Not Afraid At All

The program has a total of four heavyweight guest mentors, plus four young trainees.

Zhu Shao introduced from the front, "The rules for our Best Songwriter program are very simple.

The main focus is on traveling and enjoying nature's beauty.

Or experiencing the hustle and bustle of the streets and the human world.

Creating music that everyone loves in a relaxed environment!

Creation itself should be relaxed, joyful, and happy.

Therefore, this program has no in-studio PK.

A total of twelve episodes.

Each episode takes three to five days to record, with the entire recording period lasting about two months.

It should be completed in early October.

There are six preliminary selected locations.

Huazhou is the first stop.

It may take some time to adjust at the beginning, and we will be recording here for about twenty days.

We aim to complete the recording and production of the first three episodes.

Since it will be broadcast while filming, everyone might have to work a bit harder.

Below, I will explain the specific rules..."

As Zhu Shao explained, Song Dao finally understood all the rules of the program.

Twelve episodes, twelve songs!

In each episode, the four trainees need to create one song.

A total of forty-eight songs.

The first five episodes will feature five original songs, with no restrictions on theme or style.

Previously composed songs can be used as long as they haven't been published yet.

Everyone unanimously agreed that this period could be considered their comfort zone.

Then there will be three "assigned topic" songs.

During this process, with the scene being notarized, three style types required by the program group will be randomly drawn for creation.

Mentors can offer guidance in the first eight episodes, but cannot substitute for the trainees.

The creation process will be fully presented on camera.

The first five songs, which allowed for free creative expression, were fine, and most people didn't show much emotion.

Anyone who dares to participate in this program naturally has some skills.

However, the moment the rules for the three "assigned topic" songs, which required on-site notarization and random drawing to determine the style, were announced, someone couldn't help but let out a low gasp.

The intensity increased by more than just a little.

Even with the system on him and his Prestige accumulating rapidly, Song Dao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

It's indeed a bit challenging!

He'll have to rely entirely on the system, Dad, for support.

Perhaps in some people's minds, this is an opportunity to cheat.

After all, among the four mentors, only the Heavenly Queen Lin Fei is not on the songwriting track.

The remaining three are professionals.

However, for a variety show of this caliber, if there were any fakery and it was exposed, their personas would definitely collapse.

Both mentors and trainees would face dire consequences.

No one would easily take such a risk.

Especially considering the status of these mentors, it would be impossible for them to do such a thing.

Everyone finally realized that while the program appeared relaxed and cheerful, it was actually fraught with hidden dangers.

Ma Shen couldn't help but say, "It looks quite relaxed, but the actual difficulty is not small!"

Li Jun is an old senior; what hasn't he seen?

He had a calm and indifferent expression.

Sun Meiqi looked confident and even waved her fist at the camera.

Lin Fei?

Sister Fei's expression was blank, and she even accidentally yawned.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

Zhong Yutong, from Li Jun's group, smiled, appearing very confident.

Sun Meiqi's team's Xue Lin was a bit dazed and cute, looking somewhat troubled.

Zhao Qi from Ma Shen's team was better at creating drama for himself.

He sighed at the camera, clutching his chest.

A bit too effeminate.

Song Dao, aside from a slight raised eyebrow at the beginning, showed little expression on his face, just like Lin Fei.

Of the remaining four songs, two were duets.

No genre restrictions.

The other two were songs composed by the trainees for the mentors!

No theme restrictions.

For the two duet songs, mentors could co-create with the trainees, participating deeply.

In other words, this was an opportunity to "cheat" with impunity.

Zhu Shao explained this segment with a smile, saying, "These two duet songs are a small perk from the production team for everyone."

Pfft!

Ma Shen scoffed directly.

Composing duet songs on the spot wasn't that easy.

This wasn't a perk at all.

It was clearly a trap dug for the mentors!

If the quality was poor, they would undoubtedly be ridiculed.

Of course, they wouldn't be afraid.

As for the latter two songs, composed by trainees for mentors, they were even more difficult.

Li Jun was fine; the old master wasn't a singer to begin with.

Given his standing in the industry, he didn't care much about these things.

As for the remaining three, Lin Fei didn't need to be mentioned; her comeback song was an instant hit, and industry insiders knew she wouldn't sing a song that wasn't good.

Ma Shen and Sun Meiqi were singer-songwriters themselves and rarely sang others' songs since their debut.

Therefore, the difficulty for the trainees on these last two songs was immense!

If they composed well, it would be fine, but if they faltered, they wouldn't just lose face themselves; the mentors would be affected too.

Zhu Shao watched everyone's reactions with a smile.

"The show doesn't have on-stage PK, but it does have off-stage competition.

Penguin Music will specially create a 'Best Songwriter' zone.

During the broadcast of the show, these songs will be uploaded to Penguin Music through the method of 'stage rights buyout.'

They will be freely available to the public!

No audio downloads will be provided, only streaming.

Four songs per episode will be voted on by the public, with one vote per IP address.

The production team has already invited notary personnel, and all procedures will be notarized on-site.

The one with the highest cumulative votes will win."

It had to be said, these rules were quite fair.

Even if Lin Fei had high popularity and could help Song Dao garner votes for the last four songs, it would still be difficult for him to win the championship against these three without corresponding good songs.

After the rules were explained, multiple cameras simultaneously zoomed in on the faces of the four mentor-trainee groups present.

Attempting to capture their psychological activities.

The four mentors, even the youngest Sun Meiqi, were seasoned artists, and their facial expressions were perfectly managed.

However, they couldn't help but want to observe the reaction of Lin Fei, the Heavenly Queen who had just made her grand return.

Although not overtly displayed, some interesting details were still captured by the cameras.

For example, stealing glances at Lin Fei from the corner of their eyes.

The production team really knew how to stir things up.

They first invited Ma Shen and Song Dao, who had a bit of a feud.

Although Song Dao's status wasn't high enough, it didn't matter.

He was popular recently!

After so many days, his two sentimental pop songs were still in the top twenty of Penguin Music's three charts.

Everyone in the industry knows how the top ten on the charts really work, so regardless of how the mainstream music scene views Song Dao's two songs, their ability to generate revenue is undeniable.

That's why when Lin Fei proposed having Song Dao participate, the production team agreed without hesitation.

And then they immediately went to invite Ma Shen.

Awkward?

It's supposed to be awkward!

Audiences are tired of the fake pleasantries and superficial harmony these days.

What they want is a public confrontation, a real drama.

Otherwise, where's the entertainment?

Just like how they heavily invested in inviting Lin Fei.

On one hand, they wanted her unbeatable popularity; on the other, they definitely wanted to create buzz!

Don't talk about feelings with capital; they have no bottom line.

If Lin Fei had been afraid to refuse, the production team could have used it for publicity – "We invited her, but she refused."

But would Lin Fei be afraid?

If it were before, she definitely would have been.

It wasn't about being timid.

Everyone has their own specialty. Her talent and ability weren't in songwriting at all. Even if she didn't have to write the songs herself, this kind of program was completely unsuitable for her.

But now, she wasn't afraid at all!

Song Dao didn't need her guidance.

Not only did he not need her guidance, but he could even guide her!

In her opinion, Song Dao participating as a trainee was practically a dimensional reduction attack!

It's a good thing he used the pen name Water Strike Three Thousand to write songs for others, creating five songs he "liked."

If they were all like the ones for Hu Wei and Kong Xi, him participating in this show would feel like bullying.

So the only problem she needed to consider now was--

How to make Song Dao famous without revealing the pen name Water Strike Three Thousand.

As for when this matter is exposed later, she'll have her own defense.

"My Song Dao didn't use those songs to compete against you!"

As the camera zoomed in on Lin Fei's face, the returning young Heavenly Queen wore a perfectly elegant smile.

Her expression was calm and collected.

As for Song Dao, standing behind her... well, the camera panned to him, but quickly moved on.

--At twenty-four that year, standing like a nobody.

E-Network has always been known for its deep pockets.

Huazhou, as the first stop, saw the production team rent an old mansion as the filming location.

The house was spacious enough, with each of the eight guests getting their own room and still having some left over.

The rest of the production staff stayed in nearby hotels.

Aside from the bedrooms, all public areas were pre-equipped with fixed cameras.

The relaxed, casual vacation lifestyle is one of the show's selling points.

Since it's a vacation, the production team wouldn't show signs of deep involvement, nor would there be any tasks, only a simple script.

The guests were to bring their trainees and let them improvise.

Meals, clothing, and transportation were also up to them to choose.

They could create in their rooms, chat with other guests, or go out shopping and buy groceries – anything was fine.

The rules were simple.

They could indulge in romance or live the everyday life.

The main focus was on freedom.

The production team also wasn't worried about a lack of material.

The trainees' creative process alone could fill enough footage.

Combined with scenes of everyone chatting, it would be easy to put together a full episode.

Of course, the most important part was the trainees' creative process.

And their public performance after the songs were completed.

Experienced "veterans" could really make this kind of show shine.

Like causing trouble in various ways--

Struggling to create, pulling hair, staring blankly.

Arguing with mentors based on reason when disagreements arise, even getting emotional and shouting.

Unable to hold back tears of joy when satisfied with a song.

This isn't just talk.

Because someone has already done it.

Ma Shen and his trainee Zhao Qi are both on the second floor.

Their rooms are right next to each other.

Not long after returning to his room, Zhao Qi knocked on Ma Shen's door, excitedly stating he had an idea.

He wanted to discuss it with Teacher Ma.

There were no fixed cameras in the bedroom, so during normal communication like this during the day, a film crew member would follow along.

Thus, the production team quickly captured the first exciting scene--

Zhao Qi showed Ma Shen a short piece of sheet music he had written on his phone, excitedly saying he thought of it on the plane.

His expression was extremely lively, and he spoke eloquently.

Although this kid is a bit effeminate, he's actually got something, and his professional knowledge isn't bad.

Ma Shen nodded repeatedly in response.

Admittedly, the scene presented on camera had quite a good effect.

Among the four young singer-songwriters participating in the show this time, except for Xue Lin, brought by Sun Meiqi, who was a complete newcomer, the other three were already somewhat famous.

Zhong Yutong was a big internet celebrity, and Song Dao... well, according to the show's introduction, he was also an internet celebrity.

Lin Fei didn't correct this.

Only in this way would the show's effect be better.

Zhao Qi's introduction was young singer, lyricist, composer, writer, and actor, giving a feeling of being incredibly versatile.

He was an artist under Qiankun Entertainment, which Ma Shen owned.

Of course, this wouldn't be disclosed publicly.

Using variety shows to promote one's own artists is nothing new these days.

As long as good show effects can be guaranteed, no one will care about these things.

For the audience, as long as the show is entertaining, that's enough.

Everything else is irrelevant.