Chapter 52: Balloon Challenge

In Qin Prefecture, even though the mention of February sends shivers down the spines of singers, for fans, it's a month to eagerly anticipate. February always brings forth some fantastic new songs, especially now during the winter break when students have ample time on their hands.

On this night, as January transitions into February, music enthusiasts, the nocturnal creatures of Qin Prefecture, collectively mobilize. The streaming traffic on various music platforms in Qin Prefecture peaks, and the new songs promoted that night enjoy a remarkably high listenership.

After perusing the promotional lists, someone in a small circle remarks, "Jiang Kui has released a new song! Promoted by Dami Music!"

[]: "Who is Jiang Kui?"

[]: "The one who sang 'Big Fish.'"

[]: "Oh, the girl with the beautiful voice!"

[]: "What's the song title? I'll give it a listen."

[]: "It's called 'Balloon.'"

[]: "'Call Balloon'? Bringing back the VillageNet meme from eighty years ago."

[]: "...?"

While many may not recognize Jiang Kui by name, mentioning "Big Fish" triggers recognition among the audience. This song has gained popularity among the younger demographic.

Out of curiosity and respect for "Big Fish," many are willing to give Jiang Kui's new song a chance. They click on "Balloon."

To the surprise of many listeners, the opening notes include a distinct, unedited deep inhalation.

"Isn't this too deliberate?"

This is the initial reaction for many. The audience doesn't necessarily dislike breathy vocals, but they find this presentation overly exaggerated. After all, it's just singing—why put in so much effort?

However, before they could pause the playback, the next segment of the song catches numerous headphone-wearing listeners off guard: 

"Black ones, white ones, red ones, yellow ones

Purple ones, green ones, blue ones, gray ones

Yours, mine, his, hers

Big ones, small ones, round ones, flat ones

Good ones, bad ones, beautiful ones, ugly ones

New ones, old ones, of all styles

Of all designs for you to choose from..."

What on earth?

In that instant, many feel breathless and subconsciously join the singer in taking a deep breath.

"Hiss."

The singer takes another deep breath, this time with a rich variation in melody, accompanied by the rapid beats of a piano resembling drumbeats. 

"Flying very high, the farther the better

When the string is cut it dies

Such a brief life, as long as it's happy

As long as it likes it, it's not a big deal

As it changes, with time, it becomes smaller

It's near death but still very proud..."

What on earth is this?

Many are dumbfounded.

The voice in their headphones continues effortlessly, "If you don't want to say it, then don't say it again. I don't want to hear it. If you don't want to listen anymore, treat all promises like balloons—let them go. I don't care, won't care, let it go, let it go."

The chorus concludes here.

At this moment, many people unexpectedly felt a sense of relief, and no one thought that the singer's deep breath at the beginning was intentional. Damn, this song seems to be born to challenge the singer's lung capacity!

[]: "Feeling sorry for the singer..."

In the music chat group, someone suddenly said this, and at this moment, the song in their ears entered a soothing phase: "Balloons float into the clouds, float into the wind, ending their lives; balloons float into love, float into the heart, slowly dying."

[]: "Add one to feeling sorry for the singer!"

[]: "Is this song just showing off vocal skills?"

[]: "No, purely showing off lung capacity."

[]: "Um, I suggest you guys try singing along..."

[]: "Hahaha, after the first chorus, my brain is seriously lacking blood supply. No, no, I need to take a break."

[]: "I can't sing it either."

[]: "I run out of breath later on."

[]: "..."

At this moment, a group member jokingly said, "According to expert studies, those who can't sing the first line of 'Balloon' in one breath are all deficient in kidney energy."

Upstairs, a group of people swiftly retracted their messages.

[]: "I can do it!"

[]: "I can too!"

[]: "No problem!"

Everyone felt like they could do it again.

Many even posted self-destructive trial singing voice messages, singing the first part of this song.

Moreover, everyone, involuntarily, took a deep breath at the beginning.

In terms of melody, this song is still easy to remember; you can roughly sing it after listening casually.

However, in ninety percent of the voice messages, the disaster occurred later on, making listeners suspect that this person might faint due to lack of oxygen.

[]: "Laughing to death."

[]: "After listening to you guys sing, I really want to call an ambulance for you."

[]: "It sounds like I can do it too, but if I really sing it, I might die. Lowering the key might have hope."

[]: "Well, I really can't do it."

[]: "Nowadays, to be a singer, you have to learn how to hold your breath first, right?"

[]: "..."

The discussion in the group was particularly lively, and soon the comments section of the song became lively too: "This song can defeat all the fake karaoke masters on KTV!"

[]: "This song can only be sung at noon because you'll run out of breath in the morning and evening."

[]: "I'm a broadcasting teacher, and I think I can give my students a good lesson tomorrow."

[]: "I want to learn this song and show off at the karaoke when school starts!"

[]: "Well, you better forget about learning this song if you don't have a lung capacity of four to five thousand."

[]: "No, you need lungs all the way down to your neck to sing this."

[]: "This song should be called 'Hypoxia,' I think."

[]: "I feel like 'Breathless' would be a more fitting title for this song."

[]: "Wow, the first line almost took me away. After singing it, life seemed meaningless."

[]: "..."

The focus of everyone shifted from how the song was to the difficulty of singing it and their own experiences after attempting it.

Some said, "Listening to a song is about emotion."

Yet, this song turned the listeners into participants.

And when the time came the next day,

The first thing Old Zhou did when he arrived at the company was to open the February new song chart, only to find 'Balloon' ranked seventh!

What's going on?

Did my eyes deceive me?

Old Zhou's first suspicion was actually his own eyes because February, like December, was the season of deathmatch!

As for why February was the season of the deathmatch?

Just look at the lineups of each company in February, and it becomes clear at a glance.

There were a total of twelve top-tier singers on the list.

Including two kings and one queen!

But on this star-studded list, Jiang Kui, a relatively new artist, sang 'Balloon' and ranked seventh!

"Oh my god..."

How much impact did Jiang Kui make?

In terms of quality, 'Balloon' is not bad, but these February singers are tough opponents. Isn't this result too exaggerated?

Just then,

Old Zhou heard someone in the department shout, "Look! Xianyu's new song is trending!"

Old Zhou quickly opened the tribe.

Tribe is a social media and networking platform based on user relationship information sharing, and it's also the hottest social platform in Qin Prefecture. Only topics with extremely high popularity can make it to the trending list!

But at this moment,

Old Zhou was in the tenth place on the tribe trending list, the last one on the topic list, and saw a related topic for 'Balloon':

#BalloonChallenge

Opening the topic, he found that it was full of short video shares. Many users, including some music anchors, were attempting the challenging task of singing the new song 'Balloon.'

Some breezed through it.

Some sang until they ran out of breath.

But without exception, every tribe owner participating in this challenge received considerable attention, and fans were highly enthusiastic about their comments on this challenge.

"What are you still staring at!"

And at this moment in the vocal department, Zhao Jue almost roared at his sub-agents, "Have your artists immediately participate in the 'Balloon' challenge in the tribe!"