I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 024 A Show of Force

Saturday, May 23, 5 p.m.

Jinshi Music Headquarters.

Yang Du and Wang Shihui arrived at Recording Studio No. 2 to begin preparing for the upcoming final audition.

After yesterday's selection of raw vocal samples, the two selected the best two candidates from the four samples to enter today's audition session.

One is Xu Xiao, a rising star in the pop music scene.

One of them is a newcomer, Jiang Yan.

When the two walked through the corridor to the waiting area of ​​Recording Studio No. 2, a chubby young man with sweat beading on his forehead was already waiting there with a girl.

"Producer Yang, Teacher Wang, hello both of you. I'm Jiang Yan's agent, Peng Liang. You can just call me Liangzi."

The overweight agent adopted a very humble posture, with a smile plastered all over his face.

"Hello, teachers. I am Jiang Yan."

Jiang Yan's appearance wasn't the kind that was visually striking and bright, but rather understated, clean, and pleasing to the eye—a typical innocent and delicate beauty. At this moment, her face was full of excitement.

"Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to audition."

Yang Du nodded slightly and pointed to the sofa next to him: "Sit down first, don't be so formal, take a rest."

After entering the control room and closing the door, Wang Shihui couldn't help but say, "They arrived quite early, and their attitude was good. It's a pity we ran into Xu Xiao."

As a seasoned veteran in the industry, he has seen too many newcomers who harbor dreams, are cautious yet eager to seize every tiny opportunity.

He certainly didn't dislike Jiang Yan; on the contrary, he greatly admired her professionalism and politeness.

But in Jinshi, or in any highly commercialized, capital-driven entertainment industry system in the world, attitude is always the cheapest thing.

Just like Jiang Yan now, her audition was at 1:30, but she arrived at 1:00 early.

Does she like to arrive early?

"Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I've properly gone through this standard audition process," Wang Shihui sighed.

At his age, he has witnessed all the changes in the music industry, from records, tapes, CDs, MP3s to today's streaming media. The audition process has also evolved with the times, so his tone inevitably carries a touch of nostalgia.

"The current atmosphere is very superficial. As soon as a song is released, people basically choose the singer based on who is popular and who has strong financial backing. There is no time to call people into the studio for auditions."

Yang Du smiled but didn't reply.

In fact, Wang Shihui had a clear idea of ​​who the two people selected for the audition today were.

In his opinion, Xu Xiao is undoubtedly the most suitable person to write a song like "Painting Heart" that carries the heavy responsibility of film promotion.

Firstly, their status and influence are clearly evident.

Xu Xiao is a rising star in the pop music scene today, holding five Chinese music awards, including Best Female Pop Singer, and a Golden Bell Award nomination.

Her existing fanbase and popularity are unmatched by any newcomer.

Secondly, in terms of personal relationship and tacit understanding, Wang Shihui had previously collaborated with Xu Xiao three times, and two of their singles successfully topped the charts, so they were familiar with each other.

In a recording studio, collaborating with a well-known pop star whose temperament and personality are familiar to you is far less costly in terms of communication and less risk of project delays due to friction than training an inexperienced newcomer from scratch.

However, despite his thoughts, Yang Du was the producer of "Painting Heart," and Wang Shihui was now a man who respected the rules, so he naturally wouldn't overstep his bounds and say such annoying things at this time.

Time passed slowly, and soon it was 1:30 PM, the appointed time.

However, the other audition candidate, pop star Xu Xiao, has yet to appear.

The atmosphere in the recording studio became somewhat subtle.

Wang Shihui coughed lightly, trying to smooth things over, saying, "Well, it's the weekend, so he's probably stuck in traffic somewhere. You know how traffic is in Beijing."

Meanwhile, on the Third Ring Road elevated highway.

A luxury van is traveling at a leisurely pace on the not-too-crowded elevated road.

In the passenger seat, the young assistant kept checking his phone. Finally, he couldn't help but turn to the driver and shout, "Driver, could you please drive a little faster? The road conditions are fine. We're already ten minutes late."

"What's the rush!"

Before the driver could answer, the agent in the back seat frowned and stopped her, "Drive slower, it'll be uncomfortable if you drive too fast. Xiaoxiao just finished a photoshoot this morning, she's exhausted and needs to rest."

This is, of course, an excuse, but it's a reason that everyone in this circle tacitly understands and that sounds perfectly legitimate.

On the other side of the back row, Xu Xiao, who was resting with her eyes closed, said slowly and deliberately, "That's right, what's the rush? It's just a formality this afternoon, do you really think I'm going to audition for a recording session?"

For a pop star who has already climbed to the top and tasted the joy of fame, being called to audition by a novice producer who is about the same age as her and has only just gained some fame is not a good experience in itself.

If it weren't for the incredibly tempting tens of millions of yuan in film promotion resources tied to "Painting Heart," which could greatly broaden her fame and national recognition and help her break into new circles, her management team would never have allowed such a performance-based schedule to appear on her calendar.

The assistant sounded a little aggrieved and muttered softly, "But... isn't it a bit inappropriate to leave the producer waiting in the studio... it might damage Xiaoxiao's reputation."

"What do you know?" the manager scolded, exasperated. "You've been by Xiaoxiao's side for a year now, can't you even tell what's important and what's urgent?"

"Who is Xiaoxiao? A pop diva! And what about her? A newcomer. If we arrive early and wait impatiently in the studio, what kind of impression will that make? It'll make it seem like we're rushing to sing a newcomer's song."

"If word gets out, where will Xiaoxiao's reputation be? It'll be so humiliating!"

After reprimanding the assistant, the manager turned to her and her tone instantly became incredibly gentle: "Xiaoxiao, don't listen to her worrying nonsense. You're now a rising star in the Chinese music scene, known as one of the 'Four Greats and Three Littles' alongside Sister Shen Dai."

"Who is Yang Du? At best, he's just a lucky newcomer who helped Tao Cheng get a number one single. And he's writing emotional articles on Weibo, just trying to attract attention."

Xu Xiao kept her eyes closed, resting, and gave a noncommittal "hmm".

The agent continued, "The foundation of 'Painting Heart' is indeed good, but if this song wants to become a big hit, shouldn't we put some effort into the arrangement and change it to a style that better suits your personal taste? That way, we can maximize the profits."

"So, this pace is just right. Let's give him a break and deflate his arrogance. When he's lost his composure, panicked, and starts worrying about whether he's offended us, then we can go into the shed to discuss the reorganization. The negotiations will naturally go more smoothly."