Chapter 501: Entry

Chapter 501: Chapter 501: Entry

The top landmark venue was magnificent, featuring an exquisite and grand facade where gilded decorations met clean architectural lines, exuding the solemn quality of a major celebration.

By now, the area outside the venue was already packed with people. Lucky audience members who had won the ticket lottery from all across the country arrived one after another, queuing up outside in an orderly fashion—lively, yet far from chaotic.

The five girls quickly found the assembly area and dutifully queued up. After finally squeezing to the front of the line, they checked in with the on-site staff.

The staff patiently informed everyone of the official entry rules: the recording scale for this grand final was immense, with a complex process involving stage rehearsals, mark adjustments, and multiple overlapping recording rounds. The total recording time would be exceptionally long, taking over eight hours from the morning entry preparation to the evening finale.

The production team thoughtfully reminded all audience members that food delivery was not permitted inside, nor were random exits and re-entries midway through. They advised everyone to bring their own portable food and drinking water in advance to avoid hunger and dehydration during the long wait and recording.

As soon as this reminder was announced, the waiting crowd fell into an uproar. Almost everyone had overlooked the issue of the ultra-long recording duration, and many decided on the spot to go out and buy food. The five-person group was no exception.

"Oh no, I did not prepare any food at all! I definitely will not be able to hold out for so long without eating," Michelle said, her face instantly falling.

Ella nodded softly in agreement: "There seems to be a dining sales area inside, but with so many people, demand will definitely exceed supply. It is best to prepare a bit in advance."

Without the slightest hesitation, the five of them immediately turned and left the queue, intending to head to the surrounding streets to buy bread, sandwiches, and coffee that were easy to carry, took up little space, and were suitable for eating during long periods of sitting, just in case.

But when they stepped out of the venue block, they realized the scene before them was far more exaggerated than they had imagined.

Across the surrounding area within five kilometres of Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue, every bakery, light food shop, snack shop, and convenience store was packed to capacity, completely jammed with people.

Densely packed audience members filled every shop, all sharing the exact same thought: stock up on food before entering and waiting.

Long lines formed in front of the cash registers at every store. Popular sandwiches, toasts, and portable snacks were almost entirely bought out, leaving empty shelves frequently. The store clerks were working off their feet, unable to keep up with restocking.

Looking at the overcrowded shops, the endless queues, and the constantly sold-out food, everyone instantly fell into a dilemma.

Rejoining the queue outside would likely take an hour or two without any guarantee of getting suitable food, but going in empty-handed would make it difficult to endure the long recording process.

Just as they were at a complete loss and trapped in this dilemma, Zoe’s eyes lit up, and she immediately pulled out her phone: "Do not panic, I have a way! I have a friend who works part-time at a coffee shop nearby, just two blocks away. I will contact him now to see if he can save us a batch of sandwiches and instant coffee so we do not have to wait in line."

With that, Zoe quickly called her friend, briefly explained the emergency, and asked him to help reserve portable meals for five people, packed as compactly as possible for easy carrying.

Her friend was straightforward. Upon learning they were attending the recording of The Voice finals, he readily agreed on the spot, preparing the freshest sandwiches, portable sachets of instant coffee, juice, and a few boxes of individually packaged cookies for them in advance.

Thanks to this personal connection, they successfully bypassed the sea of queuing crowds and avoided the congested stores, smoothly picking up a full bag of portable meals.

After all the back-and-forth running around, communicating, purchasing, and picking up the items, the whole ordeal took nearly two hours.

By the time the five of them, carrying bags laden with food, panted their way back to the audience entrance of Radio City Music Hall, it was already close to noon. The queue outside was even larger and neater than before, yet still perfectly orderly.

With an ample supply of food saved up, everyone felt completely at ease, joining the line again with peace of mind to await entry.

The midday sun shone down on the top of the venue, making the gilded walls sparkle brilliantly.

As time passed, eleven o’clock in the morning arrived right on schedule, and the show crew officially opened the audience verification channels.

Security personnel, ticket inspectors, and usher guides were all in position. Working in an orderly and well-organized manner, they guided thousands of audience members inside step-by-step, directing everyone to their designated seats after verifying their credentials.

Originally, everyone’s seats were randomly scattered across different areas. However, as the backbone of the group, as soon as Leah obtained their entry qualifications and confirmed their seat assignments, she immediately began coordinating seat swaps in the fan group.

For this event, over sixty percent of those who registered were fans of Irene and Britney. Fans reflect their idols—everyone was relatively easygoing, and they were not the only ones looking to swap seats.

Therefore, after nearly a week of effort, Leah finally managed to rearrange everyone’s seats so they could sit together.

Now, the five girls stayed close together, moving slowly with the crowd as they stepped step-by-step into the interior of this top-tier performance venue.

Stepping into the main hall, everyone’s immediate impression was a strong sense of novelty, completely different from the various performances and galas they had attended in the past.

Exquisite and warm reminder signs were posted everywhere inside the venue—along corridors, passageways, the edges of the stands, stair handrails, and rest areas. Far from having a harsh or cold tone of enforcement, they were all gentle and friendly reminders for civilised viewing.

"Please do not litter; let us protect the environment around the stage together."

"Treat each other with kindness, respect others, and enjoy the show civilly."

"Respect every dream-chasing contestant’s stage and efforts."

"Please do not make loud noises or fool around; let us safeguard a pure musical atmosphere together."

These gentle slogans were scattered in every corner of the venue, demonstrating the crew’s thoughtfulness and warmth in every detail.

In the variety show recordings and concerts they had attended in the past, there were mostly just cold prohibitions and penalty rules. Only the venue of The Voice was filled with human warmth everywhere—respecting the audience, respecting the stage, and respecting every bit of passion. This made everyone who came to watch feel exceptionally warm inside and fall even more in love with the show.

Following the staff’s guidance, the five girls successfully found their swapped seats.

Leah’s connections were truly beyond reproach. The seats they had won in the lottery were originally scattered all over the place, some near the front and others near the back. But now, they were all positioned in the front section, relatively close to the main stage, with an unobstructed view and a prime viewing angle.

Without having to strain on tiptoes or peek through gaps in the crowd, they could clearly and fully see the entire stage’s lighting layout, stage design details, contestants’ performances, and mentors’ seats. They could even vaguely discern the contestants’ expressions and subtle gestures on stage.

The moment they sat down, all five held their breath simultaneously, their eyes filled with awe.

The stage production quality of this top-tier venue completely exceeded everyone’s expectations.

A massive high-definition LED main screen stood centrally, flanked symmetrically by auxiliary screens. Dense, orderly lighting arrays were tuned with extremely delicate colour and shadow effects. Professional surround sound audio covered the entire hall, and the stage floor was clean and transparent. The overall layout was grand, magnificent, exquisite, and high-end.