Summer vacation is a paradise for fans, especially this year.
Timetrain announced their preview in July, with activities in August, followed by two female trainee survival shows.
"Title: Entertainment Discussion/I knew the show's style didn't seem like it came from those two platforms, turns out there are people from SJYL among the PDs."
"Previously thought there was internal turmoil at SJYL, but actually their staff were poached."
"Several staff members from this show used to work at SJYL, Yang Siyu, Li Yao, and others were directly poached by other companies."
"SJYL, I'm crying, you suffered such injustice without saying a word."
Comments section:
"They were poached?"
"Looking at the timeline, seems it was before Timetrain's comeback."
"I remember they were fired."
"No wonder the competition system is so brutal."
"They weren't poached, right? If they were poached, would SJYL still send trainees there? That would be too..."
"They were clearly fired..."
"They resigned voluntarily, okay?"
"Don't care about internal conflicts, just happy to see SJYL's influence throughout the entertainment industry! As long as it benefits me, I don't care about the rest."
After summer vacation, two platforms went head-to-head, launching female group survival shows one after another. To capture more viewers, they updated content very promptly, some clearly filmed last-minute just to stay ahead of the competition.
As spectators, audiences naturally hoped for them to compete, the more intense the better.
Random Entertainment also sent trainees, twelve of them, who had already gained some popularity from previous shows, with several nearly making it to debut positions.
High-popularity trainees Xia Simiao and Ji Wensu were split up, each sent to a different show. With their extremely high popularity and appearance, debuting would be easy as long as the show producers didn't cause trouble.
When the show aired, Jiang Juyou also watched it.
Unlike Random Entertainment's internal competition shows, these platform shows used traditional entrance methods, with contestants appearing in groups.
After thirty minutes of broadcasting, there was no sign of Random Entertainment trainees until near the end, when Jiang Juyou finally saw Random Entertainment's vans appear on screen.
Two large black luxury vans drove into the factory area, their appearance alone different from previously shown vehicles.
Jiang Juyou immediately sensed trouble and opened the comments to see audience reactions.
"Oh no, Random Entertainment got the sacrificial edit."
"With this contrast, I bet Random Entertainment trainees will get evil editing."
"Especially with Xia Simiao who naturally looks cold, this is bad."
"The show producers are treating viewers like idiots."
"Do they think we can't see through this?"
Before Random Entertainment trainees appeared, the show gave extensive coverage to another trainee, a young girl who arrived on an electric scooter with a large handbag, spending time looking for a place to park.
"Ah... no wonder they told us to prepare something more impressive for the trainees," Jiang Juyou suddenly realized.
Cong Lixia didn't quite understand human complexities, but from the comments, he could tell this situation wasn't good for Random Entertainment.
"Should we talk to the show producers? Should we recall the trainees?" Cong Lixia asked several times.
Jiang Juyou shook her head while watching the screen, "No need." She then shifted her gaze to the chat box, "Don't you understand?"
"Are they giving Random Entertainment trainees bad edits?" Cong Lixia was about to explain what bad editing meant to show he understood, but Jiang Juyou said, "Hmm... not exactly."
"When the editing is so obvious that even viewers can tell it's malicious, is it really malicious?"
"Actually, the girl who came on the electric scooter might be in danger, because once viewers think Random Entertainment trainees are being evil edited, they'll turn against her."
Jiang Juyou maintained fairness on their own show because they were their own trainees, and even the last-place contestant had received significant time and money in training, so they naturally wanted to support them when possible.
For outside matters, Jiang Juyou's sympathy didn't extend that far.
"It's both good and bad for that girl, comparisons create topics for discussion, especially when the comparison is with Random Entertainment people."
The seven trainees from this show got off the van one by one. Unlike the expected glamorous outfits, all seven wore Random Entertainment's standard trainee uniforms.
They had several sets of practice uniforms, and while everyone wore practice uniforms, the styles varied.
Xia Simiao wore short sleeves with long pants, with a zippered jacket tied around her shoulders. The loose-fitting gray and white sportswear immediately set them apart from other trainees' elaborate outfits.
"All clear, the villain becomes the comedy relief."
"Hilarious, arriving in such an impressive car only to have seven girls in sportswear step out."
"This outfit makes you really curious about what they'll perform."
Xia Simiao's show had higher ratings than the other one, most notably because the producers used editing to create conflicts and attract viewers.
While masters can guide you through the door, cultivation depends on the individual. They attracted massive attention through the Random Entertainment trainee brand, but whether they could maintain it would depend on the competition system.
With such excitement, Random Entertainment naturally wouldn't miss this wave of popularity, announcing a new show after National Day.
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"This is exciting!"
Equals3 were the first to receive notice, learning about their show participation just a week before the official announcement.
For Chen Wu and Sang Mo, who had already participated in two competitive variety shows, although they were happy to gain exposure before debut, their hearts clenched at hearing it was another competition show.
However, Jiang Wangran showed obvious excitement, seemingly unable to wait.
The two often discussed Jiang Wangran behind his back, and after receiving the show participation news and seeing his reaction, they had more to talk about.
"Let's see if he can still smile once the show starts."
"I think the word 'anxiety' might not exist in his dictionary."
"I can't handle it, I'm anxious, I'm dying from anxiety."
"Me neither, just thinking about rankings makes my heart pound."
The two huddled in a single practice room chatting, and after accepting this reality, they looked at each other and sighed.
"Knock knock!" A knock at the door startled the two who were hiding there slacking off.
Sang Mo pushed off his knees to stand, while Chen Wu, who had been crouching for too long, took a while to successfully get up.
When the door opened, they found Jiang Wangran with his guitar, and seeing them both there, he showed an "as expected" expression.
"I knew you two would be hiding here!"
Chen Wu was about to explain when Jiang Wangran said: "I just wrote a song, come quick and listen, I think we can use this arrangement for our entrance, it'll blow everyone away!"
He was like a tireless beagle. Before, when they didn't live on the same floor, he would find them several times a day. Now that they'd moved to the upstairs artist area, Chen Wu and Sang Mo's doors were practically worn out from his knocking.
But when he came looking, they would listen, never making excuses to avoid it.
"Let's go to the practice room," Chen Wu shuffled along, with Sang Mo sighing behind him.
They felt that if Jiang Wangran's energy level could be turned down a bit, the three of them would definitely be a perfectly matched group.
It seemed every group had one or two exceptionally energetic members. Pei Luming and Pei Zhiping were the same - Pei Luming was purely noisy and playful, Pei Zhiping seemed to never tire, while Jiang Wangran was both.
Because they were preparing to record the show, AIcho's four members also ended their brief overseas training. They had finished their album and MV filming, returning just in time for the recording schedule.
The show was recorded, but viewers wouldn't see it until a month later.
Besides Random Entertainment's three groups, there were several nationally known bands, as well as some singers and rappers participating.
Since this is a program built around a music festival, the stage style cannot be limited to just a studio setting.
The theme of the first public performance is [RE: Production], where artists can select a few of their most popular songs for rearrangement and production, to be evaluated by the live audience.
Unlike existing domestic music festivals, Random Entertainment aims to create a comprehensive venue with everything from food and drinks to entertainment.
Jiang Juyou is responsible for selecting the location and setting up the music festival.
The venue was chosen in the Chimelong area of Zhuhai, and considering the potential audience size of tens of thousands, a large plot of land was sectioned off.
Tickets went on sale before the program began.
"Headline: Hot Topic Discussion/Random Entertainment's Music Festival"
"Today they released the festival grounds map, showing camping areas, dining zones, parking lots, rental areas, shopping districts, entertainment zones, and three stage areas."
"It's like China's version of Coachella."
"There are individual and package tickets. Individual tickets only include entry and are very affordable at 59 yuan. The two-person package ticket costs 999 yuan and includes entry, camping tent, and park shuttle service."
"Shuttle bus service is available with advance reservation. There are prompts when buying tickets on Galaxy platform, you can check there."
"Overnight stays in the venue aren't allowed, but shuttle buses will take you to the nearest metro station. Those interested can book hotels near the station."
Comments:
"Even at 999 yuan per person, it's still cheap."
"Random Entertainment has spoiled us. Now I can't accept other festivals charging 599 yuan for back-row seats."
"It's so big... how many people can fit?"
"First time buying tickets was so easy, does this mean not many people are going?"
"They released 50,000 tickets. I can't even imagine what a camping area for 50,000 people looks like."
"They definitely won't sell all 50,000."
"No ticket refunds this time."
"Already sold nearly 10,000 tickets in just one day of sales."
"Where are you all seeing these numbers?"
"Reply: You can calculate it from the remaining ticket numbers shown."
"Support Random Entertainment for bringing down ticket prices!"
"No joke, I really want to go. My heart is seriously moved."
Random Entertainment business fan: Only sold 10,000 tickets so far.
Other music festival organizers [smirking]: ...