Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

Chapter 109 My Own Starlight Awards VIP Star!

The constant clicking of camera shutters echoed for a long time in the red carpet area of ​​the Olympic Sports Center.

All the spotlights were focused on Jiang Bai.

Amidst the screams of fans and the gaze of media reporters, Jiang Bai walked to the exclusive autograph wall, took the pen handed to him by a staff member who bowed, and with a slight flick of his wrist, wrote his signature smoothly on the white background.

The two simple and concise words, paired with his top-of-the-line luxury outfit, left behind countless incredibly handsome still photos under the interplay of hundreds of spotlights around him.

Within seconds, these photos will flood the internet, and Jiang Bai's fans and even ordinary passersby will be drooling over them.

Many people may dislike Jiang Bai, but even those who dislike him have to admit that his reputation as a teacher is objective and undeniable.

Even if you don't care about anything else, just looking at his face can bring you a sense of joy.

Red carpet occasions are practically Jiang Bai's comfort zone; she can absolutely dominate and outshine everyone else.

Afterwards, Jiang Bai, in cooperation with the host, completed a brief red carpet interview.

The questions were nothing more than the usual, familiar topics: future film and television plans, and expectations for this year's Star Awards.

Jiang Bai also took this opportunity to promote "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," which will be exclusively streamed on Tencent Video next year.

After a brief interview, Jiang Bai politely nodded to the host in thanks, then walked through the VIP passage on the side of the red carpet and entered the Olympic Sports Center.

After successfully entering the venue, Jiang Bai did not immediately go to the venue to take a seat, but went backstage to rest first.

The red carpet event isn't over yet, so the live broadcast inside won't start that early.

However, his red carpet appearance was already quite late in the day.

Following him are only a few heavyweight celebrities in the industry, such as Yang Mi, Fan Binbin, Huang Bo, and Huang Xiaoming.

So after waiting for about half an hour, a staff member came to remind us that we could go to the front desk and take a seat.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai slowly stood up, and his assistant immediately stepped forward to help him put his suit jacket back on. The stylist then quickly adjusted his collar and accessories.

After confirming that the costumes were flawless, Jiang Bai and his group walked through the crisscrossing backstage corridors, guided by the staff.

Occasionally, you might bump into other artists and their teams along the way; everyone seems to be in a hurry, with professional, polite smiles on their faces.

Well, nothing like that near-miss with Chris Wu happened again.

As you pass through the artist-only passage, the bright stage lights immediately greet you, and the clamor of voices fills your ears.

Looking around, the huge Olympic Sports Center was packed to capacity.

Tens of thousands of audience members took their seats in an orderly fashion, and a sea of ​​colorful lights intertwined and converged, covering the entire audience area, creating a spectacular scene.

Staff led Jiang Bai through layers of ordinary audience seats to the central viewing area, which had the best view and was closest to the main stage.

Finally, the staff member stopped in front of the empty seat in the center of the second row, turned to the side and gestured: "Teacher Jiang, this is your seat."

Jiang Bai looked up and scanned the area, instantly understanding Penguin Video's intentions.

His seat was in the second row of the central area. Although it wasn't the very center position, he could see the main stage directly at eye level, giving him a much better view than more than 90% of the other seats in the venue.

Moreover, the adjacent seats reserved on either side of his seat are also quite intriguing.

The seat immediately to the left belongs to Yang Mi, one of the top actresses born in 85 in the Chinese entertainment industry.

The seat next to him on the right was occupied by Zhang Yixing, one of the four former members of EXO who returned to China.

The underlying message of this seating arrangement couldn't be clearer.

In today's entertainment industry, there is no specific nickname for "Prince Goose" yet.

Netizens and fans haven't yet used this playful term to define the artists who are heavily supported and given preferential treatment by Tencent.

But you can tell just by looking at tonight's seating arrangement.

The treatment and level of service that Tencent Video gives Jiang Bai is completely in line with the standards of a loyal follower.

Not only did "A Love So Beautiful" become the champion of Tencent Video's exclusive online dramas in 2017, but another drama, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," is scheduled to be broadcast on Tencent Video after the New Year, and it will also be an exclusive drama.

It's clear that Tencent Video is betting on Jiang Bai and is optimistic about his future development.

They went to great lengths to promote him in advance, even having him sit side-by-side with actresses like Yang Mi, who were born in the 85s.

Of course, the fact that his fans maintained more than 20 check-ins on his super topic for over a month did indeed make Tencent take him seriously.

After Lu Han lost a lot of fans due to her official announcement of her relationship, Jiang Bai became the celebrity with the most Weibo super topic check-ins in the past month.

Her data shows a significant lead over all other artists, suggesting she might be poised to succeed Lu Han.

Jiang Bai's "white rice" has extremely strong cohesion, top-notch spending ability, and excellent data voting execution.

It can generate buzz for artists and directly translate into platform memberships, merchandise sales, and GG revenue.

It's understandable that Tencent Video, as a platform, values ​​Jiang Bai so much.

Jiang Bai sat down calmly, his posture relaxed and without the slightest restraint.

Before long, artists arrived at their designated seats one after another, as arranged by the authorities, and the originally empty central area quickly became lively.

You can hear the artists exchanging quiet greetings and polite conversations everywhere around you.

The live stream cameras, which were already running, also occasionally moved around the audience seats to capture snapshots.

A few minutes later, two familiar figures walked over one after the other. They were Yang Mi and Zhang Yixing, who were sitting on either side of Jiang Bai.

Yang Mi wore a champagne gold off-shoulder haute couture gown, her long hair cascading lazily over her shoulders, her makeup exquisite and alluring, exuding a powerful and mature aura.

It perfectly showcases the unique charm of the top-tier actresses born in 85.

She paused slightly when she saw Jiang Bai already seated, a professional, sweet smile spreading across her face as she turned to greet him, "Good evening, Jiang Bai."

"Good evening, Sister Honey," Jiang Bai replied politely, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.

Seeing this, Zhang Yixing on the other side paused for a moment, then nodded in acknowledgment and greeted Jiang Bai in a gentle tone, "Hello Jiang Bai, it's nice to meet you."

"Me too, Yixing-ge." Jiang Bai nodded with a smile.

Yang Mi's appearance matches Jiang Bai's consistent impression of her, but Zhang Yixing doesn't seem as naive and sweet as he is in "Go Fighting!" Instead, he exudes a shrewdness.

After a simple and straightforward initial greeting, neither of them took the initiative to speak to Jiang Bai again.

After Yang Mi sat down, she immediately turned to Hua Chenyu, who was sitting on her other side, and they started chatting intimately. The two seemed very familiar with each other, covering their mouths and whispering to each other, occasionally letting out light laughter. It looked like the atmosphere was very good.

Zhang Yixing, to Jiang Bai's right, leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the stage, seemingly lost in thought.

Jiang Bai was not at all uncomfortable with the two's attitude; on the contrary, he was happy to be at ease.

To be honest, Jiang Bai didn't have much desire to actively befriend or chat with either Yang Mi or Zhang Yixing.

People who are not from the same circle to begin with are unlikely to have any cooperation in the future.

There's no need to force a closer relationship or engage in meaningless social interactions.

Bored out of his mind, Jiang Bai turned his gaze and began to scan the densely packed audience seats aimlessly, searching for that familiar figure.

Tian Xiwei also attended the Tencent Video All Star Awards tonight.

After all, she was the female lead in "A Love So Beautiful".

After the series became a hit and gained widespread popularity, her fame and popularity soared, and she was naturally invited as a guest.

However, in order to avoid overly pairing them up as a couple and affecting the future development of their respective acting careers.

Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei's teams had already reached a consensus that it would be better to maintain a normal distance when appearing in public tonight.

That's why Tian Xiwei arrived at the venue and walked the red carpet half an hour earlier than Jiang Bai tonight.

The two of them were backstage at the same time, but not in the same dressing room, so Jiang Bai didn't have a chance to meet her.

Now that everyone is seated inside, Jiang Bai finally has a chance to find the other person.

Jiang Bai's gaze swept over several seats in the third and fourth rows, and he quickly locked onto his target.

Tian Xiwei, dressed in a pure white French strapless tulle dress, with exquisite and beautiful makeup, sat quietly in the corner of the third row in the central area.

Seeing this seating arrangement, Jiang Bai sighed inwardly, realizing that it's not as easy for female celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry to rise to stardom as it is for male celebrities.

A male celebrity can rise to stardom with just one hit idol drama, experiencing a surge in business, film, and fashion resources.

Because the fandom is mainly composed of women!

Therefore, even if female celebrities have the same hit works, it is difficult for them to quickly break through the limitations of their social circle.

The fan base, the bias of casual observers, and the market's inclusiveness all have inherent shortcomings.

Tian Xiwei is currently facing such a predicament.

Thanks to the popularity of the TV series "A Love So Beautiful", she successfully rose from an unknown actress to a rising star.

Their brand awareness has increased significantly, but their number of fans, especially core fans, is still small.

Realistically speaking, the number of fans who ship her with Jiang Bai is probably greater than the number of her solo fans.

Currently, the daily check-in data for her Weibo super topic is only slightly over 20,000.

This data is quite good among the new generation of actresses, and could even be considered part of the top tier.

However, compared to Jiang Bai's daily average of over 200,000, it's not even in the same league.

The unequal distribution of resources and the vast difference in fan base size are directly reflected in tonight's seating arrangements.

In the corner of the third row where Tian Xiwei was sitting, the people around her were all new generation actors such as Wu Qian, Wu Lei, Xu Lu, and Song Zuer.

The platform's positioning of her was ultimately that of a byproduct of the hit drama "A Love So Beautiful," rather than an artist capable of standing on her own.

Seemingly sensing a familiar gaze, Tian Xiwei, who had been sitting upright with her eyes fixed on the stage, subconsciously turned her head and met Jiang Bai's gaze precisely.

The moment their eyes met, a barely perceptible hint of joy flashed in Tian Xiwei's eyes. She then nodded slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her pink lips.

Jiang Bai understood immediately and nodded in return.

A simple exchange of glances, and a tacit understanding was reached without a word.

After the gala ends tonight, and after they finish their interviews, remove their makeup, and leave, the two of them will go back to the hotel for a game!

Having reached an agreement, Jiang Bai casually looked around and spotted quite a few familiar faces.

Song Weilong, Bai Mengyan, Cai Wenjing, Li Hongyi —

These are the leading figures and mainstays of the domestic entertainment film and television market ten years from now.

Now, however, they are inconspicuous and can only work as part of the atmosphere team in the corner.

Jiang Bai, who was about the same age as them, was already sitting in the very center.

Jiang Bai curled his lips, withdrew his gaze, and looked back at the dazzling main stage in front of him.

A short while later, all the lights in the venue suddenly dimmed.

The surrounding noise gradually subsided, and tens of thousands of eyes converged on the center of the stage.

Accompanied by rousing and grand opening background music, the 2017 Tencent Video Star Awards officially kicked off.

The entire gala was tightly scheduled, with a rich program of performances, including song and dance performances, interactive games, and awards presentations.

The awards were announced one by one in a gradual manner, starting with popular but less mainstream awards and transitioning to more professional ones.

However, the awards given by the platform are ultimately just about dividing the pie.

Every guest who was invited to the event received a prize.

The only difference is the order in which the awards are given.

Those who receive the first prize are simply the consolation prizes that the new generation receives right from the start.

Titles like "Potential of the Year," "Breakthrough," and "Rising Star."

It wasn't a wasted trip, no one came for nothing!

However, the fans at the scene were very supportive, with applause and cheers rising and falling from the audience, keeping the atmosphere at its peak.

The first moment tonight that sparked heated discussions across the internet and dominated social media came from the artist to Jiang Bai's right, Zhang Yixing.

Midway through the gala, the winners of the Album of the Year awards were officially announced.

Ultimately, Zhang Yixing won this prestigious honor with his brand new original album "SHEEP".

After receiving the award, Zhang Yixing stood up and shook hands briefly with Jiang Bai before quickly stepping onto the stage to receive the heavy trophy from the award presenter.

Just when the audience thought he would follow the usual procedure and give a standard acceptance speech, something unexpected happened.

Under the spotlight, Zhang Yixing slowly bent his knees and knelt directly on the smooth stage floor. Then he lowered his head slightly and gently kissed the stage floor beneath his feet.

The little sheep knows how to grab the top trending topics.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

After a brief two-second silence, his fans erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

However, cameras specifically designed for the guests in the audience area accurately captured their various expressions and projected them in real time onto the giant LED screen on the stage.

Everyone here is in the industry, but no one really sees Lay as a genuine idol who bows down to his passion and pays tribute to his original aspirations.

The guests all had strange expressions on their faces, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

It was this shot that unexpectedly gave birth to the second iconic scene of the night.

In the shot, Yang Mi is turning to the side, extending her slender finger to subtly poke Hua Chenyu's arm beside her, a playful smile on her lips.

Although there was no audio recording, netizens across the internet could clearly decipher her muttered words—"Look, look, he's kneeling"—based on her distinct lip movements.

At the same time, Yang Mi raised her eyebrows slightly, her eyes filled with curiosity and gossip, looking every bit the part of someone watching a show.

Hua Chenyu, standing to the side, also leaned forward, focusing his gaze on the stage with surprise in his eyes, demonstrating maximum cooperation.

The two of them, one in front of the other, kept making small, gossipy gestures, which ironically stole the spotlight from Zhang Yixing's "impromptu performance"...

#YangMi'sReaction# immediately became a trending topic on Weibo, even ranking higher than #LittleSheepKneeling#.

Later in the show's performance segment, Hua Chenyu took the stage to sing a new song. After leaving the stage, he specially took a bouquet of bright red roses from the staff and smiled as he handed them to Yang Mi, who was standing next to him.

The relaxed and intimate interaction between the two once again ignited the trending topics that night, becoming a hot topic of conversation among netizens.

Jiang Bai, who was sitting right next to the two, was utterly amazed by what he saw.

The little lamb is still too young!

What exactly constitutes hype?

What does it mean to create headlines even without them?

Your sister is the real expert at creating hype!

Jiang Bai's suppressed laughter was projected onto the big screen by the cameras, revealing a smile he couldn't hold back.

This provides his fans with a new meme.

The gala proceeded smoothly, and after several performances and awards were presented, the winner of the Annual TV Drama Actress Award was announced as scheduled.

Ultimately, the recipient of this prestigious honor was Zhao Liying, the undisputed queen of Chinese television dramas this year.

When giving her acceptance speech, Zhao Liying's eyes were slightly red, a thin layer of mist gathered in her eyes, and her voice trembled slightly.

Countless audience members and viewers watching the live stream mistakenly believed that she was overwhelmed with emotion and crying tears of joy after winning the award.

Faced with everyone's misunderstanding, Zhao Liying explained frankly and straightforwardly with a smile: "Don't misunderstand, I wasn't moved to tears, it's just that it's too cold outside."

"I'm still freezing from walking the red carpet. My shoulders are numb, and my eye sockets are from the cold."

His straightforward and down-to-earth remarks instantly drew laughter from the entire audience.

In addition, her acceptance speech was brief and pragmatic.

After receiving the award, the host asked her about her upcoming schedule. Zhao Liying replied frankly, "Thank you to the platform and thank you to my fans. I need to rush back to Hengdian tonight to continue filming 'The Story of Minglan' and try to meet everyone as soon as possible."

Jiang Bai rubbed his chin, secretly wondering whether Zhao Liying was really frozen or just putting on an act.

It's fair to say that these actresses born in the 85s are all incredibly talented; every word they utter in front of the camera is so enigmatic that it's hard to tell what's true and what's not...

Following closely behind, another hilarious moment from tonight was revealed.

Guan Xiaotong, the newly crowned "Lu Han's girlfriend," also won the "Most Popular Young Artist of the Year" award.

Perhaps the public pressure I've faced in the past month and a half has been too great, and I've been relentlessly attacked and criticized by the resentful netizens for so long.

There's even a Weibo account called "Did Lu Han and Guan Xiaotong break up today?" that posts daily updates.

Guan Xiaotong, who hadn't participated in a large-scale event in a long time, was visibly nervous on stage.

His movements were stiff, his steps were slow, and his hands were fidgety.

When giving his acceptance speech, he stumbled over his words and kept using the word "then" repeatedly. In just a few dozen seconds, he managed to utter more than ten "then"s.

For a long time, many netizens had been criticizing Guan Xiaotong for her habit of using "then" in her speech.

Related humorous entries have repeatedly trended on social media.

Guan Xiaotong's catchphrase was so overused this time that she couldn't help but chuckle and said to herself into the microphone, "I have to restrain myself and not keep saying 'then'."

"Otherwise, I'll get criticized by netizens again."

The large-screen camera on site immediately swung wildly, then instantly focused on Jiang Bai.

This is so much fun!

Who doesn't know that Jiang Bai just released a song called "Big Bowl Wide Noodles" a few days ago, dissing Kris Wu?

Guan Xiaotong mentioned a term that became popular this summer thanks to "The Rap of China," whether unintentionally or intentionally.

Jiang Bai could only shrug helplessly at the camera, but the smile on his lips didn't show any sign of helplessness.

Whether you did it on purpose or not, I don't care, buddy.

The winners are so confident that you can use them as a meme or make fun of them.

Jiang Bai's actions and attitude were exactly like the MVP settlement screen of the winner.

The white rice that had been sitting in the live broadcast room and the white rice that came to the scene instantly reached a climax, delivering the most enthusiastic screams and cheers of the night's Star Awards.

However, this "highest" was soon broken by white rice itself.

Time passed slowly, and the party was drawing to a close.

The most prestigious, weighty, and fiercely competitive grand prize of the entire ceremony is the Annual VIP Star Award.

The moment of truth has finally arrived.

The award is not selected directly by public vote.

In official terms, this award is determined by Tencent Video based on a comprehensive evaluation of factors such as VIP member-related consumption behavior, drama/content viewership, platform activity, and commercial value.

In layman's terms, this award goes to whoever has the best viewership, attracts the most new users, and makes the most money for Tencent this year.

This award is the only one among the dozens presented tonight that has any real value.

Winning this award at least shows that you are the actor with the best performance in drama broadcasts on the Tencent platform in the past year.

In the original timeline, the winners of this award were Yang Mi and Yang Yang.

Yang Mi gained popularity because of the huge success of the drama "Eternal Love" on Tencent Video.

Despite the excessive padding, this drama was still incredibly popular, and even without the padding, it remains Tencent's most-watched drama of the year.

What gives Yang Yang the right to do this?

The reason is that Yang Yang's upcoming drama "The King's Avatar" is Tencent's most important project next year, so Tencent wants to give him a big push.

But things will be different in this lifetime.

Jiang Bai wore a relaxed smile as he watched the host on stage.

The moment the host, brimming with passion, announced the final list of winners.

The entire Olympic Sports Center was calling out one name.

The white rice fans, who made up almost a quarter of the audience, held up silver light sticks and shouted Jiang Bai's name in unison.

The cheers were deafening, completely drowning out the cheers from Yang Mi's fans.

Actually, Yang Mi's fans are quite powerful, but Tencent didn't give them many votes tonight, which is obviously biased.

All the guests who hadn't left yet turned their attention to Yang Mi and Jiang Bai, who were sitting together.

Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow slightly and exchanged a glance with Yang Mi.

A faint smile flickered in both of their eyes.

Immediately, Jiang Bai and Yang Mi stood up together in unison.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, Jiang Bai calmly straightened his suit jacket.

Then, with steady steps, he walked shoulder to shoulder with Yang Mi towards the top of the stage, bathed in the dazzling lights that were lit up for him.

In fact, Jiang Bai already knew the outcome when he was invited while Yang Yang was not.

He originally thought he wouldn't care too much about it, after all, the Star Awards was just a night for dividing up the cake.

But when he received the so-called VIP star from the hostess, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

"Thank you, thank you everyone."

Holding the trophy in one hand and the microphone in the other, Jiang Bai bowed slightly and said to his fans with utmost sincerity, "To be honest, standing here receiving this award, I have a lot of feelings."

"I know very well that this VIP star award tonight does not belong to me alone, but to every single fan who supports me, whether they are watching on screen or in the audience."

"People often use traffic, data, and popularity to define me, but in my eyes, you are my strongest and most irreplaceable source of confidence in this industry."

"This industry is full of fame and fortune, but what I find precious and reassuring is you all who have always stood firmly behind me."

"I've always felt that the best relationship between artists and fans is never one-sided pursuit and admiration, but rather mutual companionship, mutual support, and mutual achievement."

"You protect my glory, so I will do my best to polish my works, correct my attitude, and produce better music and better films and TV series to repay everyone's favor and trust."

"Don't let me cause you unnecessary stress or arguments. I hope everyone can take good care of themselves first before you can easily like me."

"Your happiness, peace, and well-being are far more important than any trophy or any statistics."

"Finally, thank you again to all the white rice."

"How fortunate I am to have your company."

"Let's walk the road ahead together, slowly but surely. Thank you everyone."