Chapter 161: This Is Too Boring

Meanwhile, facing a flood of doubts, Liu Shao still announced the new competition format on stage.

Liu Shao said, “Actually, I’ve always felt that calling the changes in this competition a change in the format isn’t quite accurate.”

“The main change this time centers on the weight of the audience’s scoring and does not affect the overall competition content.”

“This season of ‘Tomorrow’s Star,’ we will still use the dual-theme format to decide the songs the contestants perform.”

“However, regarding the scoring, we’ve made a slight adjustment.”

Pausing briefly, Liu Shao noticed the audience hanging on his every word before continuing, “Originally, the total score was 1,000 points, with the four mentors each contributing 100 points, totaling 400 points, and the remaining 600 points divided among the 600 audience members.”

“This time, the audience score has been reduced from 600 points to 300 points, meaning each audience member’s individual vote is now worth 0.5 points instead of 1.”

“As for the extra 300 points, we have invited six professional music critics, each with 50 points, to score the contestants.”

The audience raised their eyebrows upon hearing this, their expressions saying, “That makes sense.”

With Su Chen’s current popularity, lowering the audience’s scoring weight was a veiled attempt to weaken him.

Although this change would indeed be fairer to the other seven contestants, for Su Chen it was like a bolt from the blue.

Immediately, the audience murmured in unrest, many voicing their support for Su Chen.

“What the hell?! The production team doesn’t even bother pretending anymore? Such blatant targeting of Su Chen?!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. When has the production team ever pretended? Don’t you remember the dual-theme format was designed for him? They’ve been targeting Su Chen from the start!”

“Is this just because Su Chen isn’t signed to a company and lacks backing? So the production team can just manipulate him as they please? We won’t stand for this!”

“Exactly! What’s the meaning of this? Others’ fairness is fairness, but Su Chen’s fairness isn’t?”

...

Listening to the uproar from the audience, Liu Shao was stunned.

Since taking over as director of ‘Tomorrow’s Star,’ in just half a month, he had encountered more production crises than in his entire career combined.

But there was a silver lining—his ability to manage such crises was undoubtedly unparalleled among hosts.

No choice; his crisis management skills had reached max level.

Whenever signs of unrest arose in the audience, Liu Shao immediately interrupted to prevent negative emotions from escalating.

He said, “We informed all eight contestants about this change before the competition began and recorded their responses on video.”

“Now, let’s see what these eight contestants think of this adjustment!”

With that, Liu Shao gestured toward the large screen, guiding everyone’s attention.

In the next moment, the stage lights dimmed, and the giant screen at center stage lit up, capturing the entire audience’s focus.

On the screen appeared a simple interview setup: two chairs and a table. Liu Shao sat in the left chair, while Meng Xiaotian, one of the eight contestants, sat on the right.

Liu Shao looked at Meng Xiaotian and asked, “Contestant Meng Xiaotian, you’ve probably heard about the format change for this round, right?”

Meng Xiaotian smiled and nodded. “Yes, I just received the news not long ago.”

Liu Shao continued, “May I ask your opinion on this change?”

Meng Xiaotian responded directly, “Of course.”

“First of all, I fully support the production team’s decision to change the format.”

“Because this is a music talent show, and the artists we select need to have strong musical literacy.”

“But musical literacy has a certain threshold for ordinary people and can only be assessed by professionals.”

“Of course, I’m not saying the audience’s preference isn’t important. What I mean is, if we want to choose the strongest, it needs to be judged by experts.”

“If the debut positions were decided solely by audience preference — and to put it more broadly, in the Chinese music industry... I think that would be a frightening thing.”

Hearing Meng Xiaotian’s answer, the noisy audience suddenly quieted down a bit.

It seemed they had taken his words to heart, subconsciously reconsidering their own thoughts and statements.

At the same time, after Meng Xiaotian finished, Liu Shao nodded and took up the conversation.

“It seems our contestant Meng Xiaotian has a rather long-term perspective. Thank you for your remarks, and I wish you a satisfying result in today’s competition… Now, let me invite the next contestant.”

After shaking hands politely with Liu Shao, Meng Xiaotian left the screen.

Another contestant then entered, sitting in the chair Meng Xiaotian had just vacated.

Liu Shao asked the same question, and this contestant also expressed support for the format change, sharing their concerns.

The video continued with Liu Shao repeatedly asking the contestants, as the production team tried to guide the audience’s thinking through these interviews.

Of course, while some audience members might be easily influenced, others were perceptive—no one was that easily fooled.

So, at the end of the video, Wu Tong gave the audience a definitive moment.

Yes, it was the conversation between Liu Shao and Su Chen.

Liu Shao asked Su Chen the same question: “Contestant Su Chen, you must have heard about today’s format change, right?”

Su Chen nodded to confirm.

Liu Shao pressed on, “May I ask your opinion on this change?”

Su Chen didn’t hesitate and smiled as he answered, “I think it’s very good.”

“On one hand, I’m honored that my songs have always been loved by the public, but at the same time, I’ve felt it’s somewhat unreal.”

“So, I want to hear the professional judges’ evaluations of my songs.”

“On the other hand, if the format remained unchanged, it would be too boring for me.”

“...Too boring?”

Liu Shao was slightly taken aback and asked, “Why boring?”

Su Chen picked up the microphone and smiled faintly.

“Because there’s no challenge.”