Most of the judges gave Group 5 high scores, but not all of the ten thousand audience members did the same.

It just goes to show that sometimes, true fairness is impossible to achieve.

Both the judges and the audience have their own biases, and they score accordingly.

However, as long as you are truly outstanding, they won’t give you a low score just because of personal preference.

At most, you just won’t get the bonus points that come from being a personal favorite.

Clearly, not everyone believed that a competition required a specific type of song.

More people could judge for themselves.

One of the judges interviewed by the host seemed to be of this opinion. When asked about her thoughts on Group 5, she said:

"There was nothing wrong with the group’s song or singers. I liked them very much, but I am someone who values fairness.

As the judge for the first group said, on a stage for three people, all three should have a chance to shine.

Although this group’s female singer has a very unique voice, and highlighting her might make it easier for the group to stand out,

I still feel a bit uncomfortable. I want to ask Mentor Su San: the two male singers you selected, were they chosen to be knights for the first contestant?

This is a life-changing opportunity for them, and this group competition, in particular, is their chance to shine.

But now, to ensure the success of the best contestant in your hands, you’ve used the other two as a supporting cast to make the star shine brighter. Isn’t that a bit unfair?

Perhaps you all think I’m nitpicking, but you can ask yourselves what your impression of Group 5 is right now."

After hearing this, the people in the live stream chat reflected on it and came to the following conclusions:

[My impression of Group 5 is: Queen, slay me!]

[Yeah, for real. My impression is that Miss Julie’s voice is amazing, and her singing is so powerful.]

[I instantly became her fan.]

[All I can think about are Miss Julie’s bright red lips, her wavy hair, her sexy figure, that cool, revealing outfit, and her raspy, roaring voice.]

[She really stands out, both her voice and her looks. The other two were just... adequate, I guess.]

[During the whole performance, my eyes were glued to Miss Julie. I couldn’t focus on anything else.]

[Actually, Su San’s choice wasn’t wrong. It’s like when a company has three new talents; they’ll always choose to develop the one who stands out the most.

It’s just not appropriate for this kind of show. After all, this program is meant to help talented musicians from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their dreams.]

...

Despite this, Su San still received a high score of 94 points.

If the performance hadn’t rubbed a small portion of people the wrong way, it probably would have taken first place.

After all, many of the people involved in this show genuinely wanted to help the contestants.

All these contestants had battled their way through massive open auditions and several rounds of one-on-one challenges to get here.

Talent alone wasn’t enough; they also needed a bit of luck.

If they performed early, the mentors might not turn their chairs, afraid that someone better was still to come. But if they performed late, there might not be any spots left.

As for those performing in the middle, they had to be skilled and a little better than the ones who had gone before.

Therefore, none of the contestants who made it onto a team came to this stage just to be someone else’s foil.

They needed a chance to showcase their own talents. Even as teammates, they were still competitors.

Even if they didn’t make it into the top three, a sufficiently brilliant performance during the competition could still get them signed by a company.

In other words, every single performance was a chance for them to prove themselves.

Arrangements like the ones from Sili and Su San, while not a reflection on their songwriting abilities, felt like a form of bullying to the marginalized contestants.

People who were sensitive to this issue were naturally unwilling to give high scores.

Despite the sharp critique, Su San kept a smile on her face, showing much better control over her expression than Sili.

After five group showdowns, the rankings were in.

First: Jiang Qin’s team, 95 points.

Second: Su San’s team, 94 points.

Third: Josh’s team, 93 points.

Fourth: Ophina’s team, 91 points.

Fifth: Sili’s team, 78 points.

The score differences were all small, with the sole exception of Sili, who met her Waterloo.

Su San’s fans were also vexed: [Su San was careless. If she hadn’t subconsciously arranged the performance the way a company would, she would have been first.]

[Is it possible that because a certain female from the Federation is more famous, the production team deliberately manipulated the scores to keep her from losing face?]

[Heh, we Jiang Fan also think these scores are shady. The judges and audience are mostly from your Empire, so it definitely looks like score manipulation.]

[Exactly! Our Qin Bao’s group performed flawlessly, while the other four all had their issues. For the scores to be this close, are you sure there wasn’t some foul play?]

[Do you Federation people have a persecution complex? What do you mean ’flawless’? Wasn’t their choice of genre a flaw in itself?]

[Genre? When did they ever say there was a required genre for the competition songs?

Isn’t the competition about how well the composers understand their contestants’ voices and tailor songs specifically for them?

Shouldn’t the focus be more on the singers’ skills and how well the song suits them?]

The most indignant of all were Sili’s fans, who were openly crying foul play.

[Our Sili’s score is so low, are you sure there isn’t a problem? Are you trying to bully her?]

[Stop crying ’bullying’ over everything. Your Sili’s flaws were plain to see. This score was already generous.]

Josh’s fans were equally dissatisfied, as every fanbase believes their own idol is the best.

However, they weren’t blaming the production team, but rather the three contestants she had chosen.

They believed it was the contestants’ lack of skill that caused Josh’s score to be just a tiny bit short.

Ophina’s fans felt that since everyone else was arguing, they’d look out of place if they didn’t join in. Besides, if they didn’t cry foul play, wouldn’t that just be admitting that their Ophina only deserved 91 points?

So, her fans decided to muddy the waters and join the fray.

Meanwhile, the show’s director and assistant director were chuckling gleefully behind the scenes.

Why else would they pack the show with so many gimmicks? For the views, of course!

So let them argue. The more intense, the better. If they could get it to trend on social media, it would attract even more viewers to their show.

...

No matter how fiercely the arguments raged in the live chat, the atmosphere at the venue itself remained calm.

The hosts were having the contestants draw their opponents for the next round.

The names were scrolling frantically across the large screen.

Many of the contestants grew tense, all of them praying inwardly, ’Please don’t let me get matched with Julie!!’

It had to be said that Julie truly stood out in the last performance, especially because of her voice.

In a head-to-head showdown, facing a voice like that would make winning extremely difficult.