Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

Chapter 106 Chris Wu: For my peanuts! For my peanuts!

PG1's provocative Weibo post ignited the already turbulent Chinese rap scene in less than half an hour.

Several contestants who were originally on Chris Wu's team on the show "The Rap of China" rushed to support PG1 and liked his Weibo post.

It's clear they're planning to band together to support their "mentor," Kris Wu.

This can be considered a unique feature of the rap community.

Compared to the relaxed and casual atmosphere of other circles in the entertainment industry, the rap scene is known for its tendency to band together and engage in infighting.

No need for extra copywriting; a simple "like" is enough to declare their attitude to the entire internet.

People within our team can joke around with each other internally, but it's not up to outsiders to casually pick a fight or diss us.

However, not all contestants from "The Rap of China" followed suit and teamed up with PG1.

Led by MC Jin, JonyJ, and Sun Bayi, the group of Mavericks players remained absolutely silent from beginning to end.

He neither liked PG1's Weibo post nor made any public statement, remaining oblivious to what was happening around him and having no intention of getting involved in this mess.

This group of people doesn't belong to any small group; they are rappers who exist outside the major Chinese-language rap circles.

In their eyes, this rap battle stemming from a dispute between top celebrities is not something they need to take sides on, much less get involved in.

In the midst of the chaos, the most interesting and exciting part, according to netizens, was the other group of players led by Gai.

As one of the two champions of the first season of "The Rap of China", Gai disliked PG1 from beginning to end.

The two had constant friction from the audition stage of the show, and their online and offline conflicts accumulated over the entire season.

Although many of the arrangements and editing were done by the show's producers, it would be a joke to say that Gai and PG1 had no conflicts.

The final outcome of two championships became a thorn in Gai's side that he could never get rid of.

In his eyes, PG1's strength was not worthy of being on par with his own.

The so-called dual champions were nothing but a farce orchestrated by the production team to create hype and balance viewership from the very beginning.

He was resentful from the bottom of his heart.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Almost at the same time that PG1 posted his support for Kris Wu, Gai went online on Weibo and not only liked Jiang Bai's post, but also...

The blog post titled "Big Bowl Wide Noodles".

Moreover, he made no attempt to hide it, personally leaving a short but highly provocative comment in the video's comment section:

Wow, not bad! This rap is interesting.

It's a simple sentence, but the attitude is very straightforward.

I don't care what your identity is, Jiang Bai, whether you're an actor or a top star, as long as you can take down PG1, then I, Gai, will unconditionally stand by your side and cheer for you for free.

With Gai taking the lead in expressing his opinion, a group of rappers under his command also followed suit and praised "Big Bowl Wide Noodles," directly creating a situation of rivalry with PG1's camp.

With the two major rap styles locked in a standoff, and a host of neutral mavericks standing aside, the entire Chinese rap scene is in complete chaos.

The pile of melons pushed the enthusiasm of netizens across the internet to its peak.

On the hotel sofa, Jiang Bai casually glanced at the online updates on the various factions' stances, his face expressionless and his heart completely unmoved.

What Gai, what PG1, what Chris Wu's direct lineage team?

In his eyes, there was no difference in essence.

He knew better than anyone what kind of people these rappers, who mingled in the cracks between the underground and the mainstream, were.

Many people in later generations like to whitewash certain rappers, believing that they lived authentically and freely, dared to face the world, and were artists who broke free from their shackles.

Some people blindly praise Gai, believing that after being recruited by the authorities, he has a positive outlook, is down-to-earth, and is the true representative of Chinese rap.

But anyone who has truly delved into this circle understands.

It was possible to make a name for oneself in the early underground rap scene, which was chaotic, had very low barriers to entry, and was filled with shady practices.

And none of those who have made it to the mainstream stage and reaped top-tier traffic and resources are purely good people.

Everyone carries a dark past, big or small, with chaotic private lives, distorted values, and arrogant and domineering behavior.

It's just that some people hide their true nature well, while others hide it less.

However, compared to PG1, who is rotten to the core and has crossed the line, and a group of underground rappers whose private lives have completely collapsed, he is still a different story.

Gai knows how to restrain himself, how to make choices, and how to embrace mainstream rules; that's all.

To put it bluntly, it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

So whether PG1 and his gang came to cause trouble or Gai took the initiative to show goodwill and help, Jiang Bai didn't care at all.

I don't need any of your help, and I'm too lazy to get involved in the factional feuds within your hip-hop circle.

Stray dogs, stay away from me, that's all.

Gathering his thoughts, Jiang Bai casually closed the Weibo page, put his arm around Li Yitong beside him, and stood up: "Stop scrolling, eating is more important than gossiping, let's go to the restaurant to eat."

After the two finished dinner, Jiang Bai escorted Li Yitong back to her room to rest, and then returned to his own suite alone. It was already past seven o'clock in the evening.

Within just a few hours, the public opinion on Weibo underwent a dramatic 180-degree reversal.

Let's rewind to a little after 3 p.m., the moment PG1 posted his declaration of war on Weibo.

At that time, the public opinion environment was not friendly to Jiang Bai.

Thanks to the phenomenal success of the variety show "The Rap of China," PG1 gained countless fans in just two or three months.

He has become one of the most popular singers in the Chinese entertainment industry, with a huge fan base.

His fan base is very distinctive, with the vast majority being young girls who are relatively young, whose values ​​are not yet fully formed, and who act impulsively and straightforwardly.

In today's online environment, this group of people also has a very distinctive nickname.

Young and energetic girl.

These fan groups are usually active on various social media platforms and short video comment sections, banding together to protect their idols and generating a huge online buzz.

When PG1 stepped down to declare war on Jiang Bai, countless young female fans instantly mobilized, flooding Weibo's main page, trending topics comment sections, and various gossip forums to frantically control comments and defend the team.

They lavishly praised PG1 for his courage to directly confront top celebrities in the entertainment industry, while mocking Jiang Bai for crossing over into other fields to gain popularity, not understanding rap, and arbitrarily trying to piggyback on the fame of industry veterans.

In no time, PG1's fans gained immense momentum, almost dominating public opinion on the topic.

But this group of fanatical fans made one fatal mistake from beginning to end.

Of all people to mess with, they had to provoke Jiang Bai's fans, Bai Mifan.

Perhaps within the underground rap scene, PG1 is a well-known name with a huge fan base, and no one dares to mess with him easily.

However, when placed in the top-tier fandom battles of the mainstream entertainment industry, these loose, disorganized, and mindless fans of the idol fandom are utterly vulnerable.

The fans brought by "The Rap of China" are truly fragile when faced with real fandom fans.

The white rice fans have fought alongside wool and Megni.

Nowadays, white rice production involves clear division of labor, tight organization, and strict discipline.

It has a mature anti-black team, comment control team, data team, and frontline team, and has a complete and efficient process for dealing with fan battles.

Crushing ordinary fan groups is as easy as taking candy from a baby.

In addition, the underlying audiences of the two major fan groups are inherently opposed and contradictory.

Fans who like traditional idols like Jiang Bai mostly prefer artists who are clean-cut, have a sunny and upright demeanor, and are dedicated and self-disciplined.

What they admire is the radiant aura emanating from these idols, and the sense of pride that high-quality idols bring.

They instinctively dislike most rappers in the hip-hop scene.

To put it bluntly, in the eyes of mainstream fandoms, the vast majority of rappers in the hip-hop scene are slovenly and bizarre in appearance, and their speech and behavior are vulgar and arrogant.

They are generally not good-looking, yet they constantly flaunt their freedom and rebelliousness, and their values ​​are niche and extreme.

To put it bluntly, they are a group of unattractive men who don't conform to the mainstream.

The two sides have conflicting aesthetics, conflicting ideologies, and conflicting social circles.

Now that PG1's fans have taken the initiative to provoke him, it's tantamount to deliberately setting off a powder keg.

At the command of the fan group administrator, all members of the White Rice team assembled and officially set off.

In just two or three hours, the battle was completely over.

The once-powerful PG1 fans were completely overwhelmed and utterly defeated by the well-trained, numerous, and skilled White Rice (a nickname for a player), who was utterly powerless to fight back.

Those mindless comments praising PG1 and smearing Jiang Bai were quickly drowned out by a flood of rational comments.

Not even a ripple could be stirred.

Public opinion has completely reversed.

If you open the relevant trending topics on Weibo now, the comments section will have a completely different tone.

The entire internet, from casual observers to fans of other celebrities, all joined in the spectacle, unanimously mocking PG1 for overestimating himself.

[This is hilarious! I thought top idols in the pop culture scene were incredibly powerful, with fans who would crumble at the slightest provocation. They dare to challenge established top idols with such weak fighting spirit?]

[Can't you get the priorities straight? From beginning to end, it was Chris Wu who was narrow-minded first, then his underling PG1 recklessly jumped in, and now he's trying to play the victim?]

[A classic case of trying to gain attention by blaming someone on a moon landing. Jiang Bai ignored PG1 from beginning to end, but this guy went out of his way to get himself humiliated. His pettiness is outrageous.]

[I advise certain Harry Potter fans not to be so arrogant. Their sycophants shouldn't meddle in the conflict between Chris Wu and Jiang Bai; it's just asking for trouble.]

[Jiang Bai didn't even need to get involved himself; his fans alone could easily crush PG1. The difference in skill was obvious.]

[Is this what top idols in the K-pop scene are like? Compared to the real top idols in the Chinese entertainment industry, they're so fragile.]

In a short time, the hashtags #PG1overestimateshisself# and #moonlandlandbumpingintheceiling# soared and strongly entered the top ten of the trending topics, with exposure exceeding 100 million.

Everyone clearly realized a cruel reality.

Jiang Bai is now at the very top of the Chinese entertainment industry pyramid.

To compete with him, you'd need at least a top-tier, established player like Lu Han, Yang Yang, or Chris Wu.

Even though PG1 became a sensation through variety shows and his popularity rivaled that of top-tier celebrities, his popularity was ultimately limited to a specific niche, with a shallow foundation and a narrow audience.

There is an insurmountable chasm between them and the true top stars.

The most hurtful thing was that throughout the entire battle and until public opinion completely collapsed, Jiang Bai never responded to PG1's declaration of war on Weibo.

They ignored me completely, not even bothering to give me a glance.

For Jiang Bai today, PG1, a niche internet celebrity singer who became popular through variety shows but has a weak foundation, doesn't even qualify him to personally take the stage.

With just their own fans, they could easily crush them.

Inside a luxury apartment in Beijing, PG1 looked at the screen full of mockery, his face turning ashen.

He was unwilling to accept this and wanted to post a rebuttal on Weibo and write a song to fight back.

But when you think of Jiang Bai's terrifying fan base and the support from the general public, your favorability will plummet.

Then, thinking about how easily her own fans could be defeated, all her impulses were instantly extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

He knew very well that whatever he did now would only invite more ridicule and make him a laughingstock.

Meanwhile, Chris Wu had just finished a series of physical examinations and was transferred from the hospital back to his hotel to recuperate.

After several hours of calming down, most of the anger surging in his chest had dissipated, but the resentment and unwillingness in his heart remained intense.

The moment he regained consciousness, he came up with a plan.

By feigning fainting and being hospitalized, they played the victim to gain sympathy from Megan's fans and gradually diminish the negative buzz surrounding "Big Bowl Thick Noodles".

At the same time, he sent his loyal henchman PG1 to charge forward and test Jiang Bai's hand, while he sat back and watched the fight unfold, reaping the benefits in the process.

He doesn't even need to take action himself; his underlings can take on top-tier opponents for him.

Doesn't this just prove that Kris Wu's position in the rap scene is deeply rooted and that his disciples are spread throughout the entire rap community?

But to everyone's surprise, the plan was heading in the worst possible direction from beginning to end.

Not only did the younger brother fail to harm Jiang Bai in the slightest, but he was also unilaterally crushed by the opponent's fans, and he was dragged out again by the entire internet to be repeatedly ridiculed and mocked.

The popularity of "Big Bowl Wide Noodles" has resurfaced, but negative reviews have only increased.

What broke his defenses the most was Jiang Bai's extreme indifference.

The attitude of ignoring him and everyone under his command from beginning to end was more unacceptable to the proud man than direct insults and dissing.

No, the PG1 is too useless, it breaks at the slightest touch!

It seems I have to come out of retirement!

Late that night, Kris Wu directly rejected all of the team's proposals for a cold treatment, forbearance, and reconciliation.

He stubbornly issued the order.

They invested heavily, assembled a top-notch production team, and worked through the night to create a diss single specifically to counter "Big Bowl Wide Noodles".

The team's agents and public relations managers took turns dissuading them, saying that taking action now would only exacerbate the backlash and ruin their public image.

But Kris Wu, blinded by anger, refused to listen to reason.

At this moment, he was blinded by humiliation and had only one thought in his mind.

Defeat Jiang Bai head-on and wash away all shame.

The next day, at noon again, the sun was shining directly on Shanghai.

The buzz on Weibo about PG1's failed attempt to bluff last night and the ensuing ridicule from the entire internet has not yet died down.

A Weibo post from Chris Wu himself instantly went viral across the internet.

Without any further explanation, the Weibo post contained only two simple words: 【Meeting up.】

It comes with a two-minute and forty-second subtitled audio and video clip, and the single's title is straightforward and blunt—"Noodles".

The moment this Weibo post was published, it went viral online.

The servers of major social media platforms were nearly overwhelmed by the influx of netizens eager to watch the drama unfold.

The operations team behind Weibo must be grinning from ear to ear.

That was awesome! So awesome!

These past two days, the statements from two top influencers have brought a huge amount of traffic to Weibo!

As for the general public...

After playing dead all day yesterday, Kris Wu finally stepped forward to give a direct response amidst everyone's anticipation!

Countless netizens, entertainment bloggers, and fans of celebrities flocked to the video page immediately, clicking the play button with great anticipation.

Everyone thought this would be a top-quality rap showdown.

We can see the mentors and initiators of "The Rap of China" bringing out their best works to directly compete with Jiang Bai's "Big Bowl Wide Noodles".

However, the more lofty the ideal, the more skeletal the reality.

After listening to the two-minute-plus single, tens of millions of netizens across the internet fell into an eerie silence.

The next second, a wave of laughter and mockery swept across the entire internet.

The song "Noodles" is mediocre at best; it's terrible from every angle.

You can't expect music to be that amazing in one night without any special abilities.

The lyrics and melody of this song are acceptable, and Kris Wu's electrifying autotune effect is, to be honest, also acceptable.

After all, it was recorded in a recording studio, with a recording engineer in charge and the sound can be edited.

But it's just a very ordinary rap song.

It's probably similar to the song "6", or even less successful than "Badgir I", Kris Wu's first hit single after returning to Korea.

If this were a normal single released by Kris Wu, there would be nothing to say. Casual listeners wouldn't need to pay attention, and fans could just hype it up without any problem.

However, this is a song responding to the trend of using negative memes, so this effect is undoubtedly a complete failure.

Especially when compared, the difference is like heaven and earth.

Jiang Bai's "Big Bowl Wide Noodles" has a broad perspective and resolves conflicts with inclusive satire. The overall tone is light and funny, with a touch of humorous mockery, winning the favor of many viewers.

It was hailed as a textbook example of the Diss genre across the internet, and even went beyond the mainstream to become a popular meme.

In contrast, Kris Wu's "Noodles" has a conventional melody and very emotional lyrics, although there is no profanity or anything like that.

But it looks exactly like a child throwing a tantrum because they can't accept defeat.

That's too narrow-minded!

In less than ten minutes, the number of comments mocking Chris Wu on the internet increased exponentially.

[Help, I'm laughing so hard! Kris Wu spent a whole day trying to make this?!]

[This level of skill is even worse than a half-finished piece PG1 casually wrote. Is this all the rap mentors are capable of?]

I was initially hopeful, but after listening, I was utterly disgusted. This rapping skill is worse than some grassroots rappers on short online videos; it's ridiculous.

The difference in their character is obvious. Jiang Bai resolved their grievances with magnanimity, while Chris Wu directly broke down and gave up, writing a terrible song to vent his anger everywhere. He'll never be able to shake off the "Big Bowl Wide Noodles" label for the rest of his life.

[I used to think everyone was going too far with their memes, but now all I want to say is: May the wide gate live on forever! I suggest Chris Oh just switch careers and go make ramen.]

The most ironic thing is that he tries to deny the ramen reference throughout the entire song, but the more he tries to explain, the funnier it becomes for casual listeners, and the more they want to make fun of it.

[The fact that hiring a ghostwriter still resulted in this kind of performance can only mean one thing: Chris Wu's rapping skills are already at the bottom of the industry, and his previous songs were all built up through post-production audio editing.]

Why is it still electronic music? Can't you live without autotune? Kris Wu, just keep clinging to your electronic music for the rest of your life!

[I advise Meigeni to stop trying to defend him; the more you try, the more awkward it becomes. After this song came out, everyone in the Chinese entertainment industry knew that he not only lost the argument, but also lost his mentality, his vision, and his ability.]

Not only ordinary netizens, but also major entertainment bloggers and senior music critics have joined in, offering their merciless critiques of the single.

An anonymous source within the rap community revealed that the song "Noodles" was written and composed entirely by three ghostwriters.

Chris Wu was only responsible for recording the vocals, but even so, it didn't save his reputation.

Chris Wu's already dwindling public goodwill plummeted to rock bottom.

Online, apart from staunch fans, no one thought there was anything wrong with using the "big bowl of wide noodles" meme.

If you don't play, you might seem out of place, or be mistaken for a Kris Wu fan, and then be ridiculed relentlessly.

As a result, even some people who don't usually follow the entertainment industry have started using the "Big Bowl Wide Noodles" meme, just to have something in common with their colleagues and classmates.

Before this, even when everyone was playing the "big bowl of wide noodles" meme, it was just a simple joke and not meant to be malicious.

Many fans still acknowledge his fashion resources and overseas influence.

But after the release of this song "Noodles", everyone saw the true colors of this top star: narrow-minded, unable to accept defeat, and mentally fragile.

A single sarcastic remark from a netizen can break their defenses; they spend a fortune to embarrass themselves in retaliation, yet their actions reveal a narrow-mindedness.

Even the Meigeni, who were originally staunch supporters of their idol, have seen a large number of fans leaving and becoming disillusioned.

Some rational fans bluntly stated that they could not accept their idol's loss of composure, saying that his character was not even as good as that of Jiang Bai, an actor who dabbled in other fields.

Some fans were powerless to refute the ridicule from the outside world, so they could only silently close their Weibo accounts and give up on controlling the comments and trying to clear their names.

This matter has long since transcended the scope of a confrontation between two top celebrities or a feud between artists.

Since the song "Big Bowl Wide Noodles" became a viral sensation online, this meme has evolved into a nationwide internet meme.

It is deeply integrated into netizens' daily social interactions, meme creation, and short video meme play, permeating every corner of the Internet.

This kind of nationwide memory imprint can never be erased by public relations manipulation, fan whitewashing, or low-quality counterattack singles.

Whether Kris Wu releases a song or responds to questions remains to be seen.

From the moment Jiang Baifa released "Big Bowl Wide Noodles," he was already destined to lose the entire game.

After stubbornly releasing the song and venting his anger, Chris Wu, who had regained some of his rationality, looked at the endless ridicule and various "Big Bowl Wide Noodles" memes on the internet.

I finally felt regret.

Why did I provoke him?

Sigh, is it possible to reconcile?