Very quickly, the grouping battle ended, and the seven members of Quentin’s team were gathered together.
The timeline jumped to the live performance five days later. The cooperation and rehearsal processes for each group were broken up and edited in front of each stage.
The trainees’ live performance quality was mixed. The audience who got tickets were easily swept up by the enthusiastic atmosphere of the live show, thus overlooking some trainees’ less-than-ideal singing.
But the production team couldn’t let the officially broadcast live stages of “NS” have that kind of effect, so it was time for the post-production sound engineers to step in.
Most viewers couldn’t tell the difference between tuning and no tuning, and many people didn’t even have a concrete concept of what made singing sound good.
As long as the voice was smooth, with no cracked notes, no off-key singing, no microphone popping, and no forgotten lyrics, as long as these basic conditions were met, no matter how they sang, it seemed it couldn’t sound too bad.
The keywords for the first two stages were “Graduation Party” and “First Love Things.” Compared to the first public performance, the stage quality of the second public performance had improved considerably. But listening closely to the singing of these two groups of trainees, it was like drinking a mouthful of tasteless, colorless cold boiled water. After listening, it was over, leaving no feeling to savor.
Of course, the styling and makeup for “NS” were very good. The faces of these young men were all quite decent. Using a youthful campus as the stage theme, while not outstanding, was also not prone to mistakes.
Most viewers watched quite comfortably, and the atmosphere in the barrage was quite harmonious too.
Unfortunately, stages like this were too many and too mediocre. They couldn’t bring a sense of amazement, nor could they stir up widespread discussion.
The content of most barrages was quite similar. There were no controversial topics, nor any suspense to whet the appetite. Although such unremarkable stages wouldn’t fall into the predicament of being ridiculed by everyone, they similarly couldn’t become a huge hit outside the fandom.
It wasn’t until the third stage was about to begin that the camera cut to this group’s rehearsal process.
The young man in the cap sat on the wooden floor, surrounded by the six teammates who had chosen “A Single Spark.”
The team meeting led by him was, just like the last public performance, decisive and without delay. Only an hour had passed from selecting the demo to the end of the group battle, yet the cooperation plan was already summarized by him in an orderly fashion.
[As always, the big shot leads the way. No wonder everyone wants to be in a group with QT.]
[It feels like everyone is so obedient. There’s never a difficult person in Quentin’s team.]
[They’ve already divided the parts?? This efficiency… is a bit insane.]
[Doesn’t anyone have any objections? [laughing crying] Really, everyone just listens to Quentin obediently, huh.]
[Pfft, Little Xue’s expression is so funny. Only someone who’s been a team leader knows how rare a situation like Quentin’s is.]
[But there’s a problem. Although this is efficient, if Quentin makes a mistake, their team is doomed.]
[Dual rap, dual rap!!! So the dual rap was actually proposed by Quentin! Did he discuss it with Little Xue earlier?!]
[Ahhh, I’ve been looking forward to the dual rap for so long, it’s finally here [tears running]. Only those who’ve seen both of them live can understand how I feel… It directly hammered me into the Xue-Qur hole. They really match too well!!!]
When Quentin proposed in the group discussion that he and Xue Mingzhu be responsible for the rap parts, countless exclamation marks scrolled across the top of the screen, like a heavy stone falling from a great height into a calm lake. The barrage, which had been peaceful as a pool of stagnant water, suddenly became intense.
Fans of both Quentin and Xue Mingzhu already knew about the dual rap before this episode even started. Even those who hadn’t seen the offline stage knew from the widely circulated review posts that the two’s stage performance was extremely shocking.
However, many fans worried that those who had been to the live show had thick filters, blowing their rainbow farts too hard.
If those review posts could use an objective tone to praise and evaluate Quentin’s group stage, then the fans could rest assured and maintain their anticipation.
But the problem was precisely that the attitude of those viewers who had seen the live show was too exaggerated!
The vast majority of posts were overflowing with praise for the stage called “Fire Seed,” almost claiming the cooperation between Xue Mingzhu and Quentin as the best dual-rap performance by a boy group in history.
One, two, three all said it was the most shocking rap stage they had ever seen. Wasn’t that just setting them up for a fall?!
Xue Mingzhu’s long-time fans were very familiar with his rap level. To put it simply…he had talent, he had flair, he had distinct personal characteristics, but his technique still needed improvement.
His positioning in their hearts was “a promising new rap star,” still a long way from being a “shocking rap final boss.”
The hip-hop circle loved pursuing “real.” Whether it was rappers on stage or fans following rappers, they all prided themselves on being full of personality and having their own musical attitude.
They looked down on the fan circle’s behavior of excessively praising and trying to create gods, dismissing the exaggerated praise in those review posts.
Influenced by this group of long-time fans, Xue Mingzhu’s new fans also became skeptical about the dual rap.
But this group of new fans wasn’t doubting Xue Mingzhu’s rap level. After all, these days, those who followed artists just to trash them were still in the minority; their main target was Quentin.
After all, Xue Mingzhu had awards and works. What did Quentin have?
A rookie without any rap works who proactively proposed doing a dual rap. Even if his singing and dancing were top-notch, that was unrelated to rap.
Furthermore… Quentin really didn’t look like a rapper at all.
Although his face was the handsome, high-cold, aloof type, and his usual clothes were quite trendy and cool, he wasn’t arrogant at all.
And after following these episodes, most viewers gradually noticed his personality.
Calm, unhurried, very composed, extremely tolerant, or perhaps unconcerned, towards anyone or anything… In short, he was too peaceful, lacking attitude.
What kind of rapper has this personality?
Therefore, apart from the viewers who had seen the live performance, the CP fans of the two, and the solo fans who trusted Quentin unconditionally, other fans and ordinary viewers didn’t hold high expectations for the dual rap of these two.
They watched the carnival in the barrage coldly, waiting for the so-called “shocking” stage like onlookers watching a spectacle.
However, before this stage officially began, on screen, the young man facing the trust his teammates had wholly placed in him proactively brought up the topic that countless people inside and outside the show doubted.
“None of you have heard me rap. Don’t you doubt whether I can do it well?”
The young man sitting cross-legged in the corner of the wall had a calm expression, slowly spinning a pen. After listening to his teammates’ chatter, he smiled slightly: “So, do you want to hear it?”
[Yes!!!!]
[He’s going to rap? Just like that? Freestyle?]
[That calm look of having everything under control, damn, so cool!]
[Seriously, the reason Quentin’s teammates all listen to him isn’t entirely because he’s strong, right? During the first public performance, he had only shown his initial stage once. Cui Yan and the others were just as obedient.]
[Of course, it’s not all about strength. The forum analyzed it long ago; it’s his aura, the aura of a big boss!]
[Reason tells me I shouldn’t have high expectations for Quentin’s rap, but every move he makes seems to convey the fact that he’s incredibly awesome. What’s up with that! He’s such a B-King!]
[If you really understand Quentin, you should believe that his rap is definitely not bad, and it’s most likely very good. He only does things he’s confident about.]
The arguments in the barrage didn’t last long because, right after, Quentin stopped his pen-spinning motion, his hand landed on the floor, and he started to beat out a rhythm.
Very distinctive, very rhythmic lyrics came out of his mouth. Each syllable was crisp, the tempo fast, the rhythm good, the enunciation clear.
The key was…this flow felt really good to listen to, the more you listened, the catchier it became!
The barrage seemed to stutter for a moment, and then a string of question marks surged forth.
[?!]
[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.]
[Is it my imagination? Why does it feel… actually pretty good…]
[What imagination? It is good!]
[Awesome.]
[Damn, Quentin hides his depth too well. I’m speechless. No way. Just listening to this, he’s not a rap novice. His basic skills feel even better than Xue Mingzhu’s. What’s up with that??]
[Praise him, but don’t bring others down. Little Xue is someone who’s won a rap competition championship. Don’t start blindly blowing things up after hearing just a short bit.]
[Wait, none of you watch the behind-the-scenes clips? In the clip updated last week, Quentin said he started rapping even earlier than Xue Mingzhu.]
[It’s amazing. His entire aura changes when he raps.]
[Ahhh, why did it stop?! Sing it all! Just hearing this, it’s definitely not freestyle. There must be a full version!!!]
[There really is a full version. He wrote a song but didn’t release it. What a waste!!!]
[If this song had been released earlier, Quentin would have become famous long ago. I suspect he’s hiding a lot more songs.]
[No need to suspect. He definitely is.]
The short 30-second rap made all the doubtful voices disappear completely. Even Xue Mingzhu’s fans couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of crisis.
You have to understand, their first reaction when they heard Xue Mingzhu and Quentin were doing a dual rap was…Little Xue’s highlight moment is here!
Hehe, even Quentin has to play a supporting role for Little Xue, and he can even ride on Quentin’s popularity. How perfect!
They never considered the possibility that Quentin’s rap could match Xue Mingzhu’s. Even though those review posts all preferred to praise Quentin more, they assumed it was simply because Quentin was more popular, not that Quentin’s rap on stage was actually better than Xue Mingzhu’s.
Xue Mingzhu’s fans stared at the rainbow farts dancing more and more joyfully in the barrage, their minds in a daze.
What to do… It seemed they could now understand how the fans of Wen Xinran, Yan Qiao, and others felt…
No wonder whenever someone said Quentin sang the best or danced the best, there were always people who would refute fiercely.
No wonder the fans of various trainees started to unite against Quentin, saying his fans were overly aggressive, had a huge ego, and liked to step on others.
It was because the fans of other trainees were just like them, feeling a strong sense of crisis from Quentin, fearfully realizing that this guy wasn’t being hyped up by his fans, but actually had real skills, even threatening the stable positions of their own favorites as main vocalist or main dancer.
Xue Mingzhu’s fans were a bit broken. They didn’t even want to post comments anymore, just screaming internally…
Is Quentin a monster?! Can’t he just honestly rely on his looks to make a living!!
No one is fighting him for the visual position. Why does he always have to steal the spotlight from others!!!
He sings well, dances well, and now his rap is also awesome. He’s got so many talents at such a young age. Why doesn’t he just ascend to the heavens?!
Cheater! A total cheater! Unfair play!
It wasn’t appropriate to voice these complaints to anyone; doing something that boosts others’ morale while diminishing one’s own couldn’t be done. Perhaps the fans of several other groups could resonate with Xue Mingzhu’s fans internally.
Only Quentin’s fans were like innocent, naive sweethearts, focusing solely on praising, not knowing anything else.
Ah! So infuriating!
