Chapter 96: Stage Performance

for her opportunity. She watches as she gets older day by day with no sign of debuting.She watched as the person who was rumored to never practice and got promoted through nepotism became increasingl..."Hurry, hurry!"

With the momentum of a 100-meter race, Chi Jingyuan ran all the way to the backstage resting room. His assistant, who had been waiting there with his stage outfit, immediately approached him as soon as he arrived.

Several assistants worked together, taking off their jackets and shoes. Though they seemed hurried, their movements were orderly and well-coordinated.

For this scene, Chi Jingyuan had practiced changing clothes with them several times beforehand in order to make the switch as fast as possible.

It took him forty or fifty seconds to change his clothes. He switched from a black suit to a bright red stage outfit. Ji Jingyuan looked at himself in the mirror, and two young female assistants quickly helped him check for any problems.

After everything was checked, a full minute had passed. Ji-Seong immediately started sprinting towards the entrance where the members would appear on stage. By the time he reached them, the screens outside had already started playing EXO's VCR.

Their VCR was just an introduction to EXO's second planet and their special abilities, which looked pretty embarrassing anyway.

"Hahaha..."

Seeing Ji Jingyuan panting, he quickly took the empty seat. The several members around who had been anxiously waiting and looking towards the backstage direction looked at each other and smiled. At the same time, they breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Ji Jingyuan had made it in time.

"No more laughing, let's begin."

After Kim Jun Myeon's hint, everyone shut their mouths. Ji Kyung Yuan pursed his lips, panting from running too fast, his chest heaving and a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

As the VCR ended and the crowd erupted in cheers, EXO’s stage officially began.

The opening performance was specially designed, based on the EXO concept where each member has a symbol representing themselves. This opening utilized this concept.

At the start, the entire stage plunged into darkness, with only silhouettes faintly visible. Twelve patterns on the floor emitted a soft white glow, arranged in a perfect circle shape like a clock face. The members were crouched beside their respective patterns, heads bowed and right hands raised, forming a flawless circle that exuded a strong sense of ritual.

"Careless, Careless"

"Shoot an anonyo, anonyo."

At the same time, the prelude of "MAMA" sounded, like a religious song with a strong sense of mystery, echoing with EXO's opening and creating a very intense atmosphere.

Immediately, as the members slowly stood up, the lights came on.

Many viewers were surprised when they saw Ji Jingyuan. He was just on stage in a black suit accepting an award and giving a speech, but the next second he changed his clothes and went up to perform.

Many people watched Ji Jingyuan, whispering to his friends on either side, and the director gave him a close-up at just the right moment, causing an uproar.

My teammates went all out for the stage effect. They were basically all wearing heavy makeup, and their hairstyles were styled to be voluminous and held in place with hairspray. It was pretty exaggerated and dramatic, and many of them even wore dark eyeshadow.

Only Chi Jingyuan seemed different, looking fresh and clean, somewhat out of place.

Fortunately, his part on this stage isn't large. Most of the time, he stands on the side and dances in unison with the rest. His impact on the overall performance is negligible.

Twelve members, Team K all dressed in bright red, while Team M wore deep black with sequins adorning their outfits.

To cater to the audience on Hong Kong Island, the first half of the lyrics is entirely in Summer Cantonese.

After the choreography was revised, the focus of the stage shifted to M team and K team's main dancers, namely Kim Jong-in and Oh Se-hun.

The other four members of K Team mostly stand on the left and right sides, rarely getting center camera shots, so they are considered high-level backup dancers.

Although this song has few fans on the peninsula itself, many people in Hong Kong, China, actually like it quite a lot. The cheers from the audience are constant below.

After more than 3 minutes on stage, the lights went out. The members stood in a circle again in the middle of the stage. At this time, a clock appeared on the floor, accompanied by the clear sound of mechanical operation of the hands. The music from "Descendants of Warriors" began to play.

The prelude is a little eerie, making you feel uneasy. However, it quickly transitions into a powerful chorus with a strong rhythm. The EXO members start moving rhythmically to the music.

The director was very interesting, during EXO's performance, they often gave special shots to Ji Chang Wook, then cut the camera to Jung Eunji in the artist seat, using the popularity of the "Reply" CP was very obvious.

Jung Eon-ji is also very face-saving, whether or not there's a camera looking, she always looks very immersed. She smiles happily and waves her hands vigorously, and her body sways to the rhythm constantly. Her performance is really great.

The descendants of warriors, time jumps are very short, less than thirty seconds, the stage quickly ended, the lights dimmed again.

As the stage lights dimmed, six members of the first VER group quickly scurried to the right side of the stage. Just as they settled into their positions and struck their poses, a spotlight shone down on them. The music for "The Incantation" began to play.

This classic hit from TVXQ immediately sparked cheers from the crowd, even some viewers who weren't into EXO started cheering along.

"I got you…"

"Underysk"

Because it's a ver stage, so it directly starts from the second chorus, and it comes up with Hightide (gaochao) right away.

The members of the "咒文" dance group have been dancing since their EXO days, and they've practiced together recently as well. It's a very familiar dance to them. The members' movements on stage are neat and orderly, looking very coordinated. The three red and three black costumes are also quite distinctive.

Soon, Ji Jingyuan's high-pitched part will come.

"Yeah, I will have you."

"You know you got it." After singing that line, Ji Jingyuan didn't join the synchronized dance. Instead, he walked two steps to the left and waved lightly before starting to sing: "Yeah~~~~~~whh!"

"eoneon"

The elongated 'yeah' sung with a high pitch sounded pleasant and powerful. Chi Jingyuan's voice was bright, even at a high note it wasn't harsh, but rather the transparent sound gave a shocking feeling, making goosebumps appear faintly.

And when Chi Jingyuan sang high notes, his expression wasn't ferocious, just slightly excited. His body movements were also limited, just waving his arms simply. Overall, he gave the impression of being relaxed and in control.

Needless to say, the audience's enthusiastic response was evident. Many of the artists in the seats below were visibly surprised, clearly astonished by Chi Jingyuan's singing prowess.

This is not a "flawless" high note achieved in the studio through countless takes, with others providing backing vocals and audio engineers meticulously editing it. This is the live stage at an awards ceremony where the microphone was open, and the high note is stable and accurate to this degree. It's rare, to say the least, especially among idols. I can't think of many who can match this level of performance.

Many artists were truly shocked, their eyes wide open and mouths slightly agape in a "wo" shape. This wasn't part of their usual act, either, because the director had already cut to f(x) now.

First release on the Traditional Chinese Novel Network.nodded again and didn't pay any more attention, his gaze swept over the four female trainees as if acknowledging their presence, then a smile appeared, squinting his eyes, he patted Ji-seong's shoulde...