Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 206 Singing on stage

  Radio City Music Hall is the world’s largest indoor theater and one of the world’s most famous art palaces.

Since its completion in 1932, it has performed symphony, singing, dancing and juggling programs, as well as hosted hundreds of movie premieres.

The theater has 6,200 purple velvet-covered seats inside. It is 50 meters from the back row of the auditorium to the stage. The ceiling height is 25 meters. The surrounding walls and ceiling are composed of rows of streamlined arches from outside to inside.

Standing at the entrance and looking over, the interior looks like a curved space with brilliant lights.

 Because the venue is relatively luxurious, the performances performed here require extremely high standards.

After Link and Wiz were invited to perform, they rehearsed here twice to prevent stage accidents.

Because he needed to play the piano on stage, Link practiced piano for more than three hours a day during this period. He kept tapping the keys and his fingers were almost numb every day. Fortunately, he had strong recovery ability and could continue practicing the next day. .

 Under his sudden practice, his playing skills have improved significantly, and it will not be like that time at the country music festival, where he almost failed in his performance.

 “Mr. Linkback, are you ready?”

"alright!"

 “OK! Start!”

Hearing the voice of the director coming from the headset, Link took a deep breath and the performance was about to begin.

 He ​​straightened his back and sat in front of the Steinway piano. He placed his hands on the black and white keys and pressed the keys gently. A string of pleasant piano sounds flowed out from his fingertips, which was the prelude to "SeeYouAgain".

Ding ding dong dong!

When the piano sounded, the purple velvet curtains around the circular stage also slowly rose, and there was no gap between the stage and the audience.

Link, who was originally sitting behind the curtain, was also exposed to thousands of spectators at the scene.

 “Link! Link!”



Waves of applause and cheers from the surrounding auditorium hit his ears from all directions. This was a scene he had never experienced during rehearsals.

 The scene now is more like a boxing ring.

 He competes in a boxing ring with spectators on all sides.

 The difference is that in the past, he needed to defeat the enemy, but now he only needs to overcome his own fear and lack of confidence, and perform at his best to complete the performance.

This is the scene of the 26th MTV Music and Television Awards Ceremony.

Since an important part of this awards ceremony is to commemorate MJ who passed away not long ago, "SeeYouAgain" is considered the 'most sincere' song to mourn MJ.

Therefore, Link and Wiz were invited to participate in this ceremony as opening performers.

  Link will be invited to perform initially, which is what Link can expect.

But being invited to perform as an opening guest was something he didn't expect.

In a large-scale show, the opening and closing are the most important, also known as the ‘opening and closing’, and there can be no mistakes at all.

Hearing the applause around him rise and fall like a tide, Link felt calmer and his playing skills became more skillful. This was also the ability and psychological quality he had gained from hundreds of boxing matches.

He continued to play the piano, put his lips close to the microphone on the piano cover, and sang softly:

 It\'sbeenalongdaywithoutyoumyfriend

AndI\'lltellyouallaboutitwhenIseeyouagain

 “Wow! What a great singing!”

 “Link! Link! Link!”

 After he started singing, the fans in the audience cheered and clapped loudly.

 “Link! You are the best!”

Taylor was sitting in the second row, holding a speaker and shouting at him, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

 “This is so cool!”

“He can box, swim, sing and play the piano, and is so handsome. He should be my boyfriend.”

 “You forgot to mention that he is physically strong, which is the most important thing.”

 The female singers in the audience saw Link in front of the piano, and they couldn't help cheering loudly and talking quietly.

“Link is the coolest boy I’ve ever seen wearing a suit. If I were his girlfriend, I would ask him to wear a suit every day, even when he’s having sex.”

Katy Perry clapped her hands and said to Lady Gaga next to her.

 “Keep your voice down, Tyler is behind you.”

 Lady Gaga said while holding the hand puppet.

“I was complimenting Link, and it doesn’t matter if Taylor hears it.”

Katy Perry said nonchalantly.

Although Taylor didn't hear Katie's words, he heard the praises of the other female singers. He couldn't help but pursed his lips. If he had known earlier, he should have let Link wear a garbage bag, so there wouldn't be so many green eyes jealous of him.

She also suddenly realized that Link being too handsome was not a good thing.

“Fake! Why did you let that **** Link be the opening guest? This year MTV is held in New York, so we New York singers should be the opening act.”

 In the third row of the audience seats in the middle, 50 cents said unhappily.

"Because "SeeYouAgain" is his work, you guys all claim to be MJ's die-hard fans and regard him as a spiritual idol. Why can't anyone write a song that's even remotely good after his death?"

Eminem clapped his hands and joked.

 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, T.I., and Drake all have nothing to say. Kanye also looked at the stage with a sullen face, secretly annoyed in his heart, why could Link write it but he couldn't?

“Okay, I understand, you are all fake fans of MJ.”

Eminem said with a wicked smile.

 Beyoncé, who was sitting in the front row, turned back and smiled: "Eminem, you are a big fan of MJ. Would it be embarrassing to come here to attend MJ's memorial ceremony?"

The smile on Eminem's face has froze. In 2003, he wrote a rap song "Just Lose It", mocking MJ, and shot a Pepsi commercial where he was burned and turned white, and had a prosthetic nose.

Michael publicly expressed his hurt and borrowed the words of a friend to call Eminem a piece of shit.

This incident was also one of the hot news in the entertainment industry in 2003. Eminem was also forced to apologize in a radio interview, saying that he was also a fan of MJ.

 But MJ’s fans have not forgiven him, and he is also considered to be the leader of MJ’s black fans.

 “Hey, Eminem, are you embarrassed?”

Lil Wayne and others looked at Eminem playfully.

"I won't!"

Eminem put on his hood, leaned on the chair with his arms folded, and stopped talking to others.

 We\'vecomealongwayfromwherewebegan

 OhI\'lltellyouallaboutitwhenIseeyouagain

  WhenIseeyouagain

 In the middle of the stage, Link was playing the piano and singing. When he finished singing the first bar, a slutty voice came out of the speaker.

ˆ Damn, whoknewalltheplanesweflew

ˆGoodthingswe\'vebeenthrough

ThatI\'llbestandingrightthere

We saw Wiz Khalifa wearing a white suit, holding a microphone and walking onto the stage from the center aisle, rapping as he walked, his arms kept beating the rhythm, and the braids on his head were shaking.

 The atmosphere at the scene was immediately lifted by him.

 The audience swayed their arms to the rhythm.

　　呲! Bah! Bah!

 The fireworks around the stage also erupted, making the stage more dazzling and igniting the atmosphere.

 It\'sbeenalongdaywithoutyoumyfriend

AndI\'lltellyouallaboutitwhenIseeyouagain

　　After Wiz Kaffari finished speaking, Link’s voice followed, one was flirtatious, the other was serious, and the two of them cooperated very well.

Link sat on the piano and sang, and Wiz walked around along the strip of the stage, waving his arms constantly to arouse the atmosphere in the audience.

 Because this song is so popular, when the second chorus was sung, many audience members sang along with Link.

Hum buzz!

A dazzling light flashed by, and a full-length image of MJ slowly appeared above the stage.

　　It is more than three meters high. It is a scene of MJ performing on the stage, wearing a sequined suit, and his mouth is still moving, as if he is singing.

This is an image created by the organizers of the MTV Awards invited staff from Hollywood special effects companies to use 3D holographic projection technology.

 In 2009, 3D holographic projection technology was still a very cutting-edge imaging technology and was not as widespread as it would be ten years later.

After the MJ image appeared, there was a burst of excited shouts from the scene. Many fans looked at the image in the sky and sang "Seeyou Again" loudly.

  WhenIseeyouagain

  WhenIseeyouagain，seeyouagain

  WhenIseeyouagain

 Pap, pah, pah!

　　It was sung twice. Amid the applause of thousands of spectators, the curtain slowly fell and the opening performance ended.

Link was still sitting in front of the piano, playing the accompaniment of the song, as the stage slowly sank, and a few seconds later, he and Wiz came to the underground lifting platform together.

This is a hydraulically powered lifting device that can achieve rapid screen changes and special stage effects.

 Pap, pah, pah!

 “Well done, Link!”

When the two came to the underground, Ms. Mandy and several staff members clapped and cheered, as well as the queen Madonna who was preparing to play next to her.

Link and Wiz hugged.

It was also Wiz’s first time to perform on such a large stage, and he was a little nervous after going up.

“Hey, Link, you’re cool. If I were ten years younger, I would date you.”

Madonna looked him up and down and smiled.

 “Thank you! Ms. Cicconi, you are also very young now.”

Grandma Mai is 51 years old this year. She is well-maintained and looks a bit charming. However, when she was young, she was considered a flower in the entertainment industry.

“Oh, Link, you mean that if I ask you out, you will agree to go out with me.”

Madonna smiled.

“Of course, I’m your fan and it’s an honor to date you.”

Link shrugged his shoulders. He knew that the other party was joking, so naturally he would not be able to laugh at it.

 “This is what you said, wait for my call.”

Madonna patted him on the shoulder and walked up to the lift with a smile.

She was about to go on stage to read MJ's memorial speech. As the elevator ascended, the smile on her face gradually faded, becoming lonely and sad. Paired with the black dress and black dress she was wearing, she looked like a widow whose husband had died.

Link shook his head, feeling that none of these people who could become kings and queens had simple roles.

 “Hey, Link, Madonna asks you out, are you really going to say yes?”

Wiz Khalifa asked, bumping his shoulder.

"Maybe!"

Link smiled lightly and walked with Wiz from the underground passage to the auditorium in front of the venue, waiting for the award ceremony to begin.

 (End of this chapter)