The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

Chapter 249: Chapter 210: This Performance Is a Bit Too Urbanized (Part 2)

Zog chose the simplest, most direct method.

Money.

Offer a big enough reward, and someone would surely be willing to try.

Starting from the open auditions, contestants would receive a rather hefty reward in Gold Coins for each round they advanced.

Of course, the money wasn’t just a free gift. When they signed the consent form to participate in the show, they also granted the usage rights for their songs to the Zog Group.

The licensing term wasn’t long, either.

Just about a hundred years.

Gelda opened the file for the controversial work. To Zog’s surprise, the demo wasn’t just an audio recording, but a video.

Onscreen, four young, beautiful female students stood in a line, striking exaggerated poses.

If Zog wasn’t mistaken, their outfits were modified from Repin Academy’s standard Mage Robes. They had been shortened significantly, revealing long, straight legs.

The tops were also taken in quite a bit. Although they covered everything that was supposed to be covered, they were tight enough to hug every curve.

It even gave Zog a sense of déjà vu, reminding him of dance, yoga, and fashion videos he had once watched.

’Is this Feilin’s version of a uniform fetish?’

What surprised Zog even more was that these girls were singing and dancing.

The lyrics made the Dragon chuckle.

"I found a boyfriend."

"But he doesn’t like me."

"So I dumped him!"

"This lady is shining all on her own."

"The line of guys chasing me stretches from Twin Tower City to Winter City."

"I am the queen, I am the queen, I am the most beautiful queen..."

Zog could understand why the Vice Dean disliked it. It definitely had the vibe of being a cultural low point.

Furthermore, the arrangement was exceptionally simple. Compared to this, the punk music sung by the Underground Discard actually seemed technically complex.

And the singing wasn’t great either.

The high-EQ way to put it was that it was "consistent."

In reality, they couldn’t hit the high notes or reach the low ones. Their voices didn’t crack, but they were teetering on the edge.

If he had to find something good about it...

They looked good while singing.

The Vice Dean looked smug, as if to say, ’See? I told you this thing was no good.’

"Give me your thoughts," Zog said to Xiaode.

"Uh, I think that while their technical skill isn’t quite there, it’s very creative. It’s not impossible for them to be on the show, but I’d suggest using them as a warm-up act. We have an opening performance slot, right? They’d be a good fit for that."

Xiaode stammered, looking a little too embarrassed to watch the looping video.

As the leading Elf in Feilin rock, Xiaode was actually a teenager—and a "good boy" at that, a stark contrast to the genre he sang.

"And you?" Zog asked Gelda.

"As a song, it’s subpar. As a performance, it works. They might even gain a group of loyal fans."

"Let’s do that, then. We’ll use them for the opening act and see how the audience reacts. The outfits need to be adjusted, though. The way they are now is a slap in the face to Repin Academy."

Zog made his decision.

He was curious to see if this kind of idol group could catch on here. If it could, the assembly line for producing artists could be set in motion.

"I disagree! Putting something like this on stage is a blasphemy against art!" the Vice Dean retorted, slamming his hand on the table.

Zog shot him a disgusted glance. He was getting annoyed. The man didn’t know his place.

"Has it ever occurred to you that their goal isn’t to create art?"

"Even if the song were fine, what about their dancing? Can you even call that dancing? It’s practically, practically...!"

To save face, the Vice Dean stopped himself from saying a word that would be even more unbecoming of his status.

"Practically what? It’s not that outrageous. It’s one of the inherent functions of dance."

According to the speculations of modern scholars, the origins of dance can be boiled down to three purposes. The first is for rituals, danced as an offering to the Deities.

If he ever saw the Magic Goddess again, Zog rather wanted to ask Her if She enjoyed this kind of performance, and whether all those various offerings were actually of any use.

The second is to boost morale before a battle, and perhaps intimidate the enemy.

The third is for courtship.

Moreover, most new dances that had emerged in the last few centuries had evolved from the third type.

Zog had personally watched these art forms develop with his own eyes.

Take, for example, a popular current dance style involving long skirts and various complex high-kicking moves.

The earliest version also had long skirts and high kicks, but no underwear...

The stage would be built much higher than the seating area, with the front row of the audience right up against it.

From the perspective of watching a dance, this was a terrible viewing angle, but it was obvious most of the audience wasn’t there for the dancing.

Later, as the dance style evolved and became more popular, it successfully cleaned up its image and went legit, even starting to preach about elegance and nobility.

Compared to that, this girl group was quite a bit more "wholesome."

The Vice Dean was clearly aware of this history as well, and Zog’s question left him speechless.

After holding it in for a long moment, he finally replied, "That’s different. We’re past that era now. We should be pursuing more elegant forms of development. This is too vulgar."

"Stop throwing the word ’elegant’ around. It can’t be eaten."

"If that’s the case, I’d rather quit the show!" the Vice Dean said angrily.

However, contrary to what he expected, Zog made no move to stop him.

"I’m the Vice Dean of the music academy. I represent musical professionalism. I can elevate the quality of this show."

He started trying to backpedal.

From the beginning, he had just wanted to vie for more influence, to become the judge with the most sway, which was why he had picked a fight over this song.

It was mainly a habit from his time at the academy.

"If you insist on choosing this song, it’s not impossible... but we should adjust the performance style, or maybe add a little more technical complexity to the arrangement."

Zog remained silent.

The Vice Dean grew anxious, mostly about the appearance fee he stood to lose.

"Fine, I agree..."

"No need. Gordo, settle his pay for the last few days. Let’s find a new judge," Zog finally said.

"Understood." Gordo didn’t argue. Zog was providing the bulk of the technology and funding, so what Zog said, went.

"Wait, didn’t I just agree? I can allow this song on the show; I just personally won’t choose them," the Vice Dean was still struggling.

Zog said calmly, "This isn’t your show. What good does your permission do?"

In truth, he wasn’t particularly optimistic about this song-and-dance act either. At best, it was just a little extra something for the variety show.

But he really had no confidence in people like the Vice Dean. First, his philosophy was already in severe conflict with the other three judges.

Second, the man seemed to have been cooped up in the academy for too long, making him out of touch with the outside world. He had no idea what kind of content belonged on a Magic Vision Device.

This would cause a lot of trouble for future recording sessions.

So, firing him wasn’t a matter of anger, but a move to ensure future work efficiency and reduce potential problems.

"I wish you all the best in the future. Perhaps we can work together again if a more suitable opportunity arises," Zog said, offering a polite platitude.

"Hmph. I doubt there’ll be any future opportunities."

Seeing no hope of saving the situation, the Vice Dean stopped trying to backpedal. With a flick of his sleeve, he strode out the door without a backward glance.

"Oh, man, it feels so much more relaxed now," Xiaode said happily once he was gone.

As soon as he said it, everyone else started laughing.

Some people have an amazing talent for making everyone around them unhappy without even realizing it themselves.

It was a civilized society that saved people like him; a little unpleasantness wouldn’t lead to a group beatdown.

It wasn’t easy to draw the ire of so many people at once. Even a Warrior’s taunt Skill wasn’t that effective.

"To be honest, the more I listen to this song, the more I kind of like it. At least it’s catchy," Gelda said. "It feels like that simple melody is on a loop in my head, like..."

"An earworm," Zog chimed in.

In an era where the internet was just beginning to take shape, a song that could become an earworm was the "best" kind of song.

Not in terms of artistic achievement, but from a profit perspective, it was unbelievably good.

Of course, after it had been popular for a while, everyone would start to despise that song.

"However, I have one question," Sir Gordo asked. "Who will fill the empty judge’s seat? I have a few candidates here."

"I have a good candidate in mind as well," Zog said. "Or, to be precise, it’s not a ’person’."