"Frank, after all these years of marriage, what have you done to help me?"
"You just helped me rehearse and arrange my music; do you know how hard I worked?"
"Originals, originals! What originals are you constantly working on? Have you actually produced anything?!"
"You're not even as good as Liam; at least he can help me with my PR!"
The flowing, gentle melody and vocals continued, and Amelia's mind was flooded with images of her countless arguments with Frank. The words she had said to Frank were shockingly similar to the lyrics at this very moment!
Frank actually wrote our arguments into the lyrics? What does he mean? Does he want to publicly repent and beg for my forgiveness? Dream on!
Just then, Frank's singing continued:
You make your changes, why should I dwell?
But please, let's not meet again.
Amelia froze. What does this line mean? He doesn't want to meet me again? Then why did you come to this show to bother me?
The song quickly reached its chorus, and the lyrical "attack" intensified:
Back then, a plain face, as pure as could be,
No artfully drawn eyeliner, no need to blend foundation.
Amelia's face changed. A slight gasp rippled through the audience. Singing this far, everyone realized the song was telling the story of a lost, beautiful love. A young couple, their love so pure and passionate. But later, the girl began to disdain the boy, and their relationship ended.
"Back then, a plain face, no artfully drawn eyeliner" implies the girl was once innocent but later became mature and materialistic. If this lyric weren't in the current context, it might seem harmless. But in this specific situation, it inevitably led to connections. The scandal of Amelia and Frank's divorce had been so huge, their past dug up countless times. Everyone knew they met in college; at that time, Amelia was naturally "plain-faced," unlike her current meticulously made-up, mature, and alluring self.
So, "Plain Face" refers to the once-innocent Amelia? Doesn't that directly connect to "Old Flames"? Not only does it connect, but it also throws shade! Online rumors stated that Amelia and Frank divorced due to Frank's jealousy and abuse. Now, Frank sings "Plain Face," subtly implying the divorce was because Amelia disliked his inability to produce good originals and looked down on him. Isn't this saying Amelia is materialistic?
Amelia's face was grim. The audience buzzed with discussion, but Frank remained calm, continuing to sing:
The truest joys and sorrows, all buried in yesterday.
You think I want to cling to you? Now I'm telling you, everything about you has long been buried in my yesterday.What I miss is only the simple you from the past. The current you cannot compare to that "plain face" of the past.
Frank continued his "output," quickly reaching the end of the song. For the final line, he still sang softly:
That faded, unadorned face.
Amelia, your plain face is gone, and so is our connection.
The song ended. Frank put down his guitar, stood up gracefully, and bowed to the audience. After other contestants performed, there would be polite applause. But at this moment, the audience was silent. They were all unsure whether to applaud or not.
"Just speaking of the song, that scumbag Castle actually has something there."
"The song is quite good, but it seems like the whole song is insulting someone, right?"
"Not exactly insulting, is it? It's just saying Amelia looked down on her husband, who was with her through hard times, after she became famous. That's already been exposed online."
"It's just one side of the story. Who can guarantee that what Frank sang is true?"
"Well, there's no evidence that Frank was abusive online either, yet you all believed it!"
"Holy cow, I just want to know if we should applaud or not!"
Clap, clap, clap!
Abrupt applause echoed in the silent recording studio. People looked in astonishment; the applause was coming from the mentor panel. Celeste Monroe's beautiful face was impassive, like frost, as she gently clapped.
Next was the sweet and adorable Emily Chen. Her applause was loud, and her eyes were shining: "That was good!"
James Dawson, seeing Celeste Monroe applaud, immediately followed suit. With the three of them leading, the audience gradually began to applaud. Diva Celeste is Amelia's aunt, and she didn't say anything, so what are we afraid of? We enjoyed the song, so what's wrong with applauding? Applaud loudly!
Soon, more than half of the audience began to applaud.
"Diva Celeste is right, a singer lets the music speak. No matter what kind of person Frank is, this song is genuinely good!"
"I suddenly remember my college girlfriend. She also dumped me because I had no money, wuwuwu..."
"Ah, who hasn't had a pure love story?"
"Just to be clear, my applause is for Frank Castle the singer, not Frank Castle the jerk, okay!"
Some audience members even began to self-segregate, mentally separating Frank's image.
Frank smiled, bowing deeply again. He knew that at this moment, he had finally become a true singer.
Amidst the enthusiastic applause, Amelia's expression was stiff. Remembering that the camera was focused on her, she had no choice but to raise her hands and join the applause. But inside, it felt as if her throat was clogged with a toilet brush—stifled, nauseated, yet she had to force herself to appear calm. Otherwise, when the show aired, people would surely say she was guilty, that she really divorced Frank due to materialism and vanity.
However, the discomfort was only temporary, because even greater discomfort was yet to come.
Dana Peterson walked onto the stage and continued to guide the process: "This song 'Plain Face' is truly refreshing. I never expected such a profound and uninhibited artistic concept could be conveyed with just a guitar. Now, please allow the mentors to critique and score contestant Frank Castle's performance."
Instantly, a close-up of Amelia Quinn appeared on the big screen, and all eyes turned to her.
"Ex-wife critiques ex-husband. This is getting interesting!"
"If I were Amelia, I'd be digging my toes into the floor with embarrassment!"
"Shouldn't Frank be the embarrassed one?"
"Frank's song is clearly insulting Amelia. How will she critique it?"
"Go, Amelia, bravely face the past!"
Amelia had never experienced such an awkward moment in her life. She couldn't understand why Frank on stage could be so calm. But now everyone was looking at her, and she couldn't lose! Amelia used all her strength, finally forcing a seemingly calm smile, and finally spoke:
"I don't like this song."
Whoosh!
The entire venue erupted in an uproar. Amelia gripped her hands and continued her critique: "The melody of this song is too flat, with no rise and fall, and the performance is too bland, failing to convey the emotions that fit the theme. I can only give... 70 points."
"Ah?!"
A series of gasps echoed through the recording studio. Even the audience members who disliked Frank could hear that this song "Plain Face" was better than the previous seventeen songs. Frank's singing might not be top-notch, but it wasn't much worse than the previous performers. Coupled with the song's excellence, it should have received at least 85 to 90 points, right? And yet, Amelia had given 90 points to those unremarkable songs before, but only 70 points to Frank's excellent work. Was her personal bias too obvious?