Chapter 154: Before the Finals

The breakout round of "The Vocalist," which countless people had been following closely, finally came to an end. Lin Qihua and several others successfully broke through, advancing to the grand finals held the following week.

The grand finals could be described as the biggest entertainment extravaganza at the beginning of every year. In addition to regular viewers, it would also welcome various stars, creators, music critics, hosts, and other industry insiders to witness the birth of a new King or Queen of Songs. It was truly a momentous event capturing the attention of millions.

As soon as the breakout round concluded, the four successful singers were surrounded by media reporters eager to interview them about their feelings and their outlook on the grand finals.

As tonight's top scorer and the biggest topic of discussion, Lin Qihua was naturally surrounded by layers of reporters, answering questions mechanically.

"Yes, I didn't expect to achieve such results either. I'm grateful for the audience's support."

"Everyone is a talented singer; whoever stays or leaves is entirely within reason. I'm very glad I stayed, and I will carry everyone's regrets to perform well. I also sincerely wish everyone the best in releasing more and better works in the future."

"As for the grand finals, I don't have a concrete concept yet, but there is one fundamental rule: cast aside distractions, stop thinking about the scores, and focus instead on how to sing and perform the songs well—to live up to the audience who supports me, to the opponents who give it their all, and to this top-tier stage."

"Who will the guest accompanist be? I haven't considered that yet. I'll ask back home and hope we can have a great collaboration."

"As for the future, I don't have any grand desires or plans. I'll take a break, put out some songs, and then see how things go."
……

After a round of entanglement, he finally made the reporters somewhat satisfied and let him go. Lin Qihua felt physically and mentally exhausted.

"I'd rather sing a few more songs than be cornered here," Lin Qihua thought, still feeling a lingering fear.

"You, you need to get used to this kind of treatment. Because it also means that people value you and treat you like a big star. Otherwise, if one day they stop looking for you, you'll start wondering if you've fallen out of favor," Yuan Xiaolai walked over and said with a smile.

"There is some truth to that."

"You haven't experienced that feeling yet. How many artists pull all kinds of stunts just for this kind of treatment? Exposure is the lifeline of an artist, and the media represents exposure."

"I have learned much." Lin Qihua expressed his gratitude seriously, knowing that Yuan Xiaolai was imparting his experience to him.

"A piece of jade that can be carved."

That night, the results of the breakout round swept through the entire entertainment industry. Everyone considered the outcome logical and completely acceptable.

"Lin Qihua and Yuan Xiaolai's success is due to their strength. As for the other two, whether they advanced or not was up in the air; it was the audience's sentiment that helped them triumph over Guan Shengjie and the others to grab the final entry tickets. There's nothing controversial about that."

"What attracts the most attention is still what kind of performance Lin Qihua will deliver and whether he can successfully break through on pure strength. Facts have proved that he didn't let everyone down. A rendition of 'Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies' portrayed the story of a brave person fighting against fate, refusing to bow their head, and persisting in their dreams. It spoke of Lin Qihua's own experiences, as well as the stories many people have lived through in their own lives. Deeply moving, thought-provoking, and inspiring, it is destined to become a classic in the Chinese music scene, continuing to help his listeners conquer cowardice and march forward bravely in the years to come."

"With 'Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies,' Lin Qihua achieved a near-unanimous breakout success. It is what he deserves. Although saying the audience owed him a ticket was somewhat a joke, tonight's vote was surely a way for everyone to compensate for his previous elimination. His singing remains touching—free of resentment, filled only with gratitude. Toward both those who coldly looked down upon him and those who stayed by his side with care, his gratitude comes from the heart. To transform that period of hardship and raging storms into a story worth savoring, what a magnanimous state of mind! From his songs to the person he is, he is a consummate gentleman whom it is impossible not to love."

The unanimous praise from the media felt entirely justified to the viewers who had watched the match. Even now, their hearts were still racing, and on the road home, they eagerly downloaded the song to put it on single-track repeat, savoring the emotion within. Every time they listened, they felt an urge to cry; every time, it reminded them of their own most difficult days, that feeling of despair and the rewards after enduring it.

"Lin Qihua's songs all stem from genuine emotion, singing straight into people's hearts and shaking them to the core. Compared to Wang Yalin, he feels more like a soul singer."

Lin Qihua did not join in the online excitement. He was very satisfied with his ability to deliver a great rendition of "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies." However, the breakout round was over, and what he needed to do now was to focus his mind on the upcoming match.

Since the grand finals were next week, Lin Qihua did not return to Yanjing. After all, everyone needed two songs and two programs, and coordinating with the production team and rehearsing required time. A week felt tight, so he stayed in Xiangzhou to make preparations. As for Su Zitong, she flew to Xiangzhou the next day and immediately plunged into intense joint rehearsals.

Joint rehearsals, preparing the final song, negotiating with the production team, designing the stage aesthetics—the entire team was running around in a dizzying blur.

Yu Fengqin and He Li also led a formidable logistics team into Xiangzhou to provide full support for them and to watch the grand finals. This was the first time Galaxy Entertainment had an artist step onto this prestigious stage, and they attached immense importance to it.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, as the grand finals drew closer, the atmosphere gradually heated up.

"Voice of Music" was the first to speak out, making an authoritative analysis and prediction of the grand finals: among the seven singers in the finals, three were Tier-1 and four were Tier-2. Their strengths were evenly matched. The three senior veterans had a slight edge, but the four young people were no pushovers either and could definitely hold their own against them.

What would influence the final outcome? First was naturally on-the-spot performance. Since it was a major event, whoever performed normally or even surpassed their usual level would seize the initiative. Second was the guest accompanist. Whether one could strike first and gain the lead depended on the choice of guest and the collaborative effect. In this aspect, the three Tier-1 veterans undoubtedly held the advantage with their extensive connections and rich collaboration experience. The ones at a disadvantage should be the two youngsters, Lin Qihua and Zhang Yuxun, who lacked experience and would find it difficult to find suitable guest collaborators in a short time. If the collaboration fell flat and turned into a musical disaster, points would be deducted.

However, the ones people looked forward to the most were precisely these two. Youth represented infinite possibilities; even if they faltered in the first round, adjusting their mindset for the second round still left everyone full of anticipation.

In short, regardless of everything, everyone hoped all singers could bring out their best state, their best songs, and their best performances to present a magnificent show to the national audience and bring a successful conclusion to this season of "The Vocalist." Scores didn't really matter; who won the championship didn't matter either. What everyone wanted to see was a brilliant performance.

Aside from "Voice of Music," other entertainment media outlets also jumped out to share their insights, analyze potential match outcomes, and launch their supported singers with reasons. Lu Zhixuan and the two other elders were undoubtedly the ones with the most support, while the remaining four had relatively less.

In a nationwide poll organized by a media outlet, the same result was reached: everyone believed the three Tier-1 singers were most likely to win the championship, as their rich experience was their greatest asset.

Although Lin Qihua had become a super dark horse this season, with every performance being breathtakingly brilliant, no one still favored him to win. The reason was simple: he was too young and lacked stage experience. On a stage like the grand finals, being able to bring surprises to everyone was already remarkable, but winning the championship remained a very difficult task.

Lin Qihua didn't have any particular thoughts about it and didn't pay much attention. Instead, Lu Zhixuan called to tell him about the bustling situation outside. "Every season is like this, only this year is especially lively. Because this is what the audience wants. Having followed the program for a whole season, they have developed a deep sense of participation and care deeply about any analysis and news regarding the grand finals. So the media naturally panders to them and desperately stirs up topics."

"Oh, were you influenced by it too?"

"How could that be?" Lu Zhixuan made a face. "I just wanted to tell you to make sure your mindset is right and not to lose your footing."

Lin Qihua was silent for a moment before saying, "If you hadn't called, I wouldn't have looked at the news at all, and my team wouldn't have told me about this to disturb my preparation."

"Ah," Lu Zhixuan felt awkward. "I didn't think of that."

"Don't worry, no one will think you wanted to disrupt my focus." A trace of a smile appeared in Lin Qihua's eyes. "Whether it's excessive praise or harsh criticism, I won't be affected. Still, thanks for the reminder. You should watch out for yourself and try not to make a fool of yourself."

"How could that happen?" Lu Zhixuan laughed dryly and hurriedly hung up the phone. He felt he had suffered ten thousand points of critical damage and needed to recover his mood quickly.

Communication with the production team also went smoothly. Although they expressed some incomprehension regarding the duet song and the guest candidate submitted by Lin Qihua, they still agreed to it and expressed considerable appreciation.

"I heard before that you aggressively poached her away, and everyone thought you were righteous and praised you. Now you're bringing her onto this stage as well. Even if the result is mediocre, I still have to give you a thumbs up," Wei Hongzong stated his stance.

"Thank you. I'm not a saint willing to give up this stage just to promote her. First, she has that talent—I trust my own eyes and ears, and she will bring surprises to everyone. Second, for this song, I have no score requirements. I only hope to let everyone experience an alternative kind of musical beauty."

"Alright, hearing you say that makes me look forward to it even more," Wei Hongzong said with a smile as he walked. "I'm very glad I chose you back then. Achieving such astonishing results is my pride, but I hope you don't care too much about rankings. Winning the championship is not necessarily a good thing for you."

"I know, don't worry." Lin Qihua gave a carefree smile, though he didn't quite understand the underlying meaning of those words. "Drop the baggage, travel light, and show off a brilliant performance—that's the tone I've set for myself."

His answer was met with a thumb held high in approval.