I'm Really a Superstar

On the second week.

It was only two days away from the broadcast of the second episode.

"I'm so looking forward to it!"

"Time is really dragging by, hurry up and broadcast it already!"

"I like Grandma Zhang Xia!"

"Sing!'s Little Huang is pretty good too!"

"Let's see if Sing! can catch up in the ratings this time."

"Yeah, if they can't do it by the second episode, then it's all over for them."

"I'm getting worried about I Am a Singer. Don't forget that the second episode will be the knockout round. All of those singers can sing so well, so I won't be able to accept whoever gets eliminated. But for now, doesn't it look like Amy will be the one who most likely gets eliminated? I wonder how many votes she has now. She was the last place singer during the first episode. In my opinion, this will be the only opportunity for Sing! to overtake them in the ratings. If I Am a Singer does not handle this issue well, their success will only be a flash in the pan."

"You can do it, Amy!"

The online discussions were unending.

Elsewhere.

Beijing Television.

The second episode's recording of I Am a Singer was about to begin.

The singers had gradually arrived throughout the afternoon and were rehearsing in solo practice sessions. Meanwhile, Executive Director Zhang Ye was not present onsite. Instead, he was in a room by himself making a call.

"Teacher, please come."

"Director Zhang, do allow me to think about it first."

"You don't need to think. Our stage is only missing a singer like you."

"But my songs are not suited for competing with others."

"There's nothing that's unsuitable. Our audience is a very inclusive bunch and will embrace all kinds of music."

"You're making this difficult for me, Director Zhang."

"Teacher, did you watch the first episode of our show?"

"Yes, I did."

"Grandma Zhang Xia has become very popular overnight, and the audience is very receptive to her performance, so that shows the inclusiveness of our show's stage. As long as it's something good, everyone will be interested in it. Of course, I know that you don't lack popularity, nor do you care about that. But if you can bring more people your art and let them appreciate it, that would also be a virtuous thing to do. Please don't hesitate any longer. This is my fourth time calling you and your agent, so I'm sure you know how sincere I am in inviting you."

"Well, alright then."

"Then it's settled, Teacher?"

"I'll give it a shot."

"Great, here's to working well together!"

After hanging up, Zhang Ye snapped his fingers!

It had taken an entire week, but he had finally worked it out. This really had not been easy.

On the Internet, all the discussions were about the knockout round of I Am a Singer. The netizens were all worried that the program team would not be able to handle this segment properly and screw it up. But of course, anything that the viewers could think of would already have been anticipated by Zhang Ye. He knew in his heart of hearts that such eliminations would not really pose much of an issue. If there was one show doing this, then another two or three shows would follow suit. In the future, such elimination formats would definitely get mass adopted by every other show out there. The discussions and doubts would only serve to propel their show's popularity and viewership ratings; it would never decrease the popularity of the show. However, he would have to be very cautious about this knockout round and handle the process very carefully. That was the most important thing of all right now, and Zhang Ye's plan was to make use of the replacement singer option. He needed a very experienced and big name singer so that the viewers would not dwell on who got eliminated and instead turn their full attention to the replacement singer. It would surely help to cut down on the later negativity. As they say, ring out the old, ring in the new. This was exactly what it meant.

Once he came out of the room, Xiao Lu and the others looked to him.

"Director Zhang, how did it go?"

"Did he agree?"

Everyone was asking.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's done."

"Ah!"

"That's great!"

"Director Zhang is awesome!"

"You've got such great influence!"

Everyone could finally heave a sigh of relief knowing just how important this first replacement singer was.

But Zhang Ye laughed and said, "It's not because of my influence but that our show has gotten good viewership ratings. With this access pass, it was much easier to handle the negotiations."

Hu Fei came over. "Zhang'er, we're about to start recording."

"Alright, Brother Hu. I'll be right over." Zhang Ye started getting busy.

The atmosphere of today's recording was quite different from the first episode. Everyone from the program team was in great spirits. But whether that was due to the heaven defying viewership ratings or because of the management's promise that their year-end bonuses would be tripled, no one really knew.

The singers were also giving it their all. Amy and Xue Kaiqi, who were the two bottom place singers in the first episode, were going all out in hopes that they could avoid the "relegation" fight, so of course they had to give everything they had. They were no longer thinking about first and second place anymore. All they wanted was to be able to remain in the competition. Meanwhile, the better ranked singers from the first episode like Zhang Xia, Chen Guang, and Zhao Wuliu were all not too worried about getting eliminated. However, the pressure on them was just as great since they were hoping for a shot at first place.

…

Two days later.

The second episode was broadcast.

All over the country, countless viewers were watching TV and waiting in anticipation. Some of them chose to watch Beijing Television, while others had switched to Central TV Department 1. As for how many people were watching and what the ratio of viewers was between the two channels, no one really knew. They would have to wait until the broadcast was over before the viewership ratings would get released.

In front of the television.

"It's starting!"

"They've picked the order of appearance already."

"Ah, Amy is so unlucky!"

"Pfft, Amy's host-manager is so funny! She got picked to sing first!"

"This is going to be dangerous."

"Xue Kaiqi didn't get a good lot either. She'll perform third?"

"Wow, Xiaodong is such a good friend!"

"Sister Dong picked number five but gave up her slot to Amy!"

"Even at such a crucial moment, they're still so sisterly!"

"Xiaodong's coming on to sing."

"Haha, Xiaodong's hosting is quite good. At first, I felt that Sister Dong was too unprofessional as the guest host. But ever since I saw how Zhang Ye did the rankings announcement at the end of the first episode, I suddenly found Sister Dong to be very professional! This is what it means to be a host, no nonsense, no long-windedness! She would outdo that fraudster Zhang Ye by at least ten blocks! I suggest that Sister Dong take on the role of announcing the rankings at the end as well. Zhang Ye, I've had enough of you! You're so full of deception!"

"Agreed!"

"Hahaha, seconded!"

Xiaodong.

He Huan.

Xue Kaiqi.

Everyone eventually had their turn on stage.

"Wow!"

"That was such a great performance!"

"Amy is in godly form today!"

"No one can even come close to her rap!"

"I still think Chen Guang was better. He's really got it in him and can perform so flawlessly every time! Actually, I felt that Chen Guang should have been first in the previous episode. It's probably just because he's a very popular singer at the moment that everyone has become too familiar with his singing. Since everyone knows that he can sing well, there's less to look forward to for his performances!"

"It's Grandma Zhang Xia's turn!"

"Oh my God!"

"Fuck!"

"The moment Grandma Zhang started singing, I knew that first place would go to her!"

"Grandma Zhang is the biggest dark horse on I Am a Singer!"

"Yeah, who would've thought that an old-fashioned songstress could actually sing such songs!"

The performance segment was over.

Very quickly, it was time for the rankings announcement again.

When Zhang Ye strolled up, then read the advertising messages at an unhurried pace, and leisurely chatted with everyone, the TV viewers started cursing and swearing again!

"Get lost!"

"Zhang Ye, your sister!"

"Why is it this again?"

"Pfft, I've got to give it to you!"

"Can't you just fucking announce the rankings!"

"Aiyo, I'm dying of anxiety!"

"Teacher Zhang, can you stop doing that please!"

"You crawling bastard!"

To crawl means to be very slow in the Beijing dialect.

After rambling on for almost half an hour, the rankings were finally squeezed out like how one would milk a cow.

The combined rankings over the two episodes were:

First: Zhang Xia

Second: Chen Guang

Third: Zhao Wuliu

Fourth: Xiaodong

Fifth: He Huan

Sixth: Amy

Seventh: Xue Kaiqi

The Princess of Love Songs who was ranked last would have to leave this stage.

Amy's eyes reddened as she gave Xue Kaiqi a hug.

Zhang Xia gave Xue Kaiqi a pat on her back with a sigh.

Everyone came forward to bid farewell to Xue Kaiqi. It was a pretty emotional scene, but this was not done for the show's effect, nor was it scripted. After meeting several times and getting along so well, everyone had become familiar with each other. Moreover, many of them already knew each other before this and could be considered old friends, so they really could not bear to see her leave.

On the Internet, the netizens erupted!

"It's a conspiracy!"

"What a shady show!"

"My Princess!"

"How could they have eliminated Xue Kaiqi?"

"I like her so much!"

"This is so cruel. Xue Kaiqi indeed didn't sing very well during the first episode, but she's definitely capable of more than that. It's just that she hasn't returned to the stage for a very long time, so why didn't they give her a chance to prove herself?"

"Yeah!"

"Director Zhang is so cold-hearted!"

"Dammit, I'm not watching this anymore!"

"Fuck, surely you guys don't have to take it so personally, right?"

"I think the votes are a pretty accurate reflection of the audience's choice. Xue Kaiqi hasn't performed onstage for too long, so she didn't seem too comfortable standing there? So she got a little nervous? Hai, but I'll still miss her anyhow."

"I don't want her to go!"

At this moment, Zhang Ye spoke on the television.

After everyone had finished shedding their tears and saying those sad words, and when Xue Kaiqi finished her emotional crying, Zhang Ye suddenly said, "Oh, right. There's one more thing that I forgot to mention. Before the grand finals take place, we'll have a revival round. The previously eliminated singers will have the chance to return to the stage to battle to be the grand champion. Teacher Xue, are you willing to accept this invitation?"

Zhang Xia was stunned.

Amy was dumbfounded.

Xue Kaiqi said in surprise, "Of course I'll accept!"

Chen Guang was floored. "Director Zhang, why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Zhang Ye slowly took a sip of water and even purposely flashed the bottle's logo at the camera before answering, "No one asked."

Dong Shanshan laughed, "Pfft!"

All the host-managers were shocked!

On Weibo, everyone was exasperated!

"So there's going to be a revival round?"

"Zhang Ye, fuck your grandpa!"

"You're such a scammer!"

"Damn, you should have said so earlier!"

"Yeah, you made me cry over the elimination for nothing!"

"I have never come across such an unreliable executive director before! You should have mentioned those rules earlier!"

"Hahahahaha!"