The rise and fall of an Idol Producer

Chapter 16 - Secrets

Today the production crew followed us around while we take a look at the training of the trainees and give them some hints of how they could improve. Luckily I was paired up with Li and supervised the vocal training of some trainees. All in all we had like 5 trainees that included Cai. When I saw his name on the list I was really excited and looking forward to see what other skills he had.

The trainees were practicing while Li and I quietly walked in. They did not notice until Li shouted: "That should be an A flat". He loved teasing some of the young trainees who were like 16. The poor boy was shook and frightened and hid behind a taller trainee. Li laughed so hard which caused me to glare at him. His laugh was soon ended and he apologized to the boy.

"I can see you all are working hard on your vocals. A.J and I will supervise your training for a few hours and give you some advices", Li said and placed himself on a chair nearby.

The room they practised in was actually a dance studio with a good sound system, a YAHMA piano and a Mic. I took a seat next to Li after bowing to the trainees politely. The trainees all lined up and looked at us.

"Sit down", he said to them. The trainees all took a seat on the floor. I did not like the height difference between them and us. I just got up from my chair and sat down on the floor aswell. Li just followed my action and we all sat there. I could see that the trainees did not expect that we would do that and some insisted on us sitting on the chair. I just waved my hand saying that I feel more comfortable that way and they all smiled at me.

"Then let us get started. A.J what would you like to do first?", Li asked tilting his head into my direction.

I still had my mask on and spoke.

"I want to hear each of you sing a song that means a lot to you. Like something that you always turn back to or something that made you want to pursue music and be here. I want to see your true colour!", I said in a serious tone. I could see most of the trainees thinking hard except Cai. He was smiling at me. That guys eyes were so on fire. The passion he has for music. I can sense it. Li got up and offered me his hand so I could stand up.

"Let's make this more interesting", Li said with a smile,

"When someone of you moves me or A.J to tears then we will sing a song to you that means a lot to us. Ok?", he more asked me to which I nodded. I had never ever cried before because of a song. The only reaction I had was goose bumps and that was when I heard BIG BANG song Last dance. I took a seat at the piano and Li put the Mic opposite to it so I could see the trainees singing while I played. He pulled a chair next to me so I still had enough room to play and we were still close enough to talk. The trainees all sat on the floor around us so they could watch the performance aswell.

Li picked out a random trainee to start. The trainee sang Beyoncé Pretty hurts. I played the piano and kept my eyes closed to hear. Just concentrate on what I heard. His singing was flawless-great technique- but I felt no emotions.

"Great voice and all. There is nothing I would change but you lack emotions", Li said and I nodded.

The next 3 trainees were similar. They choose ballads aswell. Some had a bit of emotions going on here and there but lacked in voice control. Last but not least it was Cai's turn.

"The last one for today is Cai. What do you want to sing?", Li asked while taking notes on a paper about the previous trainee.

"Sir I would like to sing BIG BANG's song Last dance", he said while stepping closer to the Mic. I instantly looked at him surprised. He choose the song I loved the most. The standard for that song are high and he did not do himself a favour in choosing that song.