Lisa opened the livestream, and countless viewers flooded in. After so many episodes, everyone knew that Ting Yu's livestream was the most anticipated. Moreover, this episode was being held in China, and following Ting Yu, a Chinese person, would surely be very interesting.
The production team also knew this situation. The livestream website had created a separate section for Ting Yu's livestream, placing it in the most prominent position on the homepage. This kind of traffic drove exceptionally high popularity to Ting Yu's channel, to the point where it even started to lag due to the sheer number of viewers.
"Holy crap, there are so many people!"
"Hahaha, I've been waiting for the livestream to open, hurry up, I'm in a hurry!"
"I've watched from the first episode until now, and I've watched Ting Yu's livestream surpass Shawn and the others, and then pull away with a huge lead."
"What's the theme for this episode, has it been announced yet?"
"Go Ting Yu!"
"This episode is Ting Yu's home turf, I'm looking forward to his performance!"
The bullet comments were so dense that you couldn't see the livestream content at all without turning them off. The more people there were in the livestream, the happier Lisa naturally became. During this period, relying on her identity as Ting Yu's exclusive camerawoman, her reputation in the industry had already become very high, even surpassing many seasoned veterans. Some people had offered a substantial amount of money for her position, but she had rejected them all. In her opinion, this was a very rare opportunity, a chance that couldn't be bought with a thousand pieces of gold.
"Mr. Ting Yu, the theme for this season of 'Era Music King' is love, but the accompaniment must use a Chinese musical instrument," Lisa said, smiling as she opened the envelope given by the production team and addressed Su Yu.
"Love?" Su Yu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. It seemed the domestic entertainment industry was still giving these international friends some face. They hadn't set any particularly difficult topics. Love was a broad theme, and love songs had always been mainstream. The domestic entertainment industry had even made love songs a major feature.
The topic for 'Era Music King' this time was not something as uniquely Chinese as ancient Chinese style. The official likely thought that such themes were too unique, and Ting Yu might be able to master them. Even other producers in China could write some ancient Chinese style music, but for these foreigners, they simply couldn't write ancient Chinese style or Chinese-inspired music. Instead of doing that, it would be better to choose a broader theme that allowed these world-class producers to use their creativity freely. This way, everyone would be on the same starting line, and everyone could write some good songs.
However, these themes increased the difficulty of the game for Ting Yu. He could have easily won the competition originally, but now he had lost his biggest advantage.
"Phew... thankfully it's love," Shawn said, patting his chest.
"I've been studying Chinese style for over half a month. Fortunately, the topic wasn't Chinese style," Jin Chengxian also breathed a sigh of relief. For them, if the theme were Chinese style, it was uncertain whether they could write anything at all.
As everyone knows, China is a very special country. This kind of ancient Chinese style not only requires that specific artistic conception but also a cultural accumulation. The lyrics are the most difficult part. It is incredibly difficult for these foreigners to learn Chinese within a short period, let alone expect them to write lyrics with a rich ancient Chinese charm in Chinese. It would absolutely be impossible.
Fortunately, this time the officials were not so insane; instead, they chose a theme that was not so regionally distinct. While the "love" genre was the most basic among all songs, writing it well was not easy either.
"Look how scared these foreigners are."
"Hahaha, speaking of which, I really want to see how these foreigners write ancient Chinese style songs."
"Forget it, it's too much to ask of them."
"Now you know it's difficult. Even world-class producers are helpless when faced with Chinese style. This is the power of a nation's heritage."
"Although it's not Chinese style, requiring the use of a Chinese musical instrument, I'm quite curious to see what they'll do."
Besides "love," what made this theme even more intriguing was the requirement to use a Chinese musical instrument. Instruments like the Guqin, Suona, and Erhu, which were ethnic instruments, were played very well by Ting Yu, but these foreigners had rarely encountered them. For them, it was also a significant challenge.
In the lounge, Losov and Roman, along with their group, walked in together. They were chatting and laughing.
"Hahaha, shall we all discuss it together?" Unexpectedly, Losov, who was the first to lose to Ting Yu and was ostracized, had become the leader of this group. As the group entered the lounge, they proactively sat down by the side. This time, besides coffee, the production team also prepared Chinese-style tea. Losov and his group opted for the tea. They chatted and laughed while sipping tea.
"I do know some Chinese instruments," said the British producer Lauren, taking a sip of tea and smiling.
"I also have some knowledge. I saw a Chinese girl playing the Guqin in a square online before and thought the sound was very good, so I looked up some information," said French producer Adolphe, nodding. He was Ting Yu's opponent this time. However, he didn't hold out much hope. In his opinion, even in France, he couldn't win against Ting Yu, let alone encounter Ting Yu in China. However, Adolphe had a very good attitude; he felt that since so many others had lost, it didn't matter if he was one more. Therefore, he proactively joined Losov's team. After thinking this through, he felt very comfortable before this match, without any worries, and was enjoying the competition.
"The Guqin is quite good, but I heard that the most characteristic Chinese instrument is the Erhu, so I plan to incorporate Erhu elements into the music this time."
"I think the Suona is also very good, but it requires the singer to have very high vocal skills, otherwise, they will be overshadowed by the Suona."
"I was also planning to use the Suona, it seems we thought of the same thing."
"Hahaha, none of us really understand Chinese musical instruments, let's all exchange our experiences."
Losov's group was harmonious. Shawn and Jin Chengxian appeared a bit awkward. Although Losov and his group were the ones being ostracized, judging by the scene, anyone would feel that they were the ostracized two. The two of them had their pride and couldn't bring themselves to talk to Losov's group. After sitting for a while, they got up and left. As they passed by Losov's group, Shawn snorted disdainfully and said, "A group of producers who have lost their ideals, how far can they go?"
Hearing this, Jin Chengxian chimed in with mockery, "The truly strong always have an unyielding heart." After speaking, the two entered their respective production rooms. Among the contestants, they were the only ones who had not lost to Ting Yu. In fact, they were the only two who had always wanted to defeat Ting Yu. Therefore, in the face of their mockery, Losov's group could not refute. The smiles on everyone's faces disappeared. Looking at the arrogant backs of Shawn and Jin Chengxian, they felt somewhat awkward and at a loss.
"Take notes, it will be very useful when they lose!" Losov suddenly said. Following this, everyone else burst into laughter. Their mindset was very good now; losing to Ting Yu wasn't considered a loss because he was a monster. Instead of spending time studying the monster, it was better to study other opponents more.