Chapter 465: Talented Player

Chapter 465: Chapter 465: Talented Player

After some idle chatter and banter, the group gradually put aside their joking mindset and began to earnestly review the overall recording situation of the morning, slowly reaching a unified consensus: the blind audition stage changes in the blink of an eye, and it truly allows for not the slightest bit of hesitation or wait-and-see attitude.

After a morning’s recording, countless real-life cases were laid out before their eyes: many high-quality contestants with unique vocal timbres, superior singing skills, and eye-catching styles often missed the opportunity precisely in the gap of a mentor’s momentary hesitation.

Some mentors wanted to listen to one more section of details, some were troubled by the contestants’ shortcomings, and some were watching the movements of other mentors; hesitating for just a few seconds ultimately led them to directly miss out on prime talent.

In contrast, the trainees successfully secured by Steve Winwood and Bonnie Raitt without exception were those who struck decisively as soon as they spotted the advantages.

"It seems we really cannot hesitate anymore afterwards," Britney sighed earnestly, "As long as the vocal timbre is unique enough, the attitude sincere enough, the potential online, and it fits one’s own team style, we must strike decisively. Blind auditions only have one chance; to miss it is to miss it permanently, with no room to do it over."

Everyone nodded in agreement, deeply convinced.

Just as the few of them were earnestly reviewing and exchanging insights on picking talent, Irene walked slowly into the dining area.

She had just finished watching all the morning’s recording footage in the control room, reviewing the overall rhythm, contestant quality, and mentor selection situations, and happened to hear their review summary, speaking up at the right moment to make key rule reminders and risk warnings.

"Everyone’s review makes a lot of sense. Blind auditions indeed require decisiveness, but they also require sufficient caution. There is a situation I must remind you of: not all two hundred contestants who registered, advanced, and came to the scene possess the opportunity to perform on stage."

As soon as these words were spoken, the four mentors who were previously relaxing and chatting raised their eyes in unison, slightly surprised, listening intently to Irene’s detailed explanation.

Previously, everyone defaulted that all contestants would take the stage in turn, with edits and cuts only happening during broadcast, not knowing there were even stricter backstage rules.

Irene sat beside Britney.

"Our rule is that each mentor’s team quota ceiling is fixed at eight to ten people, and the total recruitment quota for the four teams is limited. Within the blind audition recording cycle, once any mentor’s team fills up ahead of time, that mentor will completely close their talent-selection privileges and no longer possess the qualification to turn around. And most crucially, once all four teams fill up with trainees ahead of time and the quotas are completely exhausted, the remaining contestants who have yet to take the stage will directly have their recording terminated, lose the opportunity to perform on stage, and be entirely eliminated on the spot."

This hidden, strict rule made the expressions of the four mentors instantly turn solemn, completely putting away their relaxed mindset.

In other words, every turn and every choice made by the mentors was not simply recruiting a trainee, but rather consuming their own precious team quota.

High-quality contestants missed through hesitation were regrets, but every impulsive and blind choice was an even greater waste of quotas.

Once they casually struck out in the early stage and consumed quotas, should they encounter a top-tier dark horse genius later on, they would face the predicament of having no quotas available.

"Therefore, everyone’s subsequent choices must balance decisiveness and caution," Irene said in a sincere tone, precisely pointing out the way of balance. "When encountering contestants with a matching style, outstanding talent, and ample potential, do not hesitate; strike decisively and lock them in promptly. But when encountering contestants with mediocre timbres, insufficient characteristics, obvious shortcomings, and excessive substitutability, there is no need to blindly turn around just to make up numbers. Quotas are precious, the stage is limited, and contestants are precious. Every choice is crucial. I hope everyone maintains a balanced mindset, takes every choice seriously, wastes not a single precious quota, and does not let down any dreamer rushing toward the stage."

Britney and Kanye, who originally had relaxed mindsets and took a go-with-the-flow attitude of testing the waters, instantly put aside their casual mindsets.

The two of them had reaped nothing in the morning and had originally thought whether they should relax their standards in the afternoon, but at this moment they recognized the situation, understanding that the competition of blind auditions was far more cruel and intense than imagined.

The seemingly sufficient five days of recording time and two hundred contestants actually had an extremely low fault-tolerance rate, and every single quota and turn carried immense weight.

After a brief midday break, the recording atmosphere of the studio returned once again to a tense and orderly state.

At exactly three o’clock in the afternoon, the recording of the second half of the first day of The Voice started on time.

All staff members, equipment cameras, and stage audio were fully in place.

The four iconic red mentor swivel chairs lit up their standby indicator lights once again, and the blind audition stage for the remaining twenty contestants of the first day officially kicked off.

Irene remained stationed in the top-floor control room, keeping her eyes closely fixed on the real-time recording footage throughout the entire process.

Dozens of monitor split screens simultaneously presented the stage panorama, mentor close-ups, contestant close-ups, and audio waveforms, allowing her to control the overall texture and recording rhythm of the show at any time.

After multiple rounds of coordination and crisis testing, Violet’s execution ability was already reassuring enough, handling matters big and small impeccably, allowing Irene to completely extricate herself and examine the presentation effect of the entire show from a global perspective.

Compared to the sluggish state of the morning session where contestants had tense mindsets, frequent mistakes, and uneven overall quality, the overall standard of the contestants taking the stage in the afternoon noticeably leaped upward.

Perhaps the multiple rounds of elimination in the morning gave subsequent contestants sufficient psychological preparation, or perhaps the further back the contestants were, the stronger their comprehensive strength and stability; the amateurs taking the stage in the afternoon generally had relaxed mindsets and stable performances.

High-quality talent with solid singing skills and eye-catching timbres emerged one after another, repeatedly causing mentors to turn around, and high-energy iconic scenes inside the studio kept occurring, completely revitalizing the recording rhythm of the entire day.

Among the dazzling array of contestants, the appearance of a young female trainee directly ignited the climax of the first day’s afternoon session.

This contestant had a slightly plump figure and lacked stunning external packaging, but a student-like vibe made her look very youthful.

After stepping onto the stage, her mindset was calm and poised, and the moment she opened her mouth, she amazed the entire audience.

Her voice possessed both thickness and penetrative power, her singing style was mature and delicate, the transition between strong and soft had an extreme sense of layering, her high notes were clear without being piercing, her low notes were mellow without being hollow, and her emotional rendering power far surpassed contestants of her same age, making Irene think of the future diva Adele Adkins.

The performance of the entire song flowed like floating clouds and flowing water, with precise rhythm and stable breath control without the slightest mistake, perfectly interpreting what top-tier singing skills that conquered the audience purely through voice without the blessing of good looks meant.

Such a highly recognizable, heavenly human voice instantly moved more than half of the mentors present.

As the performance progressed to the middle section, Steve Winwood took the lead in raising his hand to press the button, and the red swivel chair turned in response.

The veteran music scene legend was completely conquered by this pure and solid singing skill.

Closely following, Britney and Kanye West, who had been harvesting nothing and patiently lurking while waiting for high-quality trainees, pressed the indicator lights one after another, and the two swivel chairs started up synchronously.

In just tens of seconds, three top-tier mentors turned around one after another, instantly setting off the most intense talent-grabbing craze since the first day of recording.

For a time, three swivel chairs lit up together on the stage, with only Bonnie Raitt maintaining a wait-and-see attitude, quietly appreciating this high-quality stage performance.

Three music giants with vastly different styles competing for a single trainee simultaneously was enough to prove how outstanding this female contestant’s strength was and how tremendous her potential was.