The third phase of the city competition finally began.
This time, in addition to Ting Yu and Liu Quanlin, there were also two folk music producers from other competition areas.
In other words, Ting Yu was not only facing Liu Quanlin but also two other ace producers.
Of course, this was assuming he genuinely intended to release a folk song.
Judging by Ting Yu's demeanor, it was highly probable.
Therefore, netizens' expectations for this competition were even higher than the previous one.
Especially for fans who enjoyed folk music, it felt like a festival.
Folk music was inherently niche.
Even when new songs were released, they were often of mediocre quality and lacked relatable depth.
But this time, with Ting Yu included, there were directly four high-quality folk songs, which was naturally the most exciting prospect for folk music enthusiasts.
Just then.
A piece of news from Ding Sheng Entertainment caused the already vibrant folk music market to explode with even greater heat.
"Chen Shuhao's new song 'Hometown Stranger,' will be released on all platforms tonight. Song genre: Folk."
Unlike Ding Sheng Entertainment's usual high-profile announcements, this time the message was posted on Weibo only as the release time approached.
There was no prior marketing whatsoever.
It was known that Ding Sheng Entertainment typically leveraged hot topics for marketing. Their abandonment of this advantage left netizens quite perplexed.
"Damn, is Chen Shuhao trying for a last-ditch effort?"
"He deliberately chose today to release a song, is he unconvinced?"
"It's better not to. If you lose again, your title of 'Music God' will be completely useless."
"To the person above, after losing to Ting Yu twice in a row, the title 'Music God' has long been defunct."
"Haha, everyone says the Music God is washed up, even worse than an ace producer."
"You haters, Chen Shuhao has only lost to Ting Yu since his comeback, not to any other ace producer!"
"Is there a difference? Isn't Ting Yu an ace producer?"
This time.
Chen Shuhao's new song release was met with a considerable amount of mockery.
Everyone felt he was finished, that he had lost his former brilliance after his comeback.
They suggested he shouldn't bother joining the fray and should just preserve his title of 'Music God'.
However, Chen Shuhao's fans felt he was being treated unfairly, being branded as inferior to ace producers when he had only lost to Ting Yu.
...
Ding Sheng Entertainment.
Conference Room.
Qi Shenghua frowned, his index finger tapping rhythmically on the table.
Apart from Ding Sheng's executives, Chen Shuhao was also present in the conference room.
For this new song, Chen Shuhao had not collaborated with any music kings or queens, but only with a first-tier singer.
Ding Sheng's executives couldn't understand.
The company had resources, and Chen Shuhao could choose any music king or queen to collaborate with, yet he didn't. Instead, he chose a first-tier singer. What confused them the most was that Chen Shuhao had completely foregone any marketing or promotion for this new song release, only announcing it now. It was as if he was deliberately trying to hasten his own downfall.
However, Qi Shenghua had a vague idea of his intentions.
Chen Shuhao had his own pride.
After his comeback, he had experienced a massive fan drop and was even criticized by others for being inferior to ace producers.
But was that truly the case?
Since his comeback, his two songs had only lost to Ting Yu.
Why then were these people convinced he couldn't compete with ace producers?
Ting Yu was an ace.
But was his strength that of an ordinary ace?
"Is it starting soon?" Qi Shenghua broke the silence in the conference room.
"Two minutes left," a nearby assistant operating the projector whispered.
Qi Shenghua nodded upon hearing this.
He straightened his posture slightly, glanced at the expressionless Chen Shuhao, and said to the assistant, "Start it, connect the projector to the screen."
The assistant nodded vigorously and clicked the connection button. "Mr. Qi, it's connected!"
After that.
The projector displayed the image onto the screen on the wall.
All the executives of Ding Sheng Entertainment turned their attention to the image on the wall.
...
As the live stream screen lit up.
The bullet comments flooded the screen, obscuring the view.
"Here it comes!"
"Waiting for Ting Yu to take the top spot on the folk new song chart!"
"Wow, Ting Yu's fans are so confident now?"
"It hasn't started yet, don't jump to conclusions. It'll be embarrassing if you lose later."
"Serves them right if they lose. Ting Yu abandoned good ancient-style music to write folk songs."
"I thought Ting Yu's win last time would silence you haters, but you've started again. It's like an old lady crawling into a quilt, making me laugh."
Even though Ting Yu had won the previous match, quite a few people still believed he couldn't be proficient in everything.
However, Ting Yu's fans grew even more confident.
...
On the program set.
The host walked onto the stage.
"Welcome everyone to Ace City Competition. This is the fifth competition area. I am your host, Lin Han."
His opening remarks were already very smooth.
After the first two episodes, his popularity online had also increased significantly.
In just one month, his Weibo followers had grown by 300,000.
The reason, of course, was thanks to Ting Yu.
With Ting Yu, the traffic magnet, in the fifth competition area, it had always been the area with the highest popularity and attention.
"Thanks to our sponsor..."
As the popularity increased, so did the number of sponsorship advertisements.
After a lengthy advertisement spiel of up to three minutes.
The host inwardly exclaimed that he couldn't take it anymore.
This was just the regional competition.
It hadn't even entered the official rounds, and there were already so many advertisements. If it got to the official rounds, what would happen then?
Fortunately, he wouldn't be the host then, but his senior.
"Now, please welcome the first contestant, ace producer Mr. Liu Quanlin, and singer Shen Jing!"
After the host announced their names.
The audience erupted in a wave of enthusiastic cheers and applause.
Both Liu Quanlin and Shen Jing were among the most famous figures in the folk music circle.
Especially Liu Quanlin. Although he hadn't released a song in years,
His previous songs frequently appeared on various satellite TV variety shows.
This was also why he dared to say those things in the group chat, and no one refuted him.
As for Shen Jing, becoming a super-first-tier singer as a folk singer, his fan base was quite substantial.
Moreover, fans in the folk music circle were highly loyal. After all, truly singing folk music with soul required not only a good voice but also personal experiences and stories.
On Earth, many folk songs were beautiful, but only a very small number of people could sing them with that authentic feel. For the same song, only one or two individuals could capture that essence. If someone else sang it, even with excellent vocal technique, they couldn't move the audience. A significant reason was the performer's lack of personal narrative.
Of course, moving people with ordinary stories was also the charm of folk music.
After a brief introduction.
The performance officially began.
Liu Quanlin's song was titled "Strolling."
The title was simple and straightforward.
It described the sights and sounds experienced by young people working hard away from home, walking on the streets late at night.
In the center of the stage.
Shen Jing held a guitar, with a microphone stand in front of him.
He gently strummed the strings, producing a melodious and graceful melody.
"When did you ever think,
Walking on the streets late at night.
The soft, hazy lights,
Cannot illuminate your lonely heart.
Carrying the hope for tomorrow,
Your silhouette is faintly filled with hesitation..."
His voice flowed, telling a story.
The venue fell silent.
Everyone was immersed in the story the song told.
This was the charm of folk music.
It lacked the intensity of rock or the heart-wrenching agony of love songs.
The simple and ordinary melody was like a glass of aged wine, mellow and long-lasting...