Li Zihang had been firmly in first place since the top ten competition, but Ye Cang caught up rapidly in the later stages. From the first match, Ye Cang's support rate was less than one-tenth of Li Zihang's, but he made great strides all the way up. By the end of the last match, the two had very close online support rates, and Ye Cang's votes were growing extremely fast. The gap between the two was constantly narrowing, and Li Zihang's fans voted desperately for him, barely managing to maintain his lead.
At this moment, in the screenshot of the online support rate displayed on the big screen, Li Zihang and Ye Cang's support rates were almost tied, with only a three-vote difference. However, Li Zihang still gained the qualification to choose the order of appearance because of this slight difference of three votes.
Li Zihang chose to go on stage first, and the host asked him why.
Li Zihang smiled helplessly, "I'm afraid that after watching Ye Cang's performance, I won't have the confidence to sing my own songs anymore."
For the usually confident Li Zihang to say something like that, it's clear how much Ye Cang's performance in the previous round had affected him. And only then did the audience realize that Li Zihang was actually singing an original song in this round as well.
It's not their fault. Since the start of the competition, Li Zihang has consistently remained in the upper echelons. Although he is perceived as very strong by the public, he does lack a certain level of anticipation.
Now that Ye Cang's "The World After Death" has set a high bar, viewers who have already enjoyed the masterpiece will naturally have higher expectations for Li Zihang.
Although Li Zihang said he lacked confidence, he was actually quite confident in the song he was going to sing.
When he told Ye Cang that he was already preparing a new album, he wasn't joking. The song he's about to sing is the title track of his new album.
Li Zihang is not the kind of person who makes decisions on a whim. Ever since he decided to pursue music, he has been preparing for it. He has been working on this song for several years, and it is the trump card he chose for this competition.
So the audience, who were still feeling lingering fear after watching "The World After Death," were once again filled with excitement under Li Zihang's influence, their excited voices seemingly about to shatter the entire studio.
When Li Zihang, covered in sweat, finished his performance.
The bigwigs in the guest seats looked at each other in bewilderment.
Bai Lin: "Are all kids these days this scary?"
Fan Jing: "Sigh, with all this going up and down, the old man's heart can't take it."
Lu Zhenzhen: "This year's Best Newcomer award is going to be quite competitive."
Chang Min: "...I don't want to talk, I'm exhausted."
Two consecutive amazing songs and two consecutive high-quality performances not only caused the ratings of "The Rising Star" to soar, but also drove the live stream chat crazy.
[It's like gods are fighting!!!!]
【Aaaaaaah, Li Zihang and Ye Cang! These two are treasures!! Why did you two have to appear on the same show?!】
My hands are trembling; I don't know whose side to support!
Who can understand this bittersweet choice?
[I never expected Li Zihang's original songs to be so good! He's so charismatic on stage, Ye Cang is in a bit of trouble.]
[Oh! What a pity for Ye Cang. He should have saved "The World After Death" for this round; if he had, they would have won!]
[Maybe Ye Cang's next song will be great too, don't make a decision so soon.]
[Impossible! The music scene might not produce a song of this quality even once a year. It's worthy of being a contender for Best Song. Even a genius wouldn't produce something this cheap!]
[I don't believe it! There must be someone better, Cangcang! Go for it, Cangcang!]
Amidst the chaos, Ye Cang walked onto the stage against the light.
The light screen in front of him was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. His journey from darkness to light was a reflection of his life.
For him, the most unbearable thing was not the loneliness in the darkness, but the thought that he would never be able to step onto the stage again. He had broken down at first. Immortality was not God's mercy to him, but punishment.
But when he saw the light again, and even had the opportunity to stand on the stage and sing again, the pain and torment of the past seemed to become insignificant in an instant. He understood the preciousness of life more than anyone else, and cherished this opportunity to live more than anyone else.
Ye Cang stood in the center of the stage, but the lights did not dim. Instead, starting with the light above his head, the lights extended outwards, creating a dazzling display, like a star-studded night sky.
Ye Cang held the microphone and looked in a certain direction below the stage. In fact, he couldn't see the audience below the stage very clearly, but he had a strange intuition that Shen Huai was standing in that position.
The audience in that area immediately erupted in cheers.
Standing in the crowd, Shen Huai's gaze seemed to meet Ye Cang's through the throng. Although Ye Cang quickly looked away, Shen Huai's heart began to pound uncontrollably.
Ye Cang closed his eyes.
A harp appeared on the other side of the stage and plucked the first note, and a smooth and gentle melody flowed from the strings.
However, the audience was somewhat agitated.
Chang Min exclaimed in surprise, "This song..."
Fan Jing relaxed his brow: "It's completely different in style from the previous song, hmm... that's interesting."
As the experts have said, the main tone of this song is warm and peaceful, completely different from the intense and oppressive "The World After Death," making it almost unbelievable that it was written by the same person.
The arrangement, primarily featuring piano and violin, possesses an extremely rich layering, seemingly encompassing the joys and sorrows of life while leaving a warm aftertaste.
Although the song is titled "Long Night," it is not actually dark. Instead, it is like the joy of seeing the sunrise after a long night.
A new world, a new life.
If "The Afterlife" is about going from life to death, reaching the extreme of oppression, then "The Long Night" is about going from death to life, bringing new hope.
As the camera panned across the audience, many viewers unconsciously smiled, while others shed tears in a daze. Even the host couldn't help but rub his eyes.
The huge studio was so quiet that only the singing could be heard, and even the live stream chat was much quieter.
As the last note faded, Ye Cang put down the microphone. The immense emptiness that surged through his heart made him momentarily disoriented, and he almost instinctively looked in Shen Huai's direction.
Just then, a thunderous applause drew his attention back to the scene.
The entire audience stood up and applauded, including several bigwigs in the guest seats.