I'm Really a Superstar

Chapter 675: A laborer contestant?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

In the main recording studio.

Everyone on set had already rested for a long time now.

Jiang Yuan turned his head and asked, “What’s going on?”

Fu Sihong said, “I don’t know, let me check it out.”

Some distance away, Zhang Zuo was walking over from afar right when Fu Sihong and Jiang Yuan called him over.

The executive producer of The Voice, Fu Sihong, asked, “We’ve had a break for more than 20 minutes already, haven’t we? Why are we still not continuing to record then? The show is set to be broadcast tonight, but we still have to finish recording and post-production.”

Fu Sihong was sitting below the stage, feeling more like an outsider. During the show’s production to recording, he barely took part in any of the work. Right now, everything regarding The Voice was dictated by Zhang Ye alone, so Fu Sihong had no reason to try to barge in and take over at this point. He himself understood that well, so he did not try to blindly pass along any instructions either. After all, in terms of the pulling in of sponsors, the program planning, and the production, he could not hold a candle to Zhang Ye. Even if he tried to order the team around, they would probably not follow his instructions and instead seek Zhang Ye’s opinion. That would cause him more embarrassment, so of course he would rather just continue being the figurehead executive producer that he was and occasionally check in on the progress of the show.

Zhang Zuo immediately answered, “Director Zhang was waiting for the contestant’s family members. They have only just arrived, so there was a slight delay.”

Fu Sihong said, “Then couldn’t we have just switched a contestant to record?”

Zhang Zuo said, “I don’t know about that. The order of appearance was told to us by Director Zhang.”

Jiang Yuan suddenly suggested, “Did he plan the appearance order properly? The two contestants at the beginning were great and amazing, lifting everyone’s mood to a high. But now, the ones who appeared later could no longer keep that atmosphere going. You all should have just arranged for Luo Yu to appear at the end so that the televised effect would be better.”

Zhang Zuo said, “Director Zhang should have already considered that, but I don’t know too much about it.”

Jiang Yuan lamented, “The trump cards should never be used at the beginning, they should always be left for last. We have to be flexible about such things, or else it will affect the overall quality of the show.”

Fu Sihong also chimed in, “If Luo Yu was the final act, she would definitely be able to excite the whole audience. It’s just too bad that she was the first contestant because it’s too difficult to find someone as amazing as Luo Yu.”

Even though they said that, the first episode of The Voice’s recording had given them a huge surprise. They were really just nitpicking details now. In reality, they were amazed by it all. They had not expected that this proposal of The Voice by Zhang Ye, which they did not feel optimistic about at the beginning, could actually be done in such a way. With the mindset of achieving perfection, they naturally wanted someone who was as good as Luo Yu to be the final act of the episode. However, they also knew that it was not practical to think that way since a contestant like Luo Yu was hardly ever guaranteed and not likely to appear again!

At this moment, the earpiece of the program team staff crackled, with Zhang Ye issuing some instructions.

“Everyone get into position. We will begin recording in one minute.”

“Yes!”

“Received!”

“OK, Director Zhang!”

“Understood!”

“Already in position.”

The staff members responded in succession.

…

At the backstage entrance to the main stage.

Qian Pingfan was already waiting here.

Ha Qiqi handed the microphone to him. “There’s still one minute before you step on, Little Qian.”

Qian Pingfan was a nervous wreck at this moment and beads of sweat were rolling off his head onto the floor. He was a simple laborer who came from the countryside and had never witnessed such a grand situation before. He asked, “My parents really came?”

Ha Qiqi said, “Yes, they’re backstage.”

Qian Pingfan pulled a long face as he said, “My parents have never heard me singing before. I, I never sang, not even once, when I was at home, so they don’t know anything.”

Wu Yi smiled and told him, “It’s time to show them what you can do then.”

Qian Pingfan was clearly very respectful of his parents. “But I’m afraid that I won’t sing well. Those contestants before me all performed extraordinarily well. I definitely can’t do better than them.”

Wu Yi said, “Says who?”

Qian Pingfan said, “I’m not better than them, really!”

Ha Qiqi encouraged, “Do you know what Director Zhang said about you? He said that the final act for the first episode of The Voice would be you. It has to be you no matter what!”

Qian Pingfan felt even more pressured now. “But just look at my clothes…”

The program team provided makeup services but not the clothes and costumes the contestants wore. Those would have to be arranged by the contestants themselves. Qian Pingfan was just a bicycle repairman and did not even earn 2000 RMB a month, so he obviously couldn’t afford a good wardrobe. He was just wearing his usual getup today, an old outfit whose color had already faded from washing. It did not look too appealing.

Wu Yi said, “That’s fine. Director Zhang has said that there’s no need to dress well to hide your identity. Just wear your own outfit and present yourself as you. There’s nothing to hide, so just let everything go and sing. Let your parents hear your voice, and let everyone else hear it too!”

In the audience.

When many of the staff members saw Qian Pingfan getting ready to go on stage, they started whispering.

“It’s Qian Pingfan’s turn!”

“I know about him, he’s up as the final act today, right?”

“Yeah, Director Zhang specifically arranged it.”

“Can he do it? That voice of his is a little…”

“I think he’s very good! I heard him sing during the preliminary auditions and I sincerely like it!”

“Even if you like it, that doesn’t mean that the audience and coaches will be able to accept it.”

“That’s true, Qian Pingfan is unlike the other contestants and is a little bit special. If we’re talking about all the contestants of The Voice, then he is definitely the most controversial one. He’s going to be a risk!”

“Let’s see how everyone reacts!”

The countdown began.

Three…

Two…

One… .

The recording started!

“Now let’s welcome the next contestant!”

This voiceover was Zhang Ye’s recorded introduction.

Suddenly, the stage lighting dimmed in accordance to pump up the atmosphere in the studio.

Qian Pingfan hesitantly took a few steps, then gripped the microphone tightly and walked up on stage while trembling. Compared to Luo Yu and a few other contestants, he was much more nervous and had already subconsciously hunched his back.

Ha Qiqi was extremely worried about him. She shouted to him from below, “Little Qian, straighten your back!”

Only then did Qian Pingfan slightly straighten his back, although his movements were still very stiff.

Wu Yi said, “All the best! It’s all up to you now!”

At the same time, Qian Pingfan’s figure on stage became visible to the audience.

Jiang Yuan was stunned.

Fu Sihong also blinked his eyes doubtfully.

The audience were also having similar reactions, feeling especially surprised.

To put it in perspective, the earlier contestants who had appeared were made up of people like a housewife, a physical education teacher, a train driver, or white-collar workers, etc. Some of them also did not have good looks and were even fat or skinny, but at least they all looked like city dwellers, having a decent fashion sense. Even if they wore t-shirts or a tracksuit with athletic shoes, they looked clean and groomed. After all, they knew they were going to be appearing on television, so they found a decent-looking dress or shirt to wear. But this person standing in front of everyone now stunned them a little. This contestant’s fashion sense was too low-class. And even though his clothes had been cleaned very well, they looked very old and worn. His white athletic shoes also looked like they had been washed so many times that they had turned yellow. As for his hairstyle, it was similar to his fashion sense. He sported a buzz cut and looked a little backwards without any makings of a singer. Furthermore, everyone who saw him knew he did not seem like the kind of person who purposely made his clothes look old to sensationalize himself. It was obvious to all of them that he was a laborer.

“Man!”

“This person is a contestant too?”

“This competition really has all kinds of people.”

“Yeah, why is there a laborer?”

“This contestant doesn’t look at all like the type of person who knows how to sing!”

“Could this person have joined to try to gain notoriety by shocking everyone?”

“I think he might be. Who knows, he just might belt out a viral internet tune and shock the entire studio.” [1.]

“Haha, that’s totally possible!”

“What the hell, even a laborer has come knocking on the doors of a talent show! The contestants from earlier had performed their songs very well. Although the ones who appeared in the middle were not as good as those who started the show, at least they were all above average. But this last performance of the day? They’re actually letting a laborer be the final act? What is the program team thinking!”

“It’s definitely not the program team’s problem. They must have no other, better contestants to send out anymore. Didn’t we analyze the situation already? That there were only so many good contestants and Zhang Ye had arranged for them to all appear first to create a spectacular effect for the show, so the contestants after that could be a mix between good and bad. This is not something that can be controlled, so I can understand what the program team is doing. They actually have no more good contestants left, so what else could they do? Why not just send out a laborer contestant to shock everyone by singing a ridiculous song as a publicity stunt in order to force discussion onto the topic.”

“Oh, that’s probably true.”

“Yeah, there’s that possibility too.”

“Still, they shouldn’t have rounded out the number of contestants by inviting just anyone. Isn’t this a show that keeps harping on its principle of only listening to the voice and nothing else? Yet they found a laborer to come here to make a fool out of us!”

“How disappointing!”

“The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment!”

After a fiery start to the program, everyone’s mood was drummed up to a high and was kept there throughout until a few contestants who were clearly not as good as the ones before them performed, bringing the mood of the audience down by quite a bit and leaving them feeling letdown. When that happened, they were still hoping that there might be someone worth watching in the final act, but it somehow ended with this contestant appearing in front of them. As a result, the disappointment they felt now was unavoidable.

The reaction of the audience was clear.

Jiang Yuan thought that they were in trouble now.

Several leaders of Central TV were also frowning in silence.

Even if you did not have any good contestants, you shouldn’t have used a laborer to serve as a stopgap. It wouldn’t matter if you had found someone average instead. At least that wouldn’t stir up such a large controversy and disapproval. The Voice had gotten off to a good start and amazed everyone at the beginning, yet it ended with you guys screwing it up at the critical moment? This program could very possibly end up with nothing to show for despite all the effort and money spent, all because of a laborer?

Wasn’t this a mess!?

How could Zhang Ye have possibly made such a mistake!

“Where’s Little Zhang?” Jiang Yuan asked.

Fu Sihong said, “Probably backstage.”

Jiang Yuan had wanted to stop the recording and summon Zhang Ye and force him to arrange for another contestant to take this laborer’s place. This sort of stopgap measure would really destroy their reputation and destroy the victories they had secured at the beginning of the recording!

The coaches had already turned their chairs around and were facing the audience. They could not see what was behind them and could only analyze the situation of the contestant from the reactions of the audience members.

Zhang Xia said, “Eh, this contestant seems to be stirring up some kind of controversy?”

Chen Guang said, “I don’t know, but everyone’s faces look a little disappointed?”

Fan Wenli said, “I guess it must have not fulfilled everyone’s expectations.”

Zhang Xia said, “That can’t be helped. How would there be so many voices that could amaze everyone. It’s good enough that the show found one or two such people.”

The coaches did not harbor much hope as a result of the audience’s reaction. They also adjusted their mentality for the performance. In any case, they would just turn around if it was good, and not do anything if it was not. They understood very well that a talent show would also include less capable contestants since it was not possible for every one of them to be the very best!

[1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct6BUPvE2sM&lc=z13it5ngqxezz55t323ehrvbgqfuzz24z04 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E00Zuayv9Q&lc=z13xfpyrpnjpvfrvk23ehrvbgqfuzz24z04 You must know this one]