Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 127 Judges VS Contestants
Feng Xiaogang stayed in Tianjin for three days and eventually returned to Beijing with three versions of the outline: the version without the black element, the version with the black element, and the version with the black element.

Then Zhang Yan stopped paying attention to the matter, figuring that Feng Xiaogang would definitely not revoke his authorship rights.

As for the specific filming process...

I'll help with the script since we're all friends, but if I get involved in the actual filming, how am I supposed to explain it to Tianjin TV?

Moreover, the preliminary rounds of "I Am a Singer" are about to begin, and nearly 100 contestants will be eliminated down to 32 over a total of ten days.

Zhang Yan is so busy every day, how could he have time to care about "Beijingers in New York"?
…………

"Director Yan, Teacher Zhang, Liu Huan has broken the contract!"

As a result, the busier they were, the more likely things were to go wrong. The production team had originally invited Liu Huan to be a sharp-tongued judge, mainly because Liu Huan was from Tianjin and had studied crosstalk as a child, so his ability to insult people was at a professional level.

Liu Huan initially agreed readily, but after reading the script provided by the TV station, he backed out at the last minute.

"Why didn't Liu Huan say he wanted to withdraw earlier?! Now he's suddenly doing this, isn't he just creating problems for us?!"

Yan Xiaoming was alarmed when he heard the news. Although Liu Huan was the junior among the four judges, the responsibility he bore was greater than that of the other three combined.

Now that Liu Huan has suddenly quit, where are we going to find a suitable, sharp-tongued judge?

Zhang Yan suggested, "If all else fails, how about I find a rock singer to be a judge? There are plenty of loudmouths among rock singers, so I'm not afraid of offending anyone."

In fact, many rock singers would love to do this in order to promote themselves—ideally, they could also criticize the other judges, because that's what they consider true 'rock and roll'.

"This……"

Yan Xiaoming hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's fine if there are a few rock singers among the contestants, but if we let rock singers be judges, wouldn't that be like letting them into the inner circle?"

This is the current mainstream media's attitude towards rock music, and it's also why Zhang Yan doesn't want to sign too many rock singers.

Yan Xiaoming rejected Zhang Yan's suggestion, thought for a moment, and then asked, "How about letting Jiang Dawei take over?"

The original plan was for four judges, two men and two women. The female judges were Li Guyi and Zhu Fengbo, who were known as "Zhu in the South and Li in the North", while the male judges were Jiang Dawei and Liu Huan, who were from Tianjin.

"not so good."

Zhang Yan shook his head and said, "Jiang Dawei had a lot of complaints about having a sharp-tongued judge in the first place, so how could he possibly be willing to play that role?"

"What should I do?"

"How about we publicly post a call for volunteers and see if anyone is willing to volunteer? Fortunately, the preliminary rounds won't be televised; we'll only film some behind-the-scenes footage, so it won't matter much if there are any harsh judges."

"It can only be the."

As the preliminary round approached, Tianjin TV urgently issued a public announcement, hoping to find a musician who "can speak frankly about the singers' shortcomings and is not afraid of offending people" to form the judging panel for the final round with "Nan Zhu Bei Li" and Jiang Dawei.

After this news was released, someone approached Liu Huan.

"Brother Huan, didn't that show on Tianjin TV ask you to be a judge? Why did they suddenly change you? Did they kick you out, or did you kick them out?"

"Hey~"

Liu Huan complained, "That's not a good job. If it were just about picking at your throat, that would be one thing, but you also have to act along with the production team. You'd just be a clown!"

"How should we coordinate?"

The visitor frowned and said, "Are you being asked to lie and promote their pre-selected singer?"

"No, it's not that. On the contrary, it's about me deliberately finding fault and then letting the contestant showcase an amazing voice..."

"What's there to be afraid of? You can sing after he's finished. I heard most of them are amateurs this time. Even if they're amazing, can they outshine us?!"

"This……"

Liu Huan said speechlessly, "I went there to be a judge, and now I'm getting into a fight with the contestants. What kind of behavior is this?"

"I think it's quite interesting. As long as they dare to let me sing, I'm willing to help them curse people out—Huan-ge, can you help me get in touch with them? I'll talk to them first!"

"You..." Liu Huan was speechless, but seeing that the other party insisted, and that he had offended his hometown TV station by standing him up, he really needed to make amends.

So he contacted Zhang Yan.

"Teacher Zhang, I'm so sorry, I really have something else important to do, otherwise... no, no, I wanted to recommend someone to you, my junior sister Na Ying—yes, yes, the one who sings 'The Mountain Doesn't Turn, the Water Turns'!"

Na Ying's current fame is far behind the other three, and if it weren't for the time constraints, the production team would never have agreed to it.

But aren't people desperate and willing to try anything these days?
In addition, Na Ying has several songs on the charts, one of which is a duet with Wang Fei, so Zhang Yan suggested that he contact Na Ying first.

Yan Xiaoming was not very satisfied with this candidate, so after meeting her, he bluntly asked Na Ying why she felt she was qualified to be a judge.

"Because I sing well!"

The eagle wasn't intimidated at all: "If you're talking about bel canto, then I'm indeed not as good as Li Guyi and Zhu Fengbo, but isn't this a popular song competition? Why don't you bring them over, and I'll compete with them to see who's more qualified to be a judge!"

This person really dares to speak their mind.

Even if her senior sister Mao Amin came, she probably wouldn't dare to speak arrogantly to the two seniors.

However, this is exactly what the production team needs.

Zhang Yan and Yan Xiaoming exchanged glances, and Zhang Yan continued the conversation by asking, "I heard from Liu Huan that you also have some requirements for the production team?"

"Correct!"

The eagle, arms crossed, cut to the chase: "You just want to promote someone, right? I can cooperate, but after your person makes a name for themselves, you can't stop me from finding fault. Besides, I'm going to go on stage and sing a song to prove I'm right!"

This……

She's not only outspoken, she's also quite imaginative!

Zhang Yan pressed on with interest, "What if you lose?"

"impossible!"

The eagle first denied the possibility, then resolutely said, "If I lose, I will step down and become a contestant, and invite your people up to be judges—I mean what I say, and anyone who goes back on their word is a coward!"

After talking with Na Ying, the production team had a long discussion, and Zhang Yan ultimately chose Na Ying over the majority opinion.

Although it seems absurd these days for judges to go on stage and challenge singers to one-on-one matches, and could even be classified as a broadcasting mishap, it's perfect for creating buzz.

To make Na Ying's appearance more plausible, the production team planned to highlight her identity as Gu Jianfen's beloved disciple and Mao Amin and Liu Huan's junior sister during the introduction.

As a result, the eagle was unhappy.

"Why do you always emphasize my master and A Mao? I respect my master very much, but I feel that you don't respect me enough!"

After hearing her protest, Zhang Yan wrote a note and handed it to her, saying, "If you'd like, you can say these words on the show, and you can even add this line to the script."

The eagle took the note and found that it read, "I am who I am, a firework of a different color."

Her eyes lit up immediately, and she exclaimed excitedly, "This is great, this is great! This is truly the work of a great writer—I can take this as my motto, and I will definitely write it into a song someday!"

The eagle was satisfied.

But when Tian Zhen heard that Ying had become a judge, he was dissatisfied: "She's a year younger than me, and not much more famous than me. Why should she be a judge? Just because she has a master and two famous senior brothers and sisters?! This is a singing competition, not a competition about who has the bigger background!"

Na Ying and Zhang Yan were both born in 67.

"Then you can challenge her on the show."

Zhang Yan chuckled and said, "Since that eagle is asking to step down and fight back against the contestants, the contestants can of course take the initiative to challenge that eagle—but it's best to find a suitable reason, such as standing up for a friend or something."

By the way, the eagle herself said that if she loses, she'll step down and become a contestant, letting the winner come on stage to be a judge.

Now Tian Zhen was full of fighting spirit, determined to overthrow the eagle and take the throne.

(End of this chapter)