If I Can’t Be a Fanboy, I Can Only Debut

The atmosphere on site was a bit awkward because no one was talking. The judges were waiting for Luo Xin's performance, but Luo Xin was lost in thought -- in other words, daydreaming. 

Even Lin Jiawen, who was infatuated with Luo Xin's appearance, furrowed her eyebrows slightly and urged him, "Luo Xin?"

Only then did Luo Xin snap out of it. After much hesitation, he finally spoke up, "Teachers, the performance I will be doing is called 'Different'." Although he had not consulted with the production team, Luo Xin believed that the accompaniment for this song had to be available here.

This song, "Different," suddenly became popular on a certain short video app this year and was playing everywhere. It was so overplayed that it was almost unbearable. As expected, after Luo Xin announced the song title, everyone showed a knowing expression.

To be honest, choosing this song was not a good idea. Performing an overplayed song would make it difficult for a contestant to stand out unless it was adapted. It may even have the opposite effect. It would be mediocre to perform it at a party, let alone in a talent show. Moreover, this song was already popular on a short video app and had been interpreted in various ways. Even if it was adapted, everyone had heard many versions of it, so there was no novelty to it.

Lin Jiawen secretly regretted it. She really liked Luo Xin, but she didn't like the song he chose. 

The prelude of the song began, and Luo Xin closed his eyes.

Did he know that the song he chose was problematic?

Of course he did.

He also knew that if he wanted to make a name for himself on the program, song selection was important. But he still went ahead and chose a clichéd and overplayed song.

It was because few people knew that the original singer of "Different" was named Shao Xiangchen.

Luo Xin was his biggest supporter, and Luo Xin was the only fan left after watching him steadily decline over the past two years. Shao Xiangchen's fan base had dwindled from tens of thousands of active fans to just one -- Luo Xin. Looking at the online fan accounts, it seemed like the only ones left were probably bought by Shao Xiangchen's studio.

This year, "Different" finally became popular, but Shao Xiangchen was caught up in a scandal.

Luo Xin's house of cards collapsed.

A photo of him dating a minor internet celebrity was taken by paparazzi, and Shao Xiangchen finally made it to the trending news as a supporting character in Xu Tianwang's scandal.

"[Xu Tianwang's ex-girlfriend cheats on him with a younger man]". Look, as a traffic idol, Shao Xiangchen didn't even have a name in this kind of news.

To be honest, when Luo Xin saw the news, he felt like his world had turned black.

He stayed at home in self-isolation for a month. Today, he went out to find someone to settle the score with and ended up at this competition venue.

On the short video app, the version of "Different" that was popular was a cover by a certain boy. It was sweet and easily captured the hearts of young girls. There were also new versions with ancient style, dark style, and flirtatious styles.

But for Luo Xin, "Different" only had one version.

"With a neat hairstyle and a clean collar, the world finally said welcome to me..."

Accompanied by the all-too-familiar music, Luo Xin slowly sang the version of "Different" that was different from all the others.

Lin Jiawen raised an eyebrow and showed an interested expression on her face, while the other two professional musicians showed a slightly serious expression.

This version was too refreshing.

The melody was still the same, but it seemed like there was something different about it.

Luo Xin closed his eyes and continued to sing.

Shao Xiangchen was a popular idol with few works, so even though Luo Xin was his diehard fan, he was still amazed at how few of his songs he could listen to. He was so sick of hearing "Different" that he could throw up.

When Shao Xiangchen wrote this song, he was still a young kid full of longing for the world and hope for the future. But because his dreams were hard to achieve, he also carried a sense of world-weariness and resentment.

So this song inevitably carries a bit of stubbornness and defiance. It's a song that can only be written by someone who has been polished by society to be completely smooth, and it's a feeling that countless covers have failed to capture. The song is deeply moving.

When Luo Xin sang, he was also defiant.

His defiance was directed at Shao Xiangchen, his indulgence, and his unworthy behavior. It was anger.

It was like hating iron for not becoming steel, and the kind of inexplicable sadness that he couldn't explain to himself.

"Breaking the shackles, breaking through the cage, all the differences are explained by me!"

After a long high note, Luo Xin opened his eyes. He still had that cold and indifferent look, but this time, the judges applauded.

Lin Jiawen even put away her initial teasing attitude and became more serious: "I really like your voice, it's very sincere."

The professional producer Nie Ruye on her left smiled and said, "Your version is quite unexpected, but I really like it."

The well-known lyricist and composer on her right knew a little bit more. After Luo Xin left, he smiled slyly and said, "This should be the original version, Shao Xiangchen's version. Speaking of which..." He showed a mischievous expression, "I heard that Shao Xiangchen is here too."

The judges exchanged a knowing smile, revealing their mutual love for gossip.

Of course, Luo Xin couldn't see any of this.

Singing "Different" on stage was already his limit, unlike other contestants who brought dance performances or their own rap and original songs.

So after a short performance, he left the stage.

Then, backstage, he saw Shao Xiangchen.

Luo Xin glanced at his number, "97, Shao Xiangchen."

He looked presentable enough, wearing the same outfit he wore when he participated in the New Year's Eve concert in X County last year. Luo Xin pouted inwardly, knowing everything about Shao Xiangchen and his team members, and walked past them expressionlessly.

He had a tight grasp on his temperament.

Not long after he left, one of Shao Xiangchen's teammates envied Luo Xin and said, "Did you see that contestant just now? He looks amazing, he must be really talented!"

After being in the industry for so long, their confidence was slowly fading. They were an established group, yet they were inexplicably envious of an amateur at this moment.

Shao Xiangchen felt low in his heart, and finally forced himself to comfort them, "It's okay, we're not bad either. Xiaoqi, tidy up your clothes, we're going on stage soon."

"Super Idol 001" may have been stimulated by various knock-off programs. In order to differentiate itself from other programs, it repeatedly modified the original program segments.

The current popular talent shows generally have a group of handsome men or beautiful women in the first segment, choosing their seats in front of a pyramid-like structure. Those who have a higher number are the ones who have the confidence to choose their position, and each time someone is selected, it causes a wave of cheers.

Then the mentors make a spectacular appearance and comment on each contestant as they come on stage. If the contestant has debuted before, it's even better as they can be a highlight of the program and appear in the opening credits, bringing in traffic.

"Super Idol 001" completely abandoned this full-of-surprises segment and decided to go back to the traditional audition format that was popular a few years ago.

That is the old-fashioned segment where three judges sit on the judges' bench and contestants perform one by one in front of them.

Fortunately, although the content is somewhat outdated, the program's production team did not become so foolish as to completely use the most primitive format.

They spent some effort in selecting the contestants.

When Luo Xin walked by backstage, he was surprised to find that half of the contestants present were people he knew, and even a quarter of them were people he had idolized before. He couldn't be more familiar with them.

So he frowned slightly, wondering what kind of twice-cooked pork 1 show this was.

If you asked the program director, he would probably be very proud. Although the program's format may look old-fashioned, there are still plenty of highlights, and half of the contestants have already debuted, so this program is definitely worth watching!

It's also because the program's focus is on inviting contestants, as well as arguing with management agencies over their positions, that caused the program to appear a bit chaotic at the beginning.

The busy staff made a mistake and thought Luo Xin, who was there to cause trouble as a fan, was a contestant and gave him a number.

But it's not really the staff's fault.

There's a barrier between ordinary people and handsome men and beautiful women, and there's also a barrier between ordinary handsome men and beautiful women and celebrities.

When Luo Xin arrived at the scene, he was too confident and had an outstanding temperament, not at all like an ordinary person. And that face of his was very good-looking, so it's not surprising that he was mistaken for a contestant who came to pretend to audition.

Apart from Luo Xin and the contestants who had already debuted, the other people at the scene were trainees sent over by major companies, commonly known as "practice students".

Finally finding a corner to sit down and rest, Luo Xin raised his eyelids and took a glance at these young, innocent-looking kids with a clean temperament, sneering in his heart: Do they really think they can become famous just by participating in a talent show?

There are at least four or five talent shows every year, with hundreds of contestants. How many of them actually make it big in the end?

Even his beloved idol, Shao Xiangchen, who was among the top 20 in popularity during the competition, had his entire fan base waiting for him at the airport when he arrived for the first time. But what about now?

He's just fighting for the camera with a group of equally obscure idols in this crappy show's backstage.

Thinking of this, his heart suddenly felt bitter again.

He didn't know if he felt bad for Shao Xiangchen or for his own bad judgment...

Out of 108 contestants during the competition, why did he have to pick Shao Xiangchen?

It's one thing for Shao Xiangchen to lack luck in life, but at least he writes songs that are more popular than he is, and he doesn't have to worry too much about his career.

But he, on the other hand, loves to act recklessly.

An idol can be ugly, have poor skills, or be unprofessional on stage...

Luo Xin can tolerate all of these flaws, and he can even argue with people for three days and three nights to defend his idol. He can brainwash other small fans in the industry, and even write short essays in the fan circle to help Shao Xiangchen keep his fans loyal.

He has done many "immoral" things for Shao Xiangchen.

But he cannot tolerate Shao Xiangchen being in a romantic relationship.

In his eyes, if an idol is in love, they are asking for death, especially since Shao Xiangchen has made many promises to his female fans.

Deceiving fans is a capital offense!

Staring at Shao Xiangchen who is about to face the judges, Luo Xin suddenly remembers that morning when he saw the hot search, and a murderous intent rises in his eyes.

In the distance, Shao Xiangchen wraps his leather jacket around himself: Why does it suddenly feel cold?

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Footnotes: 

1 回锅肉, a modern internet slang used to refer to trainees who were idols before and are debuting again in a survival show