Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 130 A Flawed Heaven and Earth with a Little Red
Sing if you want to sing, let the sound waves penetrate the barrier.

Each syllable is life expanding.

Regardless of whether the applause rings out...

As May approaches, the singing competition promotional ads, which have been airing for half a month, are finally undergoing a change.

Chen Hong's version of "Sing If You Want" was accompanied by clips from the preliminary rounds that appeared on the screen as behind-the-scenes footage.

There was jubilation among those who advanced, dejection among those who lost, and tension, anticipation, eagerness, and even arguments...

Unlike competitions these days that only focus on performance on the field, the trailer for "I Am a Singer" spends most of its time recording scenes offstage.

This made the scene a bit noisy and chaotic, lacking the neatness and seriousness of other singing competitions, but it had its own vibrant and competitive atmosphere.

As Chen Hong's singing ended, the top 32 contestants appeared one by one, with eight contestants repeating a single word, using reduplicated sounds to say "May 4th".

Then everyone shouted together, "I'm crazy about singing!"

The most eye-catching figures in this scene are the three people in the center: a young man with crutches, an old man with a receding hairline, and Han Hong, who looks like a wall.

Because of the disruption caused by the disintegration of SL, the production team wasted too much time, and the "Don't judge a book by its cover" plan could not be truly implemented.

After all, it's not easy to find someone with obvious physical defects who can also sing very well.

These three are among the best.

However, the disabled singer's skill level is about the same as Wang Luyao's—and that doesn't even take into account the advantage of Wang Luyao using original songs.

After this behind-the-scenes footage was broadcast, it caused quite a stir in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, mainly because no one had ever seen such strangely shaped contestants, let alone such a chaotic competition scene.

Some people think Tianjin TV is messing around, while others think this kind of competition is quite novel.

But regardless of whether they held a positive or negative attitude, most people were curious to see what this unique singing competition was all about.

…………

On the evening of May 4th, Youth Day.

Han Hong perfectly replicated her entrance on the dam stage, using a technique of building suspense before revealing her true self, and with an original song "Himalaya" that contrasted sharply with her own image, she stirred up emotions both on and off screen to the extreme.

The line, "I want to sing, to sing for more people," brought tears to the eyes of countless compassionate middle-aged women and won over countless plus-size girls.

But contrary to what was initially agreed upon, after listening to the song, Na Ying chose to remain silent instead of going offstage to confront him.

This might be because she wasn't confident she could completely suppress Han Hong. If they were evenly matched after the match, she, as a judge, would be in a very awkward position.

But this also prevented Tian Zhen from carrying out his plan to rise to power.

Tian Zhen was quite dissatisfied with this, and even after winning the second group, he took the initiative to provoke Na Ying.

This time, Na Ying was genuinely prepared to step down and fight, but Li Guyi stopped him.

Ultimately, at the strong insistence of Li Guyi and Zhu Fengbo, the segment where Tian Zhen provoked Na Ying was deleted by the production team.

Tian Zhen was naturally unconvinced, and the eagle was also filled with resentment.

However, given the unanimous attitude of the other three judges, the two could only suppress their anger for the time being.

In the third group, Han Lei's powerful and majestic singing voice overwhelmed all the competitors, securing the undisputed first place.

The situation in the fourth group was more intense, with Man Wenjun and Li Chunbo engaging in a fierce battle. In the end, Li Chunbo won first place thanks to audience votes, even though his score was slightly lower than Man Wenjun's by the judges.

The battle for fourth place was equally intense.

In the end, the disabled singer lost to Wang Luyao by a hair's breadth.

After this round of competition, the most talked-about group was the "Tian Can Di Que Yi Dian Hong" duo. Tian Can refers to the balding old man, Di Que is the disabled singer, and Yi Dian Hong is naturally Han Hong.

[PS: This nickname was actually given to me by Zhang Yan, but no one except Chen Hong knows it.]

Countless people were moved by Han Hong's "stubborn sincerity," and many lamented the departure of the disabled singer. Some newspapers even openly discussed whether the situation could be reversed if disabled singers were also given the opportunity to perform original songs. At the same time, Na Ying, as a negative example, was also subjected to a barrage of criticism, and her status as a judge was heavily questioned.

Na Ying had prepared herself mentally, but she never expected that in just one week, "I'm Crazy for Singing" would become more popular in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region than any previous CCTV Young Singers Competition.

Faced with the overwhelming public condemnation, Na Ying was also struggling to cope and demanded that the program team help her clear her name. Otherwise, she would rather tear up the contract and accept the punishment than leave the program team.

At the same time, Gu Jianfen also called to say that the theme song she had just composed, "Oath of the Peach Garden," seemed very suitable for Han Lei to sing.

Unfortunately, after discussions, the production team decided to add a segment where Na Ying would sing the theme song at the start of the quarterfinals.

Then, judges like Li Guyi explained on her behalf, saying that she was just extremely strict and serious about singing, and too outspoken, which is why she made some inappropriate remarks.

Then Han Hong took the initiative to step forward and said that the eagle had apologized to her in private and pointed out some of her shortcomings, which had benefited her greatly.

This wave of events can be considered a narrow escape.

But Tian Zhen became increasingly disdainful of Ying, feeling that this woman was two-faced, arrogant at first and obsequious at second, shameless and had no right to be his judge.

So during the Group A competition in the round of 16 to 8, she clashed with Na Ying again. Even with Li Guyi and Zhou Tao acting as peacemakers, the recording was interrupted for a time.

Finally, after obtaining agreement from both parties.

The production team chose to retain the beginning and end of the argument between the two, while playing some 'exciting' clips in the middle at ten times the speed.

This segment immediately sparked heated discussions after it aired, with some media outlets even recording the fast-forwarded parts and replaying them in slow motion in an attempt to reconstruct what the two had actually said.

Unfortunately, after slowing it down, it was discovered that the production team had also muted the audio.

Then reporters tried to get the truth out of Na Ying and Tian Zhen. Both of them kept their mouths shut during the interviews, but when they heard each other's names, they both let out a cold snort.

This gave many tabloids a good idea, and they began to speculate and make all sorts of guesses, even spreading rumors that the two were rivals in love.

Besides this argument, which has garnered significant attention.

The Mediterranean-looking old man was eliminated, leaving only Han Hong as the sole survivor of the "disabled and incomplete" contest, which left many people feeling regretful.

But as a result, Han Hong gained more and more supporters.

On the day of the Group B quarterfinals, the audience was surprised to find that 'Di Que', who had been eliminated before, had reappeared in the round of 16.

On the contrary, Wang Luyao, who narrowly qualified as the fourth-place finisher in her group, failed to participate in the quarterfinals.

This phenomenon quickly attracted media attention, and under constant questioning from some people, the production team "had no choice" but to offer the following explanation to the audience in the trailer for the semi-finals:
Wang Luyao had to withdraw from the competition due to repeated complaints, and was replaced by a disabled singer who ranked fifth in the group.

Just as media reporters were trying to delve deeper into the reasons for the complaint, a lawsuit filed by the Tianjin Women's Federation completely ignited public opinion.

Because in this lawsuit, the Tianjin Women's Federation quoted "The Ode to RU" throughout and proactively disclosed this matter to media reporters.

The Women's Federation believes that the TV station's discriminatory behavior against Ms. Wang Luyao because of her overly healthy physique is a step backward for the times and runs counter to the openness of society!

As early as the beginning of the century, the 'Tianru Movement' and 'Greater NAINIism' were born, thus opening a new chapter in the women's movement.

In this day and age, it's ridiculous that TV stations are still clinging to outdated ideas.

The TV station also hurriedly stepped forward to "clarify" that Wang Luyao's elimination was indeed related to this matter, but it was not the TV station's intention. Rather, it was because there were many complaints that the TV station was forced to take measures.

Before the lawsuit even officially began, it had already become the absolute focus of public opinion, and related reports and discussions quickly spread throughout the country.

At the same time, the broadcasting rights for "I Am a Singer" were also rolled out in full force, and by the time the semi-finals began, the broadcasting rights had spread to 17 provinces.

In response to public opinion, the program invited Wang Luyao to be the opening guest for the semi-finals.

Amidst the eager anticipation of millions of viewers, Wang Luyao unleashed her full power, performing Yang Yuying's signature song, "I Don't Want to Say."

Afterwards, some media outlets confidently claimed that the number of male viewers watching television at that time even surpassed that of the 1992 Spring Festival Gala.

[PS: See author's note for details.]

(End of this chapter)