kvmb Chapter 246 Yu Xinglan
Chapter 246 Yu Xinglan
Bai Li flipped through the list of mentors, and a striking photo immediately caught her eye.
It's him……
This person's beauty left a deep impression on Bai Li.
If she remembered correctly, Xiao Hao had told her that his looks scored a full 97 points.
In the promotional photo, she has a pair of captivating eyes that seem to speak sweet nothings, with slightly upturned corners. A small but perfectly placed beauty mark sits subtly under her eyelids, like a star that might fall at any moment, making her highly recognizable. She even has a cupid's bow as an embellishment.
She has a face that is full of affection, but she gives off an unusually cold feeling.
Her pupils were a pale color, and when she gazed at someone, it was as if they were covered with a layer of ice. The gaze in the photo seemed to penetrate the paper and meet her eyes, causing a slight chill to run down Bai Li's neck.
He had a high, straight nose, clean and sharp facial features, and skin so pale it was almost transparent.
She looked like a beauty sculpted from ice.
Exquisite yet fragile.
“Yu Xinglan…” Bai Li murmured his name.
Her former roommate, Tang Tang, was a big fan of Yu Xinglan, and Tang Tang even recommended her to Yu Xinglan in the dorm.
Bai Li also got to know Yu Xinglan because of this.
At the time, Yu Xinglan seemed to be making a reaction to a group broadcast by Day and Night Entertainment. Because of her outstanding appearance in the video, Bai Li remembered it.
At that time, Tangtang chattered on and on to herself.
They say Yu Xinglan has good professional skills, and that she used to be in a group, but later went solo.
Bai Li lightly tapped Yu Xinglan's photo with her fingertip and asked, "Was this person's background check done as well?"
The other mentor lineup is top-notch, including top-tier hosts, professional dancers, exceptionally talented singers, and a veteran figure in the rap world. In addition, top international stars have been arranged as guests and guest singers for each episode.
It has already maximized both traffic and professionalism.
Bai Li wasn't entirely sure about this one person.
Due to the lack of a domestic idol market, this person, who came from a traditional idol background, does not have a high level of fame.
To put it bluntly, there is indeed a significant gap between us and the other mentors.
The project manager followed Bai Li's finger and quickly nodded, "That's right, Ms. Bai, it's done."
“Yu Xinglan’s professional skills and background are not a problem. Although he went solo a few years ago, the reason for going solo had nothing to do with him. It was entirely a problem with the group. He has a very good reputation online.”
At this point, the project manager simply took out his laptop and brought up the background investigation folder.
This document is incredibly detailed, covering every aspect of all the contestants and mentors, from their internet accounts, every blog post and forum entry, to their past experiences and performing arts works from childhood to adulthood.
Their background checks are so thorough that they practically strip a person bare, all in order to eliminate as much risk as possible.
After all, it's always better to discover problems in advance than to have them exposed by netizens after the show airs.
The project manager opened Yu Xinglan's file and explained as he worked on it: "Yu Xinglan's past is very clean. Because she started as a child star at a young age, there is a lot of information about her on the internet."
He clicked on several videos as examples.
Yu Xinglan had a cameo role as a child actress in a CCTV drama about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, filmed commercials for several major national brands, and even appeared on local TV variety shows.
In the nostalgic video, Yu Xinglan's two little faces are painted bright red, her hair is tied in two buns, and her two little eyes are very lively. She sings a festive children's song and dances at the same time.
She was clearly the kind of well-behaved child that grandparents would adore, completely different from her current aloof demeanor.
Bai Li couldn't help but smile as she looked at the cute little figure on the screen.
Suddenly, a mischievous thought popped into my head: If I showed this video to Yu Xinglan now, would he die on the spot?
Tsk tsk, sometimes, debuting too early isn't necessarily a good thing.
The project manager then clicked on a new video.
This is a video of Yu Xinglan after her debut as an idol.
As background music plays, the people in the video dance gracefully, their movements fluid and elegant.
Every movement was just right, without giving the impression of being forced, yet it was agile and unrestrained, possessing a unique strength.
Bai Li unconsciously sat up straight, secretly marveling.
This is clearly different from the kind of dance moves that Mountain Spirits develop through intensive, crash-training training.
Although it's wrong to put others down, Bai Li couldn't help but compare him to others.
In her opinion, Yu Xinglan's level is comparable to, or even above, those idols in H country who have undergone rigorous training.
The foundation is too good.
How many years must one spend in the practice room to etch muscle memory into their very bones? Without years of honing their skills, one could never achieve such effortless grace.
Especially Yu Xinglan's eyes when she danced, they were like fire, carrying the resolve to burn people to ashes.
In the climax, the person in the video leaps into the air. Although they are just flesh and blood, they leap with a certain charm, making the viewer's blood boil.
Even Bai Li, who was watching from outside the screen, couldn't help but hold her breath.
The effect would probably be even better if we could see it in person.
Seeing Bai Li's reaction, the project manager added, "President Bai, Yu Xinglan is highly skilled in dance. His dance videos have a considerable number of views and likes online, and many professional dancers have praised him highly."
As he spoke, he then played several other works by Yu Xinglan.
—Excerpts from ethnic dance exams, live singing videos, and stage performances...
When you see a white pear, your eyes light up.
Yu Xinglan is such a treasure.
That folk dance was a clip from his university exam. I don't know where the project team dug it up from, but even though the image was blurry, you could still see his skill. No wonder he's so flexible.
Some people who have learned folk dance will unconsciously use folk dance techniques when dancing other dance styles, which may result in a clumsy and awkward performance.
But Yu Xinglan was completely different. He interpreted the dynamic popping very well, being both cool and stylish, with a good framework and full of emotion.
The key point is that he sings well, with a clear and textured voice.
Moreover, he can sing and play the piano himself, and the way he sits at the piano and plays is no different from that of a prince.
What's most remarkable is that he can combine singing and dancing very well. He can sing and dance at the same time without getting out of breath at all, which is incredibly steady.
On stage, with that innate star quality, he shines the moment the lights come on.
"It wasn't easy..." Bai Li sighed after watching all the videos.
She finally understood why the project team chose Yu Xinglan as her mentor.
In such an extreme market like China, it's truly rare to find idols of this caliber.
Just how self-disciplined must a person be to persevere like that?
To achieve this level of skill, how much effort must one put in behind the scenes?
Although Yu Xinglan appears cold and fragile, Bai Li estimates that her inner strength is greater than anyone else's.
Asking him to be a mentor is the most appropriate thing to do.
He is the only traditional idol among all the mentors.
His skill level is high enough to serve as a benchmark for all players.
Bai Li suddenly realized something: "So why did Yu Xinglan leave the group and choose to go solo back then?"
In fact, she already had a vague suspicion.
As expected, Manager Liao's answer was pretty much what she had in mind.
With such a formidable opponent in the team, the other members will inevitably become mere background figures.
Yu Xinglan's skill level is too outstanding. Even dressed in the simplest all-black outfit, she still stands out from the others.
He has a kind of magic about him.
—It has a magical power that makes it impossible for viewers to look away once they've seen it.
Of course, you won't notice other people.
There was once a popular topic online that referred to this group as "Yu Xinglan and his backup dancers".
It's so real, but it really hits home!
Yu Xinglan not only dances better than the other team members, but also sings better.
In many songs, only Yu Xinglan can handle the difficult high notes.
Some of the teammates were really bad, and they even needed Yu Xinglan to provide backup vocals for them.
It's fine if they don't use their microphones, but when they encounter a stage where they need to use their microphones, these team members immediately reveal their true colors.
The effect on set was that only Yu Xinglan's voice was pleasant to listen to; everyone else was either off-key or breathless, only managing to sing along.
—Only lip movements, no sound.
Bai Li specifically searched for their group's past performances, and after watching them, she felt like an old person on the subway.
The entire stage was a complete disaster.
Apart from Yu Xinglan's part, the other people's parts could be described as a train wreck.
This kind of stage would probably be rejected outright at a school arts festival.
No matter how strong Yu Xinglan is, even if he were a rocket incarnate, he couldn't carry the other huge burdens.
The comments below the video are also polarized.
One wave of comments praised Yu Xinglan, while the other wave mocked the others.
"Help! The contrast is too stark!"
—"Yu Xinglan, run!" (Image)
"Apart from Yu Xinglan, everyone else should go back and practice their singing for another ten years. Singing like this, how dare you even step onto the stage? It's too embarrassing."
……
With such a stark contrast, it would be strange if Yu Xinglan wasn't ostracized by her teammates.
Although the company knew about Yu Xinglan's exclusion, it turned a blind eye and even went to extremes in order to balance the overall level of the group, frequently resorting to all sorts of underhanded tactics.
For example, they lowered Yu Xinglan's microphone volume on stage, didn't prepare stage outfits for him, made his makeup and styling different from others, deliberately gave him light makeup, and even shortened his part in the song.
Upon hearing this, Bai Li let out a cold laugh.
A company like this will die sooner or later.
They are both stupid and wicked. No matter how talented a person is, they will be wasted in their hands and deserve not to make any money.
The project manager continued.
As expected, the crackdown resulted in the group's complete collapse.
Every song that comes out is a flop.
With no exposure and a severe loss of fans, the company completely abandoned the group.
From then on, there were no more new songs or new stages.
Other team members have taken on various roles, including live-streaming e-commerce, filming low-budget web dramas, and even coming out as gay to generate buzz for male-male couple pairings.
A perfectly good boy band has been ruined, its original form completely distorted, and it's now just a name in name only.
Finally, Yu Xinglan couldn't take it anymore and asked the company to terminate her contract so she could go solo.
The project manager sighed: "Yu Xinglan has been working solo for several years now, and I heard she still owes the company a huge sum of money in termination fees that she hasn't finished paying off."
Bai Li frowned as she listened to the project manager's explanation.
Although she had a general idea, she never imagined that the story behind Yu Xinglan's solo career was so tragic...
What a beautiful piece of jade, ruined like this.
Bai Li's greedy nature began to stir again: "Does he have a management company? How much does he still owe?"
The project manager paused for a moment before replying, "He doesn't have a management company now, only a personal studio. As for the termination fee, I heard there's still over ten million left. I need to investigate the specifics further."
The project manager seemed to understand the underlying meaning in Bai Li's words, realizing that Bai Li might be interested in signing a contract with Yu Xinglan.
He lowered his voice and prompted, "Yu Xinglan's former company included a non-compete clause in his contract at the time, so after Yu Xinglan terminated his contract, he was unable to take on offline music-related work. He has been active online for the past two years, which is why he has remained relatively unknown."
Bai Li felt nauseous from the disgust she felt at Yu Xinglan's former company.
What kind of vicious clause is this?
The domestic idol market has been ruined by these people.
The market has been unable to develop, and these unregulated small brokerage firms and their unfair terms and conditions are largely to blame.
Bai Li frowned and asked, "And what about him now?"
The project team had investigated this matter thoroughly, and the project manager immediately responded: "The non-compete period has just ended, so participating in program recordings now is completely compliant, and offline activities can be fully restarted."
The project manager's words made Bai Li's eyes light up. She decisively closed the list of mentors and said simply, "The list of mentors is fine. Also, give the contact information of Yu Xinglan's studio to the headhunter. I'll talk to them about it."
The project manager understood immediately and left Bai Li's office.
--------------------------------
Inside the practice room, a figure dances to the music.
The blinds combed the sunlight into strings, creating shimmering spots of light on his taut back.
The practice room was small, even cramped, with some old furnishings and musical instruments and other miscellaneous items around, making it look even smaller.
Faintly, I could hear music coming from next door.
This isn't a personal practice room; it's a public space that Yu Xinglan has rented for a while.
It's good enough to have something, that's all there is to it, it's a real "famine," I won't ask for more.
"Stars." Someone knocked on the door.
Yu Xinglan completed the action without changing her expression, picked up the towel around her neck and wiped the sweat: "Go in."
The person who came in was his agent and assistant who had been with him for several years.
When he left the company, his agent also left with him.
He was one of the few people he could trust.
Yu Xinglan picked up the water glass from the ground and opened it: "Brother Shen, what's wrong?"
The Shen Ge that Yu Xinglan mentioned was a fat man who looked honest and kind. He asked excitedly, "Xingxing, do you know about Day and Night Entertainment?"
Yu Xinglan took a sip of water: "Hmm, what's wrong?"
He certainly knew about Day and Night Entertainment, the company that was currently making headlines in the industry.
This time, he was invited by Day and Night Entertainment to be a mentor on the talent show.
What could they possibly need from me?
Judging from Shen Ge's expression, it seems like this is a good thing.
Brother Shen's voice was excited, and his hand gripping the phone was trembling: "Day and Night Entertainment wants to sign us."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xinglan paused in his drinking, put down his glass, and looked at Yu Xinglan with a troubled expression.