The opening of this episode was different from usual.
After the host finished his opening remarks,
They did not directly enter the competition segment.
Instead, an idol trainee performance segment was added.
For live programs like this, there were no time limits. After watching the competition, people would go about their business, with no interest in the expert reviews that followed.
Last time, adding a trainee segment after the competition did not elicit audience dislike, as they usually stopped watching after the competition and those who wanted to watch stayed.
But this time, the trainees were brought in directly before the competition.
It was an obvious attempt to leverage the show's popularity to promote newcomers.
Upon seeing this, the audience couldn't help but exclaim that capital was truly ubiquitous, even managing to orchestrate such events during official competitions.
Audiences from other competition zones did not react much, at most complaining a few words in the bullet comments.
However, the atmosphere in the fifth competition zone, where Ting Yu was, changed.
"Damn it, I'm here to watch the producer's competition, and you're showing this garbage to annoy me?"
"I waited for two weeks, and you want me to watch a bunch of effeminate guys preening?"
"If you don't have the skill, don't come here to embarrass yourselves. What is this singing? If you have this much free time, you might as well let the Ting Yu Singer Group sing a couple of their representative songs."
"Isn't it better to do lip-syncing in pre-recorded variety shows? Why come to a live broadcast to make a fool of yourselves?"
"The makeup on their faces is thicker than a woman's. The winks they're giving... Holy crap, it made me hard."
"If I wasn't waiting for Ting Yu's new song, I'd endure the disgust and watch these peach-eaters, these 'good, cool, cool'?"
"Speaking of which, Ting Yu is also a fresh-faced young man type, but why can he be both handsome and not annoying?"
"Don't compare Ting Yu to these peach-eaters. Our Ting Yu's looks, temperament, and talent are all top-tier in the entertainment industry. Especially that faint laziness, he's a killer of young girls!"
"To the person above, I don't entirely agree. I, a mature woman, am also driven wild by Ting Yu!"
Ting Yu's fans had been waiting for two weeks and were already impatient to hear the new song.
The program team adding this sort of thing was undoubtedly pouring fuel on the fire with the audience.
A large portion of Ting Yu's fans were previously the "rage brothers" who had criticized him, but were later won over by his talent.
As they continued to criticize, they became his loyal fans.
Now, these people were provoked.
Naturally, they began to fiercely criticize in the bullet comments without reservation.
Not only were they complaining about the trainees in the bullet comments,
But there were also many "rage brothers" at the scene.
Shouting "Refund!!!" from the audience.
The chant became increasingly synchronized.
If these trainees had not left quickly, there might have been a magnificent scene of the entire audience chanting "Refund" in unison.
However, such a situation had not occurred in the entertainment industry, but it happened a few times a year in football.
Backstage.
The staff responsible for the trainee promotion was stunned by the screen full of curses.
It was only now that they realized that Ting Yu's popularity was not so easy to piggyback on.
...
After a round of scolding,
The trainees' performance finally ended.
The program team quickly transitioned to the competition segment.
The host, Lin Han, was now a familiar face after several episodes.
In the first episode, Ting Yu had said some rather boastful things on stage, and Lin Han's bewildered expression at the side had been turned into memes by netizens, appearing on various chat applications.
Later, his expressions of shock at Ting Yu's new songs in each episode were also made into memes.
Lin Han never expected that he would become popular online due to memes.
However, he did not care about the netizens' pranks.
Instead, he specially created a set of emojis and posted them on Weibo, engaging in a bit of self-deprecation.
This move of his further closed the gap with the netizens.
He also gained quite a few fans.
Later, he publicly thanked Ting Yu on Weibo, saying: "Thank you, Ting Yu, for helping my career reach new heights."
He was already a well-known host in China. Leveraging the traffic from hosting Ting Yu's show and the popularity of the memes, his fan base was now comparable to that of top industry hosts.
"Haha, after enjoying the wonderful program, everyone's passion must be ignited, right? Now let's get to the main event, please welcome the ace producer Jin Lei and his singer Li Xiaorui!"
The host wore an awkward smile; those "rage brothers" were not to be trifled with...
As soon as he finished speaking,
Jin Lei and Li Xiaorui walked to the center of the stage.
The audience's mood gradually calmed down.
Then,
Jin Lei began to introduce his song for this performance.
He wrote popular music and usually composed love songs. To defeat Ting Yu, he naturally brought out his strongest style, which was this fantasy-themed love song.
"Mermaid's Undying Love"
The title refers to the love between a human and a fish.
Strictly speaking, it should be the love between a human and a dolphin.
This song tells a poignant love story.
It was also a work he had conceived for many years, revising it word by word.
Like Liu Quanlin and Li Shaojun who were eliminated earlier, he had written many songs during his years of obscurity.
This was his most proud work, originally intended for the regional finals, but since Ting Yu was the reigning champion, he wouldn't be able to use it if he didn't go all out and was eliminated.
After the introduction,
Jin Lei returned to the producer's area.
Li Xiaorui was ready at the center of the stage.
She wore a light cyan dress that trailed long on the ground. The skirt was voluminous, and in the flickering lights, she looked like a sea sprite.
The lighting technician also used light blue lighting, mimicking water ripples and projecting them onto the stage.
3D projection directly simulated marine life, making them vivid.
The prelude began, carrying a faint ancient charm.
"The coast is boundless, the mountains and rivers are newly formed..."
When Li Xiaorui's voice began,
The entire venue fell silent.
Her tone was sweet with a hint of sadness, giving off an aura of profound sorrow.
Jin Lei's song was indeed his most proud work.
Following the lyrics' mood, the audience's minds gradually conjured images of that poignant scene.
"Not bad, the quality of this song is surprisingly high, and Li Xiaorui's vocal tone added a lot of points to it!"
"This kind of fantasy song, with its poignant beauty and romance, really makes people empathize."
"Everyone fantasizes about such a love, and Jin Lei has captured the hearts of the people."
As the audience discussed,
An even grander background music emerged.
Li Xiaorui began to showcase her special skill.
"Ahhhh..."
She tilted her head upwards at a forty-five-degree angle,
Her lips slightly parted, her singing voice soft, gradually growing louder, soaring into the sky as if reaching the depths of one's soul.
With a few more brilliant vocal runs, Li Xiaorui's emotional performance intensified.
Finally, the stage was bathed in dazzling lights, and a mournful cry was heard.
The song was nearing its end.
After a brief silence,
The audience erupted into thunderous applause, and cheers of exhilaration from the captivating singing!