Chapter 677: Freeze
[Chapter 677: Stuck]
As the rapid drumbeats of the British-style military band echoed, the camera started to cut quickly between the bustling backstage, the glamorous venue, and the impressive lineup of guests, all presented to viewers at home. With the introduction from the crew in the earpiece, the Victoria's Secret models, dressed in gorgeous angel costumes, officially appeared on television screen for countless households.
After enduring the commercial break between two programs, much of the 56 million viewers who had tuned in for the final episode of Survivor drifted away, leaving only around 35 million.
Although the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show had undergone six months of continuous promotion and was personally handled by Eric Williams, who had created a series of box office miracles, the average audience still subconsciously felt that fashion shows were too far removed from their own lives. Many switched channels, and those viewers who remained on ABC were either genuinely interested in the annual spectacle or simply curious about Eric's production, ready to change the station at the slightest hint of disappointment.
However, just a minute into the program, the intense atmosphere created by the drumbeats, earpiece chatter, and quick cuts had locked in most hesitant viewers. When the first punk rock song played, the adrenaline from the high-energy music and the stunning supermodels surged through many audience members.
As the British Invasion segment wrapped up, viewers across America seemed to just grasp what was happening, sparking discussions among families or friends.
...
In an apartment in Midtown Manhattan, two best friends named Charlotte and Alice, who had previously bumped into Eric at a disco in the Upper East Hydee, were no longer the fresh-faced girls they once were. After a few years of working experience, both had grown into professionals within Manhattan's elite workforce, having moved from a corner tenement to their current high-rise office living arrangements. However, due to the indelible impression left by their encounter with Eric, they had closely followed him over the years. When they found out that the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show would air tonight, they settled in front of the TV early.
As the pulse of the punk rock music reached its climax, Charlotte, with her long hair and sizzling personality, hugged a cushion tightly and exclaimed, "Absolutely stunning! The music is great too. Eric is such a genius! Alice, I wish I could step onto that stage, especially in that butterfly angel outfit -- do you know what that Victoria's Secret angel's name is?"
"Stephanie Seymour! Didn't you catch the gossip a while back? She replaced Heidi Klum because Heidi got booted from the show for her big mouth. I bet she regrets it now," Alice, no longer the shy girl from her encounter with Eric, responded excitedly. Her interest in fashion had far surpassed that of her more laid-back friend, and her eyes remained glued to the TV screen. She continued with enthusiasm, "Charlotte, did you notice the third outfit? The one with the pink fringe? Let's check out the Victoria's Secret flagship store on Fifth Avenue tomorrow. I want that outfit!"
Charlotte recalled the outfit and said, "Oh, that one! If they sold it, I would definitely buy it. But these runway pieces usually take months to hit stores."
Feeling a bit disappointed, Alice remembered the on-screen captions at the start of the show, "Didn't they say you could participate online via Yahoo? Maybe we could check when those new items are released."
Eagerly, Alice jumped up and hurried to the computer desk in the corner of the living room to log on to the IBM desktop they had bought together. She quickly accessed Yahoo.
At that moment, Yahoo's homepage prominently featured a special section dedicated to the Victoria's Secret Show. Alongside the popular angel voting page, there were direct links to the official website and the Yahoo forum's discussion section. Alice hesitated briefly, logged into her Yahoo account, and was about to check the discussion board for user comments when Charlotte leaned over, pointing at the voting link, "Hey, Alice! Let's go to that page. I want to vote for Stephanie Seymour!"
Reluctantly, Alice clicked on the voting page and noticed that the most popular angel, Diane Kruger, had already amassed over 9,000 votes in just a few minutes. Cindy Crawford, in second place, was close to 8,000 votes.
"Wow, in less than ten minutes? That's crazy!" Charlotte exclaimed as she saw that Stephanie Seymour had garnered 1,355 votes. The total for the forty supermodels was already more than 130,000 votes within the ten minutes the voting had been open.
Alice pointed to a note on the page, "Check out the voting rules -- they have prizes! Each Yahoo account can cast one vote per day for their favorite Victoria's Secret angel, and they randomly select 1,000 winners to receive a boxed edition of the Victoria's Secret Show on VHS or a $29.99 discount coupon for the Victoria's Secret store."
"1,000 winners? That means our odds are pretty good!" Charlotte said, using Alice's account to cast her vote for Stephanie Seymour. After voting, she heard the ping of Yahoo's email client, but instead of checking Alice's inbox, she switched to her account to vote again, saying, "Hey, what if we registered 100 accounts? Wouldn't that boost our chances?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Didn't you see the fine print? Anyone who registered after December 6th can't participate."
"That's such a bummer," Charlotte pouted. After voting, she dashed to the sofa, picked up the phone, and dialed her friends to rally them to participate in voting. Living in a metropolis like Manhattan, her friends had been exposed to the recently emerged internet.
Once Alice noticed that her friend had moved away, she focused on the second themed segment on TV and casually clicked on the Victoria's Secret discussion board on Yahoo. She found the discussion area buzzing, with pinned posts racking up thousands of replies. She quickly made a post of her own and turned back to continue watching the live broadcast, only to find her post already buried by the fifth page after just a minute or two of refreshing.
...
While Alice and Charlotte were two best friends deeply engrossed in the lingerie show, another large segment of the audience was just as captivated by the opening music of My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark.
In Miami, Florida, a seaside bar was hosting a birthday party for the lead singer of a rising underground band. The crowd was filled with edgy rockers, resulting in the bar being awash in noise as they celebrated, with some embracing each other to the point of blurring gender lines, while others sang into the mic, lost in their own world. Even an array of hookahs were being passed around.
The bar's tattooed owner, Jay, seemed unfazed by the chaotic scene and hadn't the slightest intention of intervening. He stayed behind the bar, watching the last episode of Survivor on the mounted TV.
After Survivor ended, Jay intended to change the channel just as the birthday boy, Dominic, approached the bar looking for a drink. With no choice, Jay abandoned his plan and prepared a drink for Dominic, but when he turned back, he noticed Dominic staring at the TV in a daze. Jay strained to hear the muffled sound from the TV in the noisy bar and caught a glimpse of Dominic's vacant expression. With a teasing smirk, he slid the drink toward Dominic while loudly noting, "These chicks are hot, huh?"
Dominic jolted, as if awakened by Jay's voice. He spun around, shouting something to the chaotic bar, but received little response.
Surprised by Dominic's loud call, Jay raised an eyebrow and casually offered a bottle of liquor from the bar, saying, "Why not try this?"
Dominic took the full champagne bottle and hefted it in his hand before suddenly slamming it onto the floor. The bottle exploded with a thunderous crash, drawing everyone's attention.
"I said, shut the hell up!" Dominic roared, and the bar fell silent. The rock music from the television shattered all previous distractions, quickly flooding the venue.
...
All the writers keep writing what they writeSomewhere another pretty vein just diesI've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could seeThat you're the antidote to everything, except for meA constellation of tears on your lashesBurn everything you loveThen burn the ashesIn the end everything collidesMy childhood spat back out the monster that you seeMy songs know what you did in the dark
[T/N: My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) by Fall Out Boy]
...
As the music from the TV faded, someone in the quiet bar suddenly exclaimed, "Now this is punk!"
Meanwhile, leaning against the bar, Dominic was filled with nostalgia as the television played a blaring performance, reigniting his long-buried passion for music. He felt a tinge of the innocence he had when he got his first guitar at thirteen, glancing at the colorful characters around him and reflecting on the years gone by, a gleam of insight flashing in his eyes, giving way to sudden sadness.
Recalling the music just played, Dominic realized that aside from a few notes and lyrics he had jotted down, he knew nothing more about the song. He turned to the crowd, "Hey, anyone know which band this is?"
No one responded right away, but after a moment, a freckled kid stepped forward shyly. Dominic recognized this guy, Simmons, as a recent addition to their circle. The kid seemed to come from a good background but had ventured into the scene out of curiosity.
"Nick, I read about this in last month's Rolling Stone. The magazine's founder, Jann Wenner, specifically mentioned this year's Victoria's Secret Show theme music in an article. Apparently, all these bands are newcomers on the Interscope label, but they haven't released their singles or albums yet, and Interscope hasn't disclosed their information. However, Wenner mentioned they'd perform another song that's even more shocking next," Simmons explained, sounding a bit sheepish as he spoke. In his mind, surrounded by rock lovers, he expected them to be well aware of Rolling Stone but hadn't realized many hadn't touched a magazine in years.
Hearing Simmons mention there was another song, Dominic's eyes lit up. He urged, "Do you have more info on this band?"
Simmons considered for a moment, then replied, "Not really, but since the show is airing now, the music discussion board on Yahoo should have some updates because that site is also funded by Eric Williams."
Dominic instinctively asked, "Yahoo? What is that?"
Simmons blinked in surprise but patiently explained. After listening, Dominic asked the crowd, "Who has a computer? Can I use it?"
"Nick, I have one at home," Simmons replied. "And my parents are out tonight; you can come over."
Dominic nodded, feeling eager to get moving and quickly stood up. However, recalling Simmons' previous statement and glancing back at the ongoing broadcast, he waved to the crowd, "Alright, let's wrap it up for tonight. Everyone else, clear out. Simmons, let me catch the next song from that band before heading to your place."
...
While most people were enjoying the extravagant lingerie fashion show, a handful of conservatives were shaking their heads at the edgy content of the Victoria's Secret display on TV. Thomas Pecker, a well-known political commentator for The New York Times, had just watched the show with his enthusiastic family. However, when revealing Angels appeared on his screen, he hurried his middle school children to their rooms, then grumbled at the television, "This is absurd. How could ABC allow this on public television?"
His wife, however, was much calmer in her assessment. "I think it's alright; who said public TV couldn't show lingerie?"
"But this... is different. The sexual innuendo is far too strong, and this music? No way can we tolerate this! I'm writing the FCC a complaint tomorrow -- no! I'm going to do it now!" With that, Thomas went off to his study, much to his wife's exasperation.
...
While millions of viewers had differing opinions on the Victoria's Secret Show, one thing was certain: it had a firm grip on many people's attention. Eric initially thought the viewership numbers would drop from the 35 million after its debut. However, he had to admit that he had underestimated the potential of the Victoria's Secret Show, as its viewership jumped by an impressive 6 million, elevating the ratings to 41 million.
In the conference room of ABC, everyone was elated about the unexpected surge in viewership numbers. ABC President Robert Iger had hoped to capitalize on the lead-in from the Survivor finale by selecting a summer blockbuster from Interscope for the time slot, ensuring a steady viewership around 40 million and maximizing advertising revenue. Until now, he had harbored some dissent towards Eric's insistence on airing the Victoria's Secret Show, but he no longer felt resistant. Instead, Robert found himself with newfound admiration and trust for Eric.
On the other side of the desk, five Victoria's Secret representatives had turned their attention to the popular angel voting page. They watched as the total number of votes surpassed 500,000 in just over half an hour. Despite maintaining an air of composure, the joy on their faces was hard to conceal.
Though they were top models in the fashion industry, this was their first time experiencing such widespread attention from the general public. High popularity naturally meant high rewards for commercial endorsements, leaving them elated about the next stages of their careers.
Cindy Crawford watched as Diane Kruger climbed to nearly 50,000 votes. Though she was only 3,000 votes behind, she couldn't hide her jealousy. She knew the three other girls were likely thinking the same; if they weren't all gathered around her, she would have logged into her Yahoo account and voted for herself, likely even reached out to some folks to help boost her votes.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Cindy glanced up at Eric and noticed Tyra Banks, who had already surpassed 32,000 votes. Doubts began to flicker in her mind; while Tyra was one of the five key models promoted, Cindy couldn't shake the feeling that Tyra's racial background -- though lighter-skinned and very appealing -- might lessen her chances of reaching that many votes. Perhaps there were some behind-the-scenes dealings at play.
Having lost track of time, Cindy realized Eric had noticed her glancing his way. He lifted his gaze, meeting her eyes with a look as if he could see into her thoughts. Feeling slightly guilty, Cindy quickly lowered her head but muttered to herself, "Really? It's not like I'm doing anything wrong, why should I feel nervous?"
With some self-assurance, Cindy raised her head once more, only to find Eric had turned away to chat with Robert Iger.
Just when she was about to look away, Cindy noticed Emily Brighton suddenly perk up, exclaiming, "Eric! Why did the discussion page for Victoria's Secret just freeze?"
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.