Chapter 24: Popularity Soars
Looking at the history of Hong Kong's music scene, from its initial focus on Mandarin to its gradual shift towards Cantonese, it seems to have always had the same unspeakable yet undeniable flaw as the film industry: male dominance and female decline.
Yes, that's right. Whether in the music or film industry, female singers and artists' sales, popularity, salaries, and other data are difficult to compare with those of male singers and artists.
The reasons for this include the lingering influence of "traditional" values; the fact that some people don't value the professional abilities of female singers and artists enough, and are therefore unwilling to invest time and money in cultivating relationships. Businessmen are profit-driven, and when the same investment yields a much higher return and success rate for male artists than for female artists, it's obvious who they would choose.
Even today, the only female artist who can rival male artists is Pei Yansang, who excels in singing, acting, and film, and has reached the pinnacle in each of them.
However, Pei Yansang had accumulated her skills from performing at Liyuan since childhood, and by the time she participated in the New Talent Competition at the age of 17, she already showed signs of becoming a superstar. In today's era of rapid economic development, it is no longer the time when young children had to start working early to help support their families. No matter how tough things are, at least they can finish secondary school before starting work.
Most importantly, the rapid economic development has led to a restless and impatient atmosphere. People who enter this circle all dream of becoming famous overnight and achieving instant success, making it difficult for them to settle down and delve into the details.
It's like this small port city, which has finally exhausted the talent and opportunities that gathered due to the war, and has begun to decline. It may still look like it's full of flowers and vitality, but in reality, it's already nearing the end of its life.
In this day and age, even though these old guys announced years ago that they would no longer accept awards and were semi-retired, it's still difficult for talented new female talents to make it in this industry, and even talented new male talents are finding it hard to succeed.
In other words, TBL went against the tide and managed to gather four rising stars who were versatile in singing, film and television among so many male artists. They poured resources into promoting them as their trump card for this decade, which was the only way they were able to maintain their relatively prosperous glory.
Conversely, those who didn't achieve decathlon but were just a little bit unlucky became cannon fodder during the development phase.
"So even now, I still feel quite sorry for Devon..." Lun Yongnan sighed.
After he announced he wouldn't accept the award, he chose Li Dewen, who was very talented and...
A newcomer with loyal fans plans to groom Li Dewen as his successor.
At first, it certainly attracted a lot of media attention, but the sudden emergence of the Four Heavenly Kings directly cut off Li Dewen's career path as the "successor to the Heavenly Kings," leaving them in a dilemma of whether to advance or retreat.
“That’s why I say taking on male apprentices isn’t worthwhile. First, it’s hard to distribute resources. Second, whether he surpasses you or not, the media will use it to make a fuss…” Rong Juezhang also sighed. “With an old guy like us ahead of you, apprentices are at a disadvantage except for being able to cover our songs without copyright issues and gain some early popularity.”
"Sigh, if I had known, I would have done what Leji does and only accept students, not apprentices, so as not to delay the future of these young people," Lun Yongnan said, shaking his head.
“You’re wrong again—” Rong Juezhang gestured toward the group led by Le Yun, “It’s not that Le Ji doesn’t want to take on a personal disciple, it’s just that he hasn’t found someone he likes yet.”
"You mean..." Lun Yongnan quickly understood his meaning, and then, after figuring out the key point, he clapped his hands with a smile, "He's quite clever!"
In this way, as long as the boundaries of interaction are kept in mind, female apprentices are obviously easier to develop than male apprentices, and it will also save a lot of effort in finding female vocalists for duets in the future.
"Honestly, he beat me to it." Lun Yongnan couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
"Forget it, it's just that the best talent was assigned to Lok Kee. There's nothing to be envious of." Rong Juezhang patted him to comfort him. "Besides, Lok Kee has the most experience in training newcomers. If that beauty is lucky in the future, she will eventually have the opportunity to work with you and me."
"That's true." Lun Yongnan nodded, preparing to start teaching the contestants assigned to his group.
On the other hand, Yue Yun, who had unexpectedly discovered a promising talent in the Miss Hong Kong pageant, was quite pleased and gave Li Sishi a serious look before asking her to sit back down and continuing her lecture.
Li Sishi smiled and sat back down in her seat: Speaking of which, in her previous life, Le Yun also admired her voice and singing skills and planned to take her as his apprentice. Unfortunately, Miss Zhuang was more focused on her development in film and television, so it never came to fruition.
This time she needs to prepare more thoroughly than before, and maybe... she can continue this master-disciple relationship.
Undoubtedly, this was the first time that 20 contestants appeared on television, and the four singing teachers they were paired with were all recognized as accomplished singers.
The "Music Lecture Hall" program directly attracted countless Hong Kong citizens who followed the Miss Hong Kong pageant.
Li Sishi's simple a cappella performance was full of charm, which not only amazed the viewers in front of the TV, but also made many small record companies eager to sign her. If Li Sishi were not still a candidate being kept in a villa by the TV station, they might have already approached her to offer her a contract.
Although female singers have never had the same success as male singers, they can still make money by capitalizing on the initial hype. So why turn down money?
Let's keep an eye on things. If this beauty named Li Sishi doesn't make it, we can try to lower the price; if she's lucky enough to make it into the top three, then we can just raise the price to buy some buzz.
TBL was naturally aware of the commotion outside, so they quickly passed the news up to the higher-ups.
Upon receiving this news, Zhuang Menghua had someone bring out the tape and watch it carefully. Besides being amazed by Li Sishi's voice and singing skills, she also thought of something else.
When she first saw Huang Qianyan and decided to bring her back and promote her, it was this same feeling that suddenly struck her.
Huang Qianyan is becoming increasingly disobedient. She's a promising film actress, and not only is she not focusing on her work, but she's also getting entangled in scandals. The more you talk to her, the more rebellious she becomes...
Does he really think he can't live without her?
A young and talented girl, hasn't she already grown into another one?
Upon receiving instructions from Zhuang Menghua to pay close attention to this year's Miss Hong Kong pageant, the assistant quickly nodded, indicating that she knew what to do and asked her to wait patiently for the report.
The undercurrents have not yet surfaced, but the latest weekly sales statistics for photos of Xunhe Plaza have already been released.
"This week, number 2 is number 1 in popularity again..." Hearing the staff's feedback, many people muttered to themselves.
This year's collaboration with Xunhe Plaza is not just about popularity; there's also an unofficial award, "Most Beautiful Photographed Person," which will be announced during the semi-finals. According to the unspoken rules of the Miss Hong Kong pageant, winning this award in the semi-finals basically guarantees a spot in the final five.
Even if there are unexpected circumstances that prevent them from making it to the final five, at least one spot on the final night is absolutely guaranteed.
Why does it have to be Li Sishi again! She's already so famous; to ensure ratings, the TV station will definitely make it to the finals. Why bother competing with them?!
For a time, people's hearts were once again in turmoil.
hour
Time flew by amidst the continuous training and learning. Considering that there were more than just the 20 people in the villa, they were unlikely to cause any major disturbances under normal circumstances. As for the constant minor conflicts, the staff usually turned a blind eye.
Everyone knows the unspoken truth – everyone is a competitor, so how much true friendship can there be?
Perhaps only someone as naive and innocent as Wan Jiamei would think that she was one of the few people in the Miss Hong Kong training camp who had genuine friendships. Upon hearing the news that they would be divided into four groups to go to different locations for filming, she held Li Sishi's hand and talked for a long time that night, feeling very reluctant to part.
"Don't worry, just be careful this time. I heard that Lu Shi'an, who's in your group, has a lot of scandals, so it's best to ignore him." Li Sishi thought for a moment and then gave her a final word of advice.
"Ah, didn't he and Cheng Zouyun have been dating for a long time?" Wan Jiamei's eyes widened.
Li Sishi sneered inwardly: This kind of scumbag who still cheats on his wife is a wonder his girlfriend of many years can tolerate him.
"That's how the entertainment industry is, but if you act uprightly and honestly, you won't suffer any major losses." Li Sishi gave her a deep look.
"I understand. Anyway, I don't like him." Wan Jiamei nodded as if she understood, and then went to wash up.
The next day, Li Sishi, along with the performance costumes provided by the staff and her own luggage, embarked on a journey to Italy with contestants number 1, 3, 4, and 5.
Compared to many later Miss Hong Kong pageants where location shooting involved short trips to surrounding cities or day trips to Hong Kong, the Miss Hong Kong pageant, now sponsored by On Tai Travel, is able to afford to travel extensively for location shooting every year.
This year's Miss Hong Kong pageant, which is probably the first of a new decade, saw a much more generous sponsorship from An Tai Travel Agency than in previous years. The 20 contestants were divided into four groups according to the previous grouping method, and went to four different locations for filming: Rome, Italy; Beijing, the capital city; Greece; and Osaka, Japan.
TBL TV, recognizing the importance of reciprocation, designed a special storyline based on the "Space Base Training Camp" theme from the semi-finals. The contestants, playing space base trainees, would undergo a graduation test, traveling the world to battle local deities and retrieve something called an "Energy Bar."
The props.
The plot is considered trendy for this era, but the only frustrating thing is that the space base trainee costumes for all the beauties seem to have offended the stylist...
Looking at this outfit, the head looks like a motorcycle helmet combined with EEG circuitry, and the whole body...
It was a bodysuit with a full-saturation golden yellow color, embellished with bright gold sequins on the wrists, waist, and calves. Even Li Sishi, who had seen it once before, was still speechless.
However, everyone gets a set of these ugly things; the other sets are just different colors.
It makes people feel a little more at ease.
The problem is that their group's other dance costumes, designed according to the style of their respective filming locations, were still the worst and most shameful of the four groups!
The bronze-colored, tight-fitting mini dress had patterns on the skirt, some kind of Baroque or something else, and the shoulder straps were decorated with two rows of large gold coins. A dazzling gold short cape was also attached to the back... Some of the beauties complained that they felt like a rich version of Wonder Woman.
Compared to the ethnic-style little red dresses of the Capital Group, the white long gowns and small crowns of the Greek Group, and the short outfits worn by female ninjas in the Japanese Group, this group was not only ugly, but also a real challenge to one's looks, figure, and level of embarrassment...
Even a real 17-year-old beauty like Li Sishi could only barely pull it off without having her looks dragged down by this outfit—as for adding a finishing touch? Forget about it, it's already a miracle if it doesn't look awful.
Hearing another contestant say that their outfits looked like cheap art sculptures displayed on the street, Li Sishi sighed inwardly and walked a few steps away to the shade of a nearby tree to read the script.
When they were learning acting in the acting training class, their teacher said that the first key to acting was to accept one's "new image".
Because if you can't even accept yourself, it's even less likely that others will accept you.
In the film and television industry, it's impossible to always have beautiful, clean, and cool roles. When you get those "ugly" roles that require changing your original image, you need to work even harder to break through the constraints and become a true actor.
Although it was just a short song and dance performance, Li Sishi, dressed in this outfit, suddenly had a different understanding of these words than usual in that instant.
The other four beauties also found a shady spot not far away to read their scripts. Li Sishi glanced at them and saw that they were chatting so enthusiastically that no one could get a word in edgewise, but she didn't insist. She continued to stand there and wait for the staff to come and call them to film.
The wind was getting stronger, so Li Sishi had to use one hand to hold down the thin script paper in her hand to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.
Suddenly I felt a hand with distinct knuckles grip my ankle!
So fierce in broad daylight? A ghost?
Lifting your foot?!
No, this hand doesn't seem to be pulling me; it's more like it's trying to lift me up...
Li Sishi subconsciously looked down and saw a dark, short-haired head under her skirt—it wasn't a ghost, but some ill-intentioned person!
Without thinking, Li Sishi decided to give this pervert a good kick in the chest!
Unexpectedly, the person who grabbed her ankle was also quite skilled. After realizing her intention, he slid up and used his strength to pull her foot away from her knee. Then, he quickly stood up, pulled and dragged Li Sishi into his arms.
Because it was a last-minute counterattack, their postures didn't resemble the suppression and being suppressed in a fight; rather, they looked more like high-difficulty freeze-frame moves in a duet dance—especially since that hand was pressed on the middle of her thigh.
"Indecent assault!"
The other four people who were resting over there saw what was happening and immediately started shouting to help.
They discovered that the architectural drawings they had just completed had been blown away by the wind.
6
Having no choice but to lower his head and bend over to chase after the blueprints, he finally discovered that the blueprints were being held down by the foot of an "art sculpture." So he had to grab one of the sculpture's feet, intending to lift it up a bit to retrieve the blueprints. Wu Wenzu, a male architecture student, protested: "It wasn't me! I didn't do it! Don't talk nonsense!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com