Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Chapter 450 Steady Shot

"It's such a big stage. Forget about the number of seats. Is the entire square a standing area? How many spectators will come?"

"It is said that the number of people watching the Kanda Festival every year exceeds 10,000."

"When I think about performing on such a big stage in front of tens of thousands of people, my legs go weak..."

When Xia Fan and Martin arrived, other AFO members and the management team had also arrived, looking at the large performance venue with nervous expressions.

"Everyone, at this point, there is no time for you to be nervous!"

"We are only given ten minutes to step on the stage, which is only enough to perform the dance twice..."

"When you go up there, treat it like a formal performance and give it your all!"

As this was the first time that AFO group appeared at such a large-scale event, not only the entire management and performing team were on high alert, but the person in charge, Yozo Iijima, was also present.

Because the venue is limited, artists participating in the opening ceremony performances can basically only find a place such as an office building nearby to use as a place to put on makeup, prepare, and wait on standby, and then come to wait when the time comes.

So we could only focus on the morning period and rehearse twice.

"I'm going to perform on a stage like this this afternoon, but it doesn't feel real right now."

"It's my first time singing and dancing live, and it happened to be the opening ceremony of the summer festival that was watched by the most people..."

After waiting for half an hour, the AFO members stood on the stage to start rehearsing. The sight of the terrifyingly large audience area made their minds go blank.

Even for the 101% who made it out of the 9 trainees, most of their performance experience was limited to NHK's small studio.

When recording a show in front of the camera, if you make a mistake in your movements, you can edit it out; if you sing out of tune, you can fix it...

It was their first time to stand on a live stage in front of tens of thousands of people, and to sing and dance with real intent without any editing was a bit "out of scope" for them.

When they thought that all the mistakes they made on stage would be magnified infinitely with no chance of making up for it, a chilling fear began to spread along their spines and throughout their bodies.

"Oh my god, the first move is not complete?!"

As soon as the BGM of "The Birth of an Idol" sounded, the members' messy opening performance surprised the management team.

"Hey, these guys have been practicing for so long, why do they become weaklings as soon as they get on stage?"

"If this happens during the official performance in the afternoon, it will be a car accident-level performance accident."

The members' movements were so stiff that they couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all, their smiles were so uncontrollable that their jaw muscles were distorted, and some even made mistakes in their positioning and bumped into each other...

The dance movements and breathing lost their rhythm, not to mention the vocal part, which was totally out of tune and out of tune.

Once the teammates around him got confused, those who were originally in rhythm also became confused one by one, and the whole stage suddenly became a mess.

"Wait, Xia Fan's movements and singing are still in rhythm, so steady?"

Immediately, the teacher in charge of dance instruction noticed Xia Fan, who was in charge of the "corner position" amid the "chaos of demons".

"It's like a 'human videotape'. The movements and singing are exactly the same as when I was recording a music video..."

He was not nervous at all about the performance venue, nor was he affected by his teammates' mistakes. Not only were his rhythm and positioning completely on point, his expressions and movements were almost exactly the same as in normal rehearsals, without any distortion.

Even Xia Fan's singing, in this state of singing and dancing without a microphone, is still as steady as an old dog, and the penetration and appeal of the high notes are undiminished.

"You guys! When you feel like you can't find the tune, adjust it according to Xia Fan's rhythm!"

Without caring about anything else, the dance teacher ran to the side of the stage and scolded loudly. "Compare to Xia Fan..."

"Where is Xia Fan?"

The members were so nervous that they were blurred in consciousness and could only follow the rhythm of the music with their bodies. Their eyes subconsciously fell on Xia Fan in the corner.

"Xia Fan... is still keeping the right rhythm..."

"Follow him...don't rush..."

Watching Xia Fan, who was not affected by the environment at all and performed steadily like a robot, the members of AFO also unconsciously began to adjust their bodies to follow his lead...

The originally disorganized stage, with Xia Fan as a reference, the rhythm, movements and expressions of the members began to regain their form at a speed visible to the naked eye...

"I didn't realize before that Xia Fan actually has the talent to be a 'core'..."

"After Kimura Goro, I haven't seen such a 'beat stabilizer' in many years. It's unjust not to be the center."

The performance was obviously getting better and better, as if a pile of loose sand had turned into a concrete Great Wall. The entire AFO agency team couldn't help but be dazzled.

In idol boy groups, there is a very rare group of members who are not only not affected by the environment, but can also lead the entire group and ensure the performance rhythm stably and freely.

Such rare talent is known in the industry as a "beat stabilizer" or "the C position among C positions". They often take the lead in a multi-person performance and occupy the most important performance position.

"Tsk... finally got back to normal..."

"Don't forget to introduce yourself before the show starts. Relax your body, keep a natural expression, and don't mess up!"

Seeing that the performance finally returned to normal levels in the second half, Iijima Yozo gave a loud reminder and looked at Xia Fan with both joy and worry.

She was happy that, thanks to Xia Fan's encouragement, the rehearsal didn't go to pieces...

What is worrying is that the other party’s eye-catching performance may trigger some “unnecessary” public opinion afterwards.

"Keep the feeling of finishing just now, hurry up and rehearse again. If you dare to mess up again, come down and practice until the opening!"

"Adjust your breathing, pay attention to blending into the melody of the song, and don't make the same mistake again where you broke your voice!"

With the instructions of the dance and vocal teachers, the AFO group started the second rehearsal.

"Very good, this is the normal level!"

"Hold on, think about all these days of hellish training!"

From this point on, the band members on the stage calmed down, and as if they had grabbed a life-saving straw, they kept following Xia Fan with their peripheral vision and adjusted their own rhythm accordingly.

The overall performance effect on the stage instantly returned to its usual level.

"Is that... a star name?"

But Xia Fan, who was the focus of everyone's attention, was dancing steadily with his "muscle memory" at this moment, but his eyes fell on the direction of the entrance of the performance venue...

There, Hoshina Hanami, wearing a mask and a beret, entered the scene accompanied by Tachibana Ryoko and Higashino Yoshihide.

AFO's performance will be at the opening ceremony of the festival this afternoon, while Hoshina Hanami will appear at the "Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards" award ceremony in the evening. Obviously, she came so early to "step on the stage" in advance.

As for Yoshie Higashino, since Xia Fan already had an "agency team" and Hoshina Hanami was at least his "half-artist", he temporarily went there to help.

(End of this chapter)