Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

On the night the first performance ended, "Absolute Debut" had already reached the peak of public opinion.

The production team was clearly well-prepared – immediately after the performance, full-length videos of all eight stages were simultaneously released on major platforms.

The trending topics list was completely overrun in the early hours of the morning.

#AbsolutelyDebutFirstPublication# is firmly in first place, followed by a purple "Explosive" character.

Of the top ten entries, seven are related to this program.

#Bladestage风神#

#何 XuSHOUMAI#

#Yang Sheng doesn't want to lose#

#QiXunanFancam#

#Xu Shutong Bai Lang Bai Lang#

#Absolute Debut Elimination List#

#Jiang Yang eliminated#

The first few were all compliments.

Praise the stage, the choreography, the contestants' performances, and the mentors' comments.

The Blade A team's individual shot video surpassed five million views at 2 AM, and the comment section was filled with screams of excitement.

"What an amazing stage! All six of them look like one person!!!"

"Wang Yijun's gaze killed me!! Isn't he usually expressionless?? How come he becomes a completely different person as soon as he gets on stage?!"

"Lu Yiming's high notes are so steady... Is he really from Class C?"

"Wait a minute, did you guys notice He Xu's hand microphone? He was holding the microphone with one hand the whole time while dancing, and he didn't drop it during any of the floor moves. That's terrifying strength..."

"The moment He Xu uttered that deep voice, I felt completely swayed... How does he manage to sing and dance so steadily at the same time?"

Yang Sheng's Group B also generated considerable buzz on stage.

Although they lost, Yang Sheng's individual direct shot views surged to third place overall, second only to Qi Xunan and He Xu.

In the comments section, some people felt sorry for him, some offered encouragement, and some even took a screenshot of his line on stage, "It's not because I want to win, it's because I don't want to lose," and turned it into a meme with the caption "The stubbornness of a seventeen-year-old."

"Yang Sheng has had a tough time being the team leader... Those guys from classes D and F in the group, they must have dragged us down a lot during rehearsals, right?"

"He carried the whole team forward on his own. Although they lost, he was still honorable in defeat."

"The products from Banxing Entertainment are indeed different; the typhoon is just right."

Qi Xunan's team went on a killing spree.

The song "Echo" has a strong melody, and coupled with Qi Xunan's unhurried and effortless stage presence, the comments section of the direct-shot video was almost unanimously filled with "Mom, he's so handsome."

"Qi Xunan is truly the least like a newcomer I've ever seen... His relaxed demeanor on stage is like that of an idol who has been in the industry for three years."

"Did you guys see his micro-expression in that ending pose? He just smiled, but I could watch that smile a hundred times."

"He didn't stand in the center position for nothing. I felt he was different from the theme song MV, and I was right about him."

But there were also criticisms.

And the amount of cursing was quite loud.

The criticism focused on three points.

-

The first dispute: Jiang Yang from Class A was eliminated.

The hashtag #JiangYangElimination# surged to the seventeenth spot on the trending topics list at 3 a.m., and the comment section was in an uproar.

"Jiang Yang got eliminated??? From Class A??? Seriously???"

"I don't understand. He got an A in his initial stage performance and an A in the theme song. Even if his performance in the first public performance wasn't the best, he shouldn't have been eliminated, right?"

"Did you guys see his group's performance? He was carrying five people who were dragging the team down, and it was already quite an achievement that they danced like that..."

"The elimination rules are outrageous. The last-place team in the losing group is eliminated, and the strongest player in that group is dragged down by their teammates. Is that fair?"

"Stop with the 'what ifs,' a loss is a loss. He's good, but Qi Xunan's group was definitely stronger."

Some people felt sorry for Jiang Yang, while others felt that rules are rules and there was nothing to say about them.

The two groups argued for thousands of comments, and the hashtag #AbsolutelyUnreasonableDebutEliminationRules# even made it to the tail end of the trending topics.

"Can the production team change the rules? This elimination system is so unfair to strong but unlucky contestants."

"Change the rules? On what grounds? Competitions are supposed to have winners and losers; if you lose, you're eliminated. That's only natural."

"Have you ever thought about what the point of Class A would be if Jiang Yang were eliminated?"

In the end, neither of them could convince the other.

The second dispute: He Xu vying for the center position.

This controversy is more intense and fierce than Jiang Yang's elimination.

The incident stemmed from a direct shot video of Group A's performance of "Blade" on the first public stage.

Some people analyzed He Xu's screen time frame by frame and found that although he was not in the center position during the chorus, his movements, lighting, and camera focus were almost entirely on him.

"Wait a minute, isn't Wang Yijun in the center position? Why is the camera keeping filming He Xu?"

"During the chorus, Wang Yijun is standing in the middle, and He Xu is standing to his left, but look at the lighting—who is the main spotlight shining on? It's on He Xu!"

"And then there's the ending pose: the six of them stand in a row, with Wang Yijun in the center, but the angle at which He Xu raised his hand to mic just happened to block half of Wang Yijun's face..."

"Isn't this stealing the center position? Is he just taking advantage of his good dancing to disregard the team leader?"

This comment received over 20,000 likes, and the replies below were extremely heated.

"What do you mean by 'stealing the center position'? The positioning is determined by the choreographer, and the lighting is adjusted by the director. How can a single contestant control all of that?"

"Have you guys forgotten that He Xu's headset malfunctioned? He switched to a handheld microphone at the last minute, and he had no idea who the handheld microphone would be blocking during the ending pose, okay??"

"And look at Wang Yijun's expression. Is he unhappy? No, right? Why are you all worrying about him?"

"Wang Yijun's fans haven't said anything, but the bystanders are getting anxious first."

But there are also those who stand on the opposite side.

"To be honest, He Xu is really too eye-catching. It's not that he did it on purpose, but his dance skills are undeniable, and he's the center of attention wherever he stands. This is really unfair to the other contestants."

"It's not wrong to be talented, but the production team is clearly promoting him; the camera, lighting, and editing are all focused on him..."

"Have you guys forgotten about the theme song music video? That low-pitched harmony is sung by him. The production team hasn't revealed it yet, isn't that just to create suspense?"

As the argument escalated, it became impossible to distinguish who was speaking up for Wang Yijun, who was speaking up for He Xu, and who was simply venting their emotions.

The third dispute: He Xu was hospitalized due to an electrical malfunction in his headset.

This controversy came later than the previous two, but it was the most damaging.

At 4 a.m., a netizen claiming to be an audience member posted a long Weibo post detailing everything she witnessed at the performance—

"I was sitting in the front row, very close to the stage. After He Xu and his group finished their performance, I saw him surrounded by several people in the waiting area. He was covering his ears and his face was very pale."

Later I saw the medical team arrive and take him away. At the time, I thought he was just too tired and had low blood sugar or something, so I didn't pay much attention.

"Then I just saw a post from a staff member's alternate account, saying that He Xu's headset leaked electricity while he was waiting backstage, and he was shocked in his left ear, resulting in hearing loss. He had to use a hand microphone instead."

"Holy crap??? The headset is leaking electricity??? What kind of safety measure is this???"

"So he used a handheld microphone the whole time because his headset was broken?? He didn't intentionally steal the spotlight???"

"Wait a minute, he got an electric shock to his ear and still went on stage?? And he danced the whole dance?? And he sang the whole song??"

"Is he inhuman??? How much pain must he be in???"

This Weibo post was forwarded over 10,000 times within half an hour, and the comment section exploded.

"The production team needs to come out and explain!!! How was the equipment safety check conducted???"

"@AbsoluteDebutOfficial, you owe He Xu an apology!! You owe all the contestants an explanation!!!"

"I knew his expression in that ending pose wasn't right; turns out he was in pain..."

"I saw his legs were shaking when he walked off the stage, but you couldn't tell at all while he was on stage... This guy is so good at holding back..."

The show's official Weibo account posted a statement at 5:30 AM, the wording of which was so official it made you want to curse.

"The production team sincerely apologizes for the discomfort in the left ear caused by a malfunction in the headset equipment during the preparation for the first performance of 'Absolute Debut' contestant He Xu."

The contestant has undergone a hospital examination and was diagnosed with mild hearing loss; they are currently recovering. The production team will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the equipment to ensure safety and prevent similar incidents from recurring. Thank you for your concern.

The comment section of the statement was flooded within two minutes.

"Mild hearing loss?? You call that 'discomfort'?? You call hearing loss 'discomfort'??"

"Will an apology do any good? Will He Xu's hearing recover? Do you know how important hearing is for a dancer?"

"@AbsoluteDebutOfficial, shouldn't you compensate us? Shouldn't you give us an explanation? How could something like an electrical leak happen? Are your safety measures just for show?"

Some people have also directed their criticism at He Xu himself.

"Honestly, why did he go on stage when he was clearly injured? Was it to show off? To gain sympathy?"

"Are you sick? What will their group do if he doesn't go on stage? Replace him at the last minute? Then all their previous rehearsals will have been for nothing."

"He could have chosen not to go on stage. His health is the most important thing. Why bother?"

"Are you genuinely clueless or just pretending? This is a talent show; if he doesn't go on stage, he's giving up his chance. He's come this far, why should he give up just because of equipment malfunction?"

It's a mixed bag, a close contest.

In any case, everything clearly indicates that He Xu's name has once again been thrust into the spotlight.

The momentum of public opinion fermenting was much stronger than the program team had anticipated.

From midnight to dawn, the total number of views for each topic exceeded 500 million, and the number of discussions exceeded 3 million.

The comment section under the official Weibo account is unreadable—there are all sorts of voices mixed together, like a pot of boiling porridge, some criticizing the production team, some feeling sorry for He Xu, some questioning the rules, and some speaking out for Jiang Yang.

But no one expected that all this public discussion would be overshadowed by another new program announcement—

【statement

Contestant He Xu has decided to withdraw from the remaining recordings of "Absolute Debut" due to hearing loss in his left ear, after communication with himself.

According to the program rules, He Xu's vacant spot will be filled by Jiang Yang from Banxing Entertainment, who received the highest number of individual votes among the eliminated contestants in the first performance.

This is to inform you.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

[Absolute Debut Program Team]