to appear was Zhong Kai, who was 190 cm tall, and Leng Wenkang, who was 185 cm tall. The last to appear was Zhang Han, a student from the Central Academy of Drama.
Zhang Han?
Shen Qing was a bit puzzled, “Could it be him?”
