Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

Deputy General Manager Lu Sheng sat in the main seat and looked at Manager Liu of the advertising department. "This month's advertising revenue is much lower than last month's. If this continues, we won't be able to explain it to the board of directors."

Manager Liu spread his hands, looking helpless. "Our rival, Baozhu TV, has brought up their anniversary drama, 'The Legend of Heroes,' in an effort to suppress our popularity, especially the upcoming Miss Hong Kong pageant finals."

This production, "The Legend of Heroes," brings together all the big names from Baozhu TV. The martial arts choreography is by a master in the industry, and the plot and costumes are top-notch. None of our recent dramas are any good; none can beat it.

Charlie, your production department needs to reflect on this.

“Although I have a martial arts drama filming on hand, it won’t be finished for another two months. It’s too late to help in the present situation,” Charlie said.

Martial arts dramas are all the rage these days, and audiences love them. Charlie's new martial arts drama was originally intended to undermine them during TVB's anniversary celebration. Who knew that the other side would release it three months earlier, catching them completely off guard.

Hong Kong TV and Hong Kong TV are mortal enemies. It's always a battle of wills, with neither side willing to give in.

Especially during the crucial stage of the Miss Hong Kong pageant, if the ratings are suppressed, the rivals will laugh at them for years to come.

If viewership ratings are suppressed, advertising revenue will follow suit, and advertising revenue is directly related to the company's income. The TV station's executives may not be able to withstand the wrath of the board of directors.

“Although we can definitely get high ratings on the day of the Miss Hong Kong finals, there is still a month to go. Is there really no way to do anything during this time?” Manager Liu looked at Charlie again.

Charlie knew that the quality of the shows produced by their production department had indeed declined recently, but nothing lasts forever, so how could every show be a huge hit?

Doesn't he want every single one of his dramas to be a hit? The problem is, can he just decide to do that?

Charlie couldn't help but turn his gaze to A-Zhan, who immediately said, "Our program department's ratings have always been very stable. It's your production department that's suffering. Your shows are bad, what does that have to do with our program department?"

If viewership ratings continue to decline and affect advertising revenue, someone needs to apologize to the board of directors, and Ajax doesn't want to be the scapegoat.

Charlie turned his gaze to Lu Sheng, "But we can't just take the show that's currently playing off the air, can we?"

"That's why I called you all here for a meeting, to see if we can come up with a way to salvage some viewership," Lu Sheng said.

Manager Liu said, "Anyway, if the advertising revenue continues to decline this month, I'll just report it honestly when I have to write the report. If the ratings are bad, no matter how eloquent our colleagues in the advertising department are, it won't help."

All the pressure fell on Charlie. Charlie thought of the many Miss Hong Kong contestants he had seen in the training room earlier, and then of Hu Xiaoxiao's amazing performance on the day of the preliminary round. Suddenly, he had an idea.

In the training room, Hu Xiaoxiao encountered a tricky situation.

When the music teacher was teaching the contestants to sing, Hu Xiaoxiao realized that she was singing a bit badly, and her pitch and intonation were off.

"Hu Xiaoxiao, have you never sung before?" The music teacher also noticed that singing was Hu Xiaoxiao's weakness, as she sang several lines off-key and out of tune.

Hu Xiaoxiao nodded honestly: "Yes, teacher, this is my first time singing."

The music teacher knew about the contestants' information and knew that Hu Xiaoxiao had just arrived in Hong Kong. He assumed that Hu Xiaoxiao had never sung a Cantonese song before.

"You need to study more, otherwise, even if you make it to the finals and get on stage, you'll get booed if you sing like this."

"Yes, teacher, I will."

Hu Xiaoxiao applied the same effort she put into dancing to singing practice.

On the way back, in addition to buying chicken, I also went to a music store and bought several cassette tapes of Cantonese songs, as well as an extra tape recorder to practice singing at home.

Since she couldn't sing loudly inside the house to avoid disturbing the neighbors, Hu Xiaoxiao hummed softly, learning from the recording tape, one note at a time, one key at a time.

After teaching dance in the evening, I went straight to sleep. The next morning, I went to the park at dawn and then sang along loudly with the recording.

When I felt I had sung well enough, I recorded it and played it back together with the original tape.

One tape recorder played her singing, and another played the original music. They found any shortcomings and immediately made corrections.

Hu Xiaoxiao is not only diligent in her studies, but also good at thinking and constantly reflecting on her shortcomings.

As a result, within just a few days, the music teacher noticed that her off-key and out-of-tune singing had improved significantly.

"It's clear you practiced diligently after you went back. Keep it up."

"Thank you, teacher. I will work even harder," Hu Xiaoxiao promised her music teacher.

With the affirmation of her music teacher, Hu Xiaoxiao studied even more diligently, practicing songs in the park every morning.

When she recorded her voice again and played it along with the original recording, feeling that she was not much different from the original singer and feeling smug, a male voice suddenly spoke to her.

“You can’t sing like that. Singing isn’t about imitating others, it’s about developing your own style.”

Hu Xiaoxiao turned her head and saw a thin old man with completely white hair, who had a refined and scholarly air about him.

Hu Xiaoxiao asked, "Uncle, are you a singer?"

The old man laughed and said, "I can't sing, but I know songs. I've seen you practicing singing here for several days. You've been practicing very hard, but it's not very useful. You can only imitate other people's singing, but you can't sing yourself. That won't do. No matter how much you practice, you can only sing pop songs."

Hu Xiaoxiao doesn't understand music, but she is eager to learn.

Upon seeing that the old man in front of him knew about vocal music, he immediately asked humbly, "How can I sing better?"

"Singing should start with practicing breathing and vocalization. Your current singing style is a 'plain voice,' also called a 'natural voice,' which is singing entirely with your natural voice strained. This will lead to unstable volume. In the long run, it can also damage your vocal cords."

Hu Xiaoxiao thought about it and realized that it was true. After practicing for a few days, although her pitch and tone were in place, her voice was a little hoarse and her throat was starting to feel uncomfortable.

It's clear that if she continues practicing like this, her voice might become so hoarse that she won't be able to sing on the day of the finals.

Laymen look at the hot topics, experts look at the details.

The old man's words reminded Hu Xiaoxiao, who was completely an outsider. Hu Xiaoxiao went up to him enthusiastically, helped him sit down on a chair, and asked him for guidance.

The old man said, "I can see that you are a very hardworking person. I admire hardworking young people the most. I can give you some tips on singing techniques, but for more advanced music, you have to learn it yourself. It would be best to hire a vocal teacher."

Hu Xiaoxiao said realistically, "I have to participate in a competition at the end of the month, which includes a singing segment. I want to sing well, at least not worse than others. Uncle, could you teach me some competition skills first?"

I don't need more advanced music skills right now, and it's not something I can learn in a month or two. If I still want to sing after the competition, then I'll study professional vocal music.