Chapter 62

October 15th.

Monday.

Oriental TV, after nearly eight months of preparation and a significant investment, finally welcomed the official recording day of "The Strongest Singer."

The official recording time for the first episode was 3:30 PM.

Location: Donghai Sports Arena.

By 2 PM, the 1,000 invited audience members and media personnel had already started entering the Donghai Sports Arena, taking their seats in an orderly manner.

Bai Ge, Lu Chen, Zhang Pengfei, the five members of the Believers, Jin Mengyi (Zhang Hao's girlfriend), and Chu Yinan (Liu Yang's girlfriend) all came as Lin Zai Shan's support team to cheer him on.

These ten people were specially arranged to sit in the front row of Area A, diagonally opposite the stage from the left side.

This position not only provided a clear view of the performances on stage but also allowed them to see the four mentor chairs, which were set up in reverse, up close.

At this moment, the four mentors were still in the rest room, getting their makeup done, chatting, and making final preparations for their appearance.

The reversed mentor chairs were all empty, but this novel format of the show had already made the audience who had entered the venue feel highly anticipatory.

As soon as they sat down, Lu Chen was slightly stunned by the colorful lights being adjusted on the stage, exclaiming to Bai Ge, "Oriental TV really went all out for this show. The lighting and stage design are even more spectacular than our concerts back in the day. I give them a thumbs up!"

"Uncle Chen, your concerts were from over ten or twenty years ago. If the stage design now isn't better than back then, this show wouldn't even be worth doing," Bai Ge said, still calling Lu Chen "Uncle Chen" despite considering him a godfather.

Sitting on the other side of Lu Chen, Zhang Hao commented, "I read in the news that Oriental TV spent 25 million yuan specifically on the stage effects. With this level of production, it's hard for the show not to be a hit!"

The news wasn't exaggerated; Oriental TV had indeed invested heavily in creating this major music program.

Not only did they spend a fortune to invite the most influential mentors in the industry, but they also put a lot of thought into the stage design.

Whether it was the luxurious layout of the stage or the dazzling lighting, the show's production team aimed for perfection in every detail, striving to create a visually stunning music feast for the audience.

Since the stage was set up in a spacious sports arena, the lighting requirements were extremely high. There were no hanging points in the inner area, so they used 10 tons of light stands, with the total cost of lighting equipment exceeding 15 million yuan.

Jin Mengyi, who studied stage design, marveled, "I heard from a senior that to achieve a unique and dazzling lighting effect, the show's production team specially imported 80 of the world's most advanced lighting devices from Europe. These devices can synchronize the movement of over a hundred lights with minimal error, and the light spots are uniform and the edges smooth. Ordinary strobe lights are white, but the upgraded equipment they brought in can produce colored strobe effects. I'm really looking forward to seeing it today."

"Equipment is dead; it's the design that matters," Zhang Hao, who also studied art design, added.

"Exactly," Jin Mengyi agreed. "To create the best stage effect, the lighting designer not only needs to study the characteristics of the songs but also discuss repeatedly with the director's team to maximize the use of the equipment to create a visually and aurally stunning effect. Given the scale of this production, they should customize the stage effects for each song, otherwise, such advanced equipment would be wasted."

Zhang Pengfei, looking forward to it, said, "I really want to see what the stage effects will be like when Uncle Shan sings 'Hills.' It's bound to be amazing!"

"Brother Fei, what style is Uncle Shan's 'Hills'? Rock? Folk?" Zhang Hao asked Zhang Pengfei, who was a few seats away.

Apart from Zhang Pengfei and Bai Ge, none of the others had heard Lin Zai Shan's "Hills."

Everyone looked at Zhang Pengfei with curiosity.

However, Zhang Pengfei, in his usual manner, kept them in suspense, "Hehe, you'll find out soon. I can't say too much."

Everyone let out a sigh of frustration and looked at Bai Ge, but seeing that Bai Ge also had no intention of revealing the song, they had no choice but to wait and listen later.

That afternoon, Bai Ge, wearing a bright red T-shirt, was both excited and nervous as she entered the venue.

The previous morning, Bai Ge had been secretly taken to the program by Sun Yuzhen to watch Lin Zai Shan's rehearsal.

Without any arrangement for the music, Lin Zai Shan only sang with an old guitar in the vast sports arena, and to Bai Ge, the effect was only average.

Perhaps her father had held back yesterday, just to experience the sound and light effects and the process, without fully giving it his all.

But regardless, Bai Ge still felt that her father's performance of "Hills" with just a guitar accompaniment seemed a bit thin.

Objectively, Bai Ge analyzed that without the support of a full arrangement, "Hills" would be at a slight disadvantage compared to other contestants who had grand arrangements.

The first round of the show's initial selection was very brutal. Out of 60 singer-songwriters, only 32 would advance, with each of the four mentors selecting only 8.

Nearly half of the singer-songwriters would be eliminated in the first round.

Among those who advanced, at least 10 were guaranteed to move on due to various connections.

This meant that out of the remaining 50 genuine contestants, only about 20 could advance based on their true abilities, with an advancement rate of just over 40%.

Given this brutal situation and the lack of support for arrangements, Bai Ge couldn't help but worry about her father.

The production team, after understanding the situation, was also very concerned about Lin Zai Shan.

A week earlier, after Lin Zai Shan rejected Luo Boning's arrangement proposal, Sun Yuzhen indignantly told Park Dae-cheng about it.

Park Dae-cheng then specifically went to talk to Ma Xiaodong.

Ma Xiaodong's response to Park Dae-cheng was that the music team had agreed to arrange the music according to Lin Zai Shan's original plan, but Lin Zai Shan insisted on removing the grand arrangement and wanted only a single guitar accompaniment. The music team had no choice.

Later, Park Dae-cheng personally talked to Lin Zai Shan about this, and Lin Zai Shan's response was also to remove the arrangement.

In fact, after Lin Zai Shan rejected the arrangement proposal, the music team did give him a clear response that they could arrange the music according to his original plan.

But Lin Zai Shan didn't want to play mind games with people like Ma Xiaodong.

After this incident, he couldn't trust Ma Xiaodong's professional ethics.

If Ma Xiaodong tampered with the arrangement, it would definitely affect his performance. Rather than risk that, he preferred to go it alone.

He wanted to use his God-given voice to create a powerful performance, not relying on a grand arrangement but on his own strength to make "Hills" a truly great song.

If he didn't show his true strength and impress the music team, his journey on the show would not be smooth.

This first battle, he had to give it his all.

Once he joined a mentor's team, with the mentor's support, he could consider using arrangements to enhance the music atmosphere.

As for "Hills," Lin Zai Shan was confident that he could deliver a perfect performance with just his voice and an old guitar.

This wasn't blind confidence. When he recorded the demo in the Liren recording studio, he performed exceptionally well, and the result even surprised him.

He believed that as long as he could perform at the same level during the competition, he could definitely move the audience with this song.

During the rehearsal yesterday, Lin Zai Shan didn't sing with full effort. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but his physical condition and mood weren't at their best.

Before the rehearsal, he hadn't eaten much, only half a meal, to see if he could perform better on an empty stomach.

Based on his past experience, in formal settings, people tend to be nervous, regardless of their level. On such a large stage, especially for a brutal elimination competition, being too full could be problematic.

However, the rehearsal yesterday made Lin Zai Shan realize that his current body was completely different from his previous one.

This new body found it hard to ignite the inner strength without being fully fed.

He didn't have the time to ponder such complex questions, just as he couldn't understand why he had traveled through time.

Since his body was in this state, he decided to follow its natural rhythm.

Before the official performance today, Lin Zai Shan had a hearty meal to prepare his body to truly burn with passion.

His mood today was also very calm.

During the rehearsal yesterday, seeing Ma Xiaodong's smug expression, Lin Zai Shan was somewhat annoyed.

But today, he had put all those negative emotions aside and no longer thought about those unpleasant people and things.

He also stopped thinking about the matters he had been considering recently.

He cleared his mind and focused on immersing himself in the song, determined to finish it before thinking about anything else.

Over the past two weeks, while preparing for the competition, Lin Zai Shan had been discussing the establishment of Beyond Records with Lu Chen.

He also helped the Believers and Bai Ge rehearse for the Dongyi University Art Festival.

He even took some time to perform a jazz concert at Shuishichuan to indulge his passion for music.

The jazz concert wasn't for the 2,000 yuan performance fee; he just wanted to play the piano, so he arranged a performance with Lu Shishi.

He felt guilty for always playing the guitar and neglecting the piano, which he considered his "big wife."

The best place for him to play the piano was at Shuishichuan Coffee Hall.

It was close to his home, had a high-quality piano, and provided a romantic and cozy environment, making it an ideal place for him to practice.

Since he might have to perform with a piano on "The Strongest Singer," he couldn't neglect his "big wife" and had to practice regularly.

The jazz concert not only gave Lin Zai Shan more experience in piano performance but also allowed him to promote "The Strongest Singer" to the audience, encouraging them to watch the show's premiere on November 11th, where they might see him.

Until now, Lu Shishi and Hao Yuan still didn't know Lin Zai Shan's true identity.

Since Lin Zai Shan didn't reveal himself, they didn't ask many questions or secretly investigate his background.

Though they were from a declining noble family, they still had their principles.

Hao Yuan greatly admired Lin Zai Shan's jazz music. She ran a small publishing company that specialized in importing foreign jazz music, which, despite its small size, was quite profitable.

Jazz music, being niche in China, often achieved good sales of legitimate copies.

Jazz music enthusiasts were mostly passionate and willing to support legitimate products.

Hao Yuan suggested to Lin Zai Shan that he record a jazz album to be released both domestically and internationally. With his level of jazz, he could potentially make a significant impact in this field.

Lin Zai Shan considered Hao Yuan's suggestion. After the establishment of Beyond Records, they could collaborate with Hao Yuan's publishing company to produce this jazz album under the Beyond label.

However, these plans were still in the early stages of discussion and had not been scheduled.

Lin Zai Shan wanted to see how the public would react to his return before making further plans for his future development.

If his return was met with overwhelming negative reactions, and even Lu Shishi and Hao Yuan were unwilling to work with him, then thinking about these matters would be meaningless.

His most important task now was to return to the stage and move people with his music.

2:30 PM.

In the luxuriously decorated Holding Room, the 10 singer-songwriters about to compete were all wearing headphones, making their final preparations.

Lin Zai Shan, holding his guitar and wearing headphones, was listening to the dry vocal demo of "Hills" he had recorded, trying to find details that could be improved.

"Buzz—"

His phone in his pocket vibrated silently, indicating a text message.

Lin Zai Shan took out his phone and saw it was from Liu Mengmeng.

---

【Kneeling for recommendations!】

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