I desperately want to win on the peninsula

The next day, Seoul.

Early in the morning, Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xian were woken up by their agent. After washing up and changing their clothes, they rushed to Ment TV station in Sangam-dong.

Today is the second round of "smtm", commonly known as the 60-second fire pit challenge.

So the trip was only for two people. Zhou Xian, who was sitting in the car, didn't sit idle. He took out his phone and played a beat he made himself, rapping along to the rhythm.

"My seven-year training career has come to an end. Thank you for this stage that I have the opportunity to take control of. To my beloved mother, I want to be the son you can be proud of." As he rapped, the van drove on the road, and the scenery outside the window began to slowly move backward.

Lin Qianqiao stared blankly at the GG signs on the street outside the window.

One plus one equals a cutie, two plus two equals a cutie, three plus three equals a cutie.

Little cutie, little cutie

Four plus four equals cutie, five plus five equals cutie, six plus six equals kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss~

Little cutie~ I'm Ki ~Yo~Mi——”

The song playing in his headphones was "Cute Song," which became a hit in 13. Hari's uniquely cute and sweet voice assaulted his eardrums, completely unaffected by Zhou Xian sitting next to him.

The agent, Lee Young-jin, in the passenger seat, looked at Joo Hyun and Lin Chien-chiao through the rearview mirror. One of them kept talking, while the other stared blankly out the window.

Seeing these two contrasting personalities, one active and one quiet, Li Rongzhen couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

The cicadas' desperate chirping in June created a monotonous and irritating wave of sound that gripped every inch of space.

After leaving the TV station's parking lot, Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xian said goodbye to their manager, Li Rongzhen, and headed to the recording studio on their own.

Lin Qianqiao's outfit today is a mix-and-match style, which undoubtedly includes hoodies. He is a huge hoodie enthusiast, owning hoodies in all sorts of colors and having a decent ability to pull them off, bringing out his own unique style.

He wore a black printed sweatshirt over a slightly longer white t-shirt, with the hem peeking out slightly for a stylish look. He paired it with black cargo pants and his favorite brown Onitsuka Tiger shoes, simple yet neat, giving him a fresh and cool overall appearance.

As she walked, the drawstrings of her hoodie swayed back and forth, radiating a relaxed and carefree aura, as if she were visiting the TV station.

Today is the recording of the second round of the "SMTM" competition. Only four days have passed since the auditions, and 108 people have been selected from 7000 applicants.

The production team was targeting the summer vacation season, when students on holiday were the most likely to contribute to the ratings, so the TV station naturally had to work hard to record the show.

For the contestants, time is tight. They not only need to practice, but also prepare for the stage performance. They need to consider and make full preparations in all aspects.

For rappers, SMTM is a stage to showcase their talents and a great place to gain popularity. If they can achieve good results, they can then perform at various clubs (commercial shows) and earn substantial income.

But for Lin Qianqiao, this place is more like a place to gain exposure. If it weren't for the fact that MONSTAX's debut performance was not as good as that of other popular groups, he wouldn't really want to participate in this program.

However, the company did not have any specific performance requirements for him, so he seemed quite relaxed and carefree.

The two were very familiar with Ment TV station. It was not only the filming location for Starship Troopers' survival show "NO.MERCY", but also the place where MONSTA X debuted.

So the two of them, skillfully led by the staff, arrived at the recording site of "SMTM".

Upon entering the waiting room, I found quite a few contestants already seated inside. They must have taken this qualifying round very seriously, as they all arrived quite early.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xian arrived relatively late; the show hadn't aired yet, so not many people knew how they advanced.

At this moment, they received a lot of scrutiny and stares.

Some looked on with disdain, some with envy and hostility, some with envy and longing, and some with indifference, glancing at it dismissively and then ignoring it. There seemed to be a few curious glances as well.

Lin Qianqiao casually found an empty seat and sat down. He glanced around at the contestants and found that he finally recognized a few rappers, or rather, some who were talented.

When I participated in the audition, I was surrounded by ugly people, and I didn't even bother to look at them, so I naturally didn't bother to pay attention.

He wasn't unprepared, because he knew from watching YouTube that there were some rappers with good skills in Peninsula hip-hop, but there were very few who participated, so SMTM wasn't very attractive.

After the selection process, things naturally change. There are quite a few well-known contestants, but their actual abilities are hard to say.

In the waiting room, a high school student dressed in a school uniform had his eyes fixed on Lin Qianqiao the moment he entered.

So when he looked over, the two of them stared at each other, and the high school student nodded at him expressionlessly.

This dark-skinned high school student looks quite amusing. Among a group of hip-hop rappers, he stands out in his high school uniform, giving him a somewhat unique and unconventional feel.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Qianqiao smiled and nodded at him, then picked up her headphones and put them on to listen to music.

Not long after, the recording of SMTM began.

The rules for the second round are: contestants must prepare a one-minute rap and choose a beat, and perform it in front of the production team for one minute.

To pass this round, a contestant must be approved by at least one production team. If all four production teams press the elimination button before the 60-second time limit expires, the contestant will be eliminated.

This segment is also known as the 60-second fire pit challenge. When a producer presses fail, flames will ignite around the stage.

If someone is eliminated, the stage will descend, and the eliminated person standing in the center of the stage will be slowly engulfed by the surrounding fireworks, which should be quite entertaining.

Before the first contestant even took the stage, cheers and jeers erupted from the waiting room next door.

The contestants here were still a bit confused by the commotion, and all their eyes were on the TV screen in the waiting room, wanting to see who would be the first to go on stage.

After the DJ's introduction, the contestant's name was Jung Jae-won. He was formerly the leader and rapper of the group OnePunch. Now, he has abandoned his former identity and is participating in the competition under the stage name One.

Upon hearing that it sounded like an idol rapper, the contestants in the waiting room were somewhat dismissive.

This contestant looks quite handsome, and his clean and refreshing appearance is quite pleasant, but he also seems a bit out of place.

So something interesting happened. Producer LOCO immediately said that he had met him in the same building and they had exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Immediately afterwards, doubts arose about One's abilities, with mixed reviews and similar skepticism from other producers.

Then... his next performance surprised everyone. His rap skills were impressive, his stage presence was good, and his overall level was excellent.

Not only did they gain the approval of all the producers, but they also received the first all pass, advancing to the next round and securing a spot in the next round.

This sudden reversal effect is probably exactly what the production team wanted.

Not only did the producers start vying for contestants, but the contestants in the waiting room also began to applaud and cheer, while some contestants who took the competition more seriously frowned.

This image and ability could potentially create a disadvantage for underground rappers, since the show prioritizes ratings and will definitely give preferential treatment to these types of contestants.

……