I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 573 Backroom Dealings, The Dark Side of the Stage

Just as Jinli and Knowledge Universe were holding a three-day charity reading day, the latest second episode of "Shining Glory" was also released.

The production team didn't waste any words in this episode. The suspense left at the end of the last episode was revealed in the first 10 minutes of the second episode, which was the first stage appearance of the second episode.

The new group [June Summer], heavily promoted by Tianding, ignited the entire audience with their original song "Pretty Girl," turning the trainees below the stage into their devoted fans.

The dance to this song is relatively simple, but the editing of the show is superb. The editing is excellent, cutting, shaking, and changing the scene at crucial moments, and the lighting effects are also outstanding.

The outstanding stage design and lighting effects gave this stage a unique charm.

Many netizens who frequently watch talent shows couldn't help but exclaim upon seeing this stage, "These young men's performance is quite good!"

And after this performance was broadcast, it lived up to expectations and became the top trending topic on the homepage that day, with the tag being—

#June's summer ignites the stage, the king descends!#
However, amidst the praise, some netizens who frequently watch talent shows complained that this stage was clearly not on the same level as the stages of other trainees.

[Such obvious favoritism suggests that Tian Ding and the production team are going to great lengths to ensure June Xia advances.]
[Looks are everything. Those two mixed-race trainees have striking features, strong and tall physiques, and are very handsome among all the trainees. Although the leader isn't mixed-race, he has a dashing and masculine appearance.]
Don't you guys think this team captain doesn't quite fit the style of a talent show? I think he should have participated in "Real Men" instead of trying to be funny on a talent show.
[+1, the captain's problem is with his makeup and styling, but his looks are good enough to carry a talent show.]
[Such a simple song, such a simple dance, you can't see their true strength. How come they all got A's on this kind of stage? Can't we have a battle?]
The production team of "Shining Glory" truly deserves its reputation as the pioneer of talent shows in China. They anticipated the trouble that netizens would cause by anticipating it and directly launched a role-swapping battle in the second episode.

Some students even took on the challenge of summer in June!

And coincidentally, one of the trainees who challenged them was a trainee sent by Chenxi Entertainment.

Jinli participates in reading charity events held by Knowledge Universe during the day and streams live for more than 5 hours during the day. She doesn't stream at night and steals time to watch variety shows.

She nodded when she saw this.

The trainees sent by Chenxi Entertainment are quite bold; they will look for opportunities, even if the chances are slim, and try their best to get screen time.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to editing, the original challenge of randomly dancing to music for one minute was cut down to only 20 seconds.

Within those 20 seconds, the trainees from Chenxi Entertainment didn't time their timing well enough, and the June Summer members, who were being challenged, didn't perform as well.

The most exciting part of episode 2 of "Shining Glory" was all about June Xia and the subsequent battle challenge.

After watching these two segments, the rest of the segment focuses on the performance details of the first public performance and the selection of teammates.

These parts were rather boring, so Jinli didn't watch until the end.

She scrolled through the trending topics online and, unsurprisingly, June Summer dominated the screens, so she put down her phone and went to rest.

So she didn't see that at 11 p.m., a topic quietly climbed to the 10th spot on the trending searches.

#Full Battle Video Leaked, June Summer Suspected of Underhanded Tactics#
This trending topic was quickly removed after only 10 minutes, but some quick-thinking netizens had already downloaded the video uploaded by the whistleblower, but unfortunately, it could not be widely disseminated.

Ordinary people reposted it on their blogs so that netizens who were just watching the drama could see it.

The variety show features several battle stages, and each stage is given a full minute.

The only segment shown was a 20-second clip of a trainee from Chenxi Entertainment battling a member of June Summer.

The whistleblower uploaded this complete one-minute battle video.

Netizens who clicked in to watch found that in the first 20 seconds, the trainees from Chenxi Entertainment did not handle the music well and were very nervous, which caused them to make mistakes in timing their movements. Their timing was always half a beat slow, and they did not react as quickly as the members of June Summer.

This footage was also shown in the variety show.

In the show's editing, although the dance moves used by the June Summer members were relatively simple and not complicated, they still gave people a sense of kingly dominance in their simplicity.

However, from the perspective of the paparazzi, stripping away the editing effect specially given by the production team, netizens felt that this member of June Summer probably had very poor dance skills, so she kept using the most basic dance moves.

Although the trainee from Chenxi Entertainment was too nervous and was a beat late in hitting the beat, his dance skills were clearly very good because he used some relatively complex moves.

However, good dance skills don't mean much; the key is stage presence.

The dances are always off-beat and make mistakes, making them less visually appealing than simpler ones.

However, a surprising twist occurred.

After getting through the initial 20 seconds, the trainees from Chenxi Entertainment found the balance between the movements and the timing, transforming themselves into soulful dancers as if reborn.

He calculated every single point perfectly, demonstrating exceptional dance skills and impressive stage presence.

Now netizens finally understand why the production team only released the first 20 seconds of the clip and not the last 40 seconds.

Once released, how can June Summer possibly win?
The contrast between the two stages was so stark that it was obvious who would win and who would lose.

Clearly, June Summer was the loser.

Unfortunately, the trending topic was removed too quickly, limiting the discussion to a small circle. Most netizens were unaware of the incident and had not seen the video.

However, Sui Lingfang found out about the video the next day. The boss even called a meeting with her to ask if she could promote the video.

Sui Lingfang thought about it carefully for a while and then refused.

"With Tianding's investment in 'Shining Glory,' it's obvious they want to make June Xia a star. No matter how hard the trainees from Chenxi Entertainment struggle, they will all be defeated by June Xia."

If we keep focusing on this video, the show's malicious editing of our trainees will continue, and they might even incite netizens to criticize them.

I think it's better to let them withdraw in time and be eliminated sooner rather than later, rather than facing a predictable online backlash.

The president said somewhat reluctantly, "Didn't they say that the production team of this variety show is professional? They shouldn't give up on any hot topics that can attract netizens' discussion."

Sui Lingfang smiled and said, "But President, malicious editing is the most common way to create sensational moments. Don't think too highly of the other party. Besides, Tianding Entertainment would never allow our trainees to suppress the groups they are launching."

The president was speechless for a moment, then exclaimed, "What kind of mess is this?!"

"Why would March Sky want to terminate its contract with Tianding for no reason? If they hadn't, the cooperation between Morning Light and Tianding would have been going well."

Sui Lingfang reminded her, "You can complain about these things yourself, but don't let Jinli hear them. The friendship between artists shouldn't be mixed with company interests, lest she feel uncomfortable or have other ideas."

The CEO nodded quickly, "I understand."

Jinli is the company's cash cow, so he certainly wouldn't gossip about her behind her back; he just feels sorry for her.

But thinking about it carefully, as long as Jinli is willing to stay at the company, there's nothing to regret.

As for money, it's not a matter of how much or how little you earn; at least you won't be unable to earn anything, and that's the greatest blessing.

Jinli soon learned of this news from Sui Lingfang.

Fang Jie specially created a group chat, which is full of the company's signed artists. There are no third-tier artists, only second-tier and first-tier artists.

Then she talked about the difficulties faced by the trainees from Chenxi Entertainment in participating in the program "Shining Glory". Fang Jie revealed this information not to ask these artists for help, but to give them a heads-up so that they would know how to answer if reporters pressed them for answers later.

In the entertainment industry, it's always good to know more, so you don't accidentally offend other actors.

Jinli also learned from Sister Fang that today is the first public performance stage showdown.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, all trainees from Chenxi Entertainment will be eliminated in the first performance.

The reason is simple: their first episode was riddled with errors. If we want them to stay, we have to show their growth.

However, it is clear that the production team did not edit in this direction in the second episode of the variety show. Instead, they downplayed the presence of these trainees and gave them very little screen time.

Therefore, the production team will most likely sacrifice them on the first performance stage and eliminate them quickly.

Jinli watched the videos uploaded by Fangjie and found that the trainees of Chenxi Entertainment actually had good dance skills and were not complete beginners.

She messaged Fang Jie privately: "I promised to give them autographs, please remind me later."

She could do little more than try her best.

Jinli did this not out of kindness, but simply because she felt that they deserved a better stage, but were being used as cannon fodder.

As fellow artists in the same company, we should take care of each other as much as possible.

This is due to his personality, not a deliberate show.

If it were Qi Guanmingzhu and Xi Mengze, they would never think about such things.

However, seeing that Jinli cared for these junior trainees, they all expressed their desire to talk to them and offer support and encouragement.

Spending time with Jinli made them feel more positive and energetic.
-
At the same time, the trainees from Chenxi Entertainment, who were being discussed by everyone, were nervously preparing for their first public performance backstage.

Trainee A: "Captain, this is a live performance, I'm a little nervous, what should I do?"

Trainee B: "Captain, can't we use backing vocals? I'm afraid it will even produce vibrato."

Trainee C: "Captain, will Sister Jinli see our stage? To be honest, I've wanted to give up for a long time. If it weren't for Sister Jinli's encouragement, I would have given up."

The person being called "Captain" was a bit annoyed. They called him "Captain" every day, and he only called them "Captain" when there was something going on. He wasn't their mother!

However, it is understandable that the team members are anxious and in a bad mood.

He himself finds it unbelievable how he survived those two weeks.

Every day, when I open my eyes, it's training; when I close my eyes, it's sleep; and when I open my eyes again, it's training again.

If there is no stage, find a way to create one; if there is no venue, find a way to create the conditions.

In short, it boils down to three words: It's too difficult!!!
It was only after arriving at the performance venue today that they learned about the PK order and their opponents.

Good heavens, they actually assigned them to compete against June Summer in a stage battle.

It's said that enemies are destined to meet, and there's no escaping this fate, is there?
The team leader comforted them, saying, "It's a requirement of the production team to sing live on stage. Every stage requires singing live on stage, so don't worry about that. If we don't perform well, others might not perform well either."

As long as we perform on this stage, Sister Jinli will definitely see it, and maybe she'll even give us some feedback.

Besides, we've worked so hard for so long, learning the moves under the scorching sun, all for today's stage! No matter the outcome, we must bravely perform and give ourselves a satisfactory result!

To be honest, if they didn't truly not see the outcome, they wouldn't comfort themselves by saying that the result doesn't matter and that the process is what matters.

Don't we all want a good outcome?

But the hope is slim.

Soon, they received instructions from the staff and went to the back of the stage.

Upon hearing the voices coming through their earpieces, the trainees walked out with bright eyes.

……

Four hours later.

As expected, they were eliminated in the first public performance.

Moreover, while watching other people's performances during breaks, I discovered a very painful reality.

Only a small number of teams were required by the production team to sing live; most teams used backing tracks, and some even just lip-synced, like June Summer.

But what can be done?

No matter how unfair they feel it is, once someone is eliminated, they are eliminated.

Last night, they packed all their luggage and left the dormitory immediately after being eliminated.

Because they ran so fast, they didn't notice that shortly after they left, the production crew came to them, wanting to have a talk.

To their astonishment, they found that the dormitory had become completely empty.

They were completely unaware of how shocked the trainees and fans who had managed to snag tickets for the first performance were during their show.

"Their stage presence is great. Is this a completely new group? It doesn't seem like it. Have they already debuted?"

"No, these people are all trainees from Chenxi Entertainment. When did Chenxi's people become so amazing? Their movements are so synchronized!"

"Wow, they're singing and dancing live and still so steady, they're an amazing boy band!"

The scene was noisy; fans watched from the front of the stage, while the trainees watched on TV from the lounge.

The camera only glanced at the audience in front of the stage, without recording any sound.

Therefore, the trainees from Chenxi Entertainment were unaware of the netizens' shock, the praise and affirmation from other trainees, and even less aware of what would happen after their elimination results were announced—

The fans who came to watch the performance—all of them fans of other people—surprisingly shouted in unison from below the stage:

"Shady! Shady! Shady!"

If you truly have the ability, even if you don't receive the corresponding treatment due to the manipulation of capital, the audience's eyes are discerning.

Recognition of strength can overcome all prejudice.