Chapter 289: A Person Like Me

The prelude of the song sounded, and the Superstar slowly moved forward, sitting on a chair in the center of the stage.

Everything around was so dim, with only a faint white light focused on him.

His mask itself was a meteorite that looked dull and lusterless; now, combined with the entire stage setup, it made the sense of loneliness and desolation even more intense.

This was a song that everyone felt incredibly unfamiliar with upon seeing the title.

In the bullet comments, some netizens had already searched for the song title, then gave everyone a definitive answer: "It's either an obscure song or a new one!"

This immediately piqued everyone's interest.

Watching the show up to this point, the main draw had been listening to covers of familiar old songs, as well as the disguised identities of the Singers.

Now, with an extra new song, it meant an extra sense of freshness.

"Dreaming back to the King of Love Songs!" some viewers even posted such bullet comments.

The prelude to this song was very simple, without excessive music, only the sound of an electronic keyboard.

The song was titled—"A Person Like Me".

Luo Mo had given Li Junyi a total of ten songs; he had already mastered these ten songs and, with Luo Mo's help, had recorded the studio versions.

According to Luo Mo, he would arrange which song to sing first and which to sing later on the show.

But for the first song, Li Junyi would choose it himself.

He screened through these ten songs and ultimately chose this one that brought him a great sense of resonance—"A Person Like Me".

On Earth, the lyricist, composer, and performer of this song was called Mao Buyi.

A male nurse who fought his way out of "Creating Idols".

Throughout the early stages of the show, there was clearly no intention to promote him; he was just a peripheral figure, a contestant just along for the ride.

If not for the constant support of his mentor, Xue Zhiqian, he would likely have been eliminated early on.

At first, Xue Zhiqian's support even sparked great controversy.

It wasn't until the seventh episode that "Xiao Chou" suddenly emerged!

To what extent did this song become popular that summer?

It could be said that it spread through every street and alley.

You could frequently see friends sharing this song in your social media feed.

"Xiao Chou" caused his popularity to skyrocket, and in the eighth episode, he relied on this song, "A Person Like Me", to once again prove his sustained creative talent.

The success of "Xiao Chou" was no accident; he was indeed an original Singer with substance.

At this moment, on the stage of "Masked Singer", after the prelude ended, Li Junyi, sitting on the high stool, raised the microphone in his hand.

As soon as his voice came out, many people on the professional judging panel showed expressions of confusion.

His voice had a strong sense of storytelling and was highly distinctive, yet it made people feel incredibly unfamiliar.

The singing voice spread throughout the venue; it was a quiet song, yet it gave people a strong sense of immersion.

"A person as excellent as me, should have had a brilliant life,

How is it that after twenty-some years, I am still drifting in the sea of people."

When Li Junyi first received the lyrics, after reading the beginning, his memories began to surge.

He came from a small county, and when he was still young, he had won championships in various talent competitions in the county.

Whether it was Dancing or Singing, he had won first place.

Coupled with his genuine love for the stage, the idea of becoming a professional dancer and professional Singer sprouted.

It was just that in terms of singing, he had undoubtedly taken the wrong path.

In terms of dancing, his talent lay mainly in choreography; it was also by this ability that he attracted Luo Mo's attention during a public performance on "Creating Idols".

He was once a proud person too, feeling that he was very talented.

But later he realized that he was merely a frog at the bottom of a well.

He could at most be considered someone gifted by the heavens, while someone like Tong Shu was truly someone the heavens chased after to feed.

On "Creating Idols", he was already unremarkable in height and appearance, and he instantly became even more indistinguishable from the crowd.

In fact, the reason this song could resonate with so many people was also because many people, when they were young, also felt they were special and not ordinary.

You think highly of yourself, you see yourself as extraordinary.

Then, time and again, you are knocked down by reality and begin to accept your own ordinariness.

The Superstar continued to sing:

"A person as smart as me, long ago said Farewell to innocence.

How is it that I still used a Romance to trade for a body full of scars."

This part of the lyrics was still written very plainly, without any fancy descriptions.

But it once again reflected reality.

Are you the same, when teaching others about Romance, when dealing with others' emotional problems, you talk with such eloquence.

Do you also feel that you understand Romance, that you won't become a slave to Romance, that you won't foolishly disregard everything and act recklessly for the sake of feelings?

But when things actually happen, when everything happens to you, it is a completely different scene.

—You understand the principles, but you just can't do it, damn it!

On the professional judging panel, Lv Yi whispered to the person beside him: "This Singer's voice is very distinctive, and the lyrics of this song are not bad either!"

At this moment, the song entered the chorus section.

The melody of this song did not have major ups and downs; every part followed a heartfelt route.

"A person as lost as me, a person as searching as me.

A person as mediocre as me, how many more have you seen."

Yes, the vast majority of people in this world are ordinary people.

After listening to the A-section of the song, many in the audience realized it in an instant:

"Although this song is called 'Someone Like Me', it is actually singing about the vast majority of us ordinary people; it is singing about a whole group of people!"

Once the first chorus was finished, the song's interlude began to play.

Everyone watched as the Superstar picked up the microphone with both hands, then lowered his head; immediately after, a melodious whistling sound spread throughout the entire venue.

It was strange; a simple whistle seemed to have injected a soul into the entire song!

The bullet comments flooded the screen, containing only two of the most ordinary and simple evaluations—"Sounds great!"

The experts look at the technique, the laymen look at the spectacle.

Ordinary listeners were satisfied just thinking it sounded good, but many of the 40 judges sitting in the professional review section couldn't help but exchange glances.

"A stroke of genius! This whistling is superb!"

"I don't know how it was arranged, but adding this whistle here actually created a sense of an 'interlude kill'."

"Perhaps it's because it's melodic enough, making the sense of immersion even stronger, pulling the whole person right in."

"This Arranger's method is very unique."

Shanghai, Xicheng.

Jiang Ningxi particularly liked this whistling, saying: "It's the first time I've discovered that adding whistling to an interlude could have such a good effect."

"Luo Mo, you are an Arranger master, what do you think?" Shen Yinuo turned to look at Luo Mo.

Luo Mo looked at them, nodded deeply, and said in a tone of praise: "The creator of this song has an extremely high level of skill; they are truly remarkable."

"Ah! Even you think so!" In Xiao Shen's view, if Luo Mo said it was remarkable, then this creator called Earth must be quite remarkable indeed.

——Milk Ball praises Earth.

After a few drum beats, the song transitioned very naturally into the B-section.

That low, warm voice continued to sing:

"【Someone like me who is vulgar, never likes to pretend to be profound,

How is it that when I occasionally hear an old song, I suddenly lose myself.

Someone like me who is cowardly, always holds something back in everything,

How is it that I once thought about being reckless for someone.】"

From this moment on, the overall structure of the lyrics seemed to enter another level.

Yes, we are indeed ordinary, plain people.

But we also have our own stories; perhaps hearing a certain song will suddenly make us remember something, making us recall all sorts of things in life.

Yes, we are indeed ordinary, plain people.

But we also have our own joys, angers, loves, and people we care about. Perhaps at times we are timid, thinking we are mature and smooth in our dealings, but we also have our own principles and people we want to give everything to protect.

The singing voice rose slightly at this moment:

"【Someone like me who is lost, someone like me who is searching.

Someone like me who has achieved nothing, how many more people like me have you seen?

Someone like me who is lonely, someone like me who is foolish,

Someone like me who is unwilling to be ordinary, how many such people are there in the world.】"

Many audience members listening to this song felt an incredibly strong sense of resonance.

It is strange; for some songs, you post in the bullet comments: "Feels like it's singing about me."

After seeing the bullet comment, netizens will reply with two words: "Pretentious!"

But for some songs, you post in the bullet comments: "Feels like it's singing about me."

Netizens will kindly reply: "I Am Also the Same!"

Some excellent creations are just this deep in people's hearts.

It is precisely because of this that there is that classic review: "The song is a good song, it just costs cigarettes."

The entire stage still had no extra light.

Only a dim white light shone on the Superstar.

No stage design, no special effects.

It was as if that dog director Ke Ming was incredibly stingy toward this Singer, unwilling to spend an extra penny on his stage.

But in reality, such a song, paired with such an extremely simple stage, produced an extraordinary effect.

Aren't many people just like this? We are too ordinary, too dim, so we are always ignored and unable to be seen.

At this moment, the audience suddenly remembered the Superstar's Motto, the parting words his boss gave him:

——Go and shine, instead of being illuminated.

This lonely star in the universe began to be seen by people for the first time.

At this point, the song had entered its closing section.

One saw the Superstar singing with his head lowered:

"【Someone like me who is inexplicable, will there be anyone... who feels heartache.】"

A song "Someone Like Me" ended just like that.

No overly sorrowful singing, no overly sentimental melody.

On the contrary, the entire singing style and the Singer's vocal timbre gave people a sense of warmth and storytelling.

It was as if on a winter afternoon, in the warm sun, you were listening to the radio.

The lyrics of this song are a bit Punishing the Heart.

This is a song that hits close to home.

Because for the vast majority of people in the world, just being a good ordinary person already requires one to give their all.

So, which type of person are you, as Singing in this song?

(PS: First update, requesting monthly votes!)

(End of this chapter)