I desperately want to win on the peninsula

That evening, the outside world was very dissatisfied with the results of the SMTM semi-finals.

The second group battle went without any problems, and Lin Qianqiao received very high praise. Many hip-hop fans felt that he deserved the victory.

Many fans who have followed the show from its premiere to today's semi-finals are overjoyed and quite satisfied with the result.

The problem lies with the first group...

The problem arose in the first group. Many fans felt sorry for Zhou Xianming, but Song Minhao's fans were not to be trifled with and fought back very quickly.

The main issue was that after the collaboration stage ended, Taeyang loudly proclaimed, "The champion is Song Minho!" This kind of support for his junior is perfectly normal, but in the eyes of the rivals, it was seen as bullying.

But don't even mention the second brother, Zhou Xian's Buddha is no less powerful than Song Minhao's. Anyway, things have come to this, so let's stop talking and start fighting.

"After losing a four-on-two match, some fans shamelessly claimed that he was bullying others, losing both his dignity and his spirit. They said that Song Minho would win a thousand times. If he wants to win, they suggest he go back to the drawing board and start over. But even if he goes back a thousand times, that loser face will still be on his face, kkkkkk."

"Some people, they put their own fathers on the table to gain sympathy, and if I'm not mistaken, they even shed tears. It's such a deep father-son bond, you'd think it was a family reunion show, with Song Min-ho being a long-lost son. I was almost crying, but somehow Taeyang looks more like his father to me. Their faces are even surprisingly similar. Could they have come from the same plastic surgery clinic? It's really laughable."

"That's it? Some people's loser faces would be rejected even if they got plastic surgery, right? It's pathetic that their naturally ugly faces have nothing left to do, not even a sliver of room for improvement. Choosing to be a rapper was definitely the right decision, since idols are judged by their looks. Do you have one?"

"I'm laughing so hard. These two are arguing all the time because they're not good enough. It's a classic case of calling your parents when you can't beat them. Instead of arguing, you should let your oppa practice his rap so he doesn't embarrass himself in the finals."

"That's true. Let's see who you can invite to the finals, GD? Kyo has never been afraid of a real, head-to-head battle. Some of his fans should know that. I'm already looking forward to the results of the finals."

"The champion is Song Min-ho!"

"..."

Initially, the online uproar about SMTM stemmed from dissatisfaction with the results, with trending posts springing up like a tower building.

Since the number of fans of the two sides was almost the same at this moment, and they looked evenly matched, the rivals picked up their keyboards and attacked each other's weak points, and the blood splattered out could startle the onlookers.

However, it only looked crazy; in reality, neither side had the ability to finish the other off. So, without much thought, the two sides agreed to stand in the center of the ring and exchange a flurry of punches to see who would collapse first.

However, the situation instantly changed when the third party's fans got involved. After all, they had argued before about who was the leader and who contributed the most, so it was easy for them to manipulate this fan group. Or rather, this was the long-awaited rematch.

The fans' confidence stems from their idol's impressive performance, including a dominant victory in the semifinals without any special contributions. Moreover, as their popularity continues to rise, their fanbase expands, so naturally they want to test their skills against others.

As luck would have it, the fans of the defeated opponent dared to attack their own group. Without any warning, a group of people gathered and slapped the defeated opponent's fans.

Unless the champion fan can impersonate Lu Bu in a one-against-two battle, he can only wait to be beaten down on the spot, slink back to his sewer as a rat, and then silently wait for the final result. If he wins, he can continue to show up; if he loses, he can play dead.

Surprisingly, just when the champion's fans were about to be defeated, the fans of their compatriots came to the rescue.

It's strange how iKON is. They started promoting their debut at the beginning of the year, but apart from their guest appearance on SMTM, there's basically no sign of them debuting.

However, they've recently started rehashing old ideas again. YG Entertainment released their debut poster, and Kim Hanbin and Bobby, two of the top four contestants from SMTM Season 3, are in the group. Their popularity is still quite good. They even said they'd be holding showcases in Seoul and Japan, probably around ten shows in total, almost like a tour. It's like a huge case, and I wonder how much it will cost.

However, YG Entertainment has a cash cow right now. Bigbang's current tour ticket sales are making their competitors green with envy. They're simply short of money and are even planning to build a new building.

Therefore, ikon's situation looks quite good, and the future is promising.

To maintain this level of popularity and continue the scarcity marketing strategy, the two MONSTAX products don't suddenly rise to prominence; anyone with a discerning eye can see the similarities between them.

With the same four finalists plus a champion who is yet to be crowned, if this process continues, the points that iKON has been promoting will become negligible, and expectations will plummet.

So no matter what, this family had to suppress the situation, and overnight they entered a phase of mutual tearing. Now the posts have turned into a chaotic battle between four sides, causing upheaval, with a bunch of onlookers watching the show, hoping that all the families would be brought down.

The fact that the show can be so fiercely contested proves its popularity. The celebrity lineup in the semi-finals already brought its own audience, plus many casual fans who just wanted to join in the fun and use it as gossip. This group is like those who only watch the playoffs, semi-finals, and finals of a sports game.

So the final ratings for the SMTM program soared to 5.8%, with the highest peak even exceeding 6%. While single-digit ratings may not seem like much, the last variety show on Mnet to break 5% was "The Return of Superman" five years ago.

This rating nearly doubled compared to the previous episode, which didn't even break 3% last season. This rating is enough to leave the producers speechless and overjoyed.

It could even be said that the fourth season of SMTM reached its peak, and this data caused an instant uproar as soon as it was released.

Numerous media outlets began to rush to report on it. After all, it was the result of several years of operation by a long-established television station. Finally, they had a program that they could be proud of. Even if the media did not react, they would still pay for the articles themselves. Moreover, the connection between the television station and the media has always been close. It did not take much effort. Overnight, the traffic about SMTM was astonishing.

Seeing this, director Lee Sang-geun once again personally stepped in to record an interview. This time, he first thanked the viewers and said that he would stay true to his original intention and present the wonderful finale perfectly.

Then it was announced that the finals would be held on August 28th via live broadcast. Finally, the two finalists were mentioned again, and their efforts were thanked. In conclusion, he said that no matter the outcome, he would sincerely wish them well.

The next day, a lot of discussions about the finals suddenly appeared online. Those who followed the show could talk about it at length, but those who just wanted to join in the fun didn't know much. They either watched the highlights to recognize the contestants or tried to build up their popularity by looking at their faces... which was exactly Lin Qianqiao's forte.

Then a bunch of champion fans emerged, as if the finals were already a piece of cake, and their opinions were even more confident than the champion himself.

It was these remarks that created momentum, which led fans of both sides to start comparing their music on music streaming websites.

Because the songs from the SMTM semi-finals are usually released every other day, this gave the two teams a reason to compete for the top spot on the charts. As soon as the four songs were released, the four contestants' songs immediately appeared at the top of the Melon real-time chart.

Its momentum is comparable to the Infinite Challenge Song Festival, but it's only due to the popularity of the semi-finals; it didn't receive this treatment before.

First of all, the worst performer can only be the dad Basick, partly because he was eliminated, which resulted in very little discussion.

On the other hand, his newly signed agency has not yet given him enough support. The only group that can help with promotion is the girl group MAMAMOO, which debuted less than two years ago. Compared with the lineup invited by the other two contestants, the gap is too large. He barely made it into the top 20 on the Melon daily chart, and it is estimated that it is not very stable yet.

Surprisingly, the best performing song was Lin Qianqiao's "Forever," which debuted at number two on Melon's real-time chart and jumped straight to number six on the daily chart on its first day.

Next up is Song Min-ho and Taeyang's "Fear," followed by Joo Heon's "Easter Egg Video," with the two ranking 8th and 10th respectively.

With the final charts released, everyone started their chart battles in full swing. The next day, "Forever" shot straight up to second place on the music chart, "Fear" was not to be outdone and chased after it, while "Easter Egg Video" barely managed to catch up.

Considering Zhou Xian's achievement of winning first place on the music charts last week, this result isn't particularly impressive. However, it was due to the viral video and the transitional period for music releases at that time that the charts surged.

This also proves that Zhou Xian's popularity is somewhat superficial. When it comes to real combat, he seems to lack stamina and may also be influenced by the debuff of defeat.

After all, most people only care about winning. If they can't get that joy of victory, they'll feel particularly down. Nobody wants to spend more time with someone whose expectations are dashed. The advantage is that a lot of celebrity fans have been lost, and the base of support has become much more solid. Overall, it's a mixed bag.

The fans of the other two companies didn't have any issues. Song Minho is from YG Entertainment, and Winner has a good track record, so they already had a solid foundation and wouldn't falter during the chart-topping season.

Lin Qianqiao has been in the spotlight since he joined the show, and he has never lost a round. Hip-hop is a circle that admires strength, and the fans who watched the whole show were not intimidated at all. This is the confidence that comes from the strength of the main character. It is this strength that has attracted many fans who are popular, fans who admire strength, and fans who admire his looks.

Therefore, the competition between the two was extremely fierce. "Forever" also performed exceptionally well, directly suppressing "Fear" to the third place and firmly climbing to the second place on the daily chart.

The reason why the second place on the daily chart is considered strong is actually quite simple: the number one spot is held by Girls' Generation's "Lion Heart," an empress that makes countless peers want to back down.

At the time, Jooheon's "Red Sun" topped the daily charts just before Girls' Generation released their song on the 20th, but was knocked down in less than two days, which shows how terrifying it was.

Interestingly, his biggest fear—that his comeback would clash with Girls' Generation and be trampled underfoot—did actually happen, which is something to celebrate, as it somewhat served as a talisman against disaster.

In short: no matter how much the show blows up the K-pop scene, how noisy the discussions are, how glamorous the contestants are, or how catchy the songs are, they all have to kneel down when Girls' Generation releases a song now.

Even in their battle-damaged form, Girls' Generation remains incredibly popular today. They are the most well-known girl group in Taiwan, and their album sales are still at the pinnacle for girl groups, the highest mountain that countless other girl groups can only look up to.

This turned the battle for the music chart champion into a fight for second place, which was somewhat absurd and hard to describe.

Lin Qianqiao, one of the main parties involved, couldn't help but laugh at the situation. The two sides were fighting to the death, but he was still being defeated by a lower dimension. They were not even in the same dimension.

In terms of music charts, the only group comparable to them is Sistar, who are also from the same company. These four members have achieved even more impressive results than Girls' Generation, or even surpassed them. However, their sales have always been poor, and their commercial value is nowhere near that of Girls' Generation. If the two groups were to combine their music, it would probably be the highest mountain and the longest river...

However... Zhou Xian did manage to get a number one spot, which, although there was an element of luck involved, was an undeniable achievement, and it was also the second song to reach number one on the daily chart since the start of SMTM.

The first song is "Oppa Cha" by jinusean, tablo, and Lil boi, which topped the daily charts for seven consecutive days and was number one on the weekly charts. The second song is "My Way" by AOMG.

Sometimes Lin Qianqiao even wondered if she was under a spell, because she was always stuck in the position of her penis and couldn't move.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt uncomfortable all over and began to think about whether he had done anything wrong recently. Gray said he was going to a temple to pray, so maybe he should go with him... Since the release of his songs, they have been stuck at number two for three consecutive days. If it were during the off-season for releasing songs at the beginning or end of the year, he would have had a chance to make it onto the daily charts or even the weekly charts based on his listenership and downloads. So, no matter how you look at it, he felt that he was having a really bad time and wanted to change his luck.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Lee Yong-jin, who was in the same car, put away his phone, which he had been checking messages on, turned his head to look at the back seat, and said, "Gan Chiao, your comeback promotional photos are about to be released. The official SNS will go live at noon."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qianqiao snapped out of her daze, looked up at Li Rongzhen, and nodded. "Really? I'll check on SNS later."

After saying that, he picked up his phone and glanced at it. There was still more than half an hour left, so he wasn't in a hurry.

The main reason is that the company saw that Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xian had achieved results, so they inexplicably became more mysterious and created an air of mystery. The members' promotional posters were released individually, and some materials were released every other day to whet the fans' appetites and raise their expectations.

Zhou Xian's promotional poster was released the day before the semi-finals and even made it onto Naver's real-time trending list for a while, so he is indeed quite popular.

"The PR team is extremely satisfied with your pink hair look. They keep praising you in the work group, saying it made their work easier and gave them a great sense of reassurance," Lee Yong-jin said with a smile.

"Brother, even if you say that, I won't be modest~" Lin Qianqiao waved his hand, "I'll accept all the praise from the staff."

He's no longer bothered by people mistaking magenta for pink; let him see it as whatever color he wants... I'm too lazy to explain.

"Hahaha!" Lee Yong-jin laughed heartily. He's been doing really well lately. His mood is visibly good. He's always smiling, and the classroom atmosphere has almost disappeared.

With Lin Qianqiao having no schedule these past few days, Li Rongzhen didn't have to go through the trouble of following her around, so he was naturally happy.

Because Starship directly postponed or delayed Lin Chien-Chiao's schedule, and SMTM's finals are only four days away.

So these past few days I've been spending my time at AOMG practicing my stage performances. After finishing here, I go back to the company to practice the "Monster" dance, and after get off work I go back to my dorm.

About ten minutes later, the vehicle arrived at Daoshan Avenue and stopped in front of the AOMG gate.

As soon as Lin Qianqiao got out of the car, he spotted Park Jaebeom coming towards him. The guy walked over and gave him an American-style hug. After the hug, he patted Lin Qianqiao's shoulder twice, creating a harmonious scene like that of close brothers. It was so warm and friendly.

That's normal. President Park's two bets have resulted in one semi-finalist and one finalist, which has boosted AOMG's reputation. No one is happier than him right now.

"Everyone else is here, we're just waiting for you!" Park Jae-beom nodded to Lee Yong-jin in greeting, then raised an eyebrow at Lim Gon-chiao and said.

"Yes." Lin Qianqiao's lips twitched slightly; she was truly at a loss with Park Jae-beom.

The two strolled into AOMG. As for the staff, there was no need to worry; they could just find a place to park and follow.

After spending some time together and getting to know each other, Jay Park generously set aside a tea room for the staff to rest, providing snacks, tea, and meals—a pretty good arrangement.

Upon arriving at the production floor, Lin Qianqiao saw the people who had helped with the feature work. He smiled and nodded to them, knowing they were all quite familiar with each other, so there was no need for excessive small talk.

The group sat on the sofa and chatted for a while, with the rapper naturally talking about love and peace.

However, time waits for no one, so everyone got up and went into the practice room, and Lin Qianqiao naturally got into work mode.

Meanwhile, Starship Entertainment released another comeback teaser at noon today, featuring Lin Qianqiao's promotional photo.

This immediately caused a huge uproar.

……