Chapter Seventy-Seven: Choosing Songs and People
The first to appear were four songs from the Vocal group: two Chinese classics and two original songs prepared by the program team.
The first song, "Platinum Era" (9 people), is a classic EDM song with a fast drumbeat and modern style, which surprised Meng Fanxi. He thought the vocal evaluation would be all ballads that showcase singing skills and emotions.
This song is quite difficult, and it puts the singer to a great test in terms of switching between true and falsetto. Meng Fanxi wasn't particularly interested in it, and judging from his teammates' expressions, they probably wouldn't choose this song either.
During the song selection process, the team members, who were sitting scattered around, gathered together to discuss in hushed tones, and even those who didn't have seats sat on the grass.
Meng Fanxi waved to Gu Huailang, who was sitting in the 9th seat, signaling him to sit down as well. The latter obediently sat down in the empty seat.
Meng Fanxi wondered what Gu Huailang was thinking, as he seemed to be daydreaming. She couldn't help but think of suitable songs for him. Gu Huailang's vocals were also very good; he was a rare deep voice in the group, with a rich and mellow tone. Choosing the right song would be a powerful weapon.
This song, "Platinum Age," doesn't suit him very well.
The second song, "Passionate Forgetting" (9 people), caused a stir among the trainees as soon as it was performed.
This is one of mentor Tan Yi's hit songs.
It's an early song by Tan Yi, a ballad full of emotion. Especially the high notes that rise from C5 in the second half, which are extremely powerful and push the emotion to the highest point, making it a perfect emo anthem for the night.
Meng Fanxi's song was played on repeat many times in his previous life; it was one of Tan Yi's favorite songs.
This song is beautiful and has a lot of room for cover performances, unlike some very classic songs that have almost no room for cover performances. If sung well, it will definitely be a treasure trove of a stage.
Meng Fanxi noticed that his teammates had finally become interested.
However, as many trainees have been discussing, "Passionate Forgetting" is very difficult, and with only 9 people participating, it means that each person gets very few lines. How to demonstrate singing skills in just two or three lines is an extremely challenging task.
Seeing the trainees looking troubled, Tan Yi jokingly said with a smile, "Don't be nervous, this song isn't that hard to sing."
The trainees: "..." What do we do when we feel like we've been turned into Versailles?
Zhang Yang and his team didn't immediately decide on this song, deciding to wait for the next song before making a choice.
The third song, "Journey to Mountains and Seas" (7 people), and the fourth song, "A Song to Sing Even If It's Late" (7 people), are new songs prepared by the program team. Both are themed around youth. The former highlights the determination of youth to travel to mountains and seas, while the latter has a relaxed atmosphere but is not impetuous. The whole song exudes a relaxed feeling of saying goodbye to youth with a smile.
Both songs have a moderate number of listeners and a pleasing musical style, making them difficult to choose between.
Without giving them much time to think, the Dance group's song immediately started playing on the screen.
The first track, "Wings" (7 artists), kicks off with a powerful mix of drumbeats and modern electronic effects, surging straight to the top of your head. The first half is full of conflict and drama, while the second half features a slowdown with chaotic drumbeats. The music seems to be mocking and playing around, like a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses slowly emerging from the depths of the fog amidst the chaos, with black wings faintly visible behind him, dangerous yet alluring.
The song ended abruptly.
Meng Fanxi's eyes widened in surprise; it was this song.
This was also an original song prepared by the program team, but Meng Fanxi remembered that this song appeared in "Teen Idol" in his previous life.
He remembers that the song was very controversial, mainly because the trainees who chose this song on the show "Teen Idol" were unable to perform it well, resulting in an awkward, hybrid performance that made many people, including himself, feel sorry for such a lavish production.
I never expected that this song would be bought by "Team Up" and appear here.
Meng Fanxi decided to choose this song almost immediately. It wasn't an impulsive decision. In his previous life, when he watched the show, he had imagined many times what it would be like if he were to perform it, and whether he could handle it.
Now that the opportunity is right in front of him, of course he has to seize it.
This song is extremely difficult in terms of dance, testing not only dance skills but also the performer's expressiveness, and even the singer cannot let their guard down in terms of singing.
The dance evaluation format involves trainees recording songs in advance in a recording studio, and their versions are played directly during the performance.
Although the stage focuses on dance performance, the song "Wings" is also very difficult to sing, requiring the singer to change their singing style. If the singing is not good, the background noise played on stage can easily break the audience's immersion.
This is precisely why some of the dance trainees on site were struggling.
"This performance is absolutely amazing, but if it falls apart, it will be very obvious."
"This song is too difficult, let's look at some other songs instead."
"Pass. We can't take risks with the second round; it's related to the rankings."
...
At the very back, Lu Ning and Zhong Chu were also discussing the song.
Lu Ning didn't go back to his original team to discuss things. Seeing that Zhong Chu was all alone without a team, he said goodbye to his E6 teammates and stayed there, since he was already at the end of the queue anyway.
Lu Ning swayed slightly to the music of "Wings" and said to Zhong Chu, "This song is really energetic."
“Yes,” Zhong Chu also liked it, but then he became depressed again, “We won’t get a turn, let’s just go for whichever song is left.”
Lu Ning's shoulders slumped. "That's true."
The second song, "Night Dance" (7 people), is also an original song. Along with the third song, "Long Live Happiness" (9 people), and the fourth song, "Youth" (9 people), these two classic Chinese songs are all musically balanced, not too difficult to sing, and conducive to dance performance.
The discussion at the scene became quite heated, and it was clear that more people would choose the last three songs.
All four rap songs in the rap evaluation were beats. An important point for rappers is original lyrics. Although the rappers on this show are all idol rappers, the evaluation is still very strict.
Two of the beats are from Zhu Lou's album, and the other two are tracks that the production team purchased from the producer.
They had 15 minutes to discuss and think before officially selecting songs.
Meng Fanxi and his team quickly decided on their chosen songs, adhering to one principle: to avoid going up against their teammates.
As Yun Mengtao explained, the song battles are very clear: within the Dance and Vocal groups, teams with the same number of members compete against each other.
Within the Rap group, although there is one team of 7 and three teams of 6, the number of members cannot be matched properly. However, based on the song type, those who choose unreleased original beats form one group, and those who choose Zhu Lou's songs form another group.
After they had all decided which songs to choose, only Gu Huailang said, "Let me think about it some more."
Meng Fanxi had previously recommended "Passionate Forgetting" to him, which contained a aria that was very suitable for his voice. Gu Huailang simply said he knew about it, without showing any preference for any of the 12 songs.
"Why are you acting so strange today?" Meng Fanxi couldn't help but ask before the song selection began.
Gu Huailang's eyes darted around. "Maybe he didn't sleep well."
"Okay." Meng Fanxi reminded him with concern, "Choose carefully, this will affect your ranking."
"Okay." A hint of warmth flashed in Gu Huailang's eyes.
Once the song selection process began, Yun Mengtao still hosted the entire process, while the other mentors played the role of supporting actors.
On the stage, signs were erected from left to right, displaying the song titles and the number of performers for each song.
Yun Mengtao: "Now, please welcome Lin Ruohe, who is currently ranked first in the first public performance evaluation, to come up on stage and choose a song for evaluation."
Lin Ruohe walked straight to "Passionate Forgetting" under the curious gazes of the crowd and stood behind the signboard.
There was a rustling sound from the audience.
"It seems that Will and the others are planning to choose 'Passionate Forgotten'. They'll probably all choose that song. There are still 3 spots left in that group. If they get in, they'll basically be carried to victory."
"I originally wanted to choose 'Platinum Age', but it has almost no chance against the Eternal Six Stars. Sigh, looks like I'll have to choose something else."
Before everyone could even finish their discussion, Yun Mengtao didn't call on Zhang Yang, who came in second place, to come on stage as per the usual procedure. Instead, she announced another rule.
She looked at Lin Ruohe and said, "You are the first trainee to choose 'Passionate Oblivion,' so you will automatically become the captain of 'Passionate Oblivion,' and have the right to refuse the winning trainee three times, as well as the right to choose the trainee who lost in the last round."
"???" A chorus of surprise erupted from the audience.
"There are all these good things about being the first to choose a song?"
"Oh my god, does that mean I might get rejected when I go to choose a song?"
"Those who are at the front of the line have an advantage."
...
In other words, among the 44 winners of the previous round, the team leader can refuse to let 3 people join their team, and can also choose the people they need to join from the 45 losers, and the other team cannot refuse.
Yun Mengtao added: "If multiple teams choose the same person, that person can choose the other person even if they lost in the previous round."
Most of the trainees who lost were initially happy, but then they realized that the probability of being chosen by multiple people at the same time was actually quite low...
When Zhang Yang, who came in second, went up, he didn't hesitate at all and went straight to "Passionate Forgetting," which was exactly what everyone expected.
Meng Fanxi recalled that during the previous discussion, Zhang Yang chose "Passionate Forgetting," while Lin Ruohe hesitated between "Passionate Forgetting" and "A Song That Must Be Sung Even If It's Late." In the end, they both chose "Passionate Forgetting" because the former had so many people, and the two of them might have a greater advantage.
Xu You, who came in third, walked onto the stage. He paused for a few seconds in front of the sign that read "Passionate Forgetting". Lin Ruohe was stunned for a moment, then looked at him helplessly. Meng Fanxi also shook his head with a smile below. This Xu You is very suitable for variety shows.
Seemingly after some hesitation, the other trainees in the audience were a bit confused. What was there to hesitate about in choosing "Passionate Forgetting" with their teammates?
Having made up his mind, Xu You embarked on the rap song "The Wanderer," a song composed by Zhu Lou.
"Huh? Xu You isn't choosing 'Passionate Forgetting'?"
"The Eternal Six-Star team has disbanded?"
"Xu You sings so well, why did he choose rap?"
"What happened?"
...
Upon seeing this, Zhu Lou excitedly exclaimed "Woohoo!" and sat up from his chair, striking a hip-hop pose: "Let's goooo! Xu You!"
Meng Fanxi sighed. When he first heard that Xu You wanted to choose rap, he really felt like he couldn't avoid it no matter how hard he tried. Xu You's potential in hip-hop was undeniable. He just didn't want him to trigger his diss skills from his past life too early.
Ren Yuchen, who came in fourth, went on stage, chose "The Song That Will Be Sung Even If It's Late", and became the team leader.
"It seems they really are going to break up the team."
"Aren't there two more people? Let's see how they choose."
The fifth place winner is the loser, so we skip them and let the sixth place winner, Meng Fanxi, take the stage.
Jin Ziran, sitting in the last row of the audience, stared intently at Meng Fanxi, her fingernails digging deep into her fingers.
Meng Fanxi chose "Wings" and became the captain.
"Wow! Wings got picked!"
"He actually chose this song, that's really brave!"
"The Eternal Six Stars strategy is brilliant; spreading them out might earn even more votes!"
"It's not that easy. They're perfect together, but if they're separated, things might not be so simple. They might lose everything."
"Exactly! They chose all difficult songs, they're way too confident."
...
Fu Hanfei's lips curled into a wide smile; he was already looking forward to Meng Fanxi's performance.
The seventh place winner is Tong Junxi from Wanxiang Seven, who chose "Youth" and became the team leader.
Having conveniently avoided clashing with the six eternal stars, Meng Fanxi paid close attention to him a few more times. The Seven Sons of All Things had been very stable since they joined the show, never having lost, and all their choices were very mature, making them worthy of our attention.
The eighth place should have been Paradox's An Yi, but his group lost, so he was also skipped.
When it was Gu Huailang's turn, he stepped onto the stage, and Meng Fanxi watched his choice intently.
He walked step by step, his eyes slightly lowered, the direction of his gaze obscured by his long eyelashes.
After passing by "Passionate Forgetting" and "A Song That Must Be Sung Even If It's Late," I stood in front of the "Wings" sign and slowly looked up.
Meng Fanxi was clearly not expected that the two of them would just stare at each other, frozen in place.
Meng Fanxi asked, "Are you sure you want to choose this song?"
"Hmm." Gu Huailang was clearly afraid that he would disagree, so he chose to act first and ask for permission later.
Everyone has the freedom to choose, but considering the compatibility with the song, "Wings" is obviously not as suitable for Gu Huailang as the other songs. Everyone should play to their strengths. At this time, Gu Huailang obviously had not yet mastered the performance skills he would later develop, so choosing a song that required a lot of emotion was a risky move.
Moreover, he is currently ranked ninth, just on the edge of debuting.
Meng Fanxi wanted to steel herself and persuade him, even though they were surrounded by cameras.
Before he could speak, Gu Huailang said, "I want to help you."
Meng Fanxi's words were on the tip of her tongue, but when she met his gaze, she couldn't say them.
How to describe Gu Huailang's eyes at this moment? Meng Fanxi had seen so many of Gu Huailang's movies in his previous life, and he immediately thought of Gu Huailang's first movie, "Fish Lantern Village," which allowed Gu Huailang to gain a foothold in the film industry.
Gu Huailang once commented that he didn't understand what acting was back then, so he used the most basic methods.
Complete sincerity and genuineness, just like his expression now.
He smiled silently.
Meng Fanxi stepped aside and extended his right hand in a welcoming gesture.
Gu Huailang joined Wings.
His joining was both a challenge and an opportunity. Meng Fanxi immediately began brainstorming, thinking about what types of members the team would need next.
Although there is competition within the team, winning against external opponents is the priority.
Therefore, Meng Fanxi used two rejection opportunities to turn down two trainees who were good dancers but rather arrogant, prioritizing team harmony.
To his surprise, apart from those two trainees, no one else chose this song for a long time. The members of each team gradually became more complete, but he was still the only one with two people.
When he saw the next person walk onto the stage, Meng Fanxi felt more gazes lingering on him and that person. He remained calm and composed, his expression indifferent.
Fan Na walked up to the four songs for the Dance evaluation. He only glanced at "Wings" and completely ignored Meng Fanxi's gaze, focusing instead on the other three songs that were wavering.
"Fan Na," Meng Fanxi called out to him calmly.
He was clearly taken aback, and his shoulders trembled violently as he looked up at Meng Fanxi warily.
Meng Fanxi's lips curled up slightly, his eyes filled with amusement and a hint of provocation, "Do you still remember the agreement about the two of you?"
With his long, slender fingers, he casually tapped the sign in front of him. "Dare you?"
The trainees watching exclaimed in surprise, and the jeers grew louder and louder.
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A note from the author:
The number of dancers for the four songs in this chapter has been changed.
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