Chapter 34 First Round Elimination Ranking
As the dust settled on the performance, the first round of elimination rankings also began.
Because the rankings were to be announced the next day, many people suffered from insomnia that night.
However, no matter how much you don't want to face it, dawn will eventually come.
Once again changing into the white stand-up collar uniform from the theme song and coming to the studio where the initial evaluation stage was recorded, many people had lost the excitement they had when they first arrived.
Some people were nervous, while others looked calm.
Regardless of their thoughts, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. There were 100 contestants, but only 10 debut spots. This meant that only one in ten of the contestants present would make it to the finals.
But this process is ultimately long and difficult.
After all, not everyone has the opportunity to become a star on the stage.
But in order to become that star, they must seize every opportunity to rise.
Under the guidance of the on-site staff, everyone sat on the benches below the stage. On the opposite stage, the 100 seats had been reduced to 60.
Affected by the tense and solemn atmosphere on the scene, even those contestants who were confident of advancing could not help but start to get nervous.
Which seat will be yours?
Just as they were daydreaming, host Zeng Yu walked into the studio.
For a moment, the already tense atmosphere at the scene became even more stagnant.
"Since everyone already knows what to do next, let's get started without further ado."
As soon as the words fell, someone in the audience gasped. Then, whispers came from the audience.
The contestants were seated according to class. Mo Bei sat together with his two roommates and other contestants from Class A.
Perhaps because they were confident enough in their own abilities, compared to the contestants from Class D and Class F next door, their area seemed very calm.
But even though they knew they would advance, not many people were in the mood to chat at this time.
On the stage, Zeng Yu's voice sounded at the right time——
"To maintain suspense, we will announce the 60th-ranked contestant last."
The moment these words were spoken, the audience erupted in an uproar. However, Zeng Yu, seemingly oblivious to the contestants' condemning gazes, said with a smile, "Next, let's announce the rankings for places 59-50."
Hearing this, everyone was shocked.
Here we come!
For most players, No. 59 is a position they both want to be called and don't want to be called.
They hope to be called because they can advance, but they don’t want to be called because their ranking is too low and they may not be able to survive the next round of performances.
With conflicting feelings, the contestants stared intently at the host on stage. Every second the host didn't speak was another second of torture they had to endure.
Thankfully, Zeng Yu didn't intend to keep the contestants in suspense. He smiled at the expectant crowd and said, "59th place, audience votes: 58,659."
Upon hearing this, the contestants looked surprised. The second-to-last contestant already had over 68,000 votes, so how many votes must the top-ranked contestant have?
Amidst everyone's different thoughts, a contestant's name was finally called.
"Congratulations Wei Lin."
In the audience, a handsome boy stood up, stunned. He was from Class C, and his skills and looks were average. Among the 100 contestants, he didn't leave a particularly memorable impression.
Wei Lin was completely stunned when his name was called, even as he stepped onto the stage. He'd thought he'd likely be eliminated, but he'd actually barely made it through!
For a moment, feelings of luck and fear intertwined in his heart.
He stared blankly at the envious eyes of the other contestants in the audience, his words gushing with excitement: "Thank you to all the fans who voted for me... Thank you to the production team and all the mentors... I, I will continue to work hard!"
At the end of his words, his eyes turned red and he almost cried, but he finally controlled his emotions.
He is lucky to be able to stay, which means that the efforts he has made during this period have paid off. In this case, he should face tomorrow more positively and not let down those who support him.
Amidst waves of congratulations, Wei Lin walked towards the chair numbered 59 on the stage.
In reality, there were many unremarkable contestants like Wei Lin, and the vote gap between them wasn't that large. However, Wei Lin's group won the first round of performances, earning him 5,000 votes as a bonus. It was these 5,000 votes that saved him from elimination.
For those who can stay on this stage, luck is equally important besides hard work and strength.
The 58th place after Wei Lin had 62,251 votes, only 3,500 more than him.
The contestants hadn't expected such a small margin of victory. Winning first place in the individual vote count would earn them 3,000 votes, and the remaining 500 or so votes could be secured with the help of friends and family.
However, there are no ifs in the world. Unaware of the online voting results and unable to contact the outside world, the contestants can only leave it to fate.
The rankings were announced one by one, and soon it reached 50. The vote pool also jumped from five figures to six figures.
"One hundred and one thousand three hundred and eighty-two votes. Congratulations to Zhang Xinyi!"
The contestant who was called stood up excitedly, hugged his teammates, and walked onto the stage tremblingly.
As the names of the contestants at the bottom of the rankings were called onto the stage one by one, the expressions of the contestants in the audience became more and more serious.
Even if the internet connection is down, they can still roughly guess who has votes in the upper middle range. Therefore, if their names are not called, their chances of advancing will become increasingly slim.
"The next players to be announced are the 49th to 40th ranked players."
Zeng Yu did not delay deliberately, but simply announced the names of the contestants.
"No. 49. As of this round, the total number of votes received is 113,828."
Upon hearing this, the contestants in the audience exclaimed in surprise—
"Holy crap! Over 12,000 votes were added in one go!?"
“It feels like the further you go, the bigger the vote gap gets.”
“I don’t know how high the votes for the top ten will be.”
"It should be more than a million."
"I feel it's too little. Maybe it's two million."
Unlike the other restless players around them, the people in Class A seemed very calm, especially Bai Li, who was mixed up in Class A.
After two contacts with offline audiences, each of them has a rough understanding of their own popularity.
This round of eliminations was just a formality for them. They were certain to advance. The only unpredictable thing was their ranking.
The vote count went very quickly, and soon it was the turn of candidate 46. The number of votes also jumped from over a hundred thousand to over two hundred thousand.
When the 40th person was reported, the number had directly increased to more than 490,000.
For a moment, everyone at the scene was stunned.
According to the production team's schedule, the first episode of tonight's show just started, right? These fans haven't even seen anyone yet. They're just throwing comments into thin air...
Even if a large portion of these votes were cast repeatedly by fans using their accounts, it would still be outrageous.
However, when the 938,201 votes for the 30th place were announced, everyone couldn't help but gasp. The difference between the top ten places was over 440,000. It was hard to imagine what kind of battle royale scene would unfold in the next ten.
When his name was called, Lin Jiongyi was stunned for a moment, then walked onto the stage calmly.
He hadn't expected to achieve such a high ranking. After all, in his opinion, there were many people who were better than him in terms of singing and dancing. If it was just about his personality, he didn't think it was attractive at all.
He was deeply puzzled that someone as boring, low in EQ and unpleasant as him could get the 30th place.
He didn't understand why the audience chose him.
Although he didn't understand, now that he had reached this position, he would naturally cherish it.
Taking the microphone from the host, Lin Jiongyi bowed to the camera with a serious face: "Thank you."
He couldn't find any beautiful words to say, and could only use the simplest two words to express his gratitude to those who helped him get here.
Excluding the 60th place which will be announced at the end, the positions of the last 30 places have already been settled.
The rest are players in the middle and upper circles.
Looking at the eyes of the players around him, which changed from anticipation to envy, and from worry to confusion and loneliness, Mo Bei felt a little lost.
He had experienced this before. At that time, he was only 16 years old and was a trainee overseas and participated in talent shows.
At the time, he was very confused about his future. He didn't know if he could debut through the show. If he failed, he might have to wait several more years to stand on the stage again after returning to the company.
Or maybe he won't be able to wait for that day to come.
The competition among trainees is already fierce. As they grow older, more and more newcomers will join the company. If a better talent comes along, the company will not necessarily let a foreigner occupy the already limited debut spots.
Fortunately, he finally got his victory.
The countless sunrises and sunsets witnessed in the practice room, the tears and sweat shed in the past, all solidified into sparkling diamonds at that moment.
He stood on the stage and won the love of thousands of fans.
People outside say he is lucky, and even he himself thinks so.
But now when he looks back, he realizes that his so-called luck is inseparable from every step he has taken in the past.
His dream-chasing journey was not smooth, and the twists and turns behind it were no less than those present, and perhaps even more.
Being alone in a foreign country where he couldn't speak the language, he took the first place in every trainee assessment despite the pressure of being excluded and discriminated against. These were the paths he had taken on his way here.
It's just that at that time he was focused on pursuing his dreams. He never regarded suffering as a shackle, and never thought of giving up. He only transformed those negative energies into motivation to move forward.
If these players can withstand the pressure, clarify their goals, and seize every opportunity that comes their way, then even if they leave this stage in the future, they will sooner or later find a new platform to continue shining their own light.
When it was the turn of No. 29 and No. 28, Zeng Yu did not count the votes separately.
The reason is simple: these two players happen to be brothers.
Perhaps it was the metaphysical effect of being twins. Unexpectedly, the votes for the brothers Zhao Xi and Zhao Chen were very close, and even their rankings were adjacent.
Although not top-tier in terms of talent, the twins Zhao Xi and Zhao Chen left a lasting impression with their humor and playfulness. Add to that their good looks, and naturally, they received a good number of votes.
Upon hearing that he had received 1.08 million votes, Zhao Xi pointed at himself in shock.
Zeng Yu couldn't help laughing at his rather amusing expression, "Yes, it's you. You and your brother, come up."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xi let out an excited cry, like the Monkey King escaping from Five Finger Mountain. He trotted onto the stage, followed closely by Zhao Chen, who looked at his younger brother helplessly, as if he had brought shame upon the family.
This scene was recorded by the camera and edited into the main film in the future. When netizens saw it, they exclaimed, "Real brothers are so good!"
Moving up to 20th place, the number of votes has soared to 2.19 million.
However, the difference between the top eight and the bottom three was 1.11 million votes. It's easy to imagine how fierce the battle for votes was in the upper circles.
However, the gap in votes continues to widen.
When it came to the top 20, contestants from Class A and Class B were called one after another.
First is Zhou Quan, who ranked 19th with 2.28 million votes.
Next is Zheng Xingye, who ranks 15th, and the players before and after him are all from Class B.
Facts have proved that popularity and strength are not necessarily proportional.
By the time Choi Joon-hee, ranked 11th, was called onto the stage, the number of votes had risen to 2.93 million.
11 are just one step away from the debut position.
However, the gap between the 11th and 10th place is a full 140,000.
Su Yi, who ranked 10th, received 3.07 million votes.
Seeing this, the contestants who knew they had no hope of advancing no longer worried about whether they could hear their names called, but instead faced reality and started to watch the show.
In 9th place is Tao Xiaotie, with 3.19 million votes.
In 8th place is Zhong Gaoyi, with 3.58 million votes.
The 7th and 6th place contestants were both from Class B. One was called Xu Tingchuan, and the other was Yi Chuheng. Mo Bei wasn't familiar with them, only knowing that they shared a dorm with Zhao Chen. Coincidentally, the song they performed in the first public performance was his song "Shine," and they even won the group showdown.
When it came to the top five, the number of votes doubled again and exceeded four million.
"5th place, Chang Jun. Total votes: 4,378,451."
When he heard his own name, the eyes of this young boy who was a child actor suddenly lit up.
After high-fiving his teammates from Group 1 of "Warm", Chang Jun walked onto the stage.
Perhaps because he had been accustomed to big events since childhood, Chang Jun didn't show his emotions much. However, from his bright eyes, it was clear that he was very happy.
"I'm grateful to all the fans who support me. When I first learned that I was going to participate in this competition, many people around me didn't understand, but I still came."
"Because I want to prove with practical actions that I can do it."
"It's been my childhood dream to sing and dance on stage, but unfortunately I never had the chance to realize it. But luckily I came across 'Youth Project,' and it was the program that gave me the opportunity to pursue my dream."
"Here, I want to say thank you again to all the fans who support me. Without your help, I wouldn't be here. Thank you!"
Compared to his peers, Chang Jun is more mature than a child. But when he mentioned his fans, tears welled up in his eyes.
As a child star participating in such a talent show, it is inevitable that people will question whether he is using the talent show as a springboard to ride on the show's traffic to plan for future acting jobs.
Not only the outside world, but even his family felt that there was no need for him to come here.
In their view, he only needs to film honestly according to the arrangements of the agency, play supporting roles in various TV dramas, and then develop into a leading actor after he is admitted to a professional art school as an adult.
But he didn't want that.
Life only comes once. If he misses this opportunity, he will definitely regret it in the future.
When it comes to the top four, the outcome seems to be no suspense.
For a moment, all the contestants turned their attention to the remaining four people in Group 1 of "Warm".
The only unknowns right now are the rankings and vote counts. After all, judging by the feedback from the just-concluded first public performance, all four are incredibly popular. If we had to rank them, then first place would be either Sheng Yanyu or Jiang Monan.
Sure enough, the next second I heard the host on the stage counting the votes:
"4th place, Bai Li, with a total of 5,587,368 votes."
"Tsk, it's actually lower than Lei Lie?"
When his name was called, Bai Li seemed a little dissatisfied and clicked his tongue.
Compared to Bai Li's indifference, everyone else at the scene took a deep breath.
The difference between fourth and fifth place is a full 1.2 million votes!
Not to mention that Chang Jun is a former child star and has a certain fan base. This Bai Li is too amazing!
Thinking of this, the contestants couldn't help but sigh -
As expected, for idols, face is king.
However, Bai Li himself didn't seem particularly excited about his ranking or the number of votes. Perhaps feeling unhappy about losing to Lei Lie, he simply offered a simple thank you before sitting down.
There is no suspense about the third place after Bai Li.
"Five million, seven hundred and eighty-eight thousand, four hundred and fifty votes in total. Congratulations."
When called to the stage, Lei Lie appeared very calm.
Hearing this, Bai Li counted on his fingers, and his expression instantly softened. "It's only 200,000 more than mine."
"Two hundred and one thousand and eighty-two votes."
Lei Lie sat down next to him and corrected him.
Bai Li shrugged, not really caring: "Rounding off, who cares about this little fraction?"
Lei Lie was immediately indignant when he heard this, and the two of them started arguing again.
However, the camera did not capture this scene, because the most exciting moment came next.
Who will be the first?
Two faces, each with their own unique style but both handsome and charming, were projected on the large screens on both sides of the stage.
The camera magnified everyone's facial expressions, whether it was disdain and complacency or anxiety and worry, it could all be clearly captured, and the good and bad relationships between the players were clearly revealed at this moment.
Audiences and fans have always liked to study these micro-expressions, calling it "boy band studies."
A frown could indicate impatience or physical discomfort. A roll of the eyes could indicate disdain or simply a slip of the contact lenses.
How to interpret it is up to the audience.
All the production crew has to do is record the expressions of the two protagonists vying for first place, and take pictures of the reactions of other contestants around them, and leave the rest to the fans to interpret.
Affected by the tense atmosphere on the scene, the contestants who were already doomed to be eliminated did not care about their disappointment at the moment. They just looked at the stage intently, guessing who would get the first place in the first round of votes.
Judging from previous performances, both Sheng Yanyu and Jiang Monan have huge fan followings. It seems likely that either of them will take first place.
However, Sheng Yanyu was the initial center of the theme song, and with enough screen time, he received more exposure than other contestants. From this perspective, he is likely to be the first.
However, Jiang Mo Nan's face is already very popular, and now that he has been promoted to Class A, he also won the highest popularity vote in the first round of group performances, proving his strength with his actions.
So facing such a dark horse, the outcome is not so easy to predict. Maybe this time Jiang Monan will be able to surpass Sheng Yanyu.
The contestants had different thoughts, but the two people on the screen remained calm.
Unlike Mo Bei, who was unable to express any micro-expressions due to rigor mortis, Sheng Yanyu maintained a calm and peaceful expression from beginning to end. Perhaps it was because he had been a trainee for so many years in a large company that his edges had been smoothed out. Since he met him, Mo Bei had never seen him have any major emotional fluctuations.
Even when Bai Li made repeated mistakes in his dance during the preparations for the first performance, he didn't get angry, but patiently taught him to correct them. Even when Bai Li himself was annoyed, he didn't show any impatience.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this rock-like stability that Zaoxing Entertainment had trained him to be the captain...
Thinking in their hearts, Mo Bei and Sheng Yanyu stood up one after another at the call of the host on the stage.
For a moment, everyone at the scene turned their eyes to the two of them.
It was clearly the same white stand-up collar uniform, but the two people wore it with completely different feelings.
Because he was a zombie, Mo Bei was thin and looked far less sturdy than Sheng Yanyu, who had practiced dancing for many years. But he had an inhuman beauty.
The cold expression, pale skin, ink-black hair and pupils, the extreme black and white plus the white uniform make him look like the protagonist from a fantasy comic.
Looking at Sheng Yanyu again, he has a straight figure, broad shoulders and long legs. He is dressed in white and has a warm smile. He is exactly the kind of warm-hearted handsome guy that is most popular among girls nowadays.
The two contestants with superior looks but different styles standing on the stage together is not only pleasing to the eyes, but also makes the cameraman behind the camera feel conflicted like everyone else.
If I were a viewer, who would I choose?
On the stage, host Zeng Yu kept in mind the director's request and asked the questions that must be asked in such occasions:
"Who do you think will take first place this time?"
Taking the microphone, Sheng Yanyu smiled and said, "I don't know. But up to now, our "Hot" group has taken all the top five spots, which in itself is a victory."
Upon hearing this, everyone remembered that the top five contestants were all members of "Hot" Team 1. Losing to a team comparable to the Avengers wasn't unfair. With this thought, the contestants of "Hot" Team 2 felt relieved.
It must be said that as the captain, Sheng Yanyu's words were indeed flawless. Seeing his answer, Zeng Yu didn't dare to continue asking questions and only looked at Mo Bei who was standing aside.
Mo Bei grabbed the microphone and said, "The captain's idea is my idea. It doesn't matter whether we are first or not. What matters is that we can all stand on this stage now."
The title of "Captain" directly shows one's attitude.
Unable to stir up the tension that the program crew wanted, Zeng Yu smiled and stopped making trouble.
"Now let's announce the vote count. Second place, a total of 6,836,885 votes."
"Fuck..."
There were sudden exclamations from the contestants at the scene.
"The second place actually had over a million more votes than the third place!"
"That's almost seven million! I think the first episode of our show just aired?"
Before this, the program team had only released a theme song and a pilot film. The number of votes was able to reach such a high level with just two offline performances. The voting in the show circle is too scary!
"As for first place, as of an hour ago, the total number of votes was 7,087,773,000."
The difference between first and second place is only 250,000 votes?
Is the competition in the high-level circle so fierce?
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