Chapter 1303: Voice of Nihon

Once Ma Sai's birthday passed, it was the middle of the month. The autumn chill became more obvious, and even little Xia Hua put on thick cotton clothes and shoes, no longer able to run around barefoot on the floor~

The Tokyo International Film Festival had already ended, and the lively film festival activities gradually faded away, but the foreign tourists attracted by it just happened to catch the autumn leaf hunting, preparing to go to Kyoto and other places to have a look...

The entertainment industry these past few days hadn't been peaceful. The list for the Red and White Song Contest had been announced, and Akina Mori, who had been popular throughout the second half of the year relying on "Shipwreck" and performing on the same stage with Michael Jackson, wasn't on it, leading to much dissatisfaction from many fans.

"Black curtain! There's a black curtain!" "Why wasn't Akina Mori selected?!" "Where is my Akina-sama?!" "..."

Aggressive calls were made to the Red and White Song Contest preparation department, making the operators inside miserable after listening... what could they reply?

"We sent an invitation to Akina Mori, but she refused" or "Ms. Akina Mori is pregnant and not suitable to go on stage"?

The former would make fans not believe it, and the latter would make fans break down...

In short, the ones who got hurt in the end were the operators' ears~

And at this time, the pressure on the president of Burning Productions was actually very high too!

"Akina-chan, are you really not participating?"

"The Red and White Song Contest is the stage with the biggest exposure in a year!"

You know, the Red and White Song Contest of this era was about the same as the peak period of the Spring Festival Gala when Zhao Benshan was still there; it was a program watched by the whole family every time.

However, Akina, who was sitting on the sofa, shook her head:

"Hanami-san, this time it's really not possible..."

She subconsciously touched her belly; it was already visible that there was some curve,

"In another month, I won't even be able to wear the performance costume! The rehearsals and such in between will also be very troublesome..."

Actually, Akina didn't want to participate in activities at such a moment at the end of the year either. Last time, she could only watch the New Year's fireworks together at the last moment. Now that Hua Jiang had grown up, she wanted to spend the holidays warmly with her family even more!

"..."

Glancing at Akina, who was already nurturing a little life, Hanami Akira couldn't help but curse Ma Sai again...

"Sigh..."

In the end, it was still a long sigh,

"Then it seems we can only go and issue a statement~"

Actually, fans also called the agency, saying things like "not fighting for Akina-chan" or "incompetent agency doesn't deserve Akina-sama", which put great pressure on Burning Productions...

"Haha, sorry to trouble you, Hanami-san~"

Akina laughed, then asked,

"This year, Yukiko-chan is going up, right?"

"Yes..."

Talking about this up-and-coming star, Hanami Akira felt that his heart, which had just been hurt, was comforted,

"Yukiko-chan is the idol with the most potential after Akina, and her popularity is very high..."

"Speaking of which, apart from Shizuka Kudo, I haven't seen any other newcomer from the same batch who is so popular!"

Actually, since last year, there had been such a trend in the idol industry. There were super many idol auditions, but none of the new idols could become popular, and by this year, there were only one or two who could have a little fame.

The cold wind of the idol industry had already blown, making agencies in the industry feel the cold...

"There are too many idols~"

Akina said,

"The fans' attention has all been attracted by the seniors..."

"Yes, the entertainment industry also has such a Matthew effect, the strong get stronger... The top idols who were already popular have occupied all the attention of the new generation..."

The top idols, besides their own fans and fame, also had the best resources in the industry, so they could naturally increase exposure, keep themselves appearing in front of the public, and attract more attention...

Talking and talking, it actually leaned towards philosophy, which made Hanami Akira feel a bit funny,

"However, you can't let the seniors all retire... ah hahaha~"

Speaking of which, Akina Mori and Seiko Matsuda's generation being able to rise was also thanks to Momoe Yamaguchi's resolute retirement, which instantly left a large empty space at the top... otherwise, with Momoe Yamaguchi's popularity back then, no one could defeat her~

And Shizuka Kudo and Yukiko Okada's rise was also thanks to Seiko Matsuda getting married and retiring for a year...

The so-called waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves in front, the waves in front must die on the beach!

"..."

Akina didn't know what to say for a moment.

Should I leave too?! Retire and let the worthy take over?

"Maybe the idol industry itself is going to decline slowly~"

Akina said,

"Ma Sai San once said that future idols will become more and more civilian... there won't be such national attention and heat~"

Previously, "Evening Meow Meow" had already let the idol level fall to ordinary high school students. With the dissolution of the Kitten Club, even the high school student level couldn't be maintained~

Maybe feeling that it was not good to talk about the decline of idols with the top idol at the moment, Hanami Akira hurriedly changed the topic:

"Recently, the new generation in the entertainment industry is more inclined to be singers..."

"Voice of Nihon, Season 2, does Akina know?"

"Ah! Of course!"

That was a program planned by her own husband! Although now it was all handed over to others to prepare, Ma Sai couldn't find time to pay attention to it at all~

"The live broadcast of the second season is starting at the end of the month, right?"

Akina said,

"I heard that the mentors chosen this time are also very powerful!"

"Yes, who would have thought that Yumi Matsutoya would also participate? She and Miyuki Nakajima... these two are competitors!"

Hanami Akira sighed,

"This time, the two of them lead two teams and are going to decide the winner on the stage!"

Yes, this time for the second season of "Voice of Nihon", besides the mentor from the first season, Miyuki Nakajima, they also invited her competitor in the music scene, Yumi Matsutoya...

This was the direction of the latest promotion for the second season: which of the two powerful female musicians is stronger or weaker? The two popular figures in the music scene will decide the winner on the stage of "Voice of Nihon"...

And the other two mentors chose popular male singers: Koji Tamaki of the Safety Zone band and Yosui Inoue, the representative of folk rock!

Such a mentor combination made the second season of "Voice of Nihon" take into account both heat and topicality from the beginning of the promotion.

Coupled with the very high heat of the first season, the first season champion, Izumi Sakai, had already become a popular singer who could hold solo concerts... this time "Voice of Nihon" was naturally extremely hot.

"Yumi Matsutoya-san and Miyuki Nakajima-san are both musicians I like very much!"

Akina was also sighing,

"Before, I could only compare them on the charts. I didn't expect that this time they would really compete on the same stage!"

Although the mentor only plays an auxiliary role, if the team led by the mentor fails, it will naturally be seen as the mentor's failure...

"Hahaha, so it's said that the end of the year will be very exciting!

I heard that Shu You didn't get the signing rights this time, and other agencies are fighting to sign the champion!"

Hanami Akira laughed,

"The champion is a singer with potential to be popular. Isn't Ma Sai San angry?"

"Is that so? Haven't heard Ma Sai San mention it..."

Akina shook her head,

"Besides filming movies, what he pays most attention to now is investment banking..."

"Ah... so that's it..."

Hanami Akira couldn't speak for a moment.

Yes, they were still talking about signing newcomers in the entertainment industry, while Ma Sai had long been concerned about the hundreds of billions of business in the financial circle.

Not at the same level anymore!

However, if it were himself, he would definitely pay more attention to the more profitable investment banking!

Just at this moment, the office door was knocked, and Yukiko Okada walked in.

Seeing Akina Mori, she greeted her enthusiastically:

"Akina-chan, why did you come today?!"

"I came to communicate about the Record Awards..."

Akina also smiled and held Yukiko Okada's hand,

"Is Yukiko-chan here for that too?"

"Yes... although it can't compare to 'Shipwreck', other awards can also be fought for~"

"Yukiko-chan is so popular, you definitely can!"

"..."

Hanami Akira to the side looked at this pair of sisters speechlessly... actually came in without even greeting himself...

This was his office!

At this time, Ma Sai on Jurassic Island, taking advantage of the crew's break, was on the phone with Otomo Yoshimura.

"Otomo-san..."

Ma Sai was quite helpless,

"Why do you want me to come up with songs again? And it's not certain that we can sign the champion, right?!"

"Besides, this time the mentors are all singer-songwriters! You can ask them to come up with it!"

Otomo Yoshimura on the phone was quite persistent:

"Ma Sai San, you creating a song for the newly signed artist is a tradition of Shu You, and traditions cannot be discarded casually!"

"How can I be so free!!!"

Ma Sai roared,

"I film every day, I'm busy to death, okay?! Where do I have the energy to create songs!"

Actually, Ma Sai hadn't recalled future songs for a long time... perhaps just as he worried at the beginning, there were only so many high-quality songs with deep memories, and one day he would recall them all!

By then, he wouldn't be able to continue creating!

That's why he had to build companies, invest in real estate, speculate in stocks... so that even if he ran out of talent, he could still be a powerful and wealthy person, and wouldn't have to worry about his future life!

"Ma Sai San... don't be like this, I know you're busy..."

Otomo Yoshimura's tone was full of craftiness,

"But I also know that in your little treasury, there must be many works stored!"

"Just take one out casually when the time comes, won't that work!"

"!!!"

Hearing this, Ma Sai opened his eyes wide,

"Otomo-san, are you still a person? Actually coveting my little treasury?!"

"Do you know what a little treasury means? It's something to be used only when there's no other way!"

Otomo Yoshimura nodded:

"Hai hai hai... so I'm saying now is the time! The brand we built ourselves, the results cannot be snatched away by other agencies!"

The signing of the champion of this "Voice of Nihon" was competed for by various agencies, depending on which one offered better conditions! The debut song created by Ma Sai was one of the most tempting items!

"Ma Sai San, Shu You hasn't had a song that could occupy the top of the music charts for a long time!!!"

"Nonsense! Clearly, 'my friend' given to Izumi-chan before was very popular for a long time!"

"That was almost a year ago~"

"..."

Otomo Yoshimura sat in the top-floor office of the Shu You building and haggled with Ma Sai, not that he necessarily had to squeeze his own friend or anything...

It's just that during this period, Ma Sai, as the core figure, paid too little attention to the company~

Even before, when Kazuhisa Fujiwara wanted to find him to communicate about the preparation work for the second season of "Voice of Nihon", he was rejected by him...

If this continues, from the perspective of the president of Shu You Entertainment, Otomo Yoshimura was very worried that Ma Sai's mind would be hooked away by Shu You Capital...

The child who cries gets the milk~

Next came a bunch of nice words like "consolidating the musician's fame", "letting some clowns see", "Ma Sai San is the best", and since the crew had rested enough, Ma Sai could only vaguely say:

"Fine fine, I'll go back and see if there's any song that can be used as a prize for the champion's signing..."

"Hahaha, this is Ma Sai San!"

Otomo Yoshimura laughed heartily,

"Come back and have a drink together!"

"Am I short of a meal of wine..."

Directly hanging up the phone, Ma Sai silently complained... mainly because he hadn't paid much attention to the preparation of "Voice of Nihon" this time, so he had no concept of the contestants, and didn't know what style to prepare.

During the first season, Izumi Sakai had been paid attention to by him from the beginning~

"Forget it, go back and see first..."

Ma Sai shook his head, then hurriedly invested in the filming of "Jurassic Park".

The plane from Hokkaido to Tokyo landed slowly. At Narita International Airport, a girl with a heroic spirit on her face walked out of the exit, and then boarded the train to the city.

She looked like she had just become an adult, her appearance wasn't outstanding, but her whole person had a fearless temperament!

"This is Tokyo!"

When dragging her luggage out of the subway exit, Maki Ohguro, wearing jeans, looked at these high-rise buildings, looked at the dazzling shops on both sides of the commercial street, and then saw the bustling pedestrians on the street, and sighed,

"Sure enough, it's much livelier than Sapporo!"

"However, where exactly is this address?"

She took a flyer out of her pocket, and asked all the way to the audition address of "Voice of Nihon", her whole person without a bit of the timidity of just arriving in a big city...

Along the way, she kept cheering herself on:

"Must pass!!! Must become a professional singer!"

Maki Ohguro was born and raised in Hokkaido, loved music very much since she was a child, performed in livehouses in Sapporo during high school, and was a little famous...

Now that she was 18 years old, just graduated from high school, like countless high school graduates, she came to Tokyo with a heart to realize her dreams!

At this time, the little girl was just like Ma Sai back then...

However, she was luckier than Ma Sai. With the development and changes of the audition form, she encountered an audition program that only listened to the voice—"Voice of Nihon"!

"As long as you win the championship in 'Voice of Nihon', you can sign with the most famous agency in the entertainment industry!"

"This way you can get the best resources for training!!"

"You can become a professional singer!!!"

If it were the previous audition program, Maki Ohguro felt that she might not become a popular idol, because she wasn't the cute type... but Maki Ohguro was very confident in her singing voice!

Her singing voice was high-pitched and powerful, extremely penetrating... making people have a deep impression as soon as they heard it!

This was also the reason why she could be a little famous in the livehouse in Sapporo. Everyone said that listening to her rock live felt like listening to a rock king~

"I will definitely be able to become the champion!" ===== CHAPTER 1304 =====