Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

After the afternoon rehearsal.

The following day, the first episode of the second season of "Masked Singer" officially began recording.

The recording studio in Jiaxing was brightly lit, with layers of stage lights, creating a magnificent and stunning stage design. The audience and professional judging panel filled the room.

Eric Moo, Matilda Tao, Da Zhangwei, Ella, and other regular judges are all in place and are communicating with the director about the process.

The core rules of the program will be followed throughout the recording process.

All participating singers wear custom-made masks and loose, body-covering performance costumes to completely obscure their appearance and physical features, relying solely on their voices for guessing.

Jiang Bai also changed into a light-colored suit customized by the program team and put on an exquisite mask that fit the persona of "busy school heartthrob". To be precise, it was no longer a mask, but a headgear that looked a bit like a robot, with a grass leaf like the one worn by Slow Sheep on the top of his head.

Angela Chang wore a mask exclusively for the "Iron Lady Who Can't Rest," a look that was both gentle and sophisticated, perfectly matching her usual ethereal and graceful temperament.

The two were in the backstage dressing room, watching the recording of the show take place.

This is their third time performing on stage.

Before them, there were two groups of guests singing duets, and each group had a solo performance selected for guessing.

Jiang Bai met with the other two groups backstage just now.

To be honest, even though everyone was wearing masks, Jiang Bai recognized one person.

The singer, whose nickname was "Three Swords of the Imperial Guard," was recognized by Jiang Bai as soon as he opened his mouth to greet him.

Isn't that Li Ronghao?

His voice is so distinctive that it can't be hidden at all!

He also quietly asked the director who was following him.

As expected, Li Ronghao only signed for one episode, and he will be unmasked and leave in the first episode.

In 2017, Li Ronghao had not yet reached the peak of his popularity; he had only gained some fame with his songs "Model" and "Li Bai."

The production team had no intention of letting him appear on more episodes.

In later episodes, there was an even more unfortunate Wang Sulong.

Wang Sulong in 2017 was not the frequent guest on music variety shows she would become later.

He is currently labeled as an online singer, so he is not favored by mainstream programs at all.

So much so that his solo performance on "The Masked Singer" was completely cut by the production team...

Unbeknownst to him, he was promoting the show in his fan group, but when the show aired, it turned out to be an embarrassing backstab.

The song I sang during my solo performance was "Chasing the Light," the ending theme song of the TV series "Rush to the Dead Summer."

Thinking about all this, Jiang Bai strengthened his resolve.

You still have to be popular. In the entertainment industry, only those with high popularity and high traffic can get others to pay attention to them.

He certainly doesn't want to be a player who gets eliminated in the first round, or even be cut out in one fell swoop.

As expected, after Jiang Bai and Zhang Shaohan watched for a while in the lounge, the three imperial guards were successfully unmasked by the judging panel in the first round.

After revealing his face, Li Ronghao interacted with the judging panel on stage.

Jiang Bai and Zhang Shaohan then headed backstage to prepare for their performance.

After yesterday's rehearsal and practice, the two were quite confident in their coordination and were relaxed and at ease.

As the host finished his introduction, the spotlight suddenly shone on, and two figures walked side by side onto the center stage.

"Next up, the 'Busy School Heartthrob' and the 'Restless Iron Lady' will bring us a duet performance of 'The Rooftop'!"

The familiar prelude flowed slowly, and the gentle and soothing melody instantly filled the entire studio.

Jiang Bai was the first to sing.

"Can't sleep at night, so I hum a song to express my feelings~"

"I'll just have to go to the rooftop to find another dream~"

He deliberately toned down his usual clean and clear voice, lowered his tone, and his singing became warm and mellow, with a delicate narrative quality.

His singing is smooth and natural, and the emotional progression is just right.

Without any flashy high notes, the voice is deeply moving, gentle and affectionate, perfectly interpreting the ambiguous and regretful atmosphere of "Rooftop".

Immediately following, Angela Chang's gentle singing voice took over.

"I was woken up from my sleep by a knock, and I'm still not sure~"

"How could such a beautiful melody be playing on the rooftop across the street?"

When she opens her mouth, her signature ethereal high notes are clear and bright, making her highly recognizable.

The moment he spoke, the audience and the judging panel were immediately convinced, nodding repeatedly as they had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Angela Chang's voice is highly distinctive, clear and penetrating, a unique style in the music scene that is almost impossible to replicate.

The performance continued, with each person singing a solo before the next person sang a duet.

The two voices intertwined, one ethereal and the other warm, their high and low notes complementing each other perfectly, creating a full sense of depth in the song.

The alternating light and shadow on the stage made the figures of the two appear hazy and romantic.

The audience listened quietly, without making a sound, completely immersed in the song.

The song ended, but the lingering melody still resonated.

The entire audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers, instantly pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

The judges exchanged knowing glances and began to discuss amongst themselves.

Almost everyone's attention was focused on the "iron lady who couldn't sit still".

Da Zhangwei spoke first, his tone certain: "There's no need to guess! That voice is so distinctive, ethereal and clear, it's definitely Faye Wong!"

"No one else has that voice except her, it's a 100% lock-in!"

Ella nodded repeatedly in agreement: "That's right! Her voice is so distinctive, especially her vocal transitions and breath control. It's completely in Faye Wong's style; it's impossible to hide. This was practically a freebie!"

Eric Moo nodded slowly, his tone steady: "Having worked in the industry for so many years and heard the voices of countless singers, this unique ethereal quality is unmatched in the entire music scene. It's basically confirmed that she is the Iron Lady."

what?

Jiang Bai, holding the microphone and standing in the center of the stage, was somewhat dumbfounded.

Being a panel of judges is a real art!

To be able to say with such certainty that Angela Chang's voice is like Faye Wong's requires a lot of conviction.

It's a shame he didn't become an actor.

The entire judging panel, and even the audience, were convinced of Angela Chang's identity, and no one paid any attention to the "busy school heartthrob" next to them.

It wasn't until the conversation stalled that everyone belatedly realized the mysterious male voice of their partner.

But when everyone carefully recalled the song they had just heard, they all looked puzzled and completely baffled.

"This school heartthrob's voice is really unfamiliar." Tao Jingying frowned slightly and carefully reviewed the situation. "His voice is clean and gentle, his singing skills are particularly stable, and his breath control, rhythm, and emotional expression are all very professional, but I have never heard this voice before."

Da Zhangwei scratched his head, looking puzzled: "That's strange. The singing is quite good, but I've searched through my entire database of singers and I can't find a single one."

"Is she a niche independent singer? Or a crossover artist?"

People took turns guessing, and all sorts of answers came up.

Some people guessed that he was a low-key but talented folk singer.

Some people speculate that he is a film and television actor who acts year-round and sings occasionally.

Yet no one associated this gentle and steady voice with Jiang Bai, the male lead of the currently wildly popular drama "A Love So Beautiful," which has dominated various charts.

In everyone's mind, Jiang Bai is just a talented new generation actor with outstanding acting skills, and a refreshing campus heartthrob on screen.

No one ever defined him as a singer, and no one knew he could sing.

Moreover, he was wearing a mask at the moment, which covered his iconic eyebrows, eyes and figure, and he had deliberately adjusted his singing style to lean towards a mature and gentle tone, making him even more unpredictable.

The host then engaged the audience with a question: "It seems our 'busy school heartthrob' has successfully concealed his identity, leaving the judging panel stumped!"

"Now, let's move on to the live voting!"

According to the program's format, after the duet performance, the audience and the judging panel will vote to identify the singer whose identity is more clearly defined. This singer will then perform a solo song.

After the performance, the judging panel voted. If they guessed correctly, the performer would be unmasked; if they guessed incorrectly, they would advance to the next episode.

The remaining guest, whose identity is even more uncertain, will enter the second round of performances, also a solo, to provide more clues for everyone to guess.

The voting channel opened, and the audience members at the scene enthusiastically cast their votes.

The voting period lasted only a few dozen seconds, and the final vote count was displayed on the big screen in real time.

Unsurprisingly, the "restless iron lady" won by a wide margin and advanced to the unmasking and solo performance segment.

The panel of judges was successfully misled, or rather, guided by the show's producers, and everyone assumed that the guest was Faye Wong.

The completely unfamiliar "busy school heartthrob" awaits the next round of performances.

Jiang Bai stood calmly in the corner of the stage, quietly enjoying Angela Zhang's performance of "Tears".

It must be said that these veteran Taiwanese stars are indeed quite capable, and Angela Chang's voice is also very distinctive.

Unsurprisingly, after her performance, the judges' guesses were wrong.

How could it be Faye Wong?!

Jiang Bai, standing beside the stage, was speechless with frustration.

Can the production team afford to hire this person?

What will Faye Wong's price be for her comeback on music variety shows next year?

One season of "PhantaCity" costs 100 million!

It even indirectly contributed to the implementation of the salary cap for variety shows!

Can "The Masked Singer" afford to hire them?

As arranged by the production team, Angela Chang successfully failed to be unmasked and advanced to the next episode.

Jiang Bai, led by the staff, returned backstage to prepare.

He has another solo performance coming up.

This is the ultimate move he's prepared for today!