As FTM’s performance ended, discussions erupted everywhere—Weibo, entertainment forum groups, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and other websites.
“Did you all see FTM’s stage? One microphone was broken—absolutely ridiculous!”
“They were switching microphones while singing, it was so exciting to watch!”
“If it wasn’t handled in time, the whole song would have been ruined.”
“Doesn’t this prove they were all singing live? The mic was broken and there was no sound, obviously not lip-syncing to a CD.”
“Tonight, FTM is the only idol group singing live, the other groups are obviously lip-syncing. The entertainment industry is so bad, only a few popular idols have the courage unlike these unknown newcomers.”
“In the idol world where everyone is slacking, FTM is a breath of fresh air.”
“Not just young idols, some veteran singers who debuted years ago are also lip-syncing, and sometimes even mess up the lyrics, hilarious.”
“There are many disasters even with fully open mics, singing terribly. Can these big stars improve their skills?”
“Five stars for the newcomers who dare to sing live!”
“Singing live this well is already very good, much better than those lip-syncers who even mess up.”
“At least this new group has a serious attitude.”
“The knife formation dance is really cool, and the harmonies sound good too.”
At first, curious netizens were interested just because FTM switched mics and sang live.
Then, suddenly, a trending topic appeared on Weibo.
#FTM performance accident#
The timing of this trending topic was strange—it appeared in the top three of the entertainment list just as FTM finished their performance.
Many casual viewers clicked in out of curiosity.
The trending topic was hosted by a media marketing account called “Huofeng Entertainment,” which posted a live video recording of FTM’s performance at Yuntu Satellite TV’s New Year’s Eve gala, along with this text—
“FTM group completely failed at Yuntu Satellite TV’s New Year’s Eve performance. The harmonies were messy, everyone was off-key, singing live was like a disaster.”
Under the pinned Weibo, many strange comments appeared.
“What harmony group? More like an off-key group.”
“Only with crazy studio pitch correction can it sound a bit okay, live singing is totally unpresentable.”
“Everyone is out of tune, hilarious.”
“Singing so badly, might as well lip-sync to a CD.”
“FTM, stop torturing our ears.”
Casual viewers: “???”
Are we watching the same show?
These strange, seemingly pre-arranged negative comments gradually caused a backlash among many casual viewers.
“Where is it off-key? Isn’t it pretty good?”
“I even went to listen to the original. Although the live performance wasn’t as perfect as the original, it was still pretty good, right?”
“Is someone deliberately smearing them?”
“The song just finished, and the negative trending topic appeared. I suspect the mic problem isn’t simple.”
“Who wants to mess with this unknown group?”
“Who dares to criticize FTM? I’ll fight you! They’re the only group daring to sing live tonight. I’m starting to stan them today!”
“So eager to mock with negative trending topics? Too bad FTM handled it well live, switched mics and finished singing, no off-key harmonies!”
“Where is it off-key? I listened twice and didn’t hear it.”
“No exaggeration, singing live with open mics like this is good, much better than those who don’t dare to open mics.”
“Fang Yinnian’s final high notes are amazing. His tone and singing skills kill many weak idols.”
“That dancing guy is really handsome, singing and dancing without gasping, with a super stable core.”
“Isn’t this a negative trending topic? But the live comments are praising FTM’s singing. What to do?”
“The pinned trending topic is getting funnier the more I see it, looks like a pre-bought press release.”
“Who did this unknown group offend? The performance just ended, and a negative trending topic appeared, clearly a packaged attack.”
Xu Baichuan didn’t have time to follow public opinion, but he arranged staff to monitor it. Right after FTM’s performance, his phone received a message: “Brother Xu, there’s a high-level negative trending topic.”
Xu Baichuan: “…”
Sure enough, this mic problem isn’t simple.
He frowned and said: “Let’s observe the public opinion for half an hour before dealing with it.”
FTM’s five finished their performance and exited through the Stellar Gate.
As the gate closed and they returned backstage, Fang Yinnian felt his legs weaken, dizziness hit him, and he couldn’t see clearly.
He reached out to hold the stairs but missed.
Just as he was about to fall from dizziness, a strong hand suddenly held his.
The heat from the fingertips startled Fang Yinnian.
Mo Xun’s concerned voice asked: “Are you okay, Yinnian?”
Fang Yinnian shook his head, voice trembling: “I’m fine, just… a bit scared.”
During the performance, Fang Yinnian had been calmly controlling all his emotions, doing his best to keep his body and voice steady.
He felt like a tightly stretched string, not allowing any mistakes.
He even felt his legs and arms were no longer his own, dancing mechanically by muscle memory.
At the moment the performance ended, the tight string suddenly snapped.
Fang Yinnian felt his strength drained instantly, his legs weak, his mind filled with a white fog. His nose stung, his eyes blurred, and cold sweat soaked his clothes.
This was their first official performance since debut. Such a big accident—what if it hadn’t been handled in time?
He didn’t dare to think about it.
Mo Xun looked at Fang Yinnian’s pale face, stretched out his arms, and tightly embraced him.
He gently patted Yinnian’s shoulder, comforting him: “It’s okay, you did great. We finished the performance.”
Fang Yinnian nodded and hugged Mo Xun tightly.
He was only 18, with little stage experience, and didn’t know how to handle emergencies.
When he realized the mic had no sound, his mind went blank for a few seconds. It wasn’t until he met Mo Xun’s gaze that they exchanged looks, thought of a solution, and tacitly switched microphones.
Fang Yinnian said softly: “Good thing you were here.”
Mo Xun forced a smile: “I was nervous too, but after you switched mics, you sang very steadily. I told myself we had to keep it together tonight.”
Fang Yinnian: “…”
They gave each other the strongest support.
Fu Fei was beside them, eyes red and voice trembling: “I-I was so scared!”
Tang Che stepped forward: “I was confused too, almost lost the pitch. Luckily, Yinnian kept steady, so I could follow.”
Mo Xun glanced at Tan Junwen: “Good thing Junwen reacted quickly and understood what Yinnian and I meant.”
Tan Junwen smiled: “I saw your eye signal. My solo part was already done, so switching to me was the safest.”
Fang Yinnian took a deep breath, composed himself, and gently pushed Mo Xun away.
Mo Xun helped tidy his slightly messy hair and said softly: “It’s okay. Our test wasn’t perfect, but it was excellent.”
Fang Yinnian smiled: “Yeah, luckily we’ve been practicing dance and know the positioning well. It would have been troublesome if the mic was accidentally dropped during the switch.”
Tan Junwen suddenly said: “By the way, the mic was checked before going on stage. Why was there no sound?”
The five were stunned and looked at the mic.
At that moment, Xu Baichuan came over.
Seeing the manager, the five’s grievances surged like seeing a parent who could stand up for them after being bullied at school.
Tan Junwen hurriedly said: “Brother Xu, this mic has a problem!”
Xu Baichuan’s face was very unpleasant.
He was silent for a moment, then gently patted their shoulders: “You did great. Go back to the dressing room and rest.”
Everyone followed Xu Baichuan to the dressing room.
The other three guests had finished performing and left backstage. Only they remained in the dressing room. Xu Baichuan locked the door and said: “Yinnian’s mic was probably switched.”
The mic’s handle had “Fang Yinnian” written on it.
Because there were many stars at the New Year’s Eve gala, to ensure smooth program transitions, microphones and earpieces were assigned in advance.
The labels were disposable and could be removed and reattached. The production team prepared dozens of microphones, usually changing the labels every five or more programs.
This means if someone wanted to sabotage Fang Yinnian’s mic, they could switch the label during microphone distribution a few programs earlier.
Xu Baichuan said: “Let me see the mic.”
Fang Yinnian immediately handed it over.
Xu Baichuan studied it carefully and said: “The battery indicator is faulty. It looks full, but actually has very little power left. When you go on stage, the mic will die and produce no sound.”
Xu Baichuan paused: “This mic was specially prepared for you.”
Fang Yinnian felt a chill down his spine. He clenched his fists and looked up: “Brother Xu, can we find out who did this?”
Xu Baichuan said: “There are many staff backstage tonight, and it’s chaotic. It’s hard to check dozens of microphones. Even if we find out, it’s useless. The staff who did this are probably ready to quit.”
Tang Che sneered: “Was someone bribing staff to sabotage us?”
Xu Baichuan nodded: “Definitely rivals. They even arranged a negative trending topic package in advance.”
The five exchanged glances, looking at each other.
Fu Fei asked in a trembling voice: “Negative, negative trending topic? Is it serious?”
Xu Baichuan said: “It’s okay. There are pa
id commenters distorting the facts, but public opinion is currently on your side.”
The five sighed in relief.
Xu Baichuan said: “You rose too fast, making people feel threatened. Someone wants to take this opportunity to sabotage you, ruin the vocal group’s reputation, and leave the public with the impression that ‘FTM sings terribly.'”
Netizens won’t watch the video to understand the details.
If the five had sung off-key harmonies today, just by extracting the harmony parts alone and making a few dozen-second videos to spread everywhere… the public would hear a crazy off-key version missing the main melody.
What kind of vocal group sings off-key with open mics?
Rebuilding a positive image in the public’s mind would only be harder.
This is also a common “negative marketing” tactic in the entertainment industry.
Taking things out of context, cutting off the beginning and end to spread screenshots wildly, regardless of the facts, first labeling you negatively to leave a terrible impression on netizens who don’t know the truth.
When mentioning FTM, it would be “the off-key group.”
Spreading rumors takes one mouth, refuting them breaks your legs.
This kind of negative marketing has crushed countless artists. Some can’t withstand the pressure and fade away or quit the industry; others go against the wind and gradually clear their names through their own strength.
This industry is truly walking on thin ice with every step!
Fang Yinnian’s beautiful fantasies about the entertainment industry were gradually collapsing and shattering. His youthful aspirations suddenly seemed ridiculous.
Flattering the powerful while stepping on the weak, fake performances, backstabbing, stealing and replacing—all kinds of characters appeared on stage, performing a drama of scheming and intrigue.
FTM almost became cannon fodder in this play.
Fang Yinnian closed his eyes and said coldly: “They don’t dare to sing live, so they destroy those willing to sing live. It’s completely rotten.”
Xu Baichuan said seriously: “This industry has been rotten to the core for a long time, so—your persistence becomes even more precious.”
There are still people willing to hold the bottom line.
Like the unknown singer Chen Mian, Fang Yinnian’s idol Xie Shiqi, and the 50-year-old female singer Ji Ying who sang and danced four songs consecutively tonight.
They all respect the stage and are willing to sing with fully open mics. Even if the performance isn’t perfect, they never fake it with lip-syncing.
Fang Yinnian looked up at Xu Baichuan: “What about the negative trending topic?”
Xu Baichuan smiled: “Don’t worry, this manager isn’t a pushover either. If they dare to deliberately mess with us and buy negative trending topics to distort facts, then we’ll use this trending topic.”
On the entertainment list, FTM’s negative trending topic was about to drop, but suddenly the topic’s popularity exploded!
But the topic title changed.
No longer #FTM performance accident#, but #FTM fully open mic live#, landing at number one on the entertainment list.
Under the topic was FTM’s complete stage recording, plus an analysis video edited by a professional blogger.
“Fang Yinnian’s microphone broke and had no sound. He switched mics with Mo Xun to sing the last two lines. During the interlude after the chorus, they switched mics again, passing the broken mic to Tan Junwen.”
The video marked the broken mic with red circles.
“If we listen carefully to these two choruses, in the first five-person harmony, the broken mic was in Mo Xun’s hands, so Mo Xun’s ultra-low notes were missing.”
“In the second five-person harmony, the broken mic was in Tan Junwen’s hands, missing Junwen’s voice.”
“You might not notice listening alone, but comparing with the original, especially with the separate tracks from the cover contest, it’s very obvious!”
“Whoever holds the broken mic is missing from the harmony. What does this prove?”
“It proves FTM’s live singing is rigorous to every second!”
“They don’t even have backing tracks. Not only do they sing solo parts live, they don’t slack off on full-group harmony choruses either.”
“All vocal runs, background vocals, and pitch changes are sung live with open mics—genuine 100% live singing.”
“The boy band undoubtedly singing and dancing with fully open mics at the New Year’s Eve gala, also the unique vocal group in Chinese entertainment.”
“FTM hasn’t let down their group name.”
…
Midnight was approaching, and the New Year bells were about to ring.
Assistant Chen knocked on the door and brought in several bottles of champagne she had just bought.
Xu Baichuan had planned to open champagne to celebrate the New Year after the performance.
Now, though the performance wasn’t particularly perfect, it was completed successfully. The champagne arrived on time, so they should definitely celebrate!
The TV screen began the countdown.
The host’s voice echoed throughout: “Dear audience, the new year is coming. Let’s count down together: 10, 9…”
Xu Baichuan opened the champagne and smiled: “Come, let’s leave all the bad things in the old year.”
He looked at the five in front of him and said loudly: “In the new year, I hope everyone stays safe and smooth! Happy New Year.”
The five raised their champagne together. As the countdown reached “1,” they clinked glasses forcefully and shouted in unison—
“Happy New Year!”
This was the most unforgettable New Year’s Eve of their lives.
Their performance wasn’t perfect.
But they had clear consciences and no regrets.
##
