From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 61: First Vocal Lesson (2)

Chapter 61: First Vocal Lesson (2)

The dramatic intro of the Warrior song began to play, and the room was tense as everybody focused on the lyric sheet, reading the rap lyrics in their heads as they waited for the vocal portion to start.

As the tone in the music shifted, indicating that the verse was about to start, the room full of contestants began singing.

It’s a battle to get to the top1

And we won’t stop till we’re there (bang bang the war will never stop)

Blood, sweat, tears, heart and my soul

Pour it out until there’s no more (bomb bomb throw it all away, gonna fight to see another day)

Warrior

We wanna battle for a dream

You’ll hear our shouts and screams

digidigideom digidigideom

As the contestants sang through the song, some of them voluntarily taking the vocal adlibs, it was mostly in tune, but when the pitch of the song alternated between high and low notes as it transitioned into the chorus, the previously cohesive song became a noisy cacophony that was difficult to listen to.

Jelissa let them finish singing through the first verse before tapping her hand on her chin contemplatively when the music stopped.

As someone with perfect pitch, it was a bit painful for her to hear so many out-of-tune voices blending in with those that sang perfectly, but since she couldn’t blame them and was supposed to teach them, she closed her eyes to isolate what she had just heard by voice and by notes before opening her eyes.

The contestants were staring at her with a slightly nervous expression, and she smiled in a calming manner.

"Thankfully, that wasn’t the worst, and none of you are tone deaf, so we can definitely improve. You just need to work hard and listen to me carefully."

Phew-

An audible sigh of relief could be heard.

"Okay, let’s not waste any time. You, you, you, and you. To the front, please."

Jelissa pointed to Jamie, William Forbes, Carlos, and Jin, the red-haired trainee from Azure Entertainment.

"Start singing from ’get to the top,’" Jelissa instructed as she played the music again.

One of these four had been out of tune, and she wanted to figure out who it was.

The four people who were called out began singing again, creating a beautiful sound as Carlos’ surprisingly high and clear voice blended with Jamie and William’s mid-range voices and Jin’s slightly lower one.

The four of them sang the entire first verse and chorus, with the only one who messed up being William, who wavered and was a bit off pitch towards the middle and the end as the notes jumped around.

Because of his Pick Listener (B) skill, to Ari’s ears, it sounded like a beautiful piece of chocolate cake that was suddenly ruined when a bird flew by and pooped in it.

He was happy he was wearing his snail mask because otherwise, he would have glared at William for ruining a great musical experience.

"I thought so. William was it? You’re a bit off-key and quite flat. Try opening your mouth a bit more and finding the note." Jelissa walked over and pressed a key on the piano that was slightly lower than what William had been trying to sing in, "Let’s go again."

Jelissa made them sing the verse again, and this time, both William and Jin were slightly flat, with William’s voice cracking a little, making Ari and Jelissa wince a bit.

"Hmmm, you’re still quite flat, and you’re reaching for a note I’m not sure you can reach William. And Jin, don’t be afraid to try the higher notes. I notice that you’re limiting yourself, and I think your voice can go higher. There’s no need to be nervous, I’m not a judge right now, but a trainer. Again."

The four of them sang it again, and Jamie perfectly blended his voice with Carlos’s, while Jin’s wavered a bit as he tried to sing a higher note but eventually stabilized as he put some power into it.

William on the other hand was completely off-key again as he tried to sing at a higher pitch to overtake Carlos’ voice, and then it ended up crackinge even worse than the last time.

As the music stopped, the room was completely silent as Jelissa just stared at William in silence.

"Hmmmm. Interesting." As Jelissa’s face scrunched up in disappointment, Ari could see William Forbes’ face slowly begin to turn red from embarrassment.

Jelissa moved her lips once or twice as she tried to find the words to say to the stubborn boy in front of her.

Her usual way of working was to be kind and gently supportive while giving hints, but she had clearly told him to try and sing lower since it wasn’t in his vocal range, but clearly he wasn’t listening.

She knew the production team wanted her to have a dramatic moment with the contestants, but truly, that wasn’t her style at all.

She would retain her firm but gentle way of teaching in hopes of balancing the harsher trainers in the program.

Taking a deep breath, Jelissa spoke in a calm, even tone.

"William, I thought I told you to try lowering the key. Clearly, your voice can’t handle those notes and would be much more suited to a lower octave."

"You’re wrong. It can." William stubbornly replied.

Slightly taken aback, Jelissa blinked at him before speaking in a calm tone.

"We have tried. Repeatedly. And it’s clear that it cannot, at least not right now. You’ll have much better results if you just lower the octave by one full octave. Honestly, a half octave reduction might even work. Just give it a chance."

"I understand that you’re the expert here, and I don’t want to argue with you, but you’re wrong. I know my voice better than anybody in this world. If you would just give me another chance, you would see that I can actually sing it properly and hit those notes just fine."

The room was suddenly silent as Jelissa stared at William with an incredulous face.

The contestants held their breaths because they couldn’t believe that a contestant was speaking to a trainer like that, and Jelissa didn’t want to believe that a contestant would be so loud and wrong as he argued back.

The cameraman even zoomed in on her as she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Rather than argue with the contestant, she looked around the room before pausing on a figure with a great voice hiding in the back, whom she could use to prove her point.

Sometimes the best way to temper a young man’s pride was with somebody his age rather than an elder lecturing him.

"Okay, William, please step to the side. You, in the back with the green mask, yes, you. Please come forward."

Jelissa pointed at Ari, who was trying to stay hidden behind other contestants, and gestured for him to come forward with a smile.

Check the warrior instrumental by kpop group BAP