Isn't it just showing off skills?
After the opening show, the four mentors returned to their respective dressing rooms to remove their makeup and change clothes. The live stream then switched to the preparation booths, showing behind-the-scenes footage of the contestants' pre-competition preparations and random interviews.
After Jiang Songhe retrieved Jiang Songyun's lucky drumstick, he intended to deliver it to the preparation booth immediately, but the staff informed him that "the booth is currently closed for live streaming and can only be handed over." He suspected something was amiss about his brother losing the drumstick before the competition and, feeling uneasy, decided to personally hand it over to Jiang Songyun after the opening show.
Half an hour later, the mentors returned to the main stage on the screen in the viewing room.
The triple-threat diva who performed the opening show as the "mermaid" was the only female judge and an actress with excellent eloquence and performance skills. As such, she was well-deserved to take on the role of host and guide the process in the following stages of the competition.
First, there was naturally a wave of mutual praise, which eventually came down to Jonah Shirley, the globally popular top singer. The diva and OG were generous with their praise, calling the opening song he created for the Star Show in just half a month a masterpiece.
Jonathan specifically mentioned Quinn, who didn't have much screen time during the performance, revealing that Quinn deserves half the credit for the show. He also apologized for causing trouble for the judges, explaining that he had only participated in rehearsals a few hours before the competition due to poor health.
Each judge then hugged and whispered apologies for any offenses they may have caused each other while performing their respective roles, before taking their seats on the judges' panel.
After handing over the drumsticks, Jiang Songhe went to the emergency exit to smoke a few cigarettes, and just then returned to the spectator room.
He felt he hadn't smoked enough and should have smoked a couple more before coming back.
...
The preliminary round uses a head-to-head competition format. The 100 finalists are randomly matched with opponents by drawing lots before the competition, and they compete in pairs. Contestants in the same group will perform the same piece, forming both competitive and cooperative relationships, and they will know each other's performance plans before their official debut.
Jiang Songyun's opponent was the same player who asked Jonathan for a photo on the first day of training. He was an Australian, arrogant and combative, and during training and pre-competition rehearsals, he made many sarcastic remarks to him in an intentional way to interfere.
Although they were both young and full of vigor, Jiang Songyun was, after all, from China, and his actions were more reserved and unassuming. He had also been influenced by his taciturn and cold-faced brother since childhood, so he didn't bother with the contestant.
When the other party says something irrelevant, he pretends not to understand English and ignores them, continuing with whatever he needs to do.
The Star Show is broadcast globally, and the preliminary rounds are very fast. A song is at most five or six minutes long. With judges' comments and intermissions, the competition is already halfway through by 5 a.m. the next day, which is 10 hours after the prime time broadcast last night.
Jiang Songhe secretly felt that it wasn't fast enough, because the competition was already halfway through and it hadn't been Jiang Songyun's group's turn yet.
When Jiang Songhe was getting roles for Jiang Songyun, he was very firm on the working hours during the contract negotiation stage with the production team. No matter how "tight the schedule and heavy the task" the other party said, or how tempting the promised overtime pay was, he would rather break off the negotiations than compromise in order to ensure that his younger brother had enough rest time.
On the one hand, it was to protect Jiang Songyun's health, and on the other hand, it was because Jiang Songhe would experience a sense of despair similar to that of someone on the verge of death when she was extremely tired.
Therefore, he maintains a highly disciplined fitness routine year after year, not because he cares too much about his image, but because he needs to expend physical energy to ensure sleep quality.
He only discovered this situation after becoming his brother's manager, but he wasn't sure if it was normal or hereditary. He could only do his best to ensure that his brother wouldn't suffer the same torment he had experienced.
Jiang Songhe and Jiang Songyun met at 4 pm yesterday. Even if the younger brother had a good sleep and woke up at noon, he has not closed his eyes for 17 hours.
He began to feel anxious.
Will Song Yun have the energy and stamina to handle it? Will her asthma flare up due to fatigue? Will she faint on stage like she did during the auditions? Will she suddenly die? Will she sleepwalk?
Tsk, what are you thinking? Song Yun isn't sleepwalking.
He repeatedly took out his phone, wanting to ask his younger brother if he had received the notification to go on stage, but he was afraid that asking too frequently would affect his brother's mood. So he could only ask the staff about everything again and again, even though he knew that the order of appearance depended on the draw results.
After staring intently at the live broadcast screen in the preparation booth for over an hour, Jiang Songhe finally saw Jiang Songyun stand up from his seat and begin warming up.
Twenty minutes later, Jiang Songyun and his opponent stood side by side in the arena set on Treasure Island.
Although from Jiang Songyun's description, it could be inferred that the incident of throwing the drumstick had little to do with the brown-haired boy, Jiang Songhe's gaze still carried a hint of scrutiny and hostility.
The four judges seemed to be doing things in a very professional manner. Apart from being friendly and guiding the contestants in their self-introductions, they did not show much other emotional expression.
The camera panned to Kun Ji'en, who was sitting next to Jonathan, one of the judges. Jiang Songhe caught a glimpse of his dead fish eyes and his crooked back teeth.
The PK officially began, the background music started, and Jiang Songyun and Zongmao'er changed their positions to face each other.
Jiang Songhe had an impression of Zong Mao'er. He had noticed the kid's singing skills during the vocal lesson on the first day of the training camp. The opening performance was pretty much as he had expected. Jiang Songyun's performance was on par with Zong Mao'er's.
Both singers are vocalists and dancers, each with their own style, and it's hard to tell who's better just by looking at the verses. So we'll have to see who has more to offer and shines in the chorus.
This ridiculous closed training camp organized by Xingxiu caused Jiang Songhe to experience an information gap regarding her younger brother's performance for the first time.
Jiang Songhe was certain that his younger brother would make great progress, but he couldn't be sure whether that progress would be enough to beat this equally skilled brown-haired boy who claimed to be a favorite of a certain judge.
Once the bridge scene was over, Jiang Songhe, who was off-screen, unconsciously took a breath along with Jiang Songyun in the close-up shot on the screen.
The transitions were smooth, the pitch was accurate, the movements were clean, and then there was that... "BALANCE," and Jiang Songhe finally understood what her younger brother meant by that word.
Only through sufficient practice, enough to become ingrained in muscle memory, can one effortlessly master fluidity and coordination.
Before she could even feel a sense of surprise, the camera panned to Brown Hair, and Jiang Songhe's breath caught in her throat again.
Something's not right. Why is Brown Hair taking such a long breath?
The next second, Brown Hair opened his mouth with his little tongue clearly visible, then pulled the microphone away, and a high-pitched sound that sounded like it wanted to destroy the whole world instantly came out from the screen's external speaker with an extremely long standby time.
The camera immediately followed the camera with a "360° surround" combination of "pushing in to the big shot" shots, and the director also cut to a considerable amount of footage of the judges' reactions.
Jiang Songhe thought to herself, "Oh no," and quickly looked for Jiang Songyun's reaction from the corners of the screen.
To outsiders, Jiang Songyun's expression at this moment probably wouldn't reveal anything unusual, after all, he was an actor who was "seventeen years old and had thirteen years of acting experience." But when Jiang Songhe glanced at him and saw the vein under his brother's ear bulging and taut, he knew that Jiang Songyun was very surprised and flustered.
Then he saw Jiang Songyun's free hand unconsciously touching his lower back, and Jiang Songhe guessed that it was the lucky drumstick that Jonathan had given him.
"Don't panic." Jiang Songhe encouraged her younger brother from afar, then recounted the nonsensical pun, "'Bang' means staying close by, right?"
Jiang Songhe suddenly remembered the stage set design, and that the treasure island was made up of various musical instruments arranged in a staggered pattern.
"I remember there's a drum set in the back. Turn around," Jiang Songhe murmured, hoping that the brothers truly had a telepathic connection and could communicate in real time, while also hoping that his younger brother wouldn't be too honest.
One should be upright and honest with gentlemen, but one should ignore all manner of petty people.
"Be ruthless when necessary"—this was an experience Jiang Songhe learned from his childhood, when he was constantly being picked on and beaten by thugs.
After finishing her high note, Brown Hair took a breath and, taking a moment, gave Jiang Songyun a provocative smile. Later, she simply avoided eye contact with Jiang Songyun and instead reached for the judges' table, slyly showing off her skills to Jonathan.
Jiang Songhe's anger flared up, and he tried to strengthen their telepathic connection through chanting. He stopped being silent and read the scriptures aloud directly to the screen: "Turn back, Songyun, turn back."
The judges were all in unison, nodding in rhythm. Even the notoriously critical Kun Ji'en raised an eyebrow and pouted, picking up the contestant's information from the table and looking at it over and over.
Thump! Thump thump thump thump...
Suddenly, a heavy thud of a drum rang out in the background music, like a high-energy warning, followed by a series of gongs that accompanied the brown-haired boy in perfect sync with the melody, accurate, in tune, and without overshadowing him.
Jiang Songhe stopped chanting, stood up straight with his arms crossed, squinted his eyes knowingly, and smiled.
The camera pans along the brown-haired boy's turn and back gaze, shifting the focus back to Jiang Songyun, both on and off screen.
Jiang Songyun had already set up and tuned the microphone in front of the drums, holding his personalized drumsticks engraved with his name, and sat calmly behind the drums, lightly tapping the bass drum. After Brown Hair finished singing the last line of his part, Jiang Songyun leaned forward with a mysterious smile, raised an empty hand, and pointed it at the microphone, saying, "Warning…Ha! (High-energy warning…Ha!)"
As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his forearm on the side holding the baton toward the snare drum. The other drumstick, which was placed on the drumhead, was knocked away by the one in his hand, drawing a beautiful arc in mid-air before being caught steadily by Jiang Songyun's free hand.
The right hand continues to strike the snare drum densely, while the left hand waits for the right moment. At the strongest note, the tip of the drumstick is flicked onto the pressure plate, and the drumstick bounces up with a twitch, spinning rapidly for N times before returning to the left hand like a yo-yo.
This move is a signature move created by Jiang Songyun himself, inspired by the sword flourishes taught to him by the martial arts director of "Yan Ge Xing".
It's just showing off skills, pfft, he can do that too.
After playing these fancy tricks for a while, the OG, who was proficient in all kinds of musical instruments, couldn't sit still anymore. He propped himself up on the table, put two fingers in his mouth, and whistled towards the stage.
When it came to the vocal part, Jiang Songyun, in order to be stable, switched back to singing and playing with both hands. After realizing that the drumsticks and lips could still work together seamlessly, he let loose and adjusted his hand techniques according to the emotions and the strength and pitch of the melody.
While Jiang Songyun was having a blast, Zongmao'er, seeing the judges and audience cheering excitedly, completely lost her composure. She even forgot to participate in the rest of her singing, stopped playing the microphone, and started bouncing around restlessly.
...
After the competition ended, the four judges voted without saying much, ↗↗↗↗ (Jiang Songyun).
Each judge's vote is equivalent to 10 audience votes. After tallying the audience votes, the female judge announced the final results.
Jiang Songyun won 369-171, fulfilling Jiang Songhe's pre-match encouragement to "turn the tables and crush" that brown-haired guy.
Before the results were announced, Jiang Songhe stood with his arms crossed and stiff in front of the screen in the viewing room. As soon as the score was revealed, Jiang Songhe couldn't help but punch and shout "Yeah!" Realizing that he had attracted the attention of those around him, he immediately straightened up, cleared his throat, and put his fist back on his upper arm.
“Hey, so not fair! He did a freestyle without notice!” Brown-haired man shrugged angrily, dissatisfied with the result.
Clearly, there was more to say in a fit of rage. Realizing that he had impulsively revealed that Jiang Songyun's comment was an impromptu remark without rehearsal and had unintentionally boosted his opponent's image, he angrily shut his mouth.
“Well…” OG shrugged and spread his hands, mimicking OG’s gesture, and said with a pout, “He did notice with a warning.”
Throughout the entire performance, the cool-guy Quinn had a peculiar sense of humor. Upon hearing this, he immediately broke down in laughter, bursting into uncontrollable giggles and reaching for the OG on the table to exclaim, "Haha, you crack me up! That's A uhh…haha…(BEEP——)…good one!"
Brown Hair was being laughed at by the two judges for a long time, until his face turned green from laughing. He didn't utter another word until he disappeared from the rising platform.
As Jiang Songyun's idol, Jonah did not express too much personal emotion during the commentary session. Instead, he offered objective and consensus-based evaluations from a professional perspective.
“You should really consider me in the finale, kid.” OG laughed heartily, wiping away tears as he extended an olive branch to Kang Song-yoon in advance.
Standing alone in the very center of the arena, Jiang Songyun glanced furtively and quickly at Jonathan, calming his excitement at victory. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Thank you so much for the favor! Please allow me to make it first."
Before that, could you show me again those dazzling tricks?
"My pleasure!"
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