Chapter 75

As the official premiere time of the program approached, the live studio of *M!Countdown* was gradually filled with fans, who numbered around five hundred, the basic capacity of the venue.

Not only that, but the originally five-hundred-person capacity was eventually squeezed to nearly six hundred people. There was no way around it; today was the premiere of *M!Countdown*, and so many top Korean singers were present. Almost all the most popular and influential singers in Korea at the moment were participating in the first episode of *M!Countdown*.

In such a situation, it naturally attracted countless fans to rush over in a frenzy. Although the production team had been prepared for this, they were clearly not ready for the fans who were so crazy and tried every possible means to sneak into the venue. In the end, the five-hundred-person capacity was exceeded by a hundred people.

Finally, the production team, seeing the situation getting out of hand, decided to prioritize safety and, despite the risk of offending people, locked the doors to stop the influx of more fans.

Even so, there were already over a hundred extra fans on site, which posed a significant safety hazard. The relationships between different fan groups were not particularly good, which made the production team extremely anxious and worried.

Regardless of the production team's concerns about the order and safety on site, as the time approached, the premiere of *M!Countdown* entered the final countdown.

At the director's command, the lights, music, and cameras were all set. As the host suddenly appeared on stage, the originally noisy venue fell silent for a moment. Then, the fans, realizing what was happening, erupted into a deafening cheer.

Thus, everyone on site knew that the *M!Countdown* program had officially begun.

"Hello everyone, welcome to the *M!Countdown* stage tonight!" A male host in his thirties greeted the audience on site and in front of the TV with a smile.

The male host's greeting naturally elicited enthusiastic applause and cheers from the fans. Of course, the male host understood that these cheers were not for him but for the performances to come and the idols the fans were eagerly anticipating.

"Today is the premiere of the *M!Countdown* music program. First, let me introduce the top singers from our country who are participating in the first episode of *M!Countdown*!"

A female host naturally took over, calmly speaking and, amidst the cheers and applause of the fans, introduced the top singers and groups participating in *M!Countdown* today, in collaboration with the male host.

Of course, this introduction did not cover every singer participating in *M!Countdown* today, as time was limited. Therefore, the two hosts only chose the most popular and influential groups and singers.

Even with just a few seconds of introduction for each group, as the names of the most popular and influential singers in Korea were called out by the two hosts, the six hundred fans on site erupted into intense cheers.

It must be admitted that, unlike a few years later when artists, especially singers, began to dominate the hosting roles, and by 2008, almost all major Korean music programs were hosted by idols, even non-music programs were mostly dominated by idols, the hosts of various programs today were still professional hosts.

These professionally trained hosts, while unable to interact with the fans and energize the atmosphere like idols, at least never made mistakes, but they also rarely stood out.

One could even say that professional hosts were like robots produced on an assembly line, making no mistakes but also showing no emotion as they hosted the program.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that, as times changed, professional hosts were gradually replaced by idols.

"Without further ado, let's quietly enjoy the performances brought to us by new and old idols!"

"The first to take the stage is a newcomer. As the first debut stage chosen by *M!Countdown*, and a very promising newcomer, please give a warm welcome to Kim Yoo Fan!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the lights on the stage suddenly dimmed, plunging the entire stage into darkness. The two hosts quickly retreated from the stage, and Kim Yoo Fan, who was waiting backstage, took a deep breath and slowly walked onto the stage at the signal from the production staff.

Silently walking to the center of the stage, Kim Yoo Fan looked at the dense crowd below, especially the eyes of the people, which were filled with anticipation and a hint of criticism. He couldn't help but take a deep breath.

To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie, but being nervous was useless; he was already on stage, and the performance had to go on.

With this in mind, Kim Yoo Fan took a few deep breaths to calm his nervousness, then turned around, looked at the dark stage behind him, and nodded to indicate that he was ready to start.

As Kim Yoo Fan signaled that he was ready, the beautiful melody of "The Way You Are" began to play, and the lights on the stage gradually brightened.

Following the rhythm, Kim Yoo Fan slowly brought the microphone to his lips and began to sing softly: "At first, I didn't believe in love at first sight, until the moment we met..."

As Kim Yoo Fan sang the first word, the lights on the stage suddenly brightened, and his true appearance was instantly revealed to everyone on site and in front of the TV.

"Wow, this guy is really handsome!" As the lights came on and everyone saw Kim Yoo Fan standing on the stage, almost everyone subconsciously sighed in admiration.

It must be admitted that Kim Yoo Fan's ability to win the affection of Park Ji-ju and to quickly become close with the four experienced members of Fin.K.L, even to the point of becoming their closest little brother, was largely due to his good looks.

Kim Yoo Fan didn't have the feminine beauty of Kim Jae-joong or the enchanting charm of Kim Heechul, but his chiseled features, confident eyes, straight posture, and neatly cut short hair instantly gave off a sunny, masculine charm and aura. At this moment, it seemed that this charm and aura were fully displayed on Kim Yoo Fan.

"Ha, this kid really doesn't need me to worry about him at all!" In the office of DSP Entertainment, Lee Ho-yeon sat in his chair, watching Kim Yoo Fan's steady performance on TV, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Lee Ho-yeon is indeed quite lucky to have found such a talented protégé..." In the office of S.M. Entertainment, Lee Soo-man couldn't help but sneer as he watched Kim Yoo Fan's performance, both despising Lee Ho-yeon and indirectly acknowledging Kim Yoo Fan's talent.

In fact, it wasn't just Lee Soo-man and Lee Ho-yeon. Due to the publicity from DSP Entertainment, Kim Yoo Fan's debut had caused a stir, and many people were now paying close attention to his performance.

Kim Yoo Fan's performance naturally made Park Jin-young and Yang Hyun-suk frown, sighing inwardly that DSP Entertainment had once again cultivated an excellent trainee. They also resolved to step up their own efforts, as their companies might be squeezed out of the market by S.M. and DSP if they didn't. This fate was sealed for the two solo newcomers, RAIN and SE7EN, who were being fully cultivated by the two companies.