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

"Oh, I've been talking to you for so long, I guess those four companies have changed their minds..."

"I am the last one in the class, so I have to ask Captain Xia for a rapper position."

"Let me show you what it means to rap at the speed of a bullet."

But Martin did not move, still squatting behind Xia Fan, smiling cunningly.

"Martin, you..."

Xia Fan, who was originally prepared to "stand to the end" alone, couldn't help but feel his eyes sore when he was dazzled by the other party's bright white teeth.

"Okay, thirty minutes is up!"

"The rest of the trainees, please follow the on-site director's instructions and stand under the corresponding tracks."

Not long after, five international trainees, under the guidance of the executive director, stood behind Xia Fan with complicated expressions.

Among these people, Xia Fan was most impressed by the Indian trainee who claimed to have "trained for ten and a half years" in a personal interview video, Xi De...

His singing and dancing skills are quite solid, at least five years of accomplishment, if not ten years. However, his face with strong Indian features and overly greasy singing and dancing style have no market in District 11, so his personal popularity ranking fell to the bottom ten in the international group.

In addition, ever since he summoned a king cobra through his talent show "blowing the flute", many trainees have been worried that Sid "carries a snake with him" and have deliberately distanced themselves from him.

Another person Xia Fan remembered was the Filipino trainee, Ken.

He has a dark complexion, a thick beard, and a clear, mellow voice, which clearly shows that he has very solid singing skills.

However, because the development of pop music in the Philippines in recent years has tended towards original folk songs, singing and dancing performances are not very popular, so Ken's dance can be said to be at the level of "quadriplegia", and he even failed to pass the theme song assessment.

Because of the same reasons as unfamiliarity with the language, limited talent, unpleasant looks, and too strong ethnic flavor in his music, his popularity ranking is lower than West Germany.

As for the other three, they are trainees from Vietnam, Pakistan and Iran.

These three people are not good-looking in terms of aesthetics, and they are bad at singing and dancing. They failed the theme song assessment and are ranked last in popularity. They are at the bottom of the bottom. No captain is willing to accept them even as background boards.

They obviously knew that the agency sent them here just to make up the numbers, so they were not as reluctant as Ken and Sid.

You know, every day during the program, the salary is calculated based on an eight-hour workday, which is not shabby.

"Oh, even though it's just a makeshift team, we finally have enough people."

An Ziyao, who was sitting next to him, glanced at the people behind Xia Fan and couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

"But, Mr. Xia, if I remember correctly, your vocal range seems to be baritone?"

"You know, the upper limit of vocal range is a talent that God has already determined for each person when they are born..."

“The song ‘Prayer’ is only for a talented tenor like me!”

"You absolutely can't sing it."

He leaned close to Xia Fan, with great contempt in his eyes, and whispered every word.

"I really haven't sung high notes before... I heard this song is very high, so it's a good opportunity for me to challenge my limits..."

Xia Fan looked at him calmly.

"Tsk, I hope your bragging can last until the performance stage."

His star-like pupils exuded a majesty that no one dared to blaspheme, causing An Ziyao to look away reluctantly yet timidly.

"Very good, fourteen teams have been officially formed successfully!"

"Before the official performance, you will have three days of practice and two rehearsal opportunities. The program team will provide you with a dedicated choreographer and vocal teacher..."

"Dear trainees, I am looking forward to your performance on the stage."

Goro Kimura, who had been slacking off somewhere, showed up at this time and recited his lines skillfully, bringing the recording of this session to an end.

……

Three hours later, in the practice room.

"I have finished teaching you the singing and dancing parts."

"If there are any unclear parts later, please refer to the teaching video."

"Well, time is running out, so we'll go to the next group."

The choreography teacher and the vocal teacher bowed to the seven trainees and left.

"Hey, what's this kind of perfunctory teaching?"

"What do you mean by 'there are some unclear parts later'? I haven't figured out anything at all!"

"That's right, there are still a lot of details that haven't been explained..."

As soon as the two teachers left, Sid and Ken started complaining.

The so-called teacher arranged by the program team, although gentle and polite, actually just briefly explained the dance points and singing precautions of this song, and hurriedly went through the process.

"The local trainees must be taught more carefully and for longer periods of time than us..."

“Although I know the production team is biased, there’s no need to be so blatant.”

Several other international trainees also complained.

"Anxin, isn't this kind of performance stage mainly based on the trainees' own rehearsal?"

“No matter how carefully the teacher teaches, it is impossible for him to help them with every movement and every line of lyrics…”

Seeing the depressing atmosphere in the practice room, Martin quickly spoke to comfort them.

"That's right. Instead of complaining here, why not hurry up and assign positions and start practicing..."

"Give those who don't think highly of us a surprise."

On the other side of the practice room, Xia Fan had already set up the music score and adjusted the sound system.

"Hmm, surprise?"

"It's easy for those who have already avoided elimination..."

After all, they were still recording the show under the camera, and although everyone complained in their hearts, they didn't want the company and the audience to see them "playing badly"...

"For this song, everyone has a dance and harmony, but the main focus is on vocals and rap..."

"Those who think they can sing it raise their right hands, and those who are confident in rapping raise their left hands..."

Driven by the reluctance and luck in their hearts, they calmed down and began to discuss the position seriously.

"My vocal range isn't too low, so I should be able to give it a try."

“I also want to try singing…”

"I'll just forget it and just rap."

Soon, everyone was assigned positions based on their vocal conditions and talents.

Xia Fan, Xi De, Ken and another Iranian trainee were responsible for the most difficult singing part...

Martin and two others took on the rap part, which had a large number of words and was spoken at a very fast speed.

"Then let's start with the simplest dance!"

"Follow the video a few times first..."

Then, under Xia Fan's leadership, everyone began to practice dancing and movement.

"Hey, Xia Jun, do you want to dance this?"

"Not really, but the movements and rhythm are good..."

Except for Martin, it was the first time for everyone else to rehearse dance with Xia Fan.

Although I have watched Xia Fan's theme song before, I was mostly attracted by his infectious singing voice and his charming eyes...

When they actually stood together to dance, they discovered that although Xia Fan's dancing seemed ordinary, his rhythm was accurate and his movements were impeccable, like a machine that never made mistakes.

Chapter 253 Asking for help outside the venue

2024-07-13

"The dance was very neat just now. Remember this feeling!"

"Ken, pay attention to your movements. You're not keeping up with the rhythm."

"Sid, it's the other way around..."

During this dance process that was as precise as a surgical knife, Xia Fan still had time to pay attention to his teammates' movements and positioning, and gave them reminders from time to time.

"What a terrible pressure..."

"As expected of a seven-star trainee. I thought he wasn't good at dancing before... He doesn't show off his talent, but he actually has this level of skill?"

Xia Fan's impeccable dance moves not only made him an excellent target for practice, but also created a tense feeling of pressure...

This made everyone subconsciously unwilling to fall behind, and they followed his movements and practiced hard in silence.

……

eight pm.

"Very good, both times just now, both were very good!"

"At this level, once you are familiar with the songs, you can practice them together."

Xia Fan looked back at the dance rehearsal video on the camera and smiled with satisfaction.

The song "Prayer" looks like a singing and dancing stage, but in fact, because it is difficult to sing, it is cleverly designed as a "pseudo singing and dancing".

The choreography is of low difficulty, and the movements are slow and powerful. The actual singing and dancing parts are concentrated in the relatively gentle prelude and chorus.

When it came to the climax where high notes were needed, it was deliberately designed so that four people would take turns moving...

When it is each person's turn to sing solo, they stand still while the others next to them dance.

This clever method provides sufficient breathing time while ensuring the stage effect, and also avoids the trouble of dancing while singing high notes.

Therefore, in terms of dance moves and difficulty of positioning, "Prayer" should be the easiest of the seven pieces.

After practicing from the afternoon to eight o'clock in the evening, Xia Fan's team had already mastered the dance and movements.

"Well, do you want to do it again to consolidate your experience?"

Although his bangs were sticking to his forehead and his T-shirt was already soaked with sweat, Xia Fan still asked his teammates with great energy.

"Hey, we can't compare to a physical monster like you..."

Martin, who was sitting next to him drinking water, smiled bitterly and waved his hand to refuse.

"Let me go, Captain Xia!"

"At this level, I won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow!"

"It's just that, after doing the same movements so many times, I feel like my joints are a bit strained."

The other five people lying on the wooden floor were also wailing.

After getting to know each other, they found that Xia Fan was not as cold and aloof as he looked, nor did he have a strong desire to show off or be utilitarian. Instead, he had a simple, direct, generous and cheerful personality.

Even though he became the "captain", Xia Fan had no intention of "commanding". Instead, he positioned himself as a "serving" person.

Therefore, the other trainees no longer had the initial disdain, jealousy, and defensiveness in their eyes when they looked at Xia Fan...

Only horror remains.

It's like the thrill a new member of a basketball club feels when he sees the gorilla devil captain.

After practicing the theme song, Xia Fan became more accustomed to the rehearsals of this kind of singing and dancing program.

With the help of [Stage Puppet] and [Naked Body], he can use standard low-energy movements and the most abundant physical strength to tirelessly maintain the "marathon rehearsal" like a "perpetual motion machine".

In the eyes of his teammates, Xia Fan has long since changed from a "gifted student" to a "training maniac."

Compared to people who excel because of their talents, people who become stronger through hard work are naturally more likely to be respected.

"Okay, everyone has worked hard, let's stop here for today..."

"When you go back to rest at night, don't forget to listen to some music and focus on the part you are responsible for."

After rehearsing for a long time, the seven people finally walked out of the practice room, dragging their tired bodies.

After all, this is only the first day of rehearsal, and it’s not time to fight a war of attrition yet.

"I won't miss you again. I won't miss you like this. Please call my name!"