38 Four
The show has already aired to the fourth public performance and officially entered the second half. The random group configurations for this broadcast are quite interesting. In the only group of seven, five highly popular trainees, Su Chen, Pei Zijin, Yan Fan, Jiang Tong, and Avery, were drawn to this group.
From the preview after the end of the previous sports meeting, "I Love You" released the biggest highlight of the fourth public performance - the grouping situation, which caused heated discussions in each group and super topic.
Fans of only one member of the group naturally hope that they will bear the cost themselves and not help the poor, but there are also signs of rivalry between the groups, and fans of the group are worried that the popularity gap is too great, and it seems that they have tacitly assumed that the seven-member group will lock in victory before the performance begins.
"Okay, okay, I finally don't have to help the poor and take on a five-meter lock group."
"...Sometimes I actually think that JMZ, you guys should have some scripts sometimes..."
"!! Pei Su Yan Jiang A! The debut group in my mind! Let's debut like this!"
"There must be Yu Le in the debut group, so give up——"
"The only rapper Jin Zeyu [love], super A male model Jin Zeyu [love], debuting with a huge breakthrough Jin Zeyu [love]..."
The production team seemed to have anticipated the audience's thoughts long ago, and the sixth episode began with a post-interview with the trainees:
Q: What do you think the ranking will be for this performance?
"It should be Brother Pei's group that takes first place..."
"Brother Fan's group is first, and our group is second."
The last person interviewed was Yuan Xiao herself, but she gave a completely different answer in the interview:
In the camera, Yuan Xiao wore a white shirt with wide-leg pants, unbuttoned the top button, and tied up her hair, making her neck look as swan-like and capable.
"If you ask that," Yuan Xiao thought for a moment and replied, "Yu Le and his team should be in this group."
This answer was so unexpected that even the voice of the program crew who was asking the question was stuck for a while before continuing, "Can I ask why?"
"Did the other people you asked say that they all think highly of Pei Zijin's group?" Yuan Xiao gave a knowing smile. She knew very well what everyone was thinking after seeing the group lineup, and the answer Yuan Xiao gave was not a deliberate rebellion, but she really thought so.
"Don't underestimate the role of Yu Le and the others in the team." Yuan Xiao was a little helpless. "Yan Fan, Jiang Tong, Pei Zijin, and Su Chen have all been captains too many times. Their personal abilities and styles are outstanding. To be honest, I'm a little worried about their running-in problem."
The overall competition system of "Idol" is to select groups and songs based on the popularity of the trainees, which also makes it difficult for trainees with similar rankings to be assigned to the same group. Only in the fourth public performance did the rules change, because one group had to have one more person. The trainees were divided into groups by drawing lots this time, and the popularity within the group was used as a reference for the order of song selection and for competing for solo and duet stages.
The problem of running-in was originally a problem that Yuan Xiao had to worry about after the debut candidates were determined, but he did not expect that the fate of the grouping would reveal it in advance in the fourth public performance. After the draw, the PD was a little panicked and urgently asked Yuan Xiao whether he needed to let the trainees draw again.
Yuan Xiao thought about it and decided to maintain the status quo. The trainees would have to learn this lesson sooner or later. If they could not overcome it, it meant that they were not suitable to be in the same team. This was also a test for the trainees.
It's cruel, but that's the rule of the game.
Cameras spread across the 14 floors of the company faithfully recorded the stage preparation process of each group. Yuan Xiao's words came true. Yan Fan and Pei Zijin began to disagree from the moment they chose the songs.
As a group that has recruited two-thirds of the most popular trainees, they undoubtedly obtained the privilege of first song selection, four group songs, four solo stage songs, and four duet or trio stage songs. They can choose any one of the above twelve songs, and then give it to the next group to select in order, and repeat three rounds until each group has selected three songs.
Yan Fan felt that they should ensure the group song first, but Pei Zijin felt that the four songs given for this collaborative stage were all very niche, so it would be better to first consider who would be on the collaborative stage and decide whether to choose a duo song or a trio song.
In the practice room, seven people sat in a circle, watching Yan Fan and Pei Zijin refusing to give in to each other.
"...No, aren't we a team?" Yan Fan didn't understand why such a thing still needed to be discussed. Although he agreed that Brother Pei was undoubtedly the captain of their team, choosing songs couldn't be done blindly.
"Of course we have to protect the team stage first. Believe it or not, if we don't choose the team song this round, the other three groups will definitely choose it, and then we will have no choice."
Pei Zijin also had his reasons, "We have you and Su Chen in our group this time. I watched the demo and theoretically our group can complete all four group songs."
"Besides..." He thought more than Yan Fan, "They will definitely leave the only English song for us. It would be a waste of opportunity if we choose it."
Yan Fan was stunned: "No, when did you decide to sing the English song?"
"Su Chen, Avery, and I count myself as half. Among the 25 people, the best oral English speakers are all in our group. It's very difficult for other groups to practice pure English songs, but this is also our group's advantage."
He patted Yan Fan's thigh, who had been persuaded but was still a little reluctant, and said, "You always help others choreograph dances. This time, we will first help you and Jiang Tong get a collaborative stage, and then choose a solo stage for Avery..."
"Me and Jiang Tong?" Yan Fan, who had not yet been completely appeased, once again raised doubts from his soul, "A duet?"
Regardless of whether Jiang Tong's injury has healed, there are only a handful of trainees who can dance a duet with a competition-level contestant like him without being suppressed. Yan Fan does not want to highlight himself by comparing himself with anyone, and he does not want to dance with anyone.
This is also the reason why he has never been on a collaborative stage. It's not that he is really indifferent and dedicated by nature and is a full-time dance teacher.
Jiang Tong was suddenly called out and looked up with a confused look on his face.
He has been concentrating on recovering from his injuries recently, so how could there still be something for him to do?
Pei Zijin had no choice but to continue explaining: "For various reasons, the three of you have only had a group stage for several performances..."
This time, not only Yan Fan disagreed, Avery also interrupted him: "No, Brother Pei, you can't think from this perspective. We must watch the stage first."
"You have to first consider what kind of stage we want to make, and then who is the most suitable for this stage. You can't say that whoever has less stage must be given one. It's not like that. No one will care about this." Avery also expressed his point of view, which is that suitability comes first.
Pei Zijin was a little helpless, as he couldn't tell his overly idealistic brothers directly in front of the camera that this was a talent show or a variety show recording. One less stage might mean one less chance of being included in the debut list by Yuan Xiao.
In fact, what both sides say makes sense, and they are both considering the other side without any selfish motives, so it is difficult to judge who is right or wrong.
The two sides were arguing, Jiang Tong looked at Pei Zijin and then at Yan Fan, and suddenly an idea came to him. He pulled out the song list and suggested: "How about Brother Pei and Brother Fan collaborate on a stage, and you two can sing this."
Pei Zijin looked down and saw Jiang Tong pointing at a song called "Twenty-Six Years Old Grass and Trees" on the playlist. He was stunned and remembered the lyrics of the song he had just heard in the demo.
"There is a 26-year-old tree in the forest. It has its own perspective..."*
“Whether you take the main road or the small path, you won’t stop until you encounter a cliff.”*
Yan Fan also had mixed feelings...for a moment he didn't know if Jiang Tong was mocking them.
But Jiang Tong did recommend it seriously. The lyrics of this song are wonderful, the melody is good, and the drum beats are also very suitable for adaptation as an interlude. Let Yan Fan and Pei Zijin perform it, which just represents the entanglements and struggles and conflicting ideas in growing up.
The only drawback may be that on the idol’s stage, this song is relatively thoughtful and not very exciting or explosive, so it depends on the performance of these two masters of adaptation.
"I won't participate in the joint performance this time. Thank you, Brother Pei. I can't handle two performances at the same time. You said you would arrange it for us, but you have always been the captain in every performance before, and you rarely arrange a stage for yourself. And Brother Fan, you sing very well too, you don't need to dance the whole stage every time."
By the way, I made a joke to ease the atmosphere: "It just so happens that you two are the closest to the age of 26 among us..."
Pei Zijin: ...
Yan Fan: ...
It's too much. I'm offended.
After finally settling on the song selection, they went into formal training, choreography, and arrangement. However, they would have a big quarrel every three days and a small quarrel every two days, from the training room to the recording studio. Even when they were washing up at night, they could hear someone at the end of the corridor still having a passionate discussion with someone else.
During the interview, Su Chen looked relieved and said, "It's numb now."
"They are both targeting the issue, not the person. If they really have a bad relationship, they wouldn't go out of their way to quarrel every day. Maybe this is how Brother Fan and Brother Pei get along. Anyway, they both have nice voices, so they don't quarrel too loudly..."
"Anyway, in the end, it will be reviewed by Teacher Gu. Although the two of them argued, we all felt that the final result was very, very good. Everyone can look forward to our group's performance."
In sharp contrast to their group is the Yu Le group. Although their popularity is limited and they cannot choose songs as they please, their group quickly made the division of labor within the group almost immediately after getting the song selection. The dancers began to copy the choreography and discuss with the choreographer the points that need to be modified according to the specific circumstances of the team members. The vocals and rappers began to write lyrics and design the singing style. Everything went exceptionally smoothly.
The audience then realized that Yuan Xiao really knew the trainees. Yu Le had always shown in the previous performances that he was a versatile player, the most popular player among the captains, and a versatile assistant. Fans always said that he was the youngest member of the group, but before they knew it, little Yu Le had actually grown into a character who could stand on his own.
He has no obvious shortcomings in stage performance. He is naturally flexible with a wide vocal range. When working with brothers who have their own strengths, he learns and grows very quickly. He is sweet-mouthed in the team and always gives great affirmation to everyone. He easily praises people into embryos. Under his leadership, all members of their group are like chicken blood, and the atmosphere in the group is very good.
Before the stage was officially broadcast, the production team asked Yuan Xiao the same question again: "Do you still have the same opinion on the ranking of the trainees as before?"
She didn't mind admitting that her prediction might be inaccurate, and even looked expectant: "I don't know."
“Let the stage decide everything.”
【Author’s words】
*Quoted from Kai Sang's "Twenty-six-year-old Grass and Trees"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
