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

After the rehearsal of An Ziyao's team, he was obviously very satisfied with the results and left the stage laughing.

The next group to rehearse on stage were naturally the ones to compete against them. Xia Fan was the captain of the last international trainee team...

Chapter 257 A sense of fragmentation

2024-07-13

The moment the lights came on, Xia Fan, standing in the center of a group of international trainees with dark skin and overly three-dimensional facial features, caught everyone's attention.

The rehearsal stage opened with Martin's rap with a steady rhythm and clear words, followed by Xia Fan's soulful and moving solo, which laid a very good first impression.

"By the way, the rap part was unexpectedly pretty good?"

"I didn't notice it before. Martin, if I closed my eyes and listened, I couldn't believe that a non-Chinese person was rapping."

"That's right. No one would suspect me if I applied for a job and made insurance sales calls."

Not only were several instructors somewhat surprised, but even the staff on the sidelines nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

"The dance to this piece is not difficult, and both groups performed very stably."

As the group dance began, several international trainees completely became the background board for Xia Fan, who was in the center position. This made Goro Kimura think of the international version of the MV that went viral, and his mouth twitched slightly.

Next, Xia Fan and a few others sang the main song with a gradually stronger rhythm and full of affection. They also performed steadily. Even their pronunciation was not too faulty. It was obvious that they had put in a lot of effort in practice.

"Xia Fan's singing voice is really unique. No matter how many times I listen to it, I always feel that it is ordinary yet extremely touching..."

Especially Xia Fan's solo part, which was as infectious as ever and easily aroused the emotions of the mentors.

"In what places are the details of the singing different from the original version?"

"No, it's impossible for a few trainees to figure out this method on their own. Could it be that the agency hired an expert to guide them?"

Oda Masaru, who has rich singing experience, soon discovered the clues.

In many places of the song, the four lead singers of Xia Fan's team used very clever methods in pronunciation, breath control, true and false voice conversion, voice change points, etc.

Not only does it make the song easier to control, it also avoids the problems of foreigners' pronunciation and accent, and the effect is even more suitable than the original version.

"It seems that these two teams will have to use the high notes at the climax of the song to decide the winner."

Yayoi Tsuki, who was watching from a close distance, simply stood with her arms folded across her chest, looking eager to see what was happening.

Soon, the tone of the whole song gradually rose, and it entered the climax of the four vocalists singing in rounds...

Ken, Sid, and Ahmed sang high notes one by one.

The lyrics are clearly pronounced, the emotions are in place, and there is no broken sound...

"Sure enough, what are we expecting..."

"It's impossible to break through the physiological limits of your vocal range in just a few days."

However, the three mentors in the audience showed disappointment.

Because, compared to the original version, these three people have dropped three keys...

After all, everyone excels in different vocal ranges, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

"From the looks of it, that pervert is probably going to lower his key as well."

Yayoi Tsuki also shook her head helplessly.

Everyone thought that Xia Fan, who was the fourth to sing and had never performed high notes before, should continue the pitch that the previous three had lowered, and then raise one note along the way, and that would be enough.

However, when Xia Fan took over the C position and picked up the microphone...

"I will be your man, I will never let you go, I will never leave you again!!!"

What came out of his mouth was a dolphin sound full of explosive power, like the sound of a deep valley...

"Please call my name. I can't live without you. Let me hold you in my arms once again. I won't leave you alone again..."

"Honey, I'm just praying."

The singing voice is clear and pure, yet full of explosive power, injecting the love of never giving up into the hearts of everyone in the audience, giving people goose bumps from their scalp to their heels.

"It's the original key... It's definitely C3, or even higher..."

"Xia Fan, not only did you sing well, you also seemed to be doing it with ease."

“Moreover, the emotions in the song are handled even more fully than in the original version!”

Goro Kimura and Masaru Oda, who originally looked like they were watching a joke, jumped up from their seats in a panic.

In comparison, Kishi Tsunayoshi, who was responsible for the same part not long ago, was much inferior in terms of the stability of the high notes and the delivery of emotions.

The live rehearsal effect of Xia Fan's performance is not inferior to the original boy band's concert version.

"This pervert actually has a hidden high pitch voice. How many other skills does he have that I don't know about?"

"It seems that I will have to interrogate him thoroughly later..."

Under the stage, listening closely to Xia Fan's soul-piercing high notes, Yayoi Tsuki was a little dazed for a moment...

"Will it not loosen again?"

In front of her eyes, she couldn't help but recall a rooftop on a dark and windy night, a handsome face with snot and tears streaming down his face, and a pair of hands holding her tightly...

However, while the three mentors were still immersed in Xia Fan's stunning high notes...

The next Filipino trainee Ken who was to sing the song returned to his lowered pitch, which easily distracted them from the show.

"Unfortunately, this is always a team stage."

"That's right. In a boy band, an individual's performance that stands out too much can be a double-edged sword that can backstab teammates and ruin the stage."

This situation actually made Kimura Goro and Oda Masaru feel relieved. They sat back in their seats with a wry smile and crossed their legs.

The explosive power of Xia Fan's words when he opened his mouth just now was so strong that they gave them the illusion that An Ziyao's team had already lost.

After all, the S company that Oda Masaru belongs to has several seed trainees on that team, so naturally they don't want to see them lose.

"These guys can't even do something as simple as practicing for 72 hours without eating or drinking before the performance and not dragging their feet a little bit?"

Looking coldly at the other three "male lead singers" who sang poorly on the high notes one after another, Yayoi Tsuki bit her lower lip and stomped her feet unwillingly.

Throughout the stage performance, Xia Fan's team performed very well in rap, dance and the main song...

However, at the climax, the lowering of the key by the other three people was very obvious...

It seemed even more abrupt after Xia Fan's effortless high note in the original key.

The overall feeling of the program was particularly torn because of the huge differences in performance and everyone singing in their own vocal range.

Xia Fan and his team also apparently discovered this problem. After the rehearsal, they walked off the stage with unhappy looks on their faces.

"Don't be discouraged, the results of this rehearsal are much better than the rehearsals of the past two days!"

Arriving at the backstage area, Martin clapped his hands vigorously to cheer up everyone.

"That's right, vocal range is innate, so it's not a big deal if you can't improve it."

"If you encounter an unsuitable program, it is not your fault if you cannot win."

Several other international trainees comforted themselves with forced smiles.

"The climax just now really had a very wide range of tones, and it didn't have the compactness and sense of oppression of the original version..."

"Then, for the sake of the overall stage effect, how about I also sing in a lower key?"

Xia Fan asked everyone with a conflicted look on his face.

Chapter 258 You are quite nice

2024-07-13

"No, there is no way we can surrender. You can't surrender!"

"You are the only one who can sing the original key. If you lower the key, won't the opponent think that none of us can sing it?"

"That's right, we can lose, but you can't lose, Xia Jun!"

"After the first performance, there won't be many international trainees left. As the 'first batch', you must carry our will to the end."

In response, his teammates shook their heads like rattles...

Of course, Xi De, who was of Indian nationality, nodded.

Although the rehearsal lasted only three days, Xia Fan tried his best to lead everyone in practice. He took care of everything from helping with meals to finding a music master to give them special lessons, and he fulfilled his duties as captain in a satisfactory manner.

The so-called team performance stage PK and the subsequent elimination stage still depend on individual popularity.

If his stunning high notes were buried in order to accommodate the crowd's performance, affecting the subsequent popularity votes, this is something his teammates would never want to see.

"Everyone……"

Faced with the kind eyes of his teammates, Xia Fan choked up for a moment.

Because the Dragon people and the locals look similar, he did not feel much differential treatment since he grew up in District 11.

However, due to their appearance and language skills, the other international trainees already had a deep understanding of the xenophobic culture of District 11 and the unfair rules of the program team.

They chose to sign up for the program with this understanding in mind, so they are more calm about the inevitable elimination result.

"For the climax, is there really no better way?"

Just when Xia Fan returned to the practice room unwillingly but at a loss, he received a message from Horie Tsubasa.

"Horiie Tsubasa: Judging from the rehearsal videos from the past two days, I don't think the chorus will be very good. I forced my father to study it again, and he proposed a bold word segmentation plan, but it will be a great test of your high notes and breath. It is up to Xia Fan to decide whether to adopt it..."

"Class monitor... Mr. Horie..."

"This word segmentation scheme... is really... so timely!"

After carefully reading the long word segmentation plan sent by Horie Tsubasa, the uneasiness in Xia Fan's eyes gradually turned into certainty.

"Everyone! It's too early to give up now, let's rehearse again!"

He shouted to his teammates who were changing clothes in the practice room and preparing to return to the dormitory.

"what?"

"Captain, are you serious?"

"The performance is less than 24 hours away, and we're rehearsing again now?"

The people who were already discussing where to have dinner after being eliminated looked at him with confusion.

……

11pm.

It should have been a quiet time at night, but the studio of the "Idol Birth Festival" was bustling with noise.

Standing in the corridor, you can hear the ghostly singing and dancing sounds coming from the rehearsal rooms.

The official performance will be tomorrow afternoon. In response to the problems discovered during today's rehearsal, the trainees from each team are rehearsing overtime in order to avoid being eliminated.

Even the trainees' cafeteria has specially opened a "late-night session" to help the trainees replenish their consumed physical strength and energy.

"Ten bowls of ramen are ready. Please help yourselves..."

At the cafeteria window, the chef on duty poured the ramen sponsored by the brand into the pot mercilessly, and served bowl after bowl...

"Come on, come on, these six bowls of tonkotsu ramen, triple barbecued pork and chopped green onions, which team ordered them?"

Makoto Shibata, who looked exhausted, was forcing himself to stay awake. He stood by the cafeteria window and humbly helped the trainees put noodles on plates.

"We ordered it! Although I don't remember your name, you're such a nice person..."

Jack and several trainees from the team happily took the large plate of ramen from him.

"Humph... He doesn't even remember his own performance opponent... He is indeed the loser destined by the gods..."

Watching Jack and his team leaving with the noodles, Shibata Makoto smiled sinisterly.

"Hey, hey, I want five bowls here, only the barbecued pork, no noodles!"

A group of trainees standing at the back called out to Shibata who was standing at the window.

"If you want to eat, you can't just queue up and get it yourself."

Shibata Makoto's face turned cold instantly. He took a bowl of ramen, turned to the corner and started eating.