Chapter 108: A Resurgent Return

As the media frenzy intensified, netizens began to argue over the heavy setbacks faced by "I Am a Singer" and the concurrent rise of "Super Girls."

"I don't think 'I Am a Singer' is that impressive. You have a few trashy singers screeching, and an amateur host feigning profundity while spouting irrelevant nonsense. Especially the final ranking reveal—it’s so drawn-out that it kills any desire to keep watching. A garbage show being hailed as a masterpiece? The public’s taste is truly pathetic."

"I thought the first episode of 'I Am a Singer' was watchable, but the second one really disgusted me. What were those messy, chaotic songs? That pretentious, whining so-called folk music... As for the third episode, I honestly didn't even watch it. And I never will again."

"It’s such a pity. A perfectly good show was ruined by Ren Qian. If you can’t write traditional-style music, why not just perform covers? Why force it and end up failing miserably?"

"You can't have such unreasonable expectations. Of course, it’s going to be a letdown compared to the first episode. How can any singer make every single song a classic? Tastes differ. Even the God of Songs couldn’t produce tracks that please everyone."

"When a show (or a genre) brings in the industry’s top sound engineers for mixing and live recording, hires the most famous music producers for design and arrangement, recruits world-class musicians for live accompaniment, and brings in foreign philharmonic orchestras and prestigious national ensembles for the strings—what is this? Is this still just entertainment? For a production, this is about artistic passion. To showcase the core essence of music, they spared no cost to elevate the production quality to the absolute limit of their capabilities. Ren Qian, as a singer, has his own fanatical pursuits. Why should he adapt to vulgar mainstream standards and lower the show’s quality? Competing for ratings with amateur grassroots talent is beneath them! To those people: if you are mediocre, fine, but don't try to drag others down into mediocrity with you!"

"I don’t know where you get this sense of rural superiority, but is 'I Am a Singer' really that high-end? Is it really that professional?"

"Trash. Go look it up on Baigou. See for yourself who the people sitting on stage accompanying the singers, serving as music directors, and doing the arrangements are. Don't spout off when you know nothing; it just makes you look ignorant."

"The cast of 'I Am a Singer' is truly luxurious, something 'Voice of the Empire' can't compare to. You could pull any musician from 'I Am a Singer' at random, and they would have more professional knowledge than the judges on 'Voice of the Empire.' These are veterans who have been immersed in music for years! So don't measure them with your narrow, vulgar perspective."

"I think it’s all the media’s fault. If it weren't for them stirring up the 'car accident' drama or the 'run-over laborer' scandal, God Ren could have focused on writing high-quality songs! The media are a bunch of idiots."

Netizens were divided into two camps: those who liked "I Am a Singer" always found reasons to defend its Waterloo, while those who didn't would pick bones out of an egg even if the show had ten thousand merits.

Another netizen offered a unique, jaw-dropping perspective: "How many talent shows like 'Voice of the Empire' do we already have in the Empire? There is no innovation there at all. They are simply using 'I Am a Singer' to hype themselves up. By releasing the auditions early and claiming they would beat 'I Am a Singer' in ratings, they clearly succeeded in their publicity. They attracted the audience by exploiting the contrarian psychology of viewers, using the 'grassroots underdog' narrative to cater to their vanity. Who says underdogs can't rise? Who says only professional singers can make music? The ratings for 'Voice of the Empire' are merely the result of the program team and the audience acting on a collective contrarian impulse. Once this period passes, the show with the best reputation, the one that will be remembered as a classic, will still be 'I Am a Singer.'"

...

"Do you see the negative sentiment online? The ratings last night didn't just drop a little... My superiors called me in for a lecture today. I don't dare lecture you, so please, Brother Ren, think of a way..." Director Hong Tao forced a bitter smile. He hadn't slept all night, and the mental toll was immense. But for the sake of the show's high ratings, he had to grit his teeth and keep going. If he couldn't find a remedy and the ratings continued to slide, the advertisers and sponsors might forcibly withdraw their funding. If it came to that, the Jiangnan Television Station would face severe consequences.

"Panic won't solve anything. Start by looking at your own faults. If one doesn't save oneself, even Buddha cannot save you. Look at your script arrangement; it's absolutely pathetic. The filming and editing must give the audience the illusion—the sense of superiority—that 'I am watching this show because I have musical knowledge, and my taste is sophisticated!' And you have none of that."

Hong Tao had many merits and no lack of experience with excellent programs. But "I Am a Singer" was a new concept, not just old wine in a new bottle. Thus, Hong Tao had to relearn everything.

Ren Qian tried his best to point out the essentials, hoping Hong Tao could stand on his own once they reached the midpoint of the season.

"I will participate heavily in the preparation of this episode, and I will try to keep the song choices closer to the mainstream. But we must make 'I Am a Singer' pull off a spectacular comeback!" Ren Qian said sternly.

"Understood. I will learn more. I feel that the filming techniques of traditional talent shows just can't capture the effect of the first episode."

"To put it bluntly, you haven't grasped where the audience's satisfaction point lies. Since the show is taking a high-end route, the class of the production must not be low. Why are you filming stars eating hot pot together? It's April, for heaven's sake, who eats hot pot in April?"

Hong Tao was left speechless.

The two soon arrived at the studio. In the audience seating, the seven contestants had already gathered.

"This is great. I’ve only been gone a few days, and you’re already tearing the house down? You’re in a professional concert hall, yet you’re performing with the quality of a karaoke room! Has your status risen so much that you don't care about the show anymore?"

The whispering and chatting among the singers ceased instantly.

"I won't say much else, just this: give it your absolute best! Otherwise, any one of you could be eliminated. Come over here and get your lyrics. For the next round: Sun Muknan will sing 'Song of the Mortal,' Sha Puliang will perform 'Around Winter,' Hu Yanbin will do 'Hills,' Xu Zhiqian will perform 'Model,' Zhang Nianwei will sing 'Painted Heart,' Murong Xue will do 'Always Very Quiet,' Huang Guanzhong will sing 'Descendants of the Dragon,' and Jin Zhiwen will perform 'Indescribable Tenderness.' Spend the afternoon rehearsing; I want to see results by tonight."