Chapter 157 Investigation

Whether the artists admit it or not, the most exciting moment of the family concert is when VIER appears.

The roar that erupted from the audience startled all the artists in the backstage dressing rooms, causing them to immediately look up from their surroundings.

The performance on stage was being broadcast live from the dressing room.

Xu Weiguang was frightened by the majestic sound and looked up immediately. Sure enough, it was VIER who came on stage.

The six idols on the stage shone with their own aura, and they were like veterans on the stage. They caught everyone's attention as soon as they appeared on the stage. Everyone had a tacit understanding on the stage, and the dance had a unique soul under their performance. Not to mention the fans, even everyone in their Ink lounge had their eyes focused on the broadcast screen.

When Wei Ye was performing on the VIER stage, he stayed in the control room, paying close attention to all the dynamics on the stage. He could respond immediately to any emergency such as "in-ear monitoring failure" or "microphone no sound".

In the control room, Wei Ye stood there like a mountain, putting immense pressure on the staff. But upon closer inspection, it became clear that not everyone was intently focused on the stage.

Wei Ye noticed out of the corner of his eye that someone seemed to have been keeping his head down. Perhaps it was an illusion caused by his vision. When the most difficult part of the song on the screen had been smoothly passed, Wei Ye diverted his attention to look in the direction that his peripheral vision had noticed.

It's not an illusion.

A staff member wearing a custom-made uniform for a family concert was sitting at the very edge, scrolling through his phone as if he were alone. Judging by the movement of his fingers on the phone, he wasn't replying to any urgent messages, but rather seemed to be browsing the news.

Wei's heart sank. He didn't care if other artists slacked off during the concert, and he understood that there would always be times when one's energy was not focused at work. How could such a thing happen now, during the performance on the VIER stage, which was recognized as the most watched and important stage?

Especially since he was there.

Wei Ye frowned and walked towards the man with quick and powerful steps.

"What are you looking at?" Wei Ye asked curtly, his voice barely concealing his anger.

The man was frightened and the contents of his phone were displayed.

...

After the last note fell, Meng Fanxi was still not satisfied. The lights did not dim immediately, but dimmed little by little as if the fans were reluctant to say goodbye. The light and shadow cast on them looked particularly beautiful.

The medley of multiple songs not only left fans wanting more, but they themselves felt refreshed, yet regretted that it was not a group concert and they could not sing to their heart's content in one go.

The next group to perform after them was 4ward. The two groups did not actually meet each other. Because they were on a roll and had basically no rivals of equal strength at the same time, many people compared VIER and 4ward, and the fans of the two groups are now at odds with each other.

They greeted each other amicably at the concert as usual, with nothing much changed.

On their way back to the lounge, they wiped their sweat with dry towels and chatted casually.

Meng Fanxi: "The atmosphere of the concert is so nostalgic. What about you, Brother Yang?" He looked at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang smiled slightly, clearly in a good mood. "Yes, although it's only been a year since I left, the days without the stage feel like an eternity."

Lin Ruohe was amused by Zhang Yang's statement: "It's rare for you to express yourself so frankly. It seems we must hold more tours this year to make up for the concerts we missed."

Everyone was overjoyed to hear this, and their desire to hold a concert seemed to take flight.

Xu You quickly added, "Not only that, we're also releasing an album!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We must strive for the Best Group Award at the Starlight Music Awards this time." Meng Fanxi's eyes sparkled. Last year, when Zhang Yang went abroad, they were not nominated for the Best Group at the end of the year. But except for last year, they had been nominated in previous years. Perhaps it was due to lack of experience, or the judging panel had other considerations, so they missed out every time.

This year, he could sense that everyone was more mature and composed, and that there might be even greater breakthroughs in the album.

Awards are far less important than audience reviews, but the fact that they have now become a group that is said to "lack some luck in winning awards" shows the audience's recognition of them.

Meng Fanxi always hoped that they could win the highest honor for the group together.

Ren Yuchen agreed, "Yes, I'm confident we can win that award."

Gu Huailang was also full of confidence: "Even Brother Ye revealed a few days ago that he hopes we can strive for an award this year."

Lin Ruohe laughed, "I haven't heard Wei Ye mention this in the group meeting." "It seems that we have a good understanding with Brother Ye."

As the door opened, everyone was about to chat with Wei Ye, who was waiting in the lounge, about the tour and album plans when they saw Wei Ye sitting on the sofa with his phone in hand, his brows furrowed.

The staff in the lounge were no longer in their usual relaxed and casual conversation; the atmosphere in the lounge was somewhat oppressive.

"What's wrong, Brother Ye?" Xu You asked directly.

Wei looked up and his expression relaxed when he saw them come in. He smiled and invited everyone to sit down. "It's not a big deal. Take a break and have some water."

The air seemed to begin to flow again.

Xu You persisted, "Brother Ye, don't test our curiosity, just tell us!"

Meng Fanxi also tacitly followed everyone else's lead and put on an attitude of listening attentively: "Yes, tell me what it is."

Wei also sighed and put the interface he had just been looking at on his phone on the table. Meng Fanxi and Gu Huailang, who were nearby, leaned over to take a look.

Wei Ye: "Look at the trending topics."

On the mobile phone, the content in the nine-square grid was made up of long pictures, which were interspersed with text and pictures. The content was rich and the examples were detailed. Seeing that the situation was complicated, several people picked up their mobile phones and started to look through it.

This is a whistleblower exposing the doubts surrounding the Starlight Music Awards. The whistleblower is one of the behind-the-scenes workers of the Starlight Music Awards. His words are sharp and his evidence is abundant. Almost everyone who reads this article will not doubt that what he said is true.

The six people looked at this revelation, and their good mood gradually disappeared.

The revelations were mainly about the last few major awards in the Starlight Music Awards, namely the Best Group Award, Best Male Singer Award and Best Female Singer Award, all of which were subject to serious internal decisions and vote manipulation by judges.

Even VIER's name was mentioned in the article, but fortunately it wasn't about their awards being inflated, but rather a revelation of a situation they hadn't expected.

The whistleblower said in the article: "...Even the 40th Stellar Music Awards, which has been the most recognized in recent years (the one where VIER swept all three awards), there was vote manipulation behind the scenes. With VIER's performance that year, they should have won more than three awards. Don't forget, the authority of the Stellar Music Awards lies in rigorous data comparison and voting by industry authorities. VIER should have won the Best Group Award, setting a record for the best performance of a newly debuted group, but someone in the organizers had selfish motives and tampered with the final vote. Evidence is shown in the picture below..."

They didn't really consider the Best Group Award in their debut year, since everyone naturally assumed that the award would take into account a variety of factors, including their experience in the industry. So being nominated at the time was already an honor.

But judging from the current revelations, it turns out that the award originally belonged to them?

According to the whistleblower, the inflation of several major awards was particularly serious, and the organizers were extremely careful in their operations. The evidence revealed is chilling, showing that even the most authoritative music awards have fallen to such a level.

This matter is the top headline on almost every platform, and even the trending topic of VIER's appearance at the family concert is all about it.

How ironic that VIER's grand appearance at the family concert and the scandal surrounding the Starlight Music Awards were both trending on the same search list.

I feel so sorry for VIER. They should have received the spotlight and stardom in their very first year after their debut.

[In an interview, Zhang Yang's mentors abroad mentioned that Zhang Yang often discussed songs suitable for the group with him. They really wanted the group to gain recognition from each member, so not winning the Best Group award was still a huge blow.]

Fanxi's graduation project is called "Top", and they even called all the members together to shoot it. Everyone wants to get that honor so much. Starlight TV, are you worthy of bringing you so much popularity and supporting VIER as a group?

There's no need to be so pessimistic. VIER's current achievements completely surpass other groups in terms of statistics. They should be doing more tours and releasing a better album this year.

[Not winning the first year is one thing, but they were also nominated in the following years but didn't win. How many awards have they discredited VIER? The haters are all mocking VIER for having no luck with awards.]

...

Although the revelation of this incident has naturally caused many VIER fans to feel indignant on their behalf, believing that the organizers of the Starlight Music Awards stole VIER's award, Meng Fanxi and his group are more concerned about the future direction of the Starlight Music Awards.

The heat continues to grow, but the organizer still has not responded.

Although the Starlight Music Awards are organized by Starlight TV, as the whistleblower wrote in the article, various forces and capital have been intertwined in the awards for many years since their inception, making it quite complicated. Who should be held responsible for this?

If the credibility of an award is questioned, what should become of the award?

The lounge was not as quiet as before. Lin Ruo and Wei Ye were discussing the subsequent developments in a low voice. Meng Fanxi sat quietly aside with complicated thoughts.

Such a thing never happened in his previous life, and there was no related revelations. The Stellar Music Awards were going well before he was reborn.

I never expected something like this to happen.

The fans are absolutely right about one thing: they really want the group to officially reach the top, and one of the generally accepted criteria for reaching the top is winning the Star Awards for Best Group.

They have gained recognition from the audience, but they also need comprehensive recognition from the industry. There are very few combinations that can achieve both.

Now, the award might not even exist anymore?

However, they didn't dwell on this for too long. Regardless of the award results, they wanted to bring the best album and audiovisual experience to the audience.

The next day, Star TV officially issued an investigation notice, stating that it would take the matter seriously and thoroughly investigate the true circumstances of the incident.

About a week later, Star TV officially released the results of its investigation into the Star Music Awards incident.