The past few days, advertisements for "King of Masks" have been plastered everywhere.
There's a vague sense of national attention.
This is the effect the organizers most desire.
After all, the Chinese music scene is becoming active again.
The city qualifiers reignited the passion of producers, and every so often, one or two high-quality songs would emerge.
Moreover, Ting Yu continues to release songs at a rapid pace.
The industry is flourishing.
Now, among the producers, Ting Yu has become the leading figure.
It's natural that a singer should also emerge.
With this purpose in mind, the organizers are presenting "King of Masks" this time.
"The 'King of Masks' program has such high popularity right now, it will probably be difficult for Ting Yu to dominate the hot search list with the first place."
"I think a top-tier singer like Ting Yu will emerge from the 'King of Masks' stage."
"Is the official planning to select a top singer to collaborate with Ting Yu, and then the two of them will go global together?"
"It's not impossible, after all, the Chinese music scene doesn't have many global superstars in the world."
"There were two or three from the older generation, but they have all passed away."
"Yeah, nowadays, when other countries mention Chinese singers, they still only know those few from the older generation."
"Saying all that, it feels like a lot of fun is missing without Ting Yu on the stage..."
The previous popularity of the city qualifiers made Ting Yu the undisputed top star in the current Chinese music scene.
Now, "King of Masks," with the support of the organizers, has a popularity comparable to the city qualifiers.
In fact, because it's a competition among singers, it's even more appealing than a competition for producers.
...
Mo Yan Studio.
Shen Jinghong solemnly took a USB drive from Mo Yan.
"Aren't you afraid of being accused of using connections?" Mo Yan asked with a smile.
Shen Jinghong chuckled upon hearing this, "Teacher's song is my strongest trump card. I want to save it for the finals. Besides, how can a student using a song written by their teacher be considered using connections?"
Shen Jinghong knew that Mo Yan had a song he had been working on for a long time. This song was Mo Yan's most heartfelt love song in recent years, and Mo Yan himself called it a rare masterpiece.
What does a masterpiece by Mo Yan mean?
He had written countless songs in his life. Only three to five of them were referred to by him as his peak works, and those few songs held very high status internationally.
This means the song Shen Jinghong held was of the same caliber as those few.
Although "King of Masks" places more importance on vocal skills, a good horse needs a good saddle. A shocking song, combined with breathtaking vocals, would completely set the stage ablaze.
Therefore, the song selection by the contestants is also very meticulous.
They would all choose popular and challenging songs.
Of course, the most important thing is to choose a song that suits their own style. Ting Yu had already proven this in the city qualifiers. In his singer group, apart from Lin Yanyu and Zhang Wei, the vocal skills of others were not particularly outstanding. However, a song that suits a singer can help overlook shortcomings in vocal ability, and the live effect can still be astonishing.
"Be careful not to keep your trump card so long that you falter. Your opponents are not novices, but some top kings and folk masters." Mo Yan was a little speechless after hearing Shen Jinghong's words.
His disciple was good in all aspects, except he liked to hide his trump cards, and hide them very deeply, rarely using them.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. And I will give everyone a surprise when this competition starts." Shen Jinghong's principle was to maximize the essence of "pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger."
"Go, go. If you can really win the championship, your teacher will also be proud of you." Mo Yan had no choice but to wave Shen Jinghong away.
Regardless, the latter was his most accomplished final disciple.
As for Shen Jinghong's vocal skills, even his teacher might not fully know them.
Because this kid truly loved to hide his abilities.
Mo Yan only knew that his currently displayed vocal skills were enough to contend with the singing kings.
As for how much he had hidden, he hadn't asked, and he knew it would be useless to ask.
Shen Jinghong would not reveal everything; this was the joy he found in being himself.
...
Dingsheng Entertainment.
In Qi Shenghua's office.
A middle-aged man, around forty years old, was sitting there.
Apart from some traces of time around his eyes, his face and physique were well-maintained.
"Ma Xiang, the company is sending you this time, you should know why, right?" Qi Shenghua said with a smile.
"Don't worry, below the level of a Singing God, there aren't many people I fear in terms of vocal ability," Ma Xiang said with a smile, his tone very relaxed.
Dingsheng Entertainment had six well-known top singing kings, and he was not among them.
This was because Ma Xiang had always operated in the entertainment industry as an individual studio, and few people knew he was affiliated with Dingsheng.
It was most appropriate for him to participate in "King of Masks" this time.
"As long as you can win the championship, I will give you a special reward," Qi Shenghua said, his face becoming even happier.
He relied on this championship to stabilize Dingsheng Entertainment, which was constantly losing market share.
The current Dingsheng Entertainment had lost its competitive advantage under the impact of high-quality songs on its mass-produced songs. The company's market share was rapidly shrinking, and its stock was also falling.
Dingsheng Entertainment urgently needed something to boost morale.
And the championship of "King of Masks" this time was the best opportunity!
...
Very few people knew that Su Yu was going to participate in "King of Masks."
Not even Su Yu's parents knew.
It wasn't that he deliberately concealed it; after returning from National Day, he had been traveling around and hadn't visited them for some time.
Moreover, the filming of this program was in the capital.
So, Su Yu, along with Lin Yanyu, embarked on the journey to the capital.
In fact, given his current status, it was more convenient for him in the capital than in Shuangqing City. After all, as the capital, the capital had the largest official recording stage, and many large-scale competitions and programs were held there.
However, Su Yu was accustomed to his small place in Shuangqing City.
"Su Su, if I snatch your championship, will you be angry?" Lin Yanyu suddenly asked as they exited the airport.
"What do you mean 'my' championship? Do you think a championship is that easy to win? Besides, is there a difference between you winning it and me winning it?" Su Yu ruffled her hair.
They were family, so it didn't matter who won.
He had to admit, if Lin Yanyu went all out and he didn't take it seriously, he might actually falter.
However, she was a replacement singer, so she would only appear in the later stages of the program. This was good, as it allowed him to go all out in the early stages.
"Hehe, it's as if you're not aiming for the championship. That's right, what's the difference between us?" Lin Yanyu walked out, holding Su Yu's arm.
Upon arriving in the capital,
Lin Yanyu naturally returned to the Lin family.
And the program was to be filmed tonight.
After sending Lin Yanyu to the Lin family manor, Su Yu casually took a supercar from the garage and drove towards the program team.
Of course, he also brought his rabbit head and costume.
After parking the car in the program team's garage,
A girl walked over from not far away.
"Teacher Ting Yu!" she waved her little hand from afar.
"A Ru, did you come alone?" Su Yu asked with a smile as she approached.
This person was Zhao Yuan's assistant, A Ru.
She was also following along as an assistant for "King of Masks" this time.
"Does Teacher Ting Yu look down on A Ru, thinking A Ru can't handle it alone?" A Ru joked as she got closer.
"A gold medal assistant by Ms. Zhao's side, how could I possibly look down on you? Help me get the headgear." Su Yu opened the trunk.
A Ru hurried forward upon hearing this.
When she saw the cute rabbit headgear, her eyes sparkled!
"Wow! Such a cute bunny!" However, she then looked back at Su Yu with a playful expression, as if to say, so Teacher Ting Yu likes this style.
"Ahem... Let's go, the program is about to start," Su Yu said, his mouth twitching, not wanting to discuss the topic further.
This rabbit outfit was indeed very cute and adorable.
Su Yu always felt he was suited for a cool and elegant style, something like a masked killer or Iron Man. At the very least, Ultraman would be good.
But Lin Yanyu insisted on them being a "black and white duo," a "male and female rabbit."
The name "Night Rabbit" was truly chuunibyou.
But there was nothing he could do; his wife liked it, so Su Yu had to indulge her.
Fortunately, it was a masked participation, so no one would know it was him until the mask was revealed, which might be a little awkward.