American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 98: Explosive Scene - Awkward Short Drama

"OMG! It looks like we're going to be too late!"

"Maureen! You take the food and go upstairs first! I'll take the Coke and follow behind you! Okay???"

"Okay, Della! I'll go upstairs and open the door first, then come down to get your things if you're not up by then!"

In the afternoon of April 20, 2003.

Bay Area.

In a community next to the University of California, Berkeley.

Two young women in their early twenties appear to be fleeing an impending disaster.

With a sudden stop, the car came to a smooth halt in the parking space.

Immediately afterward, the red-haired girl named Maureen unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed a paper bag with a McDonald's logo from the back seat. The blonde girl named Della jumped out of the car immediately, as if possessed by the Hulk, and yanked open the trunk, quickly grabbed a case of Coca-Cola, and ran off.

The two rushed up to the third floor, one after the other, and went into their rented apartment. Then, they turned on the TV and anxiously flipped through channels.

With the appearance of ABC, the cheerful and upbeat advertisement allowed the two to breathe a sigh of relief.

He leaned back on the sofa as if throwing away trash.

After a few seconds, the two turned their heads almost at the same time.

Upon noticing the relief on their companions' faces, they burst into laughter.

"Oh—I thought it was too late—"

"That's what I thought too..."

The way American television programs are broadcast is actually quite interesting. Because if you include Alaska and Hawaii, the continental United States covers six time zones. When the daily routines of Americans are not uniform, there are even two ways to broadcast television programs: the first is segmented broadcasting, and the second is live broadcasting.

Generally, programs broadcast in segments are news programs or less important entertainment programs.

Taking news as an example, in daily life, each TV station divides its news programs into an eastern version and a western version.

The Eastern version is a live broadcast, serving viewers in the Eastern Time Zone, Central Time Zone, and Mountain Time Zone.

The Western version is a pre-recorded version of the Eastern version, serving people in the Western Time Zone, Alaska, and Hawaii.

To put it simply, if the news is scheduled for 6:30 PM Eastern Time, then people in the Central and Mountain Time zones will watch the news at the same time as those in the East. Then, when it reaches 6:30 PM Western Time, people in the West, Alaska, and Hawaii will see the news that those in the East, Central, and Mountain zones have already seen.

The programs that are chosen to be broadcast live are those with extremely high viewership.

For example, the Super Bowl, the Oscars, and the Grammys.

Therefore, once The Voice of China's popularity remained high, it was inevitable that it would be broadcast simultaneously across the United States at a certain time.

Disney then chose to broadcast the show at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

After this change, people in the west could only catch up on the latest news by turning on the TV at 5 p.m.

Frankly speaking, this approach is inconvenient for people living on the West, but it doesn't matter because Americans know that America is too big and that everyone has been doing this for many years. They will overcome the difficulties on their own.

This is not——

"Clap!"

"Pfft-"

Maureen and Della each opened a can of Coke.

Since they had been carrying the Coke upstairs, the brown soda gushed out of the can the moment they unzipped it. They immediately covered their mouths with their mouths, and the sweet taste made them squint.

"Oh--"

"Ah, that feels so good!"

The red-haired girl, Maureen, looked completely satisfied.

"Uh-huh."

The blonde girl, Della, nodded in response.

While enjoying herself, Maureen asked with great interest, "I wonder which contestants will be on stage today?"

“Oh—I wish there was someone from California,” Della said. “I absolutely adore that boy named Bruno Mars, I think he’s so awesome! Of course, he’s not as awesome as Miss Beaver, Miss Beaver is the coolest person I’ve ever met!”

"HeyHeyHey! You don't need to keep emphasizing how strong Isha is, okay? Everyone knows she's strong now, unless they're not from Earth! Only Earthlings would doubt Hermione's abilities—"

"Ha ha ha ha--"

A talent show that broadcasts live from the selection stage can truly give the audience a strong sense of participation. Or rather, it's a kind of nurturing; once the public has witnessed your journey, their affection for you becomes immeasurable.

Therefore, after two months of preparation, people in various places were generally very supportive of their children.

of course there are exceptions.

Although the city and state competitions of "The Voice" were not broadcast across regions, isn't the Internet, the greatest invention since the birth of mankind, present in this era? With the official launch of "The Voice", Disney also created an official website for the show, posting clips of the contestants from each state, with each person having a video of about 30 seconds.

Once you do this, as long as you are gold, you will never be buried.

So, even though the national competition hasn't started yet, the players' popularity is already quite clear.

Then--

“Della, although I also think Bruno is very strong, he probably won't have a good chance of winning against Katy Perry or Lana Drake, so... I hope God blesses him so he can make it into Mariah Carey's group…”

"Oh~ Maureen~ So you think the other three aren't suitable for him?"

“Of course! Only Maria mainly plays rhythm and blues and soul, the other three…”

Maureen shrugged and said, "It's either rock or it's rock."

"Hahahaha~" Della laughed again.

The format and mentors for the national finals of "The Voice of China" have already been released.

So right now, anyone who follows "The Voice of China" has already chosen a mentor for their favorite contestant.

The fact that the results can be simulated in advance is also the key to the enduring popularity of "The Voice of China".

As the two chatted, it became 8 p.m. in the eastern part of the city.

When the punctual time announcement disappeared in the corner of the screen, the television screen suddenly went black, as if an invisible finger had pressed the silence button that could silence the entire United States.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, "The Voice" officially premiered.

There is no opening sequence; the first thing you see is a pitch-black world.

After a two-second pause, endless starlight suddenly rose, and the cheers representing joy were clearly audible.

Those were audience members waving glow sticks and cheering wildly at the show!

Those were the audience members screaming with excitement at the top of their lungs!
But once the cheerful music started playing, all the noise disappeared, replaced by knowing smiles from the viewers in front of their televisions, because everyone could tell that the music playing on the TV was "Party in the USA".

So Isabella is opening the show?

The people watching on TV stared wide-eyed.

Unfortunately, they were wrong.

“I hopped off the plane at LAX~~~”

Mariah Carey was the first to speak!
The moment the signature dolphin sound appears, the feeling of a butterfly instantly comes to mind!

The moment she started singing, the stage suddenly lit up with a "bang," and Niu Niu, wearing a gold dress, walked out from inside the stage. As she moved, she raised her left hand while holding the microphone in her right hand, and the spread fingers were very meaningful.

That is--

I've made my entrance! Where's the applause? Where's the cheering?
The unpretentious request elicited a wild response from the audience.

Screams erupted!

Silver-white light sticks fluttered below the stage, like moths chasing starlight!
"Oh—Maria's breath is so strong—"

"As expected of a Diva—"

"She's not as pretty as she used to be! I still prefer her appearance before 95; she was so beautiful back then!"

"Everyone gets old, right? And a thinner bust wouldn't have this strong presence!"

As soon as Sister Niu appeared, countless discussions arose in front of the television.

There's nothing we can do; they've been popular for over a decade.

Since everyone in the United States knows Mariah Carey, her performance didn't bring too many surprises. Even though Mariah Carey sang "Yeah~~~~~It's a party in the USA~" with her signature five-turn turn, giving the first verse of the song a great ending, the applause from the audience in front of the TV was more nostalgic than joyful.

However, this is not important.

As Verse 1 ended, during the pause, Niu Niu also raised his left hand and pointed forward.

It seems like they're performing a ritual to summon something.
But it also seems more like guiding the camera, drawing attention.

The next second, a huge beam of white light descended from the sky onto the secondary stage, where the judges' seats were located—

Within the beam of light, a figure draped in a starlight cloak stood proudly!

As the camera zoomed in, the figure in the light became clearer and clearer!

After the camera captured the face of the waiting figure in close-up, the knife called memory pierced the hearts of countless people!
"Oh, oh, oh—it's Elton—"

"Oh my god—doesn't this look like his outfit from his 1970s tour???"

"Wow—he seemed to have only recently become famous when he wore that outfit?"

"No, no, no! Elton had already gone solo by then! He had released his first solo album when he wore this outfit! It then debuted at number one on the Billboard charts! And stayed at number one for seven weeks! Seven weeks!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! That was when Rocket Man was at their peak!"

Yes.

These days, it's not just young people who are glued to their TVs watching "The Voice of China".

It's true that young people like Isabella and dream of becoming famous, so they are willing to support "The Voice of China".

but……

Among the mentors on "The Voice of China," who is worse than Isabella?

Take Rocket Man Elton John for example, he's been a sensation since the 60s!

When he debuted, his first song reached the top of the charts!
Even now, he still tops the charts as soon as he releases a song!
When he debuted, his songs could easily sell ten million copies!

Even now, his songs still easily sell over ten million copies!

As Elton John gets older and more charismatic, how could his fans possibly miss his shows?

So……

Under the watchful eyes of the public, the melody, which had paused for a moment, began to play again!
As soon as the second verse of "Party in the USA" appeared, Elton shrugged and threw off his cape!
Raise the microphone and warm up your voice—

“Get to the club in my taxi cab~”

"Everybody's lookin' at me now~"

Elton's skill is beyond question.

No matter how unconventional people are in the music industry, they can only say at most that they are similar to Elton.

No one dares to say they are better than Elton.

So, as soon as he started singing, the viewers in front of the TV immediately showed smiles of enjoyment.

But before everyone could even fully immerse themselves in enjoying the music, whoosh—

As Elton sang, he made a delicate gesture with his pinky finger and swayed his body seductively!
"Like who's that chick that's rockin' kicks~"

"She's gotta be from out of town~"

When her extremely feminine figure appeared, all the viewers in front of the TV were stunned!
A moment later, everyone burst into laughter—

"Oh my god—this arrangement—this arrangement—good heavens—this is too ridiculous—"

"Is this the production team yelling 'Surprise' at us???"

"OMG—this design is really—hahahaha—"

Since "Party in the USA" is an autobiographical song, and the storyteller is a woman, the lyrics are very feminine. For example, "Like who's that chick that's rockin' kicks~" literally translates to "Who is that girl in the trendy shoes?" Male singers would find it difficult to perform these kinds of lyrics, but... all of the above issues are not problems for Elton John.

This is not only because Elton has the composure of an old artist.

He knew that the essence of performance was to make the audience happy, so he was willing to go all out.

It's also because he himself possesses magic.

He came out as gay many years ago, publicly.

So, he didn't shy away from using his own jokes on stage?

The audience was overwhelmed with joy!
what?
Some people asked why Disney would reject Jay-Z because of his bad habits, but not Elton at the same time?

Is North America today not as free as it will be in the future?
This question is easy to answer.

Elton did have problems, but even after the problems were made public, his albums still sold and his tours still went on.

Once his personal issues cease to be an obstacle to his career...

Why did Disney say no to him?
Who can resist money?
Elton's performance drew cheers and screams from viewers in front of their televisions. After he finished reciting the feminine lyrics from Verse 2, the other two mentors from The Voice, Sting and Sting, finally appeared.

Because in reality they present themselves as gentlemen and tough guys, it's not easy for them to interpret lyrics that are feminine.

Today, their appearance is like this:
Both of them were carrying guitars, but Sting from the UK opted for a minimalist style.

A black T-shirt on top and blue jeans on the bottom, that's it!

Sting from the US wore a sleeveless tank top and a red headband.

Yeah~
Bruce Springsteen, nicknamed "Boss," is best known for his Rambo look. He even said that when he was working on "Born in the USA," the album was inspired by Sylvester Stallone's "First Blood."

Since both of them played rock music, their performance of "Party in the USA" immediately took on a rock style, and the originally gentle guitar chords became more powerful.

Furthermore, since Sting the Gentleman plays more soft rock, while Boss Sting leans more towards hard rock, the combination of pop and hard rock elevates the performance's atmosphere to a new level in a spiral fashion.

So much so that at the end, when they sang the last four words, which was 'party in the USA'.

They even shouted out each word in a hoarse, slurred manner.

"Oh—this opening is really great—"

The four-minute show flashed by.

Although the resounding notes that Boss Sting brought to the public with his old-fashioned strumming technique have disappeared, the performance, which is more like a drumbeat or a trumpet, still captivated Maureen for a long time, and she even felt her scalp tingling.

"Ohhh—this adaptation is fantastic—"

"Party in the USA was originally a cheerful song. After the remix, the first half still retains the gentle charm of pop, but the second half is like a battleground! That's so cool!"

"Yay! I feel the same way!"

Della rubbed her forehead, feeling sweaty after just watching the opening scene. She exclaimed excitedly, "I don't feel like this is a talent show at all, but a large-scale show!"

"Everyone was giving it their all! This was so awesome!"

At this moment, there are many others who share the same feelings as them.

There's nothing we can do about it; the opening of "The Voice of China" was just too amazing.
Just as the audience was panting heavily, feeling tired from watching so intently and immersing themselves in the performance—the opening sequence of "The Voice" finally appeared. It was an unedited, blatant copy of the handheld microphone and the peace sign.

Next, host Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made a dazzling appearance and warmly welcomed all the guests.

Frankly speaking, this bald guy's sense of humor is innate; Johnson just standing there is funny. But right now, the production team doesn't need him to do much, so his job is quite simple:

The advertisement was recited in a manner similar to listing dishes;

Briefly introduce the four mentors to the audience;

Then, they immediately started the flow of the event, welcoming the first contestant to the stage...

"What??? The contestants are entering the arena right away???"

Maureen frowned.

"Where's Isabella??? Oh—where's our little beaver???"

Della looked completely bewildered.

Although they already have their favorite contestants.

But their main reason for watching "The Voice" is still to see Isabella!

So……

The adorable little beaver, a living, breathing person, is gone?

"Isn't Isabella one of the initiators of 'The Voice'?"

"Yup!"

"And then the show started but she didn't show up?"

"Yes?"

"Was this forgotten to be recorded, or was it misplaced?"

"I do not know!"

The two people who were leaning back on the sofa sat up straight.

To be honest, at that moment, not quite understanding the situation, they actually just wanted to take some pictures of the TV.

Because they feel there's something wrong with the world around them.

While they were wondering what was going on, the scene on the television changed.

As the four mentors turned to face the wall, ABC started playing the contestants' video clips.

It was an aerial shot, showing the audience a bird's-eye view of the recording site of "The Voice of China".

At the same time, a narration began to appear—

"As the mentors took their seats, the first student is walking toward our dream stage."

Snapped--

The camera pans down, and like a charging boar, it rushes to the stage entrance in an instant—

The next second, a figure with flowing blonde hair came into everyone's view.

She was a young girl, dressed simply in a white dress, light brown Oxford shoes, a straw hat, and a large guitar slung over her shoulder.

Even so, the audience could still appreciate her beauty.

because……

“My name is Lily Zeller, I am 13 years old, I was born in London, England, and I am currently living in Los Angeles.”

“I have loved music since I was a child and longed to sing on stage. So when I learned that there was such a program as ‘The Voice’, I couldn’t wait to sign up.”

"Oh—isn't this Isaac—?"

As soon as the little girl appeared, Maureen, who had been trying to stick her head into the TV, burst out laughing.

"Isn't she the initiator of 'The Voice of China'? How come she's a contestant now?"

Della was both amused and exasperated, but at the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief.

The little beaver is still here!
“I don’t know either, this arrangement is so amazing…” Maureen shrugged.

"I find it rather funny," Della guessed. "Could she be trying to play a prank on someone?"

Isabella's entrance surprised the two women, but at the same time, something even more surprising was...

"Uh... contestant number 001... uh... Lily Zeller... uh... okay... I don't know what to call you right now, but I just want to know, do you really want to appear as contestant number 001, Lily Zeller?"

With the disappearance of VCRs, the backstage of filming emerged.

The show's host, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, looked constipated as he conducted a post-interview with Isabella.

In response to his question, the little girl tilted her head, shrugged, and asked in return, "Why not?"

"Aren't you the initiator of the show?"

Johnson, looking somewhat strained, said, "You were the one who issued the call to action, saying you wanted to produce 'The Voice,' and that's why we came."

"That's right, so I'm going to test you guys."

The young girl smiled broadly and nodded matter-of-factly, saying, "Since I started this show and I invited you all, I hope everything can be done to the best of my ability. I want to go on stage and test the judges' abilities. If they can't even recognize my voice, then it proves they are not suitable for 'The Voice of China,' because this is a stage where the voice speaks for itself."

"Oh--"

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson suddenly realized, "You mean, you want to see if the mentors can recognize you by your voice and turn around for you? If they can, it means they have a very strong ability to detect voices?"

"Yeah~"

Isabella nodded vigorously. "That's exactly what I mean."

"What if they didn't recognize it?"

Johnson was convinced, but he also asked curiously about the result of the failed identification.

"Then of course it should be passed over."

"Replace the person immediately?"

"Replace the person immediately."

“Okay, so what if they recognized it, but wanted to create a dramatic effect and didn’t turn around?”

"That's a pass too."

"Why?"

"Because we are a very serious competition, all the contestants come with dreams in their hearts. When contestants take their dreams seriously, I don't want the mentors to treat them as jokes, that would be very disrespectful."

"Oh—I think you're absolutely right—"

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson nodded seriously.

On the surface, he has already agreed to Isabella's plan.

But the next second, he added, "Well—let's say—I'm just saying, let's say we all know that any successful singer has a very distinctive voice, so—what if your voice isn't distinctive?"

Johnson waved his hands and raised his eyebrows in inquiry.

"what?"

This question confused Isabella; she didn't understand.

Johnson frowned slightly and explained earnestly, "Boss, since it's just the two of us here, I'll be frank. Although you're very famous right now, and your records are selling incredibly well, but..."

"That's all because of Harry Potter, isn't it?"

"You've never proven yourself outside of Harry Potter, so... if your records only sell well because of Harry Potter, how are they supposed to capture your unique style?"

"..."

Isabella on TV was stunned.

After a two-second pause, realizing that Johnson was implying her song might be mediocre, she angrily raised her hand.

He pointed forcefully towards the door and shouted, "Dwayne Johnson, right? You're out!"

The little beaver's fur stood on end.

As soon as the angry voice rang out, viewers in front of their televisions burst into laughter.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! Johnson is 'implying' that Isha's popularity comes from HP, right? Hahahaha—why is this show starting with such spoofs? It's hilarious—"

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god—this scene is hilarious! Johnson is so much bigger than Isa, but he's being yelled at by Isa as 'out'? Hahaha—this is just too funny—"

"Oh my gosh—Miss Beaver looks so cute when she's stunned! I love it!"

"To be honest, this part of the story looks pretty awkward, but... okay, Miss Beaver, I love you!"

(End of this chapter)