The scene was live on air.
The host took a deep breath.
He walked onto the stage.
On stage, Zhang Wei’s clown makeup was smudged with sweat.
He looked even more ridiculous.
However, no one laughed at him, nor did anyone mock him anymore.
Because he had used his own skill to silence those who had accused him of being unworthy.
“Next, the judges’ critique segment.”
The host cast a deep glance at Zhang Wei, who stood silently on stage, a hint of admiration in his eyes. In his opinion, Zhang Wei was a formidable person.
For the critique segment.
The judging panel did not rush to speak this time.
The first judge, holding the microphone, stammered, unsure of what to say. Finally, he gave Zhang Wei a thumbs-up: “To evaluate such a divine song combined with divine vocals, I am not qualified…”
A wave of murmurs swept through the audience.
This judge was the marketing director of a music platform.
His statement clearly showed the profound impact “Exaggerated” had on him.
“Let me say a few words,” another judge took the microphone. This person was Hao Danteng, a popular internet celebrity with millions of followers who usually posted music reviews with relatively fair assessments. However, because he liked to ride on Ting Yu’s popularity, he had been boasting about Ting Yu’s greatness. He had claimed that Ting Yu’s fans trusted his opinion, so many of them followed his lead and criticized Zhang Wei online.
He had also posted online that there was internal discord within the Ting Yu singer group. Netizens, believing he was very familiar with Ting Yu, had taken his words to heart.
This feeling of having a large following had made him somewhat arrogant. What started as boasting about Ting Yu’s prowess gradually shifted to finding fault with Ting Yu, under the guise of being a fair critic. He felt like a general on the battlefield, directing attacks.
“This song, Ting Yu wrote it well, it has his usual standard,” Hao Danteng said, pausing to observe the expressions of those around him.
Seeing that they all nodded in agreement.
He immediately felt a sense of pride.
“However, from a fair perspective, I still need to point out the shortcomings in this song. Ting Yu’s skill is undeniable, but Zhang Wei’s performance was too hysterical. To the point where in the last few lines, one word cracked. To be honest, I don’t think his performance was perfect.”
He actually wanted to analyze the song’s flaws from the perspective of Ting Yu being from Shuangqing City. However, after listening only once, he couldn’t find any. Moreover, he didn’t understand composition, so he chose to praise Ting Yu first, and then criticize Zhang Wei.
By doing so, he avoided offending Ting Yu’s fans and made his evaluation appear more objective.
After all, he had indeed heard Zhang Wei’s voice crack on a line. The moment he identified this point, his palms felt sweaty with excitement.
“You don’t know anything. I heard that line, and his voice did crack. But in my opinion, that was the moment of peak emotion, and the cracked note actually added more flavor.”
Another judge beside him felt indignant. The judging panel often included people with music-related backgrounds. This person was a sound engineer, and he frequently encountered cracked vocals, making him very sensitive to it. He had indeed heard it. He didn’t know if Zhang Wei had done it intentionally or unintentionally, but in his view, the cracked note was a stroke of genius that made the live performance even more impactful!
Being directly insulted, how could Hao Danteng tolerate it? He sneered, “I am merely offering a fair critique. I don’t care about flavor; I’m just stating facts. The fact is, Zhang Wei’s voice did crack.”
As the two judges argued heatedly.
The host quickly stepped in to mediate.
“It seems everyone has different opinions about this song. So, let’s move on to the voting segment. Who will be the final winner of this segment of the Ace City Competition’s regional finals?”
The host paused and continued, “Let’s have our expert judging panel provide the answer!”
After he finished speaking.
A countdown appeared on the big screen.
Then, the names of Ting Yu and Hu Yang began to show their vote counts.
However, to everyone’s surprise.
Only the numbers behind Ting Yu’s name were changing.
While the number behind Hu Yang’s name remained unchanged, always zero.
Seeing this.
Hu Yang could no longer hold back.
Although, when he heard the song “Exaggerated,” he knew he would undoubtedly lose this competition.
But, he had been praying in his heart, hoping the record wouldn't be broken.
What record?
Of course, it was Liu Quanlin’s record for the largest vote difference.
From some point onwards, he also developed that thought.
Losing was acceptable, but breaking the record was not!
Wouldn’t that be too embarrassing!
However, from the current situation, not only was he going to break the record, but he also risked being completely shutout.
Thinking of this, he looked towards Zhu Xinyu in the singer’s area.
The latter also looked at him at that moment. Their eyes met, and they saw the awkwardness in each other’s gaze.
Finally.
The countdown ended.
This time, to say there was a slight edge would be too boastful.
Because the vote difference reached an incredibly exaggerated number.
Ting Yu: 1999 votes
Hu Yang: 1 vote
That’s right.
Hu Yang, who had sung Chinese songs his entire life and had countless brilliant achievements, hailed as the toughest opponent in the regional competition, was almost shutout in his competition against Ting Yu, a person from Shuangqing.
If this were to be told, no one would believe it.
But it had happened.
And it happened live.
The moment the votes were revealed, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.
On the judging panel, Hao Danteng was also stunned. He was the one who cast that single vote. When he realized it, he quickly shrank his neck.
Fortunately, the audience couldn’t see the voters’ names in the voting system, only the changing numbers.
So, he wasn’t identified as the one who cast the vote.
…
At a high-end club.
Five men were getting foot massages.
Of course, they were simple foot massages.
But they were all staring intently at the large screen in front of them.
When they saw the huge score on the screen.
They immediately let out incredibly excited roars!
Startling the technicians giving them massages.
“Haha, my record has been broken!! It’s finally been broken!!”
The speaker was the ace producer Liu Quanlin.
The time when Ting Yu’s “Drunk on Sorrow” created the biggest score difference across all competition zones had always been a source of ridicule for him. He even heard Jin Lei and Zhou Peng say that his score had become the baseline for the competition.
Even in competition zones other than the fifth zone where Ting Yu was, others used his 201 votes as a baseline.
Losing was acceptable, but breaking the record was not.
And now, this record had finally been broken!
“Haha, my votes are actually more than Brother Hu Yang’s!”
“Heh heh heh, mine are more than his too!”
“This feels great…”
A group of men, crying and laughing, wiped away their tears.
This left the technicians in the room bewildered.
“Boss, should we continue massaging?” someone couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.
“Yes! Of course, we should. Come on, attack my various reflex zones!”
The men laughed heartily and lay back down.
…