Chapter 36

As Pudding announced the start, the stage dimmed.

Pudding ran to the edge of the stage, making way for the first contestant to step up.

In the center of the stage, the lift slowly rose...

"I live in a city full of cold, but your voice in the phone is warm like spring, thinking of the time we broke up last year..."

This song is a popular one in Longguo, called "The Season of Breakup."

Before the contestant's face could be seen clearly, the voice had already come out. This was a carefully arranged segment by the production team, symbolizing the power of the voice.

Then, the singing continued, and a spotlight shone on the contestant. More and more lights illuminated the contestant, the camera zoomed in, and the audience finally saw the contestant's face.

With a touch of makeup, she smiled charmingly.

Seeing the familiar red hair of the contestant, Luoyang smiled.

"Wow, so beautiful. The first contestant is already this gorgeous?" Ren Changjiang said in surprise.

"Right, she has a high beauty level. Those legs, so white." Wang Yu said with a lecherous grin.

"The red hair is also very nice, very unique..." Zhu Changhong said.

"Let's see what the judges say..." Ren Changjiang and the others whispered while watching the show.

After the song, applause broke out from the audience.

"Introduce yourself," Pudding walked onto the stage and said to the girl with a smile.

"Hello everyone, my name is Su Yiyi," the girl smiled at the judges and the audience.

"So her name is Su Yiyi, a nice name. Luoyang, what do you think of this girl?" Ren Changjiang nudged Luoyang, who had been silent.

Luoyang smiled and said, "Very beautiful, and her singing is good too."

Of course, he thought she was good; Su Yiyi was at least his friend.

However, seeing the three roommates being so mischievous, Luoyang didn't dare tell them he knew Su Yiyi.

...

"Your grasp of the pop style is very good, and your appearance is very suitable for being a singer. I give you 20 points," Yi Bai said from the judges' panel.

"I disagree with Xiao Bai's view. Su Yiyi, your singing style is a bit too rigid. Being trained in a conservatory is both good and bad. Your singing lacks flexibility, so I can only give you 15 points," Ma Haoran said with a serious face.

No one thought he was targeting Yi Bai; this was a tradition of "Next Queen," where the judges often had different opinions and thus different scores.

"Thank you, teacher. I will continue to work hard," Su Yiyi said politely.

"One cannot judge a person solely by their current performance; one must also consider the potential they show. Not to mention, this young lady has already done very well," the third judge, Luo Bingqing, said with a smile. "Yiyi, I give you 22 points. I also have a small suggestion: next time you sing, try to forget the routines your teachers taught you in school."

"Thank you for your guidance, teacher," Su Yiyi said quickly, as this was the highest score so far.

It was now the fourth judge's turn.

Zhang Zonghuan nodded and said, "Your strengths and weaknesses are both very obvious. Your strength is your voice, which is excellent and very suitable for pop music. However, your weakness is your singing style. As Teacher Ma Haoran said, your style is too academic. It's not that the academic style is bad, but you've taken it too far. I hope you will improve in this area. I give you 18 points."

"Thank you..." Su Yiyi walked off the stage amidst the audience's applause.

Luoyang looked at Wang Yu and the others with a puzzled expression and asked, "What does this scoring mean?"

"You don't understand?" Wang Yu said in surprise.

Luoyang shook his head. It was his first time watching the show, so he didn't understand.

"Each judge has 25 points. They each score the contestant, and these scores are added together to form the contestant's score for this round."

"The full score is 100 points. Each of the four judges has 25 points... After all 100 contestants have been scored, they will be ranked. The top 50 contestants will advance and continue the competition, while the bottom 50 will be eliminated."

Wang Yu added, "In every season of 'Next Queen,' the top 100 competition follows this rule."

"Okay..." Luoyang nodded.

This rule was new, but it was relatively fair, similar to an exam with a 100-point system. After singing, contestants are eliminated based on their scores.

There is a downside, though: this stage doesn't tolerate mistakes. If a mistake occurs, it could result in a low score and eventual elimination.

Anyway, according to this rule, once all 100 contestants have finished singing, who advances and who is eliminated will be clear.

"Su Yiyi scored a total of 75 points. According to the standards of previous seasons, she has a high chance of advancing!" Zhu Changhong said happily after calculating the score, clearly showing his fondness for Su Yiyi.

The competition continued, and the next contestants were also quite good.

However, there was always something missing from these contestants... something the audience couldn't quite put their finger on.

Until... the ninth contestant of the night appeared.

"You said you don't like the sun, so I swallowed the sun. You said you don't like the moon, so I ate the moon... In the cold, long night, you are my light. The moonlight is gentle, and the thoughts on the steep cliffs echo in the valleys!"

With a powerful and penetrating voice, the ninth contestant appeared!

The four judges were surprised, and the audience clapped enthusiastically—there was no other reason; the voice was too powerful, naturally resonating and captivating!

This song was "Wearing Stars and Moon," by Judge Zhang Zonghuan.

The song has a very high pitch, and few people dare to challenge it, but this contestant did... and from the audience and judges' reactions, it was clear that the challenge was successful!

The spotlight shone on the contestant's face, and everyone discovered that the girl who sang with such explosive power was a long-haired woman, wearing a black tank top and light blue shorts, with a perfect S-shaped figure and a mature, commanding presence.

After the song ended, the host Pudding immediately said, "Introduce yourself."

"Hello everyone, hello to the four judges. My name is Su San," the woman said with a commanding presence.

The audience finally realized what was missing from the previous contestants.

What they lacked was Su San's presence, a quality that made her the focus and a potential star of tomorrow!

"Su San, hello. Your voice is excellent. I won't comment further. I give you 23 points!" Yi Bai said first.

"Since Xiao Bai didn't comment, I won't either. 22 points!" Ma Haoran rarely smiled.

"I know why you two gave scores without comments, ha ha. Because this is Teacher Zhang Zonghuan's song! So, let Teacher Zhang Zonghuan comment. Su San made some adaptations to the song, which I really like. 24 points." Luo Bingqing always gave high scores, and for this song, she gave an unprecedented 24 points.

"Don't do that. No matter what song the contestant sings, necessary comments are still required," Zhang Zonghuan said, and Yi Bai and the others nodded and smiled.

Zhang Zonghuan looked at Su San and said, "Your adaptation of the song is excellent, but... I must criticize you for the high key, which changed the song's atmosphere. I suggest you try a lower key. I give you 21 points."

Although he was criticizing, Zhang Zonghuan still gave the highest score of the night.

"Thank you, teachers!" Su San bowed.

Thus, the only contestant to score over 90 points this night was born!

When the tenth contestant finished singing, today's episode of "Next Queen" came to an end.

Unfortunately, Luoyang didn't recognize any of the other nine contestants besides Su Yiyi, and Liu Qin didn't appear. However, Luoyang still enjoyed watching, as all ten contestants sang well.

Especially Su San, who sang with great power and intensity, her eyes full of aggression, leaving a deep impression.

After the show, the group continued to discuss the contestants of the night.

"The quality of this season is very good!"

"Su San seems to be a dark horse. Her singing is so wild! She immediately captivated everyone!"

"Of course, she scored 90 points! This score definitely marks her as a star of tomorrow!"

Luoyang didn't join the discussion.

He could see clearly that this was a deliberate arrangement by the production team.

Just like "The Voice" in his previous life, each episode had a standout contestant, and Su San was likely the standout for the first episode...

——

That night, Luoyang received a call from Liu Qin.

"That contestant named Su San is very strong," Luoyang said with a smile.

"Yes, we encountered her during rehearsals. Her high notes are truly amazing."

"Yiyi also did well," Luoyang praised.

"Thank you, handsome Luo!" The voice on the other end suddenly changed to Su Yiyi's, indicating that Liu Qin's phone had been passed to her.

"Congratulations."

"Congratulations for what? 75 points isn't high, it's on the edge of advancing or being eliminated," Su Yiyi said, her voice not showing any disappointment.

Luoyang admired her attitude: "If nothing goes wrong, you still have a good chance of advancing."

"Thank you for your blessing. I'll give the phone back to Sister Qin. You two have a good chat, hmm?~" Su Yiyi said with a mischievous laugh.

Well... these girls still seemed to think he and Liu Qin had a thing. Luoyang felt both heartache and helplessness.

"Hey, dummy, what are you thinking about?" Liu Qin's voice came back.

"I'm thinking about which episode you will appear in." Liu Qin had never told Luoyang which episode she would appear in.

"Just watch the live broadcast tomorrow night."

"Ah, you're in the second episode?" Luoyang was surprised.

"To be precise, I'm the first contestant in the second episode, just like Yiyi," Liu Qin said with a bitter smile.

Luoyang understood her concerns; as the first contestant, the pressure would be significant.

"It seems you're not the standout of the second episode, so there's no need to feel pressured. Only the main standout feels the pressure," Luoyang teased.

The main standout of each episode is usually placed at the end; otherwise, it would feel like a letdown. Since Liu Qin was scheduled to appear first in the second episode, she was likely not the standout.

"Let's wait and see." With Luoyang's words, Liu Qin's nervousness dissipated.

, !

Previous page AD starts

Previous page AD ends