Chapter 998: Birth of the first Masked King!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The music stopped.
The performance ended.
Suddenly, someone in the audience shouted, "The Clown! The Clown!"
Another person shouted along, "The Clown!"
Han Qi was wiping her tears away while shouting, "Teacher Clown!"
Amy raised her arms over her head and shouted, "The Clown!"
Xiao Lu screamed, "The Clown!"
Executive Director Hu Fei clenched his fists tightly in the wings!
It was fantastic!
This song was fantastic!
This guy was…fantastic!
"The Clown!"
"The Clown!"
"The Clown!"
"The Clown!"
The shouting increased and slowly became more similar!
Such a scene was nearly impossible to describe in words!
Eyes now open, Zhang Ye was stunned for a bit. He stood up from the piano and struggled a little to bend forward slightly in the direction of the judges and audience. It was supposed to be a bow. Zhang Ye did not expect that his song would stir up such a huge clamor in the studio as all he wanted was to express his inner feelings. He did not even expect that anyone would understand the things in the song because it was not a popular song with the masses in his previous world. Not everyone knew this song, and there were also some people who disliked it. The Midday Sun performed the original version; Wang Bao was the songwriter and wrote the piece with a piano accompaniment. The version that Zhang Ye sang was an adaptation from the original version with some modifications of his own. For example, the last verse with the "beautiful, beautiful, beautiful" repetition was implemented by Zhang Ye based on his understanding of the song. It was subsequently covered by Han Hong, and her version was the one that most people had probably heard.
Zhang Ye liked this song greatly when he was still in his previous world. As he was neither handsome nor had great qualifications, those who knew that he wanted to join the entertainment industry were always persuading him to give up the thought. It was only when he had joined the entertainment industry that he had a much deeper sentiment for this song. Everyone liked garden roses and thought that they were the most beautiful flowers of all. However, he knew that he was not a garden rose. He was just a wild rose shrub that thought of itself as very beautiful, yet went unnoticed by all around him.
So he wanted to switch songs for this performance. Even if he sang badly, he still wanted to change songs at the last minute.
The crowd was very excited.
They were shouting.
They were screaming.
Some of them were even crying.
Applause thundered as everyone stood up!
Are they…applauding me?
Are they…crying for me?
When Zhang Ye saw this, he suddenly felt quite touched. He wanted to use a poem to express himself like he used to but knew that he couldn't do so.
Dong Shanshan returned to the stage. "Let's thank The Clown for his performance."
Zhang Ye glanced at her.
Dong Shanshan's smile seemed a bit unnatural. "Please welcome Sunflower in the Starlight and Petal Shower back to the stage…." She then stopped.
A lot of the audience members were momentarily stunned when they realized that the host was crying.
Petal Shower was the first to get back on the stage. When she saw Dong Shanshan crying, she immediately went to pat her on the shoulder and gave her a quick hug.
Dong Shanshan smiled while wiping away her tears as she said into the microphone, "I'm sorry that I got a little emotional." She turned to look at Hu Fei, off in the wings, and said, "Director, please edit this part out."
Hu Fei raised his hand and gave her a thumbs up. He didn't blame her at all, instead comforting her.
Dong Shanshan apologized, "Please pardon me for being unprofessional."
By now, Sunflower in the Starlight had also come back onto the stage. He patted Dong Shanshan on the shoulder in encouragement like a senior would.
Zhang Xia spoke, "It's alright, Shanshan, I cried too. There's only one thing that I want to know right now." She stared straight at that man in the clown mask and asked, "Who are you?"
The Clown did not say a word.
Zhang Xia fired off, "For someone who's in such bad shape, with a fever and cold, you can still sing like that and put in so much feeling into it. If you told me that you weren't a professional singer, I certainly wouldn't believe it. But I really can't think of anyone who matches you in the entire music industry!"
Wang Zhuishu said, "Maybe it's because of his cold that his voice changed. That's why we can't tell who it is! Or could he be a newcomer? But how can there be a newcomer who's like him!"
The judges' thoughts were scattered!
Someone had previously thought that he was from the acting industry, but that thought wavered now!
Another felt that he could be a big shot from the music industry, but they soon hesitated about that thought too!
Who was it!
Who the fuck was this guy!
The audience also had an important question right now. They really wanted to find out the identity of the man underneath the mask!
By this point, Dong Shanshan had recomposed herself. "Before the final voting starts, would our panel of guest judges please cast their votes first. Who do you think should be crowned as the Masked King tonight?"
Wang Zhuishu gave it some thought and answered, "I think I'll probably still vote for Petal Shower! Her singing was very good and her technique was wonderful. It's practically without any faults!"
Petal Shower bowed.
Chen Yidong said, "I'll vote for Sunflower in the Starlight. Combining the two rounds of singing, I feel that he truly deserves to be the first Masked King."
Sunflower nodded and said into the voice-transforming microphone, "Thank you, Teacher Chen."
Han Qi clenched her fists tightly in the wings.
Why?
Why is it not The Clown?
What the hell are you guys thinking!
Before, Han Qi did not really like this clown person. Since their first interaction, The Clown been constantly teasing her. Everyone thought that he was some experienced but very mischievous veteran of the music industry. But as she came to know more about The Clown, she became completely moved by him. She felt that it was very fortunate for her to be the only liaison in the program team for The Clown and was very honored by this as well!
He was a wild rose!
A flower that was different from everyone else!
The audience also made some subtle criticism.
"What the heck!"
"Are those two deaf?"
"They should totally have voted for The Clown!"
"The Clown's song was amazing!"
"I think the same. It's so good that it's beyond description!"
"You can't say that! Sunflower sang better!"
"I still prefer to support Petal Shower."
It was only normal to have differences in opinions. It was impossible for everyone to think the same. Music itself was perceived based on each individual's opinion and life experience. People who listened to the same song could not possibly have the same emotions about it at the end. Perhaps only those who have had similar experiences could understand Zhang Ye's "Wild Rose."
Then, Chen Guang spoke.
Chen Guang looked at the three masked singers. "On a professional basis, I would definitely choose between Sunflower and Petal Shower. Their voices, singing techniques, and appeal cannot be faulted; they're impeccable. In the first round, I made my decision following this set of standards even though I really liked The Clown's first song, 'Wolf.' But right now, I would like to apologize."
Apologize?
What are you apologizing for?
The judges were taken aback.
The audience were also startled.
Chen Guang said loudly, "To claim that I was judging on a professional basis was totally unprofessional of me! My decision might be a little willful and rash of me, but I can't not be rash. If I were to vote, I would definitely, definitely, definitely…cast this vote for The Clown and only The Clown! There's no why! There isn't a need for a why either!"
Han Qi was pleasantly surprised!
Someone was supporting him!
Someone was finally supporting Teacher Clown!
Yao Jiancai also spoke up, "Let me say this first: I do not fully know what being professional or unprofessional is, nor am I a person from the music industry, nor have I dabbled in music before." He smiled and said, "If my long-time crosstalk partner were here, his evaluation would probably be more professional than mine. But I can only follow my heart, so if I chose, my choice would be the same as Old Chen's. I would 100% cast my vote for The Clown without any hesitation! I don't know how good his voice is, and I also don't know how well it was sung. All I know is that this song, 'Wild Rose,' has moved me! This song has totally said what I wanted to say."
Amy stood from her seat and cleared her throat. "I hereby announce that from today onwards, I have become a fan of The Clown!" She looked at The Clown and said anxiously, "Who are you? I really, really like you a lot!"
The Clown gave her a slight bow.
Zhang Xia said, "I will also cast my vote for The Clown this time. Singing well requires a good voice, good technique, and all kinds of other factors. But ultimately, music has to be able to move people, and feelings are above all that. Petal Shower and Sunflower have both achieved that, but The Clown has undoubtedly done it best today with his song. His second performance essentially disregarded all the so-called technicalities and techniques of singing and was of such a high level as well. This sort of infusion and projection of emotions, this turning of the disadvantage of a bad vocal condition into something that helped make the song even better, it's absolutely not something that can be learned. This has surpassed any techniques around!"
The judges finished with their evaluations.
Dong Shanshan said, "Well then, let the voting begin. Will the 500 audience members please consider who you think is best and cast your votes so that we may witness the crowning of our first Masked King."
Han Qi felt extremely nervous.
Many of the program team staff were debating.
"I like The Clown!"
"Me too!"
"He tried so hard!"
"I just wish that the voting would end quickly so that The Clown can get off the stage and rest."
The audience had already picked up their voting devices and started to cast their votes!
On the big screen, the tallies were being compiled in real-time!
Petal Shower was at 10 votes…20 votes…30 votes!
Sunflower's votes were also increasing very quickly. 20 votes…30 votes!
"Rise higher!"
"Ah, Sunflower's votes went up!"
"Oh, Petal Shower's in first place!"
"The Clown! The Clown!"
"The Clown has taken the lead! He's in the lead!"
"He got overtaken!"
The competition was very intense!
The judges looked at the screen in astonishment!
The audience was staring at the same thing, not blinking. A lot of them were chanting for their favorite singer's stage name!
The three contestants' stage names in the standings kept switching positions, each replacing the other's at the top. A lot of people expected this, but could not predict who would end up as the final winner of this round. The suspense was too great to bear!
Finally, the voting phase ended!
Dong Shanshan immediately said, "The voting stops now!"
On the big screen, the tallies suddenly stopped. Those who did not vote within the time limit were considered to have abstained!
Everyone looked at the big screen!
Sunflower turned around!
Petal Shower leaned sideways and looked!
Han Qi glanced at the big screen nervously!
Only Zhang Ye did not turn around. He stood there very composed, or maybe he only had enough strength to remain standing.
The results were out!
The Masked King was crowned!
The crowd was instantly stoked!
"The Clown!"
"The Clown!"
"The Clown!"
"The Clown!"
Han Qi was so emotional that she started crying again. She screamed and hugged a male colleague next to her. "He won! Teacher has won! " Sobbing, she smiled through her tears.
That male colleague on the program team coughed in embarrassment. "Congratulations."