I'm Really a Superstar

On this morning.

The freshly published morning newspapers went on sale.

“The Voice‘s Nanjing auditions overwhelmed by applications!”

“A 100 million title sponsorship: Is it worth the money?”

“Results of a public survey: Less than 50% of the public thinks that The Voice will do well, with more than half of industry insiders and the public still doubtful!”

“Zhang Ye appears at Shanghai’s audition venue yesterday for a promotional campaign of The Voice!”

“Can The Voice possibly overcome the industry downturn of talent shows?”

“The singing show industry faces a crisis, plagued by signs of fatigue! Overcrowded market for singing talent shows attracts strict control from overseeing authorities!”

“The Voice to become final straw in an overcrowded singing talent show market?”

The entertainment headlines of various newspapers and online news were all giving continued coverage and tracking of news concerning The Voice of China. Even though many people did not think that The Voice would achieve much in the viewership ratings, since it was a mega-scale production costing a large sum of money to produce, along with the addition of the Heavenly Queen to the coaches list, the 100 million RMB title sponsorship fee, and being Zhang Ye’s reputed production, this topic was naturally more widely discussed. The media was certainly more than willing to report about it. There was no lack of news in the entertainment industry but a sustainable, news-generating program like The Voice was missing. With the appearance of The Voice, it could be said that it helped thousands of journalists keep their jobs––no longer would their mothers have to worry about them lacking news to write about!

……

Past 7 AM.

Shortly after Zhang Ye sent Chenchen past the school gates, he received a call.

It was Zhang Yuanqi. “Where’s my song?”

“What song?” Zhang Ye replied instinctively.

Old Zhang said: “You’re asking me what song? The song you owe me. Didn’t you say that you would write a theme song for The Voice? Well, give the copyright to me and we’ll be even.”

Only then did Zhang Ye remember that he made such a promise some days ago. Since he still owed Old Zhang a song, and The Voice was in need of a theme song too, he decided to simply just write a song for Old Zhang that could also be used as the theme song. But he had been too busy recently, flying to Shanghai for the preliminary auditions and a promotional campaign, then flying back on the same afternoon, and rushing to pick up the child from school. With so many things to handle, he had already long since forgotten about this matter. He immediately said: “Oh, oh, oh, about that, how would I forget. I’ve been writing the song for the past few days and even stayed up for a few nights over it.” He bluffed his way through.

Old Zhang said: “Is that so?”

Zhang Ye replied: “Of course, I definitely keep your matters in mind.”

Old Zhang said: “Then have you finished writing the song?”

Zhang Ye said: “Yes, I’ve finished writing it.”

Old Zhang said: “OK.”

Zhang Ye said: “When you’re here at Central TV, I’ll pass you the score and then the four of you coaches will have some rehearsals to sing it. After the recording is done, we’ll then use it for the intro theme song of the program.”

After hanging up, he drove toward Central TV.

When he reached the recording studio, he started another busy day of work. With one hand, he was remotely controlling several auditions being held at other provinces while with the other hand, he was giving instruction for the stage layout and planning the progress for the presentation of the promotional clips. The recording of the promotional clips for the four coaches were done in succession. The edited clips of Zhang Xia, Chen Guang, and Fan Wenli were thus the earliest to be put out and broadcast to the public on Central TV Department 1, with each clip lasting 15 seconds. Due to Zhang Yuanqi’s busy schedule, her recording had only been completed yesterday. As Old Zhang had the biggest reputation among the coaches, her clip certainly had to be broadcast with the best timing. All of these matters had to be arranged and planned by the executive director, Zhang Ye, just like everything else here that also needed his attention.

As for the executive producer, Fu Sihong?

Except for the beginning when Fu Sihong objected several times to Zhang Ye’s proposed plan for The Voice, there were no signs of Fu Sihong appearing around here after that. Central TV Department 1 had sent Fu Sihong to supervise the team. As long as production was on track with no issues, Fu Sihong would not need to meddle in anything. It did not matter to Zhang Ye whether Fu Sihong was here or not, but without him here, Zhang Ye could afford to do his own job even better without any apprehension.

“Liu’er.”

“Director Zhang, you’re looking for me?”

“Is the voting system ready?”1

“We haven’t ordered it yet. It’s not needed yet, right?”

“Even though it will be only used in the finals, don’t delay! Get it done quickly!”

“Understood, I will contact them and order immediately!”

“We can borrow it from the other Central TV program teams if they have prepared systems. Little Zhou, Little Zhou, come over here for a while.”

“Ai, Director Zhang, I’m here, I’m here!”

“The 75 seconds of promotional airtime that Central TV allocated to us will certainly not be enough. Get in touch with other media, such as those large video hosting websites, and buy some commercial airtime from them.”

“Sure, I’ll get it done!”

“Don’t be afraid to spend money. Buy more.”

“Ah? Aren’t we running low on money?”

“Even if it’s low, we still have more than 10 million RMB. For other talent shows, 10 million RMB might already be their entire budget for production, but this amount is just the leftovers of our budget, so there’s no commercial we can’t buy. Advertising is the most important activity of all. We must make sure to successfully get across the concept of voice to let the people understand and accept it. To achieve all these, it’s never too much no matter how much we spend.”

“I understand, Director Zhang. Please wait for my good news!”

Zhang Ye had to keep everything under control so he had to handle every detail diligently.

As he had already been appointed executive director for about ten days, he was becoming more and more like one now. Brimming with the air of an executive director, he spoke increasingly firmly, assigning tasks with greater clarity. Zhang Ye was also growing together with the production progress. This role as executive director was very important to him as it was a very valuable experience for his future success and irreplaceable with any amount of money or popularity.

One of the reasons why Zhang Ye accepted Jiang Yuan’s offer to join Central TV Department 1 was because he was promised that he could be the executive director of such a big production at an important channel like Central TV Department 1. He needed this sort of life and work experience. This growth would give him a foundation for future endeavors. Compared to when Zhang Ye was the executive producer and director of Zhang Ye’s Talk Show, it wasn’t the same level. The talk show only had Zhang Ye himself onstage since it centered around him as the host and the main focus of his performances. His role as the executive director was just in name and would not compare to directing a large-scale talent show on Central TV.

Time passed quickly. It was already noon.

Zhang Ye had a quick and simple lunch before returning to continue instructing the production.

Suddenly, Assistant Director Zhang Zuo walked hurriedly into the recording studio to where the stage of The Voice was. “Director Zhang? Eh? Where’s Director Zhang?”

Little Wang pointed somewhere not far away. “He’s installing the chairs with the workers.”

Zhang Zuo exclaimed and ran over in a hurry. “Aiyo, Director Zhang. Why do you have to handle this yourself, just leave it to the workers.”

Only then did Zhang Ye reluctantly put down the chair and tell the workers with a worried voice, “Don’t place the four chairs too far from each other. Put them slightly nearer so the coaches can hear each other without the microphone…a bit closer…yes, OK, that’s good now.” This guy was a perfectionist. The word “adequate” didn’t exist in his dictionary, so it developed into a bad habit of his. Zhang Ye was never comfortable if he only left it to others to do the work.

Zhang Zuo said, “Director Zhang, they’ve arrived over there.”

Zhang Ye turned around. He panted, “Who have arrived?” He dusted off his hands.

Zhang Zuo blinked and replied, “Sister Zhang and the rest of the coaches have arrived. Should I bring them over or will you be going to the television station tower?”

Zhang Ye was taken aback. “The coaches? What are they here for?”

Zhang Zuo helplessly expressed, “You were the one who arranged it. Didn’t you say a few days ago that you were writing a song and wanted the four coaches to come in this afternoon and do a simple rehearsal of the intro theme song? Have you forgotten about it?”

Ah?

Was it today!?

Holy shit, I was too caught up in work! No wonder Old Zhang called me so early in the morning to ask me about the song!

Zhang Ye nearly fainted before he recovered, “They’re already here?”

Zhang Zuo said, “Yes, they’ve already arrived.”

“Let’s do it this way, don’t let them come over here first. Try to stall them and make them wait awhile,” Zhang Ye immediately stated.

Zhang Zuo became confused. “Why? What should I say to them?”

Zhang Ye answered, “Just tell them that I’m not around and then bring them over after half an hour!” Having said that, Zhang Ye quickly walked away. “Where’s the music arrangement teacher? Where’s the music arrangement teacher?”

Little Wang said, “He’s helping the contestants with the arrangements.”

Zhang Ye hastily ordered, “Tell him to put that on hold for now and to come look for me.”

“Ah? OK.” Seeing Zhang Ye so anxious, Little Wang double-timed and went to get the music arranger.

……

In a recording studio.

Zhang Ye went inside with a youthful music arrangement teacher.

“Director Zhang, why are you in such a hurry to find me?” The music arrangement teacher wondered, “Are we going to do the music arrangement for the theme song? I’ll arrange the music first and then let the four teachers sing it?”

Zhang Ye did not say a word.

The music arrangement teacher said, “Then can you give me the score? Let me have a look at the song first?”

Zhang Ye remained silent.

At this moment, the music arrangement teacher finally realized something and was shocked. “You…could it be that you have not written it yet? Weren’t we supposed to have the rehearsal today?”

Zhang Ye coughed, “We can still make it if I write it now.”

The music arrangement teacher nearly fainted at this response. Holy shit, you really didn’t write it?

“What kind of song do you think will be most suitable as a theme song?” Zhang Ye made a hasty last-minute effort to do something about it.

The music arrangement teacher didn’t know what to say. “But haven’t the four coaches already arrived? It’s too late to write the song now. Actually, there are all kinds of theme songs for these types of talent shows. But I personally think it’s best to be in line with the theme of the competition, like how to express one’s dream—something inspirational, so that it can easily blend into the talent show’s atmosphere and highlight the contestants and stage. Besides, such songs have to reflect positive energy and have a sunshiny feel, so it shouldn’t have any lyrics that talk about a reflection on life or words like that. That would complicate things and make it less outstanding. I guess that would be suitable as a theme song.”

Dreams?

The stage?

Positive energy?

Contestants? Talent show?

After hearing that, Zhang Ye nodded. “Do you have a pen and paper?”

The music arrangement teacher was stunned, then looked around for a bit before handing one to him.

Zhang Ye immediately picked up the fountain pen and started to write the lyrics on the paper. As he wrote it, he spoke, “I’ll sing it once for you now, so help me write the score and arrange the music as well.”

The music arrangement teacher said dumbfounded, “Y-you have already thought of a song?”

F**k!

It’s only been a few seconds!

I had just finished describing what kind of song was suitable for the show. At most around ten seconds after that you have already finished writing it? That’s impossible! The fastest lyrics writer in the industry would not have a speed like yours, even if you multiplied their speed by a hundred times. No one could be this fast!

He did not believe it, but he grabbed an empty score and got ready to record it.

The next second, Zhang Ye started to sing with his terrible singing,

“I wanna fly to the sky, walk beside the Sun.

“The world waits for me to change it.

“Never been afraid of others seeing my dreams.

“Here, I can make it happen.

“Laughing loudly, let’s walk side by side.

“Isn’t happiness everywhere.

“Casting off all worry, I stride forward bravely.

“Now I am taking center stage!!”

The music arrangement teacher was dumbfounded. You really could write it out in a little more than ten seconds? What the f**k! Are you on stimulants!?

1. These voting systems are the ones you see on live TV shows where the audience has an input controller