Compared to the fans’ analysis and speculation about the various details of the behind-the-scenes rehearsals, the casual viewers didn’t pay much attention to these segments. Their only thought was that Quentin was a really good team leader, and this team was so hardworking and dedicated.
They cared more about Quentin’s team’s official stage performance than the twists and turns behind the rehearsal process.
After all, he was the little team leader who had consistently come out on top in the first and second public performance repo posts. The first official broadcast of Quentin’s public performance stage was bound to attract widespread attention from netizens.
Some harbored ill intentions, cursing him to flop in the main episode, but more people were full of anticipation for the “best” stage.
The final result lived up to expectations. Their closing performance of “Black Umbrella” was the only stage in the second public performance that went viral and consistently ranked high on multiple hot search lists.
Objectively speaking, using “viral” to describe this stage was still too reserved.
Because the developments gradually exceeded everyone’s expectations, both inside and outside the show.
This operatic work, adapted from highbrow art to something more popular and mainstream, became viral across all platforms over time.
At noon on October 19th, the official account posted the complete version of Quentin’s team’s “Black Umbrella” stage performance in the forum’s video section. The production team of the original, “Circus Phantom Night”, also reposted and liked it.
On the morning of October 21st, the video view count broke through the ten million mark, and the subsequent growth rate still hadn’t slowed down. Fan-made derivative videos based on this also continued to spread and divert traffic, achieving a virtuous cycle.
On the evening of October 22nd, the video view count broke twenty million. After another week, the view count broke thirty million, decisively rising and becoming the official video with the highest view count since “Next Stage” began airing.
The protagonists in the video, i.e., the seven members of Quentin’s team, all welcomed an enviable surge in the number of fans.
As the team leader, lyricist, and composer, Quentin received even more widespread acclaim.
The extensive spread of this video allowed more and more casual viewers outside the idol survival show circle, even outside fandom circles, to appreciate the stage by coincidence and praise the performers’ excellence from the bottom of their hearts.
After learning this was a stage performance by trainees from an idol survival show, they were deeply surprised. The comments section was filled with “???” and “!!!”, and layers of various colored barrages forcefully dominated the screen.
At a glance, it was all rainbow farts.
[This is an idol survival show stage??? The performers are a group of trainees who haven’t even debuted?! You must be joking…]
[Even though the makeup is so thick you can’t even see their facial features clearly, that insane feeling rushing at you is really awesome orz]
[Who is this green-eyed guy? I’ve seen his photos many times. At first I thought it was AI, then I thought he was an actor from a foreign movie, now I know he’s a domestic idol…]
[The green-eyed handsome guy is our all-rounder visual center Quentin~ Babies who like Quentin, come quickly to the NS official website to vote for Quentin!]
]Is he really not an actor? He played the clown so handsomely, his eyes are so expressive.]
[So hot… From today on, I’m a fan of Quentin’s walk. His walk on stage is too exciting!]
[Whoever invented the waist cincher is a genius.. the calf socks are snug…the hands are so beautiful, slender and long, at first glance they look very skilled… I also want to call him Lord… [blushing][sticking out tongue][feverish]]
[My Lord My Lord My Lord, step on me woof woof woof qaq]
[The chair dance is too cool! www I want to sit on my wife’s lap and kiss kiss]
[Their forms of address are very evocative, my lord, dear detective, master… Is this directly translatable? What’s with a bunch of split personalities being so ambiguous [shy]]
[I’ve watched it countless times, this stage is well rounded. The story connects tightly, and the lyrics are rich in information. Only people who have seen the original “Circus Phantom Night” can understand the gold content of this adaptation.]
[The stage design is also very meticulous. Long ago people used electric chairs to treat mental illness; the electric chair here hints that the clown has a split personality.]
[The accusations from each personality correspond to the crimes they themselves committed.
The Butcher is the most brutal materialization of killing intent after the young master’s family was ruined.
The Doctor’s scalpel for healing and saving people became a murder weapon for plotting murder.
The Child constantly remembers the crime from childhood.
The Lawyer destroys evidence, and white gloves specifically do evil deeds.
The Judge is biased and sycophantic, currying favor with nobles to escape guilt.
And the Detective is the clown’s last remaining justice and conscience, but he is already about to be devoured.
Calculating it this way, the young master is actually the most pure personality.]
[New friends, please go watch the complete version of “Next Stage” Episode 4, okay? After watching, you’ll know that such an awesome stage performance, lyrics and composition were entirely completed by one person in one day.]
[That’s right! No need to doubt! Such an awesome person is naturally my idol!]
[/Quentin/Quentin/Quentin/Quentin/Quentin]
………
As the stage video went massively viral, photos and gifs of Quentin playing the clown began spreading widely across the internet. The brightly colored clown makeup was applied and blended stroke by stroke, and the exaggerated makeup effect perfectly fused with his striking good looks.
Everyone gazed upon by those green eyes would involuntarily stop and pause, sighing in their hearts and reluctant to even shift away their gaze.
As a result, more and more people recognized Quentin’s face, remembered his name, were willing to learn about his work and experiences, and finally, for him, they clicked into Youth TV to follow the updates on time.
However, the butterfly effect triggered by this breakout stage was far from limited to this.
Topic: [Halloween is approaching, OP is planning to attend the carnival and already has the clown costume ready. I want to achieve a certain makeup look, example pictures are below. Are there any makeup artists located in Yanhai who can take the job~]
Content: [[photo.jpg]*5]
1L: [This is the Nth time I’ve brushed past a post making an appointment for clown makeup. Is cosplaying a clown so popular this Halloween?]
2L: [The person above needs to improve their browsing skills. It’s not that clowns are popular this Halloween, it’s that a certain stage for a certain idol survival show is very popular recently, and the clown played by a certain trainee with a very distinctive look has gone viral.]
3L: [Emm… “a certain trainee with a very distinctive look” wouldn’t be the one in the photos OP posted, right?]
4L: [Is Quentin’s name some forbidden word? What can’t be said? OP already posted the photos, it shouldn’t be considered inappropriate commentary. Are you worried that people don’t know him?]
5L: [Don’t even mention it, Quentin is really popular now. Two days ago, I made an appointment with the makeup artist I like to do clown makeup for me. But before I even sent example pictures, she asked me if I wanted the Quentin look. She said many girls have been asking her for this makeup set recently, all in preparation for Halloween.]
6L: [Upstairs +1. Before, I only knew “Next Stage” was popular online, but I always felt it was still very niche in real life. As a result, they played Quentin’s “Black Umbrella” yesterday during our class break. When I asked my classmates, they actually all knew that was Quentin, even the boys knew!]
7L: [QT is really destined for stardom ah… Besides him, who else can have little screen time every week but still attract fans across all platforms efficiently, get hate posts and praise posts refreshing every minute, and never lack in buzz. And let’s not forget he’s someone covered in one-sided CP arrows?]
8L: [One person easily charms everyone from solo fans to CP fans, just ask who else?]
9L: [It feels like witnessing the birth of a new top star…]
10L: [Wow, no no no, those words can’t be said carelessly [flustered]. QT hasn’t debuted yet, we’re not fighting for top star status, let’s first secure the undisputed number 1 position on NS, then we can talk. [clenching fist]]
……..
112L: [So it’s already the hundredth post and still no makeup artist has replied to OP? Everyone went off-topic, a perfectly good makeup appointment post turned into another praise post for your QT.]
113L (Original Poster): [It’s okay! I’m also a Quentin fan, seeing everyone praise Quentin makes me happy! As for not finding a makeup artist… I probably asked late, the makeup artists who saw the post already have appointments qwq]
114L: [Actually, OP, you can try doing it yourself? If your hands are clumsy then simplify it a bit. Quentin’s makeup looks very glamorous, but if you don’t do those special effect textures, it’s actually not that hard just looking at the makeup face.]
115L: [Sigh, if only there was a tutorial, I want to do this makeup too.]
116L: [Tutorial? If everyone wants to see it, I’ll learn it now and record a video!]
The person replying in the 116th post was a beauty blogger who had just started doing self-media. She had recently been worried about a topic for her new video, and while slacking off, she unintentionally came across this makeup appointment post.
Originally, she just planned to watch the excitement, but as she read on… she suddenly felt she had caught onto a big explosive point!
Quentin’s “Black Umbrella” stage and clown look were so viral, so she might as well do an episode of a Quentin-style clown imitation makeup. With good luck, maybe she could ride this wave of popularity and directly ascend to fame!
Saying is doing!
So she worked overtime analyzing Quentin’s photos, using fine brushes dipped in non-toxic greasepaint on her arm to repeatedly adjust and test colors.
Fortunately, she was an art student, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to research and make the makeup tutorial in such a short time.
This lucky and sharp beauty blogger stepped on the tail of the heat and successfully released the imitation makeup video within a week after “Next Stage” Episode 4 aired.
She stayed up late recording the video, and was too tired to even wait for audience feedback. After pressing the publish button, she fell asleep immediately.
She slept from day to night. Waking up, she groggily opened her phone to check the time, and habitually clicked into the forum to take a glance.
This glance immediately made her body jolt. Her mind cleared instantly, and the drowsiness vanished without a trace.
The bright red 999+ notifications were excessively glaring. Clicking in, she found that the data on her personal feed page from the latest video was exaggerated, so exaggerated it was enough to make her wonder if she was still dreaming.
—120,000 reposts; 1.6 million likes; 550k comments.
Oh my god, was this the kind of traffic a small, transparent newcomer blogger like her should have? This heaven-sent wealth and status… she didn’t dare accept it ah (shivering) (heart racing) (gradually getting excited).
Even more dramatic developments followed. As this little blogger rose to fame overnight, other beauty bloggers in the video section, whether well-known or obscure, flocked to join the craze of clown imitation makeup.
Halloween’s popularity collided with the heat of the clown makeup trend, triggering a site-wide frenzy for clown imitation makeup!
The frontal photos of the Quentin-version clown, which were widely imitated, repeatedly appeared on the forum homepage. People browsing online during this period were almost forced to become familiar with this young black-haired, green-eyed boy.
The direct result of this series of breakout effects was that the number of followers for @Quentin, Quentin’s account, broke through ten million for the first time!
On the “Next Stage” official voting page, the gap between Quentin’s vote count, which was already sitting firmly in first place, and the second place, grew larger and larger, so popular he left everyone in the dust, like an overwhelmingly crushing mountain.
The fans of the crushed little hills were so jealous they were deformed. Their rival blew up and skyrocketed to fame, while their own idol couldn’t get any of the benefits. Only they knew how depressed and aggrieved they felt as fans.
Some fans posted sour comments in the forum, complaining that the production team was very biased, giving Quentin’s team the most expensive costumes, the most magnificent makeup effects, and adding so many stage props. How could there be such a thing?
After the original poster mumbled and grumbled out a long essay, she concluded that Quentin was a confirmed royal family member!
It didn’t take long for the little butterflies who heard the news to come and spray her until she was covered in blood and guts.
[Royal royal royal, don’t you have any other words in your head all day, you might as well carve royal family member on your forehead.]
[Anyone who watched the show knows, the group that chose costumes first for “Black Umbrella” was Qi Yang and Wen Bingbin’s team!
What, your idol did not choose the clown costume because Quentin’s strong background forced them not to choose?
Actually, they didn’t dare choose, they knew they couldn’t hold it up.]
[I’m speechless, I like the clown makeup, but I also would have wanted to see Quentin in a suit and trench coat [eye roll]
Who knows how handsome Quentin would be if he was the one who wore that suit and trench coat. His shoulders, waist, and legs are so perfect they could weld the suit onto his body. His hands won’t be playing with a gun, they’ll be playing with my life [yellow heart][yellow heart].]
[Is OP really blind or pretending to be blind, can’t you see how much that clown costume hinders movement? Why do you think Quentin’s team wanted to change the costume after the rehearsal?
Watch the stage focus cam and you’ll know, only Quentin, Cui Yan, and Fang Xu have good enough dance skills to show the moves, but Cui and Fang’s rhythm isn’t as good as Quentin’s, and their dancing is still affected by the clothes, it misses a bit of feeling. As for the others.. I’m too lazy to spray.]
[I remember those idiots who used the word “clown” as Quentin’s black name before [covering mouth and laughing] I wonder if these people’s faces hurt now.]
[I hope everyone knows, it’s not the clown makeup that’s popular, it’s the clown makeup painted on Quentin’s face ^^
Fans of lower ranking trainees, put away your jealous faces. Even if your idol is mud that can’t be plastered onto a wall, you don’t need to jump around like a cornered dog, it’s too ugly.]
[Do you think that using a small account to post means that everyone doesn’t know whose fan you are. The overflowing tea-scented babbling both provokes Quentin’s fans and brings Qi Yang negative attention. It’s not hard to guess who your idol is.]
The original poster, feeling guilty after being chased and her fan identity dug up, quickly deleted the post, slinking away with her mouth tightly shut.
Fans of popular contestants might still say a few sour words, but fans of trainees lingering outside the debut positions, or even near the elimination line, had already started fantasizing about their own brother being in the same team as Quentin in the next public performance.
Not to mention anything else, just look at how many iconic god-tier pictures Cui Yan and Fang Xu got from this stage.
The tall, wheat colored Butcher and the pale, gloomy Surgeon. CP fans photoshopped these two next to Quentin playing the arrogant noble young master, with a background of a Victorian-style long table piled with wine glasses, candlesticks, and flowers.
The exquisite makeup and styling, the deeply immersed expressions, the tripartite composition… This scene looked exactly like a suspense movie’s promotional poster, and an S-level big-budget production at that.
Leaving aside how rare viral iconic pictures are, the difference in the data of the stage focus cams was even more direct.
Although the view counts of Cui Yan and Fang Xu’s focus cam videos couldn’t be compared to Quentin’s, they still left other trainees far behind. Even the ordinary team members with mediocre performances still had view counts ranking in the upper middle.
This, of course, wasn’t because their popularity was that high. They were just lucky, had decent skills, encountered the breakout traffic of “Black Umbrella,” and then gained millions of fans at once. Their vote rankings rise rapidly, directly charging into the top seven debut positions.
Who brought all of this? The parties who were offline recording the show might not be clear about it now, but how could the fans who watched the whole process not know?
—Quentin! Quentin! It all depended on Quentin alone!
This guy wasn’t some intimidating big demon king at all; clearly, he was a beautiful-hearted, generous bringer of wealth!
If anyone ever said Quentin was some great demon in the future, they would be the first to disagree!
The fans screamed internally: I want to cling to Quentin’s thigh! I want to eat Quentin’s soft rice! Please, Quentin, give my idol a chance, ahhh sir!!!
Now that things had come to this point, even the fans of the Wen and Qi families, after experiencing the unpleasant matters during the first public performance and being forced to witness the grand spectacle of Quentin’s team “when one man achieves enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven”, finally could not help but secretly gossip within their family.
If Xiao Wen/Brother Qi could be on the same team as Quentin, it doesn’t seem so bad, does it?
If Xiao Wen is in the same team as Quentin, he won’t have to be afraid of being isolated by teammates forming cliques, won’t have to worry about his strengths not being utilized, and won’t be dragged down again by ordinary yet arrogant teammates, causing the stage to flop.
Most importantly, Xiao Wen and Quentin are roommates, the two have a good relationship; no matter what, they can rely on each other. They really don’t want to see Xiao Wen alone with a worried frown, swallowing his anger and accommodating those hateful teammates anymore!
As for Brother Qi… If Brother Qi is in the same team as Quentin, at least he can be his beautiful vase peacefully.
Rather than continuing to be schemed against by other trainees riding on his popularity, it’s better to follow Quentin and learn how to be a qualified idol. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t become the center; even continuing to be on the sidelines is fine, as long as the final stage effect is good.
Ultimately, the stage is the most important thing; no one can endure constantly getting mocked.
And since “Next Stage” began airing, the number of trainees who have consistently maintained high-quality stages and never flopped is extremely few. Quentin, who has a proven track record of breaking into the mainstream, is undoubtedly the most outstanding one.
For boy group idols, the stage is the most crucial and long-lasting way to win public recognition, repay fans’ affection, realize self-worth, and even achieve career breakthroughs.
Other shortcuts and unorthodox paths are not as persuasive as a single breakout stage.
Idols who cannot produce excellent works and stages easily fall into the predicament of being besieged by public ridicule, and are gradually forgotten by the fiercely competitive, constantly churning entertainment industry. For someone like Quentin, who can deliver high-quality stages consistently, he is destined to stir up a storm each time he enters the public eye with his work.
How prideful is it to be an idol who can have countless stage fans and rely on his works to establish himself within the industry.
*
The popularity of the clown makeup is talk for later. On the day the fourth episode aired, the hot search topics were not limited to the “Black Umbrella” stage; the announcement of the program’s first-round ranking was the hot topic heavily promoted by the “Next Stage” official team.
The departure of over twenty trainees is lamentable. Even though few viewers remember their names, elimination and parting are always filled with regret.
The announcement of the top seven debut positions is the most anticipated highlight. After all, this is a competitive variety show, and the final debut ranking is closely related to subsequent resources.
According to the habits of survival show fans, both domestic and international, the debut group will be referred to by numerical nicknames based on their final ranking. If they plan to deeply develop in the idol industry in the future, this number will likely accompany them throughout their entire idol career.
Who wouldn’t want their idol’s number to be higher? Fans know the treatment of those at the back.
[The vote counts for the top two were so close, Qi Yang almost surpassed Quentin.]
[I already knew the result long ago, but when listening to the mentor announce it, I was still so nervous.]
[Now Quentin’s vote count has a huge lead, won’t he maintain the number 1 position until the finals?]
[Isn’t it well-deserved, isn’t it natural for the ace to take first place?]
The top 71 positions were settled. Quentin, who secured the first place in the first-round, took the microphone from the mentor. The boy, possessing a steady and calm temperament that did not match his age, looked at the camera under the spotlight.
He didn’t say much, but was very sincere. When he spoke, his gaze never left the camera, as if looking through the lens and gazing at the fans in front of the screen who supported him, liked him, and voted for him.
His usually calm and composed eyes sparkled with a hint of high-spirited and vigorous brilliance, shimmering in the afterglow of the setting sun.
He smiled and said, “No matter what, thank you for your hard work.”
“Being able to meet you all is the greatest fortune in my life.”
[Ahhhhh, I’m gone.]
[He’s looking at me, he’s talking to me, he smiled at me; he must like me!]
[Wuuuu! Being able to meet you is the greatest fortune for us, baby.]
[He didn’t even say much, how come my eyes are red already?]
[What background music is the production team using? My eyes are about to tear up.]
Quentin’s fans were completely captivated by this scene. Their souls flew away, and they never fully recovered afterwards.
Until the person who went on stage to speak mentioned Quentin…
[Wait, who is this 72nd place? Is he crazy? Whose acceptance speech says stuff like this? I’m embarrassed just listening.]
[He’s too brave. So the rumor that the entire “Next Stage” trainees are little fans of Quentin isn’t false? There really are people using public funds to chase stars on the show… I’m jealous.]
[The expressions of the other trainees are so interesting… I’m dying of laughter.]
[This person’s mental fortitude is really steady; he’s being glared at by so many people on and off stage, yet he could still keep talking.]
[??? Quentin, what’s going on with you? Are you this easy to chase? And you responded to him?]
[A simp will have everything in the end if he keeps at it.]
[Please no, I want to see Yan Jiao and Quentin in the same team.]
[I want to see the 3A in one team ah wuuu.]
[303! 303! 303!]
…….
On the night the fourth episode aired, the production team gathered in the conference room to discuss the random dance challenge to be recorded a few days later.
Initially, they planned to have the trainees simply wear masks and then take them off near the end of the performance to introduce themselves to the onlookers, creating another wave of topics to hype, for example, “encountering xxx celebrity in a random dance challenge.”
However, the popularity “Next Stage” has generated has exceeded their imagination. After the second round of elimination, the surviving trainees are expected to number around 40.
If they were to let this group go dance in a mall according to the original plan, they would likely be recognized by passerbys midway through. Their meticulously planned random dance activity absolutely cannot end hastily like that.
A group of tall, slim, energetic young men walking together is really quite conspicuous; they must be divided into several small groups.
Furthermore, some trainees are too recognizable; even wearing hats and masks isn’t enough, and it still requires careful consideration.
Someone suggested: “How about having them wear mascot headgear and mascot costumes to dance? There happens to be an amusement park nearby; headquarters often cooperated with that park before.”
“Hmm…that won’t work, you want them to dance in mascot costumes in this hot weather? They might get heatstroke.”
“Mascot costumes are too thick; you can’t tell if they’re dancing well or not. We are a boy group, we should pay some attention to appearance.”
The screenwriter suddenly had a brilliant idea: “Hey, how about this: have them wear ghost masks and wigs, and then wear Hanfu? Coincidentally, Lulin Ancient Town is preparing to host a Halloween carnival. Our trainees mixing into a bunch of people dressed bizarrely won’t be out of place at all!”
Halloween, which originates from the West, was introduced to the country many years ago and has gradually developed its own characteristics with the times.
All sorts of Chinese-style monsters have all emerged, like old village zombies, red wedding dress female ghosts, ox-head and horse-face guards, Black and White Impermanence, etc.. Adding a group of ghosts wearing Hanfu and masks, and doing a random dance, seems quite normal too.
If fans can still recognize them even with all these precautions, then there’s nothing they can do.
“There’s another point: our music should not all be boy group or girl group songs.”
The screenwriter added: “Most tourists probably don’t follow idol groups. To liven up the on-site atmosphere and attract more dance enthusiasts to join, I think we can mix in some recently very popular short video background music. For example, that song ‘Lust’ that many internet celebrities use when doing seductive content is quite good.”
The director nodded in agreement: “Indeed, boy and girl group songs can accurately capture the target audience, but in a scenic area, adding a few trending songs can attract public interest more.”
“However, those short video bgms aren’t like boy and girl group songs, they don’t have complete choreography.”
Hearing this, the screenwriter laughed: “We don’t need to play the full version either. Those twisting hand gestures are very easy to learn.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
The plan for the “Lulin Ancient Town Halloween Random Dance Challenge” was unanimously approved. The operations team began infiltrating various travel group chats and dance sharing discussion posts, spreading the news that they will hold a random dance challenge at Lulin Ancient Town.
Dance enthusiasts love to join in on this kind of excitement. Once more people participate, the trainees will be able to blend in among them more easily.
