The studio was filled with the sound of applause.
The first song had raised the atmosphere to the highest point. None of the other participating singers hoped that they would be the next to appear, but The Clown was already standing at the door.
Han Qi gave a bitter smile. "Teacher."
The Clown grunted in acknowledgment.
Han Qi hesitated, then said, "Let's aim for the next song instead and focus on that. Don't try so hard on this song and preserve some of your stamina for later. After all, your voice has only recovered a little and you still can't perform to the best of your ability. We just need to ensure that you don't get eliminated."
The Clown smiled but did not speak.
Dafei came over. "It's your turn soon."
The Clown nodded.
Executive Director Hu Fei took some time to go over. He was worried about The Clown's voice and even more worried that the recent public opinion would strike a blow to him. "How do you feel?"
The Clown said, "Great."
Hu Fei sighed. "Ignore what the media is saying."
The Clown said, "Alright."
Hu Fei said, "Ignore them and don't let it get to you. Just sing the best that you can."
The Clown shook his head. "I don't mind what they're saying on the Internet and news."
"Right, just sing as you would usually sing. Your lyrics are your greatest weapon, so you can't just toss them aside. It's also a part of your strength," Hu Fei comforted.
The Clown smiled and said, "I do understand that."
When the program team staff heard this, they felt relieved.
He was indeed worthy of being someone from the entertainment circle as his mental fortitude seemed to be much stronger than most people. Even with so much pressure stemming from the public, he was able to easily brush it aside. This was something that most other people could do!
Good on you, Teacher Clown!
Don't let the gossip get to you!
Even if you lose today, no one will take you lightly!
From the stage, Dong Shanshan filtered in. "Then, let's welcome our next contestant—The Clown!"
The Clown exhaled, took a step, and walked out onto the stage at his own pace.
Han Qi felt a heavy sense of frustration as she watched The Clown walk off toward the stage. He was doomed even before he could take the stage or utter any lyrics. This feeling deflated her!
The audience was stunned!
Right now, many people were watching in shock as The Clown slowly walked onto the stage.
"What?"
"The next one up is The Clown?"
"Damn, why is it him?"
"Can he get any more unlucky than that?"
"Yeah, if it were any other opponent, The Clown might still somehow advance to the next round, especially if it was either of those two replacement masked singers since no one knows how well they can sing yet. But now that his opponent is Petal Shower, what competition is left? His voice has not recovered yet, right? Even if he were to bring out another two sensational songs, or if his company wrote him another two songs with lyrics that could move the Heavens, it's not likely that anyone would get convinced like last time."
"This round really boils down to their skills."
"It's no use even if The Clown's voice has recovered!"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"I really do like his lyrics, though. I was here for the last episode's recording and gave him my vote at that time, but if I were to disregard the meaning behind the lyrics, I doubt that The Clown could even clinch third place!"
"He's even being called out in the media right now."
"The previous Masked King should not have been him."
The audience was pointing at the stage and making lots of noise.
However, Zhang Ye was seemingly unaware of the situation. He quietly walked to center stage and closed his eyes as though he did not hear anything. He had witnessed this sort of spectacle too many times before, so much that he could not even count the number of times it had happened.
Chen Guang looked at him and sighed.
Zhang Xia said, "Things are very disadvantageous for The Clown."
The pressure from public opinion was too great and was practically the death sentence for The Clown.
The lights dimmed.
This was the signal that the next performance was about to begin.
Petal Shower did not return to her waiting room. She watched him from the wings.
Backstage, Sunset Glow, Sunflower, God of War, and the other contestants were also watching TVs without blinking. They were actually rather curious about what song The Clown would be singing today.
The music started.
The notes of a piano played.
But it wasn't Zhang Ye playing the piano today, because this song was too difficult and Zhang Ye would not be able to concentrate on playing and singing simultaneously. Even during the rehearsals, he did not practice the singing as he was afraid that his voice would be unable to hold up—yes, he was really going to challenge such a difficult song today!
The title of the song was displayed on the teleprompter overhead the stage.
Opera, Dedicated to Love.
The judges blinked.
The audience could not understand either.
Opera?
What is this?
Never heard of it. Are you going to sing another original? Do you intend to win us over with your lyrics again?
All of a sudden, right as the piano played the melody, The Clown opened his mouth.
"Ooooooo.
"Aaaah, uaaaaahh.
"Aaaaaah, oooh, aaaah."
The judges were shocked!
The audience was shocked!
The other contestants were also shocked!
When these vocals came out, a lot of people could feel themselves getting the goosebumps!
It was falsetto!
The Clown was actually singing in falsetto too!
Holy shit! Did The Clown actually intend to compete against Petal Shower through the falsetto?
No way! There was absolutely no way! He would definitely just be singing in falsetto for the first two verses before switching back to his normal voice!
Petal Shower looked up to the stage at The Clown in surprise and could not react!
"Aaaaahhh.
"Aaah, ahhhh.
"Aaaaaahh, ahhh, ahhh."
There were no signs of his normal voice at all!
It was all in falsetto!
The audience was dumbfounded from listening to this!
Zhang Xia was also dumbfounded. "This, this singing, this falsetto…"
Amy squealed, "How is this possible!"
Wang Zhuishu was also dumbfounded!
Chen Guang was dumbfounded too!
Right after Petal Shower finished performing, some people were saying that there wouldn't be another person who could sing in falsetto the way she did. But just a few minutes later, a great slap was buffeted across their faces with a loud smack!
Another person had appeared!
And it was even a person who could also wield his falsetto technique in such a superb manner!
The best aspect of Petal Shower's varying falsetto range was its exquisiteness!
But The Clown's falsetto was better in terms of vocal weight. It won in terms of carrying power and emotion and carved into everyone's hearts like a sharp knife. It left everyone unprepared for the shock they were receiving!
What was going on?
Just what was happening?
Han Qi and the program team staff were in similar states of disbelief!
No one had expected that The Clown would sing this way, nor could they have expected that he had such a good falsetto! This was terrifying! This singing technique was simply terrifying!
Zhang Ye continued singing.
"Aaaaaaaaah.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.
"Ahhhhh, ahh."
All of a sudden, he raised the pitch of his falsetto so high that it felt like it had pierced through the roof!
Hearing this, the audience found it hard to hold their feelings in any longer!
"Oh my god!"
"This, this…"
"Can it get any more amazing than this?"
"Heavens!"
"What about the lyrics?"
"Where are the lyrics?"
"Yeah, why are there no lyrics? How can there be no lyrics?"
Zhang Ye was still singing.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Aah, aaaaah.
"Ahh, ahhhhhh.
"Aaaaaaaaah, ahhhh.
"Ahhh, ahhh."
There was only one "ah" word on the teleprompter!
The audience was once again shocked by The Clown's choice of song!
There were no lyrics!
This was a fucking song without any lyrics!
The house band musicians were dumbstruck!
Music Director Bai Yuanfei looked like he was at a total loss for words!
They finally knew why The Clown had not opened his mouth to sing during the rehearsal. They finally knew why The Clown only hummed through the song when rehearsing. It was because this fucking song had no lyrics in the first place!
Was there even a song like that? Could a song…really have no lyrics? There wasn't any sort of a song in this world, not a single one. But in Zhang Ye's previous world, this song titled "Opera, Dedicated to Love" truly did not have any lyrics. The original version was performed by famous Russian singer, Vitas 1 , and was simply known as " Opera 2 ." Later, it was covered by Terry Lin 3 on the music show I Am a Singer. His performance shocked the entire audience and he got a very good result!
And today, Zhang Ye had brought this famous song from his previous world and presented it here on this stage!
It did not just shock the audience!
It terrified everyone in the audience!
Because no one in this world had ever before heard a song with no lyrics!
Everyone knew current public opinion basically doubted The Clown's win in the first episode, saying he used the meaning of his lyrics to win and that it was not a proper victory!
But today, The Clown had come onstage once more and actually sang an entire song with no lyrics. This was clearly a response to those people—this was clearly a face smacking!
And it was even a very harsh slap!
His singing was simply amazing!
There were no lyrics in it whatsoever, but why? How could this singing floating through the studio stir up image after image in their minds?
Why?
Why did they get the goosebumps from listening to his singing?
The audience was terribly shocked!
Especially when The Clown suddenly paused, then continued singing in a falsetto that increased in pitch for a good five to six seconds, even incorporating some portamento!
With that, many in the audience could not longer hold it in and started to stand up while screaming!
They were going crazy!
The audience had gone crazy!
Meanwhile, Hu Fei nearly passed out onto the floor!
Before The Clown went out on stage, Hu Fei tried to comfort him as he was afraid The Clown would be affected negatively by public opinion on how he had used lyrics to win. The Clown's response to Hu Fei and the program team was still very fresh in their minds. He had stated very firmly that he did not mind it at all.
Everyone who heard him say that had believed him at the time!
But now, the program team staff nearly vomited blood!
Didn't mind?
Didn't mind, your sister, fuck!
You minded it a whole fucking lot, alright!?