In this era where one would be buried without marketing, as long as enough money is invested, fame is guaranteed. As for whether the direction is good or bad, it depends on the planner's vision.
Random Entertainment's public relations were entirely handled by Jiang Liuxing's studio. Having deep roots in fan circles, she understood marketing better than these entertainment companies. The memorable moments of Random Entertainment that the public talked about were her creations.
This time, she was fully responsible for the marketing of the final performance.
The campaign was named "The Destructive Power of First Love." She selected a few trainees who were on the verge of entering the circle and made several special episodes, one of which featured Sang Mo.
Sang Mo's wolf-like aura stood out particularly among this group of young boys. He hadn't yet celebrated his 15th birthday, but his height had already exceeded 180 cm. His foxy and handsome appearance made him a popular candidate in anyone's eyes, but as the survival competition progressed to later stages, his ranking dropped more and more.
However, the responsibility didn't lie with him, but with the production team and the voting groups.
Each episode of the show averaged over three hours, but Sang Mo's screen time didn't even add up to the length of one song. Including those fleeting shots at the edges of the frame, it barely totaled five minutes.
Those casual viewers who weren't deeply invested in the trainee circle voted based on the show's storylines. The more screen time a trainee got in an episode, the more votes they received.
Sang Mo had neither screen time nor successful voting campaigns, which led to this originally popular trainee candidate, who had been hovering around the top seven, becoming virtually invisible by the later stages of the show.
Jiang Liuxing, from the perspective of a fan genuinely following the show, created several slightly melancholic promotional videos for Sang Mo. On the surface, she was promoting Sang Mo, but in reality, she was driving traffic to the show.
The "ordinary person theory" that was constantly spammed during the final live broadcast originated from her. After Jiang Liuxing's series of videos came out, fans of various trainees used her words to support their favorites. It even trended on short video platforms for a while, with Jiang Liuxing's altered voice everywhere: "After the final performance, my bias will become an ordinary person hahaha, we'll never see them again hahaha!"
The sense of a bittersweet ending in this sentence tugged at everyone's heartstrings. Those who felt that twinge of sadness would become curious about who had driven this big marketing account to such extremes, then search for Sang Mo's name, and subsequently catch up on the show.
Those who binge-watched the show in two weeks also caught up just in time for the hot final performance.
"Sang Mo―"
"Sang Mo will definitely debut!"
A countdown appeared on the big screen, sixty-three seconds, with a photo of a trainee for each second, ordered according to their ranking in the last round of voting.
By the time the Sang Mo trend started online, voting had already ended. New fans who had just joined the fandom saw Sang Mo's name next to number fifty-one on the screen, and tears instantly filled their eyes.
As each trainee's face flashed on the screen, a wave of screams rose from the audience, growing louder as it went on.
Sang Mo, standing at a high point, took three deep breaths, hand over his heart, to suppress his nervousness.
The director's voice also came through his in-ear monitor, saying: "Countdown from five―five! Four! Three!"
He mentally counted the last two numbers, and after finishing "one," the theme song's accompaniment started playing in his ear monitor―
"Ahhhhhhhhh―"
The fans in the venue were instantly ignited, like water splashing into a hot oil pan, boiling and exploding.
Light sticks rose like suddenly growing tender shoots, gathering into pinpoints of light, becoming their starry sky.
The theme song stage, which had been kept under wraps for a month and a half, was finally revealed at this moment.
"Captivating in a second!"
"The intro is amazing! Is the audio source online yet?"
"Wuwuwuwu I've been listening to this song for a month, finally seeing the stage!"
"Wow, this stage and screen are so big, even bigger than a ten-thousand-person venue!"
"The Shanghai venue is several times bigger than the Beijing one! So jealous!!!"
"Who was that in the shot just now, so handsome!"
"Where do we vote, where do we vote?"
"Voting has ended, whether they debut or not depends on how the producers choose wuwuwu."
The great producer Jiang Juyou sat with the other judges in the prepared VIP box. The room was equipped with three large screens: one showing a panoramic view of the stage, another showing the live broadcast, and the third showing the screen with real-time comments.
She wore headphones, hearing a different sound from what the audience heard. Jiang Juyou could hear the sound from their in-ear monitors, with the studio recording version on one side and the accompaniment and their live audio on the other. Through these headphones, she could clearly sense each person's vocal level.
The live broadcast had just started, and with the theme song being a big group performance, it was impossible to discern individual performances. So Jiang Juyou twirled her pen while watching the screens.
They had performed this theme song hundreds of times, from the initial practices after learning the choreography, to the concert rehearsals, to the formal performances. Every practice felt like they would dance until they vomited, but once the music started, the memories unique to this song would flood their minds.
Today's performance was even more special, as it was the last time they would perform this song. The lyrics, which they had sung to the point of emotional numbness, carved themselves into their minds word by word tonight.
Just like this electronic dance music paired with farewell lyrics, the more energetic the music, the sadder they felt.
"The train is about to arrive at the station, we will eventually part―"
Sixty-three people stood with their backs to the camera.
Despite being the opening song, it felt like the final ending number. The performance hadn't officially started yet, but the comments were already flooded with tears.
For those fans who had genuinely followed certain trainees, this theme song was incredibly heartbreaking, and the newly arranged choreography even more so.
The original concert arrangement had them split into small groups and disperse towards the extended stage, but today's stage was changed so that the top twenty-one ranked trainees remained on the main stage, while the rest ran towards the extended stage.
The viewers in the comments section were already bleeding from the heart due to this changed dance arrangement.
"Ahhhhh I want to kill Jiejiu Yao!!!"
"This isn't stabbing the trainees, it's stabbing me, it's saying I didn't work hard enough to vote!"
"Too cruel... I'm about to go crazy from the pain."
"Wuwuwuwu I will remember this autumn and winter wuwuwu!"
"Can't we open the voting channel one more time?"
As the chorus played again, they dispersed from their positions, not following the original formation for the group dance, but scattering to various spots to greet the fans in attendance.
The camera panned across several fan sections, where many fans were crying their hearts out. Due to the lighting, their tears sparkled on their faces.
As the last note fell, the sixty-three people on stage stood in their places and bowed deeply to the audience at a ninety-degree angle―
"Starting off so intense... how am I going to get through the next three hours?"
"Eyes already swollen, thank you."
"Please, Jiejiu Yao, please make sure Sang Mo debuts!"
"I almost cried myself to death."
The camera swept across the entire venue, then cut to the host Jiang Tang. She stood on a small stage wearing a flesh-pink formal dress, with all spotlights focused on her. The surrounding fans were also supportive, suppressing their sadness to cheer a few times.
"Welcome everyone to the 21 Heartbeats of Youth final performance live broadcast. I'm tonight's host, Jiang Tang." Jiang Tang straightened her back, trying her best not to let her nervousness show too obviously.
She looked at the teleprompter in front of her, introducing the competition rules for tonight's show to the audience. As she spoke, the camera cut to Jiang Juyou, who was leaning back in her chair, her hair down, seriously looking at documents on an iPad.
When the camera switched to Jiang Juyou, the screams from the fans in the venue were even louder than when the trainees were on stage, but the meanings behind these screams were much more complex.
Some wanted to curse at her, some wanted to curse but didn't dare, and some simply really liked Jiang Juyou's face. Having just watched the opening performance, everyone's emotions were very complicated.
At this point, Jiang Tang passed the question to Jiang Juyou, asking her: "Does our producer Jiang have anything she wants to say to the trainees?"
Jiang Juyou, who had been looking down, finally turned her face towards the camera. Her expressionless face seemed like the embodiment of the word "cold." With many sharp angles in her features, she gave off a sense of aloofness.
Wearing a black turtleneck sweater and silver-framed glasses, Jiang Juyou took the microphone and paused slightly, as if organizing her thoughts. "...I hope everyone stays safe and completes a performance they won't regret. Thank you."
A small "Ooh~" sounded from the audience.
The fans closer to the big screen, emboldened by Jiang Juyou's absence, let their imaginations run wild.
"No joke, she looks like my wife."
"Does Jiang Juyou know how many times her face has saved her?"
"If the show was selecting female trainees, I'd sell my house to vote Jiang Juyou into the C position."
"The moment she opens her mouth, I want to be her dog."
"Have some decency in public, will you?"
"I can do without it."
Backstage, the trainees were rushing to get ready. Sang Mo had taken off his shirt, with two staff members helping him put on his microphone behind him, another helping him put on his shirt in front, and several others holding his arms steady to help him put on accessories.
The entire backstage area was packed with people. Those without immediate tasks had to stand against the walls to avoid blocking the paths later.
The final performance was divided into nine small groups, each with seven members. Each group would perform an original song. Additionally, the top seven ranked individuals would have solo stages performing cover songs. Furthermore, the top seven would form one group for a performance, and the top twelve would form another group for a performance.
In total, there would be eighteen stages, plus the opening number and two finale songs to be announced tonight for the full cast, making it twenty-one stages in total – equivalent to a full concert.
It was only at this moment that the fans realized how crucial their votes were.
The higher the ranking, the more opportunities for exposure. Ye Xing, ranked first, would have seven stages in total, appearing seven times with seven different looks.
It truly was a case of wealth accumulating to those already at the "top," and those at the "top" only becoming more successful – where "top" refers to a promising future.
The lights in the venue dimmed, and tonight's competition officially began--
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