Singing and dancing performances have always been a staple of the Spring Festival Gala. To be precise, besides language-based acts, there are mostly singing and dancing acts.
Interspersed between them are a few niche genres like acrobatics, magic, opera, and kung fu.
However, singing and dancing performances have always had a common problem: watching them on a TV screen is a completely different experience from watching them live.
Many live singing and dancing performances are very exciting, with synchronized movements and energetic performers.
But once broadcast through a camera, many viewers immediately find them dull and often choose to skip them.
This situation is especially true for singing and dancing acts without major stars, simply put, gala dances.
However, Michael's dance can break this pattern. Although watching it on a small screen isn't as impactful as seeing it live, it still keeps people glued to the screen, unable to tear their eyes away.
"Mingming, how was it? This is the idol your mom and dad used to chase. Did you see him?"
The mother looked at her son, who had been stunned for a full five minutes, and asked, showing off, as she put food in his bowl.
The son, however, still hadn't recovered from the performance. His chopsticks were suspended in mid-air, and his mouth was slightly agape.
He maintained this posture throughout the entire song.
The explosive drumbeats, dynamic rhythm, harmonious tempo, and perfectly timed beats echoed continuously in his mind.
"Stunned? That's normal. I was also shocked the first time I saw him," the father said with a smile.
"His dancing is too good."
"Better than Jay Chou doing a somersault?"
The son nodded, "Although I don't understand the lyrics, the dancing and stage effects are absolutely crushing. The performance of dragon fist is a car crash compared to his."
"It should be said that all other singing and dancing performances are a car crash or an earthquake scene compared to this performance."
Then the son suddenly looked at his mother: "Mom, I want to learn to dance, just like that."
"Let your dad teach you."
"Uh…"
In the Spring Festival Gala studio, after Michael's performance, thunderous applause echoed throughout the venue.
Even many veteran cadres couldn't help but be engrossed in this unprecedented form of performance.
After the climax, like a man entering a sage's time, most of the subsequent programs became dull and uninteresting, except for "Golden Monkey Makes Spring" brought by Liu Xiao Ling Tong.
Watching the dazzling monkey opera performance, that vivid portrayal, truly worthy of being called the number one monkey opera performer, the irreplaceable Monkey King Sun Dasheng in many people's hearts.
Regarding Liu Xiao Ling Tong, in the internet era, like many celebrities, his reputation also experienced a downfall.
Especially at director Yang Jie's funeral, the so-called "selling films in the mourning hall" incident instantly shattered many people's childhood filters.
This situation was particularly severe on Bilibili, with a group of "Dare to Ask Where the Film Is" scholars as the center of dissemination, making the loudest noise.
When the incident happened, Eric also got caught up in it, joining in the shouting a few times just for the fun of it.
However, he later sobered up and decided to actively watch the circulating videos. After watching the original, he indeed found something fishy.
The video was clearly edited and processed, with inconsistent clothing and speech taken out of context. It was obviously malicious slander, very well-versed in journalism.
Not only the issue of selling films in the mourning hall, but also problems like entering the Journey to the West crew through the back door, and the four masters and disciples performing in Singapore without Yang Jie's consent, all had serious issues.
He even bought Yang Jie's autobiography to read, only to find that two autobiographies had completely different accounts of the same issue.
To put it bluntly, it's normal for an old lady in her seventies or eighties, dictating her autobiography, to not remember many things clearly.
Moreover, after the "selling films in the mourning hall" incident, Liu Xiao Ling Tong and Yang Jie's family continued to interact as usual, maintaining a good relationship. If there were real problems, they would have broken off contact long ago.
Later, some of their friends, through deep investigation into the matter, gradually uncovered the truth of the incident.
After deep investigation, "Dare to Ask Where the Film Is" was actually a student with poor character who was forced to drop out of school. The stage at which he made the video was his most impoverished and down-and-out period, his sinister intentions were obvious.
Netizens, on the other hand, got a big piece of gossip and ate it very happily, giving birth to countless memes, but they were merely a rabble being used by people with ulterior motives.
Blindly following, lacking independent thought, and even unwilling to seek out the original videos, they merely revelled in the pleasure of whipping celebrities.
Due to the large number of people, the law does not punish the masses, and such groups have always escaped any punishment.
The most unfortunate were Liu Xiao Ling Tong and those who suffered similar fates, unable to defend themselves, they could only silently endure.
After the performance of "Golden Monkey Makes Spring," Eric gave a warm round of applause, as an apology for having joined in the heckling at that time.
After a few more acts, the time reached 12 o'clock, and the entire venue counted down together.
As the Spring Festival Gala neared its end, the Arirang group, Siqin Gerile, and others performed "Singing for Spring," while Wang Xia, Wei Song, and others presented "Sharing Happiness."
Finally, everyone came on stage to sing "Unforgettable Tonight," and the 2004 Year of the Monkey Spring Festival Gala drew to a close.
"Is it over?" Michael asked, watching the performers gradually leave the stage after singing.
Eric nodded: "This is the last chorus, it's over. Let's go quickly."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Someone told me there's a fireworks show, and I must watch it. It's very beautiful."
Eric took his hand and stood up. If they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to leave later.
But unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Before they even reached the door of the studio, they were surrounded.
To be precise, Michael was surrounded. No one was there for Eric, and a surging crowd actually pushed him out.
They were all actors and audience members, and they weren't Old Han; they didn't know Eric's identity.
Perhaps in their eyes, Eric was Michael's bodyguard, but this bodyguard was a bit too thin and too handsome.
However, no matter how handsome, he couldn't compare to the King of Pop who had just given everyone an unparalleled and shocking experience.
"Michael, please sign for me."
"Michael, let's take a photo together. You're so handsome!"
"Michael, Michael, look here, look at me!"
Although most spoke Chinese, Michael, accustomed to such battles, still understood what they wanted and smiled as he signed for each person.
Jay Chou appeared behind Eric at some point: "Mr. Cooper, I still wanted to invite you to dinner, but looking at the situation, I'm afraid there's no chance."
Eric shook his head slightly. If they could get out in an hour, they would be lucky.
Indeed, by the time the two left the TV station, it was already past two in the morning.
Too enthusiastic, really too enthusiastic.
Michael had been "on duty" for almost two hours, but there were still many people trying to approach him.
Finally, with no other option, CCTV came up with a solution.
They simply gathered everyone together for a big group photo, recorded the names of those who participated, and promised to mail the photos to everyone later. Only then were the two able to get away.
As for inviting them to dinner, seeing how exhausted Michael was, no one dared to bring it up again.
Back at the hotel, Eric took a shower and fell into a deep sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already past nine in the morning.
He pulled open the curtains, letting the sunlight into the room, and felt much more comfortable.
Eric opened his phone and saw several messages displayed on the screen.
One of them was from an unknown number. After opening it, it turned out to be from the director of CCTV.
"Hello, Mr. Cooper, I am Chen Quan. I am sending this message specifically to tell you some good news."
"The Spring Festival Gala ratings have been tallied, and the peak viewership was during Mr. Michael Jackson's performance. Please convey this good news to him."
Arriving at the restaurant, Michael was already eating there.
He was eating doufunao (tofu pudding) with fried egg pockets, which Eric had recommended, and he was very fond of chili.
"Michael, you're eating so much chili, won't it hurt your voice? I heard singers have many taboos to protect their voices."
Michael scooped a large spoonful of doufunao into his mouth: "This soup is very delicious with chili, very tasty, but I usually pay attention. Although I like spicy food, I don't eat it often."
"And this fried food is also very delicious, even more delicious when paired together. It just looks very big, not like the ones sold in Chinese restaurants."
"Because what Chinese restaurants sell are Youtiao, which don't have eggs inside."
"Yes, it's missing the egg. And is this garlic? Why isn't it spicy at all, but sweet instead?"
Eric looked at the salted garlic cloves in his hand. He didn't know how they were made either.
"Because it's been specially processed, probably soaked in vinegar. I'm not too sure either."
"By the way, I have good news for you. Last night's performance won the highest viewership rating of the entire show, nearly 52%. If converted to people, over 600 million people watched your performance simultaneously."
Hearing this number, even Michael, who was used to grand occasions, couldn't help but show a surprised expression.
"Oh my G! You mean 600 million people!"
"Yes, not 6 million people, nor 60 million people, but 600 million people."
After a moment of stunned silence, Michael came back to his senses: "You said the Spring Festival Gala is like the Super Bowl. It seems it's much more powerful than the Super Bowl. Does this mean I suddenly became a big star in China?"
"Wait, when I came to the restaurant just now, no wonder the waiters immediately asked for autographs. It turns out they all watched last night's show."
"600 million people, my God, this is unimaginable. America only has 200 million people."
After breakfast, the two planned to go climb the Great Wall as scheduled.
Since it was during the holiday period, Badaling Great Wall would definitely have a huge crowd, so Eric chose to go to Jiuyanlou Great Wall.
He thought this would be more convenient, but upon arriving at the destination, he found that there were quite a lot of people there too.
They had just gotten out of the car and walked a few steps when, even with sunglasses and a mask, Michael was recognized.
Then came the autographs and photos. They finally managed to climb up with great difficulty.
Looking at the rugged terrain below, Michael couldn't help but exclaim: "It's as beautiful and magnificent as the photos online. Does it really have thousands of years of history?"
Eric waved his hand: "If we talk about the earliest Great Wall, it's already more than two thousand years from now. However, after the Qin Dynasty fell, later dynasties also built the Great Wall."
"The one we are standing on now is about four or five hundred years old, and it has also undergone renovations. It showcases China's splendid ancient culture."
"Four or five hundred years is also a long time. America has only been founded for just over two hundred years. China is truly a beautiful and mysterious country. I really like it here."
After spending a day playing with Michael in Yanjing, he returned to the hotel to rest in the evening, while Eric still had to have dinner with Lao Zhou, Old Han, and the others.
Inside a private club's private room.
The female director in her 30s, brought by Zhou Xiaopeng, was pouring wine for everyone.
Actually, the club provided wine decanters, but Lao Zhou didn't use them. He specifically brought a woman over just for this task.
After filling the glasses, he raised his glass again: "The second toast, we congratulate Old Han on his promotion. Now the host has become an abbot, and his future is bright!"
Clink!
Everyone drank it down again.
The female director refilled their glasses, and Zhou Xiaopeng raised his glass for the third time: "The last glass to Eric. This major event is settled, and in the future, MGM's film and television works will enter the domestic market, a win-win!"
Gulp!
The third glass was also chugged down, all for the sake of deep camaraderie.
After all, for creatures like humans, there isn't much in the world that generates more affection than shared interests.
"Eric, Lao Chen couldn't make it, but the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has already communicated with Yanjing Satellite TV, and the first TV series will be aired on our station."
"What are your thoughts? What genre do you plan to choose for the first drama?"
Eric put down his chopsticks. This was the main point of tonight's dinner.
"This is how I'm thinking: in the few years before I took over MGM, the company's development was very unsuccessful, and it didn't produce any new dramas."
"Those old dramas are out of the question; they can't keep up with the times."
"Currently, MGM has several new dramas, some already completed, some nearing completion, including political thrillers, post-apocalyptic survival, supernatural tales, and thriller dramas."
"You're talking about the walking dead for post-apocalyptic survival, right?"
"Yes."
"Let's put that aside for now; the scale is too large. It might be fine online, but it's a bit over the top for TV. How about the scale of the others?"
"Regarding scale, house of cards reflects American election struggles, hannibal is a prequel to the silence of the lambs, supernatural has ghosts, breaking bad is out of the question as it depicts drug manufacturing."
"Oh, and supernatural has an advantage."
"What?"
"Liu Yifei starred in this drama."
"Who is Liu Yifei?" Old Han asked casually.
The female director explained it to him.
"A beautiful new-generation actress starred in your show, hahaha…"
Old Han looked at Eric, laughing teasingly, what he was thinking was self-evident.
"Chairman Han, in any case, she's quite popular in China, especially after demi-gods and semi-devils aired, Wang Yuyan directly propelled her popularity to a top-tier domestic celebrity."
"Not only does it feature Liu Yifei, but supernatural also has another advantage: it has ghosts but isn't scary. The fright level might not even be as high as Hong Kong's zombie movies."
Zhou Xiaopeng considered it. At this time, there was no regulation against spirits becoming sentient, and ghosts were allowed to appear in TV dramas and movies.
He slapped the table: "It's settled then, this supernatural."