After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 169 Elimination
"#The final week of the August 1st themed competition for the 'Chinese Music Awards' Red Song Season: 5 rounds of competition!#"

While Shen Mingen has ruined many top celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, this topic has also begun to climb rapidly on the hot search lists of various platforms with the announcement of the new round of topics for "Chinese Music Awards".

To be honest, many netizens were shocked when they heard this news...

The comments section was almost entirely filled with criticism:
【No way, is this another instance of targeting us?】

How much popularity did Shen Mingen contribute to your show? Without Shen Mingen, would you be where you are today? Could your show have become a national phenomenon and a hit?

[Could your show have gotten so many sponsors without Shen Ming'en?!]

How dare you continue to target me!

[How many times has this happened already? Is this never going to end?]

[Your production team byd*&%￥#@……]

……

Let alone fans, anyone with a discerning eye can see just how "targeted" this proposition is.

It's really unfair to Shen Mingen. He single-handedly revived the entire show, even though he was forced to do so at the time. But how much popularity and profit did "Chinese Music Awards" gain from him?

Without him, would this show have become the national phenomenon and hit variety show it is today?
Even if it's a case of capital targeting you, shouldn't your production team do something about it?
Do you really want to eliminate Shen Ming'en?

Okay...

Eliminate them!
Even if he's eliminated, my brother will only become more famous!

But your production team is in trouble...

Let's see if your show can maintain its popularity without Shen Ming'en, and whether your sponsors will leave you!

Voices of indignation for Shen Mingen gradually spread, and many people were commenting on Shen Mingen's personal social media account:

Brother, let's go!

Let's stop wasting time on this show, it's pointless!

They're ungrateful, so there's no need for us to keep giving them free publicity.

You'll only be better off without them, but they'll be useless without you!

Fortune changes every thirty years; never underestimate a young person's potential!

【Ahhh! Watch me transform my battle aura into a horse!】

……

The online discussion was in an uproar, with voices of injustice even reaching the top of the trending topics list. Seeing this trending topic, Director Niu, the chief director of "Chinese Music Music Center: Red Song Season," was filled with rage...

He really wanted to tell everyone that it wasn't that he didn't want to protect Teacher Ming'en, nor that we didn't give him any benefits; it was just that those capitalists couldn't tolerate him!
But he couldn't say these things, because if he did, it would be like dragging those behind-the-scenes capitalists out to take the fall, and he dared not do that...

What made Director Niu feel very fortunate was that, thankfully, their production team wasn't the only one who "courted disaster."

The show next door, "The Ultimate Singer Challenge," is also up to its old tricks!

Isn't Shen Ming'en incredibly popular lately? Everyone knows he's returning to "The Ultimate Singer Challenge" this week to continue his "foreign-driven national salvation" campaign. He probably has some behind-the-scenes capital, and they've got their eye on that...

This week, they directly shoved a young, handsome man into the team!

That young heartthrob is named Zhao Yuan, and he is a very popular idol in a very popular idol group in the current fan circle.

Idols, as those in the know understand, are basically remnants of the last era in the Chinese entertainment industry. To put it bluntly, they rely on their looks to make a living, focusing more on selling bromance on stage, and the highlights of their stage performances are mostly group-based "dance" and the like...

In terms of singing, although they have hired professional vocal teachers, I don't know what's going on now. It seems like all the vocal teachers produce the same thing. You wouldn't say it sounds bad, you could even say it sounds good, but it just doesn't have any distinctiveness or memorability, making it hard for people to remember it.

People already have a prejudice against them, and their singing is so unoriginal, with many even singing off-key or out of tune on stage. So, aside from fans, who among ordinary people can have a good impression of them?
Before the "50-year-old woman guarding the national gate" incident, "The Peak Singer Challenge" was once a very well-known and professional stage for singers to compete. Even now, everyone involved is still a professional singer...

Idols whose popularity is tied to "traffic" should not appear on this kind of stage, not only because they are unprofessional, but also because their popularity can affect the voting.

The worst thing is that if he doesn't sing well, his fans will keep saying, "He still has room for improvement, he's still young, we should be tolerant of him," and they'll vote for him.

Then he went on a rampage, taking down many veterans!
This is absolutely a joke!
When the news broke that Zhao Yuan would be the new guest star, the internet exploded. Anyone with a modicum of common sense could see that BYD was just trying to ride the coattails of the show's popularity, and the comments section was filled with angry remarks.

What's the point of bringing in a young, handsome actor?

"You can do it, but what the hell is the point of bringing in Berkshire Hathaway...?"

[They're not planning to let him follow Shen Ming'en's script and eliminate Isabella, are they?]

[666! Riding the wave of popularity and fabricating a story, you fans should start celebrating now, because you'll celebrate sooner or later regardless of whether it's good or bad.]

……

Fandoms are so stupid. You know, these days, with all those historical dramas and idol dramas, as long as a popular idol star in it, the fans always go on a self-congratulatory spree of all sorts of "celebrations"...

One minute they're celebrating how many times the show's popularity has skyrocketed, the next they're shipping the couple. When the show ended, when almost no one outside the entertainment circle was paying attention, they were already popping champagne, exclaiming "It's a hit!"

It exploded?

What exploded?
Outsiders know nothing, but they start spouting nonsense, calling it some kind of blockbuster drama of the year...

It's fair to say that the film and television industry has almost become a paradise for fan groups.

The music scene is no less so, with fans emphasizing "inclusivity." Nowadays, many young idols don't care if they act or sing poorly; they'll accept whatever their idols feed them, without being picky or discerning, and will eat it with their eyes closed.

In the fandom, Shen Mingen does have some fans, after all, he and Yao Shuli once benefited from the CP (couple) phenomenon... But the problem is that Shen Mingen's image is too "righteous and glorious," and his works are mostly in the mainstream style. To put it bluntly, he is not the kind of person who makes a living in this field.

In that case, if it really comes down to comparing fan base popularity, Shen Ming'en might not be able to beat those people...

Don't underestimate the madness of fandoms. They're the kind of people who would sell milk and dump it just to get votes for their idols.

This can be seen from the many comments from girls in the comments section saying things like, "My Yuanyuan is very outstanding, you should be tolerant of him," and "Is Berklee College of Art and Design a place anyone can just go to?"

Originally, because of the comparison with "Chinese Music Awards," people had a pretty good impression of "Singer of the Year Challenge." But now, not only is "Chinese Music Awards" ungrateful, but even "Singer of the Year Challenge" is starting to act recklessly...

Everyone was very angry!

I just want to ask, whose interests did Shen Mingen just threaten?
"Whose cake did you touch..."

On the plane bound for Changsha, Shen Ming'en checked his phone's trending topics after landing. Seeing his own post, he couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile, thinking to himself:
"This time, it's like taking away most people's share of the pie."

He has dragged the top celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry into a trap. Now it's not just a few giants who want to take action against him; almost all the capital in the Chinese entertainment industry that he has swindled in this wave wants to target him.

It's not good for him, and it's even worse for Ruixing Entertainment. It's a lose-lose situation, but if we can force them to terminate their contracts, it will be good nonetheless.

As for now...

Strictly speaking, Shen Ming'en did not see it as a predicament.

He wasn't worried about the "Chinese Music Awards". Let alone 5 rounds, even 10 rounds or 100 rounds, Shen Ming'en wasn't afraid. The otherworldly music library in his mind was no joke.

It's this "Peak Challenge" event, right...?

Shen Ming'en felt that the intentions of their production team were not entirely pure.

After exiting the airport, Shen Mingen met up with the staff from the production crew who came to pick him up. Surrounded and seeing off by fans, Shen Mingen got into the car with a large number of heartfelt messages written to him by his fans.

When they arrived at the production team's hotel, it wasn't too late, around noon. After lunch, Shen Ming'en went to participate in the rehearsal under the guidance of the staff.

The rehearsal went smoothly and normally, everything was as usual. It is worth mentioning that Yao Shuli might arrive later today due to a flight delay. Shen Ming'en, who finished the rehearsal early, decided to wait for Yao Shuli at the recording site since he hadn't seen her for more than half a month.

While waiting, Shen Ming'en met Zhao Yuan, the replacement guest for this episode. It's worth mentioning that while the director Chen Tao didn't show up during rehearsals with Shen Ming'en and the other guests, even the heavyweight foreign singers, he did when Zhao Yuan appeared. Not only did Chen Tao show up, but he also warmly chatted with Zhao Yuan, leaving many people with puzzled looks...

They treat people differently.

This top idol named Zhao Yuan debuted at a very young age, almost like an "original top idol." He not only has female fans, but also a large group of "mother fans," making him a very well-established idol.

It's said that he has some powerful connections. You know, even Shen Ming'en, when he first came to "The Ultimate Singer Challenge," didn't receive a personal welcome from the chief director, Chen Tao...

Perhaps knowing that he was treating Zhao Yuan differently from others, the chief director Chen Tao made a point of saying goodbye to everyone before leaving, especially to Shen Ming'en.

He greeted everyone normally, but when he left, he specifically patted Shen Ming'en's hand...

The moment his figure disappeared from everyone's sight, he suppressed his smile and said helplessly to the staff member beside him, "Tell Teacher Ming'en to try not to sing any folk or revolutionary songs, and sing some ordinary ones instead. Let's not make things too ugly at the end."

"Ah..." The staff member was taken aback at first, then nodded silently, "Okay."

Although they didn't say it outright, the staff members still felt a little regretful inside...

Yes, that's right. In fact, the "Singer Challenge" was planning to eliminate Shen Ming'en.

Because of Shen Ming'en's recent "domestic products" trend, he has offended too many people and made too many enemies. The pressure on "Peak Singer Challenge" is no less than that on "Chinese Music Center"...

As for "Chinese Music Center", its popularity has been basically supported by Shen Ming'en alone, and sponsors all depend on him. If he leaves, the show basically can't be held.
However, "The Peak Singer Challenge" is different. From the very beginning, their show relied on the "fifty-year-old woman guarding the national gate" to grab attention. Hunan TV may not be good at other things, but it is number one in terms of generating traffic and popularity. Since it was not entirely based on Shen Mingen, eliminating Shen Mingen in a short period of time could still gain a wave of popularity, so it was natural to go with the flow.

This time, it's not their fault; it's all Shen Ming'en's fault for being so troublesome...

It's not a problem to go against capital; the biggest mistake he made was dragging most of the capital in the Chinese entertainment industry into the trap.

After receiving instructions from the director, the staff member returned to the rehearsal site and went straight to Shen Ming'en, who was waiting for Yao Shuli to arrive...

I originally wanted to tell him directly, but after thinking it over, I felt too embarrassed to say it, since Shen Mingen had indeed made a lot of contributions to their show.

As Director Chen said, don't make things too ugly.

After thinking for a moment, the staff member simply turned around and walked out to the main gate, where he waited until Yao Shuli arrived. He then told Yao Shuli what had happened and asked her to tell Shen Ming'en.

"Pattering..."

In the rainy season in the south, there is always a lot of rain. The white soles of shoes will quickly get dirty when stepping on the waterlogged road.

Yao Shuli, who had just gotten off the bus, was originally excited to find Shen Mingen, because she had received a message on the way saying that Shen Mingen was waiting for her at the scene. However, she never expected that as soon as she arrived at the scene, before she even had a chance to see Shen Mingen, she would hear the news that he would be eliminated this episode...

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Even Luo Luo, who was holding an umbrella for Yao Shuli, couldn't help but complain when she heard the news, "He's given you a lot of attention, after all. Even if he's going to be eliminated, you can't just eliminate him like this so suddenly, especially not like this..."

She hesitated for a moment, glancing to both sides to make sure there were no eavesdroppers before gritting her teeth and continuing:

"And he still lost to Zhao Yuan!"

Yes, that's right. The script for this episode of "The Ultimate Singer Challenge" is to prevent Shen Ming'en from singing folk songs and revolutionary songs, and instead have him sing popular songs. Then, Zhao Yuan will launch a surprise attack on him and win the final victory, successfully filling the vacancy.

Shen Ming'en, having achieved his goal, quietly withdrew from the scene...

To be honest, this is a real insult to Shen Ming'en.

Naked humiliation!

A shining example of the Chinese entertainment industry who "drives foreigners to save the country" did not lose to foreign singers or the Grammys, but instead lost to the top stars of the Chinese entertainment industry.
Don't you think it's a little ridiculous?
……

(End of this chapter)