How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 378 Blind
on Monday.

The news of Tianxi Media launching a brand new girl group has not yet faded from the internet, and another event has ignited the entire music industry.

被誉为‘超级新星’的歌手唐艺发布首张个人专辑《独一无二》，开售1小时就突破7万张，2小时突破11万张，3小时突破15万张。

Although album sales can't compare to those of popular singers, this is still a remarkable achievement for a newcomer.

He is also the singer who has sold 10 albums the fastest among the newcomers who debuted in the last three years.

Moreover, fans have given the album's songs rave reviews, and related topics have surged in popularity, even trending on social media.

"The title track 'Unique' is so good. Tang Yi uses music to showcase women's personality and opinions, encouraging women to pursue self-expression and independent thinking. I'm listening to it on repeat."

"The moment 'Carnival' started playing, I was blown away. The electronic dance music style is absolutely amazing, completely different from 'Human World'. The more you listen to the whole album, the more addictive it becomes. Highly recommended!"

"I declare that the song 'Nian' is the best Chinese style song of the year. The combination of classical culture and pop music is simply irresistible."

"A seasoned music lover must praise the quality of this album. Whether it's a ballad or a fast-paced track, it demonstrates an extremely high standard. Not only are the lyrics profound and meaningful, but the melodies are also very memorable. Every song can withstand repeated listening. These past few months have been well worth the wait."

Besides fans, some professional music critics also gave Tang Yi's album high praise.

"Tang Yi's new album is as amazing as her debut single 'Human World.' Her voice is still clear and bright. She not only maintains her personal characteristics but also makes many attempts. The title track 'Unique' is very catchy. As a woman, I give it 9.5 points..."

"As a new singer, Tang Yi's new album has already exceeded the passing grade. Listening to the whole album, her personal characteristics are quite prominent. Her low notes are stable, her high notes are bright, and her transitions are not stiff. The album's song selection also avoids pop songs, and the lyrics express a lot of life insights. Although they are difficult to sing, they are very pleasant to listen to."

"Tang Yi's voice combined with Zhang Wen's lyrics and music is simply the most perfect combination. The moment the hit song maker chose to make its move, Tang Yi's album was destined not to disappoint fans."

"..."

On a certain music platform, the album's title track "Unique" debuted at number one on the new song chart and also dominated the number one spot on the hot song chart.

To promote her new album, Tang Yi went live on Douyin (TikTok), where she not only shared the creative process behind each song with her fans but also actively answered questions from netizens, attracting over 50 viewers at one point.

"Why is tipping disabled? I want all my fans to come here. If you want to support me, you can buy my new album."

"I've already bought it, and I really like it. Thank you for your support."

"When will I hold a concert? Well, there are no plans to hold a concert for the time being, and I don't have enough songs to support a concert."

"Is Zhang Wen handsome? Yes, Mr. Zhang is very handsome, not inferior to male celebrities at all. He is a man of both talent and good looks, and he is also my idol."

"Asking Zhang Wen to write more songs? That's not up to me. By the way, our Tianxi Media will be launching a girl group called 'Future Girls' on September 20th, which is this weekend. This group was created by Teacher Zhang himself, and the five members are also my good friends. Everyone can look forward to it."

"Are they pretty? Definitely pretty, and with five members and five different styles, there's bound to be one you'll like."

"..."

The live stream lasted for 6 hours, and the account's followers increased from 32 at the start of the stream to 242 million at the end, gaining more than two million followers.

And this number is still increasing.

Because Tang Yi talked a lot about the group 'Future Girls' during her live stream, the related topic once again became a trending topic.

The fact that the group was created by Zhang Wen, a famous songwriter known as a hit song maker, has made the public even more excited about the 'future girls'.

As time went by, Tang Yi's album sales continued to increase.

On the first day of its release, the album sold over 50 copies.

The album sold over 80 copies on its second day of release.

On the third day of its release, the album sold over 110 million copies and also achieved gold record certification on music platforms.

So far this year, more than 20 singers have released new albums, including newcomers who have been in the industry for one or two years as well as established singers who have been in the industry for more than ten or twenty years. However, only 4 of them have sold more than a million albums.

With Tang Yi included, there are now 5 people.

Just as Tang Yi's new album was still breaking sales records, the third episode of "Super Trainee" was officially released on Friday night.

Because the results of the first elimination round were about to be announced, this episode attracted a lot of attention, and its viewership far exceeded that of the previous two episodes at the same time.

At the start of the show, the voting results of the previous elimination round were displayed on the large screen at the back of the stage.

Second place: Feng Mingyue, 1126221 votes.

2st place: Xie Jingying, 1103943 votes.

Compared to the voting results on the first day after voting began, the top two positions changed. Feng Mingyue, who was originally in second place, overtook Xie Jingying on the last day to become the first place winner in the first round of the elimination tournament.

The rankings have also changed significantly, showing that fans are voting wildly to support their favorite trainees.

On the contrary, the rankings of the last few trainees did not change much.

He Xia, who was originally ranked 17th, successfully surpassed Chen Silu, who was originally ranked 15th, and escaped the fate of being eliminated.

Chen Silu was pushed down from 15th to 16th place, and was eliminated along with Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi and Su Jin.

When the national producer Liu Yifei announced the results, the screen was filled with doubts and criticisms.

"Why was Chen Silu eliminated? I voted for her every day, were you all blind?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! The best people were eliminated! I strongly doubt the authenticity of this ranking!"

"Is the voting system broken?"

"There's something fishy going on. There's definitely something fishy going on."

As if it had gained everyone's approval, almost all the comments quickly turned into two words: "behind-the-scenes manipulation."

Of course, some people have refuted this.

"Bullshit, losing means it's all rigged? Don't be a sore loser, okay?"

"You cast all your votes for Chen Silu, but our entire company voted for Feng Mingyue. Is it so hard to admit that someone else is better?"

"The voting list is updated every moment, so what kind of shady dealings could there be? If you lost, you lost. Don't embarrass yourself."

"You say the 5 eliminated people were excellent, but the 15 who advanced are just as good, okay?"

At first, users debated with each other, but as more and more people participated, the incident gradually escalated, and the barrage turned into a massive war of words.

Immediately, the number of comments on the third episode surged.

Even though the second knockout round has begun, there is still no sign of a ceasefire between the two sides.

At the same time, a news item about the show also appeared on the trending search list.

The results of the first elimination round of "Super Trainee" are out.

In addition to announcing the list of eliminated trainees, the news also commented on the performances of the five trainees on stage.

"Chen Silu, No. 9, Mentor's comments: Her breath control was unstable when singing, causing her to sing off-key. Her dance moves were out of sync with the music rhythm. Her singing and dancing coordination needs to be improved." "Zhao Tong, No. 1, Mentor's comments: Her basic dance skills are not solid. The angle and strength of her movements did not meet the standards. Some of the high-difficulty moves were performed perfunctorily. She needs to strengthen her basic training."

"Zhang Jiajia, No. 3, mentor's comments: The performance was emotionally flat throughout. He failed to convey the core emotion of the song through his body and voice, making it difficult to resonate with the audience."

"Cheng Sisi, No. 7, Mentor's comments: During the team performance, she repeatedly forced the beat, clashed with her teammates' positioning, and lacked awareness of tacit cooperation. She needs to strengthen her teamwork training."

"Su Jin, No. 16, Mentor's comments: Her performance was loose, lacked focus, and her eyes were evasive and lacked confidence. She needs to strengthen her stage presence."

"..."

Xingxiang Art Examination Training Center.

Zhang Wen had been following the third episode of "Super Trainee" closely. When he saw the trending topic, he immediately logged into Weibo, tagged the news, and added two words before it: "Blind!"
After posting on Weibo, he still wasn't satisfied, so he clicked the 'Apply for Authentication' button at the bottom of the page, submitted various materials, and got real-name authentication, directly confronting the program team.

Unfortunately, the review process takes 1 to 3 days, so his true identity cannot be revealed to everyone immediately.

But this doesn't bother him.

He called Jiang Xin directly and asked her to buy a trending topic for his Weibo post.

Shortly after the news that "the results of the first elimination round of 'Super Trainee' are out" became a trending topic, another news item related to the show became a trending topic.

Songwriter Zhang Wen questioned the elimination results of "Super Trainee", saying that the mentors were blind.

One stone caused a thousand waves!

We've seen plenty of celebrities subtly mocking others on Weibo, but it's rare to see someone dare to directly hurl insults, let alone one person insulting five people, which ignited the entire internet and even alarmed the entire entertainment industry.

what?
Zhang Wen accused the mentors of "Super Trainee" of being blind?

Who are the mentors on "Super Trainee"?
National goddess Liu Yifei, music sprite Li Yuqi, pop diva Cai Yaxuan, singing and dancing prince Wang Shengjie, and genius singer Peng Jie.

All five mentors are popular celebrities in the entertainment industry. Teacher Zhang scolded all five of them at once. Is he crazy?

Even if he's not crazy, he's definitely drunk fake alcohol.

Because the five of them had so many fans, Zhang Wen's Weibo account was immediately flooded with people.

"Who do you think you are, daring to insult my sister?"

"So what if he wrote a few lousy songs? What's so great about that?"

"Apologize! You must apologize to my brother!"

"What right do you have to question my brother? When my brother debuted, you were still wearing open-crotch pants."

"Ugliness brings trouble!"

"..."

The five mentors were also completely baffled when they saw the news online.

what's the situation?
How did you go blind?

Facing thousands of celebrity fans, Zhang Wen did not back down and replied directly in the comments section.

"I'll curse anyone who makes a comment!"

"If your brother had even a little better eyesight, he wouldn't have commented on those five eliminated trainees like that!"

"Go back and watch the show. The five trainees who were eliminated were the five trainees who performed best in the last episode. The people who voted were blind, and the people who gave the comments were blind."

"Sorry, I'm very handsome!"

"..."

Zhang Wen's reply would have been fine if he hadn't replied, but his reply immediately caused the already hostile comment section to explode.

More fans of the five mentors flooded the comment section, and the number of comments quickly exceeded 10,000, with more fans leaving messages continuously.

Zhang Wen neither banned people nor closed the comment section; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

For him, the bigger the commotion, the better; the more people who know about it, the better; and ideally, the buzz should last until tomorrow.

Because tomorrow is the official debut day of the 'Future Girls' group.

After his outburst, when everyone finds out that the members of the 'Future Girls' group are the five trainees who were eliminated from 'Super Trainee', they will definitely be unable to resist listening to their songs and watching their music videos.

That'll bring in the traffic, won't it?
This is what it means to sacrifice one person for the happiness of five.

What a magnificent spirit of selflessness!

In the past, it was about helping others for pleasure; now it's about selflessly helping others, which elevates one's moral character to a higher level.

Zhang Wendu was starting to admire himself a little.

Just as he was responding to netizens and enjoying it, his phone suddenly vibrated. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Li Yuqi.

Uh……

The person involved called personally; could it be that they're angry?

Zhang Wen answered the phone while thinking about it.

"Hello? Yuqi, what's up?"

"Teacher Zhang, I need to clarify something with you. I have never commented on your students like that. I swear, I have no idea who said those comments online, really." Li Yuqi's voice was full of anxiety.

She has just gotten in touch with Teacher Zhang and wants him to write songs for her in the future. If he misunderstands, wouldn't that be like undermining her own efforts?
"I know it wasn't you who said it, and I didn't say you're blind. What I meant was that the production team and the voters are blind. It has nothing to do with you. I'm sure you've seen my Weibo, right? The trending topics are all just other people's wild interpretations. Don't take them to heart," Zhang Wen explained with a smile, not only appearing nonchalant but also comforting the other person.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuqi immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She recalled that Teacher Zhang's Weibo post only contained two words: "blind," without specifying who it referred to.

“Teacher Zhang, it was director Chen Peng’s decision to eliminate your student. He has told us mentors to find fault with your student more than once in the earpiece. Anyway, I think Zhao Tong and others performed better than the other trainees in the last competition,” Li Yuqi said seriously.

It not only revealed the truth of the matter but also expressed its own attitude.

"I know, thank you for telling me this."

Although Zhang Wen knew everything, the fact that the other party could say these words of defending him meant that they were on his side, but they were just powerless to do so.

"It's nothing. Actually, I also don't like what the production team did. I think those online polls are inaccurate too." Li Yuqi was home alone, so she spoke very boldly.

“Great minds think alike!” Zhang Wen said.

The fact that the other party could say such things shows that they really don't consider him an outsider!

……

(End of this chapter)