On the night of the premiere of “Starlight Youth Development Program”, the entertainment section of China’s largest online forum, Starry Sky Forum, had three threads related to the show on its front page.
While three threads may not seem like much for an ordinary forum section, this was the most active user base in the country, with nearly 360 million daily active users, and the entertainment section is the most active on Starry Sky Forum.
Usually filled with heated debates, endorsements, and celebrity gossip, securing three posts on the front page of such a hot section is quite an achievement.
To have three such threads on the front page of this high-traffic section was already very impressive.
[“Has anyone watched that talent show on Orange TV? I’m dying laughing haha”]
[“Check out ‘Starlight Youth’! From breaking stones with chests to chopping bricks with one hand, comic dialogues, and hurdle races, you’ll find all sorts of bizarre talents here!”]
[“I’m laughing so hard, I can’t even. What kind of bizarre talent show is this? And yet, I can’t stop watching. Don’t ask, it’s just too good.”]
Below these posts, users who had stumbled upon “Starlight Youth” expressed their amazement, laughing uncontrollably and engaging in lively discussions, their comments filled with endless “haha.”
Lemon-Eating Bunny: Hahaha, I’m dying, but seriously, that bamboo clapper guy is pretty handsome, especially the way he plays it so seriously, so adorably cute. I’m in love.
Mom Calls Me Pay Later: The bamboo clapper guy is handsome, but those mixed-race twin storytellers are the real stunners. I can’t fault those looks, it’s so stunning!
Haha Jing: At first, I thought this show was just plain weird, from the name to the contestants. Blushing talent show contestants in 8202? I was shocked. But the more I watched, the more I got hooked. It’s just too good.
I Want Hot Pot: Hmm, am I the only one who thinks this talent show is a bit… odd1This originally “zz” in the raws. zz = 智障 (zhì zhàng) – learning difficulties (handicap) / retarded? What the hell is this display of specialties? It’s a mess. It’s just trying to attract attention…
Eat Your Dad’s Melon: Yes, you’re the only one. I think it’s interesting. Today’s talent shows are like products from an assembly line, all the same and boring. At least this one has creativity and courage. And why is it trying to attract attention? Talents are just what people are good at, right? I think they’re inexperienced, but they still did a decent job.
Pineapple Pineapple C: Responding to the above, I initially thought it was just for attention, too, until I saw the guy doing the hurdles. I’m a sports student myself, so I don’t know anything else, but I still have a say in this area. His hurdle posture and movements were very standard. It is difficult to achieve this level without long-term professional training.
NoGuNoGu: To be honest, the boy playing the erhu also has real talent. My dad is an erhu teacher, and when he heard the sound, he came over. After listening to the boy play for three minutes, he scolded me harshly for not learning from him. qaq
Da Vinci’s Tumbler: As an art student, I unilaterally declare the handsome guy who painted on the spot as my new idol! Not only is he good-looking, but he paints so well too, I’m crying.
Don’t Eat Coriander: How did no one mention No. 25? I was shook to my core! That thick slab of slate, clank clank clatter, that tall stack of bricks, BOOM—crunch crunch.
Idealistic Little Sky: Hahaha why can you send voice messages! I’ve been waiting for this, I was stunned at the time, almost called an ambulance, but the guy was fine and even chopped a brick with one hand before leaving!
The topic officially opened up from these two posts, with over 2,000 posts discussing Chi Yu’s final brick-breaking performance, and various opinions emerged one after another.
The mainstream was astonishment, guessing that Chi Yu must be a bug, his moves were too godly! Some were attracted to these ancient folk stunts and looked up information.
Of course, such unbelievable talent demonstrations also drew skepticism, with some saying the slate and bricks were props, pre-arranged to look heavy but light.
Others said not only was the slate fake, but even the person lifting it was an actor hired by the show to pretend struggling.
But this claim was quickly debunked. Although actors can cooperate, the cracks shown on the shattered slate indicate it was definitely not faked, as the volume and area were there, so the weight and material had to be real.
Regardless of positive or negative comments online, it proved the success of the first episode of “Starlight Youth Development Program.” The huge discussion and heat made the Orange TV executives, who initially didn’t care much for the show besides obliging Jiang Tingyuan, finally pay attention.
In the office, the person in charge of Orange TV held the ratings report for yesterday’s “Starlight Youth” that his secretary just brought.
The ratings dropped in the first ten minutes but then suddenly spiked and kept rising until the end of the episode.
Especially the last eight minutes, the ratings skyrocketed to an astonishing level their station hadn’t seen in a long time.
He flipped through the report many times before slowly asking his secretary, “When was the last time we had a variety show with such high ratings?”
The secretary was stunned for a moment but quickly understood what he meant. He quickly tapped his fingers on the tablet. Two minutes later, he found the answer in the internal database but was shocked to see the air date and name.
“It was… ‘Star Show’ in 2024.” The secretary could barely hide his shock.
‘Star Show’ was also a talent show, or more accurately, it represented the last hurrah of the talent show era.
After that program ended, there were no decent talent shows for four long years, despite repeated attempts by investors to create a successful one. But no matter how much money they poured in, they only suffered losses.
Producing a talent show is extremely expensive. It’s not an exaggeration to say it burns money. If it gains popularity, the profits are considerable. But if it fails to make waves, investors often lose so much they’re disowned by their parents – it’s torturous.
Larger companies could still bear it, but some smaller ones went bankrupt with bosses jumping off buildings, which wasn’t uncommon those two years.
After a long silence, the Orange TV executive sighed, “Spring is coming.”
“Indeed, Mr. Jiang has better foresight. I was short-sighted this time. I originally wanted to return an old favor through this opportunity, but…”
He trailed off with a sigh and shook his head, muttering, “I didn’t expect to owe him even more instead of repaying it.”
Though he didn’t explicitly say anything, his secretary, who knew him inside out after over a decade, understood what the boss meant.
The secretary was present when the boss spoke to the Jiang Group’s president, so he knew what they discussed that day.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the boss was lamenting that after four years of the talent show winter, revival was finally coming.
However, while the secretary understood, he couldn’t comprehend if ‘Starlight Youth’, despite decent ratings by showcasing unique talents, could really usher in a new spring for talent shows.
An unorthodox show that gained popularity through novel means – how long could its popularity last? One, two or three episodes? What would it do after exhausting the talent introductions?
The secretary remained skeptical.
The day after ‘Starlight Youth’s’ ratings came out, Ye Zhou received a call from Xu Wei.
Her voice was filled with barely concealed excitement and joy. When sharing the good news with Ye Zhou, her pitch slightly trembled from the excitement.
It had been two years. The pressure she had been under during these two years had been too great. Ye Zhou’s unwavering trust meant Xu Wei told herself from the start that there was only moving forward, not a single step back.
Having worked at major TV stations for a long time, constantly learning to pursue her dreams, how could Xu Wei not know how precious Ye Zhou’s complete faith was amidst the talent show winter?
Cherishing it, she worked even harder. This show wasn’t like other popular variety shows. It was rather naive, with all sorts of flaws and idealism. Ultimately, it originally stemmed from a dream she had for a long time.
When she resolutely quit her job for this dream, when she sought investment with this proposal, when she was repeatedly mocked and sneered at…
She had considered giving up, but always persisted a bit longer, just a bit more.
Just when she had lost all hope, Ye Zhou appeared and changed her life. Without him, Xu Wei could not imagine what kind of situation she would be in now.
Perhaps groveling to investors everywhere, or overwhelmed by life, bowing to reality – viciously tearing apart and discarding the dream she had for half her life, finding a 9-to-5 job to return to a stagnant, waveless existence.
Xu Wei had envisioned all possibilities, except this one.
“Mr. Ye, I’m not good with words, but there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you since the day we met, and I’d like to take this opportunity.”
“A long time ago, I heard a saying: everyone has the right to chase their dreams.”
“But I think this saying is wrong.”
“For adults, dreams are a luxury. The older I get, the more I realize that ‘chasing dreams’ is easy to say, but in reality, not everyone has that right.”
“Thank you for giving me back the right to chase my dreams.”
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