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

The stage went dark.

When the spotlight came back on, Xu Yao stood in the center of the stage.

The black bodysuit covered his upper body, highlighting his chest, abs, and biceps, which were clearly defined and had smooth lines, reflecting the light under the spotlight.

The muscle shadows on the clothes are rendered more naturally than last time; they look real from afar, but you only realize they're printed upon closer inspection.

The live chat exploded before the mentors could react.

"Hahahaha, he's really daring! Wearing this to the finals, I have to admire his mental fortitude."

"Honestly, you can laugh all you want, but Xu Yao is telling everyone: I am a fat guy, but I don't care what you think. This kind of confidence is even more valuable than his singing ability."

"Seriously, can you guys even focus on the game? This is the finals! Doesn't he feel embarrassed wearing that?"

Na Ying was sitting in the mentor's seat. She had just picked up her water glass and taken a sip when she saw Xu Yao walk up. She stopped drinking the water glass at her lips and her eyes widened.

Then she burst out laughing, almost choking, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

The live chat exploded again.

Na Ying's subtext: I'm impressed.

"Xu Yao single-handedly left all four mentors speechless."

"Is Xu Yao treating the finals like a comedy competition?"

The music started.

Instead of the raw guitar tone of the original GALA, the strings—the low bass of the cello—spread out slowly, like a horizon in the dark.

The violin produces long notes in the high register, creating a spacious and expansive sound.

Then the piano came in, playing simple block chords, one after another.

People in the live chat started analyzing.

"This intro... with strings as the base and piano playing the rhythm, it's not the usual GALA style. Who composed this? That's incredibly daring."

"The moment the cello came out, I knew things were going to be extraordinary. This wasn't just rock and roll; it was a rock and roll epic."

"Xu Yao's choice of this song was inherently risky. GALA's 'Chasing Dreams with a Pure Heart' is a studio masterpiece, originally in A major, with the highest note in the original version being C5 sharp on the international scale—a semitone higher than male High C. Anyone who sings this song live is bound to mess it up; even GALA's lead singer, Su Duo, often cracks. If he manages to hit that note today, I'll eat the keyboard on the spot."

"I've taken a screenshot of your comment above, I'll verify it later."

Xu Yao opened his eyes, gripped the microphone tightly, took a deep breath, and switched directly from weak mixed voice to strong mixed voice.

"Run forward..."

The moment the word "run" left his lips, his voice exploded from the deepest part of his chest.

His vocal cords tightened instantly, and he pushed his breath upwards with all his might from his dantian.

It was a roar, and a shout.

It's not a performance, it's soaring into the sky.

At that moment, the drummer simultaneously slammed down the bass drum and snare drum, the clappers exploded, the strings played in full force, and the entire stadium's sound field was pushed to its limit by this single sound.

Xu Yao didn't crack his voice, but he used a more sophisticated method. He added an angry tone to the word "run," and the sound, when pushed out of his throat, had a fanning quality that was both cracked and not cracked.

"Facing cold stares and ridicule..."

He drew out the word "laugh" for a long time, slowly transitioning from a strong mixed voice to a balanced mixed voice. The volume remained stable, but the timbre changed, transforming from an outburst into a narration.

The strings quieted down a bit at this point, and the piano came back in, like someone who had roared and then suddenly fell silent, beginning to explain why they had roared in the first place.

"How can one truly appreciate the vastness of life without experiencing hardship..."

He sang this line without pausing, in one breath.

Breath control was as steady as a straight line, with almost no breath fluctuations during long phrases in the high register.

His skillful control is impeccable.

"Fate cannot force us to kneel and beg for mercy..."

When Xu Yao uttered the words "kneeling and begging for mercy," he suddenly reduced his volume, shifting from a strong mixed voice to a weak mixed voice, causing the volume to drop sharply.

It abruptly stopped at the climax, like someone stopping on the edge of a cliff. And then…

Even if blood is spilled all over my arms...

He pushed the last word up again.

It wasn't a gradual increase; it was a direct, forceful impact.

He dragged out the word "hug" for six beats, his voice going from loud to louder, until it exploded.

The live chat exploded at that moment.

"Holy crap!!! He hit it!!! F5!!! No cracking!!! What is this fat guy's voice made of??? This song's original key of C5 has already caused countless professional singers to fail, and he hit it directly at F5, is this even a human being able to make a sound?"

"Raising to C5 is already insane enough, but he went straight to F5, which is three semitones higher than the original key!!! What kind of monster voice is that? Xu Yao, are you even human?"

"It was that angry tone that gave me goosebumps. It wasn't technique, it was a gift from heaven."

"When he sang 'Kneeling and Begging for Forgiveness,' he suddenly stopped, and then 'Blood Sprinkled All Over My Arms' came out with a bang. That emotional build-up—who else in the Chinese entertainment industry can match that?"

"I take back what I just said. Xu Yao isn't here to compete today; he's here to blow up the place. Even the original singer wouldn't dare to sing like that live."

"When Zhang Bichen finished singing 'A Dream,' I thought that was it for tonight. But as soon as Xu Yao started singing, I stood up immediately."

"Program crew: How much did you spend on the sound system for the finals? Xu Yao: No need, I brought my own."

"Can anyone knowledgeable in vocal music analyze this? The breath control is incredibly stable! Even during long F5 phrases, the breath doesn't fluctuate at all. How did you train such core strength?"

"Let me say this: Xu Yao's line just now, 'How can one feel the vastness of life without experiencing hardship,' transitioned seamlessly from F5 to D5 and back to F5. The shift between strong mixed voice and balanced mixed voice was completely imperceptible. It's simply unbeatable. Currently, Sun Nan and Han Hong in the Chinese music scene have this level of skill."

"His powerful vocal range is at F5, above the vocal break, achieved through vibration of the vocal cord edges and airflow impacting the uvula, requiring extremely high vocal cord control. Most singers can only shout at this point, but he can maintain pitch accuracy and articulation. This technique puts him in the top 5 among young male singers in China."

Meanwhile, in the dressing room of the "My Sunshine" drama crew.

He Xuanlin held up her phone, and on the screen, Xu Yao was singing the chorus. Her mouth was open, unable to close.

"Xu Yao, keep it up..." she couldn't help but shout out loud.

Wu Qian was startled by the sudden shout, and her hand trembled. She glared at He Xuanlin and said, "Keep your voice down, you scared me..."

"You should cheer for Xu Yao too. After all, you were the one who dumped him back then, and now he's so fat."

Wu Qian turned to look at her, glaring at her: "Are you my best friend or Xu Yao's best friend? You're completely turning the tables on me!"

On the screen, Xu Yao had just finished singing the first chorus and was catching his breath during the interlude.

His chest heaved, and beads of sweat slid down his forehead and down his cheeks.

The muscle lines on the bodysuit reflected the light, making it impossible to tell which were printed and which were real.

"That's really impressive, but to be fair," someone in the live chat continued, "this kind of explosive rock singing style isn't for everyone. To each their own; some people just prefer ballads, like Zhang Bichen. Xu Yao's voice was definitely powerful today, but whether he can win depends on the tastes of the live audience."

"Upstairs, you can let Xu Yao sing ballads, he can do that too. You can let Zhang Bichen sing this F5, see if she can hold her own. Different styles, no need to compare them."

"I'm not trying to put anyone down, I'm talking about the audience composition of the finals. Middle-aged audiences like Parhat's style, female audiences like Zhang Bichen's style, rock music audiences are inherently a niche group."

"Niche? Ask the guys in the comments, is it niche or not?"

"Wait, Xu Yao's finished singing? So fast?"

"Are you stupid? It's not over yet. The interlude isn't finished. There's a second part."

Xu Yao stood in the center of the stage, holding the microphone, his chest heaving violently.

He could clearly feel the reactions of the audience, which moved and amazed many.

But it's not enough.

Xu Yao's real power comes in the second verse, which consists of an entire chorus.

There was another outburst, a finale, and a moment that completely blew the entire arena apart.

Xu Yao took a deep breath and gripped the microphone tightly again.