From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 75: Performance Evaluation (7)

In Ari’s opinion, Carlos had top 5 vocals in the whole competition, and he was definitely not number 5.

His vocal tone was so clear that it was hard to believe that it came from a real person, and he easily had the highest range out of all the grade vocal students Ari had seen so far.

In the song Warrior, Ari thought that Carlos would be a shoo-in for the high-pitched chorus and the beginning highlight verse on whatever team was on.

Whenever they practiced with Jelissa, he preferred to sing those verses, but now in this performance, those verses had gone to Minho and Suzuki Rei, whom Ari was pretending not to see.

Instead, Carlos only had two small ad-libs, which didn’t show how amazing his voice was.

Additionally, Carlos was in the very back of almost all of the dance formations and was barely visible except for his two parts, like his team was trying to hide him.

It was an entirely strange setup that he couldn’t understand, especially since Carlos seemed to be keeping up well with his teammates when it came to dancing.

Although the vocal performance was fine, Ari thought it would have been much better if Carlos had more parts or if they had allowed him to double for the weaker singers on his team.

When the performance finished, Ari listened intently to the feedback, wondering if any of the judges would comment on it.

"Judges, may we have your feedback? Selena, I know you mentored them with the choreography. Do you have any thoughts or questions for our contestants?"

"I think that it’s visible that you all have been practicing, but there’s still quite some work to be done, especially during your transitions and during the dance break." Serena began politely, before continuing, "But I remember that I said it during practice that I wasn’t a fan of your line distribution, but it seems that you’ve kept it the same?"

"We discussed your feedback and decided that this would be the best way to split the parts, and everybody agreed." Suzuki Rei replied in a confident tone.

"...is that right? Your team thinks that this is the best way to utilize each team member’s ability on the song?"

Jelissa interrupted while she stared directly at Carlos with her brows raised, as if she wanted him to protest or say something, but he only nodded with a wan smile along with the rest of his teammates.

"Yes, that’s correct. We all agreed to it." Minho and Minjun said simultaneously.

"Well, if that’s what you insist on, then so be it. Sorry for interrupting, Selena. Back to you." Jelissa replied with a bitter smile before continuing to give the rest of the team feedback.

After Selena, Larry gave his feedback, while X-ponent didn’t have much to say, which wrapped up their team performance review.

As the team walked back to their seat, Ari made a note to go and corner Carlos and ask him what was going on with his team. He hadn’t been able to chat with him during meal times since he was always practicing, and today, they had the performance reviews and sat with their class.

After Larry placed Carlos’ team label on the second level from the bottom of the pyramid, he gestured to the MC, Ryan Leary, to speak.

"Thank you to Team C(1), Team C(3), you’re up next."

The next team stood up and arranged themselves in the center without speaking to each other.

Since the contestants were people he had no relationship with, Ari watched it with the intention of observing it like a documentary because it seemed like this team had some issues as well.

2 different people gestured to the staff member to begin the music, and when it started, a literal sh*t show began.

4 different people tried to sing the intro, two of them tried to rap the first verse, and the second verse was sung by the same 4 who sang the introduction.

Although nobody was particularly off tune, the four distinct voices that tried to stand out clashed against each other, creating a chaotic mess.

The dancing wasn’t any better.

It seemed that the contestants actively wanted to fight each other to be in the front, and nobody agreed with their parts, which created a jumbled formation with people hitting each other and getting in each other’s spots.

By the end of it, any visible skin on Larry Jackson’s body was red, Jelissa looked disappointed, and the choreographer, Kim Young-woo, looked furious.

A harsh review was given, and naturally, they got thrown at the bottom level of the pyramid right next to Ari’s team.

Team C(2) went after that, and had a decent, if boring performance, and finally, the MC called up Jamie’s team.

The 7 team members were people Ari knew, including Jamie, Benjamin, Leo, and Rex.

Benjamin dapped the MC and patted his back in a friendly manner before somehow getting his hands on Ryan Leary’s microphone.

With a wide grin, he spun in a circle before introducing himself.

"Good day, mates, I’m Benjamin, the team leader of Team B(1). Our motto is that we-"

"Want to be your number 1!" the 6 other people on Benjamin’s team finished the mini slogan with a wink, and the MC laughed as Benjamin handed him back his microphone.

"Oh? You’ve got a slogan. How nice! You all seem quite prepared."

"We did our best, so look forward to our performance." Benjamin winked at the camera before he joined the formation, standing at the very center.

As the bass of the music rang out, his smiling face was replaced by a fierce expression as he narrowed his eyes and said the beginning words crisply while Jamie sang in the back.

P. S. A

As the beat changed, Benjamin started rapping the verse.

His voice was somewhat deep, and his words were crisp and sharp, each word enunciated to perfection.

As he danced, his tall, muscular figure executed the choreography with full strength while having a certain fluidity and swagger.

Once his turn finished, he crisply spun to the back, letting Jamie move forward and begin singing.

Jamie’s mid-tone voice rang out as he sang the second verse, and his movements were more rigid than Benjamin’s, making him look exactly like the choreography. Although it wasn’t completely effortless, Jamie didn’t miss a step and his voice stayed stable throughout.

When Jamie’s turn finished, Leo came forward to rap, and then he was followed by Rex, who did the chorus with Jamie harmonizing underneath.

The entire group seamlessly changed the formation, nailing the high and low fives while moving to the right position until they all froze in place as the beat dropped.

Then, the dance break began.

The group with Benjamin in the center of the V-formation led them with the first step before everybody else joined in staggered groups of two until all seven of them were clapping, stomping, and jumping in unison.

It sounded nearly perfect, and as they neared the end of the song, the whole team maintained the energy they had until the song’s last note.

Then, they all clasped hands and bowed in unison to signal the end of their performance.

The whole room erupted in applause, from the MC to the sitting contestants to the judges. Everyone cheered, and some people began to whistle at how good the performance was.

To Ari’s eyes, this was the most perfect performance he had seen so far. They had nailed the choreography, and the rap and vocal aspects were nearly flawless.

Combined with the fierce and almost cocky attitude of the leader Benjamin who seemed to be the center, it seemed like the song was made for them.

It was almost unbelievable that they had been practicing for the same number of days as the rest of them.

"Wow, your team did amazingly!" the MC patted each boy on the back in approval.

"Thank you! Everyone on the team really worked hard and I’m so proud of them!" Benjamin smiled widely along with the rest of his team while waiting for his feedback.

"Judges, what do you have to say about team B (1). Why don’t we start with Kim Young-woo, who mentored them with the choreography?"