Chapter 526: Chapter 357: Are Moon Cat Fans Being Treated Like Japanese People?
Baijing International Music Hall.
In the morning, at the main entrance, a crowd surged.
The audience orderly queuing to enter, various media reporters, and participants from all walks of life.
The scene was bustling.
"Welcome, everyone, to the second stage of the 2025 Dragon Violin Cup, the semifinals!"
The livestream had just opened.
The two commentators were already in position, the camera cut to the entrance of the music hall, and the two commentators were already at the commentary booth.
"Hello everyone, we are the duo you’re familiar with, the ’Shuangye Group’! I’m Zhu Ye."
"I’m Fengye."
"Today, we’ll be your commentators for this semifinal!"
The scene transitions.
It cuts to the backstage entrance of the music hall.
This is where the contestants enter.
At this moment, one by one, the contestants, carrying their cellos, were arriving at the venue.
[OMG! My Ze is here!]
Quickly, an eagle-eyed viewer spotted Bai Junze’s figure in the livestream.
He was truly unique.
Among all the contestants entering, he was the only one not wearing a suit or formal attire.
Actually—he was wearing something!
If you consider the floral shirt with a casually knotted black tie and a black coat covering his entire body as a suit.
Walking amidst the crowd, Bai Junze stood out so much that one could instantly spot him.
In the preliminary round, this ensemble had once made the audience find it hilariously funny.
But with his electrifying performance of ’Lan Bo Rhapsody’ on stage, he completely won over all the audience!
This quirky outfit, to be honest.
The more you look at it, the more stylish it becomes!
In everyone’s eyes, he seemed to have been artistically elevated!
[My Ze’s clothing is still as rebellious as ever!]
[Hahaha, did you see that there’s a new bath ticket stuck on his cello case!]
[That’s my Ze, entering competitions just casually, truly living in moderation.]
[To be honest, I’m not interested in the classical versus pop music battle, I just want to see my Ze doing electric welding on stage! Outshine those pretentious players!]
[Go Ze, smash them!]
[.....]
The next contestant, facing the camera.
Came a lady in a black figure-hugging evening gown with a mink wrapped around her arm.
[Ms. Bai Xi!]
A viewer on the comment board instantly shouted out her name.
Her face was immaculately made up, poised, and looking elegant.
Every step exuded the charm of a mature woman.
Even though it was just entering, Bai Xi managed to walk as if she were on a runway, making her appear to be the top model among all the cello players!
[So hot... I really like Ms. Bai!]
[Every time I watch Bai Xi’s performance, I feel like I’m watching a beautiful dance!]
[She’s really beautiful and also strong. Although not as famous as Gan Yanyu, I’ve always felt that Bai Xi’s piano skills are actually superior!]
[Honestly, she’s the only one whose performance makes me think of certain storylines. I always feel she must do something like this or that with the bow in private...]
As soon as this viewer posted the comment, it was immediately blocked by the system.
The next second, he was removed from the livestream room.
"You can tell that the audience’s mood is pretty high today!"
Zhu Ye said with a smile.
With the competition not yet started, just watching the contestants enter has already made the livestream room bustling with excitement.
"No kidding, today is an important match for advancing to the finals, from 50 contestants, only 11 will be left!"
Fengye took the opportunity to inform the audience,
"In the past years, those who made it to the finals have all been outstanding figures in Tian Chao’s cello community, who are listed in the Music Association’s annual TOP10!"
"Indeed, for every cellist, it’s something to be very proud of."
Hearing these words, many in the audience slightly opened their mouths and sighed.
Indeed, this is the Dragon Violin Cup’s finals!
If you can enter the finals, aren’t you already among the top ten in the country?
Even if they don’t win the championship, just reaching the finals is the highest honor for a cellist!
Many newcomers, who just started getting into music competitions this year,
Didn’t have much concept of this "national top ten."
But at least they knew that the popular contestant this year, Bai Xi, seemed to have been stopped in the early rounds in the previous competition.
She’s that strong!
Even a contestant like Bai Xi didn’t manage to reach the finals two years ago.
The thought of this "national TOP10" is quite terrifying.
"Additionally, there’s another point to educate everyone on."
Zhu Ye said,
"In the Dragon Violin Cup semifinals, concerning the advancement list, every judge will be more cautious in scoring."
More cautious in scoring?
Many in the audience found this statement amusing.
Isn’t this obvious?
If you’re on the judging panel, can you not be cautious?
"It’s precisely because of this caution that there might be a misalignment between the perspectives of our judges and the audience... Some performances might seem particularly good to the audience, but may not appear as such from our judges’ professional perspective," Zhu Ye said.
"Yes, like in our last competition, there was such an incident where a contestant’s fan made a scene at the music hall entrance due to dissatisfaction with the judges’ scores," Fengye said with a smile.