Chapter 57 Part 1
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 57: Don’t Stop Here, Join Carry Center and Become a Star! (1)
This news quickly spread across the country, attracting the attention of many passersby and fans.
It’s important to note that live broadcasts have the advantage of being immediate, while TV shows offer long-lasting exposure.
Especially when it comes to the live broadcasts of "Dazzling Stage"!
Apart from the initial stage evaluations, no sharing or editing of footage is allowed before the show airs, or else you might have to deal with a top-notch legal team and even draw the attention of national authorities.
Given these conditions, "Dazzling Stage" has truly built up anticipation for viewers who missed the premiere. So, the first episode is sure to generate a lot of excitement.
Despite having two versions of "Dazzling Stage" in the country, the first broadcast ratings alone would be terrifying, making the contestants the center of national attention and marking the beginning of their official rise.
…
…
At three thirty in the afternoon.
Xu Ling sat in her chair at home, staring at the computer screen, boredly refreshing the official website.
This fan of Kirimi Miyuki and Chu Yuanqing, now also a small blogger carrying their flag, couldn’t miss the premiere of "Dazzling Stage."
Although there were still a few hours before the show started, she decided to start refreshing early, hoping to be the first to comment and mention Miyuki and Honey Qing.
After the next refresh, a new video unexpectedly popped up on the official website.
However, it wasn’t an early premiere of the first episode, but some behind-the-scenes clips edited from the contestants’ audition scenes, serving as a warm-up.
Xu Ling opened without much hope, how can this short segment, which is less than ten minutes, fit in with 168 contestants? The child she pushed probably didn’t have many scenes in it.
Surprisingly, the first one to appear in the video was Chu Yuanqing’s audition scene.
Then, the scenes with frequent catchy phrases followed one after another.
The interviewer had a serious expression:
"Contestant number 198, it’s now time for the performance segment, do you have any dance or song to showcase?"
Chu Yuanqing’s young face looked serious:
"I have no experience in dancing or singing, so I didn’t prepare anything."
The interviewer asked as usual:
"Then why did you want to participate in our show?"
Chu Yuanqing hesitated for a moment, then asked uncertainly:
"Is it because… the salary here is high?"
The girl, unaware of the interviewer’s shocked pupils, explained with a nervous yet honest expression on her pretty face:
"You see, the promotional flyer for your show said there’s no educational requirement, and also includes meals and accommodation, most jobs nowadays don’t offer these… so I came."
Putting herself in the shoes of the interviewer sister, Xu Ling couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter.
Isn’t this just too unfair? How can Honey Qing be so adorable?!
Chu Yuanqing’s audition video was very short, only one and a half minutes long. Apart from a few lines of dialogue, the footage ended with a cluttered and artistically mismatched resume, which was quite amusing.
Laughing, Xu Ling paused the progress bar, rewinding and rewatching several times. Comments on the video were piling up:
"So funny, hahaha."
"I can’t stand it, darn yo-yo!"
"I can’t stop laughing, I can already imagine Honey Qing working hard on her resume, filling in whatever fits, just to apply for a job."
"Hey, do you think there’s a possibility that when Honey Qing talks about her dreams on stage, she’s not talking about being on stage, but rather getting a monthly salary of twelve thousand?"
"It’s hard to say, considering Honey Qing’s situation, the allure of a twelve thousand monthly salary is as strong as that of Pan Jinlian to Ximen Qing. She might be working a summer job and chasing a dream at the same time."
"This is unbelievable, is Honey Qing’s dream-chaser image crumbling?"
Because the popularity of "Dazzling Stage" is too terrifying, the most exciting part of this behind-the-scenes is all about Chu Yuanqing.
So, just one hour after this video was released, the phrase "Chu Yuanqing’s image is crumbling" successfully made its way into the top ten trending topics on Weibo, which is quite remarkable.
Xu Ling looked pleased and remarked:
"Hehehe, our Honey Qing is destined for stardom, she’s bound to be a hit no matter what!"
After speaking, she refreshed Chu Yuanqing’s Weibo, where the number of followers was increasing.
Currently, this account has an impressive 1.39 million active fans. As a newcomer who has only spent a week on "Dazzling Stage" and is still an amateur, this level of attention is quite terrifying.
Unfortunately, being an amateur means there is no company managing this account, and she cannot use her phone on the show. So, the account remains empty, and fans seem to be following a lifeless shell, which is quite eerie.
Xu Ling was feeling a bit excited:
"After the first episode airs, it will be Honey Qing and Miyuki’s turn to gain a lot of followers."
Three hours passed quickly.
As expected, taking the example of the "Dazzling Stage" organized by Sea City, within half an hour of the 80-minute first episode being uploaded on major video platforms, contestants who had more screen time in the early episodes started gaining followers at a rapid pace, shaking the entertainment industry.
Rain was gently tapping against the window, and the bubbles in the glass of lime cordial on the table popped.
Xu Ling was scrolling through the Weibo accounts of the two girls on her two phones while watching the show on her computer.
The mascot, Dream Weaver Rabbit, appeared on the screen with a polite smile, bowing to all the audience.
Soon after, the show officially started, showcasing an underground base that had been seen in the teaser, but with more details and even more impressive visual effects.
As for the following scenes, they were very familiar to Xu Ling, who had been watching the live broadcast for eight hours.
The only difference was that viewers could freely switch channels in the live stream, while the camera angles in the show were all decided by editing and post-production.
In this aspect, "Dazzling Stage" was similar to a regular talent show, focusing on popular contestants like Xie Qingxuan, Ji Shuzhu, Chen Yining, Lin Baor, and Tang Liuli in the early stages.
The distribution of camera angles was only adjusted after Dream Weaver Rabbit appeared and announced the rules, based on the reactions of the contestants.
The first contestant to choose to compete, Chu Yuanqing, who appeared bathed in ribbon special effects with a smile, successfully captured the most camera attention in this stage, as speculated online.
Following closely behind was Chu Wang Shu, who also gained a large following, breaking free from her initial state of being unnoticed.
After that, they moved on to the classic seating selection segment.
For people who have never watched a live broadcast before, their main expectation is who will take the risk of not being able to become an idol for life by participating in the competition.
For those who have watched live broadcasts, the most interesting part is the introduction video of each contestant when they enter, which may include behind-the-scenes footage from auditions or scenes from the contestants’ past experiences.
These are all newly revealed materials. Most introduction videos are average and not very exciting, but the ones that cause a frenzy of bullet comments are from contestants who have some works or something special.
Chu Yuanqing and Kirimi Miyuki, as expected, have no introduction.
Xu Ling fast-forwards through all the parts she has seen before and switches to the classic dormitory stage.
This is a plot that the audience loves to see – the interaction between beautiful sisters always makes people look forward to it.
What surprises Xu Ling is that in the dormitory stage, Chu Yuanqing and her roommates have quite a lot of screen time.
The style of bullet comments also changes accordingly:
"Honey Qing and Xie Qingxuan in the same dorm room? Oh no, I’m starting to worry, will she be bullied?"
"Can you not be so rude? Just because Great Devil has a strong presence doesn’t mean she isn’t polite."
"Oh no, why isn’t Little Sakura here?"
"Liuli is in the same dormitory too? That’s why during the previous theme song, she kept looking at Chu Yuanqing."
"Haha, it’s a secret crush."
"Oh no, the last one is Liang Xiaoxiao. This dorm now has all four, ABCD, together. What a talent show spectacle?!"
This dormitory arrangement is indeed a talent show spectacle.
Normally, in talent shows, dormitories are assigned based on levels. It’s unusual for upper-level contestants and lower-level contestants to live together.
First, to create differences between the levels and make the atmosphere tense and anxious.
Second, a mixed setup often leads to situations where upper-level contestants unintentionally benefit lower-level contestants, causing fans of popular contestants to become collectively angry.
But it’s hard to say if this will work in "Dazzling Stage."
Because once the audience knows the big gap in ratings, they can’t help but feel it’s unfair. Some even compare the situation to forcing a commoner to watch the emperor’s lavish lifestyle every day.
Mixing kindness with a competitive culture aims to push the contestants to work extremely hard.
So, the dormitory assignment situation didn’t cause much excitement.
Xu Ling skipped all the training sessions and focused on editing all the interactive stickers with precision. Her smile grew wider as she couldn’t resist punching the dinosaur plush toy in her arms or taking a big gulp of sparkling wine, her face full of joy.
The bullet comments in the video also changed accordingly:
"Great Devil is so polite and well-behaved. Is this her true personality off-camera? The contrast is intriguing, makes me want to pinch her."
"Honey Qing is so nurturing, she helps Xie Qingxuan with her hair, goes out to eat with Liang Xiaoxiao, reads fairy tales to Tang Liuli… she really gives off a motherly vibe!"
"It’s true, she’s the youngest, right? Yet so mature and caring towards others."
"The evaluation is the kindergarten principal."
The first season of the show is divided into two parts, totaling 200 minutes.
Introduction and stage evaluation take up about 90 minutes in the beginning.
The following 110 minutes cover dormitory updates, introduction of practice rooms at different levels, editing training progress of each room, and occasional behind-the-scenes moments to entertain the audience.
Due to mediocre performances, many clips were ruthlessly edited out in the post-production, with several contestants having less than 30 seconds of screen time out of the initial 101 participants.
So, those who were kept are basically the highlights.
Chu Yuanqing’s stage presence being retained can be attributed to the two consecutive buffs she received.
In such situations, the pace and anticipation fluctuate continuously, and without having watched the live broadcast beforehand, there would be no desire to fast forward through the entire program.
Video bullet comments, various small groups, forums, Weibo discussions all keenly detect a fresh CP pairing:
"Have you noticed that the other three contestants besides Chu Yuanqing don’t know each other well? In the edited video, they don’t even look or talk to each other, but the overall atmosphere in the dormitory is very good and harmonious."
"Oh, I see! So, Chu Yuanqing is like having different chemistry reactions with each of the three people, right?"
