"Balloon Queen, why don't you just rename yourself Lucky Queen?"
"Not so lucky now, because she met Dark Night Rabbit in the first round, the two-time reigning King of Singers!"
"Now Dark Night Rabbit has become the hottest contestant among the Kings of Singers. I really want to know how far he can go."
"Is there a possibility that Dark Night Rabbit still has many trump cards up his sleeve?"
"Impossible, right? The song 'Moonlight' last round already revealed all his strength."
"Although Dark Night Rabbit has a versatile voice, he still lacks a style that can blow the audience away. His songs are all on the softer side. Even 'Moonlight' has a gentle style. I bet Dark Night Rabbit is definitely a female singer."
"The substitute singers later are clearly getting stronger and stronger. Although the Black Knight today is quite boastful, his strength cannot be underestimated. There are also Faceless Knight and Red Dragon, two powerful singers, who are definitely eyeing the King of Singers title."
Amidst the audience's chatter.
Under the Balloon Queen's mask, she pursed her lips with bitterness.
The intro began.
The audience gradually stopped talking because they realized Balloon Queen was no longer singing rock.
She was actually singing a song by Ting Yu, "The Tracer of Light," which Lin Yanyu had popularized.
The song "The Tracer of Light" wasn't particularly difficult.
However, it wasn't a song for showing off techniques. What was more important was the emotional delivery.
"I can follow behind you,
Like a shadow chasing light, dreaming.
I can wait at this crossroads,
No matter if you pass by..."
At this moment.
The audience finally realized.
Balloon Queen actually had a fresh and pure side to her, in addition to rock.
Everyone had assumed she was older, but when singing this song, she had a student-like aura, and her voice was very beautiful, completely different from her rock persona.
"Although the collision of two styles is surprising, the change in style has already been mastered by Dark Night Rabbit, significantly diminishing the surprise factor."
"That's right. If it weren't for the bug-level existence of Dark Night Rabbit, Balloon Queen could have achieved a surprise victory."
"Haha, in the past, style changes were a killer move on the King of Singers stage. Now, it has become commonplace. It's all Dark Night Rabbit's fault."
"Compared to Balloon Queen, I'm more looking forward to Dark Night Rabbit's performance."
In the previous season, when "Masked Singer" was still more of an entertainment-focused show, singers used vocal and style changes as their trump cards.
Because of this strong contrast, it truly impressed the audience.
However.
Things were different now.
With vocal changes, who could outdo Dark Night Rabbit?
He was like a bug, with ever-changing tones.
Although he hadn't displayed many styles yet, only showing his softer side, it was enough to be astonishing.
Balloon Queen also noticed this problem.
Seeing the lack of surprise from the audience, her heart grew more bitter.
Her hidden trump cards were completely useless.
Wasted effort?
It's over...
"Next, please welcome Dark Night Rabbit for his performance!!"
The host's elongated announcement.
Whoosh!
Warm applause erupted from the audience.
Dark Night Rabbit.
He already had quite a few supporters.
"Looking forward to Dark Night Rabbit's vocal style this time!"
"Do you think Dark Night Rabbit will sing a new song by Ting Yu this time?"
"Isn't that obvious? Didn't you see the trending topic online? Ting Yu liked a fan's shared story and even asked everyone to pay attention to the latest episode of 'Masked Singer.' And the episode we're recording is the latest one, so Dark Night Rabbit will definitely sing it."
"That's right, I bought the ticket after seeing that news online."
"Haha, looks like you're a loyal fan of Ting Yu. So am I. For this ticket, I even paid several hundred extra dollars for a scalper ticket."
On stage.
Su Yu looked at the applauding audience below.
A slight curve formed on his lips.
It seemed that through the identity of Dark Night Rabbit, he had gained quite a few supporters.
He bowed slightly to the audience and then walked towards the piano in the center of the stage.
For his first song, he planned to sing "The Wind Rises," and he would accompany himself on the piano.
This song was re-lyricized and covered by "Buy Chili Without Coupons." After becoming wildly popular online,
Many powerful singers had covered this song.
JJ Lin, Wu Qing Feng, Zhou Shen, and other talented singers had all covered it.
However, Su Yu decided to use the original version by Buy Chili.
...
When the audience and the judges saw him sit at the piano,
They were immediately surprised.
"He's going to play the piano?" Mo Yan raised an eyebrow.
Liu Huan smiled gently, "Interesting."
Yin Na opened her mouth, she was about to say "showy," but recalling Dark Night Rabbit's performance last round, she quickly held back.
"Awesome, he's doing a live piano and vocal performance this time!"
"Holy cow, I'm getting excited!"
"As expected of Dark Night Rabbit, he surprises us every time!"
A clear piano melody began.
The audience stopped their chatter.
And when the intro reached a critical point, and the classical elements joined in, a youthful aura rushed forth.
The song "The Wind Rises" tells a story of youth.
From youthful aspirations for the future to the sudden realization after experiencing many things.
This is precisely why it resonates with so many people.
As soon as they hear this song, scenes from their youth instantly emerge from the depths of memory.
"All the way, I walked and stopped,
Following the traces of the wandering youth.
The moment before stepping out of the station,
I felt a bit hesitant."
The initial perspective is from the moment the young man starts his journey home.
The lyrics are simple and direct, but incredibly vivid.
One can almost see that lonely figure, sitting in the car, gazing out the window at the familiar passing scenery.
Many people can relate to this feeling.
After work.
Wearing headphones, listening to favorite music, sitting by the window on the bus, watching the hurried street scenes pass by, it feels as if the whole world is irrelevant, and it's incredibly relaxing.
It's like being able to forget all work worries in this moment, in a world that belongs only to oneself.
"I can't help but laugh at this nervousness about returning home,
Yet it's still unavoidable.
And the sky of Changye,
Is still so warm,
The wind blows up the past."
As Su Yu sang.
It once again cast doubt on Dark Night Rabbit's gender.
The vocal used in this song is somewhat neutral, clear yet delicate.
It carries a youthful vibe, but leans more towards a female voice with a neutral tone.
However, although the audience was puzzled, few were still trying to guess Dark Night Rabbit's gender.
Because they had basically given up, unable to guess at all.