Su Yu again chose Jiang Xiao'e, leaving the audience bewildered.
However, the voices of doubt were much fewer than in the previous episodes.
This was because Jiang Xiao'e's previous two songs had already showcased her strength. She was not just a pretty face, nor was she being hard-promoted by Ting Yu due to luck. She possessed her own abilities, and her strength was visibly growing. Everyone knew that such rapid improvement, delivering surprises to the audience in every episode, was due to not only talent but also immense effort.
Jiang Xiao'e's hard work deserved her to be the fortunate one chosen by Ting Yu.
"Xiao'e, go for it!"
"Her luck is indeed enviable, but her progress is also worthy of Ting Yu's strong promotion of her!"
"Jiang Xiao'e's popularity is already sky-high. With Ting Yu's unwavering support, becoming a queen of songs is just a matter of time!"
"She's only in her early twenties. At this age, a queen of songs would be setting a record, right?"
"Actually, the youngest queen of songs wasn't Jiang Xiao'e, but Lin Yanyu. She should have been nominated last year, but the Entertainment Awards were canceled, making her wait an extra year."
"There's also Zhang Wei, and Gong Ju Ren should be close too, after all, the hottest singers in the C-pop industry now are all part of the Ting Yu Singer Group."
What these netizens said was true. Currently, no one in the C-pop industry could compete with the Singer Group, especially Lin Yanyu and Gong Ju Ren. These two could be considered the two hottest singers right now.
What was even more astonishing was that most of the singers in the Ting Yu Singer Group were young.
And they were all nurtured by Ting Yu. Even Lin Yanyu, who was already famous before meeting Ting Yu, was merely an idol singer back then. Now, she was recognized by the music industry as being comparable to top queens of songs.
And even more terrifying was Ting Yu himself. In just two and a half years, he had become a dual deity in the C-pop industry.
Truly terrifying!
...
"Xiao'e, is your Yue language song ready?" Su Yu asked Jiang Xiao'e in the lounge before the cameras entered.
He was naturally referring to "A Love for Eternity," the theme song for "A Chinese Odyssey." With Jiang Xiao'e performing again on stage this week, her popularity should be sufficient.
"A Love for Eternity" was a golden classic that Su Yu had prepared for Jiang Xiao'e.
This song definitely had the potential to become a classic, and when paired with the romance between Zixia and Supreme Treasure in "A Chinese Odyssey," it was a classic among classics.
"There are still a few lines where the pronunciation isn't quite standard. It should be ready for recording in the next few days."
Jiang Xiao'e poured Su Yu a cup of water and placed it on the computer desk next to him.
"Which lines? If you have time now, I can teach you," Su Yu asked after taking a sip of water.
Jiang Xiao'e was not from Yue Province, so it was normal for her Yue language to be non-standard.
However, Su Yu could use his cheat to coach her, so it wasn't a big problem.
Jiang Xiao'e took out her self-made sheet music from her bag.
It had her marked notes on the problems.
Su Yu took it and saw the very detailed annotations: how to sing with what emotion, which words to emphasize, what imagery to imagine, what parts still had issues, all clearly marked. Problems that had already been solved were also specifically noted.
"Quite detailed," Su Yu raised an eyebrow and flipped to the next page.
To his surprise, the previous page was actually the song from last week, "The Whale That Transformed into an Island."
Jiang Xiao'e said somewhat sheepishly, "This is a method taught to me by a senior in the industry. To perfectly perform a song, one must meticulously overcome its problems."
"Very good. Then I'll go over these problems with you," Su Yu nodded.
Every time he saw such hardworking contestants, he felt a little ashamed.
This was because he didn't need to work hard.
After all, he had a cheat. If he still worked this hard, what was the point of having a cheat?
Therefore, he greatly admired hardworking contestants like Jiang Xiao'e.
...
Eight o'clock in the evening.
The show officially began.
"I'll go first this time," Mo Yan said with a smile.
Since he requested it, Su Yu and the others had no objections.
Mo Yan had been in good form recently, and this time he still chose Shen Jinghong.
Su Yu knew that Mo Yan would retire after "King of Love Songs" ended. By promoting Shen Jinghong so much, he probably wanted to make the path for his foolish disciple a little smoother.
"I'll leave this foolish disciple to you from now on."
As Su Yu was thinking, Mo Yan suddenly smiled kindly at him.
He was slightly taken aback, then remembered that he had previously wanted to sign Shen Jinghong. This big mouth must have already told Mo Yan. He touched his nose and said to Mo Yan, "Teacher Mo Yan, don't worry. I'll treat Shen Jinghong like a brother."
Su Yu felt the shame of being caught poaching, but fortunately, his skin was thick, and he only felt a little awkward.
Shen Jinghong was a talent. Su Yu felt he was even a top genius among the younger generation in the C-pop industry.
As long as he was given some time, his future achievements would definitely inherit his master Mo Yan's legacy.
Such a talent naturally had to be brought under his wing, to be a disciple, otherwise, it would be a waste of talent.
With Shen Jinghong's current ability, after a little more training, he could write songs for the Singer Group to compete for the "Era Chart." When the Singer Group became popular overseas, it would mean piles of cash!
Su Yu thought to himself, unable to help but look forward to it.
The sadness about Mo Yan's retirement weakened considerably.
"With your words, I can confidently leave him to you," Mo Yan said with great relief.
He felt Su Yu was a very good young man. Leaving Shen Jinghong to Su Yu, he could also retire with peace of mind.
...
Next, Jiang Qian and Zhou Qingshan both rushed to start their performances.
"It's not that I want to snatch a spot, it's just that I feel performing before you is the most basic respect for you," Jiang Qian said with a smirk.
"I'm just eager for this song to be released," Zhou Qingshan said seriously.
The reasons given by these two almost made the audience burst into laughter.
They clearly didn't want to be the victim, yet they phrased it so elegantly.
Su Yu, of course, didn't compete with them. In his opinion, when he performed made no difference.
Besides, this show didn't have any live audience, so there wasn't really a concept of victim.
This time, neither Jiang Qian nor Zhou Qingshan chose anyone from the Singer Group, but opted for singers they collaborated with. Su Yu thought this choice was normal. Others had already helped them for so many episodes for free, showing plenty of goodwill.
After two performances,
Both singers were very skilled and sang with a touch of sadness that filled the venue.
"This is a benefit for me," Su Yu said with a smile.
The emotions were already there, so Jiang Xiao'e could directly get into character.
Jiang Xiao'e walked onto the stage.
Holding the microphone.
This episode, Su Yu did not help. He knew that doing too much of this would truly overshadow her.
"Xiao Yu's theme is somewhat ordinary, but the key to testing a producer's skill lies in writing something new from an ordinary theme," Mo Yan said, taking a sip of tea, as he watched Jiang Xiao'e, who had already taken the stage.
"I'm really looking forward to Xiao Yu's song. His sad love songs are indeed tear-jerking. I've been listening to the last one on repeat recently," Jiang Qian praised without reservation.
"By the way, is it possible for us to win once?" Zhou Qingshan said jokingly.
The last song, "The Whale That Transformed into an Island," was not only popular in mainland China but also liked by many overseas. Furthermore, with the identity of the painter Chang Yu, Ting Yu had also gained a following among art enthusiasts.
However, the story chosen this time, compared to the previous episodes, was not overly novel, so it all depended on the performance.
This also made Zhou Qingshan have the desire to win once.
The stage lights were ready.
Jiang Xiao'e's eyes looked down at the ground, her long eyelashes fluttering.
The song information appeared on the big screen.
Over the Ocean to See You
Performer: Jiang Xiao'e
Lyrics: Ting Yu
Music: Ting Yu
...