AFVSIBS ### Chapter 154: The Support Votes for "Desert Camel"
Zhou Chen didn't bother to think much about the host's next question and answered directly:
"The inspiration for 'Desert Camel' came from your show."
"From our show? What do you mean by that?" The host looked puzzled.
"If I remember correctly, the theme you gave us for this episode consisted of two words: 'desert' and 'camel.' So, I just combined them into a song title," Zhou Chen explained.
The host then recalled and smiled awkwardly.
"How did you come up with this style of song?"
"No reason, I just thought it would be fun."
Zhou Chen's answer left the host bewildered once again.
She had heard about Zhou Chen's unconventional responses. She experienced it last episode and now, once again, she was faced with it.
"Hahaha, the host's expression is hilarious. She probably forgot that Zhou Chen always gives these unexpected answers."
"Is it possible that Zhou Chen really just thought it would be fun, so he created 'Desert Camel'? Personally, I also find this song quite fun."
"Indeed, it's a very entertaining song, and it's catchy after just one listen. The interesting part is, it feels like a catchy song but also doesn't."
"That's probably Zhou Chen for you. He's always different. He creates songs however he likes. But I must say, regardless of why he creates his songs, whether they're profound or just catchy, they always turn out great."
...
The viewers were perhaps getting used to Zhou Chen's way of answering, so they weren't too surprised.
Wan Fangfang felt the same; she just hoped Zhou Chen wouldn't offend Zhao Liang.
Previously, when Zhou Chen offended the Wang Wei couple, his boss Chen Jie backed him up, so he was fine. But offending Zhao Liang would be a different story.
In fact, if it were any other artist speaking this way, Zhao Liang might think they were being arrogant or even get angry.
But if the person was Zhou Chen, it was a different matter entirely.
What could Zhao Liang do? Zhou Chen had brought his show a 4.0 rating for two consecutive episodes.
With that, Zhao Liang could brag in the industry for a long time.
As long as Zhou Chen continued to bring the show a 4.0 rating, even if he insulted Zhao Liang, he wouldn't get angry.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhou Chen. Due to time constraints, we'll end the interview here. Next, let's reveal the number of votes 'Desert Camel' has received."
The host knew Zhou Chen wasn't keen on interviews, so to avoid awkwardness, she didn't press further.
After checking the time, she moved directly to the voting results segment.
It was a tense moment; everyone stayed glued to the live stream and TV, eager to know how many votes "Desert Camel," which seemed like a catchy song but also didn't, would receive.
No one was more concerned than Jiang Lin, sitting backstage. This was critical for determining if his song "Spirit of the Camel" could win the most votes tonight.
He had always looked down on such songs and believed that his creation had the best chance of winning tonight.
"Congratulations to 'Desert Camel' for receiving 4.7 million votes."
The host, seeing the numbers on the big screen, announced the results loudly.
Instantly, the audience stood up and gave the most enthusiastic applause of the night.
"It's not surprising that 'Desert Camel' received such a high number of votes. While it is a catchy song, it has more depth and substance compared to typical catchy songs. I just voted for it online."
"I also voted for 'Desert Camel.' After listening to Wu Heng's performance, all my bad mood for the day vanished. I don't care if it's considered a catchy song or not. As long as it brings me joy, I'll support it."
"Exactly, as long as it makes us happy. We're not professionals. We support the song that makes us happy in the moment."
"This song is indeed impressive, surpassing 'Little Apple' by a million votes. Unless something unexpected happens, it will probably be the top vote-getter tonight."
...
Most of the audience and viewers online understood the high vote count.
For them, as long as the music is enjoyable, that's enough. They don't care about artistic value or depth.
This is why "Desert Camel" garnered over four million votes.
Wan Fangfang was very pleased with this result. She was confident that "Desert Camel" would be the top vote-getter tonight and that Wu Heng would advance to the next round without any issues.
She admired Zhou Chen even more. She was aware that Zhou Chen's creative talent brought Wu Heng, whose singing ability was mediocre at best, to such heights—it was nothing short of a miracle.
In other words, if Wu Heng's partner today hadn't been Zhou Chen but any other creator in the industry, even if it were ten top-tier creators teaming up, they wouldn't have been able to make Wu Heng's songs reach such popularity.
While some were thrilled, others were disheartened. Jiang Lin and Lu Jie wore awkward expressions.
They had initially believed that Zhou Chen and Wu Heng wouldn't perform well or achieve good results tonight. However, with "Desert Camel" receiving 4.7 million votes, they felt immense pressure, tinged with a hint of despair.
They knew that to win the top vote-getter tonight, they would have to surpass 4.7 million votes, which was an extremely difficult task.
"What are these people doing? Why are they giving so many votes to a catchy song? Are they crazy?" Jiang Lin could only curse helplessly.
"Jiang Lin, what do we do now? 'Desert Camel' has too many votes. It's very difficult to surpass it," Lu Jie had lost his previous confidence.
"Don't panic. If we can't compete for the top vote-getter, we can aim for the highest score. I refuse to believe that this catchy song will get high scores from the judging panel."