Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

Xu Yao frowned slightly and calmly answered the call.

"Xu Yao".

Wu Qian's voice carried an air of superiority and dominance from the moment it came out.

"I saw the entertainment news, you went to participate in 'The Voice of China'?"

"Hmm." Xu Yao replied indifferently.

Wu Qian chuckled lightly, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm, yet also a sense of self-righteous smugness.

"I've advised you so many times to participate in competitions, talent shows, and get exposure, but you never listened. All you did was bury your head in writing those lousy songs that nobody listens to."

"Now that you've broken up with me, you've suddenly become ambitious."

Her tone grew colder and more arrogant as she spoke.

"Honestly, you should thank me. If I hadn't been so heartless as to break up with you back then, you'd still be stuck in the same place, just drifting through life, never pushing yourself to do anything."

"You've gotten to where you are today because I forced you into it."

Xu Yao couldn't take it anymore: "You called me just to talk about this?"

Wu Qian sighed, "Why are you so fat now? I don't even recognize you. You really should lose weight."

Xu Yao didn't bother to reply: "Get to the point, or hang up."

Wu Qian was taken aback. Had this guy's tone changed?

"I want to reiterate that the reason we broke up in 2013 was because I signed with Huace Media, and the company doesn't allow its artists to date. I had no choice. We parted amicably."

"Whether you're trying to create a buzz, gain sympathy, or fame, I don't care how you want to hype it up, but don't mention me on the show, don't exploit me, and definitely don't drag me into this..."

Xu Yao interrupted angrily, "Wu Qian, you're overthinking it. You've already disappeared from my world."

"My future life will have no intersection with yours."

"Because I'm afraid you'll regret it and try to extort money from me later."

The phone was abruptly disconnected with a single beep, leaving no room for negotiation.

Wu Qian stood there, holding her phone. When did this guy become so tough?

So you dared to hang up on me?

So you're saying I tried to scam him?

That's hilarious.

Xu Yao understands Wu Qian better than anyone else.

Too competitive, too eager to climb the ladder.

When they were together, she was always urging him on.

They urged him to give up his original works that no one recognized, urged him to cover popular songs, urged him to participate in various competitions to attract attention, and urged him to become famous and rise to prominence quickly.

If he slows down or hesitates even a little, Wu Qian's disappointment and disdain become impossible to hide.

In Wu Qian's eyes, liking to write songs and quietly creating is just being unambitious, unsuccessful, and hopeless.

Until 2013, when Wu Qian received a contract from Huace Media, the company stipulated that artists must be single. Without hesitation, she chose her future and kicked him aside.

Everyone has their own choices and will face their own gains and losses. Just like her choice of a career, there's nothing wrong with that.

Xu Yao's previous inability to accept was that Wu Qian broke up with him without hesitation, not by discussing it, but by giving him a notice, and then left with her luggage that very night.

Now, in 2014, Wu Qian has joined the cast of "My Sunshine" to play the young Zhao Mosheng, and her future looks bright.

Xu Yao didn't harbor much resentment, after all, they had shared some wonderful moments together.

Now, I've truly let go completely.

The training for the top 8 to top 4 elimination round began, and Xu Yao received a notification from Yang Kun.

"Xu Yao, come to the rehearsal room for a moment."

Yang Kun was the only one in the rehearsal room. He sat on the piano bench, holding a sheet of music in his hand, his expression somewhat solemn.

Seeing Xu Yao come in, he waved and handed him the sheet music.

"This is the song you sang when you were eliminated in the top 8 to top 4."

Xu Yao took it and glanced at it. It was "All of Me" by John Legend.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He knows this song very well.

John Legend's classic love songs have beautiful melodies and a wide vocal range. The chorus requires strong breath control and emotional investment.

The problem isn't with the song itself, but with the fact that it's a song used by singers to prove themselves, not a song for competitions.

Simply put, this song is difficult to sing, so difficult that many professional singers dare not attempt it in competitions, as it is very easy to make mistakes.

"Mr. Yang Kun," Xu Yao looked up, "may I ask why you chose such a difficult, sentimental English song for me?"

Yang Kun looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, and didn't know how to answer.

"Among this group of trainees, you have the strongest singing ability. The program team's intention is to push the limits and let the audience see the ceiling of our great voices."

A voice rang out; it was Liu, the program's director, who walked to Yang Kun's side.

Xu Yao didn't say anything. If he hadn't traveled through time, he would have taken it seriously and even felt a little touched, thinking that he was valued by the production team.

He knew the story was fabricated.

Choosing a song that is beyond a contestant's ability, ostensibly to challenge them, is actually a way to make them botch the performance.

The audience won't care how difficult the song is; they'll only think you sang it poorly and made any mistakes.

Then they were eliminated, which was only natural.

"Xu Yao." Yang Kun stood up and walked up to him.

He reached out and patted Xu Yao's shoulder lightly, but paused for two seconds.

All I can say is, it's up to you now.

Xu Yao looked into his eyes.

In that instant, he understood.

It wasn't Yang Kun who wanted to choose this song; it was the production team.

"Regardless, thank you, Professor Yang Kun, for your candor," Xu Yao said.

Yang Kun nodded and sighed.

Xu Yao looked at President Liu: "Thank you for thinking so highly of the production team. I, Xu Yao, will definitely not let them down and will perform exceptionally well to complete this work."

"Not bad, commendable momentum."

Mr. Liu nodded in praise, but left with a skeptical expression.

His arrival today can be seen as confirmation that Yang Kun's arrangements for the trainees in the group meet the requirements of the program team.

Mr. Liu was very satisfied with the allocation result.

Xu Yao looked down at the sheet music in his hand, his mind racing.

Thankfully, this isn't the version of "The Voice of China" that came out after 2018.

In 2018, contestants were required to sign unfair contracts, the production team arbitrarily changed the competition rules to promote their cronies, and the mentors' turns and choices were interfered with by the production team... But those are all things that happened later.

Although the production team had already made arrangements for "The Voice of China" in 2014, at least they still retained a last fig leaf.

Ultimately, the outcome depends on the performance on the day.

The production team can arrange for strong contestants to face weak ones, or interfere with song selection, but if you sing on stage and convince your opponent, the production team won't dare to blatantly eliminate you.

However, there is one exception.

Zhou Shen and Li Wei sang "By the Lake Baikal".

How was Zhou Shen's singing?

An audience member said, "The moment Zhou Shen opened his mouth, the entire studio fell silent."

How was Li Wei's singing? Not bad, but compared to Zhou Shen, he was a level below.

The results of it?

With red eyes, Na Ying said, "I'm sorry, Zhou Shen, I like Li Wei."

Then Zhou Shen was eliminated.

It wasn't because I sang badly, it was because my mentor said "I like it".

Whether it's Zhou Shen or myself, if we make it into the Na Ying team, the best outcome would be to reach the quarterfinals.

The four spots after the quarterfinals require both skill and connections.

Xu Yao folded the sheet music and put it in his pocket.

"All of Me".

Okay. Then sing.

The winner will be decided on the spot.

Hold it in your hand and pinch it.

We need to add layers and enhance the audience's perception of this song. For example, we could unlock the angry vocals and build up the calm and confident emotions, even though, from an artistic point of view, this would make the song lose some of its original flavor.

However, the stronger on-site perception effect is more suitable for competition.

The idol value is only 2600 points.

enough.

Isn't this just another version of my cousin Yao Beina's story?

There is nothing new under the sun.

Xu Yao smiled.

He recalled an insider post and couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Yang Kun, is it true that if you put up 30 million, you can secure the champion's spot in 'The Voice'?"

"You can come up with 30 million?" Yang Kun was stunned.