Chapter 54: First Performance on Star Avenue
At the Star Avenue grand finals.
As a temporary worker, Jiang Hua sat right behind the judges.
Actually, he quite liked this position. To his surprise, the show was not being pre-recorded this time.
It was being broadcast live, which Jiang Hua had not expected.
But he was just here to make an appearance.
The production team asked him to sing a song with Li Yugang, the former grand finals champion. This could be considered a powerful collaboration.
Li Yugang's operatic style was very beautiful.
In fact, this song should have been his, but that world had not emerged yet.
Jiang Hua did not object. In fact, his operatic style was also stunning. Otherwise, how could he have made it into the system?
The show began.
The host Xiao Ni had a very stable stage presence, but people were used to Lao Ye's style.
This drew a lot of hate, just like Jiang Hua - the tall tree catches the wind.
This year's contestants were all impressive, with the young man from the Mongolian ethnic group being the strongest.
The other contestants also had their own specialties.
Jiang Hua sat behind the judges, his mind wandering.
Backstage at this moment, the director team was staring tensely at the data.
"How is it, has it gone up?"
The director himself was getting anxious. The ratings for Star Avenue this time were very disappointing, and the leaders had already spoken up.
Compared to previous seasons of Star Avenue, the ratings this time were much lower.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have invited so many people to hold down the scene, including the champions from the past few seasons.
"It's gone up, director, it's gone up."
The ratings had risen as soon as the show started, but still not as much as expected.
The contestants finished the first round of competition, and the ratings slowly climbed.
The director sat dejectedly in his chair, looking at the monitor.
Unmoved, these ratings were unacceptable.
A camera panned to the seats behind the judges. Jiang Hua sat upright in his embroidered suit.
He was here on a work trip after all, and couldn't be too casual.
But his eyes weren't focused at all. Perhaps he hadn't gotten over the jet lag, as he actually yawned.
Suddenly he noticed a camera pointed at him, and forcefully stifled the yawn.
Like a child caught misbehaving, he flashed a smile.
Jiang Hua knew this moment would never be broadcast. With so many cameras, how could they show him?
But who knows which klutz did it - they aired that entire moment.
"Hahaha, Jiang Hua is too funny. Doesn't it remind you of being a part-timer, getting caught while the boss is talking?"
After a while, Jiang Hua really couldn't take it anymore and shifted to a more comfortable position.
The contestants' scoring began.
Jiang Hua mechanically extended his hands and clapped, expressionless, looking drowsy.
"Director, the ratings have gone up!"
The chief director leapt to his feet.
"What's the reason, did a live incident occur?"
The technician immediately said, "No, but a camera just aired 3 minutes of footage."
"Right, right, found it. It just cut to 3 minutes of live footage of Jiang Hua yawning."
"Holy sh*t!"
The director was dumbfounded. You yawn and the ratings go up.
The director made a split-second decision.
"Cut back to Jiang Hua immediately. I want to see what surprises this guy can bring us."
They had invited Jiang Hua because he had gotten a bit popular lately, and single-handedly made a city trendy.
Turning the off-season directly into peak season.
Not just anyone could do that.
The camera cut back to Jiang Hua. Maybe he noticed the camera that had filmed him earlier had moved away.
It was time for the contestants' scoring now, with all the focus on the stage.
Finding his chance, he let out a huge yawn, then slapped his own face.
So damn sleepy. He wasn't picky about beds. Usually as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out.
How could he be this sleepy?
Li Yugang next to him could tell he was struggling to stay awake, and secretly passed him a stick of peppermint gum.
Jiang Hua discreetly took the gum and unwrapped it.
Just as he was about to pop it in his mouth, he looked up and saw that camera from before pointed right at him.
This sense of being spied on was too much.
Even the director couldn't help chuckling. This was innate variety show sense.
Jiang Hua immediately straightened up and surreptitiously slipped the gum into his mouth.
Thinking his footage wouldn't be aired, he understood production all too well.
After decades behind the scenes, with a live broadcast like this, the focus would definitely be on the contestants.
"Director, it's up. It's even with last year now."
"Hahaha, keep it up. Cut to more of Jiang Hua's footage going forward. Deputy director, follow him the whole time. I think Jiang Hua will screw up again."
Before he finished speaking, that kid Jiang Hua actually ducked down to hide behind the portly judge in front.
He thought dodging one camera meant he was home free. Not a chance.
"Immediately activate camera 2, catch him for me."
Viewers nationwide were delighted. This guy was exactly like a part-timer.
Jiang Hua really had no choice. He didn't dare make a scene on CCTV, but he had gotten up very early that morning.
Then Audi's people had taken him to record two songs. It was the top recording studio in Siji City this time, with a top-notch recording team.
The requirements were high. It took him a whole day to finish the two songs, then he had rushed over to participate in the show that evening.
Teacher Li Yugang next to him gently tugged on him, and he immediately sat up straight.
Fighting off drowsiness, he struggled to keep his eyes open wide.
"Next, please welcome the champion of season 6, Teacher Li, and Jiang Hua from the Little Hundred Flowers Art Troupe, to perform the song 'All Territories' for everyone."
Luckily they had rehearsed on the way here, so Jiang Hua wasn't at a total loss.
He abruptly stood up from behind the judge in front.
"Hahaha, this guy really is young. The director understands variety show dynamics."
"He thought hiding behind the judges meant he was in the clear. Didn't expect the camera above him was also trained on him."
"Really looking forward to this. Jiang Hua is truly making his big debut this time. But who knows if he realizes he'll die of embarrassment."
He didn't know what the audience was thinking, only that his task was nearly complete.
"The red sun rises in the east, its great path flooded with rosy light..."
It was Jiang Hua's first live performance, and he did pretty well. The challenge of this song was in the operatic parts.
Teacher Li's aria was stunning. Compared to Jun Jun's Yue opera singing, it sounded even more magnificent.
After all, the lyrical conception of this song was very lofty. Jun Jun was a girl, and the Yue opera vocal style tended to be more gentle and beautiful.
But as a xiaosheng role in Yue opera, her rendition was still perfect. The style just wasn't the best fit.
With the song finished, Jiang Hua let out a sigh of relief. After a day of recording, he wasn't in top form - just barely passed.
The whole audience burst into applause. Jiang Hua bowed in thanks, then prepared to leave the stage.
Xiao Ni called out to stop him.
"Teacher Jiang Hua, please stay a moment."
Oh man, this part wasn't in the rehearsal. What was going on?
He was full of questions.
Teacher Li Yugang even had a mischievous grin. This guy really thought he had come to make a cameo appearance.
"Teacher Jiang Hua, many viewers like you. They want to ask you a few questions."
"First: Do you really despise the song 'Melody' that much?"
The professional fake smile disappeared from Jiang Hua's face. Clearly he knew...
...