Entertainment: Is this how you play music?!

Chapter 389 Variety Show Exposed: A True Battle of Gods!

While the boss was pondering, Jiang Youzhen already had an idea.

Aggressive and conservative marketing strategies for idols each have their own advantages and disadvantages. They have avoided many major scandals, but in terms of making money, they are quite different from those top celebrities who quickly became popular but whose marketing mishaps led to their fleeting fame.

A slow and steady approach isn't really suitable for idols. Although Kang Yoo-jin is only 24 years old, she's already considered old for an idol.

Only Jiang Youzhen knows how powerful the shockwave is as she faces generation after generation of newly formed, fast-growing idols.

The next options are either to give up and let new generations replace the old, or to trade their entire career for a fleeting moment of fame, creating some explosive hype in an attempt to earn one last huge amount of traffic.

Either learn from those predecessors who returned from South Korea, explore new paths, and transform from idols into so-called "talented" artists. Even if they can't become truly talented, at least they can be normal entertainers, shedding the idol label and transforming themselves into successful veterans.

If used well, this variety show by Tencent could be the best start for a transformation.

Once the right opportunity arises and a good performance is achieved, subsequent marketing and reshaping of one's persona will be a breeze.

"Xiao Jiang, are you confident?"

Gu Qing frowned in thought, then suddenly asked a question.

Seemingly realizing that there was some ambiguity in his words, he added a sentence.

"I don't expect anything amazing, just that I don't crash and burn, that I don't lose too badly, and that I don't annoy the audience."

The transformation from an idol to a performer with real talent is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight.

Humans need a process of progress.

If he can deliver a decent performance in this variety show, without making the death too bizarre, and with some humble remarks and promotion of his subsequent works, he has a chance to go further.

"That's definitely no problem, Mr. Gu."

Jiang Youzhen had to consider whether this was a fleeting, only chance, and after a moment of frowning, she gritted her teeth and made up her mind.

Rush!

How bad can it get?
You've been in the entertainment industry for so many years, what isn't a risk? If you're not even willing to take this small risk, what kind of star are you?
"Yes, having confidence is a good thing."

Gu Qing glanced at Jiang Youzhen and immediately understood what she was thinking.

This kid's brain has been blown out of shape by this opportunity; he's started talking nonsense.

Are you sure there won't be any problems?
Just send it by express, forget it.

Leaving aside the DP band, among the few artists in the industry who are interested in participating, none of them are easy to deal with. What kind of confidence do you, an artist who wants to change his image, have?

But it's not a big problem.

Gu Qing asked this question mainly to see Jiang Youzhen's condition.

Take a gamble.

If you're really confident, would it still be considered gambling?
"Okay, I'll arrange it for you. Just remember to control your temper and act like a dog on the production team."

Gu Qing's words were merciless and extremely harsh, not at all like something a CEO would say.

But this is the norm.

A money tree should act like a money tree. It can do whatever you want at other times, but once there's a real problem, a disobedient money tree should be repaired without any hesitation.

The fact that Gu Qing spoke so bluntly already shows that Jiang Youzhen has a lot of influence in the company. If it were just some nobody, the boss would be too lazy to even say anything, and if they couldn't figure it out themselves, then goodbye, and they'd replace them with someone more insightful.

"Yes, don't worry, boss."

Jiang Youzhen showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever.

Knowing which groups you can be a father to and which groups you must be a dog to has become second nature to Jiang Youzhen.

This is the advantage of conservative marketing. It may not lead to the same kind of rapid wealth accumulation and subsequent arrogance seen in other young celebrities, but it cultivates a sound mind and the ability to assess situations.

However, not everyone brought a brain.

Risk comes with opportunity; the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish, and the more expensive it is, the more frenzied the market becomes.

As news spread rapidly within the industry, even before the general public was aware of it, Tencent had already encountered a certain degree of pressure.

Even some well-known figures have come forward to contact Tencent, wanting to insert people into the show and manipulate the results.

Sing live? Stage presence is everything?

Some big shots don't even bother to look at it; all they want is a piece of the pie. Talking big? That's just fooling kids!
It was only after being rejected that I realized it was true.

Since it's not feasible, the big boss won't force it, but there will always be some displeasure. There won't be any negative feedback, so it won't offend anyone, but the big boss's impression isn't good, and even Tencent will feel a lot of pressure.

During his free time, Mr. Li called Li Can.

There was a hint of complaint in his words.

After all, these bigwigs are not just businessmen.

Refusal is a minor matter, but losing face a little is something that needs to be made up for. It's perfectly acceptable to exert some reasonable pressure to demonstrate one's authority.

It won't affect my work, but the pressure out of nowhere is a bit nauseating.

After hanging up the phone, Li Can pondered for a moment.

Mr. Li's message was clear: he was informing them of the current situation and asking if there were any low-cost solutions. If not, it wouldn't be a major problem, and they could weather the storm.

But clearly, this is Tencent trying to do a small favor.

If we can handle it ourselves, the show can be more at ease. We can just consider it a small favor owed to Tencent. If we can't handle it or the cost is too high and we don't want to do it, it's not a big problem. We can just treat this call as a rant.

After thinking for a moment, Li Can suddenly shouted.

"Brother Feng, Brother Feng! Where is he?"

"here I am."

Lin Feng's voice rang out, carrying a hint of teasing.

"What's wrong with our invincible Brother Can this time? He's even calling Brother Feng?"

"There really is something I need to discuss."

Li Can looked at Lin Feng and smiled slightly.

"Oh? Tell me."

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow, showing slight interest.

After listening to Li Can recount the whole story, Lin Feng couldn't help but smile.

"It is a bit disgusting, but it is not a big problem. My suggestion is to improve the structure of the variety show and see if there are any areas for cooperation. In that case, inviting people to help out under the pretext of cooperation can keep some of the monsters in check."

"Or, invite Oklahoma City to join in and create an international collaboration. As long as the scale is large enough, it can deter many people from having any ulterior motives."

"Hmm, what Brother Feng said makes some sense."

Li Can nodded.

Inviting someone to perform is not something that can be done casually.

If he really wanted to go all out, Li Can could definitely bring out the patriarch.

Even within the arts and culture world, the mere presence of these true masters is enough to deter those with ulterior motives.

But that would be a waste, unless the founder truly had the idea of ​​cooperating.

As for hiring a few foreigners, that's a possibility.

When it comes to internal squabbles, some people might try to take advantage of the situation. But once it involves outsiders, you have to rely on your strength. At the very least, you can't do anything too outrageous. Otherwise, for the big shots, this will definitely be seen as a sign that you "don't know how to prioritize."

"I'll think about this some more. I really don't want to involve too many other factors. However, if it can improve the stage performance, it's not out of the question. They may be willing to go astray, but we can't forget our roots."

“I could invite Okali, or rather, not just Okali, I’ll call her now.”

A decision was made.

Li Can then began to take action.

There were absolutely no problems communicating with Okali. When she heard that there was a show with less of a competitive element and more of a performance element where they could share the stage, Okali didn't hesitate at all.

After thinking about it carefully.

Li Can approached Winnie again.

After giving a few instructions, Winnie nodded, took out her phone, and turned to leave.

Only after relaxing did Li Can notice Lin Feng's slightly twitching expression.

"No, Li Can, is it really that serious?"

Lin Feng couldn't help but complain.

"Metal Storm, is that it? You called them here too?!"

"This pressure is off the charts!"

"If I'm not happy about it, I won't participate. Young people need a bit of excitement."

Li Can smiled and gave a thumbs up.

The Chinese entertainment industry has been out of touch with what a real performance is for far too long. If we're going to do something like this, we should present the audience with the highest level of stage performance in China, or even the world.

With fine bran available, only people with diabetes would eat coarse grains.

"As for the format of the program, we don't need to consider that. Just give us your opinion and let them do what they want."

"OK!"

As time slowly passed, preparations continued to progress.

Finally, in mid-April, seeing that the controversy had reached its peak and the scope of dissemination was nearing its theoretical limit, Tencent seized the opportunity and launched the first round of marketing and promotion for "The Stage of Kings"!

[A real stage that pushes the limits of imagination; here, you will experience unparalleled, god-like live performances.]

Every live performance is a rebirth for the music.

While the promotional campaign was in full swing, audiences were still complaining about the terrible performance at Yu Glory.

When people are extremely dissatisfied, it's inevitable that a group of people will subconsciously feel disgust.

Although DP delivered a truly divine live performance, driving countless viewers wild and generating immense buzz, this very contrast made those other bands seem even worse, and simultaneously intensified the dissatisfaction with them.

Netizens felt that this broken-down stage was a disservice to Lin Xin and the DP band, and that the stark contrast made them dissatisfied with the entire entertainment industry.

After all, the excellent performances of DP Band and Lin Xin proved that it is entirely possible to have an excellent stage performance, but unfortunately, so many outrageous pieces of garbage are gathered together.

What does this prove?
This only proves that rubbish is the norm in this industry, and true talent is the minority!

[Pure marketing. They're even talking about a god-level live performance. They should fix that awful mess first. Besides not being able to sing, that guy insisted on going on stage. The director should at least book a bed in a mental hospital.]

[Hilarious! A truck overturned and then a god-like scene unfolded? Do you think I believe it?]

[If you ask me, DP should just stay away from domestic music variety shows; they're dragging down their own value.]

Indeed, this performance really put Feng Ge and his team to a bad start.

[The stage for kings? Pure Saber's name.]

But soon.

Such doubts were thus dispelled!

Along with the program's promotional materials, a partial list of the performing guests was also released!

Some netizens were shocked when they saw the list.

Scrolling through the comments section, I was about to express my excitement when I saw the criticisms, and I immediately retorted with great dissatisfaction.

Stop talking nonsense! Are you blind? Take a look at the list first!

[Holy crap, I'm suffocating! Is this for real?!]

This is outrageous! What kind of connections do they have?! Huh?!

[After seeing the cast list, I immediately started following! Holy crap! If things proceed normally, this show's reputation as a phenomenal success is practically guaranteed!]

The outcry from excited netizens surprised the disgruntled ones.

I subconsciously searched for the list of guests on the show.

Then the same cake craze.

Holy crap! I was wrong! This is godlike!

I never imagined in my life that these people would actually get together at one table!

The initial list only included four groups of performers.

DP, Metal Storm, Zheng Jie, and Okali.

Zheng Jie is a familiar name to everyone. His excellent live performance skills, superb abilities, and steady improvement have allowed him to establish himself among the top singers. Having Zheng Jie on stage guarantees a high-quality performance.

What about the others? They're even more heavyweight!

Lighthouse, a rising star in the pop music scene, gained various exposures and awards with "Love Me Like You Do," and with the help of Lee Chan's album, she steadily shed the "little" from her name.

Despite her young age, she already possesses all the qualities a "Queen of Pop" should have!

Needless to say, Metal Storm is another example.

This is a top international band that has been passed down through generations of musicians!
It's often said that there aren't many bands that can rival DP live, but Metal Storm, in perfect form, is definitely one of them.

Well, it looks like a real fight is about to take place!

The audience was incredibly excited.

It's important to understand that in typical programs, older performers mentor younger ones, and established artists guide newcomers. Smaller programs can't accommodate too many "Buddhist masters" (or "experts"), so they usually only need one or two to ensure the program's success and to keep things in check.

The audience felt that the stage for Glory was completely over the top, but they didn't deny much about the overall structure; what they did deny was that the lowest level of achievement was just too low.

But now, exciting and anticipated names are appearing on the same program's list at the same time.

That's like looking at the upper limit while only seeing the lower limit; you can't see the top while only seeing the upper limit.

Who knows what kind of performance this will be!
The two groups of foreign performers, in particular, added another layer of meaning to the program.

Among netizens, there are quite a few core fans of the DP band.

Seeing this list, it's hard not to suspect that Li Can was secretly recruiting people behind the scenes.

Nobody would believe me if I said it had nothing to do with Li Can!

After seeing this, many netizens even had a dual abstract déjà vu feeling, as if "DP band might have attracted the Japanese" and "DP band is guarding the country's borders."

It's like the feeling of "I'm going to lure foreigners in and kill them" but "I might also get killed myself."

Holy crap! Holy crap! This is getting exciting!

【Fight! Fight! 】

[Damn, even if this show is incredibly boring, it's still fucking exciting!]

The Chinese music scene has collapsed.

[Zheng Jie, hang in there! You must persevere!]

[A stage for kings! This is the real deal, it's electrifying!]

For the first time in a long time, netizens felt a strong sense of anticipation and worry, but the anticipation outweighed the underlying anxiety.

In contrast to the stage of complete disaster.

The Stage of the King

The level of attention generated by just one round of promotion has already surpassed that of many other music variety shows in the same category!

(End of this chapter)