47 First Round (2)

Following the drawing of slips, both Aika and Emma's group had chosen to stay as Ezekiel had recommended. Soon, everyone made their way inside to the same room as they had been in the previous day, but this time there were seats available for the waiting contestants and groups and names were posted on a screen above the stage. Instead of going in order of number this time, it was a traditional tournament style and showed who was against who.

On the screen separate from the other 8 participants were Aika's name as well as Emma, Rose, and Samantha under the group name 'Royal Harmony'. Curious, Aika looked at who was against who and saw that Zachary was first against someone with the nickname "Melon", and following that was someone named Jonah against some Tiffany. When she looked at the team names shown on the other side, Aika nearly broke out in laughter instantly and had to bite her cheeks to contain herself.

First up on the list was Dark Bats against the Old Men. The names felt like they were picked by kindergartners and she honestly couldn't believe anyone would willingly pick those names for themselves. The other two were slightly less ridiculous, but she still could barely believe people picked them. They were the group of six apparently known as 'Lazy' and the animal headband duo with the name 'Angry Animals'...

Being careful to not let her amusement show on her face, Aika made her way to the seating for contestants and immediately sat down in the seat on the very end. Although it had a slightly worse view than the others, it had the added benefit on not being cramped among a bunch of people just to see slightly better, especially considering there were screens displaying everything live.

Several minutes later, the individual called Melon was called up to the stage and up walked a girl wearing the colors of a watermelon from her shoes to her nails and even her hair. Her performance was somewhat lacking though she had a good voice and it was clear why she had been passed to the first round. Even though they knew she performed average at best and had the fashion sense of a two year old, her voice alone was enough to push her through the entrance competition.

When she finished, the judges took a couple minutes to discuss with one another and then prepared to rate her performance. The first to speak was Jazi Smith, a retired idol and the owner of QL. "Well... You have a very beautiful voice, Melon. However..." She simply gestured vaguely up and down with her hand and went back to silence.

Following her was Joseph who frowned and was clearly displeased with Jazi's attitude, "Yes, like Jazi said, we all think you have quite the lovely voice, but your performance itself could use a lot of work and... well, anything more depends on how Zachary does in a couple minutes."

The last judge, Timothy Mawyer who often worked with idols to produce their music videos and made full length movies occasionally, nodded his head in agreement but didn't say anything.

Shortly after, Zachary was called up and managed to do even better than he had the day before. His looks that focused on cuteness were emphasized perfectly by his style and the song he picked worked very well with the way he acted and looked, almost as if it was tailored to fit him.

Unlike the time before, the first one to speak was Timothy. "Zachary... just, wow. You chose the perfect song for yourself and performed it extremely well. For someone new to the industry, I'm extremely impressed and can't wait to see where you end up in a couple years."

Following him was Joseph who seemed extremely pleased, "Zachary, Zachary... what can I say? Normally, I'd be pretty upset that there was a new male idol entering the scene, but luckily, we've got pretty different styles so I'm not. I'm pretty excited for a new face as well." When he finished speaking, he winked and earned a few laughs around the room.

Jazi ran him over with her eyes several times and nodded to herself, "If the whole idol thing gets boring, and I'm not saying if it doesn't work out because it will work out and you just showed us all that, come model QL's male line for us some time..."

Finally, Melon was called back on to the stage for the results to be officially announced although everyone knew exactly what they were, even Melon herself. Ezekiel walked up onto the stage from the side and smiled at them. "You are both incredible to have been 1 of 10 entrants selected out of 100, but only one of you can move to the finals along with Aika over there. The judges have told me their decision," he nodded at the judges and they nodded back, "And Melon, I'm afraid to say you won't be moving to the finals. We at the Newpark Competition wish you the best of luck in the future, but I'm afraid your time here ends just after the entrance competition."