HuaYu: The most muscular director in history!

Chapter 119 American Idol

Time flew by and it was January 28th.

The set for the fifth season of ABC's "American Idol" was packed to capacity.

In a New York studio, the lights were blindingly bright, and the audience held up various support signs, their noise almost lifting the roof off.

First row of the audience seats.

Yifei was wearing a beige dress, her hair was tied in a simple bun, and she was holding a support hand slap given to her by the show.

Beside her was Liu's mother, dressed casually, holding a plastic cup, her face expressionless, clearly disliking such a lively scene.

The show hadn't started yet.

Liu's mother raised her hand to rub her temples, her tone becoming more impatient: "I told you I wasn't coming, but you insisted on dragging me along. This noise is giving me a headache."

Yifei turned around and hugged Liu's mother's arm: "Mom, let's just watch for a little while, and leave after Big Wood finishes singing, okay?"

"This is your last matter in Meilika, you can't possibly miss it, can you?"

Liu's mother took out her water glass, took a sip, and rolled her eyes at her: "You spoil him so much. He does whatever he says, and you come whenever he calls. How can you live with him like that!"

Yifei's eyes lit up.

Okay, okay!

Liu's mother didn't see her expression, nor did she complain anymore. She simply placed the water glass on her lap, crossed her hands on her knees, and stared blankly, as if it were none of her business.

At that moment, the stage lights suddenly turned on, and the spotlight shone on the host, Ryan Seacrest.

Dressed in a sharp suit, with a radiant smile, he immediately energized the audience: "Welcome to the set of American Idol Season 5! I'm Ryan Seacrest! Today, we not only have talented contestants, but also a globally renowned superstar joining us as our intermission guest and special guest judge—let's look forward to it!"

"Ah ...

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience. Of the 800 people in the studio, 400 had come specifically for Xiang Nan.

Yifei clapped along, sat up straighter, and stared intently at the stage.

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Liu's mother slightly raised her eyelids and gave a soft "humph".

Ryan smiled and raised his hand to quiet the room: "Alright, without further ado, let's welcome our first contestant, Emily from California!"

The spotlight shifted to one side of the stage, and a little girl in jeans and a white T-shirt walked up timidly, clutching a microphone in her hand, her face a little pale.

She took a deep breath, and as the accompaniment began, she started singing.

The singing wasn't particularly amazing, it had a touch of immaturity, and the singer even went slightly off-key when hitting the high notes.

The cheers from the audience were incessant, but the audience and judges could never reach a consensus.

Simon Cowell, sitting on the judges' panel, frowned and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. After Emily finished singing, he spoke first: "Your voice is clean, but lacks power. You struggled with the high notes and there were no memorable moments."

Emily's eyes reddened, she bowed, and walked off the stage with her head down.

Yifei watched her retreating figure, sighed softly, and turned to Liu's mother, saying, "She's so nervous. If I went up there, I'd be even more flustered than her."

Liu's mother glanced at her and patted the back of her hand: "Oh, now Qianqian can be a judge?"

Yifei stuck out her tongue, unusually not showing off, and turned her gaze back to the stage.

Next, one contestant after another took the stage. Some had amazing singing voices, while others were rather mediocre. The judges' comments were sharp and professional, and the audience cheered at times and felt sorry at others.

Yifei watched intently, clapping along from time to time, and occasionally muttering to Liu's mother, "This singer sang so well," and "This judge was so strict."

Most of the time, Liu's mother would just nod perfunctorily, or close her eyes to rest. Occasionally, when she was disturbed by the cheers around her, she would frown and glare at the people around her, her lips pressed into a straight line, her face full of reluctance.

She glanced at her watch, then at the stage, her voice urging, "Why is it taking so long? When is he coming out? If we wait any longer, I'm leaving."

"Almost there, Mom," Yifei quickly grabbed her arm and shook it. "He's a guest performer during the intermission, he should be here soon. Just wait a little longer, it'll only take one song."

Liu's mother sighed helplessly, letting her hold her arm, and said nothing more.

After another contestant finished singing, Ryan returned to the stage.

His smile was even brighter than before, and he called out into the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, now comes the moment we've all been waiting for! He is a rising global superstar, an all-around artist who excels in both singing and dancing, and a singer with astonishing global record sales. Let's give him a warm round of applause—Ryan Xiang!"

"Aaaaaahh ...

"Lionman! Lionman!"

The nickname "Lion Man" was heard throughout the venue.

This was originally "Lion South", but somehow it was directly spread as "Lion Man"!

"Bang—" The lights in the studio went out instantly, with only a spotlight shining on the entrance to the side of the stage.

Then, the familiar prelude began, the drumbeats were powerful and resounding, and the cheers from the audience erupted instantly, more enthusiastic than ever before.

Yifei suddenly sat up straight in her seat, clapping her hands incessantly and whispering, "Xiang Nan!"

Xiang Nan!

Her cheeks flushed red, and her eyes were fixed on the entrance.

"Shake! Beep beep beep, beep beep beep, shake, shake!"

Accompanied by the rhythm, Xiang Nan, dressed in a red suit, walked out from backstage, accompanied by six dancers in black and white.

"Shake! Beep beep beep, beep beep beep, shake, shake!"

"This hit, That ice cold, Michelle Pfeiffer, That white gold, This one, for them hood girls, Themgoodgirls, Straight masterpieces!"

That's right, it's Bruno Mars's Uptown Funk from his previous life.

Of Xiang Nan's three English songs, two of them, except for "Blinding Lights," are by Bruno Mars and all of them have been selected for the Grammy Awards.

As for "Blinding Lights"?

Even in the year Xiang Nan was reborn, it was still the most-played song in the world!

On stage, Xiang Nan gave a thumbs-up and danced a mesmerizing dance.

"Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up (say whaa?)"

"Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up!"

Paula Abdul, sitting on the judges' panel, nodded slightly to the rhythm. Simon Cowell raised his hands and danced along with Xiang Nan. The remaining judge, Randy Jackson, had already stood outside the judges' chair and started swaying his body.

As he was jumping around, Xiang Nan suddenly clapped his hands and shouted: Come on!

"Uptown Funk, you up!"

"UptownFunkyouup, UptownFunkyouup!"

The entire audience stood up and started singing along. Everyone—audience, judges, and hosts—was in high spirits, turning the show into a massive disco.

Three minutes later.

The entire audience erupted in applause and cheers.

Xiang Nan stood in the center of the stage, smiling and waving to the audience. After the cheers subsided slightly, he began to speak: "Thank you everyone. It's a pleasure to be here at 'American Idol,' and thank you to FOX and ABC for the invitation."

Cheers erupted again from the audience. Ryan walked forward with a smile: "Oh my goodness, Lion South, may I call you that?"

Xiang Nan smiled and nodded slightly: "No problem."

"Ha!!!"

"woo!!"

Just as Ryan was about to speak, another cheer suddenly erupted from the audience.

A group of people turned around and found that the stage was displaying stills from the movie "King of the Times" and the album's sales figures.

"Oh my goodness, that's an outrageous statistic!"