"Besides the highlights of the costumes and song arrangement, you actually called this a disaster?" Ai tilted her head in confusion. Although she felt uncomfortable with the lyrics, she still said, "Is it really that bad? I think it's alright."
"That's because you haven't been in the industry long and don't know much about dance," Hiko sighed. From his current perspective and memory, the performance of the three Idols on stage was quite poor.
They couldn't even perfectly replicate Onyanko Club's moves.
He really couldn't understand why, even though they had learned the song and were on the Idol path, they didn't bother to study the original performance properly.
"You're just talking without pointing out the problems. It's like you're bragging and stirring up trouble." Ai felt a little displeased that Hiko criticized the performance without explaining the details.
"There are simply too many problems, I'm too lazy to complain about them all. But since you want to know, I'll tell you."
Hiko thought for a moment before saying, "First, let's talk about the singing. You heard it just now, they completely failed to convey the emotion in the lyrics. It was like voice acting, but delivered flatly and without any feeling."
Ai nodded in agreement. She had also thought the singing wasn't very good but couldn't figure out why. Hearing Hiko's explanation gave her a sudden realization.
Seeing Ai nod, Hiko stopped elaborating on the singing flaws and continued, "Then there's their performance. I've seen videos of Onyanko Club's performances before. Their choreography is decades old. It's one thing that these three didn't update or adapt it, but they couldn't even perfectly imitate the original moves. They made frequent mistakes. I really don't know how they rehearsed."
"Were there problems with the moves?" Ai tried to recall but hadn't noticed any obvious mistakes.
"Too many problems... You haven't seen the original videos, so you wouldn't know how many errors they made. When we get back, I'll show you Onyanko Club's performance, and you'll see where they went wrong," Hiko said. "Since it's hard to explain now, let's skip that and move on."
"Okay," Ai nodded again, though she was a little confused. He'd already gone over the singing and dancing, how could there still be more issues?
Since he was continuing, she decided to hold her curiosity and listen.
"Besides the singing and dancing, there's another important issue, the stage lighting. The tone for this song should have been soft, but the lighting technician only created effects based on the beat, ignoring the atmosphere of the lyrics and costumes. That was also a major flaw," Hiko explained.
"Ah, I see..." Ai thought about it. She hadn't felt there was anything wrong with the lighting; the visuals looked fine to her.
But if things were as he described, then this performance really was a disaster.
"However, judging by their movements, they definitely didn't practice much, and they're all amateurs. So, considering that, what they did was barely acceptable," Hiko added, seeing Ai stunned by his critique.
While the two were talking, the performance on stage came to an end.
Their leader, holding a microphone, stepped forward and said, "Please listen to our second song, 'Teacher, Teacher.'"
Hiko recognized the leader on stage, it was the girl who had dressed as a cat girl in a cardboard box yesterday.
A leader burdened with heavy responsibilities?
However, compared to the other two, her movements were much more precise, and her solo parts were at least acceptable.
As an amateur Idol, she was quite good.
Presumably, the costumes and song choices for this performance were her ideas?
Hiko couldn't help thinking that when he saw the second song was indeed another classic.
The song's accompaniment started again.
[Verse 1]
Gakkou ja kidzuiteinakatta (I didn't notice it in school)
Machi de atte hatto shite shimatta (But I was shocked when I met you in town)
Dansei datte ima sara omoidashita (I just remembered now that you're a man)
Iketeru n janai? (Aren't you actually sexy?)
Koe kakeyou ka mayotte (Lost in conversation)
Kobore sou na kaferate (Cafe latte about to overflow)
Unmei to wa oku no te (Fate is a mystery)
Hanashi wo kikasete (Listen to me)
Dareka ni mirarete uwasasarete mo (Even if we're caught)
Watashi wa heiki (I'm unfazed)
[Chorus]
Teacher Teacher naze nigegoshi de? (Teacher, Teacher, why are you smiling?)
Teacher Teacher naze hohoemu no kashira? (Teacher, Teacher, so nervously?)
Teacher Teacher naze watashi to wa? (Teacher, Teacher, why this distance?)
Teacher Teacher naze konna kyori wo oku no? (Teacher, Teacher, between the two of us?)
Teacher Teacher naze oshiego wa? (Teacher, Teacher, why can't a student be?)
Teacher Teacher naze renai taishougai? (Teacher, Teacher, a romantic interest?)
Teacher Teacher naze puraibeeto wa? (Teacher, Teacher, why are you so distant?)
Teacher Teacher naze yosoyososhii? (Teacher, Teacher, even in private?)
Itsumo to chigau kyou no sensei (Different from usual, today's teacher)
Why?
[...]
...Hiko's attention had been on Ai just now, so he hadn't noticed that more people had entered from outside.
It seemed the leader dressed that way to attract passersby to buy tickets.
Since the venue wasn't large, with the influx of newcomers, Hiko once again felt that this place was too cramped.
At the same time, he overturned his previous assumption that the group had low popularity.
It wasn't that they lacked fans, their performance time just wasn't ideal for office workers.
Nine to five… To rush over right after work, it was clear that those who came later were devoted fans.
Hiko noticed that Ai wasn't distracted this time; she was completely focused on the performance on stage.
He wondered what she was thinking.
Hiko continued watching with her.
Time passed quickly, and the three on stage sang three more lesser-known songs before ending their performance.
"Hello everyone, I'm Rika, the leader of this trio. It's a pleasure to see all of you here, enduring the hardships to support us..." Rika said, hosting with the microphone.
Next, she stepped back to make way for the other members.
The girl to her right stepped forward. "I'm Momoko, a member of this trio..."
After introducing herself and thanking the audience several times, Momoko also stepped back.
"I'm Kiko, a member of this trio..." After Kiko finished her introduction, she too stepped back.
All three of them had long hair.
The trio stood in a straight line, then bowed deeply to the front of the stage.
"Thank you very much for your support. If you wish to purchase merchandise, please join us in the room next door."
After they finished speaking, they left the stage.
The men in the audience also began leaving with them.
"What is 'merchandise sales'?" Ai asked, unfamiliar with the term.
"Merchandise sales are events where fans interact with Idols and buy related goods, photo books, autographs, handshake events, and various... odd items," Hiko briefly explained. Then he added, "Since it's convenient, I'll take you to see it for yourself."
He led Ai, following behind the fans who had just left.
They soon entered a small room.
Inside, they found photo books of Rika, Momoko, and Kiko, along with various small merchandise items. There was also a large sign in the room with a price list.