From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 361: Is This Your Prince (9)?

Idol survival shows were some of the most popular shows for several reasons.

Firstly, the variety of beautiful contestants on the show allowed viewers to pick the one that matched their tastes, and as the show progressed, the viewers got to enjoy the thrill of watching their pick grow in skill and display their talent, episode by episode.

Secondly, the viewers also got the satisfaction of "discovering" and investing in a gem before it reached mainstream popularity. That sense of superiority, as well as the rush of power when their votes(money) made a difference in which contestants stayed and achieved their dreams or went home, was a thrill most people could not replicate in their day-to-day lives.

And thirdly? At the end of the day, it was entertainment for the viewers. While viewers loved to curse the producers for scheming and evilly editing their favorite contestants, at the end of the day, they tuned in to watch with unmatched frenetic fervor.

After all, watching a reality TV show was a way to escape daily life, obsess over people you didn’t know, view dramatic situations that most people would never be in, and enjoy thrilling plot lines that most movie directors could never come up with or dare to show.

In other words, it was a guilty pleasure: viewers loved turning off their brains to enjoy the toxic show with hopeful themes, while simultaneously perpetuating that toxicity online to those they didn’t support.

And for certain producers, it was in this kind of space where they thrived.

PD Emily, who was now the sole producer of Pop Star Academy (now renamed Dream Academy), was one such producer, and she had only one goal in mind when editing the episode.

She needed to continue to toe the line between 40% wholesomeness and 60% drama, and, most importantly, make sure the show was never boring, that something was always happening, and that the fans were never satisfied.

In other words, she aimed to reach the peak of noise marketing, which was the bread and butter, the goose that laid golden eggs, the icing on the cake of reality TV.

There was no such thing as bad press in entertainment, only bad people who couldn’t capitalize on such moments to improve those ratings.

And anything and everything could and would be done in the name of those ratings.

As for those who were marginally sacrificed?

Well...at least, she didn’t go too far this time, right?

While a lot could be said about the morals of the production team and the leading PD, everyone had to admit they were experts not only in noise promotion but also in capitalizing on the interest it generated.

As the episode aired and fan-shared clips began trending on social media, the production team was already poised to capitalize on the momentum.

They shared the official, high-quality photographs taken during the performance, at the exact moment the scene aired.

The fully edited performance videos were already posted on all their channels right after viewers watched them.

And the various behind-the-scenes packages sold with the tickets for the surprise showcase were in place and being advertised.

And once the episode was done, with a large mug of coffee in hand, PD Emily began monitoring the community for the posts that were sure to come.

After all, she had specifically edited the episode in one direction, clearly targeting one contestant, before throwing him a bone at the end.

After all, while she wanted to keep things moderate, Ari was simply too useful as a noise marketing tool.

Firstly, Ari was a foil to William Forbes, whom she had grown to dislike personally and, by extension, his family. She didn’t know what issues they had with each other, but seeing the clear shift in William’s behavior to look and act more like Ari, she was willing to exploit it, forcing their fanbases to fight and bringing more eyes to the entire show.

Secondly, Ari’s fan base had grown extremely large.

He was probably the contestant that was the most known to the general public due to the sports day incident where they rallied around him, and because of ’mistreatment’, his fans were as reactive as a rabid animal seeing water; he was someone with a lot of self-confidence, which rubbed people the wrong way, his looks naturally attracted a lot of attention, his likes and dislikes were easy to see, his body of work always ended up speaking for itself, and his mental fortitude was so strong that no matter what she did to him, PD Emily was sure he wouldn’t break so she felt a slightly sadistic need to try and break him down a little bit.

Not enough to antagonize all the people who were backing him, after all, she had no plans to go out the same way Ji-ho did or get a visit from someone like Chloé Laurent, but a moderate poke here and there to keep things spicy.

It would be good to see Ari cry and shed tears, not just because he was touched by the fans but because he finally got frustrated, and if he did that and caved in a little, she would naturally start treating him a bit gently.

But since he didn’t, she edited as she pleased, and rightfully enraged all the fanbases, it was time to see what they were saying.

The moment she opened the community, the very first post already had hundreds of comments.

[My Religion Is Not Your Costume!]

[I am sick and tired of people co-opting my religion because of the aesthetic. That Ariel boy is a demon in human flesh. He’s the anti-Christ who is corrupting our young girls into worshiping him. He’s an industry plant sent by the establishment to make women lose their morals and lust after men. Do you see his face? Do you think it could be natural? If you add the number of letters in his name, it’s 12. 12/2 is 6. What is 6? The number of the beast!]

└ Alright, Grandma, let’s get back to the nursing home

└ Where did the 2 come from?

└└ His double-sided nature.

└ demon in human flesh is kinda crazy ngl

└└ I mean, I agree. He’s been on time lately. Probably sold his soul to the devil

└ Somebody forgot to take their meds again.

"Let’s report that one; they seem a bit crazy. But congratulations to Ari for antagonizing the Christian fandom." PD Emily directly reported the post before moving on.

[For All You Bum Losers Calling Ari Misogynistic For A Song That Was Clearly Following A Theme, Come To The Front!]

[ I just want to say I’m so sick of this disingenuous fandom. All of you are terrible people with only jealousy and hate in your hearts. You’re all bums, your grandma’s a ho,....]

Laughing at the post that had devolved into name-calling, PD Emily sent it to the moderator and kept scrolling.

[Enough With The Bias! Why Does The Production Team Hate Ari So Much?]

[I have a lot of complaints, starting with the fact that the production team is clearly biased against Ari. You spent the whole episode building a narrative that he’s a copycat, that he’s lazy, that his song was trash, etc. Only for his team to come out with the most amazing performance and song that sounded nothing like the person he copied, for his teammates to say he’s the real MVP who was involved in every single part, and for him to still speak nicely about others. I’m planning on lashing the live audience in another post, so let’s focus on lashing production here. At this point, Ari is basically the shoo-in for first place and debut, so I don’t understand why you keep wasting his star power, dragging his name through the mud, and trying to cause a scandal when he’s good. Stop using him to prop the show up to get more views and clicks, and leave Ari alone! Treat him well, like you treat Benjamin and Jamie!]

└ First place? Somebody send AA’s to rehab, they’ve begun getting into the bottle again

└└ He’s the most-followed contestant, with lots of general public and celebrity support, the prettiest contestant; they literally had to change the rules because he got the most votes, and you’re telling me he’s not first? Just drop dead.

└└└ When did they change the rules

└└└└Don’t you remember when he literally got the most votes, and a couple of weeks later, they decided to reset everything? DPMO!

"You’re pretty astute. Except, I don’t hate him. I love him so much and will miss him when he’s gone. Who else is strong enough to take all this abuse? Besides, didn’t you see how prettily I recorded him? Do you know how long I spent editing his clips? Be grateful." PD Emily muttered as she sipped her coffee.

She quickly glanced at the trending Pop Star Academy hashtag in the entertainment section, seeing that the top post with thousands of likes and retweets was the photos of Ariel squatting down and smirking while perfectly balanced atop a perfectly horizontal mic stand, as flame wings flared behind him.

And the post right beneath that one was the video clip of the same scene as he sang the final verse of the song.

Unfortunately, the two posts were not from the official account; they were from a Korean account she didn’t recognize, and based on the quality of the posts, they were from a fantastic photographer.

It seemed everyone surnamed Choi was really talented.

Noting the account down, PD glanced at the responses and immediately began laughing.

Of course, as the contestant with one of, if not the most, organized fan base, his fans were in the trenches, spreading clips and similar messages as if they had been PR trained on what to say ahead of time.

└ How the heck did he do that? Balancing on a mic stand?

└└ He’s just that amazing. Please watch his other performances too (linked video)

└ His balance is insane. And to do such a thing while singing stably, I’m so impressed. He’s so talented.

└└ He is! He is also graduating as his school’s valedictorian, so he’s smart too.

└└└ Ah, valedictorian, you say? So he’s a good influence!

└└└└Yes! Please support our kid by voting here!

"Lucky duck. You really snagged the best fans."

Taking another sip, PD Emily went back to the community and continued her monitoring.

[Free Ari From This Show! Seriously!]

[I just finished watching the ad after the episode and saw that they’re having the surprise showcase on the same day and almost at the same time as Ari’s graduation! I am so sick of this stupid show that only uses him for clicks and virility, then tries to exclude him. What kind of trashy, garbage organizers did such a thing? Why couldn’t they push the performance to a later date or another day? Is this performance even necessary? Aren’t they just trying to scrape together votes for the losers who should rightfully be eliminated, and using the opportunity to exclude Ari because they know both he and his fans can’t attend the performance, and that he can’t get the extra votes if he doesn’t attend? Then, they’ll probably try to push the narrative that he’s not a team player, or he’s lazy, etc. Please! Just free him from the show!]

└ Here comes stupid AA’s once again. In case you can’t read it, it says optional! OPTIONAL! As in it’s not required! That means that if the contestants don’t want to participate or attend, they don’t have to. It’s not a crime, and they’re not plotting against him.

└└ Are you trying to tell me PSA isn’t being malicious? Ariel’s graduation has been set in stone since the beginning of the school year! This surprise performance wasn’t even in the calendar of events that we were sent, meaning it’s a last-minute situation! No matter how you look at it, Ariel’s being targeted.

└ I swear to god. Y’all think the world revolves around him when it doesn’t! They wanted to have a surprise showcase for the fans, and they’re not going to reschedule it just because one person can’t attend! If anything, you guys are the stalkers for attending a kid’s graduation and knowing his schedule!

└└ Exactly! If he were serious about his career and wanted to debut, he would skip the graduation and perform at the showcase

└└ He’s the valedictorian! He has a speech to give! You want him to skip something he worked so hard on for 4 years to come to an impromptu performance that was scheduled last week?

└└└ How do you know it was scheduled last week?

└└└└ Insider info, duh! They couldn’t even get a proper venue because these things are booked out months in advance, so they had no choice but to do it outside.

└└└└└ Liar

└└└└└└ sybau!

"Surprisingly, your insider information is correct. It was finalized last week. I wonder who leaked it." PD Emily muttered.

[For those attending Ariel’s graduation, what are we supposed to do?]

[...]

As she scrolled through the community, PD Emily absentmindedly noticed that, unlike usual, when one out of three posts would be about Ari.

It was a bit more even this time, with William’s team getting a sizable chunk of people talking about them.

Of course, not everything was good, but the fans of the contestants on his team were trying to show support and boost their performance.

But as PD Emily was clicking into a clip of William’s team performance, something strange happened.

[Video Unavailable.]

[This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim.]