Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

After being sidelined by the company, Xu Yao decided to go to Beijing.

Three things: audition, getting Nayoung to appear on the Spring Festival Gala, and follow-up preparations for the crucial contract termination.

Xu Yao had been thinking about terminating his contract even before he participated in The Voice of China.

SNH48's contract clearly states that members can terminate the contract unconditionally and are exempt from paying liquidated damages if they pass the civil service exam, graduate school entrance exam, or join the military.

Chen Yifei got into a district court in Shanghai based on this very point, becoming the only artist in the Chinese entertainment industry to terminate her contract with zero penalty.

But that's Siba Media.

The powerful voice of dreams is not Siba.

The contestants on The Voice of China signed a 9-year exclusive full-contract entertainment agency agreement, which is not a regular labor contract and therefore does not fall under the third-party agreement rule that allows for exemption from breach of contract penalties for taking the civil service exam.

Moreover, even if the labor contract does not contain a clause stating that the contract can be terminated unconditionally for taking the civil service exam/pursuing further education.

The company has taken a very tight-knit approach to preventing its artists from leaving the company.

This is why, among all talent shows, The Voice of China has the highest contract termination fees for its contestants.

In the first instance, Jin Chi was ordered to pay 380 million yuan in damages, Zhang Wei 500 million yuan, and Jin Zhiwen 743.9 million yuan...

While Xu Yao was still participating in The Voice of China, he secretly registered his application for a master's degree at the Central Conservatory of Music online.

He didn't tell anyone about this.

Zhou Shen didn't have one, not even his cousin.

It wasn't that I didn't trust them; the matter was accomplished in secrecy.

Revealing something extremely important before it's even accomplished only adds uncertainty and brings no benefit.

After all, receiving an admission notice for postgraduate studies is a significant matter if it leads to a lawsuit to terminate the contract.

it's good now.

The company sidelined him in advance, all tours were canceled, and even his name was removed from the promotional posters.

Xu Yao was originally thinking about how to find an excuse to ask for leave to go to Beijing, but now he doesn't need to give any reason at all.

The company's supposedly brilliant move turned out to be a godsend.

To say that this Dream Voice, besides ruthlessly exploiting its trainees for profit through tours, truly doesn't know how to manage its trainees.

How much has Hua Chenyu from the next station been hyped up since he won the championship?

"Divas Hit the Road", a regular on Mango TV's top-tier variety show, and the team that produced the album "Quasimodo's Gift".

One year after their debut, they held a concert for 10,000 people at the Wukesong Arena.

Does Dream Strong Voice really have absolutely no idea about the difference between AC?

It's also an interesting thing in life to force your own champion students to secretly take the postgraduate entrance exam.

Liang Bo, the champion of The Voice of China, missed many of The Voice of China's tour performances in 2013 due to his preparation for the postgraduate entrance examination.

From then on, Liang Bo was indefinitely suspended by the company and had no commercial performances.

Xu Yao found a chain hotel on the North Third Ring Road and settled in.

He pulled a brown paper envelope from the bottom of his suitcase.

There was only one piece of paper in the envelope.

Central Conservatory of Music 2015 Master's Degree Entrance Examination Admission Ticket.

Major applied for: Music Performance.

The exam room arrangement and exam time are printed on it.

On the morning of December 27th, the subject of Ideological and Political Theory was scored out of 100.

On the afternoon of December 27th, the Foreign Language (English) exam was held, with a maximum score of 100.

On the morning of December 28th, the first professional course (History of Chinese and Western Music) was held, with a full score of 150 points.

On the afternoon of December 28th, the second professional course (harmony and analysis of works) was held, with a full score of 150 points.

The photo on my admission ticket was taken before the finals. I looked a bit heavier than I do now, with rounder cheeks, but my eyes were very bright.

The difference is too big. What if I can't get into the exam room and have to say I took the exam for someone else?

Xu Yao stared at the admission ticket for a long time.

I've really returned all the theoretical knowledge I learned in four years of university to my alma mater.

I did manage to stuff a book on the history of music in China and the West and a book on harmony into my suitcase, but I only actually read a few pages of them.

He placed his admission ticket on the table and opened the system panel.

There are still some idol points left.

The system can't help him get on the Spring Festival Gala or terminate his contract, but it can still help him pass an exam.

Use idol points to directly absorb music knowledge into your brain.

Xu Yao estimated that after these exams, his idol value would probably be at its lowest point.

I can only wait until I complete the side quests for the Spring Festival Gala to accumulate another wave of idol points.

Xu Yao pressed down on the panel.

A warm current spread down from above.

The knowledge points started pouring into my brain: the chronological order of music history in China and the West, inversions and resolutions in harmony, English essay templates, and key points for listening comprehension and political essay questions...

Knowledge is neatly stored in my mind, like a newly organized bookshelf, categorized and easy to open, no matter which book I pick up.

"If only high school had this cheat code, getting into Tsinghua or Peking University would be a piece of cake!"

Xu Yao chuckled, finding humor in his predicament.

December 27, Central Conservatory of Music.

When Xu Yao walked into the examination room with his backpack, no one recognized him.

The mask covered half of his face, and he wasn't particularly famous to begin with. The hood of his down jacket was pulled down low, revealing only his eyes.

Sure enough, the teacher gave me a second look when I entered the exam room.

He took off half of his mask, revealing his face, and the teacher then asked other teachers to come over and help identify him before stamping the admission ticket.

The next morning, we had our first professional course: Chinese and Western music history.

When the curls came off, Xu Yao glanced at the question.

The Western music history section tested the characteristics of Baroque music, requiring analysis in conjunction with musical works.

The knowledge points fed into the system were neatly arranged there.

Monteverdi's operas, Vivaldi's concertos, Bach's counterpoint, and Handel's oratorios.

He analyzed Bach's St. Matthew Passion and The Well-Tempered Clavier, focusing on the fusion of religious and secular music.

The section on Chinese music history examined the music systems of the Tang and Song dynasties. He selected the grand music and banquet music of the Tang dynasty and analyzed them in conjunction with Bai Juyi's poems.

After finishing, I looked at my answer sheet again. The full score is 150, and I conservatively estimate that I can get more than 120.

The last session in the afternoon was on harmony and analysis of the works.

Harmony is Xu Yao's weakness, but he has made preparations. The systematic introduction of harmony theory, combined with his experience accumulated in actual creation, has a more flexible approach than rote memorization.

The analysis section tested the accompaniment texture and harmonic progression of an art song. Xu Yao answered by combining his own harmonic logic when composing songs. Although his answer was not perfect, his thinking was clear.

When he finished writing, he leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

It was already dark when I came out of the examination room.

In Beijing, it gets dark early in winter; the streetlights are already on by 5 p.m.

Xu Yao stood at the entrance of the Central Conservatory of Music, zipping his down jacket all the way up.

Wu Mochou and Zhang Bichen are from the Central Conservatory of Music.

Hua Chenyu is from Wuhan Conservatory of Music.

Xu Yao couldn't help but wonder to himself, on the day he received his admission letter from the Central Conservatory of Music, was he a classmate of Hua Chenyu or Zhang Bichen?

Or perhaps she was able to get along with both of them and just happened to be watching how she secretly got pregnant?

A cold wind blew into his collar, and he hunched his neck.

My phone vibrated; it was Nayoung's WeChat message.

"Xiao Yao, you're in Beijing?"

Xu Yao immediately replied, "Yes, Sister Na, I was thinking of treating you to a meal."

"Why did you suddenly come to Beijing?"

He pulled his mask up a bit and typed a few words: "Sister Na, it's a long story. Do you have time? Let's meet and chat."

"I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow night."

"My treat."

"You're in Beijing, listen to your sister. Tomorrow night at 7 pm, on Nanchizi Street, at that alleyway restaurant. It's hard to find, text me when you get there and I'll have my assistant come pick you up."

Xu Yao stared at the four characters "Nanchizi Street" for a while.

It wasn't one of those trendy restaurants frequented by celebrities in Sanlitun, nor was it a top-tier hotel.

Nanchizi Street is hidden east of the Forbidden City, deep in the old Beijing hutongs.

Nayoung chose this place to treat everyone because she genuinely wanted a quiet place to have a proper conversation.

"Okay, thank you, Sister Na."

Xu Yao put his phone in his pocket and waited for the taxi to arrive.

After finishing the postgraduate entrance exam, the next thing to do is to appear on the Spring Festival Gala.