The specialized training had been going on for two months now. Last month focused mainly on dance, while this month concentrated on vocals. To prevent trainees from completely forgetting about dance while focusing on vocal training, they were required to perform their dance again at the next monthly evaluation, giving them a second chance for assessment.
After watching the dance performances, Jiang Juyou rubbed her temples and said with a headache, "Your performances lack any impact. It's as if you're just completing a task - you finish dancing and that's it. I bet that's what you're thinking too: 'Ah! Finally, it's over.' And that's exactly what I'm thinking - it's finally over, it was so long."
After saying this, she picked up her iPad to check the music duration. It was actually just over two minutes, but Jiang Juyou felt like she had watched for five or six minutes.
The trainees being critiqued stood with stiff backs, especially Ye Xing and Yao Shuo. Although they weren't singled out, it was exactly as the producer had said - after finishing their dance, they only felt relief and a sense of 'finally, it's over.'
The two slightly hunched their backs, feeling a bit guilty.
She didn't bother saying more, just waving her hand to call for the next group.
The subsequent groups, having been warned, forced themselves to appear more enthusiastic, but this only made the performances more awkward. Only they themselves seemed excited, while the teachers in front maintained expressionless faces.
The trainees had undoubtedly improved since they first arrived, but now that they were in the debut group, mere skill improvement was no longer enough.
They should be held to the standards of debuted artists who can hold concerts and perform live shows, but they were still far from reaching that level.
The music played on and off as all the performances were watched. Afterwards, Jiang Juyou irritably ran her fingers through her hair a few times. She turned over some critical words in her mouth before swallowing them back.
"If I have to pick one decent performance... it would be Yao Shuo's solo stage."
"For groups... Group C."
What should have been a moment of joy was quickly glossed over by Jiang Juyou. She didn't even give the trainees time to react before moving on to the next topic.
She rubbed her chin, then pointed to the door, "We've had some equipment customized for you all. Next month is specialized training for singing and dancing together. Listen carefully to your live performances while dancing."
As she spoke, two staff members sitting by the door went out to bring in some boxes. Seeing this, Jiang Juyou said, "Open one set."
She pointed at Yao Shuo, "Yao Shuo, try it on."
This batch of equipment wasn't the conventional customized in-ear monitors and microphones, but specially adjusted ones according to Jiang Juyou's requirements.
Yao Shuo came over and fumbled with the staff to figure out how to put on the equipment.
After he put it on, a staff member played the song Yao Shuo had just performed. Hearing the sound, he fumbled a bit, then gently held the headset mic and started singing, watching for cues.
Jiang Juyou waved at Yao Shuo, who was standing in the corner, gesturing for him to move to the center of the practice room and dance while singing.
She then explained to the other trainees, "What you'll hear in your earphones will be no different from before. For the microphones, I've had the reverb removed. You'll hear your own raw vocals in the earphones, and you'll be able to hear others' as well."
"What we're hearing now is like this," she said, pointing to the speakers overhead.
The speakers only played the instrumental, without the raw vocals that should have been picked up. But because the instrumental was very soft, Yao Shuo's voice while singing and dancing could be clearly heard, even down to the small sounds of chains clinking.
Yao Shuo's live singing and dancing performance was on display. Almost every phrase would shake a little in the middle, and the pitch would be slightly off.
If he was like this, one could imagine how terrible the others' live performances usually were.
Pei Luming stood behind Gao Xiayu, quietly criticizing himself, "... No wonder Producer Jiang says our singing is hard to listen to. I find it pretty hard to listen to myself too."
Ye Xing also quietly gave a thumbs up, "Producer Jiang's criticism is quite accurate."
In their view, if Yao Shuo, who ranked first in vocal ability, sang like this, they could only imagine how much worse they would be.
From this third-person perspective, they suddenly empathized with Producer Jiang who usually scolded them.
If they sang like this, they indeed deserved to be scolded.
Jiang Juyou didn't stop Yao Shuo midway, letting him dance until the end of the song before signaling that he could take off the in-ear monitors.
She looked at the other trainees and said, "If you're like this after just one song, how will you manage when you have to sing four or five songs in a concert? Won't you be unable to even open your mouths?"
Jiang Juyou waved her hand, calling the trainees back to the center. "Stamina is one issue, you need to gradually build that up. The shaky voices while singing and dancing are also a problem, but you've been practicing for so long, why do you still have this issue?"
She didn't expect anyone to answer, so she continued, gesturing with her fingers, "The biggest problem is that you're not at ease on stage. Performance is a way of conveying emotions. People come to enjoy a pleasant atmosphere, not to worry about whether you'll hit a wrong note in the next line."
"From now on, your training will include various observation activities. You'll go to concerts, public performances, and music festivals."
"But you're not going on an outing. You're going to learn how to relax on stage, how to interact with the audience, and how to bring more life to your performances."
Whether a stage performance is captivating is key. In those brief three minutes, the audience should feel their blood boiling with excitement, not have their attention distracted by worrying if the artist will hit a wrong note in the next line, or finish watching without feeling anything at all.
This had always been Jiang Juyou's standard, but it was too early to bring this up to them before. She had been waiting until the debut group lineup was confirmed before revealing this point to the trainees.
She glanced at the time and stood up. The teachers sitting on either side of her also stood up.
Jiang Juyou said, "You've been notified about going to Coachella, right? Do you now understand what your task is?"
The trainees standing in the middle of the practice room finally understood why they were going to the music festival. After hearing what Producer Jiang said, they all nodded and said, "We understand!"
"Good, go get your luggage. We'll be leaving for the airport soon." After saying this, Jiang Juyou also relaxed her posture and rubbed her temples.
The trainees, still childlike at heart, couldn't suppress their rising smiles upon hearing these words.
-
Scalpers in the fan circles sell anything and everything. After tickets were ordered from Random Entertainment, flight information was released.
However, few fans were willing to believe it. They thought that while Random Entertainment was quite frugal in many aspects, they did a great job protecting their artists and trainees. Usually, when trainees moved in large groups, they would charter private jets. So buying regular tickets for them to go to the US seemed very suspicious.
Company fans loudly proclaimed the information was fake, making fans of individual trainees doubt it too. In the end, not a single person went to the airport.
The result was that twenty-one trainees plus staff members left on two separate flights, unnoticed.
The planes were mostly filled with Koreans and Americans, with few people recognizing them, allowing them to arrive quietly.
On the day of the flight, the internet was eerily quiet, with no sightings or chance encounters reported. This made the various fan groups believe even more in what the company fans had said.
Meanwhile, the trainees who had just landed boarded buses heading to their hotel.
Jiang Juyou had come along too. She notified the group chat: "After we get to the hotel, take a short break. In the evening, if any of them want to go out, let me know. You can take them. The official activities start tomorrow. Those who don't want to go out should stay at the hotel. Don't let the trainees wander off."
This announcement was also relayed to the bus carrying the trainees. As soon as Guan Xiaoxiao finished saying "Raise your hand if you want to go, those who don't can rest at the hotel," the bus erupted into chaos.
Everyone raised their hands high like elementary school students eager to answer a question, afraid the staff sister taking notes wouldn't see them.
Pei Luming in the last row jumped the highest, "Me, me, me! Teacher, me! Sister, me!"
Gao Xiayu next to him was speechless at this sudden change, "Weren't you just suffering from motion sickness from the plane and car?"
On the plane, he was complaining about airsickness. After getting off the plane and onto the bus, he claimed to be carsick. He looked sickly the entire way, as if he might die at any moment. But as soon as someone asked if he wanted to go to Coachella, he miraculously revived.
The rapid change in his condition was so fast that even Gao Xiayu couldn't keep up with his pace.
The bus was in chaos, with hands raised higher and higher, making it impossible to see who didn't want to go. So Guan Xiaoxiao lowered her hand and called out, "Alright, alright, let's try this another way. Those who just said they weren't feeling well and don't want to go, raise your hands!" She demonstrated by raising her own hand.
Suddenly, the bus fell silent. Everyone sat up straight, and those trainees who had just been looking weak and haggard sealed their lips shut. Pei Luming, in particular, had his eyes wide open and alert, afraid of being considered part of the unwell group.
Seeing this, Gao Xiayu, sitting next to him, decided to tease him. He pointed at Pei Luming and said to the staff member in front, "Sister, Pei Luming says he's carsick and doesn't want to go."
Caught off guard, Pei Luming immediately used the loudest voice of his life to shout, "That's not true!"
He raised his hand to prove he was fine, "Sister, I'm perfectly well, I'm not feeling sick at all. Please let me go!" He even thumped his chest forcefully twice, his face turning red from the effort.
The people in the front rows burst into laughter. Guan Xiaoxiao understood this was just their playful banter, so she gestured for him to sit down. "Alright, I got it. So, no one wants to stay at the hotel and rest, right? In that case, after we return to the hotel and drop off our luggage, change your clothes and get ready to head to the Coachella venue."
"Awoo!"
"Oh oh oh oh oh!"
"Yeah yeah yeah!!!"
The bus erupted in celebratory howls, the noise so loud that the staff members in the front rows hunched their shoulders and covered their ears.
In another van, Jiang Juyou also received the news from the trainees' side.
"..."
She had wanted to rest a bit, but since they were all going, now she had to go too.
