One week swiftly passed by amidst the fervent progress of the performances and spin-off programs, and in the blink of an eye, it was Sunday, the day the second official episode of “Next Stage” aired.
Due to the negative public opinion triggered after the first public performance, Wen Xinyi and Qi Yang’s fans were significantly stimulated. While countering the negative buzz, they mustered all their strength to vote for them.
This led to a frantic surge in Qi and Wen’s vote rankings over a period of time, unexpectedly pulling down Quentin, who had originally maintained the top spot.
The Little Butterflies who had been happily spamming the forums with rainbow farts: … Huh?
Damn it! Our home was robbed!
Unacceptable!!!
Thus, before the broadcast of EP02, the top three on the NS vote ranking list experienced another intense and agonizing tug-of-war.
Fans of other trainees didn’t understand but respected the situation, silently observing while striving to lower their presence to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of these three major fanbases.
This undercurrent of competition made everyone faintly sense the precursor of an impending storm. Now, with less than five days left until the official deadline for the first round of voting, the top three vote counts were still neck to neck. Refreshing the page every hour could reveal new changes.
Therefore, any minor movement inside or outside the program in the coming week could have a decisive impact on the final outcome.
Especially the upcoming EP02 official episode!
The ranking of screen time, the proportion of effective screen time (especially highlight moments), the two-way feedback from negative and positive hot searches, and even the fan circles’ promotions and criticisms…
It was foreseeable that these would inevitably be the chain reactions following the broadcast of the second episode.
Last week’s EP01 ended at the critical point where Cheng Shaozhi received a Class A rating and initiated a battle challenge against the full Class A.
The preview updated on Monday mainly showed the four mentors announcing the 48-hour theme song assessment rules in their respective four classes. The final shot froze on the backs of the trainees, wearing red, yellow, blue, and green training uniforms, standing in an inverted triangle formation.
Netizens in the NS discussion groups all turned into microscopes, launching heated analysis and deduction based on this single image.
Many guessed this was the final formation for the theme song MV shoot, and the trainees’ positions represented their theme song assessment ranking. Many tried to identify who was who based on their backs, who was in front of whom, who was in the very center…
But the program production team was clearly shrewder than the audience.
The shots they could release in the preview had undoubtedly undergone strict screening to ensure they hooked the audience’ s appetite without spoiling anything, thereby sparking secondary discussion and diffusion.
Regardless, their goal was achieved.
……
At exactly 12:00 on October 5th, the second official episode of “Next Stage” was updated on time.
Title: [EP02 – Initial Stage Ratings (Part 2].
Battle competition, who wins and who loses? The theme song challenge is imminent!
[Here~]
[Check-in, check-in]
[Waited a week! Ahhh! It’s finally updated!!!]
Barrages exploded in a gushing manner, and the entire screen was flooded with the names of highly popular trainees. Dedicated viewers who just wanted to watch the show had to set up over thirty blocked words just to get some brief peace.
The editing of “NS” was clean and sharp, never dragging things out. It picked up right from last episode’s battle.
As a dancer, Cheng Shaozhi naturally chose to challenge Yan Qiao, also a top dancer.
Amidst the applause from the entire venue, the two faced each other from a distance, invisible sparks bursting forth from this moment of eye contact.
Yan Qiao stepped down from the high platform, his face wearing a calm and fearless expression. He leisurely stepped onto the stage and raised his hand for a high-five to Cheng Shaozhi as a greeting.
Immediately after, the two boys occupied the left and right sides of the stage respectively, moving their joints and doing warm-up exercises before starting.
The first battle between the two main dancers was undoubtedly the focus of the entire audience. Fans of both sides were full of confidence, and casual viewers also commented with great interest and bought shares. (metaphor for supporting/picking a winner).
[I bet on Yan Qiao, between the two, Yan Qiao’s dance style suits my taste more.]
[In the initial stage, Cheng Shaozhi’s performance was actually more awesome, with higher technical content.]
[These two are probably the most skilled dancers in the entire NS, right? Other trainees are just unremarkable small caramels in front of these two big shots.]
[Passing by as a BKL family fan~~~ I never thought I’d see a trainee on a survival show who is on par with a BKL’s super A-level dance trainee! Xiao Cheng is truly a hidden gem.]
The tense and stimulating smell of gunpowder deliberately created by the production team quietly dissipated. The “thump, thump” heartbeat sound in the bgm made viewers in front of their screens hold their breath, and the close-up shots freezing on the two trainees’ faces hooked everyone’s hearts up to their throats…
However, there was a group of people who were only focused on watching the program, completely unaffected by the atmosphere in the show. They watched the battle plot unfold, each calmer than the last, too lazy to even post a single comment.
They only lit up when the camera occasionally swept to the very top of the pyramid-shaped seating, trying to pinpoint their target from the blurry long-distance shots.
Clearly, they were Quentin’s solo fans, the ultimate kind of fans who focused solely on their own idol and ignored the existence of others.
Topic: [Haha, who understands, falling for Quentin means you’re done for in this lifetime [Laughs][Laughs][Tears]]
Content: [Those dog jmz (program production team) set a new low for screen time [Middle finger] Sis watched it at 3x speed, the Q-content was shockingly low!! Sisters who haven’t finished the latest episode yet, don’t get your hopes up… Quentin ah wuuu whose cake did you touch, we mother and son have been set up by capital [Loud crying]]
1L: [[Loud crying]]
2L: [[Loud crying]]
3L: [That’s not right, I saw someone on the forums spoiling that the later part of the second episode is the theme song assessment. Quentin got first place, and thus the C position! How could the C have no screen time?!]
4L (OP): [The sister above is too naive… The progress of the entire theme song assessment is reportedly placed in the member-only extra footage, and will be updated tomorrow. Today’s official episode is almost completely edited out…… Our Quentin………he only got proper screen time during Class A practice and when the C was announced (sobbing).]
5L (OP): [But seriously…… he was still as handsome to the point my scalp goes numb as always, his golden eyelashes were especially beautiful in the sunlight, and he looked very sexy in a suit [Intoxicated]. But I am a hardcore mom fan. Looking at Baby’s soft cheeks, his big eyes… thinking about how baby just finished the college entrance exam not long ago and is so talented at 17…I directly had a burst of maternal love, I really want to rub little Q’s fluffy hair [Holds heart]]
6L: [Mom fan +1, let me ask, who can resist being a mom after seeing the cute candid photos of him in casual clothes! Xiao Q without makeup is really super super super cute and tender, okay? (Yells)]
7L: [But QT’s screen time in the second episode was really so little…… I can’t take it anymore [Overturning table] After waiting a whole week and giving us this perfunctory stuff to fool us, can jmz open their eyes and look at the world, just look at who’s the top on the ranking list now??? Are they trying to suppress Emperor Tin as soon as the show starts?!]
8L: [So disappointed, how come no one chose to battle Quentin, I really wanted to see Quentin’s solo stage…… Is being too excellent also a mistake?]
9L: [No battle is one thing……………… doesn’t jmz like to cut to off-stage reaction shots of other trainees? Why does everyone else have them, but our QT doesn’t! Apart from long shots where you can’t even make out his face clearly, QT’s screen time in the initial stage segment of the second episode is approximately zero!]
10L: [Wen had the vocal battle segment, and highlights were given in plenty. Qi’s group’s initial stage was so bad it was unbearable to even look at, but he still got close ups even when he was just sitting there with a blank expression… Yan Qiao goes without saying, the topic of the Yan-Cheng dancer pk this episode is directly maxed out, if this isn’t scripted I’ll stand upside down and eat shit! And what about Quentin? Who is the person with the highest popularity and most “break out of the circle” recognition since “NS” started broadcasting till now, there should be no doubt, right? jmz first uses Quentin to draw traffic, then tear down the bridge after crossing the river, you*** are really** shameless! [Middle finger]]
Although fans in the forums were quite dissatisfied with Quentin’s screen time issue, such situations were not uncommon among various fanbases.
The total length of the EP02 official episode was two hours. For the first hour and a half, there were no individual shots of Quentin. Moreover, because he sat on the first throne at the very top, even panoramic shots often failed to capture him.
In the final half hour, the large screen was split into four sections, showing the four mentors announcing the start of the theme song assessment in their respective four classes.
Immediately after, the scene switched to Class F and how they were facing great difficulties in learning the theme song.
This part lasted nearly ten minutes.
Compared to the disadvantage last week where the production team was stingy with giving screen time to the BKL five-member group, Lu Kui got significantly more screen time in this week’s official episode. The highlight moments of “Class F’s disastrous 48hours” were almost all on him.
Even though the other two BKL trainees, Dong Zeyu and Wei Bowen, were also in Class F, they still didn’t get much screen time.
Perhaps it was because their personalities weren’t as easy-going and talkative as Lu Kui’s. During the 48-hour theme song assessment, they weren’t willing to spend their own time and energy helping the “weaker students” in their class pass the assessment, instead practicing alone with their heads down. Unlike Lu Kui, who was forced into a situation of leading a group of dance newbies in learning the dance.
In a sense, Lu Kui earned himself a proper storyline from the production team through his own efforts.
The next ten minutes fell on the low-profile developing Class C.
Compared to Class A that was a gathering of numerous big shots, Class B with relatively high overall strength, and Class F with hidden experts, Class C could only be described as thoroughly and completely mediocre.
There were no particularly memorable points about the story of their class; even with Qi Yang in this class, no particularly interesting program effects occurred.
Like rain and dew falling evenly, the director team allocated a little screen time to the vast majority of trainees, ensuring they could brush up their face with the audience before the first elimination.
[Quick, look at the progress bar, horror story…… this episode only has 10 minutes left.]
[??!!!]
[Holy shit, are they sick, only leaving ten minutes for Class A and Class B?? jmz, do you know which class the people the audience wants to see are concentrated in? Would giving ten minutes to each class kill you??]
The emotions in the barrage were intense for a moment. Watching the progress bar approaching the end, they could only continue watching helplessly.
The opening for Class A was different from the previous two classes; the BGM was even more blood-boiling.
The seven boys wearing white T-shirts and red pants stood in a row in the practice room. The camera seemed to be placed close to the bottom of the mirror, giving the entire frame a kind of boy band practice room vibe.
The Center position was undoubtedly Quentin. On his left and right were Zhou Zilin and Yan Qiao respectively. The three had similar heights and strong auras. Just standing in the middle, casually moving their wrists and ankles and striking a preparatory pose, they could instantly grab the audience’s attention. The moment they appeared, the focus of the barrage was instantly pulled back onto themselves.
When watching fixed-camera boy band practice room videos and facing a group of similarly built boys whose faces are hard to see clearly, most viewers can only rely on clothing and styling to tell who is who.
And these seven in the Class A practice room were dressed exactly the same, and all were sporting similar bowl cuts without makeup and styling, making them really not easy to recognize at first glance.
Fortunately, the boys each had their own habits in some small details.
For example, Quentin liked to roll his left pant leg up to his knee, Yan Qiao habitually wore high-top sneakers with paint splatters, Xue Mingzhu would wear a headband on his forehead, Fang Xu always wore a bodhi seed bracelet on his left wrist, Wen Xinyi was generally the most well-behaved and proper “student”…
Even without these details, locking onto Quentin from the crowd was simple…just find the one with the fairest skin tone.
The teacher’s voice rang out as a voice-over: “OK, you’ve all learned it pretty well, so let’s go through it formally with the music, ready…”
The music started.
Neat and uniform movements gradually unfolded before the camera, the soles of their shoes stepping forcefully on the wooden floor producing a pleasant “tap tap” sound, the corners of their clothes lifting and falling with their large movements.
This was just a dance class for Class A in the practice room, and moreover, it was a spot check near the end of the dance class.
All seven boys had clean and makeup free faces, their hair drooped messily, and their foreheads and necks were glistening with sweat.
Without any exquisite makeup and styling to enhance them, they used powerful movements and an active and serious attitude to display a youthful and vigorous attractiveness before the camera.
This wasn’t a “pure enjoyment version” of a boy band practice video; the teacher’s voice kept ringing out, and the post-production editor also occasionally added special effects to the footage.
“Wen Xinyi, don’t be tense, relax your chest and back a bit, you’re dancing, why are you always sticking your chest out and raising your head?”
“The one on the very edge, Xue Mingzhu, you’re the opposite of him, you need to be a bit more controlled, you’re dancing, not freestyling! Hold back that rap energy of yours, if you haven’t memorized the moves, look at what others are doing in the mirror, don’t just mess around randomly!”
“Quentin, Yan Qiao, Zhou Zilin, you three are dancing very well, pay a bit more attention to details, like finger movements, and the coordination of the chest, waist, and hips, polish the details more to make it look even better.”
“Yan Wenbing, your movements can be more expansive, you’re a bit too ‘standard’, don’t be so rigid when dancing, be more flexible, more free…ah yes, that’s it, remember, relax, don’t be too tense.”
“Fang Xu is also dancing well, but you can be a bit more confident, don’t always lower your head, look up at the camera, or look in the mirror is fine too… You can learn from Quentin and Yan Jiao, it’s also very OK to make eye contact with your teammates around you while dancing.”
The entire song was over three minutes. Due to the teacher’s commentary and post-production editing, this segment was stretched to nearly six minutes. The barrage, however, didn’t find the song long and tedious at all; instead, they kept saying “mo duo, mo duo”, begging the program team for more. (“mo duo, mo duo” is Japanese for “more, more”.)
[Wuuu, the practice room version of everyone is so vibrant”, so full of life.]
[I feel like this dance is choreographed quite nicely, it doesn’t look too hard either, want to learn]
[Already starting to look forward to the theme song MV final product]
[Sure enough, the C has its reason for being the C, he really dances well]
[Did Que and Yan make eye contact???]
[Ah! I’m dead…… Did Yan Qiao smile? Not only did he smile at the moment of eye contact with Quentin, but he was also secretly smiling after looking away, what are you so happy about!]
[Quentin too, although he didn’t smile, he was still secretly glancing at Yan Qiao out of the corner of his eye after the eye contact…… you xql (little couple) (pointing fingers]
[So brazen even when standing at the front, I don’t even dare to imagine how interesting their private interactions are.]
[Poor Xiao Xue, because his dancing is too bad, the teacher placed him at the very edge…… tsk tsk, clearly it’s supposed to be a love triangle, who wasn’t invited?]
Since the screen time of Class A was six minutes, then Class B naturally only got a pitiful four minutes left.
And these four minutes were almost entirely concentrated on solo shots of Cheng Shaozhi, Cui Yan, and Bi Xiao. The other trainees in the class seemed to have disappeared, only appearing in the edges and corners of the shots.
Viewers outside the program didn’t understand why Class B’s screen time was so little, but the program team naturally knew.
Everything originated from Zhong Qu.
This Class B trainee who withdrew from the program early due to personal life issues.
In the first official episode, the program team did not want Zhong Qu alone to affect the BKL dance group’s stage, so they edited according to the original plan, neither pixelating him nor deliberately avoiding his shots.
But in the second episode, there was no need to be so restrained.
How could Zhong Qu’s little actions in Class B get past the program team, these old deep-fried dough sticks of the entertainment industry? Forming cliques and isolating others were all tactics they were accustomed to seeing.
If Zhong Qu hadn’t had his incident, for the sake of the final program effect, the director would have let it take its natural course and edited according to the script Zhong Qu envisioned.
After all, such a cooperative ‘actor’ isn’t easy to find; why not use a ready-made storyline?
Unfortunately, if you often walk by the river, how can your shoes not get wet?
Once Zhong Qu’s car overturned, the contestants in Class B who were close to him also suffered, and only the four people including Cheng Shaozhi who were “isolated”, escaped disaster.
It was truly a strange combination of circumstances. Fate toys with people.
