Chapter 154: Posting the Results

That clean, elegant female voice, paired with poetic lyrics, carried a blend of vulnerability, stubbornness, and unwavering conviction. From the very first note, it melted everyone's heart.

In Liao Yuan's past life, "Is It Possible" was a quintessential example of an overnight viral hit in the digital music era.

The original singer of the track had initially been a nobody, but shortly after the release of "Is It Possible," it skyrocketed to the top of both the surging and new release charts. Over the following month, it competed on the same charts against heavyweights like Yoga Lin, Kris Wu, Hua Zhou, and Joker Xue, ultimately claiming the number one spot on the hit song chart for four consecutive weeks, crushing numerous established stars.

The explosive popularity of "Is It Possible" also caught the attention of many top-tier artists. Powerhouse vocalist Tengger even purchased the song's copyright at a high price, delivering a distinct interpretation that differed from the original and sparking a private craze among fans for a time.

Liao Meiqi had no idea how much this song was actually worth.

However, compared to cute-style tracks like "Meow," she personally preferred poetic works like "The Rest of My Life" and "Is It Possible." Her favorite instrument was the folk guitar, so she held a special fondness for this genre of folk music.

Over the past two days, while practicing this song—whether during rehearsals for other pieces or in her spare time—the lyrics would pop into her head every now and then, filling her with a deep fondness.

At the same time, she gained a renewed appreciation for her older brother's talent.

Long ago, she had known that her brother possessed peerless talent in piano, having performed brilliantly in numerous campus piano competitions...

"Perhaps I'll turn back only after hitting a brick wall.
Perhaps I'll give up only after seeing the Yellow River.
Perhaps I'm just determined to walk down this single path to the dark end.
Perhaps I simply haven't met...
That special someone yet!"

Liao Meiqi's singing echoed across the ears of tens of thousands of people in the venue, and the audience members held their light sticks high in the air.

The stage lights reflected on every spectator's face, each one wearing an expression of comfortable enjoyment.

"This is so good!"
"Just like 'The Rest of My Life,' it's a song full of depth and charm!"
"I bet a hundred bucks, this is definitely another song written by Liao Yuan!"
"Liao Yuan's 'Lake Baikal' is so gorgeous; I've been listening to it when I go to sleep for the past few days!"
"Maybe I'll turn back only after hitting a brick wall, maybe I'll give up only after seeing the Yellow River! Ah, the lyrics are so well written!"
"My big brother-in-law is so damn talented!"

As the song ended, screams erupted like a tidal wave.

Compared to her nervous state when she first stepped onto the stage, Liao Meiqi surprisingly didn't feel overly tense now; instead, her heart was filled with a sense of relief and carefree ease, as if her entire being was finally relaxing.

Regardless of how others felt, over the past three-plus months of practice, she had absorbed everything in the program like a sponge. Whether in vocal performance or dancing, she was no longer the person she used to be.

After all, among all the 101 trainees, Liao Meiqi had started off closest to a blank slate, which meant her transformation was the most dramatic and allowed the audience to experience that metamorphosis most vividly.

Yet, there were only three months in total.

Despite her rapid progress, Liao Meiqi still lagged somewhat behind the top dancers in the competition.

In the grand finale, besides the vocal competition, there were also dance and team performance segments.

In vocals, Liao Meiqi was the undisputed number one, winning universal praise with "Is It Possible"!

However, in dancing, she was far from reaching a breathtaking level.

The range of dance styles she had been exposed to was far from enough to let her perform with absolute confidence on stage.

Therefore, in the subsequent dance battle, despite giving her absolute best, Liao Meiqi still failed to radiate her own brilliance.

As one waxed and another waned.

Liao Meiqi's final performance might not have been entirely rock-solid.

Holding onto the number one spot was a long and arduous journey.

In comparison, Xie Yuxun's dancing ability was undoubtedly among the absolute best of all the girls.

Under the deliberate arrangement of the production team, in the third round of team battles, Liao Meiqi and Xie Yuxun—the two most popular contestants—were once again pitted against each other.

Each led a team of ten in a girl group performance.

This time, Liao Meiqi's team chose to perform "NONONO," a dance-pop track that had generated massive streaming numbers online.

Because of its built-in popularity, when the chorus of "NONONO" arrived, the live audience unexpectedly broke out into a massive sing-along.

This scene caused everyone's adrenaline to surge, creating an intensely immersive experience.

Meanwhile, Xie Yuxun's team chose a currently trending dance track for their performance, which also garnered immense attention.

Soon, the three competitive rounds concluded.

Every contestant had completed their share of the performance, and there were only twenty minutes left until the voting deadline at eight o'clock.

This remaining time was handed over to the show's special guest—talent show royalty Zhou Tingting—to promote her new song.

In the previous episode, singer Song Bailing had come to promote her new album "Fairyland," and the results were nothing short of miraculous.

In the week following the broadcast, all seven songs from Song Bailing's album surged into the top ten of the soaring charts, while the lowest-charting track, "Wild," still achieved a soaring index of 581%.

As for the highest-ranking "Fairyland," its soaring index reached a rare 1705%, securing the number one spot for a second consecutive week.

Dominating the charts for two weeks straight gradually propelled Song Bailing into the public eye.

Coupled with the promotional boost from "Produce 101," the sales of the album "Fairyland" broke straight through to 500,000 copies on the very first day after the broadcast.

Surpassing established singers like Zhou Tingting, it was certified gold ahead of them.

Then, on the second day, the third day... all the way to the fifth day, the total sales of the "Fairyland" album ultimately reached one million copies!

Achieving platinum certification in just two weeks sent shockwaves through the industry.

Cries for her to win the Best Newcomer of the Year award swept through various news media and social media accounts like wildfire.

Seeing this, Lemon Entertainment, the agency representing Zhou Tingting, naturally felt an itch they couldn't scratch.

Leveraging their industry connections, they managed to send Zhou Tingting as a guest to the "Produce 101" grand finale, hoping to use the platform to promote her new album and replicate Song Bailing's rapid ascent to platinum sales.

Only...

Though Zhou Tingting was once the queen of talent shows, to the youth of today, a talent show queen from over a decade ago seemingly held zero influence.

After all, for the majority of the live audience, many of them were still learning to lisp in baby talk ten or more years ago; how could they possibly know Zhou Tingting's name?

Young people today preferred boy bands and girl groups...

Toward a so-called talent show queen emerging from some "ancient era" like Zhou Tingting, the young girls in the audience simply had zero interest.

Consequently, Zhou Tingting encountered a rare, venue-wide silence.

Although a few people were still shouting Zhou Tingting's name at the top of their lungs, amidst the heavy silence, those piercing screams only made the atmosphere feel even more awkward and uncomfortable.

"What the heck, screaming so desperately? How much were they paid?"
"Selling out for stans so aggressively?"
"A bunch of fake fans!"
"What kind of garbage noise are they singing? Can't even dance properly, should've retired ages ago!"
"Why is the guest Zhou Tingting? They might as well have brought Song Bailing and Liao Yuan!"
"Agreed, agreed! Squeak squeak, I love their duet 'Plundering the General'!"
"What the hell kind of freaks and monsters get to be singers these days? Is this crappy show going to reveal the rankings or not? Who's number one, speak up!"