I'm Really a Superstar

At night.

The people from Beijing Television left.

Ha Qiqi gave a wry smile. "Director Zhang, are we really going to do this?"

"We have to do it!" Zhang Ye insisted.

Wu Yi said loudly, "Damn, let's do it then!"

Little Wang cried out, "Yeah, who's afraid of whom!"

Zhang Zuo felt fired up. "Let's do it! We'll show Central TV Department 1 who the real big brother of the variety world is! Let's beat them once and for all!"

Tong Fu added, "At most, we'll get taken down along with them!"

Ha Qiqi glared at him. "That mouth of yours! Don't jinx it!"

Tong Fu quickly spat away his words and corrected, "What I meant was, we'll make a clean sweep!"

They had fought alongside Zhang Ye to the death, but their characters had become meeker ever since they joined Zhang Ye's Studio. This was because as staff of the studio, they had to behave in consideration of Zhang Ye. Their highest priority was to do things in his interest, so they had to be more cautious when handling any issues. However, their old passion was still burning as strongly as ever. When they got pushed into a corner like now, they would still follow Zhang Ye and hop around and swear back in anger!

Come on then!

Only one shall remain standing!

After work, the studio staff gradually left the office.

But Zhang Ye did not go and instead remained behind to make some calls. Sing! was currently approaching anyone they could, probably because the guest coaches' roles had still not been filled yet. There were a lot of singers in the music industry, but only a small group of them were truly great singers, so there weren't really that many to choose from. If they could sign someone away, Zhang Ye would have one less person to choose from. The showdown between these two shows was not just a battle of the television station's capabilities, it was also a battle of funding and resources. He had to handle this pronto!

His first call went to Chen Guang.

The call connected.

"Zhang'er."

"Old Chen, did I wake you?"

"No, I was just arguing with my wife."

"Oh, come on, stop pretending already. How would a submissive husband like you dare to argue with her? Even if you had the courage of ten brave men, you still wouldn't do so. Old Fan is just going to join Sing!, that's all. Do you really take me to be so petty? Shouldn't you know me by now? So drop the act. If you really feel bad, how about giving your support to my new show? I just need you to say yes."

"Huh? A new show?"

"Yup."

"Why didn't I know about it?"

"It was finalized today. It's going to be called I Am a Singer."

"What? A singing show?"

"What do you think?"

"Whoa, this is quite a big deal. I'll have to give it some thought first."

"What do you still have to think about? This is a golden opportunity others don't even have a chance to take. Would I ever shortchange you? I've saved you a spot on a good show, so stop worrying and come."

"Hai, but I've never taken part in a competitive TV show before, so aren't you putting me in a difficult position?"

"Are you coming or not?"

"The competition on such shows is too much pressure!"

"Alright then, hand the phone to Old Fan. I'll speak to her regarding her joining Sing!"

"No, don't. I'll go, alright?!"

"That settles it then."

"Hai, I'm paying for my wife's mistakes!"

He had convinced one!

And it was even one of the biggest names in the music industry. Someone who was more famous than Fan Wenli, and a music legend whose singing prowess was top notch. Chen Guang's name was representative of an era, and more importantly, it was not a bygone era. This was his time, and having the support of someone like him was definitely a huge boost to I Am a Singer. Thinking about it, the issue of Old Fan joining Sing! no longer mattered. Securing Old Chen in exchange was definitely a much better deal.

Zhang Ye was on cloud nine. Then he made a call to another big name!

It was to Xiaodong, the leader of the famous Asian girl group, Spring Garden!

"Sister Dong, it's me."

"Zhang Ye."

"What are you doing? Why is it so noisy over there?"

"I'm preparing for our concert that'll be starting in several days."

"The nationwide tour? Then will you be free from the end of October until November?"

"Eh? Why?"

"My new show will be starting soon, so how about showing me some support? It's going to be a singing competition with all the big names joining. Please come on the show if you're confident in yourself."

"But I'm not confident in myself!"

Zhang Ye had no response.

"Heehee, can you summarize the show?"

Zhang Ye gave her a simple explanation, then said, "Li Xiaoxian has been on King of Masked Singers and proved that she's not only capable of singing idol pop, but has great singing skills. As a result of the show, she's gotten really popular all over China. As the leader of Spring Garden, how can you lose to her?"

"Teacher Zhang, are you trying to goad me? Xiaoxian might have gotten very popular, but didn't she still lose to you all the same?"

"I won't be taking part this time."

"You won't be taking part?"

"Yeah, it's because I know that you're very skilled at singing. Who in the industry doesn't know that? So what do you think? Are you interested in joining my new show? I'm sincerely inviting you. Just tell me the price."

"It's not a matter of money, I'm just not confident in myself. Who else will be joining?"

"That's confidential for now. But I can reveal this to you: None of them are your equal. Their popularity and singing aren't as good as yours. If you join, you'll definitely dominate the stage."

"Ah? Really?"

"Yep."

"Then I'll join! I'll join your show!"

"Great! Is Amy close by? I'd like to invite her as well."

After hanging up, another two people were just about in place!

Xiaodong indicated that she would be joining!

While Amy was seriously contemplating it!

Zhang Ye could lie through his teeth without blushing or his heart pounding. He had to trick whoever he could into joining the show!

After that, he called Grandma Zhang Xia. She was someone nobody would have expected him to approach. The moment the call connected, he started introducing the show to her.

Zhang Xia was very surprised on the other end of the line. "You're asking me to join?"

"That's right."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure."

"But I sing bel canto. Who would want to listen?"

"There are many ways of singing bel canto. What's more, it's not like you only know how to sing bel canto and folk songs, right? I don't believe that you don't know how to sing pop songs. Sometimes, one needs to adapt and blend in a little for the audience to be convinced. The development of bel canto singing has reached a bottleneck, so I believe it's time for you to step up to a new challenge."

"The stage belongs to the younger generation. Would I even be suitable?"

"No one is more suitable than you."

"But I'm so old and don't have the strength for such things anymore."

"You're only required to sing one song per week, so it really won't tire you much."

"Then let me consider it for a bit."

"Grandma Zhang, my dearest grandma, do you still need to consider it when we have this good a relationship? Just rest assured and boldly step up. This is definitely going to be the right choice. Would I possibly do you any harm?"

"That's hard to say."

Zhang Ye was speechless.

"Alright, alright, I'll tentatively give you my you."

"Great, thank you for your support, Grandma Zhang. By the way, are there any other good singers you could recommend to me? It doesn't matter if they're no longer active. You're the veteran here and have a lot more contacts and friends around. Why don't you recommend me a few people so that I can go and pay them a visit? Oh, and the appearance fees will definitely be the highest in the industry."

"Let me see who there is."

He secured another one!

Zhang Ye was starting to feel the pressure on him lightening. He had secured more than half of the lineup of singers. His social network was mediocre at best, and he didn't have that many friends. But of those he had, they all had great relationships with him. Those who understood Zhang Ye's temper knew what kind of person he was, which was why they gave him a lot of respect most of the time. This was why Zhang Ye could invite some of the celebrities most television stations could not.